Artifact # 4
Historical Fiction Literature Circle Unit: an English/Language Arts unit on Westward Expansion that provides instructionally appropriate reading material to accommodate the various reading levels within a 5th grade classroom.
Context
This unit was created in Reading Instruction for the Classroom Teacher
and Language and Literature in the Elementary School classes during my
pre-service training at Appalachian State University during Fall 2000.
Impact
This lesson corresponds to the NCSCS for English/Language Arts, Social
Studies and Computer/Technology Skills. In the unit, students are
provided reading material with the Westward Expansion theme that is appropriate
for the individual student’s instructional level. Students read a
passage and then perform one of the jobs (Discussion Director, Character
Sketcher, Word Wizard, Passage Picker, etc.) using the text in the passage
they read. The Literature Circle concept is a great way to provide
for all instructional needs in a class as well as integrate Social Studies
into the curriculum. Social Studies is integrated through the historical
fiction genre and easily ties into a simultaneous unit in Social Studies
relating to the westward expansion time period in American History.
Alignment
The main focus of this unit is providing students with instructionally
appropriate reading material. Students work in groups, based on the
book they are reading. In the groups, students actively discuss the
literature based on content and application to their life. Literature circle
units are designed so each child is in a small group of 4-6 students and
has his/her own job to complete prior to group discussion. The teacher
monitors the classroom during group reading and while students work on
their assigned job. This form of inquiry is very effective in getting
students interested in literature and improves their comprehension and
success with reading (Tech. Comp. 12.5).
The investigator jobs in the unit require students to use the internet
to gather data relating to the investigator topic (Tech.
Comp. 11.1). Through the literature circle unit, students are
developing skills that allow them to locate information from books, the
internet and other media sources. The group discussions are guided
by students finished projects that can include scale models of various
places or written work reflecting their job (Tech.
Comp. 12.1). The closing activity for the unit involves viewing the
movie Little House on the Prairie on the school television system (Tech.
Comp. 10.2). After viewing the movie, students will compare and
contrast the historical information portrayed in the video with information
they have learned through their literature circle books. By viewing
the movie, students are exposed to and gain understanding of historical
fiction and westward expansion in American History (Tech.
Comp. 11.2). This unit expresses teacher understanding of students
various instructional needs and provides a means to accommodate those needs
(INTASC #3).