April 2002     Vol.3 Issue 4

All Lesson Plans

Money

Suggested lesson plan for "Stock
market game helps kids learn to invest"

Readability: Sixth grade reading level

Possible hard words: Proper names: Ladue Middle School, Bill Kistner, Missouri Council of Economic Education, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Nicolas Nunn-Faron, Alice Nishiwaki, Benjamin Young, Apogee, Liz Eiger, Jordan Graham, Krispie Kreme Doughnuts
Other words: risky, investments, opposite, participated, enrichment, portfolio, contemplated, percentages, commission

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader read the list of possible hard words. Help out if he or she is unable to call the phrase or word. If no more than three terms cause difficulty, suggest the young reader read the article silently. If four to six terms cause a problem, ask the young reader to read the article aloud to you. If seven or more items are missed, you offer to read the article aloud to the child. In all cases, indicate that questions will be asked afterward.

DURING READING: For the one reading silently, offer to help out with words when asked. For the one reading aloud, supply troublesome words fairly quickly to keep the reading fluent. If you read aloud, model expressive, fluent oral reading.

AFTER READING: Questions to use after reading might include the following.

1. What keeps the kids from losing money?
2. How does the way Bill Kistner's team invests differ from Nicholas Nunn-Faron's team's investment strategy?
3. Why did Liz Eiger's team and Jordan Grahams's teams invest in Krispie Kreme Doughnuts?
4. How does investing help kids better like to study math?

News

Suggested lesson plan for "Kids help
in St. Louis Zoo fund drive"

Readability: Fourth grade reading level

Possible hard words: Proper names: Pennies for Penguins, Hippo Harbor, Penguin and puffin Coast, Fragile Forest, Emerson Children's Zoo, River's Edge, Monsanto Insectarium
Other words: opportunities, memorial, rhinoceros, chimpanzee, hippopotamus, curriculum, endangered, interactive

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader read the terms from the list above. Provided help where needed. Since the article is of high interest and is relative short, have the child read the article aloud to you. Note that questions will be raised afterward.

DURING READING: Supply any words needed to keep the reading smooth and fluent.

AFTER READING: Use questions such as the following to check for understanding and to promote discussion.

1. What was the earliest year mentioned for kids to help the zoo with a fund drive? What was that early money used for?
2. How many different kinds of animals are in today's zoo? Were you surprised by that number? Why?
3. What do you think an insectarium is?
4. What has been your experience with the St. Louis Zoo?

Profile

Suggested lesson plan for "Emily Miller brings Broadway shows to her neighborhood"

Readability: Fifth grade reading level

Possible hard words: Proper names: Emily Miller, "Broadway on the Driveway", "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", Lisa Pisciotta, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Marvin Hamlisch, Sweet Adeline's
Other words: production, theatrical, audience, troupe, organization, disaster, abandoned, objectionable, perspective, rehearsals, donations, harmonica, associated, finalists

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader read the names and words from the list of possible hard words. Help with pronunciations where needed. Discuss meanings of any words with which the child seems unfamiliar. If fewer than three cause problems, ask the child to read the article silently. If four to six terms cause difficulty, suggest the child read the article aloud to you. If seven or more cause problems, you offer to read the article aloud. In all cases, point out that questions will be raised after the reading.

DURING READING: For the silent reader, offer to help with any words if asked. For the child reading aloud, supply words fairly promptly if fluency seems impaired. If you read aloud, model smooth and fluent oral reading.

AFTER READING: Use questions such as those that follow to check comprehension and promote discussion.

1. What seemed to motivate Emily Miller to start producing her own shows?
2. What did the performers do with the profits of the show after September 11th?
3. Who are Emily's co-performers when she entertains various groups?
4. Have you had any experience performing on stage? Do you think you would like to be in one of Emily's productions? Why or why not?

Writing

Readability: About sixth grade reading level

Possible hard words: Proper names: Andrew Lynn, Patricia and Fred McKissack, Bryce Potter, Scott Rehnquist, Matt Silverstein, Dana Lambie, Whitney Mingle, Grace Rossow, Jessica Langsam, Kelsey Saettle, Marian Anderson, Beverly Johnson, Bill Cosby, Stevie Wonder, Mathew Kastigar, Johnny Nyugen, Elizabeth Tamaren, Darrell Lofton, Max Magruder, Sabina Wahl, Haley Millner, Hispanic, Danny Poon, Tim Burroughs, Darrell Lofton, Chris Gentsch, Salena Davison
Other words: echoed, illustrate, brainstorming, leprechauns, contributed, schedule

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader read all the names and words from the list. Help out where help is needed. Since only six of the thirty-three items are other than proper names, give special attention to those words. If the child gets all of the six correct, ask him or her to read the article silently. If one to three are missed, ask the child to read the article aloud. If four or more or missed, you volunteer to read the article. In every instance, inform the reader that questions will be asked after the reading.

DURING READING: If the child reads silently, tell him or her you will help with any words if asked to do so. For the child reading orally, supply any troublesome words fairly quickly in order to keep the reading fluent. If you read aloud, model expressive and fluent oral reading.

AFTER READING: Use question such as these to check understanding and stimulate discussion.

1. What did the kids seem to all agree on?
2. Describe what you think "brainstorming" is.
3. What do you think the toughest part of publishing a book would be?
4. What shows that sometimes kids had to take on other jobs in order to get the book completed?

Books

This month's book reviews

Another angle on baseball as
a way to unite father and son

It's not unusual today to hear about fathers who push too hard to get their young sons interested in baseball. The interesting twist in "Baseball Fever" is that the ten-year-old son is a baseball fanatic and his college professor father thinks sports are a terrible waste of time.

This little book does a good job of examining how pervasive the sport of baseball is in our American society. It certainly cuts across all age levels, educational levels, and socioeconomic levels. But even more, the book explores how a son and a father go about trying to understand each other and develop an empathy for each other's attitudes and interests.

The little 124-page paperback is light reading and would be a good choice for a middle grader on the younger end of that age range. It might even promote some good family discussion.

• Buy this book from Amazon.com

A Civil War adventure story told through
the eyes of a twelve-year-old

This prize-winning historical novel tells the story of a twelve-year-old member of a New York street gang in the 1860's who ends up a drummer boy in the Union Army. Charley Quinn earns the name "Charley Skedaddle" because, during a bloody battle in the Wilderness campaign of 1864, he runs from the battlefield in terror. His flight takes him into the Blue Ridge Mountains, where a tough mountain woman gives him shelter and hides him from the roaming bands of Confederate "conscriptors."

Charley considers himself a coward since he ran from the war. In the mountains, however, he establishes that he can perform courageous feats. He is able to regain his self-respect and earn the grudging admiration of those who considered him an "outlander."

Although based partly on historical figures, the novel is fiction. While enjoying an engrossing adventure story, a young reader picks up a wide array of historical information. Among other things, he or she learns about the Irish immigrants, the draft riots in New York, the bounty system used to recruit soldiers, military leaders in the Civil War, battlefield conditions during that war, and something about the life of the mountain people in the Appalachians.

• Buy this book from Amazon.com

A repackaged version of an old story

A Harper Trophy book for children was just published in 2000 as a revival of the original 1943 publication of "Anna and the King of Siam." The earlier version was published in two forms - one for adults and another rewritten for children. The author, Margaret Landon, based her books on the writings of Anna Leonowens, originally published in the 1870's. Of course, the three major movies and the long-running stage play titled "The King and I" were based on the 1943 publication.

This current Harper Trophy edition for children was published to take advantage of the popularity of the latest movie version starring Jody Foster. Most adults identify Yul Brynner, from his stage and screen roles as the personification of the original King of Siam. Deborah Kerr won an Oscar for her performance as Anna in that 1956 movie. Older adults recall Rex Harrison in the non-musical movie version of "Anna and the King of Siam." Irene Dunne played Anna in that 1946 movie. These older versions regularly pop up on television; so many children will have seen them.

Surely, with all of this staying power, "Anna and the King" should qualify as a modern classic. This inexpensive paperback should enthrall another generation of young readers.

• Buy this book from Amazon.com

Adventure, literature, and history all
tied up in one paperback

"The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary Blackwood is just the kind of paperback that most parents would like to see their young teenagers reading. It provides considerable historical background about Elizabethan England, contrasting country life with life in urban London in the early 17th century. It also involves a young reader in the atmosphere surrounding the production of Shakespeare's plays in that era. Such a reading experience can only help sons or daughters in the appreciation of issues covered in their later education.

The author, by using a teenager in the first person telling of the story, is able to get young readers to identify closely with the characters and action. The feelings and concerns of a teenager in Shakespeare's day don't appear to be all that different from those of a teenager today.

• Buy this book from Amazon.com

Entertainment

Suggested lesson plan for "Three
St. Louis area kids win state chess titles"

Readability: Fifth grade reading level

Possible hard words: Proper names: Tony Cao, William Cheng, Jeremy Volkmann, Francis Howell High School, Stephanie Hulsey, Barrington Elementary School, Brad Schmidt, Ed Bauer, Vianney High School, Borders Book Store, Bobby Fischer, Boris Spassky, Galveston
Other words: entrants, organization, affiliated, dominant

BEFORE READING: Ask the young reader to read the list of names and words. Help with pronunciations where needed. Since the article is short, ask the young reader to read it aloud. Indicate that questions will be raised afterward.

DURING READING: Provide any words fairly quickly that seem to be impairing fluent reading.

AFTER READING: Questions such as the following may be used to check comprehension and promote a discussion of the article.

1. How did Tony Cao win his title in the state chess meet?
2. What advice did Tony's father give him and did it help him?
3. Who were Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky?
4. What do you know about chess? Would you like to play? Why or why not?

Sports

Suggested lesson plan for "Local girls
try to return to AAU basketball finals"

Readability: Sixth grade reading level

Possible hard words: Proper names: Whitney Sykes, Whitney Smith, Granite City High School, Visitation Academy, Belleville West Township High School, Rick Newkirk, Rachel Viehmann, Ashley House, Matthew-Dickey Boys and Girls Club, Cardinal Ritter, Kelsey Luna
Other words: defection, coordinated, diminish

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader read the possible hard words. Help with pronouncing names and words where needed. Where it might appear that the meaning of a word such as "defection" is not clear, discuss word meanings. Since the article is fairly short with few hard words, ask the child to read it aloud to you. Indicate that questions will be raised afterward.

DURING READING: Offer any help needed to keep the oral reading smooth and fluent.

AFTER READING: Use questions to check comprehension and to promote discussion. Examples are the following.

1. What does it mean that the Comets are a "select" team?
2. How do the numbers of games played compare between high school and elementary school participation?
3. What does Rachel Viehmann have to say about weight lifting?
4. In what grade did most of these girls appear to start playing team basketball? What does that seem to show regarding what it takes to be competitive at national level?

Lifestyle

Suggested lesson plan for "Earth Day
trail ride is more than a bicycle trip"

Readability: About sixth grade reading level

Possible hard words: Proper names: Shemika Jackson, LaClede's Landing, Catherine Magel, Metropolitan Sewer District, Humboldt, Americorps
Other words: reconditioned, fossils, mural, restoration, purification

BEFORE READING: To get some feel for how the young reader can deal with the article, have him or her read the list of names and words. Offer help where needed. Since this is a fairly short article, ask the young reader to read it aloud and be prepared to discuss it afterward.

DURING READING: Provide any words needed to keep the reading fluent.

AFTER READING: Ask questions such as these to check comprehension and stimulate a discussion of the article.

1. What use is made of the old Chain of Rocks Bridge today?
2. What has artist Catherine Magel offered to do for the mural at LaClede's Landing?
3. What was the Underground Railroad?
4. Would you be interested in participating in the bike ride? Why or why not?