Life's Instructions: Collecting family sayings in a student publication
A lesson plan by Rae Anne K. Alpers, Thomas Kelly High School, Benton, MO
Subject: High School English
Duration: This activity can be completed in 1-2 weeks with students working every day. As an alternative, students could gather, collect, create "Life Instructions" one day a week (Friday?) for an entire quarter, semester or year. Students would add 1-2 sentences per week and compile a book at the end of the designated time. If done in electronic form, such as a Life's Instructions wiki or blog, the project could be ongoing and include work from year to year with different classes, as well.
This lesson plan was one of the winners in a lesson plan contest sponsored by TeachersFirst in 2002. TeachersFirst editors have added technology options where appropriate.
|Rationale||My students always found literature from the early American period to be quite boring, yet I felt obligated to teach it to create a foundation for the other literature we would be studying in Junior American Lit. To get them interested in Benjamin Franklin's "Poor Richard's Almanack," we discussed sayings and proverbs that students had heard in their families. Then, we studied "Poor Richard's Almanack," and the students mimicked Franklin's style and created their own book of sayings, their "Life's Instruction Book."|
|Objectives||After a thorough study of grammar and the parts of speech, students will apply this knowledge to write complete sentences. These positive statements will be compiled in a "book." NOTE: this works well after studying Ben Franklin’s "The Autobiography" and "Poor Richard’s Almanack" in American Literature.|
|Materials||Applicable text: McDougall-Littell, "Reading Literature." Copyright, 1990.
Several copies of "Life's Little Instruction Books" (Several different volumes available); Textbook containing "Poor Richard's Almanack" or online version; pen and paper; Binding elements (staples, yarn, etc.); Construction paper; Markers. Or use electronic tools for making an online book (see below).
|Helpful online resources and tools||Poor Richard's Almanac: an online text
Online tools for Creating a Book or digital collection:
Bookemon, reviewed here.
TRintuition workBench (for visual screens of each "instruction," reviewed here
PBworks, reviewed here
wikispaces, reviewed here
"Life is Grand"4This book is complete. It is neat and readable and contains no more than three grammatical errors. Twenty-five statements are included as well as a cover, well-written letter and dedication page. This book is "camera ready" for publishing.
"Life is Great"3The author of this book did a fine job compiling and writing. It contains 20-24 statements. The cover is attractive but not eye-catching. The letter does not include all of the required parts (description of assignment, family life of author, and anecdotes). There are four or more grammatical errors. With some revision, this book could be publishable.
"Life is Good"2This book displays minimal effort. It contains 15-19 statements. The cover is sloppy, pencil-drawn or there is no cover at all. The letter is missing 2 or more parts (description of assignment, family life of author and anecdotes). There are nine or more grammatical errors. Very unorganized work.
"Life is Okay"1This book contains 10-14 statements. There is no cover, no dedication page, and only one or two parts of a letter. There are 15 or more grammatical errors.
"Life Stinks"0This book contains fewer than 9 statements and at least 20 grammatical errors. All other parts are missing as well. Start over on your own time to possibly receive a "1" rating.