Submitted by Rosanna Rizzo
Aim:
How can we organize information onto a problem-and-solving chart?
Materials:
Individual books of "Dear Mr. Henshaw"
Objectives:
- Students will be able to understand the importance of keeping a diary and what effect it has on the narrator.
- Students will be able to identify a problem and decide whether the solution was successful or not through reading comprehension.
- Students will be able to work productively in small groups while reading to each other.
Motivation:
- Bring in a diary to show children what a diary could look like. Ask students questions about what they see. What is this? Why did I keep one of these? Then read a diary entry that you wrote to the children. Talk about your day and your feelings. Then ask them about what you read to them. How did it make them feel?
- Ask: Who is the narrator to a diary? What components does a diary have? What goes into a diary? (Date, Events/Feelings) Model one on the board in a chart form. (Date: Wednesday, November 9/ Events: Almost missed the bus; glad I didn’t because…) Who keeps a diary? Why is it good to keep a diary? (Helps you talk about your feelings and problems, builds your writing skills, and helps you get to know yourself.)
- Ask students to flip through the pages of the story and read the introduction. What type of genre do you think this story is? Does it look like a mystery, novel, biography, historical or fiction story? Could it be a realistic fiction? What type of format is the story written in? Is there a difference between the stories we have read compared to this story?
- Let’s read and find out what Leigh Botts has to say in his diary.
Procedure:
- Choose a child to read the introduction and the first diary entry: Tuesday, March 20th. Ask what problem do we know that Leigh has from reading this? Was Leigh’s essay easy for him to write? How would you describe his feelings in this entry? What did Leigh do to solve his problem? Write this on the board. (Problem: Leigh doesn’t know what to write for the Young Writer’s Contest. Solution: Leigh keeps trying until he writes something that he really likes.) Give out worksheets.
- Divide children into groups of two or three. Have them take turns reading quietly with each other. Have a group leader write down the problem and the solution to Leigh’s problem of the day. After they have finished reading three diary entries discuss what they read. Discuss Leigh’s feelings throughout each entry. Could something that happened to Leigh happen to anyone of us? How did Leigh feel about Barry’s visit? Do you think Leigh will invite Barry again? What does Leigh feel about his parents’ divorce? How do you know?
Evaluation:
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Write a diary entry in their journals of an event that occurred the day before. Explain that their entry must be written in diary format. Have them talk about a problem and a solution to their problem that could be successful. They can share their entries if they wish.
Follow-up:
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Encourage students to write in a diary everyday about their feelings or events that occurred during their day.
Problem and Solution
Dear Mr. Henshaw
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Many stories can be organized according the problems characters face and the ways they try to solve those problems. Write about a problem Leigh Botts faced or described on each day listed. Tell what Leigh did to try to solve each problem. Then discuss with your partner or partners whether or not each of Leigh’s solutions was successful.
Here is a copy of my problem/solution chart:
Tuesday, March 20
1.PROBLEM:_______________________________________
2.LEIGH’S SOLUTION:_________________________________________
Saturday, March 24
1.PROBLEM:_______________________________________
2.LEIGH’S SOLUTION:_________________________________________
Sunday, March 25
1.PROBLEM:_______________________________________
2.LEIGH’S SOLUTION:_________________________________________
Monday, March 26
1.PROBLEM:_______________________________________
2.LEIGH’S SOLUTION:_________________________________________
