Crit Lit for Kids: From Critical Consciousness to Service Learning

Materials and Technology

Student Interactives

Printouts

Websites

Preparation

 

MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY

• A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams (Greenwillow, 1982)

• ELMO Visual Presenter (projects book pages onto a big screen; optional)

• Computers with Internet access and printing capability

• LCD projector

• CD-R/W discs

• Disposable cameras (optional)

back to top

 

STUDENT INTERACTIVES

Grades   3 – 12  |  Student Interactive  |  Organizing & Summarizing

Persuasion Map

The Persuasion Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to map out their arguments for a persuasive essay or debate.

 

Grades   K – 12  |  Student Interactive  |  Writing & Publishing Prose

Printing Press

The interactive Printing Press is designed to assist students in creating newspapers, brochures, and flyers.

 

back to top

 

PRINTOUTS

• Quad Entry Journal

• Instructions: Using Photo Story 3 to Create Persuasive Slide Shows

• Rubric for Evaluating Persuasive Texts

back to top

 

WEBSITES

• Bullies in Children’s Literature
• Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil Rights, and Diversity
• Yahoo! Kids
• Ask for Kids
• EBSCO Middle Search® Plus
• GSN Internet Projects Registry
• Life on the Streets
• Books on Tape for Kids
• Earth Day Groceries Project
• Life on the Streets: Sample Slide Show
• Photo Story 3
• Create Your First Photo Story

back to top

 

PREPARATION

1.	Download Photo Story 3. Familiarize yourself with the Instructions: Using Photo Story 3 to Create Persuasive Slide Shows handout, and practice the steps involved so you can demonstrate the process to students. You may also wish to refer to Create Your First Photo Story. Make a copy of these instructions for students.
2.	Bookmark the Persuasion Map and the ReadWriteThink Printing Press on your classroom or lab computers. Familiarize yourself with these tools and be prepared to assist students, particularly if the class has not used them previously.
3.	Decide how you will gather images for the Photo Story slide shows and make the necessary arrangements for these activities [e.g., an Internet search for appropriate images (Session 5) or a field trip to take original photos (Session 6)]. If you plan to have students conduct an Internet search, bookmark any search engines and Web directories you would like them to use on your classroom or lab computers (see Search Engines and Web Directories in the Resources section).
4.	Schedule access to an LCD projector for Sessions 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8. Schedule access to individual computers with Internet access for Sessions 4 through 9.
5.	Familiarize yourself with the book A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams. Practice reading the book aloud. The book lends itself to a discussion of poverty and collaborative efforts toward a goal. A different children’s literature title may be substituted if you wish to focus on other topics (see the Booklists in the Resources section).
6.	Make two copies for each student of the Quad Entry Journal handout. Familiarize yourself with the format of this handout: 1st quadrant: What happened in the story? 2nd quadrant: What is my interpretation? 3rd quadrant: What is my impression following the small-group critique? 4th quadrant: How do I feel after the whole-class discussion? This format is a modification of the double-entry journal. In the Quad Entry Journal, a third entry is added following group literature circles, and a fourth entry is written following a whole-class discussion. Students compare their personal perspectives with those of the small group and the whole class.
7.	Decide on the formation of small groups for work on the Photo Story project. You may choose to use existing literature circles, or assign group membership based on your knowledge of your students’ strengths.
8.	If necessary, review with students the importance of attributing the sources of the facts and images they gather in the course of their research. Also review your preferred format for attributing electronic sources.
9.	Select a date, time, and location for the showing of the class Photo Story productions for parents and other community members.

back to top