so he writes to his parents about his reasons. They respond. Easy for students to understand the concept (and the idea of supporting your opinion with reasons).
And here are a few others to start you with persuasive and opinion writing:
Earrings! by Judith Viorst
Have I Got a Book for You! by Melanie Watt
It’s Hard to Be a Verb! by Julia Cook
The Promise by Nicola Davies
Warp Speed by Lisa Yee
Reader’s Theater:
Another Point of View: Readers Theater Fairy Tales and Activities by Nancy Polette
Cinderella Outgrows the Glass Slipper and Other Zany Fractured Fairy Tale Plays by Joan M. Wolf
12 Fabulously Funny Fairy Tale Plays: Humorous Takes on Favorite Tales That Boost Reading Skills, Build Fluency & Keep Your Class Chuckling with Lots of Read Aloud Fun! by Just McCory Martin
Beyond books—where to access other resources:
Fairy tales/fables:http://www.worldoftales.com/fairy_tales.htmlhttp://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fairytaleshttp://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/literacy/lit_site/html/fiction/fairytale2/fairytale.htm
Folktales:http://www.hellokids.com/r_45/reading-and-learning/tales-for-children/classic-taleshttp://www.kidsgen.com/stories/folk_tales
Unit Planning: How to Build Out Three Weeks
In this next section, I give you some help extending and developing a unit of study starting with author’s purpose and point of view but branching out to other aspects of craft and structure. Students will analyze the structure of texts and will move into drama and poetry, in turn writing in response to their reading. When mapping out the year, we know how much time is allotted to skills and standards. What aspects of this unit fit with your curriculum? How much time do you have? Those are driving questions as you plan. Week 1 reflects the lesson sequence on POV.
Reading closely for POV. Writing in response to reading.
Week 2 focuses on interpreting words and phrases as they are used in a text—especially figurative language. While this is a one-week lesson, it can and should be repeated throughout the year—students should always notice language and vocabulary. However, since this specific sequence is geared more toward the beginning-of-the-year instruction, I’ve only included a week for language, followed by Week 3, which focuses on analyzing and explaining how text structures relate to each other. Again, these are almost “launch” lessons for more in-depth studies throughout the year. As students read and write, they should always be aware of craft and structure.
Three Planning Calendars
Getting Ready
OK, so you’ve finished a week or so of lessons on craft and structure, and you’ve seen your students really starting to get the hang of it... but now what?
Your best coach (and reality check) is your own class. That is, the daily (informal) assessment you do of students’ learning gives you the surest data for the most needed next steps. From there, decide where exactly it is you think you can take the class in three weeks. Define that for yourself (see www.corwin.com/thecommoncorecompanion for an example) and then devise an end of unit assessment task that measures students’ proficiency with the task. It doesn’t have to be a big, scary task, but it should be something that asks students to apply what they learned to a brand new setting: that is, a text they have never read before, a writing task that requires them to demonstrate independence and understanding of the requirements of the standard. Generally speaking, I administer these end-of-unit assessments in class and students finish them in an hour.
What might an assessment look like? Here’s a possibility:
Informal assessments:
Observations
Conferring
Group work
Student work
Written responses to reading
It goes without saying: While the calendars at www.corwin.com/thecommoncorecompanion show a template for direct instruction, guided practice, and tasks, remember that students should be reading independently every day! As they read, hold them accountable for asking and answering key questions about the books they have. Remember—the goal is independence and internalizing these questions. While students are reading, confer or pull needs groups together—continue to use that time to instruct!
Photocopy the My Unit Planning Notes, on the next page, to begin jotting ideas.
Extending Instruction: How to Build Out Into a Unit of Study
Please go to www.corwin.com/thecommoncorecompanion for weekly calandars that plot out how you might deepen the work students have done in this sequence. You’ll also find other teaching resources.
Driving Questions
How do I move beyond using a fairy tale to teach POV? How do I bring increasingly rigorous text to my reading workshop?
How do I move beyond POV? Craft and structure includes vocabulary, figurative language and overall structure of texts—including a variety of genres? How do I include these in a unit of study?
What other writing in response to reading fits into this unit of study?
And these are the generic questions that we should always be asking ourselves:
What is missing from my current curriculum (or basal)? How do I ensure my students are getting the skills they need?
What are other “routes” I can take to teach these skills?
Task
