Wednesday, January 30, 2008
literature piece
I have been delaying my post for a bit because I have been trying to give more thought to what type of literature I will use in my classroom. Since I am in a 5th grade classroom and have realized that I would not have time to teach about a novel during my 45 min lesson that matched my student's reading level. The teacher that I will do my literacy lesson for is not my CT. He teaches strictly from the books given to him by the district and offered for me to follow suit. Since my lesson needs to be focused on discussion, I will most likely not be using his books (unless I find a great topic to discuss). I have thought about using a song or a poem from the time period that they are studying but still have not found a certain piece of literature I would like to use. If anyone has any suggestions about a short story, poem, or song that would work for 5th grade let me know. I was also wondering what a teacher should do if they are only getting one word responses during discussion. Should a teacher state her expectations of the discussion first by letting the students know that this is unacceptable? Or would this be putting pressure on them and resembling recitation?
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3 comments:
Sarah,
I too have been undecided on what piece of literature I want to use for my literature discussion. I think you make a valid point of not being able to use a novel that your fifth graders are using for their reading level. But, could you use a chapter out of a novel that they are using? Maybe it's a book you are familiar with and can take a chapter that could be further used for a literature discussion. Of course if it is a book that you are not familiar with and picking out a random chapter may not be the smartest choice, I think you are on the right track with using poetry. Just by Googling fifth grade poetry I found something on Haiku poems and you could teach them that specific poetry type and use that for the students with various examples and you could also have the students make one up themselves.
Also, to answer a couple of your questions...
I feel that a teacher should state her expectations of the discussion first but also from reading our previous articles I think a teacher needs to facilitate conversation but cannot control what the students say. Hopefully as a teacher you will present meaningful questions that are not questions that consist of yes or no answers.
I know you will do great though and I am excited to see what type of literature you chose to do!! :)
You have come up with some creative ways to teach a one day lesson. I think it would be a great idea to use a poem or a song. I think that it would challenge you to use a genre that you are not as familiar with. Using song lyrics would be a great way to engage students, especially if they are only used to using district selected texts that don't include other genres. It would be really neat to use a song from the period they are studying such as using the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" if you are doing the Civil War, etc. If you chose a song like that you could have students find symbolism, compare the past language with modern phrases, examine the author and the intended audience, try to figure out why the song would be used and what effect it may have upon listeners, etc. I think a song could enable you to get into a broad variety of topics that you could select to follow along with the curriculum.
I also share the same concern as you about how well a discussion will go. I am afraid that students will only give one word answers as well. I think that one word answers occur when a question is posed so that one word can answer. It is up to the teacher to ask questions that require explanations, or better yet, get students engaged in a discussion between themselves where they would like to explain their ideas. I just worry that it will be difficult to do in a class that has not practiced talking together and has only experienced a teacher led discussion.
You all have wonderful advice for your colleague!! I agree that a short story or poem would suit your shortened time span. Have you considered Shel Silverstein?
Haiku is also a good idea but you might want to also include an opportunity for students to practice a haiku.
Your colleagues also took the words out of my mouth regarding questioning. It's crucial that you get things going with questions that may have no obvious answers. Give your students something to debate possibly or something to interpret. It's essentially your responsibility to get kids talking. If your question CAN be answered with one word, students should not be penalized for offering it.
Another thought: when you plan your discussion and write up your first questions, play out the scenario in your head a few times. Can you anticipate some answers? Can you anticipate one word answers? With those anticipations in mind, what additional comments or inquiries can you make to help your students think on a deeper or more complex level? Having these ideas ready makes it possible for you to have a "planned spontaneous" conversation.
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