Literature Focus Unit
Day One, Session One:
Materials: The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, by Jon Scieszka, Literary Report Cards worksheet, student journals, pencil
Introduce story:
1. A grand conversation about different versions of well known fairytales (Ashpet and Cinderella etc.)-Prepare
2. Show students the cover of the book and read the title and then ask for predictions about the book- Prepare, Read
Read the story aloud to the students cover to cover- Read
After finishing the book:
1. Have students write their initial responses to the story in a journal. Ask them to think about how this story was different and similar to the traditional story of the Three Little Pigs. –Respond, Explore
2. Have a grand conversation about the book and what the students first thought of it. Recap what they have written in their journals. Have volunteers summarize what they have written. Ask students to look through the book and point out similarities and differences between the two versions of The Three Little Pigs. –Respond, Explore
3. Hand out the Report Card book review. Have students complete the book review as in class homework- Respond
Day One, Session Two:
Materials: The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, by Jon Scieszka, paper for a word wall, markers,
Continuation of the lesson:
1. Review the day’s previous activities. Review what the students have completed with their literary report cards. - Prepare
2. Tell the students that they will be reading the book again. Have them listen carefully to the words in the story and write down any words that they don’t already know or understand. – Prepare
Students buddy read with a partner- Read
After the story:
1. Ask students to share their found words with a partner. –Respond
2. Have students compare their words in their groups and narrow their lists down to 5 words total. -Respond
3. Have students create a word wall with their found words- Explore
4. Discuss the new words on the word wall in class. Define the words, look at how they are used in the book, and create example sentences in which the words could be used.-
Explore
5. Ask students to create a found poem using the words on the new word wall. Give them time in class to begin. Have the students share their found poems at the beginning of the next lesson.-Explore
Day Two, Session One
Materials
Review all of the previous lesson’s activites.-Prepare
Have students first share their poems with a partner.
Buller, Jeffrey L. “The Pigman.” Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Fiction Series (1991): 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
Students will get into groups and will take turns reading paragraphs of the text. This will enable them to adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (Language standards 1,3 for 9-10th grade ELA)
Think of your sentences as a form of note-taking on the sections you read. If you are good at writing the sentences, they will help you prepare for your reading quizzes. Highlight or bold or underline the word in your sentence and make your sentences at least 10 words long. Do NOT copy and paste definitions out of the dictionary - put them into your OWN words. Delete these vocab instructions when you are
The development of the most beneficial technology in the Old South that we all know as the cotton gin was developed by Yale graduate Eli Whitney in the year 1793. This took place shortly after his relocation from Massachusetts to Georgia when it was brought to his attention from his former manager that harvesting cotton was both time consuming and unbeneficial to plantation owners. As a result, he was then asked to develop a resolution for support; thus the cotton gin was born. This extraordinary machine had the ability to separate cotton from its seeds through hand cranking. The acquisition of the cotton gin was the fact that cotton evolved into the most economically beneficial crop in the Old South. This became the primary reason for the use of the slogan “King Cotton”.
Valuing a diamond is a highly skilled task thus not traded on world frequently. (Valued on the basis of four criteria- 4C s carat clarity color and cut)
case, it is a story about a group of pigs taking over a farm, and the
To add some variety to traditional teaching and learning strategies, a teacher might design an independent project where students work in teams and focus collaboratively on a single novel from the twentieth century. Each team would read a selected book and work together to create artifacts that would be shared with the other teams. Through collaborative work and sharing, students would be able to grasp the concepts and connections of several works of literature. The project outlined in section 5 will target twentieth century literature.
A graduate from Yale University had thoughts of becoming a lawyer, but he needed a job urgently. After a tutoring job fell through, he accepted a position on a plantation in Georgia. His employer, Catherine Green, saw much talent in him and encouraged him to find a way to make cotton profitable. He promptly began working on a solution to the problem of separating the seeds from the cotton. On March 14, 1794, Eli Whitney was granted a patent for the cotton gin.1 The cotton gin impacted American industry and slavery changing the course of American history.
In order to create an activity where students can compare and contrast two books, the books must have at least one thing in common. This could be having the same author, characters, themes, cultures, or plots. Comparing and contrasting has many benefits for students. Comparing and contrasting can strengthen a student’s ability to remember, help create higher-order thinking skills, and enhance a student’s comprehension skills. (Silver, 2010)
Out of all the earth’s major natural resources, diamonds are the most sought after and most mysterious. Throughout history, the virtuosity and resistance of diamonds have caused fighters and lover’s great pain and happiness. For centuries, the value of the diamond commodity became increasingly popular. However, it wasn’t until the mid 1900s, when diamonds permanently made their signature as the world’s most indispensable symbol of love and affection (Howard, Vick 2008). Soon after, diamond rings became the 21st century standard of engagement rings. Without a doubt, everybody in society knows how valuable this commodity is. Nonetheless, what truly makes this commodity more valuable are the stages it goes through from the diamond mines to th...
In the late 1700’s the slave population in the United States had decreased. Before the invention of the cotton gin the South, which could only make money by farming, was loosing money because it didn’t have a major crop to export to England and the North besides tobacco and rice. However, these crops could be grown elsewhere. Cotton was the key because it couldn’t be grown in large amounts in other places, but only one type of cotton that could be cleaned easily. This was long-staple cotton. Another problem arose; long-staple cotton only could be grown along the coast. There was another strain of cotton that until then could not be cleaned easily so it wasn’t worth growing. The cotton gin was the solution to this problem. With the invention of the cotton gin short stemmed cotton could be cleaned easily making cotton a valued export and it could be grown anywhere in the south. The era of the “Cotton Kingdom” began with this invention leading into an explosion in the necessity of slaves.
... Short Stories for Students. Ed. Kathleen Wilson. Vol. 1. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1997. 105-107.
Fairy tales read to young children not only served as a form of entertainment for the child, but they also taught children the difference between what is good and what is bad. The Three Little Pigs is a prime example of the morals and lessons that children were taught while reading a fairy tale. The fact that the tale is equipped with adventure and the ability for animals to talk causes children to immerse in the text while acknowledging the consequences of laziness of the first two little pigs and the result of evil for the sneakiness of the big bad wolf. The tale does however teach children the benefits of hard-work when at the end the third pig lives happily ever after in his sturdy house made of bricks. Comparing three different versions of The Three Little Pigs succeeds in showing the reader issues surrounding that time in regards to social class and gender. The illustrations of the three versions add to the excitement of the tale.
...People respond to the three pigs because either they have been in the pigs’ position, or they are ready to learn from the pigs’ experience. Everyone faces his own personal “wolf” that bares its teeth and threatens to blow away his foundation, but “The Three Little Pigs” offers hard work and determination as a solution to any problem that seems insurmountable. Proper preparation prevents poor performance regardless of the situation, and the three pigs show that sometimes, a poor performance might be the last one.
Two days a week in the morning, the children participate in a reading and writing block called “literacy and writing workshop.” The classroom is organized into five different levels with one group having one extra person; the levels are based on scoring of reading assessments. The groups are rotated so that each may spend 15 minutes cycles with either the teacher or Para-educator. The groups not with an instructor were to work on the “Daily-5” (explanation later) until their scheduled lesson. After the students finish their lesson, they are to fill the remainder of the workshop time working on “Daily-5.” This workshop is part of a regular routine. The students understand that after a reading a story with the teacher, they are verbally given a writing assignment. The assignment is usually to write a five sentence paragraph and color a picture related to the reading.