Overview and Background: Unit: Kids Say & Do the D a r n d e s t Things

 

Melodie Hofer : Cheney USD 268

Communications : Reading : Communications

: Grades 0 - 5 : Jan. - Mar.

 

Title:

Kids Say & Do the D a r n d e s t Things

Topics:

ornery children: the things they cause & the consequences they get

Time Frame:

8 full 90-minutes blocks, 7 45-minutes class periods

Start Date:

Oct. 7 - Sep. 21

 

Other Designers:

 

Summary:
Students study three poems dealing with the misdeeds of young children that often lead to humorous or tragic consequences.

 

Print Materials Needed:
Graphic organizer for observation.
Checklist for permission letter/e-mail.
Sample newsletters and web sites pages for ending assessment.
Poetry terms sheet.
Vocabulary words for the poems studied in the unit.
Requirements for autobiographical sketch.
Requirements for poetry writing assignment.
Teacher designed observation graphic organizer.
Teacher study guides & quizzes over the poems.
Teacher designed rubrics for poetry writing & autobiographical sketch.

Resources:
Copies of the following poems:
ìSarah Cynthia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out by Shel Silverstein found in Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes. Bronze Level. Prentice Hall,
Glenview, Illinois: 2000. Also in Discoveries in Literature. America Reads Classic Edition. Scott, Foresman, Glenview, Illinois,:1989.

ìSpeed Adjustmentsî by John Ciardi found in Discoveries in Literature.
America Reads Classic Edition. Scott, Foresman, Glenview, Illinois,:1989.

ìRebecca Who Slammed Doors for Fun and Perished Miserablyî by Hilaire Belloc found in Discoveries in Literature.
America Reads Classic Edition. Scott, Foresman, Glenview, Illinois,:1989.

Access to the following computer programs:
Microsoft Publisher
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Front Page

 

Resource Attachments:

http://www.cheney268.com/MSCom/Hofer/Kids/KidsSayTheDarndestThings.htm

Internet Resource Links:

 

Notes:

This unit should be taught after creative writing lessons in an earlier unit of study that focused on vivid word choice. Microsoft Publisher skills, if not used before, must be taught during this unit. Front Page or Word will be needed to place the student's newsletters/web pages on the school web site.

 

Stage 1: Identify Desired Results

 

State:

KS      

Title:

Communications

Standard(s):

State Media Products Standards
Standard: Communicators effectively use a variety of media to create products to communicate for a variety of audiences, purposes, occasions, and contexts.

Benchmark 2: The effective communicator creates single media and multi-media products.
Indicators:
The students:
1. create products that communicate a message, such as commercials for a school event.
2. create products that support/enhance a message.
3. choose appropriate media for content, purpose, audience, occasion, and context.

Benchmark 3: The effective communicator uses appropriate content for purpose, audience, occasion, and context.
Indicators:
The students:
1. use content appropriate to the topic.
2. expand or limit content as appropriate.
3. adapt content for the purpose, audience, occasions, and context.
4. use symbolism, such as analogies, metaphors, icons, music, and color.

State Information Retrieval Standards
Standard: The communicator will retrieve information from a variety of appropriate sources.

Benchmark 3: The effective communicator collects, sorts, and selects sources and information.
Indicators:
The students:
1. gather information from primary and secondary sources.
2. sort/select and narrow information using strategies, such as graphic
organizers, note taking, and highlighting.

State Reading Standards
Standard 1: Learners demonstrate skill in reading a variety of materials for a variety of purposes*
Benchmark 4: The proficient§ reader uses what he/she already knows about the topic and the type of text to understand what is read.
Indicators:
The students:
ï 2. apply prior knowledge§ gained from a wide range of experiences, such as individual experience, research, interview, reading, and nonprint source, to make connections to the text.

State Literary Response Standards
Standard 4: Learners demonstrate skills needed to read and respond to literature.
Benchmark 2: The proficient§ reader evaluates literature§ with criteria based on purposes for
reading and derived from time periods and cultures.
Indicators:
The students:
ï 1. interpret connections between characters and events in literature and people and events in their lives.


Local Standards
Local Writing Standards
Course/grade level Standard 1: Use a writing process that includes:
prewriting, drafting, editing, revising, publishing, and technology to express
meaning.
1. Generates ideas using various prewriting strategies including brainstorming, free-writing, graphic organizer, and outlining.
2. Write multiple versions through revision by referring to student-generated and teacher-designed rubrics, and the 6 Trait Writing Rubric.
3. Proofread and critique self and others' writing using editing checklists and
rubrics.
5. Generates a copy suitable for publication.

Course/grade level Standard 2: Use the six-trait writing model: ideas and
content, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions
to express meaning.
1. Write from personal experience and imagination.
2. Support ideas with specific purposeful detail.
5. Use logical sequencing (general to specific and 6-part plot diagram)
7. Choose words which are specific and accurate, and easily understood.
8. Use figurative language and sounds of language to enhance text.
9. Spell words correctly in published written work.
11. Use standard American English conventions, including paragraphing, grammar and usage, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization.
12. Use specific nouns, powerful verbs, vivid adjectives, adverbs, and descriptive phrases in writing.
15. Demonstrate the proper use of parts of speech

Course/grade level Standard 3: Use narrative, expository, persuasive, and
technical writing for different purposes and audiences to express meaning.
2. Write narrative pieces including personal, short story, dialogue, scripts, and
friendly letter.
7. Write poetry.

 

Understandings:

user

Content Understandings:
A small incident may have a huge impact on a personís life.
Poetry & Literature Understandings:
Poets present the familiar through new eyes.

 

Essential Questions:

user

Contents ?'s:
Why, years later, does a situation not look as serious as it did at the time?
How do childhood incidents influence adults?

Poetry ?'s
What poetic elements make a poem funny?
What does repetition do for a poem?
How do writers force readers to look at life in a new way?

 

Knowledge and Skills:

Knowledge: The student will understand that...
hyperbole leads to humor
young children do not consider consequences before doing something
a child really does want discipline and consequences for their actions
lying will get you no where
an autobiographical sketch is a short piece of writing based on an event in the writer's life

Skills: The student will be able to...
infer meaning
identify tone by referring to the connotations of words
distinguish between mood and tone
interpret & analyze poetry
use poetic elements in explaining & writing poetry
write a poem from an observance
write an autobiographical sketch

 

Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence

 

Assessment Summary:
You work on the set of the TV show "Kids Say the Darndest Things" and your boss has told you to go find some fresh and lively clips for the show's newsletter and website. You have trouble knowing where to start so you decide to go to the local school or day care provider and get permission to watch the kids. You do not take your camera or tape recorder; you're just taking notes. You hope you'll find some funny, gut-wrenching stuff. You will prepare a permission slip for the school and parents if you should so happen to document something humorous. You will also interview some children individually from a set of questions youÌve prepared just in case you can't find them doing something humorous. You will then present this to your boss and fellow researchers in hopes that at least one of your finding can make the show, and that all of them can make it onto the show's web site that is in the form of a newsletter.

 

Task/Prompt: Kids Say & Do the D a r n d e s t Things

 

Type:Performance Task

Topics: ornery children: the things they cause & the consequences they get

 

Summary:
You work on the set of the TV show "Kids Say the Darndest Things" and your boss has told you to go find some fresh and lively clips for the show's newsletter and website. You have trouble knowing where to start so you decide to go to the local school or day care provider and get permission to watch the kids. You do not take your camera or tape recorder; you're just taking notes. You hope youÃll find some funny, gut-wrenching stuff. You will prepare a permission slip for the school and parents if you should so happen to document something humorous. You will also interview some children individually from a set of questions you've prepared just in case you canÃt find them doing something humorous. You will then present this to your boss and fellow researchers in hopes that at least one of your finding can make the show, and that all of them can make it onto the showÃs web site that is in the form of a newsletter.

 

Print Materials Needed:
http://www.cheney268.com/MSCom/Hofer/Kids/KidsSayTheDarndestThings.htm

 

Resources:
http://www.cheney268.com/MSCom/Hofer/Kids/KidsSayTheDarndestThings.htm

 

Resource Attachments:

 

Internet Resource Links:
Link 1:
Link 2:
Link 3:
Link 4:
Link 5:

 

 

Notes:

 

Student Directions:
G
The goal is to document the funny events and kidsÌ ornery actions and sayings often go unnoticed even though everyday such things happen.
R
You are a researcher for the TV show, "Kids do the Darndest Things." You will report back to your boss and fellow researchers at the weekly editing meeting. You begin the newsletter work, but you will also try to convince your boss and the others that at least one of your incidents deserves to be on TV.
A
The target audience includes the web newsletter recipients and TV fans of "Kids Say the Darndest Things."
S
You need to get permission from the school's principal and teacher or the daycare provider. You need to decide if you want the children to be told of your observations ahead of time. You need to decide on the time of day you will observe and what you will do to not make yourself obvious. You need to decide how you will identify the children in your notes.
P
As a research and observer, you need get more than just a few examples so you know at least one will sell.
S
Your web page newsletter design must meet the media products standards and writing standards.

 

 

Rubric(s)

Rubric: Kids Say & Do the D a r n d e s t Things

Summary:
You work on the set of the TV show ìKids Say the Darndest Thingsî and your boss has told you to go find some fresh and lively clips for the showís newsletter and website. You have trouble knowing where to start so you decide to go to the local school or day care provider and get permission to watch the kids. You do not take your camera or tape recorder; youíre just taking notes. You hope youíll find some funny, gut-wrenching stuff. You will prepare a permission slip for the school and parents if you should so happen to document something humorous. You will also interview some children individually from a set of questions youíve prepared just in case you canít find them doing something humorous. You will then present this to your boss and fellow researchers in hopes that at least one of your finding can make the show, and that all of them can make it onto the showís web site that is in the form of a newsletter.


 

 

Other assessment evidence to be collected:

Process check

 

chalkboard race team competition, study guides, paper/pencil quizzes, permission letters, thank you notes

 

 

Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction

 

Learning Activities:

W
1. Students will share with each other in the Kagan Inside-Outside Circle, what they wrote about as well as respond to other prompts dealing with childlike behavior.
H
2. Teacher will share a childhood events that shaped who she is today. Students will do Quick Writes about the same topic.
E
3. Students will study three poems dealing with ornery children. Poetry concepts as well as message and theme will be discussed.
4. Students will engage in team roundtable discussions and class discussion.
5. Students will compete with each other in chalkboard races to demonstrate comprehension of the poems.
6. Students will take a short paper/pencil quiz to assess their comprehension of the poems and their poetic elements.
7. Students will receive a copy of the essential questions the teacher put on bulletin. This sheet will also explain the presentation of the newsletter/web page for the editing meeting (their team) to be performed at the end of the unit.
8. Students will write permission letters to observe at the elementary school.
9. Students will complete their observing by thanking the teacher and the principal in person and return to their team with a completed observation graphic organizer.
10. Students will create a newsletter or a web page representing their observations.
R
11. Students will reflect on the importance of observing details to recreate an interesting incident.
12. Students will write a poem about one or all of their observations.
13. Students will share these poems and observations with the elementary school children involved in their observance.
14. Students will also give the school children a copy of their newsletter or a web page representing their observations.
E
10. Each team member will present, in the role of researcher, to the boss, one of the members of another team serving as the director of the TV show, to persuade them to use their material for the next episode.
11. Other class members will view this meeting as active viewers and listeners.
12. Students will complete a cause and effect graphic organizer describing two childhood events and how the events influenced the person they are today.
13. Students will write an autobiographical sketch based on the two childhood events. This piece will be revised in later units.