This lesson is for : Grade 12: English
Summary
Welcome to the Highland Springs High School Dr. Seuss Reading Project. This project will help students understand the importance of reading to young children and how reading to young children affects their future reading ability. This project will have four main tasks for students to complete. First, students will read aloud a minimum of three books to at least two different young children. Second, students will do a “book report” on each of the books they have chosen to read aloud. Third, students will be given a small research assignment about the importance of reading to young children and they will write a blog post reflecting on their experiences as a child and how these experiences affected their reading habits. Finally, students will be responding to their classmate’s blog posts on the website. All assignments will be completed within this website (WordPress Blog Site) using the links in the menu under “Submission Forms”. The Dr. Seuss Reading Project provides students with the opportunity to give back to their community and to participate in an authentic lesson at the same time.
The following resources are provided for this lesson:
TIPC Ratings
Research & Information Fluency
Rating: Approaching – Explanation: Students were asked to answer the question, “Why is it important to read to young children?” Students were instructed to have a minimum of three sources and cite these sources in the MLA format. Students were given the freedom to choose the sources they deemed the most reliable and accurate to answer the question. Students then formulated a small research post on the project from the research they collected. Students also conducted non-traditional research by asking parents/guardians of the young children they read to how reading aloud has affected their child.
Communication & Collaboration
Rating: Ideal – Explanation: Although students worked independently for this assignment, communication was a major focus in this project. This project allowed the students to take their work that normally happens inside the classroom out to their community. Students in this project had the opportunity to communicate directly with young children through literacy while proforming their read aloud sessions (link). Students performed three read aloud sessions where they directly communicated and interacted with a younger generation. Students not only interacted with a younger generation in this project but they had the opportunity to interact with an older generation through the parent/guardian reflection (link). Students needed to have a discussion where parents/guardians were asked to reflect how reading is affecting their child. Through this process, students were able to grasp the importance of reading to young children. The final piece of this project provided students with the opportunity to interact with their peers through the project website. All students were required to comment on three of their peer’s reflective blog posts (link 1) (link 2) .
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
Rating: Developing – Explanation: Critical thinking and problem solving was not a focus of this project. Students had a choice in the digital tool they used to record their read aloud session. Students also had to use the correct form on the project website to submit their assignments. Students were asked to critically think about the two essential questions posed for this project and had to defend their answers from the research they completed. Students were asked to reflect on their experiences throughout the project and then formulate these experiences into a reflective blog post.
Creativity & Innovation
Rating: Ideal – Explanation: The Dr. Seuss Reading Project provided students with the opportunity to create ten original products that showcased students research, communication and critical thinking skills. Students took their work outside of the classroom and into the community.to complete the authentic tasks assigned to them. By allowing students the choices and freedom to complete the tasks, they were engaged and excited about the opportunity. Most high school students don’t usually think about the importance of literacy and how being exposed to books and words at an early age affects children. This project allowed students to reflect on the importance of literacy for children of all ages (link 1) (link 2). We hope that through this project in the future, whether it be 5 or 10 years from now, when these students have young children, they will remember this project and choose to read early and often to their children. Passing on the love of reading should be something all children should experience regardless of race, gender or socioeconomic status.
Student Artifact
Lesson Materials
