Tuesday, June 23, 2015

The First Americans!


(4-1.1 )
Summarize the spread of Native American populations using the Landbridge Theory.    

This is the first required indicator of the school year per the SC State Standards.  I use a variety of resources to teach this standard and I absolutely love integrating ELA, science and writing into this mini-unit. 

Videos:


Being that I have many ESOL students-- and am expecting one that speaks very little English, I found this activity-- where they will act it out and then write about the event.
(In regard to the new SCCC standards and indicators -- which are VERY similar to the CCSS--this covers C1.3; and W2.1)

A book I absolutely love is Mammoths on the Move! By Lisa Wheeler

This book uses poetry to tell about the mammoths migrating. The Author's craft is fantastic! Not only does it have a rhyme scheme, but you can find several types of figurative language in the book also.

On this page alone you can have conversations about alliteration and onomatopoeia.  The illustrations are just amazing!
I use this book for these indicators: RL9.1, RL9.2 RL12.1; These indicators cover- imagery, word choice, structure of a poem, and mood.
Another poem that I use is 
"The First Americans."  Be patient with this resource-- the poem is located at the end of the lesson in the Appendix. (pg 13) It is worth it!  I also use the passage right in front of it as a close read!
 (indicators for the close read are RI10.6, RI12.3, C1.2, and RI8.1 and for the poem I revisit RL9.1, RL9.2 and RL12.1-- much of these are examining the poem for how the author is using words and phrases to paint an image and/or mood for the reader.)
In addition, I found a free resource with a poem called Beringia. I can't wait to implement this one this year.  

One of the first big writing assignments I do with my students is an opinion writing. We discuss the extinction of mammoths, and also the desire for scientists to "clone" the mammoth.  Scroll down through the article to see this short video--  "The De-Extinction of Mammoths."

(I1.1, I2.1, I3.2, W.1, C1.5)
First we make a T chart. Next, we brain storm  reasons why we SHOULD bring them back from extinction, and reasons we SHOULDN'T bring them back. Students then choose a position, and create a tree map.  

Being that the new ELA standards (and Common Core for that matter) have a large communication area, I will probably have them debate their ideas before formally writing about them. 
 (I1.1, I2.1, I3.2, W.1, C1.1, C1.2,  C1.5)


Hopefully, I can stay on top of things-- and I will add additional units this summer.  I totally stink at keeping up with my blog during the school year.  Kudos to those teachers that can  and do!!





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