This is intended to be an integrated unit, utilizing a variety of learning styles and methods of evaluation. The emphasis is on active learning and teaching, utilizing the many intelligences of the students and teacher. The following activities are adaptations of those presented by Thomas G. Gunning in his text,
Creating Reading Instruction for All Children
. For a more detailed and thorough description, refer to the text on the pages indicated.
Preparation for reading assignments and viewing films
, (p. 351)
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-Before reading or viewing suggested literature and films, students should receive some guidance to build background essential for understanding the material to be covered.
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-To insure better comprehension students may be given questions to consider as they look at the films and complete reading assignments. They might also make predictions which they will evaluate as they explore the material in the unit.
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-Constructing a cumulative plot outline or story map could help keep track of main events. If the story involves a long journey, the character’s progress might be charted on a map.
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-Evoking personal responses from the students as they are presented with the material in this unit is very important. Response should precede analysis and general discussion.
Suggested writing Activities
, (p. 446)
Academic
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Newspapers
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Essay
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Photo essays/captions
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Business/economic
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General communication
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Seeking information
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Announcements
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Ordering a product
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newsletters
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Civic/personal development
letters
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Creative
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Letter to the editor
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Story, poem, verse
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Seeking information
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Play/script
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Everyday/practical
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Personal
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lists, notices
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Diary, Journal
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Social
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Writing to learn
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Letters
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Comparison of characters, places,
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events, issues, processes
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Journal of observation
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Critiquing a story, play, movie, or TV
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program
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-The KWL Plus (Know, Want to Know, and Learn) is a technique designed to help students build and organize background knowledge as well as seek out and reflect on key elements as they encounter it in class material. (p. 304-306)
-To incorporate the KWL plus technique it would be helpful to design a chart that includes the following information:
Name:__________ Topic:___________ Date:___________
What we know __________
What we want to know __________
What we learned __________
What we still have to learn __________
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-Some of the steps involved in KWL Plus are: Brainstorming, categorizing, predicting, and questioning,