TitleIII Technology Literacy Challenge Grant

Learning Unit

Overview | Content Knowledge | Essential Questions | Connection To Standards | Initiating Activity | Learning Experiences | Culminating Performance | Pre-Requisite Skills | Modifications | Schedule/Time Plan | Technology Use

OVERVIEW

This primary literature based unit explores the concepts of silly and scary as well as reality and fantasy. It utilizes a three-story theme from the Houghton Mifflin Reading Series. The teacher should plan on approximately four weeks for the unit. (One week per story and one week for wrap-up and culminating experience) Unit could be stretched if expansion was desired. Students will expand upon decoding skills already learned and perfect sentence structure and editing skills. Students will discuss the mood of each story by looking at the authors' use of specific sound words and letter placement. In the end, the students will bring all skills together and create an original work.

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

 What makes a story silly or scary?  

 What is the difference between reality and fantasy literature?

 How can you tell if a word has a long or short vowel sound?

 What do you need to do to write a good sentence?

CONNECTIONS TO NYS LEARNING STANDARDS

ELA 1: Key Idea 1: Use strategies such as prior knowledge, structural and context clues, and an understanding of letter-sound relationships to get meaning from print.

Students will read and comprehend three stories from the reading series.

Key Idea 2: Support inferences about information and ideas with reference to text features such as vocabulary and organizational patterns.

Students will participate in discussions and complete workbook pages using appropriate vocabulary and strategies for locating information.

Key Idea 3: Use details, examples, anecdotes, or personal experiences to explain or clarify information.

Students will complete KWL charts for prominent theme concepts.

Key Idea 4: Observe basic writing conventions such as correct spelling, punctuation, and capitalization as well as sentence and paragraph structures appropriate to written forms.

Students will respond in written form with sentences and a class generated editing checklist.

 ELA 2: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.

Key Idea 1: Recognize some features that distinguish the genres and use those features to aid comprehension.

Students will classify stories according to elements common to that genre and justify their choice.

Key Idea 2: Use inference and deduction to understand the text.

Students will complete tasks going beyond the written elements of the story.

Key Idea 3: Read aloud accurately and fluently using phonics and context cues to determine pronunciation and meaning.

Students will orally present a variety of works to classmates.

Key Idea 4: Create their own stories, poems, and songs using the elements of the literature they have read and appropriate vocabulary.

Students will create an original work using key concepts, features and vocabulary from the unit.

Key Idea 5: Observe the conventions of grammar and usage, spelling, and punctuation.

Students will complete tasks in a variety of written forms.

INITIATING ACTIVITY

Hook: Read Mercer Mayer's There's An Alligator Under My Bed to students having students pay attention to what words are silly or scary.

Link: Use Paired Verbal Fluency to have students generate list for Five Words, Three Words and assign either silly or scary. Pairs combine to complete five words/three words. Teacher records three words from each group on overhead.

CULMINATING PERFORMANCE

Individually students will create a silly creature (character) out of any type of material (must be 3-Dimensional).

Students receive a flow chart to organize writing with the following questions:

• Characters: What is the name of your creature? Why did you call it that? (Name of the creature must either identify how it looks or what it does) What does it look like?

• Setting: Where does your creature live? What does it eat? When does it search for food? Does it live alone or with others?

• Events: What does it do? What special things can it do? When does it do these things? How does it spend its day?

• Think of a title for your story.

Students use these questions to write down ideas. Then give the students writing paper and have them organize ideas into a story about their creature. Post editing checklist, use pairs to edit. Publish on the computer using Kids Works.

Do not allow students to do pictures! After publishing, students practice and present to the class.

Rubrics for Written Work:

(Use the editing checklist developed during a class lesson)

• Level 4: Follows all 5 editing guidelines consistently.
• Level 3: Follows at least 4 editing guidelines consistently.
• Level 2: Follows 3 or less editing guidelines consistently.
• Level 1: Does not follow any editing guidelines consistently.

Rubrics for Oral Presentation:

• Level 4: Uses clear voice, fluent reading with expression, appropriate rate of speaking, appropriate volume, and appropriate body control.
• Level 3: Uses clear voice, few fluency problems, a bit mechanical in expression, satisfactory rate and volume, appropriate body control.
• Level 2: Uses inconsistent voice quality and volume, very mechanical reading with little expression, trouble with body control.
• Level 1: Totally incomprehensible and inappropriate.

Rubric for Independent Writing

PRE-REQUISITE SKILLS

Students have prior knowledge of CVC and CVCe patterns for the vowels a, i, and o.

Students must have prior knowledge of computer use and accessing programs.

Students must be familiar with the elements of a story (Character, Setting, Plot, Events, and Solution).

Students must know basic sight words and have knowledge of decoding.

MODIFICATIONS

 Students with special needs should be placed in a teacher directed, small group for all reading assignments.

Students with special needs may receive spelling help for all written work.

Students with special needs should receive assistance in organizing written work.

Students with special needs must have a clear behavior modification for center work.

UNIT SCHEDULE/TIME PLAN

The teacher should plan for approximately four weeks (1week per story, 1 week for wrap-up and culminating experience). Each class should be 30 minutes to 1 hour in length depending on the requirements for the day. Lessons should be taught on a daily basis. Centers typically last for 30 minutes in addition to reading time. Students do not need to use any free time or study halls to complete tasks because of the grade level. Extensive teacher time is needed for gathering and preparing centers and activities. This unit should definitely be completed in the spring after students have been instructed in the basics for reading and writing. The unit also requires a high level of self-directed student activities therefore behavior plans need to be automatic for the students.

TECHNOLOGY USE

 The computer programs used are Wiggleworks, KidWorks, and Microsoft Works or other word processing program. Other technology used includes tape recorders, an overhead projector, and a digital camera. Students need to have a basic knowledge of how to log onto a computer and choose a program. Once in the program, students make appropriate choices for activities. Students also need to know how to operate a tape recorder for both recording and listening activities. This would include rewind and fast forward functions. Teachers must have a working knowledge of the overhead projector with reference to paper positioning, body placement, and screen operation.

Appendix of Teaching Methods

Collaboration Strategies

1. Think-Pair-Share

This strategy encourages individual thought before pairing up to discuss the information.

• Listen to the task
• Think independently
• Pair with a partner to discuss
• Share with another group or the class  

2. Bookends

This strategy has the partners discuss their ideas/questions BEFORE reading, listening, or viewing something. The partners would then discuss any new information learned AFTER the task.

3. Paired Verbal Fluency

This strategy is for getting to be verbally active with important information prior to a new topic.

• Identify a #1 and a #2 in the pair
• #1 talks while #2 listens (or writes)
• #2 talks while #1 listens (or writes)
• Discussion should focus on points the partners want clarified or questions they want answered.

4. Pairs Check

• Partners both do first two problems, etc.
• Partners must agree on answers before proceeding to the next two problems

Strategies for Constructing Meaning

1. K-W-L

This strategy is used to build a relationship between the old and new information. It is used to begin a new topic…especially in preparation to read or view material. This strategy has a graphic organizer.

2. Use of All Senses

This strategy asks the students to use all of their five senses to imagine the information. Asking themselves what would it LOOK like, SMELL like, TASTE like, FEEL like, and SOUND like.

3. Concept Attainment

This strategy asks the students to figure out a concept rather than listening to a given explanation of it. This is used when the students could benefit from the INQUIRY approach.

• Present examples and non-examples of the concept while students try to figure out the defining attributes of the concept.
• Present more examples and non-examples so the students can test their hypotheses. Have them state their hypotheses.
• Students then identify examples and non-examples.
• Students develop a description of the concept that includes its key attributes.

This strategy has a graphic organizer. A variation of this strategy is the Frayer Model.

4. Semantic Word Mapping

This is a way for students to link prior knowledge with new knowledge about an important concept, idea, process or vocabulary word.

Process:

1. Give the students the core word, idea, concept or process. (Could also be phrased as a core question.)
2. Students would then create possible answers to the core question or word. (Called web strands)
3. Students would then read the material and search for support for their initial answers. (Called strand supports)
4. Wherever possible, the students should try to relate the web strands-looking for connections.

5. 5. Semantic Associations

   This is a strategy for helping students link prior knowledge about a word with new information they will get learning about the same word.

   Process:

   0. Select the important word-- place it in the target
   1. Ask students to brainstorm words that are related to the target word.
   2. Have the students choose appropriate categories for all the words they were able to associate with the target word.
   3. As they read the selection, ask students to add to the various categories when they find additional associations.

This process may also be reversed: Give the associations and have students decide upon the target word.

6. VLP

The Vocabulary, Language, Prediction strategy uses the important vocabulary in a story as a basis for prediction. It also provides a means for preteaching vocabulary using oral language activities that reinforce each word's structural and semantic characteristics. There are three steps in the VLP strategy:

A.Vocabulary Choose five to eight words that students are not likely to know from a reading selection. Write these words on the board or put them on flashcards indication the page number on which the words appear. Explain to students that they will encounter these words in the reading selection.

B.Language Have students consider various aspects of each vocabulary word by asking and answering questions like those below:

Synonyms Which word means the same as _________?

What is another name for _________?

Antonyms Which word means the opposite of _______?

Categorization To what group of words would this word belong?

What label would you give to this group of words?

Context In what situation would this word be used?

Structural Analysis In which word do you find the same sound of "a" as in play?

C. Prediction Once students have discussed the vocabulary words, ask them to use the words to predict what the story is about or to anticipate what might happen next. Use specific questions to guide their predictions. Alter the prediction questions to match nonfiction-reading material.

Characterization Which words probably tell you about the main character?

Setting Which words tell where the main character lives?

Mood or Feeling Do any words tell you about the mood of the story?

Reality/Fantasy Do you think the story will be a fantasy or a realistic story? Use the words to support your answer.

Events/Outcomes Which words give clues about the events in the story?

7. Think Aloud

This strategy is used for building an initial model. It involves the teacher verbalizing his or her thoughts as the process is demonstrated. The KEY POINT is to include all the important parts of the skills or process.

8. Written Set of Steps

This strategy presents the students with a written set of steps to the skill/process. The steps might be presented in a graphic-linear or cycle. This strategy can easily be combined with a Think-Aloud strategy.

9. Create Flow Charts

This strategy is one of the most powerful ways of helping to construct models. It is done AFTER the skill/process has been demonstrated and the students have tried the skill/process. As soon as possible after these experiences, students need to create a visual representation of how the steps interact. (Flow charts in this context are of a fairly formal nature). A key point to the flow charts is that it is possible to show what to do IF something is not working.

Complex Thinking Skills

1. Induction

To make general conclusions from specific information or observations

Steps:

1. What exactly do I see? What are the details?

2. How can I put this information together?

3.What does this information tell me?

Verbs: When designing an induction task, use these verbs: Describe main idea, draw conclusions, summarize, make a generalization, make a hypothesis

2. Deduction

Identifying specific examples or incidences that support a general statement, rule or principle

Steps:

1.What is the general statement, rule, or principle for what I am examining?

2. Is everything here that is needed for the rule or principle to work? Can I identify the specific examples/incidences?

3.Because of the rule, principle, or general statement, what must happen or will be true?

Verbs:

When designing a deduction task, use these verbs: describe absolute prediction, identify cause and/or effect, draw absolute conclusion, and answer a categorical argument.

3. Error Analysis

To find and describe errors in your own thinking or in the thinking of others

Steps:

1. Is someone trying to get me to think or do something? Does something seem wrong?

2. Can I identify errors in my own thinking or in that of others?

3. What effect do these errors have?

4. Can I correct the errors? Can I get better information to help me?

Verbs: When designing an error analysis task, use these verbs: analyze for fact/opinion, analyze for assumptions, analyze for bias/fallacies, and analyze for credibility of sources

4. Constructing Support

To provide support or proof for statements

Steps:

1.What am I trying to provide support for?

2.What proof can I provide? What do I need to present a good argument?

3.Do I need to present a qualifier or restriction to support? Do I need to explain why something else is NOT supportive?

Verbs:

When designing a constructing support task, use these verbs: analyze support given, analyze an argument for use of, appeals to reason and persuasive techniques, develop your own support for, develop own argument using the appeals to reason and persuasive techniques.

5.Analyzing Perspectives

To describe reasons for our own viewpoints as well as for the viewpoints of others

Steps:

1. What is the issue?

2. What is my position on the issue and why do I feel that way?

3. What is an opposing position and what reasons support this position?

Verbs: When designing an analyzing perspective task, use these verbs: analyze from your personal perspective, analyze from the perspective.