LESSON ONE: How Change Affects Our Lives
LESSON DESCRIPTION
Students use details from Shel Silverstein’s poem “Whatif” to analyze the influence of setting on characters.
GRADE-LEVEL EXPECTATIONS
R2C Use details from text to analyze the influence of setting on characters.
Students write about a personal fear in a journal response that will be used as part of the prewriting step in the writing process for a personal narrative.
LESSON MATERIALS
§ Source of Literature
o “Whatif” by Silverstein
§ Supplies
§ Handouts provided
§ Words to know
o setting
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
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Strategy
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Write the following guiding questions for the lesson on the board.
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1. Begin by distributing a copy of the poem “Whatif” by Shel Silverstein to each student.
2. Read the poem aloud and make sure there is quiet time for reflection after students hear the poem.
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Questions for Students
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How did this poem make you feel? What fears do have in common with the narrator? Which of these fears have you overcome?
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3. Brainstorm as a class situations or objects students are currently afraid of or have been afraid of in the past. The items can be recorded on the overhead or chart paper by the teacher or a student.
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Questions for Students |
What “whatifs” came to your mind as you read and reflected on the poem? |
4. The teacher should orally model a fear of his/her own and include how he/she overcame the fear or is coping with it now.
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Strategy
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Teacher might share:
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