Unit

The Big, Bad Wolf...Is This a Fact?

Grades
6 - 8
Lesson Plan Type
Unit
Estimated Time
Eight to ten 1-hour sessions
Author
Publisher
ILA
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Overview

Reading teachers find themselves at a disadvantage when competing with a barrage of glitzy media. Teachers armed with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, and a textbook are "swimming upstream" against an onslaught of music videos, movies, computer games, video games, and the all-pervasive Internet. Even high-functioning students in fourth and fifth grade will volunteer that they don't like to read because it's "boring." Middle grade students echo this sentiment. This lesson combines the nonfiction works of Seymour Simon with teacher modeling, discussion groups, and student-created multimedia presentations to increase comprehension, vocabulary, and research skills, and boost students' willingness to read.

From Theory to Practice

Exploring sixth graders' selection of nonfiction trade books (Moss)
  • Many American adolescents are aliterate; they choose not to read.

  • When students are given the opportunity to select nonfiction books that interest them, their attitude toward reading improves.

  • Nonfiction books make up 50 to 85% of the circulation in juvenile libraries, and yet these books are seldom found in middle-grade classrooms.

  • Giving students the opportunity to share and discuss books with their peers is a highly motivating activity.

 

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

  • 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
  • 2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
  • 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

Materials and Technology

Wolves by Seymour Simon (HarperTrophy, 1995)

Printouts

Websites

Preparation

1. Obtain enough copies of Wolves by Seymour Simon for the entire class to use individually or to share within small groups. Also decide which Seymour Simon titles to have available to students during Session 7 (see Books by Seymour Simon).
2. Review the author, vocabulary, and wolves websites listed in the Resources section of this lesson.
3. Ensure that students possess the following prerequisite skills:

a. Students are able to plan and create presentations using one of the following software programs:

  • AppleWorks

  • HyperStudio

  • PowerPoint
b. Students are able to navigate the Internet to locate information.

c. Students are able to save and retrieve computer documents.

d. Students have prior practice in working in cooperative groups.
4. Schedule time for students to access computer workstations every day of the lesson.
5. Ensure that each student has a journal.

Student Objectives

Students will

  • Be introduced to new and challenging vocabulary

  • Have the opportunity to increase comprehension skills

  • Gain knowledge of wolves (including their characteristics, lifecycle, and habitats)

  • Use online reference sources to confirm information

  • Plan and create presentations using multimedia-authoring software

  • Obtain a better attitude toward reading

Session 1

1. Ask students to complete the Reading Attitude Survey.
2. Have students brainstorm answers to the question, "What is nonfiction?" Record their answers on a chart.
3. Help students compose a definition for the word "nonfiction" based on the brainstorming exercise. Be sure to include the point that authors of nonfiction must do extensive research to ensure accuracy in their writing.
4. Use a dictionary to find the definition of the term "nonfiction." Have students compare their definition with the dictionary's definition. Revise the groups' definition, if necessary.
5. Have students record the group's definition of "nonfiction" in their journals.
6. Introduce students to Wolves by Seymour Simon and read the first two pages of the book aloud.
7. Discuss the list of words on the Vocabulary Worksheet. Explain that the list contains all of the vocabulary that students will be required to learn from the story Wolves. Use the first two words on the list (wolf and creak) to model how students can use Dictionary.com and Word Central to find the definitions.
8. As an assignment, have students read the first nine pages of the story silently, and then complete the Vocabulary Worksheet using context clues from the Wolves text and the online websites Dictionary.com and Word Central. Emphasize that students should write definitions in their own words, rather than simply copying them from the dictionary or online references.

Session 2

1. Model five minutes of sustained silent reading (SSR) for students. SSR is a powerful tool for Language Arts teachers. When students see a respected adult reading for pleasure, they view reading in a more positive light. At the beginning of each session of this lesson, students will engage in SSR. They are free to select and read any book that interests them.
2. Review the group's definition of "nonfiction" and then discuss the definitions of words on the Vocabulary Worksheet, which was completed by students during Session 1.
3. Invite students to tell you different facts about wolves that they learned from reading the first nine pages of the book. List these facts on a chart, and ask students to also record them in their journal.
4. Assign each student a partner to research and confirm two of the wolf facts. Students will use the wolf websites listed in Resources to conduct their research.
5. Assign Comprehension Exercise #1 for students to complete individually.

Session 3

1. Begin the session with SSR.
2. Discuss Seymour Simon's background with students using the author websites listed in Resources as a reference.
3. Read and discuss the next section of Wolves.
4. Record facts gathered after reading this section of the text. Then have students work in pairs using online resources to confirm the information that they read (see step 4 in Session 2).
5. Assign Comprehension Exercise #2 for students to complete individually.

Session 4

1. Begin the session with SSR.
2. Read and discuss the last section of Wolves.
3. Record facts gathered after reading this section of the text. Then have students work in pairs using online resources to confirm the information that they read (see step 4 in Session 2).
4. Assign Comprehension Exercise #3 for students to complete individually.

Session 5

1. Begin the session with SSR.
2. Have students work in pairs to plan and create a report (using AppleWorks, HyperStudio, or PowerPoint) that includes three wolf facts that they researched on the Internet. Instructions for completing this project are included as Report #1. [Note: For this part of the lesson, students will need to be familiar with PowerPoint, HyperStudio, or Appleworks and have adequate access to computers. If this is not the case, the project can be done on poster board or in a book form.]
3. Give each student two copies of the rubric. Explain each item on the rubric and tell students to keep the criteria in mind when putting together their reports. They can use one copy of the rubric as their "working copy" during the project. Explain further that you will use the rubric to access students' final reports. Students will also use the rubric to self-assess their own final report. The second copy of the rubric should be turned in when the report is completed. Answer any questions students may have about the rubric and how it will be used.
4. Give students the Test Study Sheet to prepare for the Wolves test that will be given during Session 6.

Session 6

1. Begin the session with SSR.
2. Give students the Wolves Test.
3. Have student complete the reports that they began working on during Session 5. Have students' use the top section of the rubric and submit a self-assessment of their final report.

Session 7

1. Begin the session with SSR.
2. Allow each student to individually select and read another Seymour Simon title. Each student will share their book with the class in a report and oral presentation created during Sessions 8 and 9.

Session 8

1. Begin the session with SSR.
2. Have students plan and create a report and oral presentation on the Seymour Simon title that they selected and read during Session 7. Instructions for completing this project are provided as Report #2 [see also Note in step 2 of Session 5]. Each student will use the information in the report as a visual aid for an oral presentation for the class.
3. Review the use of the rubric as discussed in Session 5.

Session 9

1. Begin the session with SSR.
2. Have students complete the report and oral presentations that they started during Session 8.

Session 10

1. Begin the session with SSR.
2. Have students share their presentations with the class. Ask each student to submit a self-assessment of their oral presentation by completing the top and bottom sections of the rubric.
3. Have students complete the Reading Attitude Survey and compare their answers to the survey completed during Session 1.

Extensions

  • Fiction follow-ups about wolves:

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf by Jon Scieszka (Dutton Books, 1995). Use this book and the lesson, Critical Literacy: Point of View to engage students in discussion and activities related to point of view.


The Call of the Wild by Jack London (Scholastic Paperbacks, 2001)


Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George (HarperTropy, 1974)

Student Assessment / Reflections

Grades
3 - 8
|
Calendar Activity
|
Author & Text
Science writer Seymour Simon was born in 1931.
Students select and explore a scientific topic in detail using Simon's nonfiction science books and then use what they learn to write original poetry on the topic.
Grades
K - 8
|
Calendar Activity
|
Author & Text
Jon Scieszka was born in 1954.
Students review Scieszka's tips for encouraging young people to read and then create their own, sharing ideas with adults in their community through a letter.
Audry Hardy
Tutor
"Reading teachers find themselves at a disadvantage when competing with a barrage of glitzy media. Teachers armed with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, and a textbook are "swimming upstream" against an onslaught of music videos, movies, computer games, video games, and the all-pervasive Internet." Knowing this was especially helpful in reviewing the ReadWriteThink lessons/exercises. As a tutor, all that I can glean is important. Great lessons!
Audry Hardy
Tutor
"Reading teachers find themselves at a disadvantage when competing with a barrage of glitzy media. Teachers armed with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, and a textbook are "swimming upstream" against an onslaught of music videos, movies, computer games, video games, and the all-pervasive Internet." Knowing this was especially helpful in reviewing the ReadWriteThink lessons/exercises. As a tutor, all that I can glean is important. Great lessons!
Audry Hardy
Tutor
"Reading teachers find themselves at a disadvantage when competing with a barrage of glitzy media. Teachers armed with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, and a textbook are "swimming upstream" against an onslaught of music videos, movies, computer games, video games, and the all-pervasive Internet." Knowing this was especially helpful in reviewing the ReadWriteThink lessons/exercises. As a tutor, all that I can glean is important. Great lessons!

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