Learning About Fall with Children's Literature

Margaret A. Bryant, Marjorie Keiper, Anne Petit

• Éditeur: Zephyr Press
• Année: 2006
• ISBN:
  9781613746073
• Édition: 1
• Sujet: Education
• Sous-sujet: Teaching Methods for Reading

Taking a thematic approach to learning that employs seeing, hearing, reading, and writing, these books outline three four-week, cross-curricular units that develop the competencies children need to become fluent, independent readers and writers. While each unit focuses primarily on language—phonic skills, structural analysis, punctuation, capitalization, poetry, and comprehension—they also include math, science, social studies, music, art, and even mini-lessons in French for cross-cultural appreciation. Understanding that student ability levels in younger grades can vary widely, lesson plans are keyed to three types of learners: emerging, typical, and advanced. The series includes three titles that cover fall, spring, and winter, and each can be used independently or together throughout the school year.

1

SEPTEMBER

Theme: Insects

Week 1: Overview

Instructional Book

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Related Titles

Animals, Animals by Eric Carle (to be read aloud)
Dragons, Dragons by Eric Carle (to be read aloud)
Other Eric Carle titles
I Wish I Were a Butterfly by James Howe (to be read aloud)

Poems

“Bug in a Jug” anonymous
“Keep a Poem in Your Pocket” by Beatrice de Regniers Schenk
“Oh the Toe-Test” by Norma Farber

Music

Papillons by Robert Schumann

Video

Eric Carle: Picture Writer. Directed by Rawn Fulton

Objectives

1. Phonetic skills
   Begin to understand short and long o.
2. Structural analysis
   Identify nouns.
   Recognize and build word families.
3. Comprehension
   Begin to make predictions.
   Begin to understand the sequence of events in a story.
   Recognize number words one through seven.

Materials

Word cards:

18 to 20 circles of green construction paper, approximately six inches in diameter, and one red circle that looks like the caterpillar’s head. Write the vocabulary words on the green circles, laminate the cards, and, for magnets, attach pieces of magnetic tape to the backs.

Cards with the pictures of the food in The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Cards with the days of the week, number words one to seven, and the words juicy, leaf, cocoon, and beautiful butterfly

Self-stick removable note pads

Poetry and Skills Session

Strategies for Presenting Phonetic Skills

Before each poetry and skills session write the poem on a large sheet of chart paper. Laminate the poem so the children will be able to write on it with washable pens. The surface can be cleaned at the end of each session and the poems used over and over again.

Finding a way to store these poems certainly presents a challenge. We organize the poems by theme and month, clip them together with clothespins, and lay them flat in a storage closet. The clothespins are labeled with the name of the month, or theme, and the packages can be located easily.

As you introduce phonetic skills, the class records words that have related sounds. Students can add to these lists indefinitely and you can display them in several ways:

• Attach large chart paper to a wall in the classroom.
• Cover large empty boxes in paper and stack them in a corner with two of the sides displayed. Students will write a long vowel on one face and the short vowel on the other.
• Divide a bulletin board into sections.
• Suspend charts from the ceiling.
  

Word families are an effective way to extend vocabulary and reinforce rhyming words. Begin with a base and change the beginning sound. Involve the students in this process. For example:

og
hog
dog
frog

These lists of words serve as clues of the sounds of the letters and are also helpful when the students are doing creative writing.

DAY 1

“Keep a Poem in Your Pocket”

Step 1:	Discuss the content and meaning of the verses.
Step 2:	Identify the rhyming words. Observe the repetition of the chorus.
Step 3:	Introduce the sound of long o.
Step 4:	Have the children listen as the poem is read. After you have read the poem, have students name words in which they heard the sound. As you read the poem, give auditory clues by slightly emphasizing the appropriate words.
Step 5:	Have the students point to the words that contain the sound. If the poem has been laminated the students can circle words with a washable pen.
Step 6:	Reread the poem together at the end of the session and give each student a copy to be illustrated and placed in his or her poetry book.

Teacher’s Tip

The poetry notebooks are a good tool to help children learn organizational skills. Take a few moments to help the children learn to

open and close binders while protecting their fingers

number the pages, beginning by placing a “1” in the upper right-hand corner of the first poem

turn the poems in the book to the left side of the cover when adding poems

place new poems face up on the right side

close the rings

move all poems to the right

If the children form the habit of numbering the poems, turning all pages to the left of the book, and placing the new poem at the end, they will find it easier to locate a particular poem to read aloud.

DAY 2

“Keep a Poem in Your Pocket”

Step 1:	Reread the poem and review the sounds discussed.
Step 2:	Introduce the sound of short o. Use several examples, then ask the children to find words in the poem that have the short o sound.
Step 3:	Review the long o and compare the sounds of the two.
Step 4:	Reread the poem together.

DAY 3

“Oh the Toe-Test”

Step 1:	Read the poem to the class.
Step 2:	Allow the children time to enjoy the rhythm of the poem.
Step 3:	Discuss the meaning of the poem.
Step 4:	Locate words that contain an o.
Step 5:	Read these words and ask children to identify the sound the vowel makes. If the poem is laminated, circle words using one color for long o and a different color for the short o.
Step 6:	Reread the poem together and distribute copies for the poetry books.

DAY 4

“Oh the Toe-Test”

Step 1:	Read the poem with the class and allow time for comments and discussion.
Step 2:	Review the vowel sounds.
Step 3:	Choose a word from the poem, change the beginning sound to make a word family. Help the children use several of these words in a sentence, creating a short, original poem.

DAY 5

“Bug in a Jug”

This poem is intended to be humorous. The children will like the rhythm of the words.

Step 1:

Read the poem once to the children and then ...