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The teacher will ask a group of students to name one category of words they
created and discuss what was listed in the category to justify their reasoning
for grouping. Allow other groups who may have listed a similar category to add to the discussion. The teacher will list each category discussed on the board and continue to call on groups until all have been shared. Then the teacher will connect the sorting activity with finding a main idea when reading, as both require finding a common theme throughout.
The teacher will refer to the EQ and explain that finding main ideas helps to summarize information. Then the teacher will ask, "Why do we need to know how to summarize information? When might we need to summarize information in our daily lives?" (Some responses may include telling a friend about a good book or
movie.) The teacher will then say, "We already know some facts about the people of North
Carolina, but today we are going to learn more about this topic through research
and summary writing. In order to do that, we are going to work in groups to
research different ethnic groups on a site on the Internet. First, though, we
need to review some key vocabulary."
Vocabulary
- To learn the vocabulary, students will put together pieces to a
puzzle. This puzzle will have vocabulary words and definitions
on the back side and a mosaic on the front side.
The teacher will review what a mosaic is and tell the students that the
shape of the puzzle will relate to the topic of study for today to help them
in putting the puzzle together. In a class of 18, 3 puzzles are needed
as there are 6 words w/ definitions per puzzle. The teacher will need
to print copies of the mosaic puzzle (see resources below) and cut them out. Then, the teacher will need to print one of each color puzzle
back side (the actual words/definitions inside puzzle pieces), cut them out, and glue a mosaic to each colored puzzle back. Then, the puzzle pieces will need to be cut apart (but kept together according to color) and laminated.
- Each student will get two puzzle pieces (either
2 definitions OR 2 terms) from the same color group.
***It is important that the pieces
are divided so that both of "Student As" definitions match up
exactly with "Student Bs" vocabulary words.
The
teacher will then direct students as to where to meet in the room to create
the puzzles according to the color of their puzzle pieces. Once with their groups, students are
to find their partners by matching the word puzzle pieces with the definition
puzzle pieces. (ONE word should only match up with ONE definition.
Students CANNOT match 2 words to each other or 2 definitions. ALL of
the pieces will be fitted together later.)
- Once students have found their partners, they each need to choose a word
with its definition and learn it well so that they can teach it to the
rest of their color group. However, tell students that they are
not to teach the words until the puzzles are completely fitted together
with ALL pieces so that they can flip it over and use the pictures in
the mosaic to help them teach the words and definitions.
***In
order for the puzzle to be easily flipped over with all of the pieces
staying in tact, provide students with folded tag board or construction
paper to act as a folder on which the pieces can be placed and "shut
in" for flipping. Tell students to hold the "folder"
closed tightly - may take two students holding the folder.***
All
students should feel confident about teaching their words before the puzzle
is put together and flipped. Students will then use the pictures within the mosaic to help teach the meaning of the word.
- The teacher will monitor as students match, learn, and teach their words
as they put their puzzles together and flip them over to see the mosaic in
the shape of the state of North Carolina. (When finished, ask students to identify
the shape created.)
At this point, the teacher will refer back to the Essential Question (which
happens to contain a vocabulary word - "diverse" - that can be
reviewed). The teacher will show the following "Steps to Summarizing" via
the first slide in the PowerPoint file "Model
Passage"(see resources below) for the children to see as he/she
explains each.
Steps to Summarizing
1. Read the entire passage to get a feeling for what it is about.
2. Reread/skim and record key words/phrases (who, what, when, where, and why) for each paragraph.
3. Use the key words/phrases to write main idea statements for each paragraph.
4. Put the main ideas in order to create a summary of the entire passage.
The teacher will then demonstrate how they are going to do this by showing the second
slide in the PowerPoint file "Model Passage." (For those who are not running Office XP or 2003, the teacher will have to write the key words and phrases on the board or chart paper as the custom animation will not appear in lower versions. The key words/phrases include, "diverse group of people," "Native Americans," "Europeans," "Africans," "population continued to grow," "Hispanic," and "Asian."
This file will only work with Microsoft XP or 03.)
The teacher will model the Steps to Summarizing by first reading the
passage aloud in its entirety. Then he/she will click to select the Key Words in the
paragraph (the words will move from the passage to the "notes" page on
the slide. The final click of the mouse will result in the Main Idea
statement appearing from the bottom of the screen. The students should see
that the Main Idea statement has included all of the Key Words from
the passage. The key words selected from the Model Passage will identify who, what, when, where, why, and how.
The teacher will then tell the students that they are going to use the Internet as a resource for getting information to share with others in the classroom. Students will be taking notes so that they will be able to summarize what they have read before they share with the class. The teacher will have students take a blank piece of paper and fold it in half both ways to create 4 quadrants for note-taking. The students are to label the quadrants "Paragraph 1," "Paragraph 2," "Paragraph 3," and "Paragraph 4" to correspond with the 4 paragraphs on each web page students will use for research. Tell the students that the quadrants are to be used to record key words/phrases for each
paragraph AFTER reading the passage first in its entirety. Early finishers can begin composing main idea statements for each paragraph using the key words/phrases they have identified.
Students will then be divided into 5 groups of 4 students each, with each group being assigned an ethnic group to research. (Additional students will be grouped and assigned the same ethnic group as one of the others. Remind students to take pencils with them to the computer lab.)
In the Computer Lab
Students will sit in their groups in the computer lab, each having his/her own computer to use for research. Each group will access the link for the assigned ethnic group on the North Carolina Cultural Diversity website (http://its.gcs.com/ncdiversity) to research. When students have finished taking notes the students will return to the classroom. Early finishers
should begin composing main idea statements or they may read about any of the ethnic groups represented at the site.
In the Classroom
Students will get with their assigned groups to compare notes on key words/phrases, circling those that they have in common or that are similar for each paragraph. Then, each member of the group will choose ONE quadrant (paragraph) and compose a main idea statement using the common key words/phrases. Each member will use The Writer to type the main idea statement. (In a class where there are not enough Writers for each child, modify the activity so that each GROUP has a Writer that can be passed from member to member to add the main ideas in order of the paragraphs.) After each student has written a main idea statement, the members of the groups should proofread each other's writing and get in order to beam the sentences into a summary. The "author" of each main idea statement will be responsible for reading it to the class.
The students will then share their information at the teacher station where the image is projected via a LCD projector or TV with AverKey. When it is time for the group to share, each member will beam his/her main idea statement at the teacher station into one Word document and share their information about their assigned ethnic population with the entire class. As the main idea statements are added, students will see how the summary is formed.
Tip:
Set the font to size 24 or 36 prior to beaming the text so the text will appear large enough for the class to read it.
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