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TeachNet Grant: If you like it so much why don't you blog about it?
Michael Nappi
mnappi@47lowerschool.org

P.S. 347 The American Sign Language and English Lower School
225 E. 23rd St.
New York, NY 10010

Grades: 2nd Grade Reading and Writing
About the Grant:

This unit will engage students in the creation of book reports and book reviews. Students will build comprehension skills as they share their experience, understandings, and opinions of independent reading books.  They will express these reviews in writing by filling out main ideas, plot summaries, ratings and recommendations on reading worksheets. Students will then use these sheets to aid in the creation of book reviews. Students will post their reviews to a class blog. The blog posts will serve as way for their reviews to be shared with the world and will give a contextualized meaning to writing book reports and reviews. The reviews will help others find interesting reading when making future book selections.

In order to create these book reviews the following materials are needed: Computers with internet access, a word processing application, classroom blog, book review worksheets, book rating graph, books, pens/pencils, chart paper, and markers. 

How This Grant was Adapted:

The unit is suitable for use in all classrooms and is a great motivator for students to read. Teachers will value this project because it will give their students a reason for writing book reviews. The use of the blog/internet will allow student recommendations and opinions to be viewed by people all over the world, which will give real meaning to writing a review. A blog will also become an archive for the classroom library which students can browse through to help find books of interest.

This unit gives students an authentic reason to write a book report. The fact that it can be viewed by people all over the world and could help others will give students motivation to work hard and be engaged throughout the duration of this project. The blog as an archive aspect will be extremely helpful to teachers browsing for books that have proven to be popular with students

Project URL

http://class218.blogspot.com

Objectives

Objective 1: Build on reading comprehension skills

Objective 2: Gain practice with keyboarding skills

Objective 3: Learn how to write a book review

Objective 4: Learn how to summarize a story and tell others about what they have read.

Objective 5: Learn how to formulate opinions and express them through writing and speaking

Objective 6: Learn the purpose of a book review

Websites Used

www.blogger.com

 

Standards Addressed:

Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.
Grade: 2
Subject: Literacy 

Standard 2: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
Grade: 2
Subject: Literacy 

Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.
Grade: 2
Subject: Literacy

Lesson 1:

Introduction to Book Reviews-Retelling

Objective 1: Students will learn what an opinion is

Objective 2: Students will learn how to retell a story

Objective 3: Students will learn how to make a recommendation

Objective 4: Students will receive practice with reading comprehension

 

Materials 1: Independent reading books for students

Materials 2: Chart paper

Materials 3: Markers

Materials 4: Easily comprehended text

 

Procedure 1: Tell students that today they will be practicing retelling the stories they read. Also tell them that this will help them understand the books they read better and that they will become better readers.

Procedure 2: Explain what retelling means and write the word and definition on chart paper

Procedure 3: Tell students that you will practice retelling as a group. Then read students a easily comprehensible text.

Procedure 4: Have students turn and talk to a partner and tell what were some important parts of the story and/or their favorite parts.

Procedure 5: Call students back and tell them that will also practice telling partners their opinion of the book.

Procedure 6: Explain and chart the word and definition of opinion.

Procedure 7: Explain that if students like a book they should recommend it. Then explain and chart the word recommendation.

Procedure 8: Have students turn and talk to a partner and express their opinions and recommendation

Procedure 9: Give students time to read their independent reading books.

Procedure 10: When time is up, have students pair off and practice retelling and making recommendations.

Lesson 2:

Introduction to Reading Comprehension Worksheets

Objective 1: Students will gain practice with reading comprehension

Objective 2: Students will gain practice with formulating opinions and rating books

 

Materials 1: Non-Fiction Reading Worksheets

Materials 2: Fiction Reading Worksheets

Materials 3: Book Rating Worksheets

Materials 4: Enlarged versions of worksheets/Overheads

Materials 5: Markers

Materials 6: Read Aloud Book

Materials 7: Pens/Pencils

Procedure 1: Tell students that today they will be continuing to learn ways to understand what they read.

Procedure 2:Remind students that yesterday they practiced retelling. (Define retelling again if needed) Explain to students that today instead of retelling what they read, they will be writing down the information.

Procedure 3:Show students the worksheets and be sure that students know the difference between non-fiction and fiction. Explain each section as needed.

Procedure 4: Using a Read Aloud book or other book students are familiar with, collectively fill out the correct enlarged worksheet.

Procedure 5: Collectively fill out the rating sheet.

Procedure 6: Give students time to read independently.

Procedure 7:Tell them to fill out the worksheets on their own when they have completed a book.

 

Assessment: You can assess students' knowledge of genre through their selection of worksheets. Assessment can also been done through reviewing the completed worksheets.

 

Lesson 3:

What is a book review?

Objective 1:Students will learn what a book review is.

Objective 2:Students will understand the purpose of a book review.

Objective 3:Students will gain practice with summarizing.

Objective 4:Students will gain practice with reading comprehension skills

Materials 1:Enlarged/Overhead Book Review

Materials 2: Markers

Materials 3: Read aloud book/article

 

Procedure 1: Tell students that they will be learning about Book Reviews today.

Procedure 2: Explain what a book review is and ask students why they think people write book reviews. Explain the purpose of book reviews if students do not come up with the answer.

Procedure 3: Read an enlarged book review with students.

Procedure 4: Highlight the important parts of a book review such as the inclusion of the book title, author, summary, recommendation and rating.

Procedure 5: Label each part and explain/clarify any unfamiliar terms.

Procedure 6: Be sure to explain what a summary is and how to summarize.

Procedure 7: Read aloud book or article.

Procedure 8: Have students then turn and talk with a partner and summarize the read aloud. Give students a chance to share out.

Procedure 9: Allow students to have time for independent reading and to fill out the reading comprehension worksheets.

Lesson 4

Writing a Book Review

Objective 1:Students will gain practice writing a book review.

Objective 2: Students will gain practice summarizing.

Materials 1:Reading Comprehension Worksheets

Materials 2:Pens/Pencils

Materials 3:Paper

Materials 4:Rubric with examples of each level.

Materials 5: Class created reading sheets from previous lesson.

 

Procedure 1:Tell students that today they will be using their completed reading sheets to help them create book reviews.

Procedure 2: Explain to students that they will write one together as a class.

Procedure 3:Using the completed reading sheet from the previous lesson guide students in writing a book review.

Procedure 4:Review each aspect of a book review to be written and as a class write a complete review, including summary, author, title, rating and recommendation.

Procedure 5:When the book review is complete, give students time to write their book reviews on their own.

Procedure 6: When students are finished give them time to share their reviews with a partner.

Procedure 7:Show students the rubric for the book reviews.

Procedure 8:Allow students to have time to revise and improve their book reviews.

 

Assessment: Through reading and listening to completed book reviews, assessment can be done.

 

Lesson 5:

Exploring the Blog

Objective 1:Students will understand what a blog is.

Objective 2:Students will learn that the internet can be a resource for sharing information.

Objective 3:Students will learn how to use the blog and post their reviews as well as pictures to accompany their work.

 

Materials 1:Computers with internet access

Materials 2:Typed out instructions on how to post to the blog

Materials 3:A previously setup classroom blog.

 

Procedure 1:Tell students that since the point of a book review is for other people to read it and decide whether or not to read the book we need to make their book reviews accessible to others online.

Procedure 2:Tell students that you have set up a classroom blog and explain what a blog is.

Procedure 3:Tell students that they will be posting their book reviews to this website and that the people from all over the world will be able to use their book reviews to help them make reading choices.

Procedure 4: Show students how to get to the classroom blog.

Procedure 5:Then have them do it on their own.

Procedure 6:Show students the necessary steps to post to the blog.

Procedure 7:Give students time to explore different aspects of the blog.

Procedure 8:Hand out the instructions for posting to the blog and give students the opportunity to post a practice entry to the blog.

 

Assessment: You can assess students through their ability to post a practice entry on the blog.

Lesson 6:

Exploring the Blog Some More
 

Objective 1:Students will understand what a blog is.

Objective 2:Students will gain practice with keyboarding skills

Objective 3:Students will practice posting to the blog.

Objective 4:Students will gain practice writing a book review.

 

Materials 1:Computers with internet access and Microsoft word.

Materials 2:Typed out instructions on how to post to the blog

Materials 3: A previously-created classroom blog

Materials 4:Completed Reading comprehension worksheets and book reviews.

 

Procedure 1:Tell students that today they will be posting their book reviews to the classroom blog.

Procedure 2:Have students get their completed reading comprehension worksheets and written book reviews.

Procedure 3:Tell students to open up a Microsoft Word (or an alternate word processing program) document and to type up their book review. (If students are not familiar with Word a lesson/demonstration should occur prior to this lesson)

Procedure 4: Once students have successfully typed up their written book reviews, instruct them to save their work.

Procedure 5: Make sure students have instructions on how to post to the blog.

Procedure 6: Allow students to cut and paste their review from Word to the blog, type in the Title of  the blogpost and add a picture to their post.

Procedure 7:Congratulate students on their successful first blogpost and encourage them to continue writing book reviews and posting them to the website. You may want to share the blog with the schoolwide community and parents.

 

Assessment: You can assess students through their ability to post an entry on the blog and using the Book Review Rubric you can assess their written review.

 

Michael Nappi is a native New Yorker. In 2008 he graduated from New York University with a Master's degree in Special Education, which is where he also received his Bachelor's degree in Childhood and Special Education. He currently teaches the 2nd grade at P.S. 347 in Manhattan. He is currently a member of NYU's Social Justice Critical Inquiry Project, a group of new teachers with a special interest in incorporating social justice into curriculum and educating students about issues of social justice.


Non-Fiction Reading Sheet

Fiction Reading Sheet

Book Rating Graph

 

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