¶ … science teacher, I wanted to select a non-fiction reader on a topic of interest to me, and one with which I could share my love of science with students. I chose Remarkable Rocks by Ron Cole. I thought the students would enjoy seeing my rock collection, which I brought in as part of the lesson. The students had an opportunity to observe and sort rocks and use information they gleaned from the book to label them. I expected that the lesson would have strong appeal to the students because of the hands-on activities. They could easily identify the purpose for reading and I expected that they would be engaged from the beginning.
One student in the class, Justin, does not have any diagnosed disabilities, but he is considered a struggling reader. The at-risk benchmark for 6th grade students is 40 words per minute. Justin reads at this level and is therefore considered to be reading below grade level. He is a sweet, well-mannered student. He was attentive during the lesson. He eagerly participated in the anticipatory set, when students were asked to share some of the ways rocks are remarkable and the ways that rocks are important. For the written work, Justin tried his best and produced quality work (at his level).
I ensured my...
I made informal observations by walking around the room as they were completing their graphic organizers. I asked questions and invited them to ask questions; I could gauge their level of understanding by listening to their responses. I also noted how they completed their graphic organizers. The final writing activity was a good indication of their ability to think beyond the text, applying what they learned.
The purpose of the lesson was to investigate nonfiction reading strategies. This was a cross-curricular lesson since I also incorporated some science learning. The students enjoyed looking at the rocks and sorting them. We discussed the components of a nonfiction book. By 6th grade, the terms used in discussing the book were familiar to them. We talked about the lack of a glossary in the book and how the addition of a glossary might have been helpful to readers. We also discussed summarizing, a skill the students have been practicing since first learning to read. As books become longer and contain more complex ideas, the ability to summarize becomes more challenging and more important.
I gave Justin strips of paper labeled with headings from the table of contents. He read the…
