Bluebonnet Writing Project
Teaching Demonstration
Title of the Article: “No Ordinary Joe”
Author: Rick Reilly
Illustrator: N/A
Publishing Information: Reilly, Rick. “No Ordinary Joe.” Sports Illustrated. 7 July 2003. 21 July 2007. www.sportsillustrated.cnn.com
Green, Chuck. “Vick Doesn’t Deserve to BE a Sport Hero.” The Pueblo Chieftain Online. 22 July 2007. 22 July 2007 http://www.chieftain.com/editorial/1185084389/6
Suggested Grade Level: 11
Goal: After reading texts, students will know how to write Level I and Level II dialectical journal entries. They understand to differntiate from reading for fact and detail to finding inferences.
Objectives: Students will be able to read text closely, identify details and main idea, make inferences about the text, and write a paragraph responding to the reading, using textual evidence.
TEKS: 4) Writing/inquiry/research. The student uses writing as a tool for learning.. The student is expected to:
(A) use writing to formulate questions, refine topics, and clarify ideas;
(B) use writing to discover, organize, and support what is known and what needs to be learned about a topic;
(E) use writing as a study tool to clarify and remember information;
(F) compile written ideas and representations into reports, summaries, or other formats and draw conclusions; and
(G) analyze strategies that writers in different fields use to compose
(7) Reading/comprehension. The student comprehends selections using a variety of strategies. The student is expected to:
(A) establish and adjust purpose for reading such as to find out, to understand, to interpret, to enjoy, and to solve problems;
(B) draw upon his/her own background to provide connection to texts;
(C) monitor his/her own reading strategies and make modifications when understanding breaks down such as by rereading, using resources, and questioning;
(F) produce summaries of texts by identifying main ideas and their supporting details;
(G) draw inferences such as conclusions, generalizations, and predictions and support them with text evidence and experience;
(H) use study strategies such as note taking, outlining, and using study-guide questions to better understand texts; and
(I) read silently with comprehension for a sustained period of time.
(10) Reading/literary response. The student expresses and supports responses to various types of texts. The student is expected to:
(A) respond to informational and aesthetic elements in texts such as discussions, journal entries, oral interpretations, enactments, and graphic displays;
(B) use elements of text to defend, clarify, and negotiate responses and interpretations; and
Research Supporting this Lesson:
Edwards, Phyllis, R. “Using Dialectical Journals to Teach Thinking Skills.”
Journal of Reading 35.4, Dec-Jan. 1991-92. 312-16.
Introduction to lesson: We will begin by analyzing a painting, describing the details and making inferences about it.
Previewing the Text: I will ask if anybody is aware of any current events in the NFL world. We will read Rick Reilly's article first, using it to set up a dialectical journal. Then we will turn to an article on Michael Vick, who had made headline news and do the same with this article.
Procedures: Set up a few dialectical journal pages. Fold page vertically. For a type I dialectical entry, on the left write Text (They say) and on the right Questions/Comments (I say). After reading 4-5 paragraphs of the article at a time, students are to write down the facts and details (fragments okay) in the left column. On the right, they write any questions they might have at this point in the text and any questions. Do this first ten paragraphs as a class to model the procedure; for the remainder of the text, have students work on their own for several minutes, and them compare their list with their neighbors/group. Then go over each section as a class. Read each passage out loud together.
A type II entry is different in that the student copies the sentences or paragraph into the left hand column, and they make inferences in the right hand column. In other words, they have to explain what the text means or what underlying message the text has.
We will follow up, if time is available, with an editorial with Michael Vick, doing both Type I and II journal entry. If time remains, we will write TAKD type paragraphs using evidence from the articles.
Reading/Writing/ Connection: This activity connect reading and writing very closely. The student is very involved with the text and retains more detail because he/she is copying portions of the text or listing the details and main ideas. The writing aspect of this activity requires the student to focus closely on the text. It is good practice for the TAKS paragraphs on the exit level test.
Discussion Protocol: In a ninety minute block, ideally the teacher would call on each student at least twice during the discussion phases of the exercise.
Extension/Service Projects: Ideally, after having practiced this in class, students would be able to do this on their own. The teacher could require one dialectical entry per assigned page of reading or something like that.
13 comments:
Dear Di,
Thank you so much for this lesson. Being a high school teacher, I really appreciate a demo on my level!
Lens 1: Describing affect for teachers and learners.
Your preparation and scaffold with the picture was brilliant! I loved how you connected it to the surface level and underlying meaning that we needed to take on the picture. We always do that in literature. Thanks for getting an INTERESTING article!
Lens 2: Articulating best practice.
Thank you for practicing the dialectical journaling with us.
Lens 3: The Texas language arts standards and benchmarks.
TEKS: 4) Writing/inquiry/research. The student uses writing as a tool for learning.. The student is expected to:
(A) use writing to formulate questions, refine topics, and clarify ideas;
(B) use writing to discover, organize, and support what is known and what needs to be learned about a topic;
(E) use writing as a study tool to clarify and remember information;
(F) compile written ideas and representations into reports, summaries, or other formats and draw conclusions; and
(G) analyze strategies that writers in different fields use to compose
(7) Reading/comprehension. The student comprehends selections using a variety of strategies. The student is expected to:
(A) establish and adjust purpose for reading such as to find out, to understand, to interpret, to enjoy, and to solve problems;
(B) draw upon his/her own background to provide connection to texts;
(C) monitor his/her own reading strategies and make modifications when understanding breaks down such as by rereading, using resources, and questioning;
(F) produce summaries of texts by identifying main ideas and their supporting details;
(G) draw inferences such as conclusions, generalizations, and predictions and support them with text evidence and experience;
(H) use study strategies such as note taking, outlining, and using study-guide questions to better understand texts; and
(I) read silently with comprehension for a sustained period of time.
(10) Reading/literary response. The student expresses and supports responses to various types of texts. The student is expected to:
(A) respond to informational and aesthetic elements in texts such as discussions, journal entries, oral interpretations, enactments, and graphic displays;
(B) use elements of text to defend, clarify, and negotiate responses and interpretations; an
Lens 4: Extensions and adaptations.
I will definitely use this in my classroom. The steps are something that I forget. I focus so much on the end result that I miss the process of it all.
Lens 5: Questions
None at this time!
Thanks for a wonderful lesson! You did a great job!
Rediesha Thompson
Di,
Lens 1: I am able to take this lesson back to my room and I could use this today. I affected happily.
Lens 2: Best Practices Dialectical Journals are a wonderful way to for students to work through texts.
Lens 3: TEKS for high school
Lens 4: I could add to the prompt and make it read: Tell about a time when ...
Lens 5: Do you have some other ideas for paired articles I might use with my students? Do you have ideas about how to grade them?
Thank you again.
Jolyn
July 23, 2007
Dear Dianna,
Thank you for sharing your lesson with us. I liked that you shared something personal with us in the opening activity. It truly was an useful presentation, one that stands up to the scrutiny of the Five Lenses.
Lens 1: Describing affect for teachers and learners. You definitely showed concern about whether or not we enjoyed the lesson. You kept us engaged... from writing our observations of the painting to your selection of articles to read. As “football players,” we were anxious to read the articles your selected.
Lens 2: Articulating best practice. I noticed several best practices being used in your lesson. I like that we practiced the skill of making observations and then deductions with the painting (the concrete) before moving to the articles (the abstract). This was excellent scaffolding.
Lens 3: The Texas language arts standards and benchmarks. You substantiated your lesson content with the TEKS and research support.
Lens 4: Extensions and adaptations. I can use this idea in my classroom when we prepare for TAKS. I won’t need to mention TAKS at all. We can simply read articles of interest and create dialectical journals. I might have to simplify the language, but it’s doable.
Lens 5: Questions arisen. I really don’t have any questions at this time. Your demonstration was so straightforward and comprehensible that I feel I will have no problem adapting it to my classroom.
Thank you again for the interesting demonstration.
Sincerely,
Leslie Hancock
Dianne,
This was great! I especially appreciate the AP extension.
Lens 1: By beginning with the picture, you made us all comfortable and helped us feel like this was something we could succeed in doing.
Lens 2: Best practices: Dialectical journals
Scaffolding
Getting students started
Shared learning
Lens 3: TEKS-thanks for already listing those for us
Lens 4: Again, thanks for the AP application. This will work well for many of my rhetorical analysis activities. I also appreciate the lessons in citizenship that these two contrasting articles provide.
Lens 5: Since this is geared toward boys, maybe we can work in some kind of movement activity into the lesson--I can't think of anything right off hand, but I'd like to find something.
Thanks for lots of great ideas and help for your fellow AP teacher!
Sherry
23 July 2007
Dear Dianna,
Lens 1:
I loved the way you got us to feel comfortable with discussing the painting. You really got our thoughts going. You entertained all of our ideas. That demonstrated some great respect for us as students. You also included many students to read. What an interesting story! This would really hook any student!
Lens 2:
• Connecting to students’ worlds
• Appealing to various preferences in learning
• Modeling the process of journaling
• Using graphic organizers to scaffold learning & understanding
• You present some important ethical questions that really inspire more thought
Lens 3:
• Reading and writing TEKS possibly connected
• I especially appreciated the inquiry set of TEKS
Lens 4:
• Extensions: writing a TAKS paragraph
• Using the 3 types of dialectical journals
Lens 5:
Have you ever thought of framing this with a large inquiry? That might set the tone and focus for further reading. The culminating project could be a multimodal project. How could you integrate technology in this lesson?
Nice work. Again, I loved the introduction with a painting. You did an excellent job of really connecting to student interest. I think you could raise some very provocative questions for further discussions, reading, and writing.
Thank you,
Janelle
July 23, 2007
Dear Dianna,
You definitely rocked the house today! The art piece was a great engagement and introduction to your lesson. The objectives and goals were clearly defined and you lead along the way to successful dialectal journaling experience. Here are my views through the lenses.
Lens 1: Describing affect for teachers and learners.
You provided a safe environment for learning and allowed all students to engage in the activity. You activated prior knowledge and took into consideration your audience and readers.
Lens 2: Articulating best practice
There is evidence of Best Practices throughout the lesson. Engaging, valuing, empowerment, cooperative, safe, inviting, and consideration of different learning styles.
Lens 3: The Texas language arts standards and benchmarks.
Clearly integrated your reading and your writing. I’m sure you’ve covered many TEKS along the way.
Lens 4: Extensions and adaptations.
This was my first experience with dialectal journaling and found this strategy quite appropriate and adaptable for third graders to work on inference. The articles led us to further want to go online and do additional research.
Lens 5: Questions arisen.
How often do you use this strategy in the classroom? What’s the time frame for introducing such a lesson?
Once again wonderful and engaging lesson!!!!!
Sincerely,
Christina Hernandez
Dear Dianna,
Lens 1: You connected to the students by picking out both current events and a topic that would interest them- football. You made the information relevant and real to these students. This shows that you care.
Lens 2: I think the best practice that you used was a class of shared learning. We were all in it together learning and sharing together.
Lens 3: TEKS: You did a great job incorporating writing and reading. Their were so many reading strategies that you put into your writing- what a great job!
Lens 4: Extensions and Enrichments: You could do so much with this- you could have them write letters to each of them asking questions, maybe read aloud a Joe Delaney autobiography, make a Venn Diagram comparing the two athletes.
Lens 5: I loved your demo. Also, your introduction with the artwork was really well done. You found a way to introduce a fairly hazy concept (dialectical journaling) in a very concrete way. You did a great job incorporating so much information that kept us both interested and invested. Way to raise the bar, lady! :)
Heather
Dear Di,
I thought your lesson was very mind provoking, I love the contrast!
Lens 1: With this lesson you allow the student to reflect upon what they have learned. They are able to express themselves without harm.
Lens 2: I like how you took time to stop and give an example of how to complete the journal by walking us through the first article, then having us complete one on our on. You allowed us to express and share ourselves. Way to breakdown the process for the TAKS paragraph writing, this allows the kids to see that they can do it.
Lens 3:Good TEKS
Lens 4:
I think this would work great in my fourth grade classroom; it will help my students to become better critical thinkers. It could become a daily routine when documenting the novel we are reading. Of course, I will tone it down a bit for them.
Lens 5:
I have no questions, because you did such a wonderful job.
Wonderful job!
~Rachell
Great Lesson Diane! Very though-provoking and I even think this is something that can be used in upper level elementary because fourth and fifth need to know inferencing too! It would have to be watered down a bit for them though :).
Lens 1- The picture was such an amazing attention getter. Pictures are more than meet the eye just as stories are!
Lens 2- Students definitely took responsibility with these articles. By using the dialectical journaling, learning was put in our own hands.
Lens 3-Ditto!
Lens 4- After having a lesson like this, who wouldn't want to write? I would have loved to write if it wasn't for time.
Lens 5- No Questions at this time, but I will figure out how to modify this for upper elementary. Great job Diane!
Hi Dianna,
Lens 1: Affect
I really appreciate your use of the interesting painting as the hook for your lesson. The same thinking skills were used in creating inferences about the painting as were used with the articles. There was a lot of rigor in the lesson so I was busy, but the risk free environment helped foster engaging discussions in our group.
Lens 2: Best Practices
I noticed several best practices woven throughout the lesson. Students were including in the before, during, and after reading activities through teacher questioning, writing in response to the reading, and discussions within groups about the text. Also, the articles were well chosen for the audience.
Lens 3: Standards
Thanks for researching these!!!
Lens 4: Extensions and Adaptations
It’s funny how this same process is directly applicable to elementary ages as well. The way you taught main idea with finding details first is very similar to how I’d teach it. Thanks!
Lens 5: Questions arisen.
I’m wondering how the written products would have looked. What process would you have gone through? Are students products higher quality having gone through the Types than had they not dug deeply into the meaning of the text?
Thank you, Dianna. I enjoyed it!
Dianna -
Wow ! This was a fantastic lesson. I was not familiar with dialectical journals, but I will really use them in the future. Thank you for a great lesson.
Lens 1: You mention that the class has a lot of football players. You chose readings that would be interesting to them and that would force them to examine their values.
I am only the mother of a football player, but I loved the readings.
Lens 2: The dialectical journal provides opportunity for the student to document text evidence,
generate questions, make inferences,and reach conclusions.
Lens 3: The student uses writing as
a tool for learning
Use writing to formulate questions, refine topics, and clarify ideas
Compile written ideas and representations into reports, summaries or other formats and draw conclusions.
Lens 4: Essay questions based on the dialectical journals that would require text evidence and commentary in the response.
Students could be required to keep dialectical journals on future readings that they would do independently.
Lens 5: Do you normally generate the essay question or do the students ?
Dear Diana,
This was a wonderful introduction to inference, levels of questions, and dialectical journals. This can easily be adapted to all grades from middle school on up.
Lens 1—Affect
You have a calm demeanor and approach to your teaching. You make all of your students know they matter.
Lens 2—Best Practices
You brought all of your students into the lesson by having them read and comment on the material. In addition the proposed writing assignments gave students a great choice.
Lens 3—TEKS
You used the TEKS related to both critical reading and writing.
Lens 4—Extensions and Adaptations
This lesson can easily be adapted to all grade levels. This would be one I could use with A Christmas Carol. The students could find various passages in the story that demonstrate Scrooge’s attitude at different stages in his transformation. I could also introduce this to my 6th graders with Maniac Magee to show their reactions to details about his character.
Lens 5—Questions
I really don’t have any questions at this time.
Thanks for a fabulous lesson.
Pat Huster
07/17/2007
Ms. Dianna Trang,
The use of the painting to introduce inferences was something that attracted my attention as a learner. It was a very original way to introduce a difficult topic, as we know how hard it is for students to infer. Also, considering that you teach at a High School full of football players to use articles that have a personal connection was very appropriate.
Lens 1: Describing affect for teachers and learners
You gave ample time for students to interact and share their responses. Your manner was pleasant and firm, you command respect without being intimidating. You praise the students and affirm their contributions to the class.
Lens 2: Articulating best practice.
You were able to incorporate the following best practices:
• All Children Can Write: elicits writing responses from students by having them critically analyze articles through dialectical journaling and have them write a response based on prompt not answered in the text read
• Real Audiences, Real Purposes: The articles had to do with football players…enough said!
• The Writing Process: The students were lead into a pre-writing activity that will create ideas for future use.
• Getting Students Started: Students were provided with appropriate materials and instructions to do their work.
• Grammar and Mechanics in Context: By doing this kind of work students were exposed to language/writing and how it’s used in the real world.
• A Classroom of Shared Learning: Several opportunities where given for the students to share and comment on each others work.
• Evaluation and Assessment: You did a guided practice and then allowed the students to work on their own.
Lens 3: The Texas language arts standards and benchmarks
• TEKS where available and correlated to the lesson
• Objectives where directly tied to support TEKS
• Research supporting the learner objectives
Lens 4: Extensions and adaptations.
I like how your extension activities provide for reinforcement and hopefully mastery of the skill taught.
Lens 5: Questions arisen
None at this time, thanks!
I really enjoyed your presentation and appreciate the fact that you took the time to put it together. I really learned a lot from you.
Sincerely,
Sugey Villarreal
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