Monday, October 28, 2013

Introducing the novel, Out of The Dust



 

 
Tomorrow, I will officially be introducing the book, Out of the Dust. It is from my favorite genre- historical fiction, and I love this book. It is also written in free verse poetry, so it aligns well with studying figurative language elements.
Today, I worked to build a little background knowledge on America's history. In one class we went from discovering the "new world" to times of The Great Depression. It was a bit of a bumpy ride, but I believe that I achieved my purpose. But, just to make sure, students use the document from the following link as a bellringer review from what we learned today, and I will pick up with The Great Depression.
Side note: I will keep the stations up for tomorrow, so the students can walk over and review them if necessary. We will spend no more than 15 minutes on this assignment.
  
 Check it out at:
 
 
Video: We will then watch a 5 minute video on the times of the Dust Bowl found on Discovery Streaming. The students will take notes, and write down 10 facts that they learn. We will discuss what they learned.
 
Group work: The students will move their desks into groups of four. I will have a table cloth, paper plates, paper cups, napkins, and a spoon for each group. They will have to listen to the description of how to set a table properly during the dust bowl. I will then offer each person some drink and snack. But then, just as they are getting excited about it, I will sprinkle sand from a bucket or container onto their snack and cup. I will have a secret helper from each group to help me with this. Then, we will discuss our appealing that drink or snack is, and how this experience compares to The Dust Bowl.
I will bring a broom!
 
I will then read the chapter, "Rules of Dining" on page 21 of Out of the Dust
We will discuss the differences between then and now. How can weather affect our lives? What would it been like to live in Oklahoma during that time?
 
I've never done this before, but it may be an interesting way to introduce Out of the Dust.
 
 

2 comments:

Beth said...

This sounds like a great lesson!! I can just imagine the students' reactions when they get sand in their food! How lucky they are to have a teacher who is not afraid of hard work!

middlegradesteacher said...

It was awesome!! They were so surprised. One class ate the brownies anyway--dust and all. Too much fun!!