SHH!! BEAR’S SLEEPING: LEARNING ABOUT NONFICTION AND FICTION USING READ-LOUDS.

SHH!! BEAR’S SLEEPING: LEARNING ABOUT NONFICTION AND FICTION USING READ-LOUDS.

Author(s):
Courtney McFarland-
W401; Section 19017

Lesson created and written by Denise B. Loucks
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=897

Grade Level:
1st Grade

Timeframe: During Reading Workshop
Five 45 minutes sessions, 2-3 days per week. (1 1/2 weeks)

Lesson Description or Explanation
Read-alouds provide an unmatched opportunity to engage students and motivate them to learn. This lesson uses read-alouds of Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson, Every Autumn Comes the Bear by Jim Arnosky, poems, and songs to teach about the distinction between fiction and nonfiction. Students are encouraged to participate in the read-alouds and to use singing and finger play to make meaning out of the printed words. As a final project, on PowerPoint, students use the knowledge they have gained to write a non-fiction All about Us class book. (Loucks)

Indiana Curricular Standards

English-
1.3.4 Distinguish fantasy from reality.
1.2.7 Relate prior knowledge to what is read.


ISTE Standards
1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:
a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
b. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
c. Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues.
d. Identify trends and forecast possibilities.

2. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
b. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
c. Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures.
d. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.

Assessments
Formative/Summative

Formative:
Students will write in the journal daily about their noticings about the fiction and non-fiction books.
Students will have writing conferences with teachers to assess where they are in their understandings.
Students will share with partners their understandings of fiction and non-fiction.
Summative:
Students will not be assessed on their ability create a PowerPoint but more specifically, if they can create a PowerPoint with fictional information about themselves. (Students will be working with the 4th graders for assistance with PowerPoint).


Prior Knowledge
Curricular Knowledge or Skills:Students have heard stories read to them out loud. Student have experience reading different genres and it is not their job to use their knowledge to determine the difference between fiction and non-fiction.
Technology Knowledge: Students have already used PowerPoint to create a slide show about their family earlier in the year. They are also in a media class every Tuesday so they are familiar with PowerPoint

Technology
Hardware: Read alouds including Bear Snores on by Karma Wilson and Every Autumn Comes the Bear by Jim Arnosky

Software: Microsoft PowerPoint

Procedure
All the sessions are taken from Denise B. Loucks lesson, “Shh!! Bear’s Sleeping: Learning about non-fictions and fictions using read-alouds. Some of the lessons have accommodations and others have technology additions.
Sessions one:
Introduce the story Bear Snores On by taking students on a picture walk through the book. As you look at the pictures, elicit students' responses about what the other animal characters are doing while the bear is sleeping. Ask students if they know what the words lair and hibernate mean, working toward the following definitions, which you can add to the "About Bears" list:
lair — a sleeping or resting place for wild animals; a den

hibernate — to spend the winter in a resting or sleeping state
Tell students that as you read, they should think about whether what happens in the story is true or not. Tell them that this story repeats the words "but the bear snores on" throughout the story and that they will help you by reading "but the bear snores on" with you.
Read aloud Bear Snores On. Allow students to say "but the bear snores on" as it occurs in the story.
After you are done reading, talk about whether what happened in the story is true or made up. Why do they think so? Questions for discussion include:
Do they think that real animals would sneak into a bear's cave
during the winter? Why or why not?

Would real animals cook food using utensils, pots and pans, or
campfires? Why or why not?

How do real animals communicate? Can real animals be friends?

How would a real bear treat small animals?
ALL THESE QUESTIONS WILL BE NOTED ON A LARGE CHART THAT
WILL REMAIN ON THE WALL UNITL THE UNIT IS OVER.
Read the story again, pausing to ask the questions you prepared in advance (see Preparation, Step 2).
Sessions two and three:
Next students will listen to Every Autumn Comes the Bear. After the story students will go to the media center and get on a computer. While on the computer they will be asked to get onto PowerPoint and use Microsoft word to document their noticings between the two books. They students then save their documents to their jump drive and save it for the next day.
Session four: Students will create a simple PowerPoint. Within the PowerPoint, the students will compare and contrast the two genres.
Session five: Students will present their finished PowerPoint presentation.
Differentiated Instruction

ESL ESL students are going to have the opportunity to record the noticing about non-fiction and fiction in Spanish. They will then lead (if they want) what their noticing say in Spanish.

Challenge/Extend

For students that may need extra time, they will be allowed to go to the media center with their jump drive and work either with the librarian or an IA that come assist them. For students that are advanced, they will have the opportunity to add effects such as sound and backgrounds to their PowerPoint and are also welcome to help others that are still struggling. We are all about building a strong community.


Special Needs
Any student that may need assistive technology is going to have that available to them. Students that have trouble using the key on a keyboard might ask a partner to help them type their thoughts.
McFarland, Technology Lesson Plan.