Bluebonnet Writing Project
Teaching Demonstration
Title of the Book: Chicken Sunday
Author: Patricia Polacco
Illustrator: Patricia Polacco
Publishing Information: New York: The Putnam and Grosset Group
ISBN: 0-698-11615-1
Suggested Grade level: Intermediate elementary
Goal: Students will be able to identify not only the setting but the change of setting within the context of a story and how it can affect the plot. They will be able to convey their understanding of a setting within the context of writing and drawing.
Objectives: The student will be able to listen to the story, identify the various changes in setting, match the title of the scenes with the settings, identify individual examples of setting within groups, compose a writing piece about setting for a personal narrative and draw a literal setting map of the community using the setting from the story.
TEKS:
1a- Students recognize the way an author organizes information and engage in more sophisticated analysis such as characters, plots, and settings.
5.1a-determine the purpose for listening such as to gain information, to solve problems, or to enjoy and appreciate
5.9a-develop selections by listening to selections read aloud
5.12I-recognize and analyze story plot, setting, and problem resolution
5.15a-write to express, discover, record, develop, reflect, on ideas, and to problem solve
Research:
Read Alouds boost listening and reading comprehension skills and bring subjects to life in a way that textbooks cannot.
Auerbach, Barbara. Strangers in a Strange Land: Read Alouds Give Us Insight into Others’ Struggles. New York: School Library Journal, October 2006, Vol 52, No. 18, pages S18
A read aloud—or shared reading—is one of the most effective ways for young adults to hear fluent reading.
Allen, J. Yellow Brick Roads: Shared and guided paths to independent reading, 4-12. Portland, ME:Stenhouse, 2000
Reading comprehension can be significantly improved through utilization of LCD projector instructional technology in the elementary classroom.
Black, Narda, Brill, Ann, Eber, Debra, Suomala, Lisa. Using Technology to Compare the Instructional Effectiveness of Read Aloud and Read Along Materials in an Elementary Classroom. Michigan. July 2005.
Procedures:
1. See Powerpoint Presentation on Setting.
2. Pass out sticky notes.Guess the setting descriptions with your groups then share.
3. Read Chicken Sunday staying with Before, During and After Read Aloud format. During the story, count how many times the setting changes. It is important to be aware of when the setting changes because this can greatly affect your understanding of the plot! This can also affect your writing!
4. Preview text title and story. Make predictions.
5. Read Chicken Sunday .
6. After reading, discuss how many times the setting changed. If this entire story took place in Miss Eula’s living room would it be the same? Explain there is the big setting and there are little settings within the big setting.
Also discuss characters.
7. Pass out Chicken Sunday setting cards. Each student will either get a setting title, or setting description. Students will then move around the room and find their match. When all of the students have found their match, each partner group will share.
8. Is the community in Chicken Sunday a place you would like to live? What is it about the setting that would make you like or not like living here?
9. (If time permits) Draw a literal setting map of Patricia’s, Stewart’s and Winston’s community. Include streets, and all of the places within the setting of the story.
Reading/Writing/Drawing Connection:
1. Use a Read Aloud to discuss the literary element of setting, characters and plot.
2. Using word imagery samples to determine the setting of a story.
3. Writing about the possibilities of living in a community like the one in Chicken Sunday and whether or not you would like it.
4. Drawing a literal setting map of the community and labeling the various landmarks mentioned in Chicken Sunday.
Discussion Protocol:
What did you learn overall about setting from this lesson?
What did you like about this lesson?
Did you feel you received a better understanding of this story element through a read aloud?
Extensions:
1. Students can make a brochure inviting others to move into the community detailed in Chicken Sunday or another favorite destination place.
2. Students can find settings in their favorite movies.
3. Comparing and contrasting other literature to further emphasize setting.
4. Designing a set for an in class readers theater
5. Groups or individuals can write their own stories and design finger puppets and sets (for setting) highlighting not only setting but character development and plot.
15 comments:
July 24, 2007
Kia Greenwood
Dear Kia,
Thank you for sharing your lesson on setting with us today. I loved the book and the activities…
Lens One, Affect: You engaged the learners and show them your feelings through your caring attitude. I appreciate your time that you are an excellent, thorough teacher.
Lens Two, Best Practices: I saw you attending to the needs of all learners, even Janelle and I during your presentation. I loved your enthusiastic voices and spirited reading.
Lens Three, TEKS: Excellent. Thank you for including a list of these.
Lens Four, Extensions and adaptations: I enjoyed the movement of the matching setting and event, the collaboration and work that you incorporated, too. The writing prompt was excellent, too…
Lens Five, Questions arisen: How will you encourage educators to use technology? What will you do to try and engage your staff in teaching technology hand-in-hand with literacy? What are some examples that you could provide your teachers in implementing the new technology you have learned to use this summer?
Thank you, Kia, for your hard work!
Joyce
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Dear Kia,
Lens 1: Describing affect for teachers and learners. Your lesson was well planned and your teaching style was effective and informative. The differentiated learning was successful. Each student participated.
You read with such enthusiasm. As you read, I felt captivated by your voice. Thank you!
Lens 2: Articulating best practice. Letter writers consider what “best practices” they see in the teaching demonstration.
Real Audiences, Real Purposes
Lens 3: The Texas language arts standards and benchmarks. Chapter 110. TEKS for English Language Arts and Reading
Lens 4: Extensions and adaptations. The methods you used are effective for secondary students as well as primary students. I could use this book at the beginning of the year with our short story “Marigolds.” I also think with the setting matching activity we could have put the story in order based on the setting changes.
Lens 5: Questions arisen. What other books of Patricia Pollaco do you think I could use for secondary level?
Thank you for an interesting, relevant lesson.
Jolyn
July 24, 2007
Dear Kia,
You have the gift of story telling. Continue to share it with those around you. I’m sure that you have inspired children to read through your story telling. Here are my reflections through the lenses.
Lens 1: Describing affect for teachers and learners.
You set the stage through your examples (scenarios) and shared yourself with the class through your pictures. Thus, you presented a safe environment for learning. You consider your students prior experiences and allowed time for reflection and connections.
Lens 2: Articulating best practice
You integrated contents reading and writing. You engaged all learners and provided opportunities of learning through a variety of activities.
Lens 3: The Texas language arts standards and benchmarks.
Clearly integrated your reading and your writing. I’m sure you’ve covered many TEKS along the way.
Lens 4: Extensions and adaptations.
Your lesson allowed for the exploration of implementing the strategies used to define and understand the importance of setting in other stores.
Students could individually choice a book of their choice and identify setting importance. Students could be placed in collaborative groups and as a group work on identified the importance of story setting.
\Students could create a story or a personal narrative exchange with peers and have peers identify setting and the importance to the narrative.
Lens 5: Questions arisen. How often do you use this strategy in the classroom? What’s the time frame for introducing such a lesson?
Once again wonderful and engaging lesson!!!!!
Sincerely,
Christina Hernandez
Dear Kia
Lens 1: Describing affect for teachers and learners.
The best affect was the PowerPoint and defining that setting is more than where something takes place. It is also what happens in that place that truly defines the setting. By questioning if the setting was the same in our favorite movie would it have been as good was a great way to make us think outside the box and value the change of setting.
Lens 2: Articulating best practice.
Having us raise our hand when we notice the setting changed in the book was great! At first, I wasn’t catching it, but as I paid more attention, I was able to see where it switched over.
Lens 3: The Texas language arts standards and benchmarks.
1a- Students recognize the way an author organizes information and engage in more sophisticated analysis such as characters, plots, and settings.
5.1a-determine the purpose for listening such as to gain information, to solve problems, or to enjoy and appreciate
5.9a-develop selections by listening to selections read aloud
5.12I-recognize and analyze story plot, setting, and problem resolution
5.15a-write to express, discover, record, develop, reflect, on ideas, and to problem solve
Lens 4: Extensions and adaptations.
I could use this with any other literary device in my classroom. Especially with “The Crucible” in my 11th grade class. I love the fact that it wasn’t too scaled down and can be adapted with my junior classes
Lens 5: Questions
None at this time!
Thanks for a wonderful lesson! You did a great job!
Rediesha Thompson
Dear Kia,
This was a wonderful lesson on setting. Thanks for the mention of your research.
Lens 1—Affect
You have a friendly approach to your teaching. Your voice encourages all to participate. Thanks for the invitation to share.
Lens 2—Best Practices
You included all students in your demo; we were even able to move around. You also encouraged everyone to write a piece in response to Chicken Sunday. You also responded to us as we wrote.
Lens 3—TEKS
You used the TEKS related to critical reading, listening, and writing.
Lens 4—Extensions and Adaptations
This is an easy lesson to adapt for all grade levels. Since I teach a class that involves the study of various cultures, we read novels that take place all over the world. This is a great way to demonstrate the importance of setting and how it affects the story. I like your ideas for extensions and drawing the setting. This pulls in activities for visual learners.
Lens 5—Questions
I would love to have a list of books that you have used for various activities.
Thanks for a great lesson.
Pat Huster
July 24, 2007
Dear Kia,
Thank you for sharing your lesson with us. I loved the story that you chose to read with us. Whew! The ending gave me chills. Yours was a sound presentation, one that stands up to the scrutiny of the Five Lenses.
Lens 1: Describing affect for teachers and learners. Your students sure did enjoy the lesson. You kept us engaged by asking us to think of our favorite movies, reading a charming book, and allowing us to respond personally to the selection.
Lens 2: Articulating best practice. I noticed several best practices being used in your lesson. I like you asked us a lot of questions that required us to connect personally to the story. It made the theme and the content of your lesson more real to us.
Lens 3: The Texas language arts standards and benchmarks. You substantiated your lesson content with the TEKS and research support.
Lens 4: Extensions and adaptations. I think I might use this activity with my ESL students when we start talking about story elements.
Lens 5: Questions arisen. I really don’t have any questions at this time. Your demonstration was so straightforward and comprehensible that I feel I will have no problem adapting it to my classroom.
Thank you again for the lovely presentation. You can read aloud to me any day! ;)
Sincerely,
Leslie Hancock
Dear Kia
Lens 1: Describing affect for teachers and learners.
I loved the personal pictures. I want to come to your house for Thanksgiving. You gave everyone a chance to respond and made us all very comfortable. You really showed me how important setting is. I never thought of it before. I liked the activity where we had to figure out the setting from the paragraph. I felt relaxed and happy during the lesson. J
YOU ARE AN AWESOME READER!
Lens 2: Articulating best practice. Great hook to draw us all in. Lots of different fun activities for all learning styles. You had us participate during the reading. You connected the reading and writing together. You let us get out of our seats which is always fun. You personalized the lesson by asking us questions about our favorite movie.
Lens 3: The Texas language arts standards and benchmarks. Thanks for writing them out for us.
TEKS:_1a- Students recognize the way an author organizes information and engage in more sophisticated analysis such as characters, plots, and settings._5.1a-determine the purpose for listening such as to gain information, to solve problems, or to enjoy and appreciate_5.9a-develop selections by listening to selections read aloud_5.12I-recognize and analyze story plot, setting, and problem resolution_5.15a-write to express, discover, record, develop, reflect, on ideas, and to problem solve
Lens 4: Extensions and adaptations.
It was a great lesson on setting, and I would definite use the book to teach it. You lesson inspired me to spend more time discussing setting in novels because I tend to not spend too much time on it.
Lens 5: Questions arisen
None. You covered all the bases. Terrific lesson. You raised the bar! Loved it! Dianna
Dear Kia,
Lens 1: I liked the opening idea of favorite movie settings--it made me feel comfortable and also helped me look forward to what was coming next.
Lens 2: I like the read aloud strategy because it is one way to have students take ownership and responsibility for their own learning. The more they do, the better. The matching activity addressed the ever-present need to add something kinesthetic to our ELA classrooms and it was fun.
Lens 3: Thanks for listing the TEKS.
Lens 4: The idea of setting being more than just the beginning location of the story is one that I can use in my high school classes. We haven't spent a lot of time analyzing setting and I may see where I can work it in.
This might also be a good book to use as I am teaching narrative writing.
Lens 5: I think you should do some podcasts of your reading various books--you would be great and this might be another technological innovation to add to lesson plans. Or maybe the kids can podcast their favorite books......
Thanks!
Sherry
24 July 2007
Dear Kia,
Lens 1: Your sense of humor and welcoming demeanor really adds to the atmosphere. We wanted to participate because you offered us so much to us. (Too bad we weren’t part of group....)
I liked the modeling of examining setting. I think the students will enjoy doing this activity together. It’s a non-threatening environment to share ideas and explain thinking.
I love the way you read! We want to listen. You make it so exciting! I love the questions you ask. That really involves the audience.
The game really helps to appeal to various modes of learning.
Lens 2:
cooperative learning
read aloud
Multi-cultural Children’s Lit.
Reading Response & active listening/ audience participation
appealing to various learners & learning styles
connecting to the students’ worlds with literature
Lens 3: Yes. Nice work on including those standards.
Lens 4:
I love the idea of drawing the various settings. Have you thought or asking the audience to share possible extensions?
Lens 5:
Maybe you could write out the writing prompt?
How can you integrate technology into this lesson?
What form of assessment do you see for this lesson?
How could you present just a bit more info on the research behind you best practices?
Kia, nice work! I really enjoyed it! You captured our attention every step of the way!
Janelle
Dear Kia,
I think your lesson would be very useful in my classroom. You are such a wonderful reader.
Lens 1: I could tell that you believed that setting plays a big role in understanding the story because you gave us your own thoughts about “Lord of the Rings”. I was able to relate.
Lens 2: I think you did a wonderful job of tying in the students’ background knowledge of setting by using a favorite movie. You keep students on their toes by making them listen for setting changes within the story.
Lens 3: Great TEKS
Lens 4: Last year I had my students create “Pet Rocks”; after the rocks were created the students had to develop them into characters. Afterwards, students had to create the character’s home life setting and the setting of places they may go, then they had to write a book based on the rocks.
Lens 5: No questions at this time! You did a fabulous job!!! I enjoyed listening to you. =)
~Rachell
Dear Kia,
First of all, I meant it when I asked if you would read to my class- I know you can’t, but, girl- I could listen to you tell a story all day long! You have a gift for storytelling.
Lens 1: I think you connected well with us. You were enthusiastic about your subject which allowed me to be more invested as well.
Lens 2: You did a great job of incorporating the class’s varied learning styles. There were activities for visual, auditory, and TK students. You also used a story that increases interest.
Lens 3: TEKS
1a- Students recognize the way an author organizes information and engage in more sophisticated analysis such as characters, plots, and settings.
5.1a-determine the purpose for listening such as to gain information, to solve problems, or to enjoy and appreciate
5.9a-develop selections by listening to selections read aloud
5.12I-recognize and analyze story plot, setting, and problem resolution
5.15a-write to express, discover, record, develop, reflect, on ideas, and to problem solve
Lens 4: You could do so many things with this lesson plan. You could go outside and have the students pick a spot to draw the setting. Afterwards, they could write a descriptive paragraph about the setting. You could also go visit a retirement home or have a covered dish celebration.
Lens 5: Again, will you read to me some more! J/k. I really enjoyed your demonstration. You did a great job.
Heather
Dear Kia,
What a great lesson on setting ! I will take this with me and use it.
Lens1: First of all, your soft-spoken manner is wonderful. I'll bet everyone wants to be in your
class! You started by asking us about our favorite movies. Everybody loves to talk about their favorite movies, so you connected to an area of interest
with us. You made us think of the
importance of the setting. Your lesson brought laughter and tears.
You read aloud beautifully !
Lens 2: Read-aloud is a wonderful strategy for giving the class a communal experience with the literature. You gave us a chance to predict. Having us raise our hands when the setting changed engaged us and kept us focused
on the setting in the story. I loved the game bacause it connects plot elements with setting. It gives students a chance to interact
and it provides a kinesthetic element. The writing about whether or not we would like to live in the community gives students a chance to analyze and evaluate various aspects of the community
and it gives students a chance possibly to debate the merits of the community.
Lens 3:
TEKS:
1a- Students recognize the way an author organizes information and engage in more sophisticated analysis such as characters, plots, and settings.
5.1a-determine the purpose for listening such as to gain information, to solve problems, or to enjoy and appreciate
5.9a-develop selections by listening to selections read aloud
5.12I-recognize and analyze story plot, setting, and problem resolution
5.15a-write to express, discover, record, develop, reflect, on ideas, and to problem solve
Lens 4: As extensions, students can illustrate the community, make brochures advertizing the community in the story or another community.
Lens 5: Have you done this with other stories? If so, which ones?
How did your students respond to the prompt? Did they like the community or not? Have you ever let students create the setting-themed writing prompt?
07/17/2007
Ms. Kia Greenwood,
You are an extremely gifted speaker. The way you can connect with others is a true gift. I know that I’d love for my son to have a teacher like you.
Lens 1: Describing affect for teachers and learners
I liked the way you brought in your pictures; they served to create a personal connection. You are so full of energy; your charisma adds so much to the enhancement of to the lessons. Your over all affect was very energetic and the children in your classroom will feel motivated for that same reason.
Lens 2: Articulating best practice.
You were able to incorporate the following best practices:
• All Children Can Write: elicits writing responses from students that are authentic.
• Real Audiences, Real Purposes: Create a brochure of your community of preference to persuade others to like it.
• Student Ownership and Responsibility: Students were responsible for raising their hands every time the setting changed.
• The Writing Process: This can be used in the revision process to get the student to focus on setting development. Or it can be used for a pre-writing activity to develop ideas.
• Getting Students Started: Students were provided with appropriate materials and instructions to do their work.
• A Classroom of Shared Learning: Students where actively engaged, played a matching game and were able to match their writing responses.
• Evaluation and Assessment: The teacher used a matching game to have the students match the action with the setting where it took place.
Lens 3: The Texas language arts standards and benchmarks
• TEKS where available and correlated to the lesson
• Objectives where directly tied to support TEKS
• Research supporting the learner objectives was presented
Lens 4: Extensions and adaptations.
As mentioned before my favorite extension activity was the one where the students create a brochure of the “Chicken Sunday” community or their favorite one.
Lens 5: Questions arisen
None at the moment, Thanks!
I really enjoyed your presentation and appreciate the fact that you took the time to put it together. I really learned a lot from you.
Sincerely,
Sugey Villarreal
July 24, 2007
Dear Kia,
Lens 1: Describing affect for teachers and learners.
The opening of the lesson was so interesting that it made me want to know more of what was to come. Also, taking the time to let us know the objectives is important because the students will be able to look ahead.
Lens 2: Articulating best practice.
You captivated our attention with the “identify the setting” activity. Raising our hand to identify setting in your story was fun. You involved students in all activities which keep students alert and on task.
Lens 3: The Texas language arts standards and benchmarks.
Your TEKS are well-aligned with your lesson.
Lens 4: Extensions and adaptations.
For a drawing extension, I would have students select scenes from the story and write their own story to the scene.
Lens 5: Questions arisen.
Some of my ELL students really don’t have a family nucleus where they can go and celebrate family gatherings. How could I focus on these students to help them appreciate the story and be able to respond to the story?
Good job—I’m glad you’re my colleague.
Lourdes
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