Making Meaning, Unit 1, Week 1 September 5, 2013 12:25-1:10 I.

Description: The students will be making text-to-self connections to create a class book of similes, based on the story Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood. Context of the activity: i. What do the children already know about this topic? This lesson will introduce the topic of comparisons through forming similes. ii. How does it fit into the current unit of instruction or set curriculum? It is the beginning of a new unit on fiction and narrative fiction from the Making Meaning program. Concepts. What will the children LEARN as a result of this lesson? A simile is a comparison that uses like or as. Objectives. What will the children be able to do as a result of their participation? Students will write and illustrate their own similes. Virginia SOLs English 1.2 The student will expand understanding and use of word meanings.
a) Increase listening and speaking vocabularies. b) Begin to ask for clarification and explanation of words and ideas. c) Use common singular and plural nouns. d) Use vocabulary from other content areas. English 1.8 The student will expand vocabulary. a) Discuss meanings of words in context. b) Develop vocabulary by listening to and reading a variety of texts. c) Ask for the meaning of unknown words and make connections to familiar words. d) Use text clues such as words or pictures to discern meanings of unknown words. e) Use vocabulary from other content areas.

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Targeted group: Whole group Procedure. 1. Introduce Quick as a Cricket. a. Show the cover and read the title and names of the author and illustrator. b. Point out the cricket and the boy. Explain that the boy thinks he is like a cricket because he is fast and crickets move fast. c. Show some of the animals in the story. Ask What do you know about lions? and If you move like a snail, how do you move? 2. Read the story. a. Stop to define lark (p. 9) and tame (p. 25). 3. Discuss the story.

a. Explain that the way in which the boy compares himself to different animals is called a simile. b. Show and read the simile definition page of the class book under the document camera. c. Ask what were some similes from the story? and record them on the white board. 4. Explain the independent practice. a. Inform the students that they will make their own class book of similes. They will fill in the blanks Im as ____ as a _____. and draw an illustration to show their comparison. b. Ask if anyone has something in mind that theyd like me to add to the list on the board. c. Students will be handed a paper, then go to their seat and begin working. 5. Circulate the room to monitor student understanding. VIII. Modifications For the ELL students refer to the illustrations to clarify vocabulary. Students should be sitting a good position in front of me where they can see and wont be distracted. Evaluation/Assessment. Individual page for our class book of similes I will be looking to see that the students have logically filled in the blanks, either with a simile from the book or an original one. Their illustration should represent what they are comparing themselves to. Students should be able to read and explain their page to me. Follow-up activities Students who need more time can finish upon settling in the next morning for morning work. Students will have the opportunity to share their simile page in a morning meeting next week.

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