UNM Home Page College of Education Homepage

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies


 

Links

Courses

Resources

Home

Lesson Plans

 

CIMTE 442/BIL ED 593

 

Fall 1998

Multicultural Stories/Culture/Art & Music /Games/Writing/Poetry/Reading Strategies

Multicultural Stories

 

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

JoAnn Bowen & Margarita Barraza

Middle School: Grade 7 -- ESL Intermediate

Goal: To read and understand an event occurring more than 50 years ago in another country and how it relates to Albuquerque and the present day.

Objectives:

1). To relate the Sadako story to the Children's Peace Statue in Albuquerque.

2). To read for meaning after groundwork set.

3). To understand the unfamiliar vocabulary used in the story.

4). To explain the symbolism of the crane.

5) To follow directions in folding the cranes.

6). To increase eye-hand coordination in folding the cranes.

Activities:

Day 1 Introduction of Children's Peace Statue and significance of cranes.

Give overview of two days activities

Fold white crane

Start Sadako story

Day 2 Finish Story

Fold colored cranes

Create bulletin board (or other options: Hang cranes, do word search write about "What Peace Means to Me")

Resources and Materials:

Book (Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr) for each student or handout of condensed story

World map or Globe

Paper for folding (already in squares)

Word game on Peace statue (from "The Crane" newsletter, June 1995)

Pictures of the Children's Peace Statue at the Albuquerque Museum

Evaluation:

Verbal feedback and discussion

Success in folding cranes

Completion of project

Teacher Tips:

Have students sit in circle or semi-circle for the reading, and discussion

Allow students to read aloud or not, use "popcorn reading"

Allow students to choose final activities

Use map or globe to find Japan, Albuquerque and the other countries where the children are from originally

Write unfamiliar words on board and discuss

Write word for peace, crane, etc. in first languages of the students.

Become an expert at folding cranes!

Use an aid, helper or other students who also know how to fold cranes

Option for Day 3 or longer: Take a field trip to the Albuquerque Museum

to see the Children's Peace Statue. Take or send a chain of cranes to the Museum.

 

An African Folk Tale Using the Story Pyramid

Dixie Reese

Anticipatory set: To set the scene for the story and to activate schema, pupils will locate Africa on a map and volunteers will tell what they know about the continent. The teacher may also contribute facts about Africa

Purpose: l. To expose pupils to a folk tale from a different culture

2. To check comprehension of the story

Objectives: 1. To listen and understand an African folk tale

2. To recognize and state the main character

3. To state the problem

4. To state the solution to the problem

Materials: A copy of Anansi and the Talking Melon, poster board with an outline of a story pyramid, paper, pencils and a colored markers.

Procedure: The teacher will ask a volunteer to point out Africa on a world map. The class will then brainstorm ideas they have about Africa. Next the teacher will introduce the story by displaying the cover and reading the title and explain it is a retelling of an African folk tale. Elicit from the students the meaning of "folk tale". Finally, the teacher will read the story to the class, making sure students understand terms i.e. the names of animals, and words like thorn and melon by making extensive use of the pictures and using brief questions to ascertain understanding.

Activity: The class and the teacher will work together to complete the following pyramid which has been reproduced on poster board.

Story Pyramid

1. -------

2. ------- -------

3. ------- ------- --------

4. ------- ------- ------- -------

5. ------ ------- ------ ------ ------

6. ------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

7. ------ ------ ------ ------ ------- ------ ------

8. ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

On line l. Write the name of the main character.

2. Write two words describing the main character

3. Write three words describing the setting.

4. Write four words stating the problem

5. Write five words describing and event.

6. Write six words describing a second event.

7. Write seven words describing a third event.

8. Write eight words describing the solution to the problem.

Extension: If time allows, have the pupils work in pairs, and write a sentence for each line using the words one each line as the basis and adding only enough words to make complete sentences. Each group can then read their sentences to the class.

This lesson plan was adapted from one submitted to

http://yn.la.ca.us/cec/ceclang/ceclang.40.txt by Donna Calder, Bullhead City, Arizona.

 

Carlos y la milpa de maiz/ Carlos and the Cornfield By Jan Romero Stevens

Rebecca O'Malia

Grade level: 3-5

Second Language Proficiency level: high beginning, low-intermediate (This lesson can be conducted with either students learning Spanish as a Second Language (SSL) or English as a Second Language (ESL). The teacher should conduct the lesson completely in the second language.)

Objectives: As part of a unit on plants and Mexico, students will listen to and learn as much as possible from this book read to them in their second language. They will learn a new proverb, "You reap what you sow" and a lesson about hard work and patience.

Procedure: Ask the students what they think the book will be about from the book cover and title. What is going to happen and where? (Cover up the first language in the title and subsequent pages.) Read the story slowly, ensuring that the students are comprehending through the use of voice intonation, gestures, the pictures, and discussing some vocabulary as needed. Ask comprehension questions in the second language, at the level of your students, as you go along.

Does Carlos want to buy a red knife or a bicycle?

How will he make the money to buy the red knife?

What will he help his father to plant, chile or corn?

Is the job easy or hard?

Did Carlos put three seeds in each hole? How many did he put in each hole?

How does Carlos feel when the plants start to grow, good or bad?

What does Carlos buy when he sells his red knife?

When does Carlos plant the new seed, in the morning or the night?

What color of corn seed did Carlos buy?

Are Carlos's parents angry with him? Why or why not?

Evaluation: Ask the students what lessons they learned from the story. Ask for volunteers to translate the saying, "You reap what you sow" Although the story takes place in Espanola, New Mexico, talk about the possibility of it taking place in Mexico.

Return toTop

Culture & Reading

Idiomatic Expressions

Seongmin Cho

Objective:

Help foreign students who live in their own countries understand cultural expressions that they often encounter and that they can not learn through the normal classes in their readings by introducing and explaining how the origin of those expressions came from.

Approach:

A. Introduce and read a couple of example paragraphs

I. Meat and potatoes:

1) Hefner is strictly a meat-and-potatoes man; a dinner of chicken, chops or steak is usually prepared for him at his home. Pepsi replaces coffee and liquor -Cola, consumed at a quantity that can reach twenty six-ounce bottle a day, to which bourbon may be added around midnight. -Joe Golderg: Big Bunny

2) Nevertheless, new factors have arisen since the days when wages and hours were the meat and potatoes of working men's aspirations. - Newsweek

II. Shotgun marriage:

"From the day that Harvard first let girls into students rooms, they had all this trouble coming to them," one weekly magazine quoted a woman dean of students as saying. But what is "all this trouble?" Admittedly, pregnancy out of wedlock is trouble. Newsweek magazine said that, at one Eastern women's college, a dozen girls in one year engaged in shotgun weddings and another six had abortions. The incidence of premarital pregnancy on campus is increasing. - John Keats: The Sheepskin Psychosis

III. Red, white and blue

Mr. Nixon brought his own cheering section, his wife, Pat, and daughters, Tricia and Julie, dressed in red, white and blue respectively. -- Newsweek

IV. Finishing school

Many of today's women are described as unwilling to restrict their lives to marriage and motherhood. They want careers, too, and demand training for such careers. This approach to modern life tends to downgrade the isolated women's colleges, some of which are regarded as little more than "finishing schools," offering no career advantages. -- U. S. News & World Report

V. Happy hour

Surf Lounge

Open 12 Noon Daily

Happy Hour

3 P.M. to 6 P.M.

VI. John Hancock

I sat beside him and wrote my John Hancock on all three copies the girl had typed up. - Lou Cameron: The Black Busters

B. Let students brainstorm what they might mean for 5 minutes.

C. Make groups and let them discuss what ideas they came up with for 10 minutes.

D. Have a short presentation from each group.

E. Explain the meaning of the expressions, tell them about where those expressions came from, and make them understand the American cultural expressions.

F. Let students write down a few sentences using those expressions that they learned in this class.

 

Culture & Reading

Todd Dyjak

Anticipatory Set: The attention grabber here is an interesting picture.

Objectives: This lesson will incorporate the skills of reading, writing and oral communication in a creative, possibly multicultural setting. The teacher will hand out to all students a picture of some kind, perhaps from a book the students will read, or from a culturally significant photo, or artist's picture, if a multicultural lesson is the objective. The hand out must have people in it, and they must be doing something. If you can produce one in which the people seemed to be engaged in conversation, this is most desirable.

Step A. As a whole class activity, go over the vocabulary of the picture, have the students name everything they see in the photo, including anything culturally significant and write them on the board. Have the students copy any new words down so they can use them in the next assignment..

Step B. Have the students break up into groups of three or four. Then have the students' groups look at the picture and have them come up with what they think the people in the photo are doing. DO NOT let them create what they think they are saying. ex. " The man in the blue shirt is giving the little girl a Katchina Doll." Have all the students write down what the group comes up with, this is done so all students will practice writing, not just one designated "good " writer. This way if you wish to grade you can randomly pull any individual's work and use it as the grade for the group. Have them try to incorporate some of the new vocabulary. You could even say they must use two of the new words in this exercise and in the next (step C). Once you have given enough time have the groups tell you what they think is going on in the picture. You can write them on the board if you wish so the students can see how spoken word is transformed into written language.

Step C. Have the students' groups now come up with what they think the people are saying in the picture. Try to choose a photo or picture that has as many people in it as group members. This is done because you will have the group members choose to be a person in the picture and read what their character is saying. The result should be a mini- play, the kids are writing the scripts. The dialog can be as long as the students ability and the length of time given to the students. I generally find that about two hours is enough time for adult ESL students to do all three steps. Sometimes the performances can get a little lengthy so more time is sometimes necessary.

Closure: This exercise can be a lot of fun, and draws upon the new vocabulary learned in the beginning and vocabulary the students know. And has them move from a written language; by the "What are they doing?" exercise, to a conversation language; by the "What are they saying?" exercise. The exercise becomes socially and culturally different depending on the picture taken. I have included an example of a basic picture that I have used.

 

Culture Shock

Yu Chen

1. Materials: handouts, pieces of paper, pens or pencils.

2. Objectives: students should be able to understand what "culture shock" is, read and analyze the reading, certain vocabularies, and create some sentences by using the vocabularies they have learned from this class.

3. Activities:

1. Asking students to talk about their own culture shock when they came to the United States.

2. Asking students to think about some vocabularies from looking at the picture of the handouts, such as insecure, unconfident, embarrassed, disoriented and etc.

3. Asking students to do the "topic" exercise on their own, and share their answers with whole class.

4. Analyzing each paragraph in the reading and making sure each student understands the vocabulary and sentence structure.

5. Using the vocabulary in the chapter to make sentences.

6. Sharing their own sentences with whole class.

7. Sharing my own experience of culture shock with the class.

4. Conclusion: reviewing the issues of culture shock by using the vocabulary they have just learned, and suggesting to students some ways to make themselves feel better when they are facing these kinds of life or language problems.

Return toTop

Reading with Art and Music

Music in the ESL Classroom

Jennifer N. Ek

Day 1: Introduction to New Mexico

Grade Level and Subject: Study of the music of New Mexico for a first and second grade classroom.

Materials and Equipment: Cassette player, recordings of "O, Fair New Mexico", "Asi Es Nuevo Mejico", shaker materials (25 Dixie cups, 1 cup of rice, 25 rubber bands, and 25 plastic baggies) enough for each child to get one kit, 25 copies of "De Colores" song, recording of "De Colores", 25 pre-made individual servings of Biscochitos

Concept: Music and musical instruments are an important part of New Mexican culture.

Lesson Objectives: The students will:

1. listen to the "William Tell Overture" on tape.

2. listen to "O, Fair New Mexico" (state song) while patting the beat of the song.

3. listen to "Asi Es Nuevo Mejico" while patting the beat of the song.

4. make simple shakers to use as musical instruments.

5. listen to "De Colores" on tape.

6. play these instruments accompanying "De Colores".

7. taste the New Mexican state cookie: Biscochitos.

Approximate Time: 40 minutes

II. The Lesson(s):

A. Attention-getter: As the children enter the classroom and put their things away, have the "William Tell Overture" playing. Ask the children if they have ever heard the "William Tell Overture" before. Where? (Have a New Mexico map and my drawn version of New Mexico hanging on the chalkboard before the bell rings). Point out New Mexico and Albuquerque. Explain that New Mexico has three different cultures that we will be focusing on: Hispanic, Native American, and European Settler. ** Sources used in this lesson: Music and You. Grade 3, "O. Fair New Mexico" recording, "Asi Es Nuevo Mejico" recording, and The Second Raffi Songbook.

B. Procedure: See lesson objectives.

Details:

a. musical shakers:

1. look at the Bead Maraca Pattern for ideas on how to put a Maraca together (for the shakers used in class, get 25 Dixie cups, 1 cup of rice, 25 rubber bands, and 25 plastic baggies).

2. hand these supplies (all individually assembled for each student) to the children.

3. walk them through the pattern assembly together (take the supplies out of the cup, carefully unwrap the rice from the bag, pour the rice into the cup, place the bag over the top of the cup, wrap a rubber band around the cup twice so the rice does not leak out).

4. have the children practice with their shakers until they get a musical sound that they like.

b. performing to "De Colores" by Raffi

1. hand a copy of "De Colores" to each student

2. listen to the song in its musical entirety and following the words

3. have them listen to the song again, this time playing their shaker to the beat of the song

C. Closure: End the class by explaining that this is the first of a few days that we will be exploring the arts of New Mexico. Have a brief discussion about even though there are 3 different cultures in New Mexico, it is important for us all to come together as one and become New Mexicans. It is important to work as one in a community, all the while retaining our individuality. Pass out a pre-made Biscochitos cookie bag to each child so that they may sample the New Mexico state cookie.

D. Evaluation: Did the students

1. recognize the "William Tell Overture"?

2. make the shaker instruments correctly?

3. perform to the song "De Colores" with the correct beat?

4. begin to pick up a bit of the words from "De Colores"?

5. recognize that it is important to work together as one while retaining their individuality?

6. enjoy their taste of New Mexico?

7. recognize and understand some of the song lyrics?

III. Follow- Up:

1. Identify the beat of "O, Fair New Mexico" and "Asi Es Nuevo Mejico".

2. Identify the rhythm of "De Colores".

3. Play other musical instruments to "O, Fair New Mexico" or "De Colores" that are found natively in the New Mexican culture.

4. Sing the two songs and try to learn a few of the words in both English and Spanish.

5. Perform dances to these two songs.

6. Write a story about their favorite song or activity.

7. Write other verses in Spanish and English for "De Colores"

IV. Skills -- Circle the skills experienced:

Singing Listening Moving Playing Instrument Reading & Writing Creating

 

Cartoon based on Sing Down the Moon by Scott O'Dell

Bettina Caffrey

7th Grade Literature Class / Combined Title and ESL Class

Objective: Students will demonstrate basic comprehension of the book that the class is reading by restating the story in cartoon form. Students will also identify basic components of literature and demonstrate written and visual communication skills. On a higher level, some students will distinguish the structure and components that make up cartoons and comic strips.

Materials Checklist:

Copies of the "blank" comic strip

Copies of the book Sing Down the Moon

Markers and Colored Pencils

Examples of Cartoons and Comic Strips from the newspaper

Time Required

1 class period for instruction

1-2 class periods for student work

Anticipatory Set

Read a few cartoons and comic strips to the class

Pass the comic strips around the class after they are read out-loud

Tell students that today they are going to create a comic strip

Tell students that the purpose of them creating a comic strip is to restate

the story from Sing Down the Moon (Make sure to get all the sample comic strips back before instruction begins).

Instruction: Ask students to raise their hand if they think they can tell the story from one of the comic strips. Remind students that a story has a beginning, a middle and an end. Remind students that when telling a story, you want to look for setting, characters and a conflict. Call on some students to answer the question. Let a discussion develop about the stories of each comic strip if students so desire and time permits. Ask students to identify the language that was used to convey these stories in the comic strip. Have the students notice that comic strips use a lot of words that make their own sound (onomatopoeia such as Buzz, Argh, Boom, Ka-Zam) . Point out the punctuation and the amount of exclamation marks.

Now ask a students to restate the story from Sing Down the Moon. Again, make sure they remember to include important components of literature. As the students restate the story, divide the black board in to a comic strip. Ask students to suggest pictures that would restate the story. Make simple drawings of what the students suggest. Ask the students to add words. Remind them to use exclamation marks and onomatopoeia. Pass out the blank comic strip. Tell students that they will now create their own comic strip based on the story from Sing Down the Moon. Ask students if there are any questions. Ask two-three students to repeat their objective.

Guided Practice: Walk around the room and encourage individual students. Find examples of a good work in progress and hold them up for the rest of the class to see. Remind students to identify a setting, characters and a conflict.

Closure: Allow students to show their work to the class and to give a brief explanation of their comic strip. Mount the comic strips and display them.

 

Art and Reading

Elisabeth Valenzuela

Grades: 2-5

Time: 1 hour

Materials:

Books (limit 2) Teacher's choice

Paper

Pencils

Crayons

Activities:

1. Read the books to the class.

2. Discuss the books with the class. Have the students give you their opinions about the books. Did they like them? Why or why not?

3. Hand out the paper and have the student's draw a picture that is related to the books read.

4. After they finish drawing, have the students write about their drawing.

5. Have the students present their drawing to the rest of the class.

Evaluation: The effort the students place on the assignment overall.

 

Reading for Fun

Anita Sickles

Grade level: 2

Materials and equipment

Muggie Maggie by Beverly Cleary

large assortment of stickers

strips of poster board, approximately 2" X 5"

Activities:

Warm-up: (7 - 10 minutes)

I introduced myself and initiated a discussion about favorite reading materials, favorite places to read, and reading as portable entertainment, etc.

I showed some beautifully illustrated children's books from the U. K.

Reading time (approximately 40 minutes):

I read Muggie Maggie. (Students were welcome to ask questions or make comments.)

Visuals (approximately 10 minutes):

Students used poster board strips and stickers to make personalized book marks. They put some remarks on the back about their favorite books and/or places to read.

Closure (1 minute):

I thanked the teacher and students for allowing me to be a guest in their class.

 

Aliens and Reading

Barbara Graber

Materials you'll need :

chalkboard and chalk

writing paper and implements

blank drawing paper

crayons or colored pencils or markers

a picture of a Martian

your own drawing of a fanciful alien

Your students will need to have some familiarity with colors, numbers and then names of body parts in order to experience success and have fun with this lesson. Obviously it might be a good idea to review these concepts before beginning. Show the class a picture of an alien or Martian. Have the students describe the alien. Talk about how its skin is green, its forehead is very big, it has no hair(or is bald) and it only has three fingers, etc. Have the students guess if the alien is a boy or a girl and ask them to explain their answers. Tell the class not all aliens look like the one in the picture. Tell them that just the other day you saw an alien in your backyard and it looked completely different.

Pass out blank sheets of paper and crayons or colored markers or pencils. Tell the students you are going to describe the alien you saw to them and they are going to listen to you and draw what you describe. (Make sure you have already drawn an alien portrait to match your description). Start off easy and repeat yourself. Be sure to get creative. Tell them your alien had purple skin and blue hair and three eyes in his head as well as one in his stomach, etc., etc. If the students are familiar with the concepts of left and right you may want to incorporate those into your description as well. (You may want to write the description on the board or have a student write it for you). Then show your picture and have students show their pictures and review with them the salient features of your alien. Compare to see if they heard most of the details. If you haven't already written the description on the board, write it now or have a student do it. You may want to repeat this step, describinga totally different alien if you think it would help your students.

Next, ask your students to imagine an alien in their own heads. Ask them to imagine the color of its skin, the color of its hair, how many eyes it has, where its eyes are, how tall it is, how fat it is, etc., etc. Then have them write the description of their alien on paper and, once they're done with that, give them time to draw their aliens. Tell them turn to the picture over when they're finished so no one else can see i t. Next, ask for volunteers who are willing to come to the front of the class and read their descriptions to the class while the other students try to draw them. Remind the volunteers to speak slowly and repeat each sentence. Continue as you did earlier, comparing the portraits the students drew with the official picture of the volunteer in front of the class. Have the descriptions written on the board either during or after the spoken description. You can continue this for as long as there is interest.

What I didn't do but you might want to: Obviously there are a lot of places you can go from here. One idea is to have them compare aliens to see which is skinnier, which is shorter, which is cuter, which looks the meanest or most dangerous, etc., etc. You can also start a conversation about whether or not they believe aliens exist and you could have them write about their opinions. You might want to include their drawings of aliens with their written opinions and create a book called Life on Other Planets or something like that. You could also make a book out of their descriptions and corresponding pictures and call i t The Alien in My Backyard or whatever.

Objective: this lesson primarily aids students with listening skills although practice in all the elements of language are included -- listening, speaking, writing and reading. It's a pretty fun activity so it won't seem like a formal, serious lesson even though your students will be learning.

Return to Top

Reading & Writing

 

Composing a Story

Beth Lea/Jennifer Cunico

Materials: Large paper (such as poster board or newsprint), a picture card for each student or small group of students, magic marker to record story.

Purpose/Objective: To help children make the connections between spoken and written language, improve listening skills, develop sequencing and story structure, increase word recognition and reading skills, and to develop creativity and cooperation skills.

Procedure: Start by explaining to the students that they will be writing a story. Have the students divided into small groups and give each group (or individual) a picture card. Have each group/individual come up with one sentence about their picture for the story. Read over the story frequently to help with the flow and sequence. At the end of the activity, go back and edit the story and then make it into a class book. If the students are able, have them read the sentence they came up with or have them take turns reading parts of the story.

Extensions: Another way to approach this activity is to have the students brainstorm words that have a common theme such as, they all start with the same letter or they are words you can find on billboards. Make a list of the words and then have the students come up with sentences using those words. Write the story from these sentences. For older students, using their spelling or vocabulary words would be a great idea.

ESL Extensions:

*Have the students use vocabulary they are working on.

*Use both English and the student's home language in the story.

*Give a scenario which must take place in the story which will be helpful to the students such as going to the grocery store.

 

Ira Sleeps Over

Marie C. Anstine

Grade: 1-2 ESL

Objectives: Students will make a book and read it to classmates and family.

Environment/Grouping: Whole group, individual, partner reading.

Materials:

Blank paper (sheets cut in half crosswise)

Construction paper (large sheets cut lengthwise)

Paper handles (cut from construction paper)

Colored markers

Chalk board and chalk

Stapler

Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber

Overnight bag, brush, comb, toothbrush, pajamas, pillow, stuffed animal

Instructional Procedures:

Introduction: Ask students if they have ever slept over at someone else's house. Were they scared the very first time? Tell them you are going to read a story about a little boy who is spending his first night away from home.

Development of Lesson:

1) Read the story. Ask them if any of their experiences were like Ira's. How were they different?

2) Tell them to think about the things that they would want to take on a sleep over. Write this on the board: "When I go somewhere, I take my ____________." Unpack your own overnight bag and tell them that these are the things that you would want to take on a sleep over. As you take each one out, ask them to name what the item is and write the word on the board. Ask them if there is anything that you might have forgotten, or anything else that they would want to take with them. Write these words on the board.

3) Tell them they are going to write their own book that they can read to their classmates and parents. Give them 5 half sheets of blank paper and one half sheet of construction paper each. Keep one set for yourself. Demonstrate how to fold the construction paper to wrap around the blank paper like a book cover and staple it. Staple construction paper handle to top of front cover and tell them that you will staple theirs once they get started.

4) Have everyone write "My Overnight Bag" on the front cover. Demonstrate with your copy. Show them how to write the following on the first page: "When I go somewhere, I take my" (and ask them what word they want you to use on your first page). Complete the sentence with that word and draw a quick picture of it below the sentence. Tell them this is what you want them to do with their books.

5) Circulate around the room, helping the students as you staple their books.

Closure: Have the students read their books to a buddy. Have the buddy sign the back cover showing that it was read to him/her. Tell the students that you want them to read these to 5 people (parents, friends, or classmates) as homework and have each person sign the back cover to show that it was read to them.

Method of Assessment and Criteria: Completed book with 5 signatures on back cover.

Reflections: Write out the sentence stem for beginners during prep. (This will allow them to concentrate on the new words that they are completing the sentence with.) More advanced students can write the entire sentence themselves.

 

Promoting Self-Esteem

Debbie Arguello-Allen

Lesson Objective: To provide students with language, literacy and focused writing experiences while promoting individual self-esteem: students will listen to and review a literature selection, and then, create and illustrate a story of themselves doing something that they are proud to be able to do.

Materials: Bet You Can't written by Penny Dale

paper - lined and drawing

construction paper

pencils, markers, paints, etc.

Procedure: Begin by reminding students of the current theme. Then, introduce the book Bet You Can't. Have students predict the content of the story based on the title and cover illustration cues. Read aloud the story. Generate a discussion of the book by prompting and encouraging students to recall or retell features of the story while expressing their own personal opinions.

Introduce the activity by telling students that they will be creating stories and pictures of themselves doing something that they are proud to have accomplished or be able to do. Have students share their personal experiences of difficult things that they have learned to do. Then, elicit student generated characteristics of their difficult accomplishments and record onto word bank.

Distribute writing paper to each student. Students will create and record individual stories describing the activity using words from the word bank, known sight words, and inventive spelling. After completion, the students will illustrate their story or activity by creating a picture of themselves doing the thing that they are proud to have accomplished.

Closure: Students will share their individual stories of accomplishments and/or things that they are proud to be able to do by reading aloud their stories to partners, peers and teachers.

 

Publishing Books

Andrea Martinez

Goal: Practice sequencing events in chronological order.

Materials: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst, Illustrated by Ray Cruz; pre-made books; copy paper 81/2 x 11; colored pencils; construction paper; dictionary; crayons; pencils; scissors; markers; and stapler.

Procedure: Discuss how Alexander looks on the front cover. Is he happy, sad, angry? What emotion so you think he is experiencing? Allow students to predict what the story is about. Read story. Discuss different options of writing a book like Alexander's Horrible Day. Some possibilities are to write the next day, a happy day, another bad day. Write students good day, or own horrible bad day. Discuss organization of book, use time line graphic organizer to keep chronogical order. Discuss starting with early morning, mid morning, afternoon, late afternoon, early night, late night.

Guided Practice: Allow students the time to write rough draft. Peer edit and share stories with each other. Finally compose into books and illustrate.

Evaluation: Ask students what did you learn. What did you like about the lesson? If anything, what should I change next time I do this lesson? Read books to classmates and show illustrations.

Return toTop

Games

Eyes of the Weaver

Deborah Trujillo

Objective: Increase vocabulary and comprehension of written text, word

recognition

Hand out copies of the story, The Eyes of the Weaver by Cristina Ortega.

Teacher reads the story to the students as they follow along. Intermittently, the teacher may ask for volunteers to read aloud.

1. Upon completion of the story, students choose a partner and play pictionary with words contained in the story.

2. After pictionary, students draw a picture of a scene from the story.

3. Students may be assigned to write a paragraph describing a similar situation as the one experienced by the main character or take the role of the main character and write a letter home.

Supplies needed:

Story book, The Eyes of the Weaver, by Cristina Ortega (or any interesting story containing illustrations)

Cards with vocabulary words from the story

Blank paper

Pencils

Timer

Small prizes

 

Day at the Zoo

Rebecca Tenorio

Grade: K-6

Objectives:

-review vocabulary

-practice writing skills

-learn about different animals

-improve speaking skills

-encourage participation

Materials:

-markers

-construction paper

-yarn or string

-any type of material that will expose child to different animals. (ex. books, flash cards, videos, etc.)

-pencils

-tape

-scissors

Procedure:

-cut construction paper into medium sized rectangles (one for each student)

-write different animal names on each card

-attach string or yarn to card (must be long enough to go over students head)

-have a group discussion about different animals using some type of visual aid so that if the students are not familiar with the animal they can see it. Discuss things such as the color of the animal, the size, the noises they make, and anything else that could describe the animal

-put one card over each child's neck so that the animal name is on their back

-students are now given time to figure out what animal they are with the help of their fellow students. Students can give any kind of description, but must refrain from telling the student what the animal is

-once a student figures out the animal they must take the card off their back and continue helping the students who have not yet figured out their animal

-when everyone is done have students sit down and write on the back of their card a description of their animal

Evaluation:

-Did students participate?

-Did students know enough information to figure out the animal?

-Did students learn enough about the animal to write a paragraph describing it?

Follow Up Activities:

-take a trip to the zoo

-switch animal name tags so that the students have a different animal and do the activity over

-continue this activity for a couple of weeks so that students can clearly describe the animal

-pick different animals each time and make them more challenging as you progress

-this activity can be done with food, professions, vocabulary etc.

*** This activity can be modified to fit the appropriate grade level.***

Return toTop

Poetry

 

Poetry -- All About Me

Elise Millette

 

Subject Area: 6th grade Language Arts class / Title I class (with ESL students)

Objectives: Students will understand terms.

Students will explain and justify vocabulary.

Students will describe themselves and support use of words.

Materials Needed: Copy of All About Me poem

Pencil and Paper

Markers and Colored pencils

Construction paper (cut 10 x 12 1/2) in many colors

Glue

Computer Lab time

Time Required:

1 class period for instruction and creation of poem

2 class periods for computer work

Anticipatory Set:

Read a few brief poems and discuss what makes up a poem

Discuss feelings about self, how we see ourselves

Instruction: I pass out the All About Me poem frame work (see below). As a class we go over each line. I ask the students to give examples or explain what certain words mean. (i.e., traits means characteristic, examples happy, blonde, etc.) We review what synonyms are and use the dictionary and thesaurus to get more ideas. I write some of the ideas on the board. The students share ideas. Each student writes down their responses. After we go over all of the lines the students go back over and finish their poems.

I walk around and make sure everyone is on task and understands how each line works. When I see someone using a unique word I share it with the class and ask who knows what it means. I explain that the next day we will be in the computer lab typing these out and then they will decorate their poems to make them more reflective of themselves and more unique.

The next day we meet in the computer lab. I have presaved the All About Me poem framework on each computer so all they have to do is type over or add their own words. As the students come in, I check to make sure they have their work. The ones who do have the work ready go to a computer. The ones who don't sit at the table to work on it. I get the ones at the computer started and explain that they finish typing, spell check and then they can change the font. While they are working, the students at the table are given instruction on what they need to do (some were absent and others didn't finish from the day before). When the ones on the computers finish they print out and move to one of the tables to decorate their poems. Others move to the computer when they come empty. When students are done with decorating their poems students pick out construction paper to glue their poems to.

Closure: Students who want to share their poems with the class. The finished products are hung up around the room.

Reflection of Lesson: The purpose of the lesson was to introduce the students to poetry. Writing poetry is scary to some students especially ESL students. Once we see that it is a personal experience that is not as hard as it looks. When reading poetry this exercise allows students to reflect back on their experience of writing this simple poem that they authored and better understand where the author might be coming from.

This also allowed students to reflect on themselves and find some positives about themselves. I try to discourage negative words and share some of my own traits and ideas. I share my poem with the class. Most of the students enjoy this exercise and are eager to share at least some of their poem with others.

This lesson can be used in many ways. It would be a good introduction to a class or an introduction to poetry. Students will enjoy writing about themselves and let's them learn a little about the other students and you as the teacher.

All About Me

Your First Name

four traits

Sibling of ...

Lover of ...

Who feels happy ...

Who needs ...

Who gives ...

Who fears ...

Who would like to see ...

Your Last Name

 

Expressing Yourself through Poetry

Colleen Langan

Objective: The broad objective of this lesson is to have ESL or bilingual students use language in a fun and new way. The specific objective is to introduce poetry to young readers. By introducing poetry, the hope is that these young readers will be exposed to poetry, have fun with it, and relate to it. The final objective is to have the students express themselves through poetry and other means. A Quote from Patricia Richard-Amato from Making it Happen helps to sum up the importance of poetry in an ESL classroom, "Through word/sound play, many chunks of useful language can be incorporated into the individual's linguistic repertoire at almost any age or level of proficiency....[I]ts rhythms and sound repetitions carry the student into sensually appealing activities that can go far beyond mere drill. The subject matter does not have to be frivolous but can be directly anchored in meaningful experience."

A poem is a work of art,

That has to come out from the heart,

Its a way to make peace at soul,

By the fire burning coal,

The way a bird shall flap its wing,

The way choir voices sing.

 

A poem is a happy thing,

Like when the early church bells ring,

The way the little children play,

The way the sun shines through the day,

Its like when children play at school,

Like the summer and the pool.

By Kathleen Payne

Setting: This lesson was created for a fifth grade bilingual class , but it can, however, be adjusted to accommodate any age of students. The length also depends upon the situation.

Part 1: First, have a class discussion about what language is and the different forms it takes. The students may wish to start out by having a quick write or a short discussion within a small group before it is discussed with the whole class. Once many alternatives have been talked about, discuss how poetry is also a form of language, which can be written or oral. Then discuss the different types of poetry such as, haikus, limericks, cinquain, alphabet and name poetry. Metaphors, similes, and personification may also come up it the discussion. A great book for this is Writers Express, A Handbook for Young Writers, Thinkers, and Learners by Dave Kemper, Ruth Nathan, and Patrick Sebranek. *Just a side note: This lesson is only an introduction to poetry. The object is not to have the students understand all that there is to know about poetry, simply to be exposed to it and know that there are different forms of poetry.

Part 2: Reading Poetry -- After the class discussion, pick out some poetry and read it aloud to the students. This can be a time where the teacher may with to model some different techniques of reading poetry, such as by using sound effects of various props. Teacher may also wish to talk about their own personal experience with poetry and why they enjoy it.

Part 3: Student Reading and Writing -- After the poetry reading, then have the students either by themselves or in groups create their own, or pick out a poem. Offer poetry books and objects that they can work off of.

Part 4: Performing Poetry -- Once they have written their poems, ask the students to express their poem in an artisitic or dramatic way. They may wish to create a mural or a small skit. Then ask them to read their poem to the class and to display how they have chosen to express it.

Part 5: Wrap-up -- After everyone has had fun sharing their poems with the class, ask the students to discuss the process they went through, and what they got out of it. The students may with to share why they chose the poem they did and what their other experiences they have had with poetry. They might also want to talk about how using poetry is uncomfortable for them or that it helps them to speak more freely.

Part 6: Other Uses -- Now that the students have been introduced to poetry, it can be a good tool to use in activities. For instance, poems could be written on historical figures, environmental issues, or even their own family experience. Poetry will enable the students to express their ideas and what they think and feel.

 

Annette M. Smith

Poetry

I. Anticipatory Set: First I introduced myself. Then I explained that I was there to teach a lesson for them. What I explained was that I would introduce myself by reading some poetry. I read some poems written by Elizabeth Barret Browning, Robert Browning, John Keats and Robert Burns.

II. Objective: One of my objectives was to introduce myself. A second objective was to make the class feel at ease with me. A third was to make the lesson rather fun and something different from the everyday events of the class. A fourth objective was to give the students a feel of history of the English language. A last was the objective that language can be learned in rhyme a little easier. Books for small children have a lot of rhyme that help facilitate the learning of language for small children.

III. Lesson Procedure:

Introduce: Myself And poetry

Talk about: Poetry

The expression of feelings

History of the poets I chose

Discussion: Poetry

All Cultures and Poetry

How Poets can tell stories

IV. Poems chosen:

Elizabeth Barret Browning:

"A Sea Side Walk"

"The Sea Mew"

John Keats:

"A Thing of Beauty"

"Meg Merrilies"

"On The Sea"

Robert Browning:

"Love Among The Ruins"

Robert Burns:

The first and last verses of "Tam O'Shantor"

Return toTop

Reading Strategies

Reading for Comprehension

Yvonne Martini

 

I have had the opportunity to use different lesson plans either in my tutoring sessions or in a couple of classes at an elementary school. I will describe two of them that were especially successful and had a good response. The biggest lesson for me this semester is the realization that simple, practical, and logical lesson plans work the best. The children were not too responsive to the overly "innovative" techniques found in many lesson plans today.

Grade: 5/6th (combined)

Introduction: This activity is especially useful in teaching kids how to read for comprehension. They have to use their grammar knowledge because they need to know the parts of speech to guess the words. I got this idea off the Internet (http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/)

Preparation: I found a pretty easy book How Many Days to America? by E. Bunting (1988) that I thought had a clear sequence of events. Next time I will probably choose another book because the topic was not extremely interesting to the 5th and 6th graders. In any event, I typed up the sentences from the book using large margins. The text is squeezed up into a thin corner, it is not spread out from one end to the other. I made copies and cut along a line so that the last one or two words at the end of each line were cut off.

Activity: After handing out the sheets, I asked the children to read the text and try to guess the missing words for about 5 minutes. It took a lot more explaining than I thought because the children were not sure if to write one or two words at the end of the sentence. The general concept was not really understood so I demonstrated the first line. I guessed a word that would make sense and then asked if anybody else could think of a word. After a few trial and errors, the students slowly finished the sheet. Some, however, skipped over a couple of sentences. We went over it together when everybody was done and it was surprising how much they came up with.

Lesson II

Introduction: I got this idea off the Internet (www.pacificnet.net/~sperling/ideas.html) and it seemed like a good icebreaker for the first class. It's very simple but I learned the hard way that elementary kids are not too receptive to complex lessons. The class was predominantly bilingual children with Spanish as their first language.

Procedure: The students were to think of three sentences: two are facts and one is a lie. First, I made up three sentences and shared it with the class. They had to guess which sentence was a lie. One by one, students introduced themselves and said their three sentences. The rest of the class had to guess which one is a lie. The children would ask me how to say some words and I would put each on the board. After the whole game, the kids made up their own flash cards of the words on the board.

 

Mystery Reading Case File

Casey D. Malarcher

 

Objective: This lesson plan was devised to reinforce homework reading required of students for the novel When the Bough Breaks by Jonathan Kellerman. Comprehension quizzes which cover assigned chapters of reading, the standard method of assessment while reading novels for class, have been shown to be less than engaging for students and often detrimental to the process of developing "free readers". Instead, for this murder mystery story, the goal was to have students create a police file for the mystery while they read the novel. The file would then be collected after completion of the novel to count as a portfolio grade for the novel. Under this format of study, students were free to discuss and share ideas about the novel in order to construct their case files, and the instructor was left free to act as facilitator to clear up any gross misunderstandings.

Time: 50 minutes / twice a week until the novel is completed.

Preparation: Each student was given a manila file folder containing four sheets of paper. At the top of each page was written the name of a character introduced in the chapters read for homework, for example, "Delaware, Alex", "Sturgiss, Milo", "Quinn, Melody", etc. The rest of each character's page was blank. A copy of "When the Bough Breaks" recorded professionally on audio tape was purchased by the instructor for the class from a used book store.

Procedure:

1. Ask the class what problems they experienced while reading the assigned chapters for homework. Usually, students ask a few vocabulary questions, but often there is little discussion of the plot at this point.

2. Explain that the novel was recorded on tape, but the tape version of the story is "abridged". Have students listen to the tape and try to follow along as best they can in their books. Often large parts of the text are omitted, so some students prefer to close their books and just listen. The assigned reading (30 pages / class) amounts to about fifteen to twenty minutes of listening on the tape.

3. After listening, ask a few general review question regarding key plot elements. Having students retell events or motivations of characters' actions at this point often gets students to refer back to the text directly. Whenever students ask about parts of the text, the students are encouraged to tell the rest of the class exactly where they are in book (i.e. page number and paragraph number).

4. For the remainder of the class, have students work to complete their Case Files. Tell students to record any information which they feel is important related to the mystery and/or information which will help them remember who the characters are in relation to the story. Physical descriptions and character histories are good things for students to pay attention to. All of this information should be recorded on the appropriate character page in each student's file. Allow students to work together in pairs or small groups, but students who wish to work alone should also be allowed to do that if they wish. Remind students that sharing information is not cheating! (Note: For the first class in which the Case Files are used, students should be given the pages with the characters' names on them, but after that, students are required to decide which characters are important. Any new characters will require a new page added to the file. Case File pages should be kept for all important people, places and objects.)

5. Before the class finishes, have students compare their entire Case Files. Students should pay special attention to the number of pages in other students' files. The instructor may also wish to give students a running total of pages in the instructor's file if the class seems uncertain on how many pages they should have. Encourage students not to fall behind in keeping their Case Files. Otherwise, constructing the whole file just before the end of the book could prove to be a daunting task.

6. In the last few minutes of class, have students record their best guess as to who is criminally involved in the mystery. Also, if student have a guess as to why this person is involved, they should also write this down. These hypothesis sheets can be collected and reviewed by the instructor. These hypothesis should not be graded as correct or incorrect. They are just a way to see what kind of predictions the class is making regarding the story.

7. Assign the next chapters to be read.

8. Before the novel is finished, give each student a Case File Final Report sheet. On this sheet students should list the crime, the victim(s), the suspect(s), the motive and any notes or recommendations. The Final Report should be organized much like a report presented by an investigating police officer to her/his superior (see attached example). The Final Report should be completed by students and handed in with the entire Case File after completion of the novel.

 

Using Dr. Seuss

Christine H. Chesser

This lesson plan was designed for a class of beginners. It requires a two-hour class with a ten-minute break in between. This lesson plan was applied in a period of two days with this adult group. They all have different nationalities. The majority of students are from Mexico, one is from Thailand, one is from Laos and two are from Vietnam.

Objectives:

1). Promote literacy through active writing and reading activities;

2). Develop a better understanding of verb tenses (regular and irregular past tenses and future with will) through an easy-to-understand written material;

3). Introduce new words, sentence formation and dramatization;

4). Have fun.

Materials: Book, The Cat in The Hat by Dr. Seuss;

Copy of the book to students divided into two parts;

Writing paper;

Scrambled words from the reading on pieces of paper.

Procedure: On the first day students are asked to write on a piece of paper their reply to the question: " Do you like Cats? Why?" The teacher walks around and offers to help on anything or question they have on their writing process. After that, students are given a chance to read their paper aloud, then they turn them in to the teacher.

The teacher then talks briefly about the story to be read she should explain that the story is about a very unusual cat that can do tricks. Students will have difficulty understanding these new words: tricks and unusual which with some TPR the teacher can easily clarify to students. Also after reading the story students will be able to understand exactly what those words stand for.

Students are asked to read silently the first half of the book, then in groups of three (each student playing the role of one character in the story). Finally, they read aloud to the whole group. During all this time, the teacher should walk around and help students with pronunciation or questions about the reading.

The teacher asks students to underline all the past tenses they find in the first half of the book. After that they look for sentences in the future tense. As a whole-class correction, one student goes to the board and writes down all the verbs in the past found by the other students, then the future and one other volunteer puts all the verbs into the simple present.

As a warm up to the next half of the book, the teacher can hand out to students scrambled words from the reading for them to put in the correct order. Each pair of student can be given one sentence. Then the teacher can ask students if they have any idea of what will happen next in the story. Will the cat fall? What will happen to the fish? If he falls, what will happen to the cake?

When students are done with the whole book, they can prepare a dramatization (short dialogue) between the mother, the kids and the fish when she gets home after the unexpected visit from the cat in the hat. This lesson can be continued using other readings about cats, as in the book, The Sly Old Cat by Beatrix Potter.

 

Using the Newspaper

Colleen Bonney

Grade Level: 6, 7, or 8 Intermediate ESL Students

Objective: Students will begin to learn the different parts of the newspaper. They will read a story that is relevant to their lives at this time. The story that I used was the Arkansas school shooting. They will also get the chance to write their solution to this problem.

Materials Needed: One copy per student of a newspaper article of your choice

Preparation:

-Collect all of the copies of newspaper articles that you can find

-Lead a discussion with the students about the different parts of a newspaper

and the different parts of the article.

-Prepare questions to ask the students after they are done reading the article

Activity:

-Give each student a copy of the article that you have chosen to use.

-Read the article aloud while the students follow along. Then have the

students read it silently.

-Have student answer the questions that you have prepared for them.

Example Question: Where did the incident that we just read about happen? What is the title of this article? Who is the author of this article? What does the byline say?

-Then ask the students how they think this type of thing could have been prevented. Ask them how they would react if they were the friend that had been told by the gun man the day before that he was going to kill all of the girls in the school. (Change this to suit the article of your choice) This is very specific to the article I chose.

-Have them write down their solutions to prevent this type of thing from happening again.

 

Initial Consonants/Multiple Intelligences

Deborah L. Sanders

Grade level: K - 2

Duration: 45 minutes

Target Audience: All students, especially designed for Special Ed. and ESL students

Goal: To increase phonemic awareness to decode words and unlock meaning from print, and to increase vocabulary and oral language skills.

Objective: Students will identify initial consonants through picture/object associations and recognize letter-sound correspondence through a variety of multi-sensory activities.

Setting: Small group instruction with specialized materials and methods that cater to the unique learning styles of students with disabilities and ESL students. Lessons integrate many multi-sensory activities across the curriculum and utilize different modalities of learning based on the learning theory of multiple intelligences.

Anticipatory Set: (Building on students' prior knowledge) Read stories/poems which emphasizes a consonant's sound. Introduce the consonant by writing both capital and lower-case forms on the board. Display picture cards (or actual objects) whose names begin with that consonant. Ask students to name the pictures as you display them and write the names on the board. Ask students to associate object with a personal experience. Model/demonstrate task.

Method: Follow through with as many of the activities below for each consonant that is presented.

Multi-sensory Activities:

Auditory:

1) Have students close eyes and listen as you read words that begin with that consonant.

2) Play game: pass out letter cards, have students listen to words you say, every time you say a word with that initial consonant, students are to hold up their card.

3) Pass out song lyrics. Play "Fun Phonics" tape, let students listen to the corresponding "letter" song. Have students circle all the words on the song sheet that begin with that letter.

4) Read stories/poems which emphasizes the consonant sound. Ask students to listen for words that begin with that consonant. Write words on board as students identify.

Oral:

1) Ask students to think of things whose names start with that consonant. Write down what they say on large chart paper or board along with a visual representation (e.g., student says "ball"; write word and draw picture of ball next to it).

2) Ask students to use word in a sentence, write what they say on the board. Allow students to utilize picture dictionaries, books, magazines, worksheets and objects in classroom to help them find words.

Visual:

1) Show & Tell - bring in objects/foods whose names begin with that consonant sound. Ask students to name objects, write names on board (utilize webbing strategy highlighting initial consonant in different color). Invite students to bring in things from home to participate in "show & tell".

Small/Whole Group Activities:

2) Have students write letter at the top of a piece of paper, and then cut and paste either letters, words or pictures from magazines whose names have that initial consonant sound.

3) Allow students opportunity to draw/paint and label pictures that begin with that letter.

4) Using words students came up with, have students dictate a story (one sentence at a time) into a tape recorder or aloud as you write it on chart paper. Cut sentence strips and give to paired students or small groups and have them draw illustrations to with sentences to create a class book.

Tactile:

1) Spread shaving cream on desk, call on individual students to practice writing capital and lower-case letters in the shaving cream. IMPORTANT: Have students say letter name, make its sound, write it, name it and sound it again. Perhaps even name an object. Recall students memory of previous letters learned.

2) Give students play dough to shape and form letters and words, and make objects with that initial consonant sound.

3) Have students continue their ABC books. Color, cut and paste letters and pictures on construction paper.. Glue on tactile clues forming the

shape of the letter. Have students label pictures.

4) Make dough with students and have students shape capital and lower-case letters, can be baked for students to take home.

 

Kinesthetic: (Focus on crossing mid-line when appropriate).

1) Have students write upper/lower case letters in air using full arm movement.

2) Allow students opportunity to come up to the board and write letters/words.

3) Play "sorting game": place basket of toy objects and/or pictures on table or floor. Have students sort through them putting objects in corresponding "letter boxes" (i.e., toy hat goes into the box labeled "h"). You can use masking tape to create columns on floor to categorize objects by initial sound.

4) Give students large lined chart paper that is laminated. Using wipe-off marking pens have students practice copying/writing letters correctly paying attention to size, shape, and spacing.

5) Take students outside or open space area. Give students long piece of string, yarn or rope and tell them to form the particular letter by positioning themselves accordingly while holding rope. Or have them position rope on floor to form large letters.

6) Total Physical Response: Play a game of charades. Teacher demonstrates first. Use vocabulary words specific to the letter. Pantomime the word, students have to try and figure out the word. You may want to give some clues at the on start. OR, if learning action words, engage students in TPR: enunciate word, speak clearly and slowly, demonstrate with action, write word on board. Then have students respond with the action each time you say the word.

Evaluation:

1) Test auditory discrimination. Say names of objects or words for students to identify beginning consonant.

2) Test visual discrimination. Show pictures and/or letters for students to identify picture name and beginning consonant and/or letter name.

3) Dictate letters and/or name object, have students write the initial consonant on paper.

4) Writing samples

5) Student performance

6) Teacher developed assessment

 

Maniac Magee

Tanya Miller

Target students: Fourth or Fifth graders.

Duration of lesson: Ninety Minutes

Objective: For young students/readers to engage in an enjoyable interactive experience which exposes them to the joys of reading age appropriate literature in a fun way that is developed around the children's book "Maniac Magee".

Materials:A copy of the book Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli.

A table type surface at the front of the room to display props.

A blackboard or such to write down for all to see the books title/author info.

A set of props related to events in the book. Suggested props include but not limited to: A big ball of tangled string/A pizza box/An old torn up sneaker/A rubber duck or other bath toy/A piece of a miniature train track/A large torn shirt/A small old suitcase filled with old kid's books/An encyclopedia preferably of the letter "A"/A football/A baseball/An enthusiastic reader who knows (and therefore loves) the book.

Activity: Teacher introduces the theme of poverty and homelessness. To get every one in the mood for the story don the large torn shirt (prop see above). Teacher invites the students to view any good book as a mystery. Q & A on what makes a story a mystery. Teacher invites the students to put on their investigator caps (figuratively speaking) and to look out for parts of the story where the various props "fit in" as the reading goes along. Then the props are set at the front of the classroom. The teacher begins to read the story with sweeping gestures, walking about and using accents where necessary (esp. Ebonics when the African American characters are speaking). The entire group of students is invited at key points to call out the prop, to hold the props (esp. the tangled ball of twine) and to enjoy the story. The book is read to chapter 20 where Maniac unravels the thread. The students are invited to read the story themselves to find out what happens at the end of the book.

Extra time?: Teacher passes around a copy of the book while s/he leads a discussion with the students about race, poverty, and discrimination.

 

Reading Fair in Kindergarten Class

Introduction: How reading is important to me and my work. Why I enjoy reading. Eventcast of lesson

Process:

1. Read book, Where The Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak

2. Discuss "beginning," "middle," "end," and what is happening in each picture. What would it be like to have your room turn into the world? What did you like about the story? (means of evaluation)

3. Read story again adding movements and sound effects (by children).

4. Break into groups to practice enacting story. Only language from the story is allowed.

5. Each group enacts the story as it is read. (means of evaluation)

6. Make "wild thing" stick puppets. (means of evaluation)

Objectives:

Improve listening skills

Improve discussion skills

Understand story

Understand concepts of beginning, middle, and end

Be able to enact story

Be able to create personal vision of a wild thing.

Improve vocabulary

Return to Top