I originally wanted my students to write and present a self-written story to demonstrate their understanding of “Benchmark SS.1.6.1 - Describe ways in which your own and other cultures express cultural beliefs and practices through stories and/or legends.” However, I later realized that asking first graders to write a story and present it, all in one day, would be a massive task. Even if students managed to do it, there would be a lot of stress involved.
The second idea I chose was for students to write the story, then present it next class. Again, this idea presented a problem. If students did …show more content…
There are various ones that would be able to help student organize their ideas. I settled on using Story Maps. There are studies on the effectiveness of graphic organizers, which supported my idea. According to the National Reading Panel, graphic organizers aid in the construction of meaning, the organization and structure of text, and the relationships of concepts in the text. They are effective for visual learners and serve as an external aid in the writing or recalling processes. Finally, out of the sixteen categories of instruction, Story Maps are one of the seven that is known to be an effective tool in the comprehension of “normal readers,” (Kamil, Ferguson, Garza, Trabasso & Williams, 2000.) Moreover, Story Maps assist in prewriting activities. The organizers focus on the key elements of the story, including character, setting, conflict, and resolution. Story maps help students to prepare for writing their own fiction (ReadWriteThink, …show more content…
○ Students would likely be most engaged during their independent work. At this part of instruction, they are very involved as they are in charge of their own writing and the direction they want their stories to take.
● When would you expect behavior challenges?
○ During the guided practice. Students might get distracted during the modeling (I do) because they are not very involved. Additionally, students might also misbehave during the first guided practice (we do) because students who are familiar with the story might want to show off.
○ Students in groups might also get into fights with their partners if they have differing ideas on what direction they want their story to take.
● When would you expect the students to struggle most with the content? What misconceptions can you predict?
○ Students might struggle to write their stories, particularly ones that revolve around cultural beliefs/practices. Additionally, students might not fully understand what cultural beliefs and practices are. Alternatively, students might select a belief/practice and create a story map that in no way reflects