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回首頁 Novel Instruction 實習老師心得校園廣角鏡校園公佈欄

Novel Instruction: Part I
Flexibility Key to Multiple Tasks at Individual Levels

　
                                                                                                                          Bilingual Departmen Ms. Janice Rossing

     Literature based and somewhat integrated, the Bilingual Department upper elementary
   language arts curriculum aims to encourage , develop, and support different types of
critical thinking skills as well as creative thinking skills for individuals at different levels
of competency. Designing and scaffolding   learning   activities in such a program is
complex   and   time   consuming .   The   understanding   that learners   are   developing
apprentices in the process of being inducted into various fields in a classroom learning
community is central and underpins and guides the design of learning activities. Informal
daily ( on-going ) research on action in action are key. Consequently, flexibility and
willingness to change in mid-stream if necessary in response to learner's needs are
essential teacher characteristics vital to the success of s uch a program, not to mention
teacher sanity.

      Recently, Bilingual Department sixth-graders studied the hilarious award-wining novel
Catherine , Called Birdy by Karen Cushman, a story about a spunky 13-yr-old set in 12th
century England whose father aims to marry her off to the highest bidder. Literate and
precocious , Catherine is a rarity for her time. Her diary is the novel.Learning design
centered on both small group discussion and individual responses to chapters and to the
whole book.

    *Learning how to ask good questions is key to learning. As students read each chapter,
they developed several questions they wanted answered. During the following class,
students discussed their questions in small groups. Following the discussion , students
chose the question that had the most meaning to them and wrote a one-page personal
response in a small notebook.To show accountability for listening to others, they included
other students' comments as alternative views of the issue in question. In addition, they
related the question either to personal knowledge and experience or to other books,
movies, or current or historical events, all vital critical thinking skills and situated in the
context of their experience.

      From a list provided, they then chose an activity for each chapter that they would place
in a formal project notebook. Whole novel activities could be finished either after reading
the entire novel or completed as they read. Following are examples of learners' work from
their formal project notebooks.

      Assessment is the hidden curriculum. Assessment that rewards whole language ,
integrated studies, and creative and critical thinking learning is a topic for a differnet
article. *Since part of this novel was read during the winter break, it is unrepresentative of
the normal novel reading process. The given description combines learning activities from
several sixth-grade novel studies to make it more representative of what we usually do.

      After researching attitudes towards females, students wrote an opinion essay explaining
whether or not Catherine's reactions and behaviors towards her suitors were typical for
   girls during her time in history.
                                                                                                                     Bryan Peng 6B
      Catherine's reactions to her suitor are not usual for girls in the Middle Ages. Even
though she does not like Shaggy Beard, but in the Middle Ages, girls had to listen to their
father. Who they were going to marry was left to their father to decide. Catherine also
called Shaggy Beard a pig or " Hoy！ " as if he was one. In what they called "Lady
Lessons" girls were not allowed to even say too much, and Catherine was very rude to
Shaggy Beard .   She talked back to him offending him, meaning his words were a
monstrous jokes, and she also said that he was a dog assassin whose breath smells like the
mouth of Hell, who makes wind like others make music, who attacks helpless animals with
knives , and who is ugly and old   ( which all of these are true ) . Even because of Shaggy
Beard, Catherine wants to go to the fair to make a living, which is impossible for her.
Catherine is   very mean when she calls him a pig, she wishes that his face will get very
red and blow up,   so she can sweep his ashes. All these reactions do not fit a girl in the
Mid Ages, except a not respectful girl (which I think she is). Catherine is more like a boy,
and his mother is finding a wife for him. Boys in the Middle Ages were freer than boys
now, it seemed like there were no rules for boys back then. Catherine's personality is
closer to a boy's instead of a girl's.
　

In her diary Catherine's wrote poetry. Using Catherine's poetry as a springboard,
students could write a cinquain about a character in the story, a poem about trees,
or sounds from their lives. Students could also choose to write desciptive prose.

                            Catherine                                                 Katharine Chin 6A
Mischievous Girl
Jeering, Burning, Loving
She wants freedom beyond her cage
Birdy
                                                             August                  Michael Hsu 6B
Trees stand proud and tall,
like a general give each grass an order
it is a war between the tree ard the wind.
After the hard war the tree still stands
tall and proud, strong and fearless
something looks different
the leaves are falling,
the bank is chipping,
the general is dieing.

School Alice Wu 6B
Screeches of laughter come to my ears,
Echoing back and forth.
Saying hi to everyone I know,
As a thank-you I get a smile that makes me smile too.
The talking, the noise, the laughter.
Makes me feel at the market.
Trying concentrating hard on what the teacher says,
But I end but concnetrating on what my friend has to say.
All my friends are there,
Laughing like hyenas at my joke.
I sit back to my chair and desk,
Wondering the answer is to the question the teacher had just
asked.
And wondering where else I'd feel like to be right now,
But there is nowhere else I'd rather be except for here at school
learning about math, literature, and cows.
I'm sitting here daydreaming,
Smiling broadly as a monkey.
Then as I stop,
"Alice, stop daydreaming！" cried a teacher.

O u t s i d e:

　                                                                                                     Olivia Shih 6A
      Sometimes I kick off my sandals to feel the warmth of the grayish-black road
during summer, spring, and fall. In my right hand I hold my dog's greenleash, green
like grass and decorated with bits of red and yellow. It is that because he's pulling it,
that because he smells something I can't. But I do smell the grass in the park near my
house. Very near, Suddenly , an one-eyed cat appears , and I am startled when
Summer barks. It is the bark of a mechanical dog without the mechanical part. I tug
at his leash to stop the noise, but he continues to bark, so I pick him up and carry
him home. That happens sometimes when you're outside.
                                                                                                         Alex Yu 6A

     One of my favorite places is the CKS International Airport because that's the place
where all of my fun international trips begin. I always remember the sounds there
when I leave Taiwan on a trip.
    When I entered, I heard the sounds of travelers rolling their luggage and talking
happily to each other. At the counters, sounds of the luggage scale and the conveyer
belt came into by ears.

    Up an escalator and turning right at a corridor were the airline VIP lounges. Sounds
in there were as cozy as a fine hotel. I heard travelers sleeping, travelers chatting
softly with each other , some people eating snacks , and other people   reading
magazines or newspapers.
    Left along the corridor and up another was the immigration hall. It sounded as busy
as an office. Sounds of travelers waiting nervouysly in line and officers questioning
them filled the whole place.
   Turning either direction after the counters were the airport security systems. Same as
the immigration hall, I heard sounds of questioning. When the x-ray scanners scanned
the carry on bags, they were police offficers inspecting things because of their sound.
Tuning off again was the passage to the gates. There, I heard sounds of the airplanes
engine. It made me excited for my trip. Flight attendants beside the gate inspected
boarding passes with machines making whirling sounds. Then I'll be on my trip.

     CKS Airport wasn't a fun place, but an exciting place. That's why I still remember
everything there.
　

Catherine the main character and her goatherd friend, Perkin, steal bones from the kitchen to make ice skates.
How did they make the skates？ Using their imagination, artistic, and direction-giving skills, students described
the process and drew an illustration

.
MEDIEVAL HOME MADE ICE SKATE:
DIAGRAM/ILLUSTRATION:

　

    Catherine hated being trained for " lady " activities and behaviors like dainty
embroidery for a wedding altar cloth, making soap from lye and pig fat, cleaning
the privy, and making home remedies from animal dung. One student's humorous
response to making a list of rules for modern ladies and gentleman include:
                                                                                                             Amy Hsu 6A
Lady
1.Don't chew food with you mouth open.
2.Don't say "Hey！You've got a hole in youn pants！" to your Humanities teacher while she's (he) giving an important lecture.
3.Don't talk when you have food in your mouth.
4.Don't ask your mom for anything when she's just got a speeding ticket.
5.Never turn in your winter break homework late.
Gentleman
1.Don't pick your boogers in public
2.Don't say "Hey Dud！ what's that gross boogerlish thingy in my mashed potatoes！" when you're having dinner wiht your Dad's boss.
3.Don't put your feet on the table (Unless noybody's looking)
4.Never even cuss.
5.Wash your feet the night before a "Take-off-your-shoes" music class.

Living at any time in history had advantages and disadvantages. What do you think about living in the Middle Ages？
                                                                                                          Tiffany Kuo 6B
       Living in the Middle Ages is rough/hard. You get lots fleabites everyday; there
are fleas everywhere. If you were a girl you have to sew , spin, and hem everyday.
Imagine the blisters you would get after doing all the housework for a year！ You
do not pick whom you want to marry unless you are a boy or a villager. The
parents marry you offf mostly because to increase land , gain allies, or pay back
debts. Ladies must be lady-like meaning to be seen but not heard and walk in tiny
steps. Girls can not cut their hair. Imagine your hair dragging on the floor behind
you and being stepped on by accident！
    Children in town often were apprenticed to craftsmen or sent to be servants.
Noble children were sent to another noble home to be fostered. The explanation to
that is "Children learn better manners in other people's houses". People didn't really
care about their children then.
      The Church had power, land, and riches. The church said God hated those who
weren't Christians and slaughtered in his name. You have to be Christian or leave
the land, you didn't have religious freedom.
      Living in the Middle Ages is not all that bad. Nobody is independent, even the
king , everybody helps each other out. People who rent land from higher leveled
people work for them in return of protection and money.
      I don't think I would want to live in the Middle Ages. For in the Middle Ages
girls didn't have much freedom. I wouldn't want to go to other people's house, live
there and learn there. I don't want to marry against will to someone disgusting just
for increasing land , gaining allies , or paying back debts. I will feel like property
because girls are property in the Middle Ages.
.
　

Novel Instruction: Part I Flexibility Key to Multiple Tasks at Individual Levels
	Bilingual Departmen Ms. Janice Rossing Literature based and somewhat integrated, the Bilingual Department upper elementary language arts curriculum aims to encourage , develop, and support different types of critical thinking skills as well as creative thinking skills for individuals at different levels of competency. Designing and scaffolding learning activities in such a program is complex and time consuming . The understanding that learners are developing apprentices in the process of being inducted into various fields in a classroom learning community is central and underpins and guides the design of learning activities. Informal daily ( on-going ) research on action in action are key. Consequently, flexibility and willingness to change in mid-stream if necessary in response to learner's needs are essential teacher characteristics vital to the success of s uch a program, not to mention teacher sanity. Recently, Bilingual Department sixth-graders studied the hilarious award-wining novel Catherine , Called Birdy by Karen Cushman, a story about a spunky 13-yr-old set in 12th century England whose father aims to marry her off to the highest bidder. Literate and precocious , Catherine is a rarity for her time. Her diary is the novel.Learning design centered on both small group discussion and individual responses to chapters and to the whole book. Learning how to ask good questions is key to learning. As students read each chapter, they developed several questions they wanted answered. During the following class, students discussed their questions in small groups. Following the discussion , students chose the question that had the most meaning to them and wrote a one-page personal response in a small notebook.To show accountability for listening to others, they included other students' comments as alternative views of the issue in question. In addition, they related the question either to personal knowledge and experience or to other books, movies, or current or historical events, all vital critical thinking skills and situated in the context of their experience. From a list provided, they then chose an activity for each chapter that they would place in a formal project notebook. Whole novel activities could be finished either after reading the entire novel or completed as they read. Following are examples of learners' work from their formal project notebooks. Assessment is the hidden curriculum. Assessment that rewards whole language , integrated studies, and creative and critical thinking learning is a topic for a differnet article. Since part of this novel was read during the winter break, it is unrepresentative of the normal novel reading process. The given description combines learning activities from several sixth-grade novel studies to make it more representative of what we usually do. After researching attitudes towards females, students wrote an opinion essay explaining whether or not Catherine's reactions and behaviors towards her suitors were typical for girls during her time in history. Bryan Peng 6B Catherine's reactions to her suitor are not usual for girls in the Middle Ages. Even though she does not like Shaggy Beard, but in the Middle Ages, girls had to listen to their father. Who they were going to marry was left to their father to decide. Catherine also called Shaggy Beard a pig or " Hoy！ " as if he was one. In what they called "Lady Lessons" girls were not allowed to even say too much, and Catherine was very rude to Shaggy Beard . She talked back to him offending him, meaning his words were a monstrous jokes, and she also said that he was a dog assassin whose breath smells like the mouth of Hell, who makes wind like others make music, who attacks helpless animals with knives , and who is ugly and old ( which all of these are true ) . Even because of Shaggy Beard, Catherine wants to go to the fair to make a living, which is impossible for her. Catherine is very mean when she calls him a pig, she wishes that his face will get very red and blow up, so she can sweep his ashes. All these reactions do not fit a girl in the Mid Ages, except a not respectful girl (which I think she is). Catherine is more like a boy, and his mother is finding a wife for him. Boys in the Middle Ages were freer than boys now, it seemed like there were no rules for boys back then. Catherine's personality is closer to a boy's instead of a girl's.

O u t s i d e:
	Olivia Shih 6A Sometimes I kick off my sandals to feel the warmth of the grayish-black road during summer, spring, and fall. In my right hand I hold my dog's greenleash, green like grass and decorated with bits of red and yellow. It is that because he's pulling it, that because he smells something I can't. But I do smell the grass in the park near my house. Very near, Suddenly , an one-eyed cat appears , and I am startled when Summer barks. It is the bark of a mechanical dog without the mechanical part. I tug at his leash to stop the noise, but he continues to bark, so I pick him up and carry him home. That happens sometimes when you're outside. Alex Yu 6A One of my favorite places is the CKS International Airport because that's the place where all of my fun international trips begin. I always remember the sounds there when I leave Taiwan on a trip. When I entered, I heard the sounds of travelers rolling their luggage and talking happily to each other. At the counters, sounds of the luggage scale and the conveyer belt came into by ears. Up an escalator and turning right at a corridor were the airline VIP lounges. Sounds in there were as cozy as a fine hotel. I heard travelers sleeping, travelers chatting softly with each other , some people eating snacks , and other people reading magazines or newspapers. Left along the corridor and up another was the immigration hall. It sounded as busy as an office. Sounds of travelers waiting nervouysly in line and officers questioning them filled the whole place. Turning either direction after the counters were the airport security systems. Same as the immigration hall, I heard sounds of questioning. When the x-ray scanners scanned the carry on bags, they were police offficers inspecting things because of their sound. Tuning off again was the passage to the gates. There, I heard sounds of the airplanes engine. It made me excited for my trip. Flight attendants beside the gate inspected boarding passes with machines making whirling sounds. Then I'll be on my trip. CKS Airport wasn't a fun place, but an exciting place. That's why I still remember everything there.