Leading to Great Places in the Elementary Classroom.

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 480 884

CS 512 117

AUTHOR

Roth, Sharon

TITLE

Leading to Great Places in the Elementary Classroom.

INSTITUTION

MareoPolo Education Foundation.; National Council of Teachers of

English, Urbana, IL.; International Reading Association, Newark, DE.

PUB DATE

2003-02-28

NOTE

7p.

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Managing Editor, ReadWriteThink, International Reading Association,

800 Barksdale Rd., P.O. Box 8139, Newark, DE 19714-8139. E-mail:

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PUB TYPE Guides

Classroom Teacher (052)

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DESCRIPTORS

Adolescent Literature; *Childrens Literature; Elementary Education;

Lesson Plans; Reader Response; Writing Assignments; *Writing

Instruction; Writing Processes

ABSTRACT

The lead of a story is the beginning, and yet it can be the end if the

reader is not entranced immediately. This lesson examines types of leads in prominent

children's literature and asks grade 3 to 5 students to try their own hand at writing

leads. During the two 40-minute lessons, students will: discuss their reactions to the

leads from the various texts; compare different leads from young adult literature;

develop a lead for a shared, read-aloud text; present their new lead orally and share

why they selected the type of lead they utilized; and revise the lead in a piece of

their own writing. The instructional plan, lists of resources, student

assessment/reflection activities, and a list of National Council of Teachers of

English/International Reading Association (NCTE/IRA) Standards addressed in the

project are included. Attached are seven possible leads to read aloud to the class to

demonstrate how setting, action, character, reflection, event, or dialogue can lead

readers into a story. (RS)

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made

from the ori inal document.

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Leading to Great Places in the Elementary Classroom

Author

Sharon Roth

Urbana, Illinois

Grade Band

3-5

Estimated Lesson Time

Two 40-minute sessions

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Overview

The lead of a story is the beginning, and yet it can be the end if the

reader is not entranced immediately. This lesson examines examples

of leads in children's literature such as setting, action, character,

reflection, event, and dialogue in a shared reading experience.

Students are asked to then generate different leads for a read aloud

book in the classroom. Finally, students are asked to complete the

reading writing connection by writing or revising a lead in one of

their one pieces of writing.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Educational Research and Improvement

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ID This document has been reproduced as

received from the person or organization

originating it.

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Points of view or opinions stated in this

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"Where's Papa joing wi

that ax?" saicl Fern to her

mother as they were setbn

the table for breakfast

From Theory to Practice

Atwell, Nancie. 1998. In the Middle Writing, Reading, and Learning with Adolescents. Portsmouth, NH:

Heinemann

In In the Middle Writing, Reading, and Learning with Adolescents, Atwell suggests that "mini-

lessons on leads helps students internalize stylistic concerns". Moreover, exposing students to

different kinds of leads helps students see the importance of voice and how people respond to the

literature.

Lane, Barry. 1993. After the End Teaching and Learning Creative Revision. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Teachers looking for examples of how to go from theory to practice should consult Lane's After the

End Teaching and Learning Creative Revision. His approaches are well grounded in research but

also provide timely examples to get accomplish the goal of getting students to revise.

Student Objectives

Students will

discuss their reactions to the leads from the various texts.

compare different leads from young adult literature.

develop a lead for a shared, read aloud text.

present their new lead orally and share why they selected the type of lead they utilized.

revise the lead in a piece of their own writing.

EST COPY AVAILABLE

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_viewininter_friendly.asp?id=12

Resources

Great Leads Handout

Copy of selected texts from student handout

Notecards

Overhead of lead from a shared text

Instructional Plan

Resources

Great Leads, Handout

Notecards

One copy of each selected text from student handout

Overhead of lead from a shared text

Writer's notebook

Preparation

Read over sample leads provided to determine which ones to share with the class.

Collect texts for the samples selected.

Copy selected leads for each student.

Make an overhead of the lead from a shared class text such as the most recent read aloud. It

would be most useful to select a lead from a novel that the class enjoyed but felt was a slow

starter.

Instuction and Activities

Session One

Hand out a notecard to each student. Ask students to number the notecard according to the

number of leads you have selected to read aloud.

Using the structure of a focus lesson, introduce the concepts of leads by sharing examples

from selected text. The order of the leads shared should match the order in which they are

printed on the student handout.

Students place a simple rating after each number according to how they liked the lead which

was read aloud. Suggested rating might include (+)or (-) or one , two or three stars.

After you have read aloud all of the sample leads, distribute the student handout with the

leads printed and categorized.

Using pairs, small groups or a whole class arrangement, invite students to discuss why they

rated each lead as they did. If pairs or small groups are used, take some time to invite

students to share with the whole class some of their impressions of the leads shared

reminding them that readers experience the texts differently.

Close the lesson by letting students know they will be applying their experiences with leads

to a text that the whole class has in common so they should keep the handout in a place

where it can be easily accessed again.

Many students will be interested in reading some of the books which samples were taken

from. You should be prepared to allow time and/or access to those novels. Ideally, this

lesson can be completed shortly before students are asked to self select for independent

reading or for an author study.

Collect the notecards for assessment purposes.

Session Two

In a focus lesson format, invite students to join you with the handout of sample leads, their

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson viewirinter_friendly.asp?id=12

writing notebook, and a pen/pencil.

Display the lead from the read aloud book on an overhead, while sharing it orally.

In pairs, invite students to create two new leads for the text, using a strategy demonstrated

from the student handout: Great Leads. For example, if the text uses a lead built around the

setting, encourage the pairs to create a lead that uses another strategy, such as dialogue.

Give the students time in class to complete the task. Let them know they will be sharing the

new leads they have crafted. Ideally, the teacher crafts a lead during this time as well. If the

class requires more active monitoring, you can draft a lead as part of the preparation for this

lesson.

After sufficient time to draft, ask students to volunteer to share their favorite new lead and

explain why they chose the type of lead they did. You may need to share your sample to get

the discussion going. The book covers and newly written leads could be displayed as a

bulletin board with a before and after feature.

Based upon the experience, students will revise the lead on one of their own pieces of

writing. Depending upon the classroom, it could be a teacher or student selected piece.

Extension

Within the classroom, post great leads along with the book jacket. Challenge students to find great leads.

When they find leads they believe to be worthy of being posted they can share them with the class before

posting them. This will reinforce the skill and continue to generate interest in books.

Student Assessment/Reflections

Teacher observation and notes: specifically noting who participated through discussion and as

evidence on the notecards.

Collect samples of student work representing the lead before this lesson and after.

NCTE/IRA Standards

3 - Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate

texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their

knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their

understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context,

graphics).

4 - Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style,

vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and

punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss

print and nonprint texts.

Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and

dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.

Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety

of literacy communities.

12 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for

learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

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Great Leads

Possible leads to read aloud to the class to demonstrate how setting,

action, character, reflection, event, or dialogue can lead you into a story:

Barker, Clive. The Thief of Always. HarperCollins Publishers,

1992.

"The Great Gray beast February had eaten

Harvey Swick alive. Here he was, buried in

the belly of that smothering month.

Buell, Janet. Bog Bodies. Twenty-First Century Books, 1997.

Soggy peat squished beneath archaeologist

Rick Turner's boots as he scanned the cut

bank of the peat bog. The English air hung

damp and think, and gray clouds covered the

August sun. A steady drone from the

harvesting machine mingled with sounds of

traffic and chirping birds. On the far side of

the bog, peat men labored. The workers

were finally back at their jobs, the memory

of yesterday's events beginning to fade from

their minds."

ii Fleischman, Paul. Weslandia. Candlewick Press, 1999.

"Of course he's miserable," moaned

Wesley's mother. He sticks out." "Like a

nose," snapped his father.

Philbrick, Rodman. Freak the Mighty. Scholastic, 2001.

"I never had a brain until Freak came

along and let me borrow his for awhile, and

that's the truth, the whole truth. The

unvanquished truth, is how Freak would say

it..."

Philbrick, Rodman. The Last Book in the Universe. Scholastic

Signature, 2000.

"If You're reading this, it must be a thousand years

from now. Because nobody around here reads

anymore. Why bother when you can just probe it?"

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Sachar, Louis. Holes. Dell Yearling, 1998.

"There is no lake at Camp Green Lake.

There once was a very large lake here, the

largest in Texas. That was over a hundred

years ago. Now it is just a dry, flat

wasteland.

There used to be a town of Green Lake as

well. The town shriveled and dried up along

with the lake, and the people who lived

there.

During the summer the daytime

temperature hovers around ninety-five

degrees in the shade-if you can find any

shade. There's not much shade in a big dry

lake.

The only trees are two old oaks on the

eastern edge of the "lake". A hammock is

stretched between the two trees, and a log

cabin stands between that.

The campers are forbidden to lie in the

hammock. It belongs to the Warden. The

Warden owns the shade.

Out on the lake, rattlesnakes and scorpions

find shade under rocks and in the holes dug

by the campers."

u White, E.B. Charlotte's Web. Dell Publishing. 1969.

"Where's Papa going with that ax?" said Fern to her

mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.

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