Reading Circles 2

The goals:

Think deeply	Examine other perspectives and own thinking
Improve reading strategies	Read good literature from diverse genre
Express themselves orally	Critically evaluate texts
Make connections to their academic work	Improve vocabulary

The concept:

Participants read and talk to engage in deep thinking and to learn new words and creative usage of words. They...

read the same book at a common meeting time.
generate discussion by selecting topics, passages, and vocabulary .
pose questions.
look up unfamiliar words, learn or confirm meanings, use them in discussion.
bring their own experiences, prior knowledge, and personal reactions to discussions.

The rationale:

The meetings provide ample time to read and discuss good literature, thus fostering deeper comprehension, increasing exposure to a wide variety of texts that participants normally would not select or read on their own.

Increased reading time and type translates to improved comprehension and a greater, sophisticated vocabulary acquisition.
Through dialogue, individuals clarify their own thoughts, explore and think out loud. The mutual exchanges of ideas enables participants to extend their own thinking beyond what they can do alone.
Research shows the range of skill and cognitive growth that can be developed with peer guidance or peer collaboration exceeds what can be attained alone.

Description:

Reading Circles are small, temporary , heterogeneous groups who meet regularly to read and exchange information about the text.

Reading is done independently.
Time is provided for both independent reading and in-depth discussion.
Cooperative learning techniques provide positive interdependence for discussion and interaction .
A facilitator guides, models, and provides a framework for the group processes. The facilitator participates as an equal member, not as a leader.
The participants decide at what stages reading will be interrupted for discussion, what topics, questions, and words will be discussed, and how to share what they have learned.
Initially, members may take on specific roles (collaborative-learning model). Members may take the following roles at the initiation of a group:

o Scribe - leads, solicits contributions, prepares open-ended questions about text focusing on big ideas, uses the board to record discussion.

o Summarizer - overviews passages, key points, and transitions from previous group meetings to current discussion.

Strategies for learning:

1. While reading, participants use sticky notes to mark passages to discuss, write questions, and

identify words to share with the group (active reading).

2. After reading an entire passage, underlining or writing on sticky notes, readers use dictionaries

to look up meanings, identify creative word usage, and/or clarify meanings.

3. Students keep a journal with vocabulary findings, summaries, personal observations, and reflection

(using new words in their writings).

The resources:

Library Reserve List

http://www.lrc.arizona.edu/studentdev/readingcircles.htm

Professional Reading

A literature circle is created when a group of people come together to read, discuss, and respond to a text or group of texts. Literature circles provide an opportunity for students to share thoughts, concerns, and resources that might not otherwise arise in the context of the course. In this way students control their own learning and create a community of learners.

In this class, literature circles will be formed according to topics of interest or concern by several members of the class. These groups will then decide on a professional book to be read by the group that will bring some insight to the topic. The instructor must approve the book chosen by the group. The group will then develop a reading schedule, discussion topics, and ways of sharing with others. Each member of the group must read all chapters chosen to be read by the group.

Students bring a variety of perspectives and personal experiences to literature circles and create understandings far greater than any one could create alone. I will provide some time in class for reading individually or with a partner but it is impossible for me to provide enough time to read the entire book. Therefore, some reading must be done outside of class. Students will respond to the readings in their reading response journals. Students will then meet in groups and share written responses and other insights from the part of the book read for that day. When the class has completed the reading and literature discussion, we will reflect on these processes and consider how the learning was affected by both the content of the reading and the literature circle process itself.

I will grade your reading response journals based on the quality and reflection of your responses as well as your participation in the literature circle discussion group. The response journal will be turned in periodically after each literature circle session. An example of what is expected in a reading response journal can be found in the LRC.

Scoring Rubric for Professional Reading and Literature Circle

Criteria		Points Possible	Points Earned
1.	The student was an active participant in the literature circle discussion on a regular basis.	10
2.	The student brought his/her professional book and notes to class for each literature circle session.	10
3.	The student’s response journal was turned in and complete after each literature circle session.	10
4.	The student’s journal is reflective of his/her personal thoughts as well as those of his/her group.	20
Total		50

http://www.coe.uca.edu/ched/johnson/literatu.htm

Reading Strategies Workshop #17

http://www.e-bus.com/projects/reading.htm

This strategy is a really good way to establish a purpose for reading, as well as for planning a unit of study. It is also useful for reflecting back on what students.

Instructions:
On a sheet of chart paper, make four vertical columns. I would suggest that we use "Reading Strategies or simply Reading as the topic, but use whatever you feel comfortable with ....

· In the first column ........write the heading "What we know"

· In the second ..........."What we want to find out"

· In the third ..............."What we learned"

What we know : Students brainstorm what they know and categorize the information recorded.	What we want to find out...... This portion of the task involves students in identifying what their particular interests and questions might be so that these are incorporated into the task.	What we learned Used when the reading is completed as a way for students to summarize their own learning. Did they answer their questions? What other sources of information might be consulted.	Categories of Information we expect to use can be added to this column. Students would list 5 or 6 categories.
Other variations include four columns with the following headings......
What I think I know	What I want to know	How will I find out	What I have learned.
What do you......
know you know?	think you know?	think you'll learn?	know you've learned?

Note: There are lots of variations to this strategy but it works well in conjunction with expository texts and is used before, during and after reading.

A Model for teaching new strategies:

Since we are going to be looking at new strategies within the context of this workshop, I wanted to share with you a model that illustrates how the burden is shifted gradually from teacher to student and how the students is supported in the process. Often simply explaining a new strategy or technique is not sufficient. Students require both demonstration and supported practice in order to master a new technique .... a trick that lots of "coaches" have already learned.

The sequence is pretty simple, in the first stage the teacher explains and demonstrates the new strategy. In relation to a reading experience, the teacher/students might read a passage together, and then the teacher might pose questions and model out loud for students how to find evidence and support from the text. As the teacher works through the process, she tries to explain out loud the line of reasoning that she if following so that this also becomes information that is accessible to the student. Gradually the student assumes more and more of the responsibility for the process until they are capable of applying it independently taking over both the student role and the teacher role as well. Note that the process of guided teaching illustrated below could be used in a variety of areas in addition to reading.

Stage	Asks questions	Answers questions	Finds Evidence	Provides Line of Reasoning
Modelling	T	T	T	T
Guided Practice 1	T	T	S	S
Guided Practice 2	T	S	T	S
Practice Application	T	S	S	S
Student Control	S	S	S	S

[It might be helpful to have a copy of this chart on a large piece of chart paper so that folks can see it while you explain or you could draw it on a blackboard or whiteboard as you explain the stages.]

Reading is also a process and like writing it starts with preparing for the experience. As I worked through organizing the information for this workshop, I have revised some of the content so that I can illustrate both the stages in the reading process and provide you with some new tools that can be used to actively engage students. I am borrowing from a number of resources which will be listed at the end of the presentation for those who are interested.

Stages in the Reading Process

1. Preparing for reading( establishing a purpose, accessing prior knowledge or experience, providing a knowledge base)

2. Processing the Text ( monitoring comprehension, self checking strategies, promoting active understanding of the text.)

3. Consolidating Meaning ( involves linking purpose, prior knowledge , experience, pre-reading focus with the reading experience - pulling it all together for students)

4. Extending Meaning encourages students to build on or apply ideas from reading in other oral or written situations.

Establishing a Purpose for Reading Our reasons for undertaking the reading task often dictate what kinds of information we pay attention to as we go. Purposes might include:

simply wanting to skim a text or scan some kind of reading material to see what it contains
reading for enjoyment,
reading to learn how to do something
reading to remember facts and ideas.

Each of these purposes changes the criteria that the reader sets for the task in terms of deciding what information in relevant or irrelevant.

The following table from Mary Tarasoff's "Reading Instruction that Makes Sense" summarizing the work of Blanton. The reason that I am sharing this is to illustrate how the purpose is linked to the strategy and then to the post reading activity.

PURPOSE	SUGGESTED STRATEGIES	POST READING ACTIVITY
To access prior knowledge, and develop vocabulary or concepts.	- Clusters/webs ** -Journal Entry based on a focus provided by parent	Revise during and after reading
To verify accuracy of predictions and monitor understanding.	- KWL and variations -Previewing -Sort and Predict	Discuss and confirm predictions with reference to the text
To learn about text structure	-Story Grammar (handouts) Character Report Cards**	Discuss and compare stories and genres
To apply a strategy and understand how it works.	- Model for Teaching Strategies**	Discuss as passage is read.

Instructions for the starred activities are included below.

Sort and Predict Activity

Description:
This is a strategy that can be used in a number of different ways. It can be used to establish a purpose for reading and to interest students in a particular reading task or activity. Students are provided with a selection of words from the story or book that they will be reading. They are asked to sort this vocabulary into categories ( what words seem to go together; what might they have in common.)

This can be a very creative activity in that there is no "one right answer". As long as students can provide you with a reasonable explanation for their groupings then they are acceptable. In fact , you might want to encourage students to create a second set of categories by suggesting that they look for new ways to group the words provided.

Presenter Notes: A list of words taken from a story by Judith Viorst is provided in Appendix 1. I would suggest that you create 4-6 copies of this page, and cut each page up so that the words are on individual slips of paper. Do not include the story synopsis since the whole idea is that it will be a surprise! Place each set of words in an envelope. Ask participants to work in pairs and give each pair an envelope. Ask the partners to lay the words out on the table or floor so that they can see them all and then sort them into groups of related words. Once they have made their groupings, then ask them to be prepared to share orally their predictions for what the story willl be about and how it will be developed.

NOTE 1: Extensions: There are several ways to extend this activity. Given enough time and a setting where more than one set of predictions could be shared, students could be asked to create at least 4-5 groups for the words provided. Ask them to create one category that is unique i.e one that no other group might come up with. Groups could also be encouraged to look for alternate ways to group the words thus extending their knowledge of categories and their understanding of the vocabulary itself.

Note 2: Writing Connection: This leads very naturally into a related writing activity as participants will want to use the words and create their own plot outline. (Just watch this in action !) In the home, parents would want to encourage this kind of interest by allowing students lots of time to explore their own ideas before presenting the material to be read. As you can imagine, the creates a tremendous amount of interest and motivation for reading the text as students are anxious to find out how closely their guesses match the actual text.

I would give people about 10 minutes to play with the sorting and then ask them to share their "predictions" orally. When everyone has had an opportunity to play, then you can read the introduction to the text which appears underneath the vocabulary in Appendix 1.

Evaluating Characters

Introduction:
Gaining an understanding of characters and how they are developed is not easy for most students. Sometimes they lack the knowledge of what are considered character traits and they often lack the experience necessary to both identify a trait and provide an illustration of that trait from the text. It is also important for students to gain an understanding of how a character may change over the course of time. In this portion of the workshop, we will quickly sketch out the process and illustrate what we can through the use of a familiar text. I would suggest that you illustrate this strategy with a familiar fairy tale like Cinderella or Snow White.

What does the strategy look like?
The end result of the process will a "Report Card" that is written by the student on a character of their choice from a particular text that they are reading. Since a Report Card looks at growth over time, the student will be asked to identify certain character traits that they see in the character in the beginning of the story and then for each of three terms (corresponding to the first 1/3 of the text, midway through and the end of the text) they would assign a grade to the character on the trait identified AND provide evidence from the story that justifies the grade that they have assigned. Students would not be able to proceed to the next section of the text until they had completed their "Report".

1. Using Snow White or Cinderella, or the Lion King or ? as the character for this particular activity, ask participants to work with a partner.

2. Ask them to choose 4 attributes or personality traits for this character. (Suggestions for character traits are listed in the Activity Master File - appendix 3). Partners should be able to explain why these character traits have been chosen.

3. Since participants will not have the text in front of them, this might be somewhat difficult - students of course will be able to refer to their text. Ask them to provide specific examples from the story to support and/or defend their choice. For example, if a student explains that a character is brave, then 1-4 examples from the story would be cited to show ways the character demonstrates bravery. This assignment can be varied depending on grade level and depth of novel. A younger student might be asked to simply identify the character trait and provide examples while an older student might be asked to identify the trait, give the character a grade based on their actions in relation to the trait AND provide examples from the text that illustrate/support/justify the grade given.

Character Report Card Form

Character Name:
Teacher: (Name of student)
Term: (1, 2 or Final)

Trait	Grade	Evidence

The student would complete this form three times. In "Term 1, 2 and 3" they would provide evidence to support their grades, but in the Final Term, they would be asked to add a column called Comments that would contain their comments on how the character changes as the story progresses.

NOTE 1: A First Experience An introduction to the activity for a younger student is illustrated below. Note that they focus is on identifying the trait and providing examples from the text that support the student's choice.

The following is an example of a grade 4 E-Bus student demonstrating her knowledge of character traits from the novel Helen Keller.

Example: Personality Traits of Helen Keller

4. Kindness - When Helen's dog died people from all over came to Helen to offer to buy her a new dog. Instead she wanted money from the people to send 5 year old Tomms Stringer to Perkins.

5. Intelligent - folding clean clothes and putting them away. She new when her mother wanted her to bring something from another room. She even learned a basic form of sign language;

6. Frustration - She was frustrated because she couldn't communicate.

7. Temper - couldn't communicate

8. Eager - to learn and speak

9. Friendly - she laughed at everything. She smiled with everyone.

10. Spirit - She had a great spirit. She said all things were possible.

Personality Traits of Ann Sullivan

11. Thoughtful - for coming all the way from Boston to Alabama just to be Helen's teacher.

12. Kindness - Ann has always wanted to be Helen's teacher all her life.

13. Faithful - for sticking to what she has to do.

Our thanks to Natalie Lang for giving us permission to share her work with other E-Bus students!

Example of a Literary Report Card for Rudi - Banner in the Sky.
A report card can be given to a character. Three to five personality traits are chosen. Each term these traits are evaluated. A term would represent approximately 1/3 of the novel.

Trait	Grade	Evidence
Generosity	B
Kindness	A+
Perserverance	C

Character Name:
Teacher: (Name of student)
Term: (1,2 or Final)

** The student provides examples from the story that support the grades he/she has assigned for each trait.

This assignment encourages students to stop part way through the novel to make an assessment, rather than waiting until finishing the novel. Also, this assignment focuses more on character 'growth' and leads to discussion of why these changes may have occurred.

Matching Thinking

This activity is included in the Activity Master File, but it is doubtful that you will have enough time. The idea of this particular strategy is to provide students with an opportunity to reconstruct the text and match the author's thinking. A short text is divided into chunks (reproduced on strips or photocopied and cut into sections). Once pairs of students have read the chunks and reassembled them into what they feel is the correct order, you can then compare these with the original text.

This strategy leads students into a discussion of why an author has chosen to organize his or her work in a particular way. This brings up the whole issue of organization and how the author has tried to meet the needs of the audience and still accomplish their purpose in communicating in the first place.

Rosie	Michael	pythons	dopey
friend	freckles	werewolves	understands
grouchy	nice	parakeet	swiped
blood	bike	bone	smart
Tiger	nicknames	basketball	good
shoulders	droop	point	likes

Appendix 1: Sort and Predict

DO NOT SHARE THE FOLLOWING UNTIL THE ACTIVITY HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND THE PARTNERS HAVE HAD OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE THEIR PREDICTIONS.

This is from Rosie and Michael are Friends by Judith Viorst .....
" Rosie is my friend. She likes me when I'm dopey and not just when I'm smart. I worry a lot about pythons and she understands. My toes point in and my shoulders droop and there's hair growing out of my ears. But Rosie says that I look good. She is my friend. ........."

Appendix 2: Character Report Cards

A List of Character Traits: Antonyms For Describing Personality Attributes of Characters.

arrogant/ humble

ashamed/embarrased

beautiful/ugly

bold/timid

boring/interesting

brave/fearful

busy/idle

calm/rough

careful/clumsy

clever/stupid

confident/insecure

directed/aimless

dynamic/static

eager/reluctant

exciting/disappointing/dull

failure/success

fat/thin

fierce/gentle

foolish/wise

friendly/unfriendly

generous/selfish

happy/sad

imaginative/unimaginative

kind/cruel

loser/winner

polite/rude

positive/negative

powerful/weak

proud/ashamed

sensible/silly

strong/weak

stubborn/flexible

suspicious/trusting

thoughtful/unthoughtful

faithful/unfaithful

Appendix 3: Matching Thinking:

***If you match the author's thinking correctly, you will have placed the strips in the following order.
7,5,1,4, 2,6,8,3.

Source: Up, Up and Away from the Anthology "A Pocket Full of Stars"

Cut the following into strips , and clip them together in random order. Ask participants to work in pairs to see if they can put them into the correct order. After 5 minutes record the orders, and compare them with the Author's original construction.
Up, Up and Away
__________________________________________________________7_

Have you ever wished you could float up into the sky in a balloon? It looks so easy, but getting a huge hot air balloon up in the air is a tricky job. A team of experienced people must fill an empty nylon bag with hot air without having it lift off before it should.

First, the balloon has to be carefully unpacked and laid flat.

_________________________________________________________5__

Then it has to be inflated two thirds full of cold air. That's done by using a large fan. One person aims the fan while two or three hold open the throat of the balloon.

_________________________________________________________1__

Next a couple of the team members walk inside the balloon to check the seams for leaks. Once that's been done, they attach the basket. Some baskets hold one person, others are big enough for the five or six.

__________________________________________________________4_

Now comes the tricky part. The team makes one final safety check. then the pilot turns on a powerful propane burner on top of the basket. when everyone is ready, he lights a "sparker." Fire shoots into the balloon.

__________________________________________________________2_

As the cold air heats up inside the balloon, it fills the nylon bag and the balloon slowly rises. It's no longer just a bag of air. The balloon seems to have a life of its own. Every second is important.

__________________________________________________________6_

The team must work quickly now, while the pilot continues to carefully aim fire into the balloon's neck. The team holds onto the balloon with long ropes, trying to keep the balloon straight for takeoff.

__________________________________________________________8_

The team makes last minute checks. Finally those who are lucky enough to have the chance to fly that day pull on safety helmets and scramble aboard while the rest of the team hangs onto the basket. Then it's , "Cast-off!" and their a final burst of flame up it goes.

__________________________________________________________

Disclaimer: These materials have been prepared for the exclusive use of registered Electronic Busing Program ® students and their families. Information from the Integrated Resource Packages is copyrighted by the Ministry of Education, Province of British Columbia. You MAY NOT distribute, modify or re-use these materials without our express written permission.You MAY print copies of the information for your personal use only, and store files on your own computer for your personal use only.

September, 2000

75 ESL Teaching Ideas

Hall Houston
allhou@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/flats/7947/

Introduction

These are the ideas included in Hall Houston's Random ESL Idea Generator. If you have a JavaScript-enabled browser, you can use the generator to get a randomly-selected idea from this list. Perhaps you will find it useful to print out this list and refer to it from time to time.

The Ideas

Alter the pacing of your class. If you rush through your class at full speed, slow things down and take time to ask your students personal questions based on the materials you are using. If you tend to proceed at a snail's pace, prepare some additional activities and push yourself to accomplish more than you usually do.
Ask a student to demonstrate a dance, and assist the student in explaining the movements in English.
Ask students to name as many objects in the classroom as they can while you write them on the board.
Ask students to present to the class a gesture that is unique to their own culture.
Ask students to write one question they would feel comfortable answering (without writing their name) on an index card. Collect all of the index cards, put them in a bag, have students draw cards, and then ask another student the question on that card.
Ask your students if there are any songs running through their heads today. If anyone says yes, encourage the student to sing or hum a little bit, and ask the others if they can identify it.
Assign students to take a conversation from their coursebook that they are familiar with and reduce each line to only one word.
At the end of class, erase the board and challenge students to recall everything you wrote on the board during the class period. Write the expressions on the board once again as your students call them out.
Begin by telling your students about an internal struggle between two sides of your personality (bold side vs. timid side OR hardworking side vs. lazy side), providing a brief example of what each side says to you. After a few minutes of preparation in pairs, have students present their struggles to the class.
Bring a cellular phone (real or toy) to class, and pretend to receive calls throughout the class. As the students can only hear one side of the conversation, they must guess who is calling you and why. Make the initial conversation very brief, and gradually add clues with each conversation. The student who guesses correctly wins a prize.
Bring a fork, knife, spoon, bowl, plate and chopsticks (if you have them) to class, and mime eating some different dishes, letting students guess what they are. Then let your students take a turn.
Bring an artifact from the student's culture to class, and ask them questions about it.
Bring in some snacks that you think your students haven't tried before, and invite the students to sample them and give their comments.
Call on a student to draw his or her country's flag on the board, then teach him or her how to describe the flag to the class (It has three stripes...).
Choose one topic (food, sports) and elicit a list of examples (food - chicken, pudding, rice). Then have your student come up with the most unusual combinations of items from that list(chocolate-beef or wrestling-golf).
Collaborate with your students on a list of famous people, including movie stars, politicians, athletes, and artists. Have every student choose a famous person, and put them in pairs to interview each other.
Come to class dressed differently than usual and have students comment on what's different.
Copy a page from a comic book, white out the dialogue, make copies for your class, and have them supply utterances for the characters.
Copy pages from various ESL textbooks (at an appropriate level for your students), put them on the walls, and have students wander around the classroom and learn a new phrase. Then have them teach each other what they learned.
Copy some interesting pictures of people from magazine ads. Give a picture to each student, have the student fold up the bottom of the picture about half an inch, and write something the person might be thinking or saying. Put all the pictures up on the board, and let everyone come up and take a look.
Describe something observable in the classroom (while looking down), and tell students to look in the direction of what you described.
Draw a map of your country or another country that your students know well. By drawing lines, show students where you went on a trip, and tell them about it. Then call on several students to do the same. The trips can be truthful or fictional.
Draw a pancake-shape on the board, and announce that the school will soon be moving to a desert island. Invite students one by one to go to the board and draw one thing they would like to have on the island.
Draw a party scene on the board, and invite students to come up and draw someone they would like to have at the party.
Empty a bag of coupons onto a table, and have students find a coupon for a product that they have no need for.
Experiment with how you write on the board, altering your writing style, the size of the letters, the direction you write, and the color of the chalk/pens.
Explain to your students what it means to call someone a certain animal (dog, pig, fox) in English, and then ask them what these mean in their languages.
Fill the board with vocabulary your students have encountered in previous classes (make sure to include all parts of speech), and get them to make some sentences out of the words.
Find out what famous people your students admire, and work together with the class to write a letter to one of them.
Find out what your students are interested in early on in the semester. Go to the Internet from time to time to collect articles on these subjects for students to read during the class period.
First, instruct your students to write on a slip of paper the name of one book, CD, or movie that changed them in some way. Collect the papers, call out the titles, and ask the class if they can guess who wrote it. Finally, let the writer identify him or herself, explaining his or her choice.
Give each student a piece of chalk/pen and tell them to fill the board with pop song lyrics. Then put them in pairs, and get them to use the words on the board to create a new dialogue.
Give students a reward (such as a candy or a sticker) each time they take the artificial language in your textbook and turn it into an authentic question or comment about someone in the class.
Hand a student a ball of yellow yarn. Have him toss it to another student, while saying something positive about that student and holding onto the end of the yarn. Continue in this manner until there is a web between all the students.
Hand each student an index card, and tell them to write down a sentence that includes an error they have made this week, along with the correct version of the sentence. Next, tape all of the index cards on the board for students to look over.
Hang up four different posters (example - one of a world map, one of a famous singer, one of a flower, and one of Einstein) in the four corners of your room. Tell students to choose one corner to stand in, and talk about why they chose that poster.
Have each student make a list of the five most useful phrases for tourists visiting an English speaking country.
Have students come to the board one by one, draw a poster for an English language movie (without the title) they think the other students have seen, and let the other students guess which movie it is.
Hire a musician (flute? harmonica? banjo?) to play for a few minutes of your class period.
In small groups, have your students design a billboard for something other than a product (wisdom, humility, friendship, etc.).
Inquire to see if your students have any unusual talents (can wiggle their ears, can bark like a dog), and encourage them to demonstrate.
Instead of saying "Very good!" all the time, vary the ways you praise (and correct) students as much as possible.
Instruct your students to find something in their wallets/purses/pencil boxes, and tell the story behind it.
Invite your students to stand up and explore the classroom from new angles (look in drawers, under desks, behind posters, on top of cabinets). Then have students report their findings.
Just a few minutes before the bell rings, call on your students to choose the ten most useful words they came in contact with during this class period, then have them narrow it down to the three most useful words.
Pass around some magazines, and have each student choose an ad that he or she likes. Give students an opportunity to explain their choices.
Play a listening activity from your book an additional time with the lights turned off.
Play a recording of instrumental music and have some students draw on the board what the music makes them think of.
Play five very different sounds from a sound effects tape or CD, and assign students in pairs to create a story based on three of the sounds.
Play music that enhances certain activities (quiet music for a reading activity, dance music for an energetic TPR activity). Ask your students for their reactions.
Prepare colored letters of the alphabet on cardboard squares and put them in a bag. Students must draw a letter from the bag, and work together to create a sentence on the board. Each student must raise his or her hand to make a contribution, but the word the student calls out must begin with the letter he or she chose. Put the expanding sentence on the board, adding words only when they the grammar is correct.
Prepare several paper bags, each with a different scent inside (perfume, cinnamon, cheese), pass the bags around the class, and let students describe what they smell.
Print phrases such as "in the library" "at an elegant dinner with the Royal Family" "in a noisy bar" "in a dangerous neigborhood" on separate strips of paper, put them in envelopes, and tape them to the underside of a few students' desks/tables before they arrive. Write on the board a useful expression like "Excuse me. Could I borrow a dollar?" When students arrive, tell them to look for an envelope under the desks/tables. The ones who find envelopes must say the sentence on the board as if in the context written on the page. Other students must guess the context from the student's tone of voice and body language.
Produce a list of commonly used sentence-modifying adverbs on the board, such as suddenly, actually, unfortunately, and happily. Then launch into a story, which each student must contribute to, with the rule that everyone must begin the first sentence of his or her contribution with a sentence-modifying adverb.
Provide each student with a list of the current top ten popular songs. Play excerpts from some or all of the songs, and choose some questions to ask your students, such as: Did you like the song? Have you heard this song before? How did the song make you feel? What instruments did you hear?
Purchase a postcard for each member of your class, writing his or her name in the name and address space. Turn them picture side up on a table, have each student choose one (without looking at the name), then he or she will write a message to the person whose name is on the other side. If a student chooses the postcard that has his or her own name on it, the student must choose again.
Put students in pairs and ask them to guess three items in their partner's wallet/purse/pencil box.
Put students in pairs. Tell them to converse, but to deliberately make one grammatical error over and over, stopping only when one student can spot the other's intentional error.
Put students into small groups to create an application form for new students to the school.
Put the students in small groups, and ask each group to plan a vacation for you. They must plan where you will go, what you will do, who you will go with, and what you will buy. When they are finished, have each group present their plans.
Review a phrase or sentence that you want students to remember, by holding a competition to see "Who can say it the loudest/the quietest/the quickest/the slowest/in the deepest voice/in the highest pitched voice?".
Set up a board in your classroom where students can buy and sell used items from each other by writing notes in English.
Supply each student with a copy of the entertainment section of the local newspaper, and tell them to choose somewhere to go next weekend.
Take a particularly uninteresting page from your coursebook, and put students in groups to redesign it.
Teach on a different side of the room than you usually do.
Tell each student to report the latest news in their country or city to the class.
Tell your students to practice a conversation from their coursebook that they are familiar with, but this time they can only use gestures, no words.
When they are practicing a dialogue, have students play around with the volume, intonation, pitch, or speed of their voices.
Write "Tell me something I don't know." on the board, then ask students questions about things they know about and you don't, such as their lives, cultural background, interests, and work.
Write a common adjacency pair (Thank you./You're welcome OR I'm sorry./That's alright) on the board. Ask students if they know of any expressions that could replace one of the ones you just wrote. Write any acceptable answers on the board.
Write a number of adjectives, such as mysterious, happy, peaceful, sad, angry, and frustrated on the board. Call out a color, and ask your students to tell you which adjective they associate with that color.
Write a word on a slip of paper and show it to a student. This student must whisper it to the second student. Then the second student must draw a picture of what he or she heard, and show it to the third student. The third student, then, writes the word that represents the picture and shows it to the fourth student. Then the fourth student whispers it to the fifth student.... and so on. This continues until you get to the last student, who must say the word to the class.
Write an idiomatic expression (such as "It beats me." or "I'm fed up.") in big letters on the board. Call on a few students to guess what it means before you tell them.
Write down the names of about five very different people on the board (a small baby, a rude waiter in a restaurant, a fashion model, a stranger in a crowd, and a grandfather). Give students a common expression, such as "Good morning!" or "Sorry!", and ask students how they might say it differently when talking to a different person.
Write your name on the board vertically, and add a suitable adjective that begins with each letter of your name. The next step is to invite students to do the same.

Lesson Plans

WEBQUESTS

CANADA—A FAMILY VACATION:
http://www.cesa8.k12.wi.us/it/webquests/canada/index.html

I would include Banff National Park, and Lake Louise, and Montreal, and Victoria, and Prince Edward Island to see Avonlea land, and.... Canada is a vast, diverse country and a terrific northern neighbor. Grades 2, 3, and 4 students can plan a family vacation north of the 49^th parallel, answering criteria first on family interests, special places on interest, regions, cost, etc. and coming up with a family itinerary while learning much of Canadian geography and culture.

TOUR USA:
http://tuckahoe.blwd.k12.pa.us/faculty/tlh/TourUS.htm

Student teams travel intensely through 17 states and Washington, D.C. to discover the interrelationship of landforms, geography, climate, and natural resources. They will create a visitor’s guide, a thematic map, and a travel journal article for a magazine. Team members include geologists,
agriculturalists, meteorologists, and environmentalists. Rubrics included. Grades 4-6.

IRELAND WEBQUEST:
http://www.education.umd.edu/Depts/EDCI/edci385/webquests3/Webquest1/webquest1.html

Just in time for Saint Patty’s day, you say? Aye, and a wee bit of traveling ye’ll be doing, as you visit Galway, Cork, Dublin, or County Kerry. Students will create a travel journal, recording places of interest, food, entertainment, weather,
and the people they meet.

EXPEDITION TO COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD:
http://www.plainfield.k12.in.us/hschool/webq/webq39/country.htm

If you just plain cannot make up your mind to which corner of the world you’d prefer traveling to in today’s webquests, then try an international sampling in this one. Students will use online resources to record a few facts about their country (each student can be assigned one country, or work in teams with assigned roles), learn a few words of that country’s native language, and copy a few chosen images.

TAKE A TRIP TO LATIN AMERICA:
http://schools.wcpss.net/Bugg/latinam.html

Hola... students will use online resources and a directed research worksheet to answer the five themes of geography in relation to Latin America. Upper elementary.

CANADA AND ITS TRADING PARTNERS:
http://www.occdsb.on.ca/~tec/webquesteng.htm

It's Commerce Fair time, and grade six students are responsible for setting up a demonstration booth at the fair, fully prepared to answer any and all questions on Canadian economics in regards to its imports and exports, its trading partners, and the natural resources and geography of all countries involved. Booths must include maps and multimedia presentations on throoughly researched data. Rubrics included.

KIA ORA AND KISSES FROM NEW ZEALAND:
http://asterix.ednet.lsu.edu/~edtech/webquest/maori.html

"Kia Ora” translates to either hello or goodbye in a traditional Maori greeting. Students will choose one aspect of Maoria culture, history, or geography, and create a report and presentation on these indigenous peoples from New Zealand.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AUSTRALIAN?
http://www.beenleigss.qld.edu.au/webquest/actualquest/actualquest.htm

G'day, and is anyone up for the question? Here we have pages and questions on the Vietnamese, the British, the Italians, the Greeks, the New Zealanders, and the Irish... But isn’t the theme supposed to be “Australia and Australians”? Find out why all the groups above also need to be included, as well as the Aborigines of course, in this excellent webquest on cultural diversity and heritage in Australia.

JAPAN NEWSPAPER WEBQUEST:
http://pages.about.com/eldoradoeh/japanwebquest.htm

Japanese cultural studies with a twist: in this instance your students will be studying medieval, not modern, Japan—and creating an Arts and Entertainment section for a newspaper. What’s up and happening this week? A tres formal tea ceremony, perhaps? To extend this particular web activity, students can take a medieval Japanese character (of their own making) and insert him into present day Japan—what cultural changes might he face? Keep a Back in Time travel journal.
Grades 6-8.

CLASS BOOK IDEAS:

http://www.teachers.net/lessons/posts//927.html

Find several excellent activities to accompany your elementary book studies, including poems, nursery rhymes, "Ten Apples Up On Top", "The Mitten", "Good Night Moon", many more.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF CHILDREN--THEN AND NOW:
http://www.uen.org/Centennial/20Children.html

DR. SEUSS LESSON PLANS AND ACTIVITIES:
http://www.auburn.wednet.edu/homepages/ilalko/Seuss.htm

DR. SEUSS BOOK ACTIVITIES:
http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/lessons/drseuss.shtml

MCBOING FLIPBOOK:
http://www.randomhouse.com/seussville/titles/mcboing/pdf/Flipbook.pdf (COPY & PASTE)
Students can create their own animated flipbook to celebrate Dr. Seuss Day. Simply print, cut, and staple. PDF format.

THE CAT IN THE HAT READING LESSON:
http://askeric.org/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Reading/RDG0009.html
Phonograms are easy with Seuss; use this lesson plan to help your emergent readers decode words.

SPRING INTO THE INTERNET IN EARLY CHILDHOOD:
http://ES.houstonisd.org/EmersonES/teachers/spring/spring.html

Celebrate the coming season with technology... early elementary students will plant seeds, create stories, and organize a slide show using Kid Pix (available at:
http://www.learningcompanyschool.com).

BUTTERFLY UNIT:
http://www.iup.edu/~njyost/KHI/BFly.html
Books, songs, and plenty of butterfly themed activities for PreK-2.

BUTTERFLY MOBILES:
http://www.billybear4kids.com/butterfly/craft/craft1.html
Use these colorful butterflies to accompany your project on migration and/or life cycles, or the butterfly unit, above.

IN LIKE A LION, OUT LIKE A LAMB:
http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/science/lionlamb030499.html
Students will become weather-wise with these suggestions to celebrate March and the coming spring season.

Language Learning & Technology

http://llt.msu.edu/

SONGS

CHILDREN'S ONLINE SONGBOOK:
http://judyanddavid.com/cma.html

Projects

AFRICA ACTIVITIES:
http://www.track0.com/canteach/elementary/africaunit1.html

LEGENDARY KINGS OF MALI ACTIVITY:
http://multimedia2.freac.fsu.edu/fga/academy/aftimb.htm#activity3

Student journals, timelines, and reading are the
exercises involved with this lesson plan.

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO LIVE IN A VILLAGE IN KENYA?
http://multimedia2.freac.fsu.edu/fga/academy/afkenya.htm

AFRICA ONLINE--KIDS ONLY:
http://www.africaonline.com/AfricaOnline/coverkids.html

STUDYING AFRICA:
http://keweb.nsd.org/integration/africa/afrihm.html

AFRICAN SONGS, CHANTS, AND GAMES:
http://www.track0.com/canteach/elementary/africasong.html

Perfect activities for elementary students to compli-
ment your African unit.

AFRICA--IT'S NOT A COUNTRY:
http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/TLresources/longterm/LessonPlans/africa/aindex.htm (

POP-UP BOOKS--BIM

Dan Stidham

EDTE 229B--FINE ARTS

Dr. Cris Guenter, Ed.D. Grade Level : 5

Time Frame :

3 hours over 3-6 days

Topic : Visual arts lesson featuring pop-up books created by individual students. The books will contain student designed scenes from their individual versions of fairy tales.

Component Objectives : Creative Expression:

Each student will draw and color a unique scene from his or her version of a fairy tale. The scenes will be created using lines, shapes, colors, and perspective. The scenes will be used to create student-made pop-up books.

Historical and Cultural Context:

Through class discussion and reading students will explore the history and alternative versions of fairy tales as a basis for creating their own versions of fairy tales.

Rationale :

The visual arts offer aesthetic, perceptual, creative, and intellectual dimensions. Designing pop-up books (deciding what each scene will depict, drawing the scene and writing the story) fosters creativity and critical thinking, thereby encouraging intuitive, emotional, and possibly verbal responses. Appreciation and application of perspective, line, shape, and color will last throughout the students' life.

Strategy :

A combination of guided discovery and direct instruction will be used. Vocabulary : perspective--the technique of representing three-dimensional objects and depth relationships on a two- dimensional surface.

Procedures Introduction :

The teacher will read a variety of fairy tales to the class, including alternative versions (e.g. The Three Little Pigs told from the wolf's point of view.) After the class discusses alternative versions of other fairy tales, the class will discuss the expectations for creating the pop-up books. With help from a student, the teacher will model how to get started on the individual pages of the pop- up books. The term perspective will be addressed. All students will create their own pop-up books.

Pupil Activity Sequence:

1. Students will be supplied with forms for the pages for the pop-up books. The forms are 8.5"x11" sheets of white paper with predrawn lines on the bottom third of the page to write a paragraph from their fairy tales. The top third of the page is blank to provide room for the students to create the scene from the story. The pages are to be folded in half, so the lines are inside the fold. The middle third of the page has four vertical lines (2" long). They are arranged in pairs and placed approximately 1/3 and 2/3 across the width of the page. These lines are to be cut along and the resulting strips are folded out from the page and form the base for the pop-up characters. Students will be supplied with as many forms as they need to complete their books.

2. Students will write a paragraph from their fairy tales on each page.

3. Using crayons, colored pencils, or colored markers, students will create a scene for each page of the pop-up book. The background needs to be colored completely, leaving little or no white paper showing--unless necessary for the scene.

4. Using blank sheets of white paper, pencils, and crayons, etc., students will design, cut out and color the pop-up characters for each scene--usually 2 per scene. The pop-up characters can be attatched to the bases using glue or glue sticks.

5. Once all pages are complete, the students will be shown how to glue the pages together back to back (bottom back of first page glued to the top back of second, second bottom back to third top half back, etc) in proper sequence.

6. After all pages are properly assembled, students will pick out a piece of colored construction paper (approximately 9"x12") as a cover for their books. The cover is glued to the outside of the pages.

7. Using crayons, colored pencils, or colored markers, students will design a front cover for their books including the title. The students need to write their names on the front or back cover.

Clean-up :

Each student is responsible for putting any scraps of paper into the trash can and putting away any materials he or she used to make their pop-up books.

Closure :

Once the books have been completed, have students share their feelings of accomplishment and reflect on the processes used to make the books. If any students volunteer, have them share their books with the class. Have students discuss possible alternative subjects for pop-up books.

Evaluation :

After the books are complete, the teacher will visually check to see that the pop-up books were designed and assembled correctly--the books open properly and each page has a colored background, written text, and at least one pop- up character per page. The students will discuss alternative versions of fairy tales and whether their perceptions of fairy tales and pop-up books have changed as a result of writing their own. Materials :

8.5"x11" forms for pop-up book pages sheets of blank white paper for pop-up characters sheets of colored construction paper (approximately 9"x12") for book cover crayons, colored pencils, colored markers pencils--to sketch pop-up characters and scenes scissors glue/glue sticks Extensions :

This lesson can be adapted second grade-adult. It can be used in cross-curriculum lessons, such as natural science or social studies. Examples include pop-up books about an event in history or the migration of whales.

Adapted from Christy Bradford, 5th grade teacher, Wilson School, Gridley, CA.

ADVERTISING: INVENTING IS KID'S STUFF

Author: District 16 Cooperative Networking Team, Miramichi, N.B.

Subject: Language Arts

Grade level: 4-8

Objectives :

· Students will brainstorm within their cooperative groups about things which "bug" them. They will then individually describe, in detail, what they would invent to get rid of those "bugs".

· Students will then exchange their descriptions with a partner, who will develop an appropriate advertisement to be included in a magazine.

· Each student will create his/her own invention, and will then develop an advertisement for it.

Activities:

Do you have a problem doing something? Can you think of a way to make a certain job easier? Does something really bug you? If so, use your imagination to create an invention. Then create a magazine advertisement for it. Make sure your ad includes a catchy heading, a colorful illustration, and detailed information, so that your audience will want to buy it. Here are some ideas:

· Working Model: Create an invention that really works. Then demonstrate it for your class.

· Non-working Model: Maybe you have a great idea, but are not sure how to put your invention together. No problem! Draw what it might look like on a sheet of bristleboard or paper. Label the different parts. Then write an explanation about how it might work. Maybe you could make a model of your idea using lego or some other sort of building material.

· Adaptations: Take a product that has already been invented, and improve it. Then draw a picture of it to explain it, or, better yet, bring in the new, improved working model.

· Games: Make a board game that has never been created before. Make sure you include detailed rules on how the game should be played.

· Sports: Are you athletic? If you are, why don't you consider creating a new sport that would be fun to play. Ensure that you clearly explain the rules for this sport. (Maybe you might want to make a sport you presently play more exciting by changing the rules.)

· Jules Verne: Jules Verne was a science fiction writer who wrote many interesting books including, "Journey to the Centre of the Earth". Maybe you would be a great science fiction writer. Create an invention of the future. Draw a picture of what it might look like. Carefully explain what it would do. Think about how people might travel, where they might live, or what they might be doing many years from now.

· Environment: We need help to make our environment better for everyone. Can you think of an invention that would help make our environment better for animals, plants and people. The world would be grateful if you could!

Student Examples:

· Kim: Kim noted, when talking in her group, that it "really bugged her" when teachers walked by her, even when her hand was raised. Therefore, based upon ideas that she was given by her group, she invented "The Teacher Reacher". This practical invention is a long red stick, with a stuffed glove at the end. Now, when the teacher walks by, Kim simply touches him/her on the shoulder (politely, of course) to remind the teacher that she needs help.(It also works as a great "back-stratcher"!)

· Jonathan: Jonathan observed that sometimes in the hospital the buzzers don't work properly, so that the nurses don't know sometimes when a patient has rung them. Therefore, he invented, "My Ding-a-Ling", a portable doorbell in a box that people can carry with them. Teachers can use it to notify their cooperative groups when it's time to stop talking and pay attention to what the teacher has to say!

Extended Activities:

· Have students create advertisements about their products by means of other media, such as television, radio, or billboards.

· Visit the local newspaper, or have the paper's advertising manager come in to speak to students.

· Have students create an advertisement for a local business. Then have business leaders come in to speak about the importance of advertising to their livelihood.

· Suggest that students do an independent research of a famous inventor or invention.

Internetting This Lesson:

Have students at one school send a detailed description of their product, via the internet, to students at another school. Then have the receiving students create their interpretation of that product and send back an attachment which contains their magazine advertisement.

Speaking and Listening:

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Author: District 16 Cooperative Networking Team

Subject: Language Arts

Grade Level: 4-8

Objectives:
To develop conflict-solving skills by having students figure out how to resolve confrontational situations without the use of force.

ROLE-PLAYING: What Would You Do?

1. As you're climbing up the ladder on the slide the girl in front of you steps on your hand. You get so angry you feel like hitting her leg.

2. You're standing in line waiting for your turn to skip when somebody cuts in front of you, without even asking. You're so angry that you feel like pushing him/her out of the way.

3. You worry a lot about the environment and are especially aware of the pop cans, paper, and other assorted debris students have a habit of tossing on school grounds. Now, while walking home, you watch as a

student drops a candy wrapper and walk away.

4. You're on the playground. You're about to pick up a ball when another student runs over and grabs it right out from under your nose. An

argument starts.

5. On the playground you see two students teasing your best friend. Your friend is crying. You go over to help your friend. An argument begins.

6. You and your friend are playing catch with your ball. A group of older students take the ball and throw it over your heads to each other. You

can't get the ball. You get angry.

7. Karen is eating a bag of chips at recess when Kim comes over. "Hey, look! My favorite chips," shouts Kim. She grabs the chips and turns to run

away. Karen grabs Kims shirt and rips it. They begin to yell at each other.

8. Leon and Jack, as always, have grabbed the ball for recess. Lisa and Susan think it's their turn to play with it. They run after the boys and try to get the ball. Arguing and shoving begins.

9. You accidentally bumped into someone in the school hallway. This person wants to fight with you on the playground. He/she keeps following

you around saying, "Come on, chicken!" You get angry and turn around to confront this person.

10. While chasing a ball Peter accidentally runs into a smaller child and makes her fall down. He yells at the little girl for getting in his way.

11. A classmate keeps walking behind you, stepping on the backs of your shoes. You turn around and push him.

12. Mary is waiting for her turn on the slide. Jerry, who went before her, has decided to climb back up the slide and take another turn.

Interneting This Lesson:

· Exchange ideas with students at other schools, via e-mail, as to how these situations might be resolved.

· Make up other situations and e-mail them to another school. Exchange ideas, back and forth, as to how original situations involving conflict might be resolved.

Rapid Reinforcers

Rapid Reinforcers are short (5 - 10 minutes) cooperative activities which are used to reinforce skills that are being taught.

Title: A Web of Words

Author: District 16 Cooperative Networking Team, Miramichi, N.B.

Subject: Language Arts

Grade Level: 4 - 8

Objectives: Review the definitions of special terms, such as antonyms, synonyms, or homonyms, that are used when teaching language arts.

Cooperative Methods: Students work in groups to try to make up as many words as possible. Each student takes a turn adding words to the web.

Information about the dog	Answer
Dog's Name
Age
Type of Dog
Where he lives
Value
Length of time he has worked as police dog
Past roles/jobs
What he looked like when he was found
Where he was found
How he was when he was found

Training sessions

Book Lists

Reading Workshop

What on Earth is Reading Workshop?

?
Reading Circles

Reading Circles 2

Professional Reading

Reading Strategies Workshop #17

75 ESL Teaching Ideas

Lesson Plans

LINKS

CLASS BOOK IDEAS:

SONGS

Projects

POP-UP BOOKS--BIM

ADVERTISING: INVENTING IS KID'S STUFF

Speaking and Listening:

Rapid Reinforcers

Pre-Intermediate Instant Lesson™