Colonial Beach New Kent County Virginia Beach City Culpeper County Newport News Waynesboro Fairfax County Norfolk West Point County Page County Williamsburg-James City County Frederick County Peninsula Catholic* Wise County Gloucester County Pittsylvania County Wythe County Grayson County Portsmouth York County Hampton Powhatan County Hanover County Prince George County *private schools are starred Funding Funding for the Capstone English Collaborative Program was provided by the Virginia Department of Education using Title II, Part A, No Child Left Behind grant funds. Internet Links Hyperlinks and internet were current as of the time of this document’s release. As sites change, it may be necessary to use a search engine to search for items. They appear underlined in the text. Permission to Use Permission is given for material generated by project staff and presented in this document to be used and adapted for educational purposes.
Common Questions and Approaches Question and Approach is used as opposed to questions and answers as are multiple ways to address each query. Depending on the teacher, instructional context, and stakeholders the response likely will differ. Question: Does the teacher have to read all the books that the students are reading? Approach: No, teachers can ask a series of probing questions to get students talking about the books. Indeed if sustained silent reading is being used as a component of the class, an effective best practice is to circulate and quietly talk with students about the books they are reading. Question: What concerns do you have to parents objecting to a book their student is reading? Approach: Respect and trust between home and school is important. A middle school teacher using student choice offered this approach saying that she tells students that they know what is acceptable in their homes. If the student sees a book on the bookshelf that would concern their parents, she expects the student to put it back on the bookshelf. She does not make students read particular texts. A high school teacher shared that communication with students’ families is key to build an understanding that students are selecting their books. Question: How useful is a classroom library? Approach: Teachers need a variety of books in the classroom library to keep the momentum of reading going. Students who are not recreational readers will start and stop books several times before hitting their stride. Having books in the classroom is vital to a teacher being able to provide students options without having to take a trip to the school library. Question: How many do you need? Approach: Having 40 high interest young adult books representing different genres and themes is a solid basis. Several teachers reported that their classroom libraries grew as students read a book in the library and then purchased a book on the same them, and then donated that book to the class library when they were finished. Many teachers also indicated that they used the school library to supplement their classroom library. Question: What about the “canon”? Approach: The Senior English Seminar is an elective course with the freedom to teach students through individual research endeavors as opposed to Julius Caesar in 11 days as one participant shared. The focus in grade 12 should be preparing students to leave the K-12 environment with the tools they need for the next few years whether that is more schooling (e.g., college, trade school) or career. The curriculum or “canon” is one way to prepare
Daily Lesson Planning Tool Marking Period 1, Lesson 2: Capstone Student Response Page Prompt S. Brandt ENGLISH SENIOR SEMINAR Woodside High School, Newport News, VA Lesson Topic: Capstone Student Response Page Prompt Date of Lesson: Quarter 1, 2, 4 CCRE 50 Materials and Resources: Student Learning Survey, writing utensil Lesson Component Teacher Student Engage & Hook This student learning survey is a tool for teachers and students to learn more about learning preferences and interests. It opens up discussions about acceptance and learning to relate to each other. Students will learn about each other and begin to discuss how people are different and how they are alike. :
Marking Period 2, Lesson 11: Library Scavenger Hunt Teacher: S. Brandt Course/Grade: ENGLISH SENIOR SEMINAR School: Woodside High School, Newport News, VA Lesson Topic: Library Scavenger Hunt Date of Lesson: Quarter 2 CCRE 20, 21 Materials and Resources: Internet Access, Library Computer/Laptop, Writing Utensil, Handout Lesson Component Teacher Student Engage & Hook Ask the following question: What does the word credible mean? (Answers can range from trustworthy, reliable, sincere, dependable, believable) Ask one or all of the following questions to the students to elicit further discussion on the word credible: What would they use the adjective credible to describe? Do you feel the information that we get from the media (television, radio, internet) is credible? How do they know if a source of information is credible or not? responses could be given: by teacher calling on students to respond by putting responses on sticky notes and then post them on the board to see common answers think-pair-share in a journal response then share some of the responses individual white boards Explain & Model Prior to taking the students to the library, meet with your librarian to set up a scavenger hunt. Choose a date to bring in your students to do the scavenger hunt. Create a handout for the students to fill out while they are scavenging. You can use the handout created by my librarian or you can have your librarian create his/her own based upon your school/class need. Ask the students: If you want to check out a book from the library, how do you know where that book is located in the library? Tell them that they are going to be doing a Library Scavenger Hunt to find all the answers to their questions on where to locate information about books, articles, journals, etc., as well as how to find credible and more academic articles to help with their research. Students respond individually by raising their hands or the teacher can call on a particular
Explain & Model As a listen to a student created podcast available online. Teacher moderates the discussion of the students’ initial reactions. Listen to a professionally made podcast available online. Ask students to write down 2 things that appealed to them in the podcasts and 2 things that did not. Ask the students to share their ideas and create a list on the board. As students listen, they should pay attention to what they and didn’t like about the podcast in the categories of form and content. After listening, students share their initial ideas about the podcast. As students listen, they should again pay attention to the characteristics of the podcast. Students 2 things that appealed to them and 2 things that did not. Students share their ideas, going around the room so everyone shares at least one thing. Explore & Apply Students should be directed to their own computers and headphone sets. Students can now choose several different podcasts to listen to on their own from the provided list of both professional and student made podcasts published online. As they listen, students should keep track of specific qualities they thought were effective or ineffective using the listening guide. Students listen to 2-3 podcasts of their choice using their own computer and headphones. Students answer the listening guide questions for each podcast they listen to: Listening guide for Students 1. What is the title and length of the podcast? 2. Determine what you thought worked well and did not work well in the podcast. (at least 2 of each) 3. What was your overall rating of the podcast? Explain why you think that. 4. What are three qualities of a podcast that you want to include in your own work? Evaluate & Close Every student share one positive or negative aspect of their listening experience that they think it is important for everyone in the class to be aware of as they work on creating their own podcasts. Exit ticket: Ask students how the characteristics of a good podcast can also work in written text. Do some of these same qualities apply when you are writing an essay? How? All students share one comment about their listening experience with the class. All students complete an exit ticket. This document was developed as part of the English Capstone Collaborative Pilot Program, a VDOE grant, supporting a partnership between James Madison University and SURN at The College of William and Mary to pilot and develop materials for the English Senior Seminar. Virginia educators have permission to use and adapt this document for educational purposes.