Sequella H. Coleman
Overview: Students need guidance formulating information to help them follow the action in a story and to help them understand how the events in the story are related.
Objective: To review the concepts of time order and cause-and-effect relationships.
Vocabulary:
|
time order
|
|
cause
|
|
effect
|
|
sequence
|
|
finally
|
|
later
|
|
first
|
|
then
|
|
soon
|
|
|
cause
|
|
therefore
|
|
since
|
|
in order that
|
various other clue words
|
Materials: Board, chalk and book.
Activities and Procedures:
Preteaching - write a list of events on the board:
-
1. David woke up and turned off the alarm.
-
2. After eating breakfast, David finally left for school.
-
3. David's alarm clock rang.
-
4. David then got dressed for school.
-
5. David got out of bed.
Ask the students what they notice about the list of events. They should notice that they are out of sequence. Then, have them rearrange the events in the correct sequence (3,1,5,4,2). Talk about the fact that life and stories occur in a particular order. Then ask the students what caused David to awaken, the ringing of his alarm clock. Point out that events in life and stories often occur for reasons and causes. This point can be tied into previous social development discussions about choices. One would then review the vocabulary as clues to determining time order and cause and effect.
While reading the novel students will maintain journal entries that will chronicle the events of the story. They will also be responsible for finding and referencing these vocabulary clues in their journals. These entries will be beneficial for writing assignments given throughout the unit such as the following cause and effect chart :
1.
|
a. Gerald plays with the lighter
|
|
b. The curtains catch on fire.
|
2. a. ______________________
|
|
b. Gerald was taken from his mother.
|
3.
|
a. ______________________
|
|
b. Gerald must go back to live with his mother.
|
Several other examples with one or both sides blank would finish the chart for students to complete either individually or in arranged pairs.
Once the novel is complete the students will create a close time line of story events. This would not be a new concept only a review of an activity completed several times over the course of the year.
Assessment - Student understanding of the concepts will be derived from the verbal answers, the cause and effect chart and the time line of story events. Writing assignment: What effect did fire have on Gerald? Explain the cause of this reaction.
The preteaching lesson given here is seemingly simplistic, however necessary, particularly in combination with the vocabulary list. Students must recognize the words that indicate transition in literature in order to include these words in their own writings.
Some of the reading method strategies to be utilized are silent sustained, paired and other groupings, individual and teacher reading aloud to students.