Reading Aloud: Sharing and Celebrating Our Magnificent Things | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G1:M1:U3:L13

Reading Aloud: Sharing and Celebrating Our Magnificent Things

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • SL.1.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
  • SL.1.6: Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can present my group's magnificent thing by speaking clearly and using complete sentences. (SL.1.6)
  • I can name the magnificent things other groups have created and how they are helping the classroom. (SL.1.1)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Students demonstrate speaking skills as they use complete sentences and speak clearly as theyshare their magnificent thing. (SL.1.6)
  • Students demonstrate their listening skills as they pay close attention to the magnificent things other groups have made and how these things will help the classroom. (SL.1.1)
  • Use the Speaking and Listening Checklist to track students' progress toward SL.1.1a, SL.1.1b, and SL.1.1c (see Assessment Overview and Resources).

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. It's Time for the Celebration! (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Celebration of Learning (35 minutes)

B. Reflecting on Learning (10 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment 

A. Shared Writing: Letter to Headquarters (10 minutes) 

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards: 

  • In this lesson, students collaborate to share information about their magnificent things with their special visitors during Work Time A. This time is meant to be a celebration, but also an opportunity for students to practice their speaking and listening skills.
  • This lesson emphasizes listening skills, as students listen to each other share what they have made and reflect on what they have accomplished.
  • In the Closing, students will co-construct the Letter to Headquarters about their magnificent things with the teacher.

How this lesson builds on previous work:

  • This culminating lesson celebrates students' use of habits of character and their creation of magnificent things.
  • In previous lessons, students planned and prepared a descriptive paragraph to read when they share about their magnificent things. In this lesson, they present their magnificent things and read their descriptive paragraphs to their classmates and visitors.
  • Continue to use Goal 1 and 2 Conversation Cues to promote productive and equitable conversation.

Areas in which students may need additional support:

  • Students may need additional support when sharing their magnificent things. Encourage them to use the writing they prepared in the previous lesson.

Down the road:

  • This is the final lesson of this module. Students will continue to build their speaking and listening skills as they engage in classroom discussions in future modules.

In Advance

  • Gather a large, legal-sized envelope to put the Letter to Headquarters in during Closing A.
  • Post: Learning targets, module guiding question.

Tech and Multimedia

Consider using an interactive whiteboard or document camera to display lesson materials. 

  • Opening A: Record the whole group singing the "Celebration" song and post it on a teacher webpage or on a portfolio app like Seesaw for students to listen to at home with parents. Most devices (cell phones, tablets, laptop computers) come equipped with free audio recording apps or software.
  • Closing and Assessment A: The letter to headquarters could be an email.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 1.I.A.1, 1.I.B.5, 1.I.C.9, and 1.I.C.12

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs through the opportunity to use oral language in a structured way, and through the opportunity to celebrate and take pride in their hard work.
  • ELLs may find it challenging or intimidating to speak in front of an audience. Encourage them and assist them with light prompting if necessary.

Levels of support

For lighter support:

  • Take note of areas in which students struggle with oral presentations, such as projecting their voices or enunciating their words. Focus instruction in subsequent units on their challenges. Focus on aspects that obscure meaning, such as stress and intonation.

For heavier support:

  • Some students may not understand what it means to speak in complete sentences. Model speaking using complete sentences, including a noun phrase and a verb phrase. Contrast this by modeling incomplete sentences.
  • Allow students to present their work in partnerships. When one student gets stuck, he or she can "tag team" the other to continue the presentation.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): During the celebration, each group presents their work to classroom visitors. As they do so, emphasize the importance of group effort and improvement by highlighting aspects of the magnificent things that groups decided to revise.
  • Multiple Means of Action & Expression (MMAE): During the Opening, students are asked to sing the "Celebration" song. Provide differentiated mentors by seating students who are less comfortable performing next to students who may be more comfortable.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): During Work Time B, students are invited to share ideas for the What Did We Create? anchor chart. As you record students' responses, optimize individual choice by allowing students who share to choose the color marker in which you will scribe their response. This may also motivate individual students to speak in front of the whole group.

Vocabulary

N/A

Materials

  • Colored paper (from Lesson 12; one per student)
  • "Celebration" song (one to display)
  • Ways We Share Our Work anchor chart (begun in Lesson 11)
  • What Did We Create? anchor chart (new; co-created with students during Work Time B)
  • What Did We Create? anchor chart (example, for teacher reference; see supporting materials)
  • Chart paper (one piece; for students to create Letter to Headquarters during Work Time B)
  • Letter to Headquarters: Our Magnificent Things (sample, for teacher reference)
  • Large, legal-sized envelope (one; for Letter to Headquarters)
  • Module guiding question (from Lesson 1; one to display) 

Assessment

Each unit in the K-2 Language Arts Curriculum has one standards-based assessment built in. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. It's Time for the Celebration! (5 minutes) 

  • Welcome visitors to today's celebration.
  • Gather students together whole group and invite them to sit in clusters with their groups.
  • Choose one student from each group to retrieve that group's magnificent thing.
  • Distribute each group's colored papers.
  • Direct students to the posted "Celebration" song and invite them to chorally sing it.
  • For ELLs: If there are translators for visitors who do not speak English, introduce and announce which language each interpreter will speak. 
  • Provide differentiated mentors by seating students who are less comfortable performing next students who may be more comfortable. (MMAE)

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Celebration of Learning (35 minutes) 

  • Celebrate with students, telling them that today they get to celebrate their learning by sharing what they have created with their classmates and visitors. They will also have the opportunity to see what others have learned and made.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and read the first one aloud:
    • "I can present my group's magnificent thing by speaking clearly and using complete sentences."
  • Tell students that each group will stand and read aloud from their colored papers, then show the class the object they made for the classroom.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted Ways We Share Our Work anchor chart and read it aloud.
  • Invite each group one-by-one to stand and share their presentations. Remind them to share in a loud voice so visitors can hear about their work.
  • After each group presents:
    • Do a quick appreciation with a class cheer.
    • Invite students to turn and talk with their group, referring to the Ways We Share Our Work anchor chart:

"What is something this group did well when sharing their work?" (Example: They used a loud and proud voice. They said their words clearly so others could understand them. They used complete sentences.)

  • Tell visitors that this concludes the sharing of what students have made, and invite a big round of applause for students. Visitors may stay until the end of the lesson, and invite them to listen closely as students reflect on their learning in the next part of the lesson. 
  • For ELLs: Publicly celebrate work of different ELLs in the class. Make a point to name areas in which students have improved, especially those who may have struggled.
  • For ELLs: Model speaking clearly and using complete sentences so students comprehend the learning target.
  • As each group presents, emphasize the importance of group effort and improvement by highlighting aspects of the magnificent things that groups decided to revise. You can do this verbally and/or by displaying "before" and "after" photographs. (MMR, MME) 

B. Reflecting on Learning (10 minutes)

  • Refocus whole group.
  • Emphasize to students the importance of the things they have created to help the classroom.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and read the second one aloud:
    • "I can name the magnificent things other groups have created and how they are helping the classroom."
  • Tell students they are going to help you record the names of each group's magnificent thing.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted What Did We Create? anchor chart.
    • Call on one student from a group to name the object that his/her group created.
    • Call on a student from another group to share how it will help the classroom.
    • Repeat this process for every group.
  • As students share out, record their responses on the What Did We Create? anchor chart. Refer to the What Did We Create? anchor chart (sample, for teacher reference) as necessary. 
  • For ELLs: If students are hesitant or bashful to share, encourage them, but refrain from forcing them to present.
  • As you record students' responses, optimize individual choice by allowing students who share to choose the color marker in which you will scribe their response. This may also motivate individual students to speak in front of the whole group. (MME)

Closing & Assessments

Closing

A. Shared Writing: Letter to Headquarters (10 minutes) 

  • Admire the list that was generated in Work Time B. Tell students that headquarters needs to know about such amazing work!
  • Direct students' attention to the chart paper to create the Letter to Headquarters: Our Magnificent Things. Tell students that they will help you think of what to write in the letter and that you will do the actual writing.
  • Remind students of the letter they composed for their visitors in Lesson 10.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"How did we start the letter to our visitors? Would it be a good way to start this letter?" (We started with Dear Visitors. Yes, it would be good, but we should change Visitors to Headquarters.)

  • Write "Dear Headquarters" on the top of the chart paper.
  • Finish co-constructing the letter with students' input, and prompt them to use the What Did We Create? anchor chart. Refer to the Letter to Headquarters: Our Magnificent Things (sample, for teacher reference) for guidance.
  • Once the letter has been drafted, invite students to chorally read it with you.
  • Fold up the chart paper and place it in a large, legal-sized envelope to send to headquarters.
  • Direct students' attention to the module guiding question, and read it aloud.
  • Invite students to turn and talk to an elbow partner:

"What did we need to make magnificent things?" (tools and habits of character)

  • Give students specific positive praise on their responses. (Example: "You really used perseverance when you had trouble getting your pencil holder to stay together.")

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