4 th Grade Library Unit
(2008 Trimester 2)
Patricia Polacco Figurative Language Newspapers
In what ways can a newspaper mirror the language and themes of Patricia Polacco’s stories?
Week One: Introduction to Project and Polacco
Materials: Quilt, Polacco photos, Folders, Paper for glossaries, Glossary chart
Lesson :
· Show my heirloom quilt and tell Polacco’s story of her family quilt (show pics from the time I met her)
· Discuss final project (a Patricia Polacco newspaper)
· Set up folders (will hold all the pieces until the end) and figurative language glossaries (three columns, labeled “term”, “definition”, and “example from story”)
Week Two: Parts of a Newspaper
Materials: Several newspapers for browsing; Worksheet: Newspaper Project Planner*
Lesson:
· Students browse newspapers and take notes on the Project Planners describing what they found (general things, like “ads”, “maps”, “sports”, etc.)
· Share with the whole group and create a class list of things found in a newspaper
· Describe the steps in publishing a newspaper: deciding what to include, researching, writing, layout, editing, publishing, distributing
· Have students brainstorm ideas for their newspaper’s name (“mastheads”) on their planning sheet—they choose the final name later
Week Three: Onomatopoeia, comic strips
Materials: The Bee Tree, easel, worksheet: one panel comic strip*, glossaries
Lesson:
· What is onomatopoeia? Explain what it is (add definition to the chart), and students should take turns giving (vocal!) examples.
· Read The Bee Tree. As it is being read, students should make an “O” with their hands when they hear examples of onomatopoeia and the teacher will write them down on a chart.
· Students will go back to their tables and illustrate a one-panel scene from the story that has THREE examples of onomatopoeia.
· Grading: they will be graded out of 5 points, with one point for each of the three onomatopoeia examples, one for including a scene from the story, and one for neatness
· Add onomatopoeia to glossaries (in class if we run out of time)
** Jenny: read Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare in class before they arrive for library. You might have the students make a list of adjectives from the story or some other activity that points out her glorious descriptive words. Please bring this adjective list to class, whether it’s on a chart or individual work.**
Week Four: Adjectives, Sports Reporting (p. 14-16)
Materials: Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare , worksheets: Sports Feature Notes, Sports Feature Final Draft
Lesson:
· Students will volunteer to share a sentence describing the plot of the story, IN THE ORDER IN WHICH IT OCCURRED, to create a class summary.
· They will “cover” one of the events as a sports reporter: either the hockey game or the ballet recital. They should fill out the Sports Feature Notes sheet about this event.
· Students will then write the final draft back in their classroom on the Sports Feature Final Draft worksheet.
· Grading: students will be graded on each section of the Sports Feature Notes sheet.
**Jenny: Introduce the term simile during class, and then read The Keeping Quilt in class before visiting the library. As you read, have students signal when they hear a simile (or point them out to the students, or work your teacher magic to come up with a clever way to highlight similes in the story…)
Week Five: Similes, weather reports
Materials: The Keeping Quilt , worksheet: Weather Reports *, projector/screen/laptop, website with local news weather reports, glossaries
Lesson:
· Begin by playing several weather reports from local news channels (use the projector and laptop) and have students volunteer words they heard during the reports.
· What is a simile? Give several examples and have students add the term to their glossaries.
· Students will then choose an area of the country about which to write a weather report. This should be a place the student has visited or heard detailed stories about. We will tie this into our Polacco study by pointing out that PP writes about what she has experienced. Therefore, we should only write a weather report about a place we have “experienced” in some way. Students will fill out the Weather Reports worksheet. They can finish in class if needed.
**Jenny: Introduce the term metaphor during class, and then read When Lightening Comes in a Jar before visiting the library. Basically, the metaphor here is the title. After reading, discuss how the term “lightening” is a metaphor, how it differs from a simile, and have students share examples (this is much tougher than similes!)
Week Six: Metaphors, advertisements (p. 52)
Materials: When Lightning Comes in a Jar, Rotten Ritchie and the Ultimate Dare , glossaries, ads in newspapers, worksheet: Awesome Ads*
Lesson:
· Have students add the term metaphor to their glossaries. Then, share a passage from RR and have students use one of the examples for their glossaries.
· I will share several ads from the newspaper, and students will offer ideas for what makes the ad interesting and what information you find in an ad.
· Next, have students brainstorm items or services from the PP stories we’ve read (hockey sticks, ballet lessons, quilts, ANYTHING). Students will then write an ad using a metaphor for this item or service.
· Grading (5 points total): three points for a metaphor, one point for using an item or service from a PP story, and one point for including powerful selling words.
Week Seven: Publishing!
Materials: large sheets of paper, art materials, rulers, writing pieces
Lesson: We will begin by organizing all the writing pieces. Students will need to measure and plan their paper, and then glue pieces to their correct spots. They will need to add a masthead. Everyone should spread out all over the library and HAVE FUN while publishing their masterpiece!
Grading: Since each individual piece was already created, students will be evaluated on the final piece in the following way:
One point for each piece (see planning sheet)
One point for the masthead
One point for neatness
**Jenny: here are some other lesson ideas I did not have time to include in our final unit plans. I know you are swamped, but if these fit into your curriculum they might be fun to do. I have all the books and worksheets if you want them!**
Thank you, Mr. Falker/ persuasive writing; descriptive writing
(letters to the editor OR advice letters)
Pink and Say/ persuasive writing (editorial)
Personal Stories--“They Glory of the Day you were Born!”/ Personification
(Birth Announcements)
Meteor (ties in with solar system AND communities) You could do so much with this book: personal narratives, comic strips, etc.