April 2003     Vol.4 Issue 4

All Lesson Plans

Entertainment

Suggested lesson plan for "Kids to perform
at St. Louis Storytelling Festival"

Readability: About sixth grade reading level

Possible hard words: Proper names: Mallory Krueger, Sue Hinkel, Bud Abbott, Louis Costello, Maggie Friebel, Maggie Ruchenbrod, Almedina Veletanlic, Rocky Lochhaas, Curtis Luebbering, Marilyn Kinsella
Other words: performers, concert, artificial, reneges, generation, registration

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader read the list of possible hard words, providing assistance as needed. Then suggest the child read the article aloud to you and be ready to talk about it afterward.

DURING READING: Supply any difficult words fairly rapidly in order to keep the reading fluent.

AFTER READING: Use questions such as the following to check comprehension and promote a discussion.

1. What are the roles of kids at the Storytelling Festival?
2. Why do you think scary stories and ghost stories are popular?
3. Why could the kids get away with "messing up" in the Abbott and Costello story?
4. What story ideas would you have for a storytelling festival?

Lifestyle

Suggested lesson plan for "Key
to successful fund drive? Let kids do it."

Readability: About sixth grade reading level

Possible hard words: Proper names: St. Dominic Savio School, Caitlin Neri, Susie Hark, Stephanie Nilica, Susan Hooker
Other words: financial, sponsored, campaign, contribute, accompanied, administrators, professional

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader read the list of possible hard words. Provide help as needed. Since there are only twelve items on the list and the article seems fairly easy reading, have the young reader read the article aloud to you. Indicate questions will be raised afterward.

DURING READING: Supply any troublesome words fairly quickly in order to keep the oral reading fluent.

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

1. How much better were the 2003 fund drive results than the 2002 results?
2. What kinds of things did the kids do to promote the fund raising?
3. Were the large jars in the classrooms a significant part of the total funds raised?
4. What do you think about kids taking responsibility for campaigns like this one?

Science

Suggested lesson plan for "Jefferson
County Fair mixes science and art"

Readability: About sixth grade reading level

Possible hard words: Proper names: Mastodon Art/Science Regional Fair of Jefferson County, John Petrovic, Sarah Summers, David Pottgen, Megan Wamser
Other words: predecessors. diverse, suspension, architect, depicting, moistened, calcium propionate, spoilage

BEFORE READING: To get some idea of how the young reader can handle the article, have him or her read the list of possible hard words. Supply help as needed. If no more than three items call for help, ask the young reader to read the article silently. If four to six items are problems, ask the child to read the article aloud to you. If seven or more items cause difficulty, you offer to read the article aloud. In all thee instances, note that questions will be asked over the article after reading.

DURING READING: For the silent reader offer to help with any words if asked. For the child reading aloud, supply troublesome words fairly quickly in order to keep the reading fluent. If you read aloud, model smooth, expressive oral reading.

AFTER READING: Use questions similar to the following to check comprehension and stimulate a discussion.

1. What makes the Art/science competition unique?
2. What are some examples of entries in the competition?
3. Why do Missouri architectural students go to Kansas State University?
4. What ideas would you have for entering such a competition?

Books

This month's book reviews

Combining a dog story with lots of tongue-in-cheek humor

Bob Balaban, the author of "It's a Dog's Life," is a very successful producer, director, and writer of television programs and movies. He also is an actor in both mediums. His credits include producer and co-starring role in the Oscar-winning "Gosford Park" as well as acting roles in "Seinfeld" on TV. The McGrowl books, of which this one is number two, are probably fun and escapism for him as much as they are for the reader. For that kid who gets the wry humor in Batman and Robin's escapades, McGrowl paperbacks ought to be favorite reading. This one is a lot of fun for a book costing under five bucks.

A baseball story that deals with
anger control and trust in others

The Matt Christopher sports books have been the dominant sports stories for kids for several decades. "Baseball Turnaround" is a fairly recent example (1997) of one of the fictional baseball stories in the series. The author uses a reader's interest in baseball to present some life lessons that go beyond the game. In this case it's lessons in learning to control your anger and to trust that others will do the right thing when you share the truth with them. As you would expect, the life lessons are accompanied by some exciting baseball action.

A story about compulsive eating, obesity,
and fifth graders' empathy for a peer

"Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade" by Barthe DeClements is a paperback that's been around for just over a decade. In that period, it has picked up numerous awards as a favorite book for children. It deals with childhood obesity and the cruelty that can result from a rush to judgment by peers. On the positive side, it illustrates how kids can develop empathy and show support once they can get beyond their initial prejudice. It's basically a girls' book, but the lesson in it is a good one for both sexes.

A science fiction paperback series for kids
who are into computers and space travel

Just as there are sports stories for sports enthusiasts, and animal stories for kids who like dogs or horses, there are science fiction stories for kids who like computers and who think they are keeping up with cutting edge science. The publisher reports a fourth grade reading level for "Tome Out," the latest title in a series called "Outernet." To fully appreciate the humor in the books, a young reader, however, needs to know, for example, about Steven Hawking, the British scientist, and pick up on the word play in a book title, "A Short History of Time" by Seething Hawkthing. This kind of humor is scattered throughout the books. To grab the young science fiction fan even further, the authors maintain a website that augments the books, www.go2outer.net.

Health

Suggested lesson plan for "Good
posture now, healthy backs later"

Readability: Sixth grade reading level

Possible hard words: Proper names: Madison McCormack, Westchester Elementary School, Ray Vollmer, Claire Gresham, Shauntele Branom, Tony Reyes, Damani Chandler
Other words: therapist, rehabilitate, cigarettes, posture, slouch, misnomer, limber

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader read the list of possible hard words. Provide help where needed. Of the fourteen items, if no more than three are troublesome, ask the child to read the article silently. If four to five items cause problems, ask the child to read the article aloud to you. If six or more items cause difficulty, you offer to read the article aloud to the child. In all three instances, indicate questions will be raised afterward.

DURING READING: For the silent reader, you offer help with words if asked. For the oral reader, supply troublesome words fairly quickly in order to keep the reading fluent. If you read aloud, model smooth, fluent oral reading.

AFTER READING: Use questions to check comprehension and stimulate discussion. Examples follow>

1. What unusual problem did Madison McCormack have as she used her computer?
2. Why is posture important to young kids?
3. Why is "stand up straight" not necessarily good advice?
4. What do you do to keep your back and your muscles in good shape?

Sports

Suggested lesson plan for "Kids seek
4th straight trip to AAU finals"

Readability: Sixth grade reading level

Possible hard words: Proper names: Fort Zumwalt High School, Drew Hanlen, Hixson Middle School, Webster Groves, Henry Rosehill, John Simon, Chaminade College Prep, Memphis, Crestview Middle School, Rockwood
Other words: consecutive, confident, recruited, attributes, concentration, competitors, stockbroker

BEFORE READING: To get some idea of how a young reader can handle the article, have him or her read the list of possible hard words. You help out if help is needed. Keep track of how many words require your assistance. If no more than three items call for help, suggest that the young reader read the article silently. If four to six items cause a problem, have the young reader read the article aloud to you. If seven or more of the items cause a problem, you offer to read the article aloud. In all instances point out that questions will be asked afterward.

DURING READING: For the silent reader offer to help with words if asked. For the child reading aloud, supply troublesome words fairly quickly in order to keep the reading fluent. If you read aloud, model smooth, fluent oral reading.

AFTER READING: Use questions such as the following to check comprehension and stimulate discussion.

1. What are some of the major factors in its background that make the 13-and-under St. Louis Gateway boys basketball team a good bet to do well n the AAU national finals?
2. What does the coach say caused the team's poor showing last year?
3. Why is the coach happy to be playing this year in Memphis rather than in cities with beaches?
4. What is the first thing the team has to do before they get to play in a fourth consecutive tournament?

Money

Suggested lesson plan for "Learning
not to be just a big spender"

Readability: Sixth grade reading level

Possible hard words: Proper names: Mark Griggs, Marvin Elementary School, Pam Lueker, Rhonda Donaldson, Krista Daniel, Kaysone Kiopone, Laurel Reese, Nikolas Fischer, Xavier Gomez, Tapley Rasch
Other words: precious, chores, allowance, construction, bartering, considerable

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader call the words from the possible hard words list. Help out where needed. Other than the proper names, the article should be fairly easy. Ask the young reader to read the article aloud to you and be ready to discuss it afterward.

DURING READING: Supply any troublesome words fairly quickly in order to keep the reading fluent.

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

1. Who are those encouraging kids to save rather than spend their money?
2. How do most of the fourth graders earn money?
3. What is "bartering"?
4. What do you do with money you earn or that is given to you?

News

Suggested lesson plan for "Recycling
to make Earth Day music

Readability: Sixth grade reading level

Possible hard words: Proper names: Linda Horsley, Recycled Rhythms, Marion Nichols, Harvey NcNaughton
Other words: aluminum, annual, instrument, tambourine, contributions, guitars, adjacent

BEFORE READING: Have the young reader read the words from the list above. Provide help where or if needed. Then ask the child to read the short article aloud to you and indicate it will be discussed afterward.

DURING READING: Supply any troublesome words fairly quickly to keep the oral reading fluent.

AFTER READING: Ask questions to assess understanding of the article and stimulate discussion.

1. What is the purpose behind making musical instrument out of scrap materials?
2. How are kids encouraged to participate in "Earth day"?
3. Would you be interested in making a musical instrument? Why or why not?