5th Grade Language Arts Lesson Plan

Teachers: 5^th Grade Social Studies Teacher

Subject Area: Social Studies, American Revolution and Language Arts

Grade Level: 5^th

Unit Title: The American Revolution

Lesson Title: Persuasive Writing

Overview: Students will examine the different sides of The American Revolution and select one viewpoint to write a persuasive essay about.

Connection to the Curriculum: In fifth grade, students study the American Revolution and focus on writing skills, specifically, persuasive writing.

Connection to Standards: English Language Arts Content Standards for California, Grade Five, Standard 2.0 Writing Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics): Students write narrative, expository, persuasive, and descriptive texts of at least 500 to 700 words in each genre. Student writing demonstrates a command of standard American English and the research, organizational, and drafting strategies outlined in Writing Standard 1.0. 2.4 Write persuasive letters or compositions:

State a clear position in support of a proposal.

Support a position with relevant evidence.

Follow a simple organizational pattern.

Address reader concerns.

Materials/Equipment Required: Students will use a laptop from the school laptop cart to write their essays in class.

Objectives: Students will practice the art of persuasive writing, as well as learn more about the American Revolution.

Suggested Procedure: Students will select either the American or British vantage point in terms of the American Revolution, make a list of convincing points to support that viewpoint, prepare a sentence outline and then write a persuasive essay.

Opening: Teacher will introduce the lesson by sharing the book George vs. George: The American Revolution as Seen From Both Sides (book review available at http://picturebooksforbigkids.blogspot.com/2011/06/george-vs-george-american-revolution-as.html) by Rosalyn Schanzer. Teacher will use a whiteboard or document camera and paper and pen to display a list of causes for the American Revolution. Teacher will add two columns, one labeled George Washington and one labeled King George. A class discussion can be used to generate each George’s point of view on the different causes of the war.

Development: Students will be asked to consider the class commentary on George and George, as well as information about the colonists and British viewpoints about the war presented in the class social studies textbook. Students will then select a side to write about in a persuasive essay.

Closing: Teacher will review format of persuasive writing. Students will first prepare a list of items to convey “their’ point of view, then write a sentence outline and finally, a persuasive essay with the goal of convincing readers that either the British or the colonists were right about the American Revolution.

Student Assessment: Student essays will be graded by the teacher based on inclusion of various elements of persuasive writing and demonstration of knowledge appropriate for grade five about the American revolution.

Extending the Lesson: Students can hold mini debates, verbally sparring with a classmate who has chosen the opposing viewpoint.

6th Grade Information Skills Lesson Plan

Teachers: Teacher Librarian / 6^th Grade Social Studies Teacher

Subject Area: Library and Information Skills

Grade Level: 6^th

Unit Title: Egypt

Lesson Title: Egypt Research Skills

Overview: Students will use print source materials related to Ancient Egypt to learn source evaluation.

Connection to the Curriculum: In sixth grade, students study world history and geography, specifically ancient civilizations. Sixth graders also learn information skills applicable to research.

Connection to Standards:

History Social-Science Content Standards for California:

Grade Six, Standard 6.2: Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Kush, 7. Understand the significance of Queen Hatshepsut and Ramses the Great.

California Model Library Standards:

Standard 2: Students evaluate information

Time: Approximately 1 hour. Students will spend a 1-hour period in the library media center.

Materials/Equipment Required: Students will use print sources available in the school library.

Objectives: Students will gain experience evaluating print sources of information.

Suggested Procedure: Students will spend the first half of the 1-hour lesson in the library media center listening to a presentation and asking questions about source evaluation. The second half of the lesson will be spent trying out new evaluation skills introduced by the library media teacher.

Opening: Teacher librarian will introduce the lesson by sharing the book Hatshepsut, His Majesty, Herself (book review available at http://picturebooksforbigkids.blogspot.com/2011/07/hatshepsut-his-majesty-herself.html) by Catherine M. Andronik. Teacher librarian will share the steps for evaluating this book to determine whether or not it is a good source for a project that the students will soon be working on in their social science class.

Development: Students will be divided into groups and given several books on a single topic related to Ancient Egypt. The groups will use their newly learned process for evaluating print sources to determine the quality and appropriateness of the materials.

Closing: Each group will elect a spokesperson to present to the class the best print source as determined by their group for the upcoming Egypt project. The spokesperson will explain the results of examining their recommended source (i.e., the publication date, text content and age appropriateness, appendix content, index quality, ease of use, etc.) as outlined in the presentation on source evaluation.

Student Assessment: Students will listen to feedback from the teacher librarian after their group presentation. Other students may also comment and ask questions.

Extending the Lesson: Students might apply print source evaluation criteria with additional criteria to evaluate digital sources. Students could learn to create a citation for book evaluated. Students might learn note-taking skills as part of learning to gather information from a source.

5th Grade Language Arts Lesson Plan

Teachers: Teacher Librarian / 5^th Grade Language Arts Teacher

Subject Area: Language Arts, Writing

Grade Level: 5th

Unit Title: Writing

Lesson Title: Women’s History Month: News Article

Overview: Students will write a news style article about an event featuring a famous American woman during March, Women’s History Month, after reading a biography about a famous American woman.

Connection to the Curriculum: In fifth grade, students study the roles of American women during the American Revolution and come to understand the role that women have played in their history. Fifth graders also work on their writing skills. This lesson will allow students to extend their learning about the role of women during the American Revolution to other time periods and provide an opportunity to practice writing about an important event.

Connection to Standards: English Language Arts Content Standards for California, Grade Five, Standard 2.0 Writing Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics): Students write narrative, expository, persuasive, and descriptive texts of at least 500 to 700 words in each genre. Student writing demonstrates a command of standard American English and the research, organizational, and drafting strategies outlined in Writing Standard 1.0. Standard 2.3: Write research reports about important ideas, issues, or events by using the following guidelines:

Frame questions that direct the investigation.

Develop the topic with simple facts, details, examples, and explanations.

Establish a controlling idea or topic.

Time: Approximately 4 hours.

Materials/Equipment Required: Students will need access to iWork Pages or Microsoft Word for word processing (both programs are available at school). Students will also need 1 bibliography about a famous American woman.

Objectives: Students will learn how read for information and how to structure a news article using their research data. Students will learn to identify the importance of a particular historical event.

Suggested Procedure: Students should spend about 2 hours reading a short biography, gathering information, and identifying a single event involving their subject. Students will then write a news style article about the event featuring the famous American woman of their choice using their research data.

Opening: Teacher will introduce the assignment by sharing the book The Daring Nellie Bly, America’s Star Reporter (book review available at http://picturebooksforbigkids.blogspot.com/2011/06/daring-nellie-bly-americas-star.html) by Bonnie Christensen.

Development: Teacher will lead a discussion about the most significant contributions of Bly, asking students to consider what they learned about Bly from this story that would be newsworthy for a reporter during Bly’s time. Which one of Bly’s achievements would make a good news story? Teacher will introduce assignment to write a news story about something newsworthy accomplished by a famous American woman. Other examples might include suggesting a story about Amelia Earhart’s solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, a story about Elizabeth Blackwell becoming the first female U.S. doctor, etc.

Closing: Students will write a news style article featuring a famous American woman and can use a template in Microsoft Word or Pages to create a newspaper style format.

Student Assessment: Students will submit drafts of their news articles to the teacher for editing, then make revisions and turn in a final “story” to the teacher for “publication.”

Extending the Lesson: Teacher arranges for a local career woman to visit the class and share how other women have influenced her career decisions.

6th Grade Ancient Greece Lesson Plan

Teachers: Teacher Librarian / 6^th Grade Social Studies Teacher

Subject Area: Social Studies, Ancient Greece

Grade Level: 6^th

Unit Title: Greece

Lesson Title: The Gods of Olympia

Overview: Students will research one God from the Greek Olympians. Students will utilize source location, source evaluation and note taking skills. Students will work in group to synthesize information about the modern legacy of the Olympian God of their choice.

Connection to the Curriculum: In sixth grade, students study world history and geography, specifically ancient civilizations.

Connection to Standards: History Social-Science Content Standards for California, Grade Six, Standard 6.4.4: Explain the significance of Greek mythology to the everyday life of people in the region and how Greek literature continues to permeate our literature and language today, drawing from Greek mythology and epics, such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and from Aesop's Fables.

California Model Library Standards:

Standard 1: Students access information

Standard 2: Students evaluate information

Standard 3: Students use information

Time: Approximately 3 hours.

Materials/Equipment Required: Students will need access to iWork Pages or Microsoft Word for word processing (both programs are available at school). Students will also need at least 2 sources of print or digital information about Greek mythology. Print sources are available in the school library and the teacher and librarian will suggest web sources.

Objectives: Students will learn how the ancient Greeks used mythology to explain the world around them. Students will also gain experience locating, accessing, evaluating and using multiple sources of information. Students will learn to correctly cite source information.

Suggested Procedure: Students should spend about 1 hour gathering information, citing information and taking notes. Students will then meet in groups to compare and share information about their Olympian God. Each group will write a blog entry about their group’s specific God. Students will wrap up the lesson by reading each other’s blog entries.

Opening: Teacher will introduce the assignment by sharing the book Zeus: King of the Gods (book review available at http://picturebooksforbigkids.blogspot.com/2011/07/zeus-king-of-gods.html) by George O’Connor. Teacher will use a document camera to project the graphic illustrations on a large screen for the students to see. Teacher will share the portion of the story where Zeus receives his birthright from his grandmother, Gaea (p.46). Teacher will explain how the King of the Gods “hurling a thunderbolt,” (p. 68) is how the Greeks explained the reason for lightning storms.

Development: Teacher librarian will teach students how to cite sources, as well as introduce print and digital source recommendations. Students will select the Olympian God of their choice and conduct research to find out that God’s Greek and Roman names, the meaning of the name, any special attributes and details about how that particular God or Goddess helped the ancient Greeks understand their world.

Closing: Students form groups based on Gods and Goddesses (the Zeus group, the Poseidon group, the Hera group, etc.). Students share their research notes and together, write a blog entry about their Olympian in which they include examples of any modern day legacies from their Olympian. Teacher will share examples at the time groups form. Example: today, we have the Olympic Games every four years, which began in ancient Greece and were held every four years to honor Zeus.

Student Assessment: Group blogs will be read by all students and the teacher will use the blogs to assess student learning, specifically looking at research findings and students’ ability to synthesize information and apply concept of historical legacy, as well as understanding of origins of Greek mythology.

Extending the Lesson: Students might hold a Greek banquet or their own Olympics.

Additional Resources:

Aliki. (2008). The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus. Paw Prints.

D'Aulaire, I., & D'Aulaire, E. P. (2003). Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire's book of Greek myths. New York: Delacorte.

Smith, C. R., & Russell, P. C. (2009). The mighty 12: Superheroes of Greek myth. New York: Little, Brown.

Vinge, J. D., & Sherman, O. (1999). The Random House book of Greek myths. New York: Random House.

Zeus: King of the Gods

O'Connor, George. Zeus: king of the gods. New York: First Second, 2010. ISBN: 1596434317.

Author / Illustrator Website: http://geooco.blogspot.com/

Olympians Series Website: http://olympiansrule.blogspot.com/

Awards: Nominated for Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards (CYBILS), 2010.

Media: Black Ink and Photoshop Color Tool after Scanning Ink Sketch

Use of Simile: (p. 4) “the three Cyclopes, enormous and powerful as storms,” (p. 15) “swift as the wind,” (p. 17) “as fluid as the sea,”

Use of Alliteration: (p. 31) “be beaten by brats,”

Use of Onomatopoeia: (p. 53) “Hiiiiiiissssss.” (p. 61) “BOOM!”

Special Notations: 2010 Copyright Date, Lesson Plan (available at http://picturebooksforbigkids.blogspot.com/2011/08/6th-grade-ancient-greece-lesson-plan.html), Graphic Novel (Non-Fiction), Personal Top Ten, Challenged Book Potential (see discussion after Personal Reaction)

Curricular Connection: History Social-Science Content Standards for California, Grade Six, Standard 6.4.4: Explain the significance of Greek mythology to the everyday life of people in the region and how Greek literature continues to permeate our literature and language today, drawing from Greek mythology and epics, such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and from Aesop's Fables.

Annotation: Zeus, son of Kronos, takes on his powerful father to save his brothers and sisters. Zeus and his siblings battle the Titans and begin their rule of the Earth from the heights of Olympus in this comic style mythology lesson.

Personal Reaction: George O’Connor’s new series, the Olympians, debuts with volume 1, Zeus: King of the Gods. O’Connor brings classic comic book drawing style together with Greek mythology for a strong new entry in the graphic novel genre. I was surprised by the informed and powerful storytelling voice that accompanies O’Connor’s strong, fluid artwork. At times, the narration is almost poetic: “Wife and husband, Gaea and Ouranos, earth and sky, together, alone, in the nothing,” (p. 3). O’Connor offers a complete history of the Gods of Mount Olympians from the beginning with Gaea and Ouranos to Kronos and Rhea through the clash of the Titans which results in the dawn of a new age starring the Olympians Gods. While all of the facts about Zeus and his family’s history are included in this graphic novel, there is also humor. On pages 20-21, Zeus and Metis, the daughter of Oceanus, banter playfully as they plan Zeus’ overthrow of his father Kronos. “Because I’m so much smarter than you, of course,” (p. 21) says Metis as the two figure out how to save Zeus’ siblings. I enjoyed the contrast between O’Connor’s looming drawing of Kronos and on of the Gigantes with the light dialogue: “P-please don’t eat us. Thank you,” (p. 24). The artwork is big and does its share of storytelling; on page 24, O’Connor introduces Zeus’ brothers and sisters and uses color to highlight their areas of expertise. Poseidon is shown in a panel filled with blue and aqua, reelecting his water realm while “fair-haired Demeter,” is shown in a yellow field of corn. Mythology in a graphic novel format seems like a great match because the vivid illustrations work so well with the grand action of the Gods. Zeus slays Kampe the dragon to gain access to Tartoros to save the Cyclopes and enlist their help in fighting Kronos. Zeus also claims his birthright, the thunderbolt, from his grandmother, Gaea, and all of this activity is well-presented with bold lines and rich color, reminiscent of comics of years gone by. O’Connor wraps up this impressive first installment of the Olympians with a thorough appendix that includes discussion questions, biographies for the main characters, helpful notes on for Greek names and terms, as well as an author note about Greek mythology. Student readers will also appreciate the Olympian family tree at the beginning of the book and a strong list of additional reading material.

Challenged Book: While the United States has a long history of protecting personal freedom, Americans also have a long history of challenging and banning books at the cost of personal freedom. People challenge, ban and object to books everyday according to ALA statistics, typically with good intentions, too (ALA, 2008). In fact, these days it is mostly parents doing the challenging (ALA 2008). Reasons for challenging books often fall into three categories according to the American Library Association: a book contains sexually explicit material, the book contains offensive language or the book is unsuitable for a particular age group. One look at these three categories brings to mind one question for me: according to who? Who is to say what sexually explicit is? Who determines which words are offensive? Who says which books are suitable and how do we protect one age group without detriment to another age group? Book challenges and book banning are, by nature, biased. Reading is for everyone and in the words of librarian and philosopher, Ranganathan, “every book its reader.” Ranganathan’s third law of library science essentially says that every book out there is for someone (Cloonan & Dove, 2005). In other words, if one person or even a thousand people raise concerns about a book, so what . . . that book still has an audience and we need to make that book available to that audience. Every book can be deemed useful to someone, if that book isn’t pulled from the shelves. Every book has the potential to be offensive to someone and censorship is often personal and arbitrary. Personal and arbitrary feelings by an individual should not inform freedom and access to books.

When I read Zeus: King of the Gods, my first reaction was that this book would be fantastic for sixth graders studying mythology. My second reaction was concern that some parents might object to the book. I work as an elementary school librarian and I would never dream of censoring a library collection, but I do need to be prepared to address parental concerns and challenges to the collection. I’ve had parents object to Harry Potter books, Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks for reasons ranging from profanity to allegations of witchcraft. Zeus: King of the Gods includes the word “bastard,” and shows Zeus leaning over Metis, shirtless, asking for a kiss. There are also a number of visually intense illustrations featuring violence. O’Connor’s book has the potential to be challenged on the basis of being sexually explicit, containing offensive language and being unsuitable for certain age groups. Yet, Ranganathan and I both know that O’Connor’s book has its reader and needs to be on the shelf, available to that reader. If parents approach me with concerns about Zeus: King of the Gods, I can always rely on the ALA to support the inclusion of this book in the library’s collection. According to ALA and the “Free Access to Minors” document, “Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents—and only parents—have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children—and only their children—to library resources. Censorship by librarians of constitutionally protected speech, whether for protection or for any other reason, violates the First Amendment,” (ALA, 2008).” As a librarian, I am bound to not practice censorship and it’s actually up to every parent to make decisions about which books are and aren’t appropriate for their children. I would share with concerned parents both the reasons why I believe that Zeus: King of the Gods is an excellent book for sixth graders and why it will remain on the library shelves, library shelves that are browsed by readers who might be too young for the book (as determined by a parent). This book has to be available for “its reader,” and censorship is not the answer when it comes to helping children of any age select books.

References

About Banned & Challenged Books," American Library Association, July 29, 2008.

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/aboutbannedbooks/index.cfm

(Accessed July 31, 2011). Document ID: 501522

Cloonan, M., & Dove, J. (2005). Ranganathan online: Do digital libraries violate the third law?. Library Journal, 130(6), 58.