Quick Lesson 1: City Spies Book Club meeting
Setting: Book club meeting
Objective: Students will draw conclusions about book characters and compare/contrast the characters to their own personalities.
Standards:
Standard I: Learner-Centered Teaching and Learning
(9) direct and encourage students to read a variety of fiction and nonfiction resources for personal and informational needs.
(11) create a learning environment in which the diversity of groups and the uniqueness of individuals are recognized and appreciated
(12) provide instructional access to library resources and facilities through open, flexible scheduling for classes, small groups, and individuals.
Instructional Strategies: Read aloud (via video), effective questioning, gallery walk
Materials: copies of City Spies by James Ponti (1 per student participating in book club), computer with internet access and SMART board for showing video, blank copies of the student dossiers, markers.
Procedures:
Students will have read chapters 1-14 of the book City Spies by James Ponti before coming to the book club meeting.
Engage: Students will watch a video of James Ponti explaining his motivation for writing the book and reading part of Chapter 1. https://youtu.be/PK6OZlCkyRA
Explore/Explain: Students will answer the following discussion questions as a group:
o Which character is your favorite?
o Which city spy do you think is most like you?
o What surprised you about chapter 1?
o Do you agree with Rio, Kat, and Paris' decision to spy on Brooklyn during her arrival?
o What did you think Brooklyn/Sara was going to do with the watch?
o Was the FARM what you expected?
o What did you think of the events in chapter 10?
o Do you trust Charlotte? Why or why not?
Elaborate: Students will create their own city spy dossier using the template on page 4: https://simonandschusterpublishing.com/downloadables/82750/cityspies-bookclubguide.pdf
Evaluate: Students will share their dossiers via a gallery walk and vote on their favorite "motherism." The teacher will evaluate student participation during discussion and details included in their dossier.
Resources
Ma Van As, Y. (2021). City Spies Book Club Guide. Simon & Schuster. https://simonandschusterpublishing.com/downloadables/82750/cityspies-bookclubguide.pdf
Ponti, J. (2021). City Spies. Alladin.
Simon Kids. (2020, April 20). City Spies Read Aloud with Author James Ponti: Read and Learn with Simon Kids [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/PK6OZlCkyRA
Quick Lesson 2: Blackout Poetry
Setting: ELA class visit to library
Objective: Students will create a freestyle poem using words from a book page. The poem will show the student's voice and have a clear theme and/or tone.
Standards:
Standard I: Learner-Centered Teaching and Learning
(2) participate in curriculum design and integrated planning of a shared school campus vision that focuses on reading, teaching and learning.
(6) adapt teaching strategies to accommodate the diverse learning needs of the student population
(8) provide and promote ongiong learning opportunities for students
(11) create a learning environment in which the diversity of groups and the uniqueness of individuals are recognized and appreciated
(12) provide instructional access to library resources and facilities through open, flexible scheduling for classes, small groups, and individuals.
Standard IV: Learner-Centered Library Environment
(4) maximize available space to permit displays of student, faculty and community produced materials
Instructional Strategies:, direct instruction, close reading, gallery walk
Materials: pages torn or cut from age-appropriate books that have been weeded or donated (one page per student), markers, examples of blackout poetry.
Procedures:
Students will have studied poetry in their ELA classes prior to visiting the library for this activity.
The librarian will review what freestyle poetry is with students.
The librarian will discuss guidelines that students will use to create their poem:
· Students may not use more than 4 words that are adjacent in the same sentence to make sure that their own voice comes through.
· Students do not need to make the poem rhyme.
· Students should scan the page to determine the subject and theme of the poem using the words available on the page.
· Students have creative freedom in how they signify which words from the page are in their poem as long as it is clear to the reader.
The librarian will show students examples of both simple and complex blackout poems.
Each student receive a book page on which to create their blackout poem. The librarian will monitor students while working to ensure students are following the guidelines for the poem.
Students will participate in a gallery walk to share their completed poems. If needed, students will complete their poems in their ELAR classes and complete the gallery walk during the next library visit.
Resources
Glatch, S. (2021, April 20). What is Blackout Poetry? Examples and Inspiration. Writers.com. https://writers.com/what-is-blackout-poetry-examples-and-inspiration
Rau, C.M. (2021, August 6). Your Guide to Blackout Poetry. Book Riot. https://bookriot.com/blackout- poetry-guide/
Quick Lesson 3: Hour of Code
Engage: Create a Padlet or Nearpod collaboration
board that poses the following question: “When you hear the word ‘coding,’ what
does it mean to you?” Give students
about 3 minutes to respond, and then review responses with them.
Explore: Have students visit the
website https://hoc-2018.kano.me/challenges/home and select
one of the five Harry Potter-themed activities to complete. Remind them to use the tutorials embedded
within the website to help them progress.
Give students approximately 15 minutes to explore the Harry Potter
coding site.
Explain: Show the video https://youtu.be/THOEQ5soVpY, then
discuss the different ways that coding is used in our everyday lives.
Elaborate: Have students use https://scratch.mit.edu/ to
animate a scene from a book of their choosing.
Give a brief overview of the tools available in Scratch and point out
the tutorial for students who are not familiar with the website.
Evaluate: Pose the original engagement
question again on Padlet or Nearpod and compare students’ answers to their
original responses.
Resources:
DK
Books. (2014, December 29). Coding for kids: What is computer coding? YouTube.
Quick Lesson 4: Book Character App Design
Engage: Post a Padlet for students to list as many phone/tablet apps as they can think of with a short description of what they are used for. Discuss answers with the class, then have students discuss how their lives would be different if these apps didn’t exist.
Explore: Students will design an app that could have helped their favorite book character face the challenges they experienced in the book. Students submit the following in their app design:
- · Book title
- · Character name
- · Character description
- · Challenges faced by the character
- · App name
- · App description
- · App logo
Explain/Elaborate: Students will view the website to explore the steps of app-making process. https://codewithchris.com/how-to-make-iphone-apps-with-no-programming-experience/ . Based on the information here, students will make an action plan that includes the next three steps they would need to take to actually create the app they designed.
Evaluate: The app design and action plan will be the evaluation products to determine if the student was able to identify challenges faced by the book character and if they understand the app-making process.
Resources:
Ching, C. (2021, February 4). “How to make an app in 2021”. Code with Chris. https://codewithchris.com/how-to-make-iphone-apps-with-no-programming-experience/
Potash, B. (2021, October 19). “7 creative activities to pair with any novel.” Spark Creativity. https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2021/10/137-7-creative-activities-to-pair-with-any-novel.html
Quick Lesson 5: Physics Fun Day
Quick Program 5: Physics Fun Day
Part 1: The librarian will select and read aloud 3 or 4
poems from the book A Push-Pull Morning: Dog-Powered Poems about Matter and
Energy by Lisa Westberg Peters.
Part 2: Students will need an iPad and a Merge cube. Using the Merge Explorer app and Merge cube, students will complete the “Use the Force” activity to explore Newton’s laws and how mass affects force. At the conclusion of the activity, students will take the quiz within the Merge Explorer app.
Resources:
MergeEDU.
(2023). Use the force. Merge EDU
activity plans. https://dashboard.mergeedu.com/plan/view/c38/2/use-the-force-6-8.pdf
Peters, L.W. (2023). A push-pull morning: Dog-powered poems about matter and energy. Wordsong.
Quick Lesson 6: The Lorax (for Earth Day)
Part 1: The librarian will conduct a read-aloud of The Lorax on Earth Day (or the closest weekday to Earth Day).
Part 2: The librarian will pull nonfiction titles about ecology and environmental action prior to the lesson. After the read-aloud, students will browse these books to find something they can do to help reduce, reuse, or recycle waste that would normally end up in a landfill, or ways they can conserve natural resources. Students can also opt to search the Gale databases available in Class Link to find an action they can commit to.
Part 3: The librarian will have a bulletin board prepared with the word “Unless” at the top. Students will be given a piece of construction paper shaped like the top of a Truffula tree. Students will write their pledge to help the environment on their paper and staple it to the bulletin board.