Pirates, Pistols, and Publishing
I am very excited about this unit. I found the articles very interesting. I love how language arts and social studies can work so great together. In the article about twin text , I liked how the teacher began the unit with sparking the curiosity of the students. I know that when children walk into a classroom and see all the “goodies” scattered about the room, it gets them excited. I don’t any child that would not enjoy learning about pirates.
I loved the notebook idea. the pirate diary is a great way to get started and allow the children to make something of their own and design the notebook. This is also a great assessment tool, because the teacher can see what the students already know about pirates. In the pullout, the double entry diary seems to be a great way to build vocabulary. If the children are allowed to draw and put definitions into their own words I think they will remember them better.
I also think that it is important to allow the children to read fiction and nonfiction books about pirates. This will allow them to explore different books and this allows them to experience different stories of fact and fiction. I truly believe that this will provide the students a step toward loving to read.
Internet workshops and blog publishing is a great way for children to show what they learn while using technology. I mean, let’s face it, kids love to use computers and most of them know more about the technology out there than adults. I think that the blogs and internet workshops are a perfect way for children to show what they have created and share with other students and maybe even parents.
I am very excited to learn more about this unit and how to teach it to my classroom.
I know that then my son was younger, he would have loved a unit about pirates. I think something like this would have really drawn him in and caused him to be exited about school and reading! He had a teacher in fifth grade who tried extra hard to help him find things he liked to read and showed so much interest in him and his reading progress. I will never forget that! As teachers, we need to teach lessons and units that appeal to the natural curiosity of children. Girls will love to learn about pirates. but to a boy who is struggling to read and enjoy school, it could be a huge benefit!
Valorie,
I completely agree with your comment about this unit helping to turn on the love of reading for some readers. The aaarrggghhhh pirate subject is just impossible to resist – -and it may be just the thing to reach those 4th grader readers that are just not so “in” to reading yet. I am asked by so many friends about how I got my kids to love to read. My two children love reading…..now – -one was a born reader and we did not have to do anything out of the ordinary to get her to just looovvvvee to read non-stop. However, we also had one that came into her reading passion in fourth grade. It took getting her hooked on a book about which she was passionate about the subject – -her book was Hoot. Luckily, the author of Hoot is a prolific and fabulous author — so we were able to continue her momentum of reading that turned into a passion for reading – -but she needed that topic to really get her going. I know that the subject of pirates will spark that interest for many children….Lisa