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Project Information |
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School: | Boston High School and West Roxbury High School |
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Pathway: | TEACHBoston |
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Course: | TEACHBoston / Children's Literature |
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Grades: | Grades 11 and 12 |
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Authenticity
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Key Questions:
| How have the skills you learned in this class affected the way you think about parenting? How can you get children interested in books and what advice can you offer others about the benefits of reading to children? What kinds of activities can nurture a love of reading? |
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Overview: |
Students learn the importance of reading to young children and learn that reading at a young age gives children a foundation for the skills needed to do well academically in school. The high school student reviews and critiques children's literature in discussion groups and writing, reads aloud, maps out a children's story and transforms that story into a book for young children. Writing, reading, technology use and presentation skills are enhanced in the process. Students learn about various careers related to writing a book and the skills that are needed to be successful in those careers. The project is authentic; the students read their creations to young children and receive feedback about their products from the children and their teachers.
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Academic Rigor
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What Learning Standards and School to Career Competencies are used in this project? |
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English Language Arts |
- Connect what they read with their experiences and the experiences of others
- Understand the structure of words and demonstrate a strong vocabulary
- Understand and effectively employ structures of written language
- Understand, analyze, evaluate and respond effectively to visual and auditory presentations
- Make effective presentations
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Technology |
- Employ various formats and technologies to complete and enhance work
- Use computer technology to problem solve challenges
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School to Career Competencies |
 Communicate and understand ideas and information
Collect, analyze and organize information
Identify and solve problems
Use technology
Initiate and complete entire activities
Act professionally
Interact with others
Understand all aspects of an industry
Career and life choices
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Applied Learning |
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How do students apply what they have learned and researched to a complex problem (e.g.: designing a product, improving a system, creating an exhibit, organizing an event)? |
Students investigate, read, discuss and reflect upon the importance of children's literature with a focus on child development to determine age appropriate interest, content and theme. They make connections between being read to at a young age and academic achievement. Students create their own books and read those books to young children at an after school program or learning festival.
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Active Exploration |
Classroom Activities |
- Reading, discussing, and critiquing children's books
- Researching children's literature on the Internet
- Learning how to use a story map (graphic organizer)
- Using a short story map to create a short story
- Writing a children's story with the five elements of the short story
- Setting, characters, conflict, plot, resolution)
- Learning how to Read Aloud to engage an audience of young children
- Students create their own children's book and integrate different technologies into the product so it looks professional
- Students learn how to organize and time manage their product so it is completed on time
- Students work in pairs and cooperative groups to complete their projects and practice skills
- Students write a reflection essay on the children's book project
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Community Activities |
- Students volunteer to read aloud to young children at an after school program or learning festival
- Students read a loud at an elderly home to practice their reading skills and connect with their community
- Students email college students who are enrolled in an education program to investigate the career of teaching or related fields
- Students prepare a read aloud lesson for younger children and then implement that lesson at a learning festival
- Students create "refrigerator art" for elementary school children that gives tips to parents on how to make reading a priority in the home
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Career Activities |
- Students learn the role of a journalist, publisher, or author with guest speakers from the Boston Globe and visiting authors
- Students connect success with a plan or goal and understand the importance of organization by interviewing different professionals at the school (teachers, paraprofessionals, custodians, administrators)
- Students complete a task and understand that the task needs to be planned and time managed by completing an interview project with an adult in the school or community
- Students read aloud to young children with elementary school teachers in the audience. Students are given feedback by those teachers
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Adult Connections |
Who from the community, workplace or postsecondary or industry partnership do students work with on the project? |
Students interview teachers, parents, or librarians with questions they create about the importance of teaching. They complete research on the Internet about the importance of reading at a young age. Students write tips on how to become better readers for parents of younger children and create "refrigerator art" with those tips using graphics from the computer. Students ask their own parents about how they learned how to read in their own home and how their parents learned how to read. College students enrolled in education courses become email mentors to give TEACHBoston students ideas about how to improve their writing and what it is like to major in education at the postsecondary level.
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Assessment |
How do you and the students know the project is a success?
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Students know that their project is a success if they can engage an audience of their peers and/or younger children while reading aloud. The criteria for a successful product includes a well written story that includes all five elements of the short story, a story that is appropriate for the age group that was targeted, the book was completed on time and of professional quality (word processed, correct punctuation, spelling, and grammar, with pictures or graphics that are age appropriate and related to the story), and the story was presented orally with evidence of time, focus, and commitment. The story map, rough drafts, and final draft reflect progress for the project. Before the final presentation a "Did I" sheet needs to be completed to demonstrate the students completion of all tasks related to the assignment. A rubric is aligned to the "Did I" sheet and the students give themselves a score before the product is submitted.
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Recommended Resources / Sample Products - EXAMPLES |
Software or Materials Needed |
- Story map graphic organizer
- Microsoft Word (or a word processing application)
- Click Art on the computer and Internet
- Digital camera
- Book binding materials
- Children's Books
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Websites Used |
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Teacher
Developed |
- Story map
- Task Description Sheet
- Directions on how to insert graphics into a word document
- Models of children's book format including dedication and about the author
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Student
Developed |
- Samples of story maps
- Samples of children's books that were created by students
- Portfolios
- Student reflections on the writing process to create children's books
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