Instructor Marcia Goudie says, "The Internet has put literature into the teachers' hands." Her Web site -- Children's Literature Activities for the Classroom -- directs educators in the direction of lessons made to fit the literary works they teach. Included: Goudie's favorite lesson plan resources for use across the grades!
"The Internet has put literature into the teachers' hands," says teacher Marcia
Goudie. "It allows them to reach every corner of the world and share literature
and lesson ideas for wonderful books."
When Goudie, an instructor with 24 years of teaching experience, realized
what a useful tool the Internet could be for teachers of literature --
and the time it could save teachers! -- she created Children's
Literature Activities for the Classroom. That resource, a part of
her larger Web site called Marcia's
Lesson Links, provides a guide to help teachers find quality literature-related
materials for their classrooms.
"I have enjoyed collecting lists of books for many subjects," Goudie
told Education World. "I search out a theme or topic and then dive in
looking for books that fit the theme." One of Goudie's largest lists of
books is Great
Literature for the Classroom.
"I have talked with teachers in Japan, Hawaii, New Zealand, and Europe,"
Goudie told Education World, adding, "We have been able to share stories
and methods to teach children the joy of literature and its many shapes
and forms."
In her online travels, Goudie has found several sites that consistently
offer quality instructional activities for teachers.
Goudie recommends TeacherViews [link temporarily unavailable 10/20/2005],
part of Houghton Mifflin's Education Place Web site, because it is "a
place to find lessons that have worked well in the classroom. The lessons
are detailed and easy to present." In the TeacherView page for Ezra Jack
Keats's story The
Snowy Day, Latresa J. Bray, a kindergarten teacher at Huber Ridge
Elementary School in Westerville, Ohio, recommends an experiment with
snowballs inside plastic bags. (If snow isn't typically found in your
area, shaved ice will do.) Students predict what will happen to the snow
that is brought inside, discover how long it takes for the snow to melt,
and compare the melting rates of snowballs close to and far from a heat
source.
Another favorite of Goudie's is the Teachers.Net
Lesson Bank. "I can't say enough about Teachers.Net," she said. "It
has literature, science, and more." When mentoring teachers during workshops,
she tells them to start at this site when they don't know where to go.
Goudie warns teachers not to let the title of MCPS
Social Studies dissuade them from visiting this valuable Web site.
"This is a site sponsored by a school district [Montgomery County, Maryland],"
she said. "The lesson ideas relate … well to literature and include all
parts of the curriculum." One resource here focuses on Eric Carle's Pancakes,
Pancakes! In Patricia King Robeson's activity, participants listen
to the story and create a web that illustrates the interdependence of
members of the community in the use and distribution of economic resources.
Check out these activities from sites selected by Goudie as some of the
best literature resources on the Web!
Jam for your friends and jam for your pet, jam takes over the Internet!
Francis would be so pleased to find that her story, written by Russell
Hoban, has been included among the teaching resources of the S.C.O.R.E.
CyberGuides. Bread
and Jam for Francis, an instructional unit by Beverly Nelson and Susan
D. Murphy, includes information on choosing healthful foods, baking bread,
and making jam. This excellent collection of teaching ideas is complete
with related links.
If you have read a book by Jan Brett, you must be familiar with the
intricately detailed illustrations that are her trademark. As a part of
her Web site, Brett provides Piggybacks
for Teachers. Among the "piggybacks" is a series of suggested activities
for Berlioz
the Bear. This particular set of ideas offers a compound word activity,
a count-the-beats activity, an opportunity to study bears online, and
a map activity page. Don't miss the rest of the piggybacks to Brett's
works.
Teachers in the know head for the curriculum selections of AskERIC when
high-quality lesson plans are what they seek. The Language
Arts collection is especially useful and covers all grade levels.
Authored by Margaret Sornenson of Holy Rosary School, Idaho, Gregory,
the Terrible Eater is one such terrific resource. Students read the
story of Gregory and discuss his parents' tactics to get him to eat "better"
foods. They then work in groups to create menus for five days of eating.
Referring to supermarket ads in the newspaper, they attempt to incorporate
economy into the choices they make.
Carol
Hurst's Children's Literature Site may be widely recognized for its
book reviews, but it also presents a listing of possible classroom activities
for each of its selections. In her review of Fly
Away Home, by Eve Bunting, Hurst includes some discussion topics,
activity suggestions, and a list of related books. One thought recommended
for discussion deals with the characters in the story being "homeless,
but not valueless."
Designed for students in grades five and six, The
Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare is a literature lesson that
incorporates art, drama, geography, history, math, reading, science, social
studies, and writing. Students create a story wheel that illustrates the
characters, setting, and conflict in the book. They also draw a map of
the area described in the tale and write a play of a scene in one of its
chapters. This lesson is one of many in the Collaborative
Lesson Archive.
Article by Cara Bafile
Education World®
Copyright © 2007 Education World
Originally published 03/01/2002
Links last updated 10/31/2007
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