Working on getting a better understanding of non-fiction content and materials. I like to use as many visuals as possible when it comes to non-fiction text. Many students can find themselves overwhelmed by information or new words when reading non-fiction. I like to break everything down for my students to really find the meaning of our words, illustrate the words, and get all the details needed to explain ourselves using the text.
We first started out with asking, “what is transportation?” Transportation is how people get around from place to place. I then asked, “how did you get to school today?” to begin stirring up thoughts and ideas. When brainstorming methods of transportation, we went over and learned any words that were unfamiliar. Once we got a good list, we went on to reading the text. These non-fiction resources were found at school and include 4 sections including 2 short paragraphs in each packed with information about the different ways to travel.
One method of transportation is the underground subway train system. A written response quests asked “why are subways found in big cities instead of the countryside?” This question definetly took some critical thinking to figure out. Some had to make a chart or even draw a picture of the differences between a city and the country to determine their answer. The facts all came down to the amount of people and how busy each place is. The countryside too big and people are too spread out to need subways, and the city is just too busy.
Here are some other short answer questions related to the text. Students got to choose between 2-4 answers to complete in their journals.
Another visual aid used to understand the timeline of events of these methods of transportation in relation to each other. These facts were taken straight from the text and required no outside resources. This lesson and materials could certainly be geared upto a higher level of thinking and include additional research. A math lesson using transportation could be done to see how long it takes to travel a certain distance using each of these methods. You could also tailor this lesson to beginning students by having them illustrate each method of transportation. The possibilities are endless just like the world we can explore.
How will you travel next?
Ms. D's Teaching Adventures 