TheChalkboard.org - Recent Comments

it's simple

mr.k — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 17:50:10 GMT

no child left behind is simply designed to destroy public education. it is planned obsolesence. it must be destroyed. not reformed, destroyed.

Edwards

mr.k — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 03:36:31 GMT

that's my choice

Sequencing Events Activity-Reading

TStephens — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 14:48:35 GMT

I will also cross-post this as an entry

Subjects

* Arts & Humanities
--Language Arts
--Literature
* Educational Technology

Brief Description

This sequencing reading activity can be modified for different subjects and grades. At my school, we are advised to teach reading in all subject areas, so I've used this in some science courses I've taught.

Objectives

Students will

* read a story.
* boil down that story to 5 to 10 key events.
* create a sequencing quiz to go with the story.
* let a classmate take the quiz they created.
* adapt/edit the quiz at the end of the activity.

Materials Needed

* grade-appropriate stories to read (two or more)
* paper and pencil

Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students read a story and create a sequencing activity for their classmates to try out. The skill of sequencing, while often considered a "reading" skill, can be easily applied to all content areas. For example, in science class, the steps leading up to a volcano eruption, the process of uncovering a dinosaur, and other topics lend themselves to this kind of sequencing activity. In history class, the events leading up to a war or the election of a president could be used as the basis for the lesson.

Before the Lesson
For this activity, it is important to choose stories your students are not familiar with. A program you are not using in class might be a good source of material. The Internet can be a good source of stories too. For science class, I've used short pieces of science fiction.

For this activity, you need copies of at least two stories. If your class includes a wide range of reading levels, you might want to have multiple pairs of stories.

The Lesson
Arrange students into pairs. Give each student in a pair a copy of a different story. Provide time for students to read their stories, and then have them make a list of events that occurred in the story. The list of events should appear in the order in which they occurred. Lists should include at least five -- and no more than seven -- events. Once they have created their lists, have students rearrange the events so they do not appear in the order in which they happened in the story. (They keep the copy of the events in order to serve as an answer key.)

Have students in each pair exchange stories and papers. Then, students read the new story and list the events in the order in which they occur. Have partners check each other's work, and then work together to correct any errors, whether those errors were in the writing of the questions or the completion of the activity.

Assessment

Provide a sequencing quiz; students should achieve a grade of 80 percent or higher on the quiz.

No Child Left Behind

TStephens — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 01:52:45 GMT

I applaud any efforts made to keep NCLB from being reauthorized. I just hope whoever wins this November feels this same as I do.

Thanks

MissMartin83 — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 01:46:26 GMT

I like your idea about giving students options for their rules., from a list of possibilities. I did a similar activity in the urban school where I teach and it fell flat on its face because I allowed students to suggest anything. I had one boy tell me that one of the rules had to be that I wear short skirts every day. That was my first inappropriate comment of the year!

Open Source

webmaster — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 02:18:46 GMT

For those of you who are not technologically-inclined (like me), the term "Open Source" means that this is a space where the readers are more than welcomed to add their own opinions. If someone posts about a lesson and you use it, comment on their diary and let them know what worked and what needed more work.

Education is an art, and not a science so it's beneficial to see how different dynamics in different classrooms affect the educational process.