Assignment+1

June 3, 2010 Nicole Lee LIS 626 Assignment 1 Email message Dear Teacher, I’m excited to collaborate on a lesson for the grade 4 biography unit. It will be a prime opportunity to teach the students inquiry and critical thinking skills. I will need four lesson periods with the students in the library. Your idea to have the students act as curators in the new “People Wing” of the Museum of Natural History is sure to peak their interest. I hope to build on that idea by having the students consider what makes a person worthy of distinction. Their library research will focus on finding supporting evidence that their person of choice meets the criteria they themselves have developed. I will email you a formal lesson plan by the end of the week. Again, I look forward to working with you and the students. My best, Nicole Lee School Library Media Specialist

June 3, 2010 Nicole Lee LIS 626, Assignment 1 Lesson Plan 4th grade ELA Class/Biography Unit As a result of this lesson, students will know · how to evaluate whether a subject meets set criteria · how to demonstrate proof that set criteria is met · the characteristics of primary documents · how to follow an inquiry process · how to connect existing knowledge to new information · how to connect their own interests with new information · how to formulate questions about a topic · how to predict answers to questions based on background knowledge · how to select appropriate sources · how to select important information · how to use technology to access information · how to evaluate the validity of sources Students will be expected to take part in four lessons in the library for this lesson. The librarian will introduce the essential question, “Who belongs in the new ‘People Wing’ of the Museum of Natural History. The librarian will ask the students to independently write down what elements they think would make a person worthy of the honor of placement in the new museum wing considering what they know about museum exhibits. The librarian will then brainstorm with students writing their ideas on a whiteboard. The librarian will then read a picture book biography, asking the students to consider what makes the subject of the biography exceptional. Following the read aloud, the students will be asked to consider whether the subject of the biography had the characteristics they had previously listed. The librarian will ask the students what, if any, other exceptional qualities the subject of the biography had and whether they should add those to their original list. This will give students a good opportunity for reflection on their previous thinking and hopefully open their minds to important character traits or life experiences they may have overlooked. The students will be asked to write down the final list compiled on the white board on a sheet of paper. Considering the list, the students will be asked to choose a subject for their biography that they believe will be a good fit based on a number of the criteria. Considering their existing knowledge about their subject, they will be asked to place a star next to criteria they believe their person of choice meets and question marks next to criteria they don’t have knowledge about. S tudents will be expected to search for information about their person of interest by using print sources, as well as technology. The librarian will provide specific guidelines detailing what information they will be expected to find in order for their paragraph to meet their teacher’s expectations. Their research will focus on confirming the information they believed they knew and answering the questions they had about their person of interest. Specifically they will be expected to confirm three criteria they had starred on their list and find supporting evidence that their subject also has three additional traits from their list that they had marked with question marks. The students must consider the validity of their sources and construct an outline for their paragraph to be done in the classroom. The students will be expected to write a paragraph providing a strong argument why their person of choice should be included in the new museum based on the established criteria. As additional criteria for induction into the museum wing, the librarian will tell the students that they need to find two primary sources connected to their person of interest that would be worthy of display. Students will be expected to view different forms of primary documents and compare their value versus secondary documents. The librarian will provide some primary documents in the library for viewing. The students will search for others on-line. Students will be asked to consider what sort of primary document they may find in connection with their subject and where they might find it. Students will conduct on-line research for primary documents to find at least two primary sources for their selected person. The students will be asked to analyze the primary sources considering their importance in relation to their subject’s life and contributions. The ELA teacher will provide the initial “hook” to grab the students’ attention by assigning them the task of acting as curators in the new “People Wing” of the Museum of Natural History. I will peak their interest during our first library lesson by playing a two minute youtube video trailer from the movie “Night at the Museum’. Many of the students will be familiar with the movie, and it could make them more interested in the assignment. Prior to our lesson on primary documents, I will ask them to talk to their parents about documents related to them, such as birth certificates and videos and consider why they are of importance. Many students will likely discover that their parents keep such documents in a place like a safe. This will give the students a chance to make a personal connection with what could be an abstract concept of primary documents. I will provide the information needed for students to gain the expected skills by   ·  guiding them to the section of the library containing biographies · helping them conduct online searches · reading an example of a biography · showing them examples of primary documents · showing them how to find the sources of information to evaluate validity I will provide opportunities to discuss the details of a person’s life that make him/her exceptional and why. I will help them reflect upon their interests by sharing examples of interests and biography subjects that reflect those interests. I will provide generic sample questions as a starting point for inquiry. I will check for understanding by making sure each student has constructed fitting questions to research and has a game plan of how and where to search before they actually go online or search the stacks Once the students have located resources, I will confirm that each student actually answered his/her questions and check the validity of his/her sources by walking around the library and conferring with each student individually. I will use the conclusion of each lesson to discuss what was just learned and reveal what will be learned during the next lesson. If it’s not the first lesson, I will additionally discuss connections to prior lessons. This is also a chance to “hook” them for the next lesson by having them consider primary documents in their own homes and reflect upon how people in history have impacted their everyday life. I will remind them that someone invented the bus that brings them to school and someone else fought for people’s right to attend school at all. Students will be encouraged to read newspapers and watch news reports and consider what people involved in current events may one day be featured in a the “People Wing” of the Museum of Natural History and why? Computers with internet access Paper and pencil White board 4 lesson periods
 * Objectives **
 * Standards **
 * Anticipatory Set **
 * Teaching: Input **
 * Teaching: Modeling **
 * Teaching: Checking for Understanding **
 * Guided Practice **
 * Closure **
 * Independent Practice **
 * Materials **
 * Duration **