Teacher's Guide for SPIDER ^®

Lessons are designed with multiple formats for instruction and learning. These include whole class, small group, partners, individual, and Center work.

The readings are used as a starting point for a discussion of feelings (e.g. curiosity, embarrassment, wonderment, surprise, and pleasure), specifically how our bodies and minds respond to events that happen around and to us. Articles are used as content for read-alouds, listening activities, supported guided reading, interactive writing, or independent writing. Suggested activities integrate content with Language Arts instruction.

Throughout the guide, children's skills in vocabulary (meaning), word recognition (distinguishing features of words and context clues), expressive and receptive language, comprehension, and writing will be expanded and refined. With the expository selection, children will explore information on the source and purpose of tears.

Activities will offer differentiated levels of responding to accommodate children's diverse needs, interests, and competencies. The readings may not follow the order of presentation in the issue; issue selections are sequenced in a way that matches the flow of the concept presentation.

Benson, V. and C. Cummins. 2000. The Power of Retelling: Developmental Steps for Building Comprehension. Chicago, IL: Wright Group/ McGraw Hill

Fountas, I. and G. S. Pinnell. 1998. Word Matters. NH: Heinemann.

Jacobs, J and M. Tunnell. 1996. Children's Literature, Briefly. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Kibby, M. March 18, 2004. Researched-Based Strategies for Teaching Meaning Vocabulary. Presentation for the Continuing Professional Education Series at the University of Buffalo.

Tompkins, G. 2003. Literacy for the 21^st Century (3^rd ed). Upper saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.

The Overall Plan

Title: A World of Feelings

Time: approximately 40-45 minutes each session. Independent Practice is completed later in the day.

Objective:

Following instruction and teacher modeling, students will demonstrate through oral responses, group work, and written work that they've:

Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, and Synthesis

Materials:

• copies of the September issue of SPIDER ^®
• chart paper
• blank word cards

Session 1

The article, "Who Turned on the Faucet?" will be read following supported guided reading procedures. This means that students have had an opportunity to preview and practice what they will read. They can read solo or in a duet (two children reading in unison) as their classmates follow along. Stop at appropriate places to discuss the content and carefully monitor children's comprehension. Assigned readers - who've previewed the material for this purpose - will allow their classmates to contribute predictions and will not give away information beforehand.

Motivation

1. Ask students to think of a time that their eyes became watery or they had tears streaming from them. Have them pair-up and talk about these experiences (1-2 minutes). Have a few children share responses. (Think-pair-share strategy)
2. While children describe when their eyes watered or made tears, the teacher scribes what they say onto a chart. The teacher groups responses (without titles) while writing. It might look like this:
   
   

   My eyes watered when I got sand in them at the beach.

   Tears came down my face when I laughed so hard during a movie.

   I cried when my dog died.

   
   
3. Talk about the responses in each column and guide children to notice similarities. Help them decide on categories for their responses. There may naturally be a few miscellaneous statements. Categorization is an important skill. It helps children analyze items and note details related to similarities and differences. For example, you might come up with the following category titles for the ideas above.
   
   

   Responses to irritations.

   Responses to happiness/silliness.

   Responses to sadness.

   
   Note: Information and category titles determined at this brainstorming point are recorded in one color. Additional information and further category titles - those recorded as facts in the reading are discussed - are recorded in another color. This helps children recognize the overlap of prior knowledge and information specific to a reading.
4. If they'd like to try to see where tears drain, children can pull down their lower eyelid while looking into a magnifying mirror. Tell them that the little hole in the corner of their eye - near their nose - is a tear duct. This channel usually keeps the flow of water under control.
5. Tell students that we'll discover more about tears and what causes them in today's reading.

Teacher Input:

1. Have children sit with an assigned partner. Distribute a copy of the September issue of SPIDER ^® magazine to each dyad. Introduce the issue; discuss the title page and table of contents (TOC). Ask for comments, reactions, and predictions. Have students take a guided picture walk with you through the issue, reading captions and noting illustrations. Call on students to share their thinking. This activates background knowledge, stimulates predictions on the content, builds expectation, and sets personal purposes for reading.
2. Direct students back to the TOC. Ask them to find the title of the article that begins on page 8. Have someone read that title and the author's name. Ask, "What is a faucet? What happens when we turn one on high or low?"
3. Have students turn to page 8. Talk about the picture. Ask why the chef has tears. Ask, "Under which category should I write this reason?" Record this reason on the chart with a different "from the reading" color since it was derived from the text. If it was already listed during the brainstorming (before reading), circle it with the "from the reading" color. This provides a visual indicator that the fact was in their prior knowledge and in the reading. If the reason needs a new category title because a category for it did not come up during brainstorming, write the additional category title in the "from the reading" color.
4. The teacher comments, "It seems that you (students) understand that different things cause our eyes to make tears. As we read this article together, we'll find more reasons for tears. What do you expect to find out? What else do you want to know about tears? Record their statements/questions on a chart. If the students don't suggest something like - Are tears good for your eyes? suggest it as your own (the teacher's) wondering.
   
   

   What We Want to Know About Tears

   What We Learned

   
   
   Explain that we'll check to see which wonderings (what we want to know) get answered in this article. As they do, we'll write answers on the chart. Partners will work on unanswered wonderings at the Research Center. When they're ready to report, we'll all listen. Reporters will add their answer to the chart.

1. Tell students that they'll be word wizard detectives as we read through the issue. Give each dyad a few post-its to flag words they think we should investigate. These are new and/or interesting words they want to know more about.
2. Have assigned readers read aloud the segments they were assigned. Call on children to share what they've learned from the reading. Do we have another reason for tears to add to the chart? (This will be written in the "from the reading" color.) Have any of our wonderings been answered? Invite children to fill in answers on the chart. Assist them as needed.
3. When each segment of reading is completed, partners share the words they've flagged. These are discussed for structural elements (letter patterns, syllables, affixes, sounds, etc) and meanings as used in this context. (Multiple meanings for some words may also come up in the discussion.) The teacher records each on a word card. Add additional key terms that have not been flagged by the children. Words cards are added to the classroom Word Wall. Word Wall words can be used for word sort activities. A Word Wall is a section of the classroom that has been designated as a place to display vocabulary central to current areas of study. Typically, Word Walls are set-up with words cards arranged in alphabetical columns (Fountas and Pinnell, 1998).

Partners will choose an unanswered want to know statement/question for research. Students will use additional books or Internet sources later in the day (or over the next few days) to search for answers. Together, they'll write up their answer and indicate the source. Answers will be recorded on the chart after the teacher edits them.

1. Share an embarrassing personal experience. For example, I might share the following vignette.

   Once, in the middle of a tap dance recital, my foot slid on the newly polished floor and I fell down. Because I was holding my partner's hand at the moment, he fell too. We didn't get hurt, but I felt embarrassed because everyone was looking at us and I thought we must look pretty silly. Actually, people were concerned; they thought we were hurt. Those first few seconds of sitting on the floor seemed like forever. But when my partner and I looked at each other and the other kids still dancing away, we started laughing. Everyone in the audience smiled as we got up and started to get in step again.

2. Have children think about a time that they felt embarrassed or uncomfortable because everyone seemed to be looking at them. Have students share their thinking with a partner (pair); then, allow partners to share ideas with the whole class.
3. Tell students that the story we'll read today is about a boy who felt embarrassed because kids were staring at him and some were even teasing him.

1. Draw children's attention to the cover of the issue. Say, "When we looked over this issue and talked about the cover you noticed that the animals were dressed as pirates. What have you read or heard before about pirates? Think about how they look and how they behave.
2. Discuss pirate looks and behavior. It's assumed the idea of wearing a patch will come up. If it doesn't, the teacher brings it up in a question. Have children find the title of the selection they'll be reading in the TOC. Ask them whether they've heard of any pirates called "one-eyed." Discuss why these pirates were given these names.
3. Have students turn to page 12. Ask them to describe what's happening in the illustration. Have them skim through the story (12-17) to look at other illustrations. Call on students to share their story predictions.
4. Introduce the words sigh, snicker, cross-eyed, plead, grumble, scrunch, filed, Peg leg, mateys. Examine word structures and meanings for this context. Words are presented on word cards. Use different colored markers to highlight word parts (distinguishing features) as each is introduced. (Note: Words added to the Word Wall are rewritten onto another card.) For example highlight the /sn/ onset/blend; the /ick/ rime/word family; and /er/ ending in snicker with different colors.
5. Tell children that they are to listen and follow along while you read the story. Explain that the boy has what's sometimes called a "lazy eye." A lazy eye is one that's stopped working because it's having trouble cooperating with the other eye. The two eyes can't focus together when the lazy eye is crooked or crossed. When the lazy eye stops working, it gets weaker. Doctors often have children with a lazy eye cover their strong eye; this makes the lazy eye get to work and grow stronger.

1. Read the story aloud, stopping at appropriate places for discussion.
2. Ask children to retell what they learned from the reading on that page. Ask them to help you fill in the story map with details from the beginning middle and end. The teacher may need to help children clarify their statements before she scribes them onto the Story Flow Map. She might say, "If we write this in book language (conventional form), do you mean it to say ' . . . '
3. Have a chart with the Story Flow Map ready to be filled in. Fill in the information as children dictate what should be written in each part. Continue this procedure to the end of the story.

Independent Practice:

Later in the day have children respond in their journals to the following. These will be shared when they've been completed.

Why do adults ask you not to tease other people? How does the teased person usually feel? Explain your answer.

Children will also make their own pirate patch using the patches in the issue.

Session 3

Motivation

1. Ask students to explain what a riddle is. Add that it's a question that is like a puzzle. You have to figure out the answer by putting pieces, called clues, together. Present the following riddle. Have students make guesses after each clue.

   What am I?
   
   I'm round about once a month. What am I?
   People say there's a man in me. What am I?
   I don't have my own light. What am I?
   I can usually be seen in the sky at night. What am I?
   
   Answer: the moon

2. Help children notice that, just like a puzzle picture that becomes clearer as more pieces are added, the riddle's answer is easier to guess when you put the clues together.
3. Tell students that the story we'll read today is about solving a mystery or puzzle. Kavita has a new pet. We have to help her friends Deidre and Maisie use the clues to figure out what this pet is.

Teacher Input:

1. Introduce the following words in the manner previously described. The words to pre-teach are escape artist, species, and irritating. (If it appears when children are discussing what they read that other words are unfamiliar, teach them thoroughly at that point.)
2. Introduce the note-taking sheet, What Am I? Children will use this for recording clues. Read over the characters, setting, and problem as children follow along.
3. The teacher will read page 2 aloud and model how to record the first clue - It's an escape artist.

Guided Practice:

1. Direct partners to buddy read (take turns reading aloud to each other) the story and fill in clues as they find them.
2. Circulate to monitor and offer assistance as needed.
3. When all are finished, have children share and discuss their clues. Did you figure out what it was before Kavita picked it up? How did you know?
4. Discuss Kavita's explanation to her brother about why they were changing his sheets (4-5). Was she clever to think of that? Why? Would you have believed her if you were her brother? Why? Has your brother or sister ever fibbed to you? Allow children to respond.

Independent Practice:

Later in the day children can work with a partner or in dyads to read and sort word cards make from this issue. Assign students to heterogeneous dyads or groups. Children can sort words by meaning, beginning sounds, or length (words with lots of or few sounded parts).

Session 4

Motivation:

1. Ask children if they can name any fairy tales they've heard or read. Make a list of titles on the board as children share.
2. Ask, "What's similar about these stories?" Discuss their responses. Record the similarities the class decides are the most significant. Their responses might look like these.

   • Things that happen in fairy tales couldn't happen for real.
   • They usually end up with the good character living happily ever after.
   • They have a bad character.
   • They happened long ago.
   • They teach a lesson about how you should behave to be good.
3. Tell the children that today they'll be listening to a fairy tale that comes from England. We'll think about how this compares to other fairy tales we know.

Teacher Input:

Talk about the genre of fairy tales; relate this structure to other genres. Make an overhead of the genre web and display it as it's explained. There are many kinds of writing called genres. In this issue we've read an expository or informational selection and we've read narrative or story ones. We'll also be reading a poem in this issue together. Poetry is another type of genre. This chart just shows a small web of genre types. There are more. It shows the first article we read under informational writing. Again, that's called expository. It's right here. Now let's look at this half. The web is showing a small part of the many kinds of narrative or story types. If we were to fill in the web, there would be a type for each blank line; there would even be more types. I'd need a bigger web. But, for now, I just want you to think about what's shown here to understand where fairy tales fit.

Fantasy stories are one kind of narrative. Fantasy stories have people characters; they might also have animals or objects that act like people. There are magical happenings in fantasy stories as well as all kinds of problems. The setting might seem realistic except for its magical qualities. Folktales are a type of fantasy story. Folktales are the traditional stories of different groups of people; they've been told over and over and handed down from parents to children over the years. Fairy tales are one kind of folktale. These stories were made up long ago and retold over and over before they were written down. In the retellings, slight changes were often made; that's why there are differences in the versions of fairy tales. We don't know the original authors. We connect the tales with the person who first collected and wrote them down. That's why many fairy tale books will say retold by on the cover and title page instead of listing someone as the author. The characters in all kinds of folktales (including fairy tales) are connected to our ideas of good and evil. The good character is happy at the end. Folktales teach a lesson or moral. We have to think about the moral though because the author doesn't come right out and tell us what it is. We have to make an inference; that means we have to connect what's in the story with our own experiences and what we know. The moral usually suggests what kind of behavior is best.

Guided Practice:

1. Have the children use the table of contents (TOC) to locate the first page for the fairy tale, "Watch Out for the Hedley Beast." Have them turn to that page. On page 25 it says retold by Madeline Juran even though it said by Madeline Juran in the TOC. Explain that his might have been done to keep the TOC short or to keep the listings the same.
2. Have students skim through the story, noticing the illustrations. Call on students to make predictions about the story based on what they now know about the genre of fairy tales.
3. Tell them to listen carefully as you read. You want them to be able to:
   • Recall or remember details and what happened in the story.
   • Translate or retell the story in their own words.
   • Make inferences or connect what's in the story to their own experiences and prior knowledge. (What is the relationship between Tessie and the Hedley Beast?)
   • Explain and verify. They need to be able to fully describe their thinking in a way that helps others to understand it. They also need to point to "evidence" (details) in the story that supports their ideas. (What kind of a person is Tessie?)
   • Apply the ideas to their own life. (What would do if you met the Hedley Beast?)
   • Evaluate or think critically before forming personal judgments. (Did you like the story? Why? Which character did you like more? Why? Did you like the way it was told? )
4. Write these key words (in step 3) on cards that you attach to the board. As you read aloud, stop at appropriate places to discuss the content, revise predictions, and set new purposes for reading. Let children lead the discussion, but interject with questions related to these thinking areas when there's a lull in the discussion, children get off topic, or talk becomes fixed on trivial points. Identify the thinking area of your questions. For example, ask, "What is the relationship between Tessie and the Hedley Beast?" Then say, "You need to make an inference to answer this question. Point to the inference card. That means the answer isn't directly stated in the story. Use details from the story. Connect these with your experiences and what you know about relationships people have with each other - such as family members, friends, schoolmates, enemies - and see what you decide.

Independent Practice:

Later in the day children will write independently in their journal responding to the following. Point out that the thinking they need to do involves evaluating or thinking critically to make a personal judgment - one they can support with "evidence" from the story.

After our discussion, what did you think the moral was? Why? Was it an important lesson? Why?

Session 5

Poetry

1. Read the poem "Dawn" by Raven Howell, modeling appropriate phrasing and expression. Read it again. Discuss the images. Are the images the author uses effective? Why? How does dawn behave like this? Choral read (in unison) the poem several times with the children.
2. Try collaboratively writing a poem about "Dusk." Brainstorm ideas and work together to revise and refine the expression of these ideas to create an effective image of dusk's behavior.

Session 6

Word Study:

Throughout the reading, word cards have been made and added to the classroom Word Wall. Devote a lesson (or more) to word study activity with these new words. You can mix in other words to round out the word cards needed for group work.

Model how to do a word sort. Select six words that can be sorted by different beginning sounds (onsets). Two categories are enough at this point. To model we'll use words that start with a blend and words that start with a single consonant. Prepare a chart by drawing a "T"; put category labels on it. Explain that this will be a closed sort because the categories are given. An open sort is one where the sorters decide the categories. Your "T" might look like this.

words that start with a blend	| | |	words that start with a single consonant
	| | | | | | | | | | |

Place words carts in the appropriate column. Have the children help you check that they're placed correctly. Then, remove each card as you write the word on the chart. Read over your completed chart with the class.

Assign children to groups. Give each group a bag of word cards and a prepared chart. Children will sort words with levels of complexity that are appropriate for the group. The teacher will circulate to help. The teacher will check their placement before children write words on the chart. All groups will share their work with the class. This provides exposure of more complex sorting categories for those at earlier developmental stages of word knowledge.

Word cards are replaced on the Word Wall when charts are completed. They can be used for another sorting or word study activity. Note: The cards will stand up better if they're laminated.

Session 7

Engage the children in a reading of "Long-Distance Grandma" by Dori Hillestad Butler using procedures similar to those in Session 3. However, this will be read as guided reading rather than buddy reading or supported guided reading. For a guided reading activity, the teacher introduces the selection, teaches new vocabulary, and helps children set purposes for reading. Then, s/he directs the children to read the story silently. When the silent reading has been completed, children discuss the story. The teacher facilitates and guides the discussion, but doesn't control it.

Overall Assessment:

1. The teacher will record observational notes on children's oral responses, noting the clarity of expression, depth of comprehension, and critical thinking revealed in them.
2. The teacher will record observational notes on children's ability to work together with a partner or in groups.
3. Written work will be analyzed for evidence of comprehension, development of message quality (clarity, sentence variety, organization, vocabulary, "voice"), and technical accuracy (spelling, grammar, punctuation).
4. The teacher will monitor children's growing ability to analyze and sort words in different ways.
5. Children's transfer of new words to their speaking vocabulary will be monitored and noted.
6. When children engage in supported guided reading and buddy reading, their overall fluency and comprehension will be noted.
7. Children's level of efficiency with independent silent reading will be assessed via their responses in discussion.
8. Children's listening comprehension will be assessed via discussion that follows read-alouds.

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Updated: 11/21/08 12:33 pm
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