I thought I'd post this one up, too. It's very Christmasy!
The Character Tree
(This is another one I made up- it's meant to be a hook for the kids when they get holiday fever.)
Description of Technology (2 pts.)
Describe the specific technology you will use and explain why you think it is appropriate for teaching the strategy.(Hint: I need to see this technology used in the sections below!)
I used a little plastic Christmas tree (about 3” tall) and Christmas lights. I used the tree and lights because it acted as a hook for the strategy. Let's face it, kids like shiny things!
Explain it! (5 pts.)
Explanation of Strategy and how it applies to Content Area
The character tree is used to list characters in a novel in order of importance and to provide a list of their characteristics. This is useful when reading because it allows students to keep track of who's who and what they're like. It also helps them get the names straight.
Model it! (5 pts.)
Model using the strategy (Think-aloud)—actually show your students how to do the strategy before they try it. this should almost be written as a script.
“As some of you may have noticed, there's a Christmas tree in front of my desk with shiny lights on it. Yes, Mary, I know the lights aren't plugged in. That comes later. Also, before anyone asks, yes, I am taller than the tree!
Here's what we're going to do with it! We've been studying the book The Giver. So later on, you guys are going to use the book to decorate the tree. For now, I'm going to show you how to do it using the story Cinderella. We start with the book's title, and we write it on a piece of paper. Then we use an unnecessarily large amount of tape to make the paper stick to the star on top of the tree! Next, we pick out the hero and the villain! The hero, obviously, is Cinderella. So we put her name on this paper star ornament and hang it from one branch at the top. Then we pick out the villain, the wicked stepmother, and we place her name on another paper star and hang it from the opposite branch. Next, we write the characteristics of each character on these shiny little ball ornaments (*they're made of paper*). Cinderella is caring and hopeful, and her wicked stepmother is ... mean and .... what's a good way to put this?.... we'll go with vile. Then we hang these little balls on the branches of their characters.
Now for the littler characters. There's Prince Charming, of course, so we'll make a little star for him. He's charming, obviously, but also a little shallow. I mean he fell in love with a girl he met once, and he didn't think to ask her name! Anyway, we put his traits on the little balls, and put all his ornaments on a branch below Cinderella's and on the same side because he's helpful to the hero. Now, we'll add in the stepsisters, who are vain and cruel, below their mother because they're helping the villain Does everyone see how this works?”
“And when it's all in place, we can plug in the lights! Pretty, aren't they?”
Guided Practice (3 pts.)
Students use the strategy as a group with your assistance.
“Let's try it together using the Three Little Pigs. What do we do first? (student response) Exactly, but let's use less tape. Now, who's our hero? (student response) Really? I always thought the first two pigs were pretty silly. Straw and twigs aren't the best building materials. (student response) Glad you see my point! We'll label this one Pig #3. What's he like? (student response) I don't think “tasty” is necessarily a good description of his character... (student response) Touche. “Tasty” can stay. So where do all these ornaments go? (student response) Good! Now, who's our villain? (student response) And what's Mr. Wolf like? (student response) Where do his ornaments go? (student response) Alright, what about pig #1 and pig #2? What are they like? (student response) And where do they go? (student response) Alright! Let's plug her up!” (more pretty lights)
Independent Practice (3 pts.)
Students use the strategy independently without your close assistance. (This step is to see if they understand how to use the strategy. If they do not, re-teach!)
“Now for the fun part! You're already in groups at your tables. I want the left side of the classroom to take villains in The Giver, and the right side is going to take heroes! I want you to remember something, too. Not all heroes and villains are as easy to spot as the ones in fairy tales. So make your choices carefully. I'll be asking you to justify them.
And when the class can decide on who's what, we'll put up the ornaments and light some lights! Hop to it!”
Evaluation (2 pts.)
This should be your evaluation of how the instructional plan worked –not an assessment of students’ knowledge.
I think I went the right way using fairy tales to explain it. The students needed to see the simplicity to get it. After they tried it, we had some really interesting debates on what makes a hero or a villain
.The only problem that arose was that I had to rearrange the Christmas light a little to keep them from setting the paper ornaments on fire.
