5 1 1 learning from ms liang TG

Learning from Ms Liang SUMMARY A new teacher arrives and the fifthgrade class gets a lesson in what it feels like to walk around in somebody else’s skin Some of the class bigshots learn what it’s like to be treated like a nobody, and one student who has been looked down on by the class gets a chance to feel like somebody LESSON VOCABULARY acquainted essential guaranteed reputation assignment expanded procedures worshipped INTRODUCE THE BOOK INTRODUCE THE TITLE AND AUTHOR Discuss with students the title and the author of Learning from Ms Liang Ask students to say what they think the book will be about, based on the title Ask them to speculate about what “learning” might mean BUILD BACKGROUND Invite students to talk about how they feel on a bad day Ask them if they have ever felt like a nobody and how it felt Invite them to talk about a time when they understood how someone else was feeling PREVIEW/USE TEXT FEATURES Have students preview the book by looking at the illustrations Ask students to discuss how these text features give an idea of what this book will be about Ask what they think the students in the story will learn 5.1.1 CHARACTER AND PLOT PRIOR KNOWLEDGE READ THE BOOK SET PURPOSE Have students set a purpose for reading Learning from Ms Liang Students’ interest in self-esteem and classroom relationships should guide this purpose STRATEGY SUPPORT: PRIOR KNOWLEDGE Invite students to use a graphic organizer to jot down notes about places in the text that make them think of their own lives Suggest they create a three-column chart with the headings: Prior Knowledge, Characters, Plot Encourage them to include page references with their notes COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS PAGE What was the first thing that the new teacher did? (She wrote a poem on the board.) PAGE According to Ms Liang, what have scientists discovered? (The expressions that people make affect their feelings.) PAGE 11 What flashback does the narrator have in class when she’s trying to think of something to write? (She remembers the times A.J said mean things to her and when classmates laughed at her and made her feel like a nobody.) PAGE 13 Why did Ms Liang tell students not to sign their names on their first writing assignment? (to protect students’ feelings; some students might have been embarrassed if she knew what they had written.) PAGE 16 What was the topic for Ms Liang’s second writing assignment? (Write a paragraph about trying to get inside the skin of someone you didn’t like.) PAGE 18 What is the name of the poet who wrote the poem that Ms Liang put on the board? (Emily Dickinson) 12 Learning from Ms Liang 16917_LRD_TG_012-013 12 12/28/05 12:56:31 PM REVISIT THE BOOK READER RESPONSE Answers will vary Students might respond that the narrator changed by learning to understand how Lisa felt Possible responses: Did Know: She was a poet Now Know: Emily Dickinson wrote the poem “Nobody” and never left home after age 18 Students might want to know what her parents and other people thought about her acquaint, expand, guarantee, and worship; Sentences will vary Answers will vary Students might say that they would have felt comfortable, knowing that students like Lisa Linney also felt like “nobodies.” EXTEND UNDERSTANDING Have students comment on the illustrations in the selection Ask: Which ones you like best? What details about the characters are shown in the illustrations? How would you have portrayed the characters differently? Invite students to look again at the photograph of Emily Dickinson on page 24 Explain that this picture was taken in the very early days of photography Ask students what character traits they think are revealed in this photograph Have them point to details from the photo to support their ideas RESPONSE OPTIONS WRITING Invite students to write a paragraph about what people would understand about them if people could walk around in their skin Tell them not to sign their names to the paragraph Have them write a second paragraph about trying to get inside the skin of someone they don’t like Tell them not to use anyone’s real name and to sign their names to this paragraph SOCIAL STUDIES CONNECTION Students can learn more about Emily Dickinson by going to the library or using the Internet Challenge them to read more of her poems and to find a favorite one Have them explain why they like this poem Skill Work TEACH/REVIEW VOCABULARY Invite students to use each of the vocabulary words in a sentence Challenge them to write sentences related to the selection TARGET SKILL AND STRATEGY CHARACTER AND PLOT Remind students that a character is a person who takes part in the events of a story Readers can often determine character traits based on how characters act toward each other The plot is an organized sequence of events Authors sometimes use flashbacks, in which the action of the story is interrupted to talk about something that happened in the past, and foreshadowing, in which the writer hints at events to come in the story Challenge students to note how characters treat one another for clues to their character traits and to find examples of flashbacks and foreshadowing Help students brainstorm words that describe characters, such as helpful, mean, friendly, untrustworthy, lonely Invite students to write a description of a character from the story using words from the list PRIOR KNOWLEDGE Remind students that prior knowledge is what a reader knows about a given topic before reading about it Invite students to look for places in the text that make them think of their own lives and to use their prior knowledge to help them better understand the characters and the plot ADDITIONAL SKILL INSTRUCTION AUTHOR’S PURPOSE Remind students that author’s purpose is the reason or reasons an author has for writing One reason for identifying an author’s purpose is to adjust the way you read If an author’s purpose is to explain something complicated, you may want to read slowly or reread to make sure you understand the information Challenge students to identify this author’s purpose and to support their ideas with examples from the book Learning from Ms Liang 16917_LRD_TG_012-013 13 13 12/28/05 12:56:32 PM Learning from Ms Liang Name Character and Plot • A character is a person who takes part in the events of a story • The plot is an organized sequence of events Authors often use flashbacks to tell about something that has already happened and foreshadowing to hint at events to come Directions Fill in the graphic organizer Under Plot, include flashback and foreshadowing Title Characters Setting Problem © Pearson Education Plot Solution 14 16917_LRD_TG_014-015 12/28/05 12:57:21 PM Learning from Ms Liang Name Vocabulary Directions Read each sentence Write the word from the box that has the same meaning as the underlined word or phrase Some words may be used more than once Check the Words You Know acquainted essential guaranteed reputation assignment expanded procedures worshipped It wasn’t long before Lisa adored Ms Liang Ms Liang told the class that it was extremely important for them to get inside someone else’s skin She also established certain rules and regulations for participating in class Slowly, the class’s understanding of other people’s feelings grew By the end, even A.J was ready to “get to know each other better.” The narrator had trouble doing her writing homework Ms Liang assured her students that she had once been a nobody herself Are you familiar with the poetry of Emily Dickinson? By the end of the story, Lisa’s standing in the class had grown 10 The narrator promised she would not make mean remarks about Lisa again © Pearson Education Directions Write a summary of Learning from Ms Liang, using as many vocabulary words as possible 15 16917_LRD_TG_014-015 12/28/05 12:57:22 PM ... purpose and to support their ideas with examples from the book Learning from Ms Liang 16917_LRD _TG_ 012-013 13 13 12/28/05 12:56:32 PM Learning from Ms Liang Name Character and Plot • A character is... Education Plot Solution 14 16917_LRD _TG_ 014-015 12/28/05 12:57:21 PM Learning from Ms Liang Name Vocabulary Directions Read each sentence Write the word from the box that has the same meaning... again © Pearson Education Directions Write a summary of Learning from Ms Liang, using as many vocabulary words as possible 15 16917_LRD _TG_ 014-015 12/28/05 12:57:22 PM