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In this section, you will build on what you have learned and develop strategies you can use in your classroom. The following activities are designed to assist you in integrating new technologies into your existing curriculum. Choose one or both of the activities from the list below.
Activity 1 –Research an Author
In this activity, you will develop a lesson that guides your students to use the Internet to find out information about an author whose work they are reading in class.
Activity 2 –Develop Background Knowledge
In this activity, you will determine the background knowledge that is required to enhance students’ understanding of a novel you teach in your literacy program.
Teachers often give students background information about an author before reading a book. In addition to providing interesting information for the reader, this knowledge often helps the reader understand the author’s purpose in writing.
In this activity, you will help your students gain knowledge about an author by using the Internet. To develop this activity, use the following steps. When you have finished, save your written work to submit as an assigment.
For example, for the author Cynthia Rylant:
Many intermediate-grade novels are set in a time and/or a place that may be unfamiliar to students. For example, a story may take place on a Navajo reservation (Annie and the Old One), in Europe during World War II (Number the Stars), in the 1950s before the Civil Rights movement (The Gold Cadillac, Leon’s Story), or during the Great Depression in America (Bud, Not Buddy; Out of the Dust).
In this activity, you will identify the background information your students need to understand a novel they will read. Think about a favorite book that you teach with a setting that requires more background knowledge in order to understand and identify with the characters and story events. Then plan a two- to three-day lesson in which students will use the Internet to gather information about the setting of the story. Use these steps in designing your lesson:
A sample lesson plan follows.
Using the Internet to Build Background Before Reading Lesson to Prepare for Bud, Not Buddy
By Christopher Paul CurtisSetting: 1930s Depression Era in the Mid-west
Important concepts: poverty, homelessness, food lines, soup kitchens, jazz, blues
Overarching question: How did the hardships of the Great Depression affect people’s lives?
Key words for searching the Internet: Great Depression, drifters, Hoovervilles, railroads in the 1930s, Flint, Michigan
Possible Web sites: http://www.history.com/topics/great-depression
Additional questions:
- What was the role of the railroads during the Great Depression?
- How did the U.S. government help people during the Great Depression?
- How did the music of the Great Depression reflect the times?
Sample student worksheet:
Question Web Site What I Learned New Questions
Sharing ideas: whole class or small groups; record new information on charts to be used during reading of book
After you have taught this lesson, consider the following questions: