Ideas 

4

Teaching Outside the Box

Rhonda Stringer, Park View

Janey Bassett, Sycamore

Park View 

Grade 4 

Rhonda Stringer (filling a leave for Leann Taylor)

Once a week, Rhonda has “newspapers in the classroom” for reading.  She talked with the Herald Citizen and was able to get a class set of newspapers for a short period of time.

How it works:

*Before the students began working with the papers, Rhonda uploaded the students with basic information:

-the title of the newspaper and area it represents

-date of the newspaper

-sections of the newspaper

-how to read the pages of the newspaper identifying the sections, continuation of articles,   etc.

*Each student received a newspaper.  With the class, the teacher reviewed certain basic information about the newspaper.  The class then had a set amount of time to scan the sections, and then peruse articles of interest.

*Students were then asked if there was an article they wanted  to share.

The students  stated the page and location on the page of the article, read the title of the article,  and commented on why it caught their attention.  The students stated where the incident occurred.  They locate that place on a map (U.S., world, or state), talked about the region in which it is located, and any other brief comments of interest.

The students then read the article aloud while the rest of the class followed along.  Yes, there were challenging words, but watching the ease with which the students used their phonics/decoding/word skills was amazing.  

It was at that point the class engaged in wonderful conversations about what they had read.  They asked questions, made text-to-self connections, discussed choices, and talked about outcomes.

They shared pictures, blurbs from the sidelines, puzzles, maps, comics, as well as the articles.  The teacher commented that one of their favorite things were the Sudoku puzzles.  The students seemed to zone in on articles about crime (like adults).  To insure they read a variety of information, their teacher would ask, “Has anyone found an article where something good happened or was celebrated?”

 

I celebrate Rhanda Stringer and her contribution to teaching outside the box!

For a complete lesson plan, just match the standards to the following information.

Things I observed:

All students were engaged.

Anyone who wanted to share had an opportunity.

The teacher listened attentively to all comments and guided discussions

with higher order questions.

Discussions were not controlled by a few.

All comments were valued.

 

Academic skills:    (this is NOT a complete list)

Vocabulary, vocabulary, vocabulary

Nonfiction text

Scanning for information

Reading for information

Rereading for clarification

Word study skills:        phonics

                                    word analysis:  affixes and base words

                                     multi-meaning words

                                     synonyms

                                     context clues

Language skills:             correct use of punctuation

 (“Don’t kill my period by running over it.”)

                                     identification of various parts of speech

                                     rules for speaking and listening

Comprehension skills:     predicting

                                     inferring

                                      summarizing

                                      retelling

Cross-curricular:            math (Sudoku puzzles)

  science (weather, farming/harvesting/growing seasons)

                                      social studies/geography/map skills

                                      current events (war in Iraq and Afghanistan)

                                      history (reference to an article on WW II)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sycamore

Grade 4

Janey Bassett

 Janey uses novels as one vehicle for meeting her new ELA standards in reading.

 The novel I observed was Helen Keller.  The students had a folder for materials they received as they prepared for, read and discussed the story.

 When a new chapter began, the teacher previewed vocabulary, did a variety of word work (synonyms, word analysis-affixes and base words, and

irregular spellings),  main idea (“everything goes back to the main idea”—no matter what you are reading”), sequencing, and compare/contrast.

 A great deal of delving into prior knowledge paved the way for reading the new chapter.

Students did their reading at home that evening and had a follow-up activity which would be the focus of a lesson the next day.

 

I observed:

-engaged students

-energetic, interesting teaching techniques

-wonderful vocabulary development

-great discussions

-development of prior knowledge

-reading for a purpose

-development of main idea and details

-use of graphic organizers to organize ideas and writing

 

Matching new standards with the activities stated above would complete a lesson plan.

 

I celebrate Janey Bassett for teaching outside the box!