November 2004     Vol.5 Issue 11

Suggested lesson plan for "St. Charles
kid seeks career as artist, writer"

Possible hard words: Proper names: Kiera Lynn Smith, Barney the Dinosaur, Mary Nichols, Elaine Young, Dr. Deborah Morrowloving, Yari Yari Literary Club, "Tafadahli, Anaglia! 2004". Apocalypse
Other words: illustrator, endeavors, acrylic, motivation

BEFORE READING: Ask the young reader to read the list of possible hard words. Provide help as needed. Since this article is heavy with proper names that may be difficult to pronounce, ask the young reader to read the article aloud so you can monitor his or her possible breakdowns in fluency.

DURING READING: Provide pronunciations of names or words fairly quickly in order to keep the reading fluent.

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

1. List some of the things in Kiarra's life that contribute to her likely success at a career in art.
2. Why doe Kiarra prefer to work from photos rather than from live models?
3. What are some of the things Kiarra says she fears?
4. What do you see as the message in Kiarra's long poem called "Snickers' Mistake?'