A Learning Activity is a strategy a teacher chooses to actively
engage students in learning a concept or skill using a digital tool/resource.
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Phase:
Before/Engage
Activity:
Steps:
The teacher will secure a copy of the poem "Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too" by Shel Silverstein.
The teacher will use the document camera and projector to display the poem for the students to read silently to themselves.
The teacher will instruct the students to read the poem and jot down 2-3 impressions about the poem: Did they like it? Did it make sense? What was it about? What do they see or hear as they read the poem?
After all of the students have had approximately five minutes to write down their thoughts, the teacher will then have them focus back on the projector screen.
The teacher will make sure the video link is pulled up and the sound is on and at the appropriate volume.
The teacher will tell the students they are now going to watch and listen to an animated recording of the author Shel Silverstein reading this poem aloud.
The teacher and students watch the video together.
The teacher will tell the students to now go back and write their impressions of the poem after hearing it being read aloud. Do they like it more or less? Could they understand it better? What made it different when hearing it?
The teacher will give the students 3-5 minutes to write these observations.
Then, the teacher will tell the students to turn to their discussion partners and take turns sharing whether they liked hearing and watching the poem or reading it to themselves more and why.
The teacher will circulate and listen to the various conversations, giving prompts or redirection where needed.
After approximately 5-10 minutes of discussion, the teacher will ask students to take turns sharing out loud what their thoughts were on the experiences of reading silently versus being read aloud.
Assessment Strategies:
The assessment strategy here is the thorough observation of the discussions around whether poetry is better to read silently or performed aloud. The teacher will give students time to talk about this with their seat partners and observe their discussions as he or she circulates around the room. The teacher will then lead a whole class discussion where students will compare the two experiences. Which was easier to visualize? Easier to understand? More enjoyable?
Advanced Preparation:
The teacher needs to have a print copy of the poem to display where it is visible to all students. Ideally, this should be done with a projector and a document camera. The teacher also needs to have the video pulled up and ready to show.
If students are not used to having a discussion partner, the teacher would want to pair them up with seatmates to make sure everyone has someone to discuss with.
Variation Tips (optional):
If a teacher wanted to have each student read the poem and listen on their own, they could provide each student with a copy of the poem and a link to the video.
Notes or Recommendations (optional):
Keywords and Search Tags:
Ickle Me Pickle Me Tickle Me Too, poem, poetry, Shel Silverstein