Category: Uncategorized

Title: I Survived the Attacks of September 11^th, 2001

Author: Lauren Tarshis

Published in 2012

Topic: History

Grade Level: 5^th-8^th

TEKS^: §113.16. Social Studies, Grade 5, (B) (5)

The student understands important issues, events, and individuals in the United States during the 20th and 21st centuries. The student is expected to: (B) analyze various issues and events of the 21st century such as the War on Terror and the 2008 presidential election

I Survived the Attacks of September 11^th, 2001 is the sixth in a series called, I Survived, which also include, I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake and I Survived Hurricane Katrina.  This book is about a young man, named Lucas, who loves football more than anything else. When Lucas suffers from a concussion and is unable to play football anymore, he wishes to seek comfort from a family friend, Uncle Benny.  The next morning, Lucas could not wait any longer to talk to the man who taught him everything he knew about football. So, instead of waiting until the weekend, Lucas skips school and catches the subway to visit Uncle Benny at the fire station in the heart of New York City, where he and his father work. However, this Tuesday was not like any Tuesday. This Tuesday morning would change Lucas and America forever.

The author, Lauren Tarshis, gives a chilling account of the attacks of 9/11 through the eyes of a young man. This account is relatable and understandable to children who did not experience the attacks. Although the book is extremely descriptive and provides the audience with sharp vocabulary to really place them in New York, it is appropriate read for junior aged students. This chapter books is about courage, history and understanding of what happened that Tuesday in September of 2001.

Here is a small snippet of I Survived the Attacks of September 11^th, 2001:

“Something was wrong. And everyone knew it. People up and down the side walk were stopped in their tracks, hypnotized by the sight of a jet ripping across the sky. The plane turned slightly, one wing dipped down. The engine’s roar turned to a screech. It was moving faster now, and going lower and lower. It barely missed the tops of some buildings as it careened through the air. But just ahead, two buildings stood taller than the rest: the Twin Towers.” (pg. 37)

Yucky Worms by Vivian French, illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg

Grade: 3^rd Grade

Content Area: Science

TEKS: 112.14

(9) Organisms and environments. The students know that organism have characteristics that help them survive and can describe patterns, cycles, systems, and relationships within the environment.

(A) observe and describe the physical characteristics of environments and how they support populations and communities within an ecosystem.

One day when I was in Grandma’s garden, Grandma dug up a slimy, slithery, wiggly worm. “Yuck!” I said. “Throw it away!” “Throw it away?” Grandma looked horrified. “Would you throw away one of your friends?” “You can’t be friends with a worm,” I said. “You can’t even tell which end is which.” “Yes, you can! Watch.”

Summary: This is an informational book on worms. The story begins with a grandmother gardening with her grandson and the grandmother dug up a worm. The little boy is grossed out and insists his grandmother throws away the worm, but the grandmother enlightens the boy about worms. These include how to tell the tail from the head, where worms live, the food worms eat, how worms move in dirt and more. The grandmother also debunks common misconceptions about worms. She gives her grandson a better understanding of the benefits of worms and why it is good to have worms in a garden. The book ends with a “how to be a wormologist!” that is available for students to follow and practice. I chose this because it is perfect for a science lesson and afterward students will be able to be a wormologists and looks for worms outside the school.

 

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

By William Joyce

This beautifully illustrated picture book opens up the imagination to the endless possibilities that books and stories hold. The first pages begin with a man working on his own story, when his world is turned upside down, and he begins meeting all these new types of books. He ultimately lands in a library, where he creates deep relationships with all genres. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore can be used to inspire students with the magic that books and stories contain and the importance of the stories that our own lives tell and the legacies we leave for others.

Here is a snippet from this book, so you can see if you might like to read the entire story! 

“Morris Lessmore loved words. He loved stories. He loved books.

His life was a book of his own writing, one orderly page after another. He would open it every morning and write of his joys and sorrows, of all that he knew and everything he hoped for.

But every story has its upsets. One day the sky darkened. The winds blew and blew…

…till everything Morris knew was scattered – even the words of his book.

He didn’t know what to do or which way to go. So he began to wander. And wander.”

 

 

Guiding TEK: 110.15 English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 4 (b) (13) (B)
Image:
http://media.thestate.com/smedia/2012/10/24/00/11/wloke.St.74.jpg

This image is a polling results map for the 2012 presidential election as of October 23, 2012. I found this image on South Carolina Newspaper The State’s website. The map shows the number of electoral votes represented in each state. In addition, the map also displays the majority attitude of voters for the state as of October 23, 2012, which will determine which candidate will win the electoral votes for the state.
An instructional procedure I would incorporate when students are analyzing the map would be to have them fill out a KWL chart on the topic of electoral votes in relation to the map. Students could complete the KWL chart with a partner. Students would have already learned about how electoral votes are determined and the factors in which each state is entitled to a certain number of electoral votes. I would have students determine the state with the highest number of votes in the Electoral College as well as the states with the lowest number. I would also require students to report that states are solid and likely Obama and which states are solid and likely Romney. This activity demonstrates students’ ability to explain factual information presented graphically as stated in the TEKs for fourth grade.

Grade: 2nd

Content Area: Social Studies

TEKS: (2) History. The student understands the concepts of time and chronology. The student is expected to: (B) apply vocabulary related to chronology, including past, present, and future. (C) create and interpret timelines for events in the past and present.

Link: How to Make a Timeline

Summary: This “How To” article provides great step by step instructions to help students create their own timeline. It can be a great instructional tool for teachers who can then guide students through the steps. However, if you want students to create a timeline as a “home” project, this is a great instructional tool for parents as well. It provides detailed yet easy to follow instructions.

Instructional Strategy: Students will have learned the terms past, presents, and future and would have explored a variety  of text where they can see these terms put to use. Once students have grasped an understanding of the terms they will move into understanding and interpreting timelines. Students will be given the opportunity to create their own timeline about their life. This will be started in class and taken home to finish with their parents/guardians. This is a great way for students to practice speaking in front of the class as they present their timelines. It is also a great way for students to learn and get to know their classmates.

DOGOnews is a great site for teachers and students. Teachers can create lesson plans using news articles, create reading lists & recommend books, add your favorite websites, create an online class calendar, and engage students with social learning. Kids can create your custom avatar, earn points and badges, follow other DOGO users, bookmark & share news, books, and movies, express your opinions about news, books, and movies.

I chose this the article “How Long Can You Resist A Marshmallow?” as a great text to share with my nephew Isaac because he loves marshmallows. The article talks about the “Stanford Marshmallow” test, children between the ages of 4-6 were invited individually and seated at a table inside a room that had a single marshmallow on a plate. They were told that if they could resist the treat for 20 minutes, they would be rewarded with another. What they observed was that only about a third of the kids were able to wait out of the 20 minutes and that the older the child was, the better his/her resistance to power.My nephew read the article and he thought it was very interesting. He asked me if  I could do the test to him. After the test he told me that it was hard for him because he loves marshmallows but when I told him that I would give him another one he told me that it was worth the wait.

Many years later, the scientist followed up with the parents of the now-grown kids with a detailed questionnaire. What he found was that those that had been able to resist the marshmallow for the full 20 minutes, were thought to be more competent by their parents, than the others. Things got even more interesting a few years later, when he discovered that the marshmallow resisters all scored an average of 210 points higher on their Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores than the rest of the group. Not only that, they were also better at planning and, handling stress.

Here is the video

http://youtu.be/x3S0xS2hdi4