When flipping through the Craft Lesson plan book, I was so surprised to find out the multiple lesson plans that were so short and simple to teach with the help of a childrens book. I had not planned on buying this book because I didn't believe that it would be of any use in my future. However, after reading through the lessons and connections that it made with many common children's books, I couldn't be more excited to teach mini lessons using the lessons given.
I chose to use the lesson on Crafting a Lead (pg. 77), using the book Wilma Unlimited. Without looking into the story, I quickly looked up the call number and checked out the book. When returning home I was disappointed becuase I found out that in order to teach the lesson, I would not particularly need to have the book with me. Even though it wasn't needed, I sat down to read the book about Wilma's life and was so interested in the story. The short non-fiction book was very intesting and will help me teach the story becuase I have a better understanding of what the whole book is about. This is something that is very important when teaching small lessons that don't require a full read of the book. I think that it is also a great idea to have the book that is discussed in the lesson on hand to encourage children to read the story during their independent reading time. If the book is something that is appropriate for a group it could also be read during guided reading and/or shared reading.
I was also surprised about how short the lessons were and how easy they would be to teach! I was expecting a long discourse and possible confusion, but I think the book has a lot of great ideas! I found out I didn't need my book with me either, which was disappointing, but like you, I found it ended up being helpful with understanding and as a reference tool! I really like your idea about keeping the book on hand for reading time also, I think that it could be quite beneficial for students! Especially if they reference it to use a literacy technique that was taught in a minilesson!
ReplyDeleteI was also surprised at short and useful these lesson plans where. They get straight to the point and provide students with good learning tools. They are also good to use for a mini lesson in the classroom if students are struggling in a certain area and you don't have the time to do an entire unit on it.
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