Meet the AUTHOR

Author(s):

Anthony Jay EDUC W401

Grade Level:

Second Grade
Timeframe:
This lesson will take place on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:25 - 9:55 a.m. There will also be opportunities from 10:40 - 11:00 a.m. Monday through Friday to do additional work on their writing and receive extra support. Students will also be able to spend time Monday through Friday for 40 minutes during literacy rotations.
Lesson Description or Explanation

"Meet the Author, Eric Carle"
Students will be taking picture walks and reading various texts written by Eric Carle. They will also be learning to write like him and create pictures using his own personal techniques. We will read books individually, with partners, in small groups, and as a whole class. We will also meet the author using the internet to learn more about him. Students will also be creating their own additional pages to add to the text they read and maybe even create their own small book.

Indiana Curricular Standards


2.4.6
Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.
2.4.8
Revise original drafts to improve sequence (the order of events) or to provide more descriptive detail.

ISTE Standards

2.c.
customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources
5.b.
exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others
Assessments
Formative/Summative

"Meet the Author, Eric Carle"

Formative and Informative Assessment : We will be noticing various punctuations, such as, periods, question marks, exclamation marks, commas, and quotations. Observing how the author has crafted their writing and word techniques and styles he uses throughout his books.
By working with students and understanding their noticings of Eric Carle we can evaluate what they see as important and unique about the author. We can create text-to-text connections, text-to-world, and text-to-self.
Spending time recognizing punctuation in our own writing and inserting punctuation where needed in a text, or paragraph that does not have any. I can provide options of what punctuation works best in various spots within the text and how it changes the fluency of the text when we read it. I also think it is important that we recognize how we use punctuation when we talk, without even knowing it.
It is also important to meet with each individual author and talk with them about how they are progressing and what strengths you see within them. it is also important to learn more about how the student see's them self as an author and what they would like to work towards.

Prior Knowledge

Curricular Knowledge or Skills: I would need to know how the students feel about punctuation and using it in sentences. It is also good to know if they read punctuation with expression and enthusiasm. I would also want to make sure they knew how to read the book itself. Not necessarily the text, but where the title is located, who the author and so on. It is also a good idea to see how they feel about writing and reading. Maybe they enjoy it, maybe they hate it!
Technology Knowledge: All I really need to know is their ability at typing and using Microsoft to insert their ideas into a text document.

Technology

Internet Resources: (please list specific URLs)
www.ericcarle.com

Hardware: Computer, digital projector

Software: Internet Explorer, Dragon, Access Mobility Suite

Materials: Eric Carle Books ( The Honeybee and the Robber, The Very Busy Spider, A House for Hermit Crab, Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, Today Is Monday), plus many more books written by Eric Carle.
Paper, pencils, pens, various colors of paper, glue, paint and supplies, our minds, and willingness to participate

Procedure

Prior to beginning the lesson a text set will be compiled by the teacher of Eric Carle books. It is also important that the students have been made aware of what they are going to be doing. Setting the stage for success and seeing knowing what abilities we can use from within each student.
Day One
Introduce the books to the students and give them the time to sit with the books and explore several of them. At first they should spend time alone, then work with a partner if they want to. Have them use post-it notes as they read and mark noticings, Ah-Ha moments, and questions as they read. At the end of session one have the students gather as a community and discuss what they liked, or did not like about the author and his books. How are they like the author? How are they different? What about texts would they like to use in their own writing? For a final closing, select one text from the author to read aloud with the students.
Day Two
As the class comes back together and reads more of the author's books, they will begin to respond back to what we have invited them to do. That being, creating an additional page to one of the books and using pictures, and text to make it unique.
This would be a wonderful time to share the on-line video clips of Eric Carle and who he is as an author, and a person. This gives the students an inside look at the life of the author and how he goes about creating his own works. From writing "sloppy copies" to final drafts. The editing process is very important, and this is where my focus lies for my students. Not rushing through their work and hurrying to turn it in. We can always do better and improve on our work. There is nothing wrong with having scribble marks and editing marks on our work, but we must take pride in the work that we publish. Pushing students to see that they can create work that can be published is the ultimate mindset you want the students to walk away with. When they have that attitude, they will be eager about crafting their writing and making sure that the punctuation makes sense and works with the text.
Day Three
At this time the students will have had enough time to revise and edit their "sloppy copies" and will be creating their final drafts. Once they have finished there will be an authors chair where students can come in front of their peers and share with us their published piece.
Literacy Rotations and our time from 10:40 - 11:00 a.m.
This is time outside of our actual focus area on meeting the author, Eric Carle. Students can continue to work on their wring and artwork for their book with peers and by themselves. I am also able to spend time meeting with students to see how they are progressing in their writing. Questions and concerns they might have can be dealt with on a one-on-one basis. This time really helps me evaluate what my students understand and what small strategies or ideas I can show them to help guide them as they begin to see themselves as authors of their own writing. This time is available everyday so I would also be able to discuss with the class areas where we could grow in our writing.
Differentiated Instruction

ESL
I would modify my lesson by making sure that the student(s) gains the knowledge and skills that I feel are most important from our author study. Students who may not be able comprehend or understand the English language could take picture walks through the books, focus on small portions of text from the book, and I could make sure they have the support of another person or tape to hear the book being read. We can focus on crafting our writing and being able to see themselves as an author. I would also make my ESL coach/support specialist aware of what we are doing so they can support the student in our lesson when they work with them.

Challenge/Extend

I could make my lesson more challenging by going more in-depth over the use of several punctuation marks besides the common ones we use. I could also have the students reflect on their own writing and development as an author. What kind of process do they have to go through in order to create their own work.

Special Needs

In order to address the needs of students who have special needs, I feel like I would need to know the individual student. Every student is different and has their own strengths and needs. Much of what we do for students with special needs benefit all students.
Examples of what is possible:
I think it could be good for students to use finger painting in order to create their own artwork like Eric Carle. They could also use the computer and work on a program in order to type or create their own drawings and type their text. We have access to programs such as, Dragon and other programs that read text aloud. Sometimes all someone needs is a partner to work with and someone who will accept them for who they are.
I would also like to see how my lesson could meets the specific goals found in the IEP of my student(s), so they could work towards achieving their goal(s).
It could be beneficial for some students to have the opportunity to see how they could improve on speech and word fluency by reading the text aloud and hearing it back. I could also use reading strategies such as CLOZE, comprehension skills, skip a word, and RMA for students to be successful at reading the book and improving their own skills.