Author:
Emily Meyer
Subject:
Elementary Education, English Language Arts
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Level:
Upper Primary
Grade:
4, 5
Tags:
  • Iowa K-12 E-Curriculum
  • Language Arts
  • Wonder
  • Writing About Literature
  • iowa-k-12-e-curriculum
  • License:
    Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial
    Language:
    English

    Education Standards

    Headings Lesson: Auggie and Me

    Headings Lesson: Auggie and Me

    Overview

    Objective: I can identify and explain the theme of a story.

    After reading the book Auggie and Me: A Julian Chapter as a class (or having students read it), students are going to work in a group to create a headline for the book that captures the core idea or theme that we want to remember. Then, once they have their headline, on their own, they will take their headline and create an article that explains or supports the headline. Finally, they will work through the writing process to publish their article. 

    *This activity should take 2-3 hours to complete. 

    Coming up with Your Headline!

    Have a discussion about newspapers and headlines. Talk specifically about what the purpose of a headline is and why it is important. Pull up examples of headlines on the Smart Board to display and discuss how they are effective. *10-15 minutes.

    This is where students are going to work in a group of 3-4 to identify a headline for this book. Their headline should reflect what they believe the core concept or theme of the story is. During this time, it is expected that students all agree to one headline and have a discussion about why they think that is the most important concept or theme in the story. *15-20 minutes IF students are having a good discussion and to fill out graphic organizer

    Students, we are each going to create a newspaper article! 

    The purpose of this activity is to continue our work with theme and text evidance. We also will be working on our writing process.

    For the first step, you are going to work with your group of 4 that I have assigned you. It is your responsibility to work together to come up with a core concept or theme for The Julian Chapter. What is the main lesson or precept we can take away from Julian and apply to our lives? 

    Once your group has decided on theme, talk about what this mean and how it is shown throughout the book. I want you to have a good discussion about this! While you are discussing, you may work on completing your own graphic organizer.

    Overall, this step should take you about 15-20 minutes.

    Now that students have their headline and graphic organizer, students will write a rough draft explaining the logic behind their theme (this is to be created in our Google Classroom). The rough draft needs to be about 1-2 pages in length double spaced, size 24 title, size 10 author, and size 12 body. 

    Once students are done with their rough draft, they will revise and edit their own work. Then, they will have at least two others revise, then edit their work using the suggesting mode in Drive.

    **If a student struggles with writing or has a writing IEP, feel free to differentiate the length, making it appropraite for them. 

    Time to write your rough draft! In our Google Classroom, I have posted an assignment, and you will need to type about 1-2 pages long, yes you are using double space, explaining the logic behind your theme. 

    Font Size:
    - Title: 24
    - Author: 10
    - Body: 12

    Once you have completed your rough draft, we are going to complete the writing process that we have been working on to improve our work. Revise and edit, looking back at our procedure for this if you need to. Then, you will have at least two people revise and edit your work for you using suggesting mode. Finally, double check your work and turn it in!

    Rubric

    Here is a basic rubric to assess your student's heading and article. If you want, the students can assess themselves as well.

    Now that you have finished your final copy of your article, you are going to grade your own work. Go into Classroom and complete the rubric for yourself. Then, switch articles with someone else and grade their work.