Braidy Lesson: Our World
Ellen Weber, April 2010
Topic: Saving our environment
Target group: 2nd-4th grade, or higher-level special ed
Time: approx. 60 min with quizzes
Target skill/concept: applying Braidy elements to non-fiction
learning the vocabulary they will be hearing for Earth Day.
Materials needed:
PowerPoint file “Our World” available at http://www.4gaslps.com/Earth_Day_page.html
Print out the More and More quiz from same site – enough for each student
Print out the colored chart from same site (recycle/trash/compost/reuse)*
Print enough crossword puzzles for each student (included here)
Print one copy of SGM book report (included here) to use with ELMO – or –
put the form into a file on the laptop to project onto your screen
laptop and active board or white board
Hint: copy the PPT and all the other forms onto a CD Rom to take with you to the classroom. Then all you need to do is pop it into the teacher’s laptop.
Do not print out this PPT as a book. Much meaning will be lost without the animations!
Activity:
1. Preview the PPT before you use it! At slide 18 you need to stop advancing the slides to take a brief comprehension quiz. Also, there is narration you can mute so the students can take turns reading the screen. The animations on the slides are mostly automatic, but some of them need you to click your mouse to start them. This gives you time to discuss the vocabulary, etc. I recommend a practice run-through!
2. Intro lesson by explaining Braidy can be used with non-fiction stories also, or with stories done in different media (not just written books).
3. Show PPT “Our World” and discuss vocabulary along the way. Stop at appropriate point (slide 18) to take the More and More quiz to check comprehension. When you continue the PPT, the next slide (19) shows the correct answers.
4. Spend time discussing what the 3 R’s mean and giving examples.
5. *The colored chart (recycle/trash/compost/reuse) on slide 33 can be done as a whole-class or cooperative group activity. The next slide (34) shows the answers.
6. If time remains, have students do the crossword puzzle while you do some individual IEP work with your speech students – OR – send puzzle home for homework.
Extension: have students think of a something else useful that can be done with a plastic water bottle. – make it a contest! You can even turn this into a second lesson where they have to write a procedural piece explaining how they did what they did with the bottle. Do a google search to find some examples of fantastic things that have been made from plastic bottles.
Book Report
Story Title: ______Our World______Author: _____Ellen Weber______
Main Character: Who is your story about?
All of the people in the world.
Setting: Where/when does your story take place?
Right now in every country in the world.
Initiating Event: What happened to the characters to cause them to do something?
People started making a lot of trash and polluting our
environment.
Internal Response: What are the characters’ feelings about what happened?
Some people don’t care, but most people are worried.
Plan: What will the characters do? Think about the kick off and the internal response.
Think of ways to save our planet from pollution.
Attempt: How does the character solve the problem?
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
Direct Consequence: What happened as a result of the action/attempts?
We will save our clean water and clean air.
Resolution: How does the character feel about the direct consequence?
Relieved that our planet won’t die.
Proud of ourselves that we could fix the problem.