Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Teacher : Kelly Sinclair

School : Rashkis Elementary

Grade : 3rd

Content Area : Language Arts, Social Studies

Standard Course of Study Objective(s) Met :

Language Arts

Goal 2: The learner will apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.

2.01 Use metacognitive strategies to comprehend text (e.g., reread, read ahead, ask for help, adjust reading speed, question, paraphrase, retell).
2.02 Interact with the text before, during, and after reading, listening, or viewing

2.05 Draw conclusions, make generalizations, and gather support by referencing the text.
2.06 Summarize main idea(s) from written or spoken texts using succinct language.

Goal 5: The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to communicate effectively.

Social Studies :

Competency Goal 7: The learner will analyze the role of real and fictional heroes in shaping the culture of communities.


Technology:

Competency Goal 3: The learner will use a variety of technologies to access, analyze, interpret, synthesize, apply, and communicate information.

3.03 Use word processing as a tool to write, edit, and publish sentences, paragraphs, and stories.

Best Practice(s) Modeled : 

Using a SMART Board and documents created in Microsoft Word, students develop note-taking strategies and skills as part of a group. They then work individually on rewriting and paraphrasing from their notes.

Sample documents are available on the "Downloadable Documents" link.

Description of Lesson and/or Unit:  

Rashkis 4th grade teachers shared with their 3rd grade colleagues that many of our students were entering the 4th grade unprepared to do daily note-taking in class. With the third graders soon to begin taking notes on their upcoming biography projects, third grade teacher Kelly Sinclair created a note-taking activity in which a class or group can display a text (formatted in a two-column page with the right column empty for notes) on the SMART Board, analyze and discuss the important details of the text, then select and drag the desired information to the "Notes" column.

The teacher and the group evaluate the choices and selections. The teacher then saves the "Notes" column to one or more student's "My Documents" folder(s). In part two of the activity, students refer to those saved passages copied from the original document and rewrite the material in their own words. The teacher can then go back and read the finished documents and provide feedback or further instruction to the student or group.