Picture taken from Amazon.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            This lesson was adapted from a lesson taken from the Read, Write and Think site (http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=778). Using the book Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin, students learn about worms through reading, writing and using technology.

 

The students will learn about worms through reading, writing and technology.

 

New York State:

ELA: 1, 2, 3, 4

Standard #1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.

 

Performance Indicators:

• Gather and interpret information from children’s reference books, magazines, textbooks, electronic bulletin boards, audio and media presentations, oral interviews, and from such sources as charts, graphs, maps, and diagrams.

• Select information appropriate to the purpose of their investigation and relate ideas from one text to another.

• Select and use strategies that have been taught for note taking, organizing, and categorizing information.

• Ask specific questions to clarify and extend meaning.

• Make appropriate and effective use of strategies to construct meaning from print, such as prior knowledge about a subject, structural and context clues, and an understanding of letter-sound relationships to decode difficult words.

 

Standard #2: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression. Students will read and listen to oral, written and electronically produced texts and performances, relate texts and performances to their own lives, and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language for self-expression and artistic creation.

 

Performance Indicators:

• Read a variety of literature of different genres: picture books; poems; articles and stories from children’s magazines; fables, myths and legends; songs, plays and media productions; and works of fiction and nonfiction intended for young readers.

• Recognize some features that distinguish the genres and use those features to aid comprehension.

• Understand the literary elements of setting, character, plot, theme, and point of view and compare those features to other works and to their own lives

• Use inference and deduction to understand the text.

• Read aloud accurately and fluently, using phonics and context cues to determine pronunciation and meaning

• Evaluate literary merit.

 

STANDARD #3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will present, in oral and written language and from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

 

• Read and form opinions about a variety of literary and information.

• Make decisions about the quality and dependability of texts and experiences based on some criteria, such as the attractiveness of the illustrations and appeal of the characters in a picture book, or the logic and believability of the claims made in an advertisement.

 

STANDARD #4: Standard 4: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.

 

Performance Indicators:

• listen attentively and recognize when it is appropriate for them to speak

• take turns speaking and respond to others’ ideas in conversations on familiar topics

• recognize the kind of interaction appropriate for different circumstances, such as story hour, group discussions, and one-on-one conversations.

• adjust their vocabulary and style to take into account the nature of the relationship and the knowledge and interests of the person receiving the message

• read and discuss published letters, diaries, and journals to learn the conventions of social writing.

 

Technological tools, materials, and other resources should be selected on the basis of safety, cost, availability, appropriateness, and environmental impact; technological processes change energy, information, and material resources into more useful forms.

 

Students:

• explore, use, and process a variety of materials and energy sources to design and construct things.

• understand the importance of safety, cost, ease of use, and availability in selecting tools and resources for a specific purpose.

• develop basic skill in the use of hand tools.

• use simple manufacturing processes (e.g., assembly, multiple stages of production, quality control) to produce a product.

• use appropriate graphic and electronic tools and techniques to process information.

 

 ELA:

NL.-ENG K-12.1: Students read a wide range of print and non-print 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.

NL.-ENG K-12.3: 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).

NL.-ENG K-12.4: Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

NL.-ENG K-12.5: Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

NL.-ENG K-12.8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

NL.-ENG K-12.9. Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.

NL.-ENG K-12.12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

 

 

NATIONAL STANDARDS: The NETS Project will work to define standards for students, integrating curriculum technology, technology support, and standards for student assessment and evaluation of technology use.

Students are proficient in the use of technology.

 

Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.

Students use technology resources for solving problems and making informed decisions.

 

 Standard K-4.3- “As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop understanding of organisms and environments

 

·         The books Diary of a Fly and  Diary of a Worm: By Doreen Cronin and Illustrated by Harry Bliss

·         Computer with internet access

·         Kidspiration Software

 

 

 

            This week we will be learning about worms. Has anyone ever held a worm or seen one before? Worms are actually friends to the Earth and we are going to learn more about them. Before we begin learning about worms we will read another story by the author Doreen Cronin who wrote Diary of a Worm. Then, the teacher will read the story Diary of a Fly. This will introduce the book format to the students.

 

Session 1: Illustrations

 

In the first session, the focus will be on the illustrations in Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin. You will not read the book; rather, you will conduct a "picture walk," in which you display the pictures and elicit predictions and responses to the illustrations from the students. Some teachers prefer to cover the text in a book when doing a picture walk. If you wish, you can cover the text with Post-it notes.

 

1. Gather the students around you to prepare for the first read-aloud.

 

 

2. Do not show the book right away. Ask students, "Tell me anything that comes to mind when you hear the word worms."

 

 

3. Record all responses on chart paper, and ask the student who gave the response, "What made you think of that idea?" This list will serve as a starting point in assessing their background knowledge about worms.

 

 

4. Show the cover of Diary of a Worm. Ask students for predictions of what the book will be about.

 

 

5. Let students know that you are going to "read" this book by looking only at the illustrations. Tell them that you will read the words in the next session, but for now it is important to see what information the pictures reveal about worms. Explain that Diary of a Worm is a different kind of book that contains both a fictional story about worms and facts about worms.

 

 

6. Begin the picture walk, pausing at each page to show the illustrations. Ask students, "What do you think this picture is telling us about worms? What makes you say that? Do you think this is something we should add to our list of facts?"

 

 

7. If students tend to want to add fictional rather than factual information to the list, you may wish to further probe them with questions such as, "Do you think that situation could really happen? Why or why not?" Remind them that the list is what they know about worms. (For example, on the April 4 diary entry, there is a picture of a garden with a cutaway showing worms underground. The fact portion of the picture is that worms live underground in homes they dig and tunnel out. The fictional part of the picture shows the worms reading and sleeping. It is important that the students are able to differentiate between fact and fiction in the pictures.)

 

 

8. After you have finished the picture walk, review the list of facts about worms. Talk about what students predicted correctly; summarize what they know about worms.

 

 

9. If you find students have very little background knowledge about worms after doing the picture walk and creating the list, you may wish to visit The Adventures of Herman as a class to build this necessary knowledge before moving on to Session 2.

Session 2: Narrative text

 

1. Review the list from Session 1. Remind students that all of the information came from their prior knowledge of worms and by looking at the pictures in a book.

 

 

2. Remind students that Diary of a Worm is a different kind of book that includes both facts and a story combined together. Let them know that in the previous session you began looking at the facts and this time you will look at the story.

 

 

3. Review the cover to reinforce concepts of print. (Where is the title? What else do we find on the book cover?)

 

 

4. Skip the inside cover for now. You will focus on that page during Session 4.

 

 

5. Turn to the title page. Again, take the opportunity to reinforce some concepts of print. (Point to the title. What do we call this page? Where do we begin reading?)

 

 

6. An important feature of this book is that it is written in the form of a diary. You don't want to focus too much on the diary format at this time, as there are so many other features that you want students to examine. However, you should point out that the book is written in the form of a diary, which means the writer puts a date on the page and writes down what happened on that day.

 

 

7. Begin reading, pausing only two or three times at specific points in the book to assess comprehension by asking questions or doing a think-aloud. Some suggested pause points include:

After the last entry on March 29, stop and ask, "What do you think will happen?"

 

 

After the last sentence on the April 10 entry, stop and ask, "Why did the worm family spend their day on the sidewalk?"

 

 

After the April 15 entry, think aloud, "This reminds me of when I was in school and forgot to do my homework. I felt the same way Worm looks like he feels here—ashamed and afraid. But I didn't eat my homework!" This models the comprehension strategy "making connections."

 

 

After the May 8 entry, stop and ask, "I wonder why the mom said that?"

 

 

After the May 15 and May 16 entries, stop each time and ask, "How do you think Worm feels?"

 

 

After the July 28 entry, stop and ask, "Can you think of any other things that might be bad about being a worm?"

 

 

After the July 29 entry, stop and ask, "Which one of these reasons for being a worm is the best? Why?"

 

8. The target concept of this book is that the earth needs worms and worms need the earth—they are codependent. After you have finished reading the book, ask students what they think was meant by "the earth never forgets we're here?" This discussion will assist you in assessing their understanding of the story.

 

 

9. Invite students' responses to the book. What was your favorite part? What made you laugh? What parts could really happen and what parts couldn't happen?

 

 

10. Summarize the story by filling in the Story Map graphic organizer with students, using an enlarged copy on chart paper or the overhead.

 

 

11. Let students know that you will read Diary of a Worm again, next time looking at yet another part of the book.

 

 

Session 3: Informational text

 

Note: Since you will focus on the speech bubbles during Session 4, you may wish to cover them with Post-it notes for this session.

 

1. Review your list of facts from Session 1. Remind students that the purpose in making the list was to help them better understand the new book, as it includes both factual and fictional elements.

 

 

2. Let students know that, in this session, you will be reading Diary of a Worm again, but this time they will gather information in a different way.

 

 

3. Show students the Concept Map graphic organizer that you have prepared. The word worms should be written in the box labeled "Main Concept."

 

 

4. Let students know that as you read the story, you want them to listen for information that can be placed on this graphic organizer. Tell them to listen specifically for:

Attributes—specific information about a worm (what is it like?)

 

 

Category—definition of a worm (what is it?)

 

 

Cousins—other types of worms (what other animals belong in the same category as worms?)

This is a great vocabulary-building exercise.

 

 

5. If you have covered the speech bubbles with Post-it notes, tell the students why. "You probably noticed that the other day when we did our picture walk, I covered the words with Post-it notes, and today I have covered a different part of the page with Post-it notes. That's because there is a lot of information in this book, and so we have to read it a little differently than we normally do when there is just a story. We need to look at it piece by piece, and look at it over and over again to get all of the information we can out of it. This is a good strategy to remember when you read other books like this."

 

 

6. Read through the book, stopping every few pages to review and add to the graphic organizer. You may need to jumpstart the process by providing an example for Attributes. For example, on the March 29 diary entry the text reads, "Today I tried to teach Spider how to dig." Ask the students, "What does this tell us about worms?" The fact that worms like to dig can be added to the organizer under Attributes because it tells something about what worms are like.

 

 

7. Encourage students to raise their hands when they hear something else that should be added to the organizer. If they give you a response that is not found in the text, ask them, "What did I read that makes you say that?" Let them know that although they are probably correct, only information from the text will be added to the organizer right now. [You might also invite them to add their new facts to the list they made during Session 1.]

 

 

8. After you have finished reading, review the concept map. Look for boxes that are blank, and ask students if there was anything in the text that could help fill in the blanks. For example, the Category and Cousins sections of the organizer will likely not be filled in because that information is not in the text. In the Cousins section, you may wish to include "earthworms" because that can be identified from the book.

 

 

9. Explain to students that it is okay that the entire organizer is not filled in. This tells us that one book does not usually give us all the information we need.

 

 

10. Ask students to write in their response journals what they know about worms so far. Emergent writers may draw a picture and conference with you about it.

 

 

Session 4: Additional details

 

1. Review the features of combined text, as previously examined in Diary of a Worm. Let students know that in this final reading of the book, you will look at the speech bubbles and the worm "photographs" to see what information they can give you about either the story or the facts.

 

 

2. Turn to the inside cover. Examine the "photographs" and captions with students. Begin a shared writing piece with the title "Worms."

 

 

3. Explain to students that they will create a shared writing piece about what they have learned from the story Diary of a Worm. The writing will include factual information about worms. Although the photos and captions in the story contain both factual and fictional information, the shared writing should be factual.

 

 

4. Print students' sentences on the board or overhead as they think of them. For example, after reviewing the inside front cover, students might suggest a sentence such as, "Worms like to dig, and they can build tunnels."

 

 

5. You can also make this an interactive writing session by allowing the students to come up and "share the pen." They can print any words they know or can refer to the word in the speech bubble that made them think of their sentence, and let you print the remainder of the sentence.

 

 

6. Some of the speech bubbles will not lend themselves to sentences. Help students discern which ones are important to the shared writing experience and which ones are not. Use questioning techniques to encourage a rich discussion around the pictures with speech bubbles, as this will also build vocabulary, deepen knowledge, and build oral fluency. For example, a wonderful discussion can evolve from examining the picture of the worm family on vacation on Compost Island.

 

 

7. When finished, read your shared writing together. As time permits, you may wish to use this piece of shared writing to highlight concepts such as punctuation, formation of letters in printing, and the use of descriptive words. Realistically, there will not be time for a minilesson on writing conventions during this session; keep the shared writing to use at a later date.

 

 

8. Place Diary of a Worm in the classroom library for students to revisit during independent reading.

 

The students will visit a variety of websites and research worms. They will use the Kidspiration program and create a graphic organizer about worms.

Internet Sites: They can use:

 

Visual- Larger print will be provided

Behavior- Rules will be restated if needed

For the students who have excelled at this project can take it a step further and create their own diary of a … (animal of their choice).

For students who are having difficulty the teacher will pair them with a higher learner who can guide them one on one.

 

The students will review the strategies that they learned and review the questions listed throughout the lesson. Then the students will present their worm reports completed in guided practice.

 

The students will choose a webquest from a list that will be provided for them. The webquest will be due in two weeks time from the end of our Diary of a Worm unit.

 

 

Evaluation:

 

The teacher will evaluate the students on their work as the lessons progress. Evaluation of the graphic organizer will be based on the number of facts they find. A 4 will be given for ten or more facts. A 3 will be given for 8 or more facts. A 2 will be given for 6 or more facts and a 1 will be given for less than 6 facts.

 

 

 

 

 

Extensions:

 

See this site for more activities of Diary of a Worm: http://webcontent.harpercollins.com/text/teachers_guides/pdf/006000150X.pdf

 

Extra Activity: Created by Tabitha Noguera. Resource Scolastic.com

 

Children’s Book: Diary of a Worm: By Doreen Cronin and Illustrated by Harry Bliss

Publisher: Scholastic, September 2004

 

Overview: The students will be creating a diary entry of an animal of their choosing.

 

Grade Level: First through Fifth Grades

 

Objective:       1. The students will complete a “Then What Happened?” work sheet.

                        2. The students will complete a picture walk drawing sheet using crayons.

                        3. The students will chose an animal and then write a diary entry as if they were that animal.

 

Materials:       1.The book Diary of a Worm

2. “Then What Happened?” work sheet

                        3. Picture Walk worksheet

                        4. Writing paper

                        5. Pencils

                        6. Crayons

                       

Extension Activity: The students can create their own Diary of a _______ book. They would choose the animal and how long they want the book to be.

 

New York State Standards: ELA 1 & 2, Arts 2

 

 

 

Example:

 

September 18, 2007

 

Dear Diary,

 

I like to swim in the pond. Today mother duck, my brothers and sisters, and I all went to Blueberry pond. Blueberry pond is my favorite.