This lesson is intended as an introductory activity to spark interest, but also serves the purpose of practicing making inferences and increasing fluency�two important skills for the remedial readers I teach.
The idea for this lesson came from the Folger Shakespeare Library�s �Tossing Lines� activity in which students toss a beanbag around and when the bag comes to them they shout out their line. The first year I taught this, that�s all I did. The kids had fun, it piqued their interest, and they enjoyed seeing �their� lines in the story.
The second year, I refined the plan a little more and added a writing/comprehension activity. I�ve modified it again a little more for this posting.
Thoughtfully designed
August 22, 2009
My students liked this; I think the step with the ball was a little beyond them--I don't see the benefit of box three as much as one and two, but it was worth the money and fairly thought-provoking.
August 8, 2008
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Over the last 13 years, I have taught 7th grade through junior college, so the lesson plans that I share here could come from any of those grade levels. I am currently teaching 10th grade reading and world literature and 11th grade reading and American literature. I've been teaching reading for seven years, so most of my lessons were designed with my reluctant readers in mind. Recently I taught an honors level 9th grade class along with my remedial classes; I was surprised by how much my honors students learned when I used some of the same lessons (vocabulary, especially) that I was using with my remedial students. I think all of our students benefit if we slow down and emphasize quality over quantity.
