I was hoping for more but this is what I got.
If anyone has any other ideas please send them my way.
Thanks,
Kirsten M. Steintrager
Our Lady of Mercy School
400 Marquette Avenue
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806
225-924-1054
www.olomlibrary.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------
Let's keep it simple. How about a lesson on how to shelve fiction?
You could put out a selection of fiction books in several stations -- maybe
5 - 10 different books at each station. Put students in small groups of two
or three and have them put the books in alphabetical order according to how
they would be put on book shelves.
For the more capable student, have them alphabetize authors' names of
fiction books that re1uire looking at second or third letters of the
authors' names.
For the less capable kids, have them alphatize authors' names that only
require using the first letter of the last name.
Or... you could have the least capable students put your encyclopedias in
order.
My question is.... how are you supposed to know how to group the kids for
the differentiated lesson? Surely you aren't expected to knowt he ability of
every child in your school!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------
Welcome to the world that our entire county has been living in for the past
two years! We've had to do DI lessons and be observed by a consultant from
one of the state universities, school board office personnel, the principal,
and other staff members. I feel your pain!
One lesson that I did that received positive feedback was fairly simple. I
was working with third grade on library shelf order, the differences between
fiction/nonfiction and how they're shelved, etc. I broke my class up into
"ability" levels by what I've observed and know about the students. Then I
gave each group a set of books to put in the right order. For the "low"
level group, I stuck with fiction chapter books since they seem to be the
easiest. You can vary the difficulty by including numerous authors starting
with the same letter, etc. The middle range group I gave E picture books.
This seems to confuse some students, so it's a bit more challenging. Here
again, difficulty can be adjusted by which authors you pick, or if you're
really picky about shelving (I got over that quickly being in an elem.
school), you can include several books by one author that need to then be
alphabetized by title. My "high" group received nonfiction books to order.
This was a special challenge because when I did the lesson, I really had not
taught them about Dewey yet. I did briefly explain to this group what to do
and then let them go to it. If the groups finished quickly, I then had them
take individual books and try to shelve them.
I must admit the lesson had ulterior motives for me because we'd had
computer problems, and I had a backup of books to shelve. However, it was a
fun lesson that they seemed to enjoy and hopefully learned a little bit
from.
Hope you get some good ideas--would you be willing to post a hit if you do?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
what are you teaching?
One of the best differentiated instruction tools for the library is the
scavenger hunt. Put the kids in pairs [or 3's] and have them locate
materials in the libarary using the catalog or just finding
books on the shelves. You give direct instruction first: e.g.
'fiction is imagination books. Their address is: FIC and then the first
three letters of the authors last name. Can anyone find the
book by Will HOBbs?' that sort of thing. You can make the first 10
questions easy and very concrete. Make it less concrete as it goes along so
that the higher end, abstract thinkers, can move right along at a faster
clip. I used to give prizes for the most completed, but now i give everyone
a prize at the end. [usually a Jolly Rancher candy or the like].
This is an excellent thing to do and reaches every student.
Reinforces any lesson you give also. PLUS, you can develop it according to
the grade level and subject you're teaching.
I've done scavenger hunts on:
how to find books in the library [questions are: find the book that has the
call number 595.6 ABC; Find a fiction book with the first letter of your
last name. What is the title?] how to use google [who won the world series
in 1989; what important event happened there?] using almanacs, answer
questions from the almanac.
how to find books in the catalog [and then go get them from the shelves.
Another lesson:
collect things that are alike but have different qualities to them. I used
to do this with records [you know, from record players! In the old days.
Could use CD's now I reckon].
Give each group of 3-5 kids a batch of them and tell them to organize them
however they want. Some will choose title, some artist [if using music],
some color, etc. have them explain how they organized them and why. then
explain how the dewey decimal system works.
Another:
explain the dewey decimal system. give them numbers. have them line
up according to the ddc number: 389,389.1, 389.12, 389.21, etc.
make it hard or easy depending on age.
the best differentiated lessons allow for concrete thinkers to get the basic
info needed; the gifted kids to quickly get the concrete info needed and
then move on to the abstract.
Hope this give some ideas you can translate for your own kids! The 2nd
graders can do many of these things if you make it easy enough for them -
and direct them to lessons that you can instruct and then give them
practice!
Good luck!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------
Hi,
It is a bit difficult to provide suggestions without any context for the
lesson. What skill or concept are you going to be dealing with? In general I
would suggest identifying the basics needed to understand the concept or
apply the skill and that is introduced to whole group. This is followed with
guided practice allowing the able ones to work more independently on
application of the skill or concept, while you provide structured support
for the ones who need it.
Another approach is to have set of content but have different ways to show
understanding for example working with a set of vocabulary words least able
look up in dictionary and write def. More able use in a sentence to
demonstrate understanding of def. Most able might be asked to use the words
in the context of a paragraph they generate. All students are working with
same set of vocabulary words but at different levels of application.
A scavenger hunt could be developed asking students to use the index of a
group of books to locate the answer. A print set of encyclopedias could also
be used. Questions could be on color coded cards indicating difficulty of
required search. (Is entry just a paragraph long with obvious answer, longer
article but answer is in early paragraph, answer requires scanning sub
headings to locate section within the article where the answer would be
found, answer requires going beyond just what is written on the page making
and inference or connecting to background knowledge etc.) Differentiation
could be in the type of question answered, number of searches expected to be
completed and in the amount of help provided.
It is difficult to provide a specific suggestion without knowing more about
what you are trying to cover.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings
by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation.
* LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
* LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
* EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/sub/
* LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------
LM_NET
Mailing List Home