Madame Pince and the School Library

For libraries and librarians just west of Hogwarts

April Is Poetry Month (and Baseball Season!)

March27

Mrs. Harrison’s Blog (what students see)

Click here to download printer-friendly plans that have been adapted for a computer lab.

Grade/Class/Subject:

  • GRADES K-3/Harrison/Media Skills

Unit/Theme:

Standards

American Association of School Librarians, Standards for the 21st Century Learner:

  • 4.1.1, Read, view, and listen for pleasure and personal growth.

Common Core Standard(s)

  • CC.2.R.L.10 Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity: By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including prose and poetry, in the grades 2–3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

Key Vocabulary:

  • Poetry
  • Poem

Supplementary Materials:

Preparation:

  • Adaptation of content
  • Links to background
  • Links to past learning
  • Strategies incorporated

Scaffolding:

  • Modeling
  • Guided practice
  • Comprehensible input

Group Options:

  • Whole class

Integration of Processes:

  • Reading
  • Speaking
  • Listening

Application:

  • Meaningful
  • Linked to objectives
  • Promotes engagement

Assessment:

  • Group
  • Oral
  • Lesson Sequence

Transition:

  • Tell students that April is Poetry Month. Ask students if their classroom teacher has talked about this.

Anticipatory Set:

  • Show students the whiteboard with the vocabulary words. How are poetry and poem similar? What do the words mean? Can they use them in a sentence?

Instruction/Check for Understanding:

  • Show students the cover of “Leave Your Sleep,” and read one of the poems (i.e., Bleezer’s Ice-Cream) or play the CD with Natalie Merchant’s version. After reading the poem ask students if they heard rhyming words and the rhythm.
  • Show students the cover of “A Light in the Attic,” which may be familiar to some or all of the class.  Read “Play Ball” on page 131 of the first edition.  (Note: Silverstein was quoted as saying he would rather have been a good baseball player than a poet.)
  • Show students the cover of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and tell them that April is also the month that baseball season begins. Ask students what they know about the Detroit Tigers and baseball in general.  Read the book and either sing the lyrics or play the CD that comes with the book. Does the book sound like a poem? What makes the text a poem?
  • Children often want to have me repeat books with song lyrics as the text so they can sing along with me.  This is a good way for students who are having trouble with the concepts of rhyme and rhyming to begin to understand them.

Preview for Next Week

  • Tell students we will read more poetry next week.
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What’s So Funny?

March19

What students see (this lesson has been updated a bit) 

Grade/Class/Subject:

  • K-3/Harrison/Media Skills

Unit/Theme:

  • Literature Patterns, Humor

Standards

American Association of School Librarians, Standards for the 21st Century Learner:

  • 1.2. Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new siutations, and create new knowledge.

Content Objectives

Dearborn Public Schools Department of Media Services, K-12 Information Literacy Media Curriculum, 2004:

  • Content Standard #2: A student who has been educated in library media information skills evaluates information critically and competently.

Language Objectives

Michigan Department of Education, K-8 GLCE English Language Arts:

  • Narrative Text: R.NT.[00].05 respond to individual and multiple texts by finding evidence, discussing, illustrating, and/or writing to reflect, make meaning, and make connections.

Key Vocabulary:

  • Search, Humor, Patterns

Supplementary Materials:

Henkes, Kevin. Julius the baby of the world. , which I love, but it’s not available as an ebook. So…

Henkes, Kevin, Chrysanthemum. 

Preparation:

  • Adaptation of content
  • Links to background
  • Links to past learning
  • Strategies incorporated

Scaffolding:

  • Modeling
  • Guided practice
  • Comprehensible input

Group Options:

  • Whole class

Integration of Processes:

  • Reading
  • Speaking
  • Listening

Application:

  • Meaningful
  • Linked to objectives
  • Promotes engagement

Assessment:

  • Group
  • Oral
  • Lesson Sequence

Transition:

  • Review the words “pattern” and “patterns.” Review what patterns are (students usually give examples of shapes and colors). Discuss whether patterns can be in a story.

Anticipatory Set:

  • Review the word “search,” especially when using an OPAC. Tell students librarians are often asked to recommend “funny books.” Ask them to define “funny.” (This will be hard.) Tie up discussion with the library word for “funny,” “humor,” and tell them that this is a word they should use when looking in the OPAC for a funny book.

Instruction/Check for Understanding:

  • Review of the elements of print with “Julius, the baby of the world.” As the story progresses, point out the repetition and how this creates a pattern. How does the pattern help define Lily’s character?
  • After reading the story discuss what made it funny. Point out that some members of the class thought the story was quite humorous and others didn’t agree. Stress that personal choice is part of what makes a book good for one person and not so much for another.
  • If there’s time, read one or both of the “Sam” books.

Preview for Next Week:

  • Tell students we will read books about Mothers next week.
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