Reading for Intermediate and Advanced Learners, Spring, 2011

Shaping Up Review:

In my lesson, which is intended to be part of a unit on plants, children will review prior knowledge about plants and discuss vocabulary words that pertain to the story The Tiny Seed. After discussions, the teacher will read the book to the class. Students will then complete a shaping up review graphic organizer, which is simply a 4 part graphic organizer:

In the upper left-hand corner, "The Heart," students will write one thing that they loved learning about in the story.

In the upper right-hand corner, "The Square," students will write four things that happened in the story. One idea should be placed in each corner.

In the lower left-hand corner, "The Triangle," have students write the three most important facts they learned from the story about seeds. One fact should go in each corner.

In the lower right-hand corner, "The Circle," have students write one sentence to summarize the story or give the main idea.

After completing the graphic organizer, students will partner up and share what they've written; they may make changes to their page as needed. The lesson may be extended by having students write a paragraph about the book and then share their writing with the class.