President Roosevelt Builds a Refuge

Lesson Plan for "President Roosevelt Creates a Refuge"
by Quinn Gardner

Introduction to Lesson

P.A.S.S. objectives
Language Arts: The learner will

I B.	Read for a variety of purposes such as for entertainment and for information.
III C.	Identify major elements of story structure (setting, characters, goal, and conflict resolution).

Social Studies: The learner will

I.B.1

Locate, describe, and compare the human characteristics and early settlement patterns of regions in the United States and Oklahoma (locations of ethnic group concentrations, the impact of the westward movement, languages, economic activities, and cultural patterns).

Teacher's purposes for the lesson:

To teach students to differentiate abstract and concrete nouns from the story. Students will also learn to use an anticipation guide and to determine the characteristics of a narrative text by completing an incomplete story frame.

II.

Objectives

A.	Given a list of 10 vocabulary words from the story, the learner will correctly identify eight of the 10 words as abstract or concrete nouns.
B.	Given an anticipation guide for the story, the learner will predict which of the statements are true and which are false based on prior experience.
C.	After reading the story "President Roosevelt Creates a Refuge", the learner will correctly complete the incomplete story frame.

III.

Procedures

Materials

1.	Overhead projector, transparencies, and transparency pen(s), or chalkboard and chalk
2.	List of 10 vocabulary words from the story job, kinds, love, New York Zoological Society, Nobel Peace Prize, petition, President, Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, something, visit
3.	Anticipation guide
4.	Story frame

Anticipatory set

Key vocabulary and concepts

Vocabulary words (concrete and abstract nouns from the story):
job, kinds, love, New York Zoological Society, Nobel Peace Prize, petition, President, Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, something, visit

Vocabulary words related to reading comprehension: story frame, setting, character, goal, conflict, plot, conflict resolution

Concepts from the story:
Hunting for sport and to reduce the food supply of the native Americans resulted in the demise of 60 million American bison in the West by 1901.
Other animals were hunted to extinction in the Wichita Mountains by 1901, including native elk.
President Theodore Roosevelt and Comanche Chief Quanah Parker both respected the environment and worked together to bring the buffalo back to southwestern Oklahoma.
We are all responsible for preserving the environment as a heritage for those to come.
People of different cultures can work together to achieve common goals.

Concepts related to reading comprehension:

Story mapping helps us remember the stories we read.
Like road maps, stories have some things in common that can be written on a "map": story frame, setting, character, goal, conflict, plot, conflict resolution

Method(s)
Anticipation guide: Give each student a copy of the anticipation guide (a series of declarative statements, some true and others false that are related to the story). Before reading the story, have each student check "Yes" or "No" according to what s/he perceives to be true based on prior experience.

Student purpose statement
"Today we are going to discuss some abstract and some concrete nouns from the story. We will also be using an anticipation guide to help us start thinking about some of the ideas in the story before we begin reading. After we read the story, we will use a story frame and identify the major parts of the story.”

Lesson activities

Input:

Write the following vocabulary words on the chalkboard or an overhead transparency: job, kinds, love, New York Zoological Society, Nobel Peace Prize, petition, President, Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, something, visit. Discuss the difference between abstract and concrete nouns. Working with the whole class, help the students sort these words into two lists: abstract nouns and concrete nouns.

Abstract Nouns Concrete Nouns

refuge, Nobel Peace Prize, President, petition, New York Zoological Society visit, love, something, kinds, job

Complete the anticipation guide. Divide the students into pairs and have them read the story aloud. Then group students by four's and have them share their responses to the anticipation guide. Ask: "Did anyone change his/her answer(s)? If so, why?"

Present the incomplete story frame to the students on an overhead transparency. Initiate a class discussion about how maps show us how to travel from one place to another. Then explain how a story map links parts of a story together so that we can see how they are related.

Modeling:

Show the entire class how to determine which nouns are concrete and which are abstract. Sort the first two words for the students, using the "Think Aloud" method.

Ask the students to help you complete the incomplete story frame for a familiar story such as "Red Riding Hood." The completed story frame might read like this:

In the story "Little Red Riding Hood" by an unknown author, the major characters are Little Red Riding Hood, her grandmother, the wolf, and the woodcutter. The story takes place in a wood and in Grandmother's house a very long time ago. The big problem in the story is that the wolf wants to eat Red Riding Hood for supper, and he has already eaten her grandmother.Two events that lead up to solving the problem are 1) Little Red Riding Hood figuring out that the wolf is pretending to be her grandmother and 2) the woodcutter being willing to help Little Red Riding Hood escape from the wolf. The story ends when the woodcutter chops open the wolf and frees Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother from the wolf's stomach.The lesson I learned from reading this story is to ask for help when you are in danger.

Guided practice: As students complete the anticipation guide, read together in pairs, and complete the incomplete story frame, walk around the room and observe the students. Assist any student who has difficulty.

Checking for understanding: Use a checklist to document any problems students have (sorting abstract and concrete nouns, oral reading miscues, incorrect responses to factual statements on the anticipation guide, completing the incomplete story frame about Little Red Riding Hood, etc.). Assist any student who has difficulty.

Culminating activity (independent practice): Have the students work in groups of four to complete the incomplete story frame for "President Roosevelt Creates a Refuge."

Sponge activities:

Have students write down three concrete and three abstract nouns on a sheet of paper. Students then switch lists and use the six words to write a single sentence in their journals. Ask students to share their original sentences with the class.

Provide each student with a copy of the Seek A Word puzzle related to this story.

IV.

Closure

A.	Summary of what has been learned: Tell the students: "Today we have learned three important things: how to sort concrete and abstract nouns, how to use an anticipation guide, and how to complete an incomplete story frame."
B.	Transfer: Tell the students: "Remember that an anticipation guide will help you link what you already know to what you learn in a new story. And the incomplete story frame is a very good outline you can use to help you remember important information about stories you have read."
C.	Student evaluation: Given a list of 10 vocabulary words from the story, was the learner able to correctly sort eight of the 10 words into the correct categories (abstract or concrete nouns)? Given an anticipation guide for the story, was the learner willing to predict which of the sentences were true and which were false based on prior experience? After reading the story "President Roosevelt Creates a Refuge", was the learner able to correctly complete the incomplete story frame?
D.	Teacher evaluation: Reflect on students' mastery of objectives (remember to schedule re-teaching as necessary), your personal response to the lesson, and changes that should be made before the lesson is taught again.