For my One Great Text I decided to use a video from Scholastic’s Study Jams! This site offers many videos on various Science and Math topics. Most of the videos also have interactive activities such as karaoke or quizzes that students can take afterwards. The video that I chose was one that I had used to create a sample lesson plan for a technology rich lesson on the states of matter.

http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/matter/solids-liquids-gases.htm

I wanted to get a students point of view so I asked my cousin Emily who is in 9th grade if she thought this video would be good to use in a science lesson.

“I like the video. It is way better than other videos I have seen. Also it gets all the main facts stated out, and it reflects it nicely to soccer.”

I think she has a good point. Students may retain the information easier if they can connect what they are learning to something that they are interested in. In this case the video relates the states of matter to soccer. Since these videos try and relate new concepts to interests that students might already have, I think that these videos might be a great addition to any classroom. 

If you would like to explore the other videos and activities available from Study Jams! here is the link to there homepage.

http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/index.htm

 

Eileen C.

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is a poem that is based on Paul Revere’s 4-18-75 warning that the British where coming ride. This poem can be used to introduce the beginning of the American Revolution. I really like this poem because I at the end of my lesson I was able to discuss with my class possible reasons for the difference between the poem and the actual event. Students can then create a Venn diagram or write an essay comparing and contrasting the poem to the other sources. The students really seemed to enjoy the poem because I read it really dramatic and sort of like a pirate. I really got them interested in the lesson. It helped them see that it was a little more fictional than what really happen.

 

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, “If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm.”

Then he said “Good-night!” and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.

Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.

Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.

Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel’s tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, “All is well!”
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.

Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse’s side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry’s height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.

A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.

It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer’s dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.

It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.

It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.

You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.

So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1860

DOGOnews is a great website for both students and teachers. Students can make their own personal page where they can earn points and badges, follow other users, bookmar & share news, books, and movies, as well as express their opions about news, books, and movies. The website provides students with great websites and news articles on current events. They can chose articles from various subjects including science, sports, social studies, etc. They can also go on a tab that says maps and on there the map goes on different points and talks about current events going on around the world. I think this is a great website for students to use in any content area but most especially science.

I chose the article entitled “Scientist Plan Billion Dollar Journey To The Center Of The Earth” to share with an 8th grader and a 10th grader. The article talks about how an international team of scientist are on a mission to ‘Explore the Earth Under the Sea’. They want to reach the mantle and extract samples and it talks about how they plan to accomplish their goals. Both students seemed to be very interested in the article. The 8th grader said it was “pretty cool, a little extreme” she also stated that it was a little difficult to read because of the big words being used, she kind of understood it and the pictures helped. However, she tought, after reading the article, that it is not possible and thinks its a waste of money. The 10th grader, on the other hand, believes this is possible and that he hopes they find something that won’t melt to be able to get to the mantle. He stated that it was easy to read, he understood, and disagreed with the fact that it was a waste of money. He tought it was important to find out whats under the crust.

This is the URL to the article: http://www.dogonews.com/2012/10/7/scientists-plan-billion-dollar-journey-to-the-center-of-the-earth

TIME For Kids is a weekly news magazine available in both print and on-line. The magazine covers issues from a wide range of real-world topics across content areas and grade level. Also, TFK meets standards across the curriculum, including language arts, social studies, science, math and geography which are clearly listed in the teacher’s edition to guide instruction. I think that the articles available in site are great resources to get students motivated and engaged in reading and learning about new topics.

I chose the article entitled “Sleep Tight! More sleep helps children do better at school” as a One Great text to share with a fifth grader. The article talks about how in a new study students with less sleep were actually more cranky, frustrated and distracted. When I showed this article to my student her reaction was very positive. She seemed to be very interested in the topic since she immediately agreed and mentioned “sometimes I feel like that like when I stay up late watching T.V. I feel tired and don’t want to wake up in the morning.” She was able to relate to the article and talked about how she sometimes feels like she can’t pay attention in class because she gets sleepy. Overall, her attitude toward the text was very positive and she was very interested in learning about this topic particularly because it was something she could relate to.

Here is the website address to the article:

http://www.timeforkids.com/news/sleep-tight/54321

“The Chaos” is a poem written by a Dutch writer/teacher named Gerard Nolst Trenité.  The poem highlights numerous cases of the English language’s irregular spelling and pronunciation.  I really like this poem because not only is it written in a humorous way, but it really  surprised/reminded me of how irregular the English language can be.  You could use this poem in teaching blends, digraphs, or diphthongs especially (I think that you could pick the poem apart in doing this, as in maybe use a snippet from the poem in teaching these concepts since this poem is pretty long).  You could also use it in a writer’s workshop to inspire students or have them mimic the style/theme of the poem, etc. or you could even use it just to point out how irregular the English language can be.  I think that this poem can add a bit of fun to many language lessons in a classroom.

I showed this poem to three 4th graders, an 8th grade student and a 10th grade student.  The 4th graders’ responses were all positive, although they mainly said that they liked the poem because it had rhyme.  I think that, in a 4th grade class, this poem would be better utilized if I used it along side instruction.  I think that 4th graders still need guidance on a poem like this because none of them commented about how it highlighted irregularities in the English language.  The 8th and 10th grader also liked the poem, and they were able to see the intention of the poem very easily.  They laughed while they were reading it because sometimes they stumbled and had a hard time pronouncing the words themselves.  One of them said that they forgot that a sequence of letters [in the English language] could have so many different pronunciations.

“The Chaos”

Dearest creature in creation,

Study English pronunciation.

I will teach you in my verse

Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.

I will keep you, Suzy, busy,

Make your head with heat grow dizzy.

Tear in eye, your dress will tear.

So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.

Just compare heart, beard, and heard,

Dies and diet, lord and word,

Sword and sward, retain and Britain.

(Mind the latter, how it’s written.)

Now I surely will not plague you

With such words as plaque and ague.

But be careful how you speak:

Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;

Cloven, oven, how and low,

Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.

Hear me say, devoid of trickery,

Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,

Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,

Exiles, similes, and reviles;

Scholar, vicar, and cigar,

Solar, mica, war and far;

One, anemone, Balmoral,

Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;

Gertrude, German, wind and mind,

Scene, Melpomene, mankind.

Billet does not rhyme with ballet,

Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.

Blood and flood are not like food,

Nor is mould like should and would.

Viscous, viscount, load and broad,

Toward, to forward, to reward.

And your pronunciation’s OK

When you correctly say croquet,

Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,

Friend and fiend, alive and live.

Ivy, privy, famous; clamour

And enamour rhyme with hammer.

River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,

Doll and roll and some and home.

Stranger does not rhyme with anger,

Neither does devour with clangour.

Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,

Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,

Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,

And then singer, ginger, linger,

Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,

Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.

Query does not rhyme with very,

Nor does fury sound like bury.

Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.

Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.

Though the differences seem little,

We say actual but victual.

Refer does not rhyme with deafer.

Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer.

Mint, pint, senate and sedate;

Dull, bull, and George ate late.

Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,

Science, conscience, scientific.

Liberty, library, heave and heaven,

Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.

We say hallowed, but allowed,

People, leopard, towed, but vowed.

Mark the differences, moreover,

Between mover, cover, clover;

Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,

Chalice, but police and lice;

Camel, constable, unstable,

Principle, disciple, label.

Petal, panel, and canal,

Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.

Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,

Senator, spectator, mayor.

Tour, but our and succour, four.

Gas, alas, and Arkansas.

Sea, idea, Korea, area,

Psalm, Maria, but malaria.

Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.

Doctrine, turpentine, marine.

Compare alien with Italian,

Dandelion and battalion.

Sally with ally, yea, ye,

Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.

Say aver, but ever, fever,

Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.

Heron, granary, canary.

Crevice and device and aerie.

Face, but preface, not efface.

Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.

Large, but target, gin, give, verging,

Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.

Ear, but earn and wear and tear

Do not rhyme with here but ere.

Seven is right, but so is even,

Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,

Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,

Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.

Pronunciation (think of Psyche!)

Is a paling stout and spikey?

Won’t it make you lose your wits,

Writing groats and saying grits?

It’s a dark abyss or tunnel:

Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,

Islington and Isle of Wight,

Housewife, verdict and indict.

Finally, which rhymes with enough,

Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?

Hiccough has the sound of cup.

My advice is to give up!!!

The one great text I chose is a video from The Miniature Earth Project. It is an updated version of a text originally conducted by Donella Meadows in her “State of the Village Report” published May 24, 1990. Instead of using the earths actual population, Miniature Earth reduces the population of the world to a statistically representative 100 people. By reducing the world’s population to 100 people, it helps conceptualize who the world is made up of and the stark reality of the conditions in which many people live today. I like this video because it could be used in conjunction with a text entitled If the World Were a Villiage: A Book about the World’s People. This text goes into greater detail about than the video; however, both would be great resources to use for a math and or social studies lesson. I introduced both of these texts to a fifth grade student attending Fulmore Middle School. She said she preferred the video because it was “shorter and easier to pay attention to”. She said that the book was interesting, but that there were so many facts that it was hard to remember all of them. I assured her that she didn’t need to remember all of them, but rather she needed to understand what those facts represented and how they contributed to how we see the world. Overall, these two texts are a great way to pair math and social studies together in a way that helps students become conscious about the world around them. Below is the video from The Miniature Earth Project.

This famous image is entitled “American Progress”. Painted in 1872 by John Gast, it portrays an allegorical female figure of America leading pioneers and railroads westward.  This image is synonymous with the American belief of Manifest Destiny.

I chose this particular image not only for its metaphorical meaning, but also complexity and the potential it would have for an amazing discussion during Social Studies. This image would work very well during a unit on America’s expansion westward. This beautiful painting has the possibility of sparking conversations about technology, transportation, culture, families, and jobs.  Additionally, I selected this particular image because it contains a multitude of smaller vignettes that illustrate a deeper meaning. A discussion could be had about what the ethereal woman represents and how each of these vignettes underneath her relate to a particular aspect of westward expansion.

I shared this image with a few students in my 4^th grade class. Here are a few of their responses:

“She looks like a giant angel, a long time ago. There’s storm in the corner.”

“I like this picture….I want to know more.”

“It looks like all those people are running from her…a ghost.”

“It’s a god. Nobody’s looking at her. I want to find out what’s happening.”

The One Great Text that I shared was a poem by Kenn Nesbitt. I found this author while looking through some of the author presentations made by my fellow classmates. One presentation, over Kenn Nesbitt, explained how his poetry could be used for science. I went on his website poetry4kids.com and found one poem that I thought was not only funny but a great educational tool. The poem is entitled My Senses All are Backward. I thought this poem was great when talking about the five senses with students. It’s a fun way to explore and check for understanding.

Click here to view the full poem!

I shared this poem with my reading group that consisted of five students. They really enjoyed the poem and found it very funny. Here are a few of their responses:

“He was funny”

“I love the poem”

“I like that the senses are backwards”

“I like that he likes the smell of skunks”

 

BrainPOP’s video Voting is an informative and efficient way of providing students with a picture of the voting process. This video would be appropriate for grades third and up. The film is relevant to the upcoming election and could be used in the social studies content area. In the video some questions addressed include who are elected officials, how to elect or reelect representatives, the date for the presidential election, the process of registration, what materials you use when voting, and what voting decisions can help determine. Voting engages students without boring them as the video lasts less than five minutes.

I showed Voting to brother who is currently in fifth grade. He agreed that learning information through the video was better than receiving information through a textbook. He enjoyed watching the video because it was easy to understand and the robot that narrated the video was funny. It seemed as if the content in the video was too easy, as he is well informed for his age.  Most of the information he already knew. I asked him a variety of questions to prompt his engagement and learning in the video.  Prior knowledge he had before the video was that you vote in private. Something new he learned was the date of Election Day is the second Tuesday in November. A topic he thought needed to be voted on at his school was recycling habits. Something he had voted for previously was for the positions for student government. Overall, the video was clear, descriptive, and easy to comprehend.

Link to video: Voting