I just wanted to give you a little update about some things we've been doing in class!
During our WIN time (RTI time) we've been discussing using evidence to answer questions. This week, we showed movie clips from Akeelah and the Bee. Students had to answer questions using evidence from the movie. :) They really liked this activity!
In class, we have been discussing Black History Month. On Friday we started a new writing assignment. Students read the story "Rosa" from our textbook and filled out a Cause and Effect graphic organizer. Then, they created an outline of their writing assignment. This lesson is taken from our Wonders Module 4 that I helped create!
We will begin our new novel study next week! We will be reading The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker. This is my favorite novel that we read! I can't wait to start it!
Here is the book study that I created! Check out my TPT store for more info!
There is also a research project that goes along with this novel. I haven't decided if we're going to do this one this year. Our Number the Stars novel study took longer than I expected.
Personal Update:
I have started selling Plexus! Plexus has improved my sleep, weight loss, energy, skin, and overall health! If you'd like more information, please message me!
Part II Teaching Nonfiction and Citing Text Evidence
Alright guys, I promised you that I'd deliver a Part II of my previous post. This time I'm going to share a lesson with you that I learned in a workshop. This lesson uses nonfiction text to teach students how to cite text evidence and utilize cooperative learning. This lesson should be taught after teaching the first three mini lessons in Part I (summarizing, drawing conclusions, and generating questions). First, I will show you the steps for the students during this lesson. Then, I will go through the entire lesson.
Steps:
1) Students choose an article
2) Students predict what the article will be about, scan the article, and talk to their face partner or shoulder partner about their predictions.
3) Independently read the article.
4) Students re-read the article taking notes with sticky notes--summarizing each paragraph
5) Students write down a summery on a large index card. At the bottom of the card, the student should write their conclusion (i.e. What did he/she learn? What is the main idea?)
6) On the back of the index card, the student should write a question to ask a classmate.
7) Students will participate in Stand-Up, Hand-Up, Pair-Up Kagan Structure. (See Kagan.com). The students will take turns asking each other their questions, reading their summaries, and giving their conclusions. The partner must answer their question after hearing the summary.
Monkey Business Lesson
First, the teacher should show this video titled Monkey Business Illusion from YouTube to hook the students. Ask the students to watch the white team pass the ball and count how many times they pass the ball.
After the video, ask the students if they saw the gorilla or the curtains change colors. Explain that the brain has a limited capacity to focus when given a task.
After the video read the article "We are Blind to Our Blindness" from delanceyplace.com.
Model to students how to summarize each paragraph using sticky notes. (See Part I for instructions).
After summarizing, model with the students how to take those sticky nots and write a summary on an index card and a conclusion. Finally, model how to generate a question (See Part I for instructions).
Last, students will complete the process independently using the steps above.
This lesson hits on a lot of Common Core tasks: students get a choice in the article they want to read, students create high order questions to ask each other, students are cooperatively working together, and students are summarizing.
RI.5.2, RI.5.7, SL.5.1, SL.5.2
* This lesson came from a workshop titled Where's the Evidence by Suzanne Flores and Julie Scruggs.
Part I Teaching Nonfiction and Citing Text Evidence
We all know that with the switch to Common Core 50% of elementary and 70% of secondary reading instruction needs to be nonfiction texts. This also applies to math, social studies, and science curriculum. So in order to reach this, teachers need to have creative lessons that involve nonfiction text. The Common Core standards also require students to cite text evidence. That's easier said than done. How can teachers achieve this standard and teach it at a level their students need? Well, I have a few suggestions for you! First, here are three great websites with nonfiction articles of high interest. www.delanceyplace.com www.nowiknow.com www.todayifoundout.com Before requiring your students to cite evidence, you (as the teacher) need to teach students how to summarize, draw conclusions, and formulate questions. Here are some suggestions for teaching these three mini-lessons. 1) When teaching summarizing, especially if you are in a lower elementary class, it's all about modeling! Read a non-fiction article to the students. The, re-read the article paragraph by paragraph. After you read the first paragraph, ask students what it was about. Remember to take away the article when asking this question. After students give you their answer, take their answers and formulate a sentence that summarizes the paragraph on a sticky note. Continue to model this with each paragraph. (See image below). Students often have a difficult time putting text into their own words. Many students are taught to look for key words. This can be a great strategy when answering a comprehension question from a text. However, this is a horrible technique to use when attempt to write an essay in their own words based on a text. Instead, have students read an article all the way through. Then have students verbally say what they read. This is their summary.
2) Before teaching students how to draw conclusions, you need to first teach them how to summarize. After they are able to generate a summary, they can then tackle drawing conclusions. Students need to be able to give reasons that support their conclusions. (This is what the summary is for). To model drawing conclusions, first you will need to draw a graphic organizer on the board consisting of several squares connected with arrow to a larger rectangle. In order to draw a conclusions (point to the rectangle), you need to make sure to have plenty of support (the squares). Once you have modeled this a few times, allow students to choose a nonfiction text that you've already discussed to make this process easier. Help them to use the graphic organizer to draw conclusions from the text. Once they are familiar with the process, have them repeat with an unfamiliar text.
3) Now for the kicker. Teaching students how to formulate their own questions after reading is one of the hardest tasks required by Common Core, especially for elementary students. A great way to teach students how to generate questions is to use 5 Domains of Higher Order Thinking Questions. Create a large poster with the 5 domains: Recall, Apply, Compare, Infer, and Evaluate. Add question starter templates under each category (See images below). Explain to the students that each domain increases in difficulty. Create Index cards with a different domain listed on a card. Have students draw a card and practice generating a question in that domain.
