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Bright Ideas Lesson PlansNews Lit ExpressNews Lit Express is an activity I adapted from David Schleper´s Open Book Choice Response (Gallaudet University, 1997). The goal of this activity is to increase motivation and comprehension of nonfiction material. The activity begins when a student chooses a pre-approved nonfiction article. On Thursdays, during Independent Reading, students have an opportunity to read and re-read these selections. A student may need one or more reading periods to comprehend the vocabulary and text structure of the article. When students finish reading their articles, they must then spin the dial on the News Lit Express activity board to determine which of the 8 literacy expressions they will present. These 8 activities are limited to three times each. When students finish one activity, they get one hole punch out of three. To begin a presentation, students read the headline, byline and the name of the NLE they will present. My students enjoy this activity because they each get the opportunity to shine. They become the center of attention and take on the role of a teacher. Student motivation is high and all students pay very close attention to each other. As a teacher of the deaf, I enjoy watching my students work through and eventually accomplish comprehension of challenging level text. Not only are they strengthening reading skills, but they are also learning about the world. In many situations, I have noticed that my students do not have the background knowledge and experiences of the world that many hearing students their age already have. This activity satisfies many goals. It encourages vocabulary development, reading comprehension, self-esteem and creative thinking. Most importantly, students learn to differentiate between fiction and nonfiction material and to be accountable for understanding what they read. Newspaper Literacy Expressions Drama - Act out the article or passage or give a talk about the major points of the article and offer an opinion. Artistic Expression - A student draws a scene or even from the article and explains it to the group. Group Discussion - A student holds a question-and-answer session about the article with classmates. Personal Inspiration - A student may present in any way he or she chooses (dance, model, group play, etc.). Special Project - This expression is assigned by the teacher according to the subject matter of the article. If a student reads an article about building airplanes, he or she may be asked to build a model or to teach the class the steps in building a plane. Writing - A student may choose to write in any format to respond to the article. Common choices are opinions, comparisons, and letters to the subjects in the article. Katie Allman Home | Workshops | Projects | Publications | Lesson Plans | Links | Bright Ideas | |||||
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