Rationale:
It is very important for
students to comprehend what they
are
reading. Students should ask themselves
questions while they are reading so they can comprehend the material
and
improve their memory. Students should
ask why, when, where, and how questions when they are reading an
article. In this lesson the students will
learn
different strategies on how to understand what they are reading. They will work in groups and discuss the
article that they read. They will
present their questions to the class.
They will be assessed by reading another article and coming up with
proper questions.
Materials:
National Geographic Online Article- Bug
Invasion Cicadas to Swarm Eastern U.S. paper and pencils, National
Geographic
Online Article- Porky Pets
Procedures:
1.
Does
everyone remember how to read silently?
Well you read without making any noise.
Everyone pick up your Bug Invasion Cicadas to Swarm Eastern U.S.
Article and read the first line silently. Great
Job everyone!
2.
Today
I am going to teach you a strategy to help you remember the information
you
read better. We are going to learn to ask questions as we read. These
questions will help you remember the
main ideas of the article. It is
important to ask questions that begin with when, where, why, and how.
3.
Now
I want everyone to read the article silently and start thinking of
questions
that start with when, where, why, and how.
After you read the article write down at least five
questions. You should have one of each, when, where, why,
and how question on your list.
4.
I
am going to go over some example questions that you might ask yourself
after
reading this article. After reading
this article I might ask-How many years will it be before the bugs come
back? Does everyone notice that I used how
at the
beginning of my question. This is
an important question because it will help
you remember how many years it will be before the bugs come back and it
is 17
years. Another question I might ask myself- what are Cicadas? I used what at the beginning of my
question. This will help me remember
the characteristics of Cicadas. They
are flying, plant- eating insects.
5.
Now
I am going to divide the class into groups of three.
Everyone in the group will
have a specific job. One person will be
the group supervisor and
they will be in charge of all the other group members’ behavior. One person will be the recorder.
They will write down the questions. The
last person will be the presenter and
they will present the questions to the whole class.
I want the whole group to discuss whether or not the questions
they picked are good questions. Choose
five questions to use in your presentation to the class.
Make sure your questions
will help you
remember the information and comprehend it better.
6.
All
the groups will present the questions to the class.
The whole class will then vote on whether or not the questions
will help you remember and comprehend the information better. I will then remind the students to use how,
when, why, and where at the beginning of their questions so it will
help them
remember the information better.
7.
I
will have each student read the article Porky Pets.
They will come up with questions and I will grade their
questions
to make sure they are helping them remember and comprehend the information.
References:
Book: Pressely, Micheal, Strategies
That Improve Children’s Memory and Comprehension of Text, University
of Chicago, 1989, p 15-16.
Internet Site: Bug Invasion:
Cicadas to Swarm Eastern U.S.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/kids/2004/04/cicadas.html
Porky Pets- http://news.nationalgeographic.com/kids/2004/04/fatcats.html
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