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Subject

English Language Arts (2005)

Assessment

A rubric will be used for assessing the culminating project.

Newsletter Rubric

Learning Context/ Introduction

The focus of this lesson will be on the process of pre-writing, drafting, revising, and proofreading (the writing process) to produce well-constructed summary of events. After reading The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers, students will be asked to create a newsletter for each time period of the book. Using Microsoft Publisher, they will create a summary of major events from various time periods from the novel.

Duration

Day One: Approximately 40 minutes for introduction to the lesson.
Day Two: Approximately 40 minutes for team meeting and beginning of newsletter
Day Three: Approximately 40 minutes for team meeting and work time.
Day Four: Approximately 40 minutes for team meeting and printing of newsletter.

Essential Question

Why do we bother to study/examine the past, present or future?
How is the present shaped by our experiences in the past and our hopes for the future?

Instructional/Environment Modifications

Due to the fact that the class includes AIS, 504 or CSE students whose language, writing skills are not as proficient as their classmates, either the CSE support staff or the classroom teacher worked with those students on completing their task.

Procedure

Day One:

• Prior to this lesson, the students will have read The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers. In this novel, Myers tells the saga of the Lewis family from the 1700's to the present day. Their experiences represent milestones in African-American history.
• The teacher will lead a review discussion of the novel.
• The teacher will hand out the task worksheet to the students. The students will be creating a newsletter using Microsoft Publisher for the time periods covered in this novel.
• The students will be placed in groups of 4s and they will select which time period they will be creating a newsletter for.
• Using a computer and projector the teacher will introduce Microsoft Publisher – Newsletter to the students by showing an example of a completed newsletter.
• The teacher will hand out and review the job description sheets . The students will be given time to complete the job description worksheet and hand in one copy to the teacher.
• For homework, the students will need to create a handwritten draft of their task.

Day Two:

• The students will be in the computer lab for class.
• The students will meet with their groups and review their Tracking and Sequence of Events papers that they filled in for their time period (previously completed while reading the text).
• The teacher will review using computer and projector how to access Microsoft Publisher and how to begin creating their newsletter. The teacher will demonstrate to the students how to enter text and photos in their newsletters, how to toggle between pages of the newsletter and how to create ads using Microsoft Publisher –Ads.
• Each student will begin working on their task.

Day Three:

• The students will return to the computer lab.
• The students will have a brief meeting with all members of their team to share and review their work completed thus far.
• The students will continue to work on their task.
• For homework, the students need to have their chief editor review their work.

Day Four:

• The students will return to the computer lab.
• The students will have a final meeting with all members of their team to review final corrections to get their newsletter ready for print.
• Students will make final corrections to their newsletter and they will make enough copies of their newsletter to share with their classmates.
• The teacher will have each student create a folder that has the Title and author of the book on the outside with a copy of the Lewis Family Tree on the inside. The students will place one copy of each newsletter for each time period in their folder.

Task Worksheet (Day One)

Job Description sheets (Day One)

Reflections and Feedback

The students were highly motivated throughout the entire lesson. In the past, students have had difficulty with this novel. They were unable to make the connection between the family members and the relationship between the generations.

This lesson helped students to understand family trees.

Newsletter format helped hold each student accountable. If they do not complete their task on time - their newsletter would not meet their deadlines and would be unable to go to print.

Student Work

Newsletter project, see attached samples.

Related Resource

The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers (0-395-78374-7)
The Glory Field Literature Connections Sourcebook by McDougal Littell (0-395-78372-0)
Computer Lab
Microsoft Publisher
Laptop computer with projector
Photocopier

Related Academic Standards

New York State

8R1 Cite textual evidence to strongly support an analysis of what the text says explicitly/implicitly and make logical inferences. (RI&RL)

8R2 Determine one or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; summarize a text. (RI&RL)

8W1a Introduce a precise claim, acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from a counterclaim, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.

8W1b Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using credible sources while demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.

8W2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

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