My Do Activity

As we continue the week of Halloween themed lessons, today the students will use a Halloween story they created to learn about sequencing in storytelling.  The students will start the day with the teacher read aloud the story When A Monster Is Born by Sean Taylor and Nick Sharatt during Meeting at the Book Nook.  For those who do not know, Meeting at the Book Nook is when our class gathers on the rug at the front of the classroom to listen to stories being read by a teacher, assistance, in a round robin format, or as a group. 

 

The book, When A Monster Is Born, explores the choices monsters make and the outcome of each decision.  The book will be a great way for students to explore sequencing as they will have to pay close attention to the decisions made by the monster.  “Sequencing is one of many skills that contributes to students' ability to comprehend what they read.  Sequencing refers to the identification of the components of a story, such as the beginning, middle, and end, and also to the ability to retell the events within a given text in the order in which they occurred” (TeacherVision, n.d., para. 1).  For each decision the monster makes, there will be a new sequence for the students to follow and remember. 

For my Do activity, the students will create a Halloween story using knowledge gained during the lesson about sequencing.  Teaching students sequencing can help them with comprehension, especially for narrative texts, while helping the student learning organizational skills.  “Sequencing is also an important component of problem-solving across the curriculum, including science and social studies” (Reading Rockets, n.d., para. 2).  In addition to working with the teacher to sequencing the book When A Monster Is Born and completing a sequencing worksheet, the students will divide into groups to bring a story of their own creation to life on the website Storybird.

Lesson Plan: My Halloween Story

Learning Objectives:

• The students will be able to generate, gather, and organize their ideas and information together to create their own stories and then share with the class.

Materials:

• Index Cards

• Crayons

• Pencils

• Paper

• Board/Storyboard

• Markers

• Lesson:

Introduction (5 minutes) 

• Start by telling the students they are going to be talking about Halloween night.

• To get the students talking about Halloween night, ask them questions about the events leading up to the beginning of thru to the end of the night.  For example, questions could include: What did you decide to dress up as this Halloween?  How did you choose you Halloween costume?  Why did you choose one costume over another?  How many houses do you plan to visit on Halloween night?  What are your favorite scary monsters?  What are your favorite candies?

Explicit Instruction/Teacher Modeling (10 minutes)

• Take time to explain to the student every story have a beginning, middle, and end.  Explain to the students that sequencing a story means putting the story in order from the beginning to the end.

• Ask the students to think about the story, When A Monster Is Born, from Meeting at the Book Nook this morning.

• Have the students identify the beginning, middle, and end of the book (a group Do-Type Activity).

• The teacher will model how to sequence the story, When A Monster Is Born, on the board/storyboard.

• The teacher will ask students for suggestions as he/she manipulates the sequence from the book onto the board/storyboard (a group Do-Type Activity).

Guided Practice/Interactive Modeling (10 minutes)             

• The teacher will pass out the Sequencing Your Day worksheet for students to complete (individual Do-Type Activity).

• After the worksheet has been completed, the teacher can help the students come up with a Halloween topics to write about and write them on the board.

Independent Working Time (25 minutes) 

• The teacher will divide the students into groups of five. 

• The teacher will instruct the groups to select one of the topics from the board and begin writing a story about that topic (a group Do-Type Activity).  The teacher will remind the students to pay close attention to the beginning, middle, and end as they create their stories.

• To help the students with the creation of their stories and sequencing, the teacher can hand students five or six index cards, and instruct them to illustrate their stories on the cards (a group Do-Type Activity).

Extend

Differentiation

• For Enrichment: The teacher can ask the students to write a story narrating a day in their life!  Students can be as descriptive as they like describing the daily routine from getting up to going to bed (a beginning, middle, and end) (a group Do-Type Activity).

• For Support: To help students with their stories, have them illustrate the stories before starting the writing process.

Technology Integration

• Storybird: Once the students have created their stories, the teacher can direct them the Storybird website.  The students can then start the process of writing their stories, selecting images or illustrations for the story, and then publish their books for everyone to read (a group Do-Type Activity).

 

Review

Assessment (5 minutes) 

• The teacher will ensure the students' stories have a beginning, middle, and an end.

• The teacher will confirm the students are able to answer the 5 W's about their stories.

Review and Closing (10 minutes) 

• To wrap up the lesson, the teacher will remind the students that they always need to have a beginning, middle, and end in proper sequence when writing a story.

• The teacher will ask the students to share their stories with the class.

• The teacher can send home the web address for the story online for the students to share with their families as well.

• In addition, if the class has a classroom website, the teacher can post some of the stories on the website for others to see.

References

Reading Rockets. (n.d.). Story sequence. Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/story_sequence

TeacherVision. (n.d.). Sequencing: Teaching strategy for reading (grades 1-5). Retrieved from https://www.teachervision.com/skill-builder/reading-comprehension/48779.html