Teacher's Guide for APPLESEEDS Growing Up in the Civil War

1. develop an appreciation of the hardships and joyful experiences of children living during the Civil War period.
2. apply effective prereading strategies to survey the issue and set predictions about its content. This will be reflected in their discussion comments.
3. use good listening skills during a teacher read-aloud of the article "Hard Times, Sad Times." This will be evaluated in their ability to offer ideas for the class four-block guide.
4. generate two logical prereading questions for the selection, "Growing Up African American.
5. independently read "Growing Up African American" and appropriately complete a four-block guide.
6. clearly share information from their notes.
7. follow expected procedures for "buddy reading" other articles in the issue.
8. write a clear, focused, and well-constructed summary in their journal that reflects their reactions to the content of this issue.

Knowledge, Comprehension, Analysis, Application

April 2003 Issue of APPLESEEDS

1. They teacher will ask students what they would expect to see, hear, feel, and smell if war was going on all around them. List these on chart paper, a transparency, or on a white board. Have students explain their ideas as they are shared. (Transparency master provided.)
   
   

   Experiencing War All Around You

   Sounds:	Sights:
   Smells:	Feelings:

2. Explain that, in the Civil War, American citizens in the Confederate states had these experiences since more battles were fought in the south, often close to people's homes. Note that people living in many places in the world today also have these experiences.
3. Tell students that this issue of APPLESEEDS will give us a "picture" of what it must have been like to be a child living through the years of the Civil War.

1. Introduce the April 2003 APPLESEEDS issue. Have students examine, read, and discuss the magazine cover page, "About the Cover," and the "Editor's Note."
2. Model how to survey the Table of Contents and illustrations for the purpose of making predictions that will guide comprehension. Invite students to also "download their thinking" on the article titles and illustrations.
3. Present the four-block thinking guide to students. Explain each block - how each is used and filled in.
   1. Questions (wonderings, what I expect to find out, what I want to find out) After surveying what we are about to read we construct questions that we expect the author to answer. We can add more questions as we read the text. Sometimes, we have questions even after we finish reading when the author gets us thinking of questions that were not answered in the text. This starts us searching for more information from other sources. We can add questions to this block before, during, and after reading.
   2. New Information (answers to questions, unexpected information)
   3. Connections (with other readings, what I've experienced)
   4. New, Interesting, and Complex Words
4. Complete a four-block guide together for the article "Hard Times, Sad Times." Have the four-block guide on a chart or a transparency. (Transparency master provided.) The teacher scribes in responses as students share ideas.
   1. Survey the article and generate prereading questions together. The teacher records these in the Questions square on the four-block transparency.
      Explain meanings for initial words listed in the New Words block. (These words assumably need to be pretaught.) Tell students that, as the text is read, they can suggest other words for the block - words they feel are new, interesting, and/or complex.
   2. Students follow along as the teacher reads-aloud. The teacher stops periodically to discuss the content and to fill in the guide. Students comments are recorded in the New Information, Connections, and New Words squares.
      The teacher scribes their comments or "shares the pen," allowing a student to record information given.
   3. Students comment on content that answers their questions and/or provides new, unexpected information.
   4. Students make personal connections and these are recorded in the Connections box.
   5. Students point out new, interesting, and/or complex words they wish to discuss. These are added to the New Words block.

1. Remind students that good readers pose questions that they expect the selection to answer. This sets a purpose for reading. Reinforce the point that readers must monitor their own understanding as they go and sometimes need to reread for good comprehension. Explain that reading helps us stretch the bank of interesting and complex words that we understand and can use in our own writing. Ask them to notice such words and how the author effectively uses them.
2. Have students survey the article "Growing Up African American" and write two questions they have in the Questions square. Discuss these whole group. Remind students that they can add more questions to the block at any time.
3. Explain the words listed in the New Words square - entertained, adored, enslaved, harsh, illegal, alien, tolerated. Remind students that they can add more words (or phrases) to the block at any time.
4. Direct students to read "Growing Up African American," record information in the New Information square, and connections they make in the Connections square.
5. The teacher will circulate to provide assistance as needed.

At a later time, students will "buddy read" (read with a partner) other articles in the issue. They will write personal reactions to the content of this issue in their journal.

Have students share and discuss the information, connections, new words, and additional questions they've recorded on their guide.

1. survey text, generate predictions related to its content, and set appropriate purposes for reading.
2. state new information gained and connections they've made as they listened to a read-aloud.
3. independently generate prereading questions.
4. read with understanding as reflected in the completion of their 4-block guide.
5. work appropriately with a partner to read other articles.
6. write a focused, clear, and well-constructed summary of their reactions to the content of this issue.

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Updated: 2/11/12 08:13 am
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