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Sample Lesson Plans
Using Literature to Teach Elementary School Math and Science
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Education
ED312, Spring 1996; Professor Maria Varelas
Lesson by Kimberly Conry Swenson
- 2nd Grade
- It was one of my favorite books when I was growing up. It was responsible for my environmental concerns.It makes an inanimate object "real" for the reader. It also has some excellent illustrations which help the students determine the storyline and keep their interest. The Little House helps to explain about how cities were developed.
- The book covers a long period of time that could be discussed as well as the problems of pollution, noise, and air quality. This makes it easy to link the book with social studies.
Activity Procedure Preview the story
30 min.Small groups look at the pictures and make predictions about the storyline from the pictures. Discuss group responeses, write out the predictions on the board. Read aloud. 2 pages at a time -what is going to happen? do they want to change any of the predictions? Discuss what is happening in the storyline, especially th esetting. After page 10, or after feeling comfortable with modeling, have the students select mode of reading, oral or silent, to finish the book. Writing
Timed 15 min.Short writing-how did the story make you feel?What did you learn from the story? Why didn't the house like the city? Class discussion Check predictions Venn Diagram Compare and contrast the country and the city. What makes the city different and why? Introduce pollution through the pictures.The teacher and students should work together on the diagram, however the teacher should model aloud to show the train of thought. This is a good way to introduce theVenn diagram concept. Group work
30 min.Group work - determine what caused the noise and pollution in the city. Draw pictures and explain. Class discussion to allow groups to explain their ideas about air pollution. Writing Students individually write a new ending to the story. What happens if the house stays in the city? What if they cleaned up the pollution? Class Discussion What have we learned? How is the city in the book similar to our city? Introduce the theroy on pollution in the atmosphere. Talk about smog, the ozone layer, global warming, and acid rain.
III. Some problems with the lesson might have to do with my concern that students may see the cities as bad and the country as good. I would hope that the students would focus on the problems with the city, like pollution, but they might get hung up on the feelings of the house itself. However, I guess that would not be a bad thing.
IV. Assessment for this lesson would be based on participation during the class discussions, group work activities, and the writing samples equally.I want the students to be responsible to the class, the group, and to themselves. The group and writing samples will tell me if they were paying attention to the storyline and whether they could grasp the underlying theme of pollution and cities in general. Hopefully I could use this book to begin a whole unit on the environment, and specifically on air pollution. Second graders might not have the vocabulary or abstract ability to visualize air pollution and how it affects the environment. An experiment to do at the end of the lesson would be to bring in two segments from the same piece of wood.Create an environment for each piece by setting it in some soil in a plastic container and cover the container with a 2 liter soda bottle.Then spray one piece of wood with regular water and the other piece with a mixture of vinegar and water. The vinegar represents the chemicals and pollutants from the cars, factories, and trucks. Spray each piece once a day and see the results! This idea can also be used with plants to show the affects of acid rain on the soil and plant life.
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