Lesson One: Examining and Creating Dedications
After an initial introduction familiarizing students with the existence and purpose of dedications, the following general procedure will be repeated with each book the class reads. Pupils will also be urged to present dedication from books read independently which relate to our general theme and authorship.
Subject Matter Areas: Reading and language arts
Vocabulary: dedication, acknowledgment
Objectives:
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Students will understand the purpose of a dedication.
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Students will examine any relationship between the author's dedication and her life.
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Students will look for reflections of an author's dedication within her work.
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Students will create a meaningful dedication for work of their own.
Procedure
After the students have a general picture of the author as a person, the dedication, in each of her books we have covered, will be read and discussed. "Can we see a connection between the dedication and what we know about the author?" "Does the dedication give us any additional information about the author?" "Does the dedication tell us anything about the person to whom the story was dedicated?" "Do you think we might see the dedication reflected in the story?" "How?"
After reading the story, students will return to the dedication discussing any additional insights into the dedication which were gained from the author's work. For example, after reading Roll of Thunder, we certainly have a clearer picture of what Mildred Taylor's father and brother must have been like as people.
When students get to the point where they have gathered and written their own family stories, each will create a dedication for her/his work. The same will be done for each "story quilt" the students have made. Dedications will be added to the existing class list which is mentioned in my narrative section.
Lesson Two: Using Unit Content to Develop Degrees of Reading Power
Subject Matter Areas: Reading, Social Studies
Vocabulary: Will vary with each lesson developed.
Objectives
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Students will develop skill at using various context clues to identify unknown words and as a result develop greater reading power.
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Students will reinforce their understanding of information related to the unit's content.
Procedure:
The goal of developing independent readers is a primary objective of the elementary school. One means of achieving this goal is through an approach which teaches pupils to look for various clues within the context of the material being read as a means of recognizing and understanding unfamiliar words which the student may encounter. Besides teaching these techniques for unlocking unfamiliar words, this approach trains pupils to read more carefully, resulting in an overall improvement in comprehension. All New Haven elementary teachers are familiar with this program designed to increase pupil's "degrees of reading power."
There is a variety of materials available to use while working with students in such a program. Basically, these materials provide paragraphs where key words have been omitted. Students are asked to find the appropriate word from among four choices, all of which could "fit" within the sentence's structure, but only one makes sense within the context of the larger piece. Students learn to explore the context before and after the missing word in order to find clues which will help in identifying the missing word. The important skills developed here are the procedures used to explore the context for clues and developing the ability to recognize and utilize these clues.
In this lesson plan, I provide an example of using material related to this unit's content to create original worksheets which will be used to develop the skills discussed above. This sheet and others I will create will have the advantage of serving as reading instruction material as well as a source or a review of information related to the unit. Its primary function, however, will be to improve the student's reading ability. Initially, the procedure to follow will focus on the context that leads one to the appropriate missing word. Discussion relative to content will follow. It is best to use material with information that pupils have not yet encountered, since this will eliminate the use of previous knowledge to identify the word. If, however, this happens to be the case, the experience of finding the context clues which unlock the missing word is still of considerable value. The completed worksheets will be saved in a folder for future reference related to this unit's content.
Here is a brief sample, related to the Underground Railroad.
The Underground Railroad
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Read each of these paragraphs about the Underground Railroad. Where there is a missing word, select the most appropriate word from those listed after the blank. Be ready to identify the clues which led to your selection. You may underline those word which helped you make your choice.
In Harriet Tubman's Underground Railroad, Cassie takes a trip along the railroad's route to Canada and freedom. Along the way she encounters many ______________.
(a. people b. dangers c. relatives d. trains) She could be captured or even lose her life. Harriet tells her that being a slave can ___________ (a. introduce
b. compare c. show d. suck) you to the ground like quicksand.
During the __________ (a. morning b. night c. day d. afternoon), she should follow the North Star. In daylight, follow the moss growing on sides of _____
(a. dogs b. people c. stars d. trees) facing north. They give you directions more valuable than their shade. Remember that if you are ___________ (a. caught
b. finished c. dirty d. running), you will be severely punished.
There will be people along the way to ________(a. see b. help c. capture
d. hear) you. Look for them. You will need their assistance. They will___________
(a. feed b. hide c. locate d. locate) you, so that you will keep your strength. They will ________ (a. feed b. hide c. locate d. answer) you, so that you will not be discovered. Keep going forward and don't turn _________ (a. aside
b. over c. under d. back).
When students complete the worksheet, there will be a discussion to determine what word is the most appropriate selection. Students must justify their choices by referring to context clues from the story. Similar exercises will be included for other stories we read.
Lesson Three: Creating Your Own "Story Quilt"
Subject Matter Areas: Reading, social studies, language arts, and art
Vocabulary: quilt, "story quilt, oral tradition, dedication
Objectives:
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Students will gain an understanding and appreciation of oral tradition.
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Students will gain an understanding and appreciation of "story quilts."
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Students will visually depict a written piece of their oral history on a quilt panel.
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Students will create an appropriate dedication for their story quilt.
Procedure:
This activity brings together lessons focusing on Virginia Hamilton's The People Could Fly and the "story quilts" of Faith Ringgold, as well as the growing list of story dedications. The creation of these quilts will follow lessons in which students gathered, wrote, and dedicated pieces of personal history gathered from some family member. In my class, there will be a time period of three or four weeks between the writing of the tale and the creation of the quilt, but teachers could easily do each element consecutively.
The family tales will be reread and considered with the quilt work of Faith Ringgold in mind. Students will be given paper on which they will plan a visual representation of their tale. Using fabric crayon, the students will place the final representation on paper the same size as the quilt panels. Their images will be transferred to the cloth by ironing the reverse side of the crayon drawing. Pupils will then create an appropriate dedication which will be written on clothe and glued to the back of the panel. A parent or parents will be recruited to connect the panels with colorful cloth. Students will determine the sequence of the panels. The degree of their participation in the sewing will be determined by the assisting parent.
If the teacher prefers, panels can be make of paper and glued together with paper strips. Using wallpaper strips can provide a quilt-like connection.
After appropriate sharing and display, the section will be separated and taken home.