Outstanding Teacher of the Year Shares Lesson
Plan
Mrs. Sharon Weissbart, first
grade teacher at PS 111 in the Bronx and 2004 Education Update
Teacher of the Year, submitted a lesson plan that she and Ms.
Masucci, also a first grade teacher at PS 111, created for
their classes. While focusing on developing a text innovation,
the lesson aim is to engage children in an author study using
Eric Carle books. After completing the lesson, the students
will understand that an author has a purpose in writing, that
an author can express himself/herself in various genres, and
that an author’s writing style and illustrations can
be repetitive or different in various books.
The lesson begins with an
introduction of the title, author and illustrator of The Tiny
Seed by Eric Carle. After reading the book, the students interpret
the illustrations about seeds and seasons, which allows for
a spontaneous science mini-lesson. The children are then given
time to talk with a classmate about the book and are invited
to share with the class what they learned. A group discussion
will highlight how Carle begins his stories and how his choice
of descriptive words and colorful illustrations can teach the
life cycle of a plant, again leading to a mini science lesson.
Mrs. Weissbart and Ms. Masucci emphasize the opportunity to
tap into each child’s prior knowledge throughout the
exercise.
To assess the children’s
comprehension of the story, the students should retell the
story through role-playing, art, reading expressively, and
writing about the story. They can also share their stories, make pop-up books, and contribute their
writings and illustrations to a class book. In Mrs. Weissbart
and Ms. Masucci’s classes, the children modeled the author’s
writing style and illustrations resulting in the text
innovation displayed on the school bulletin board. For follow
up or homework, the children can go to the library to obtain
additional Eric Carle books to enjoy and share with classmates.
They can also do a book report on an Eric Carle book that has
not been read in class. Through their collaboration, Mrs. Weissbart
and Ms. Masucci hope that their teamwork will be “contagious” for
their students in an effort to develop a sense of camaraderie
among them.
English Language Arts
standards include the following: producing a response to
literature, participating in an one-to-one conference with
the teacher, participating in group meetings, demonstrating
independently and habitually an understanding of the rules
of the English language in written and oral language, and
producing work in at least one genre that follows the conventions
of the genre.#
