Cornerstones Sample Unit Daily Sequence

Each lesson in the teaching guide follows roughly the same format:

1. Review material from the previous day.

2. Preteach and study the target vocabulary words. Use semantic maps, graphic organizers and other visual techniques that integrate text and pictures (including clip art). Remember to teach vocabulary conceptually and in depth, through experiences, illustrations and graphic organizers, and discussions and elaboration. Continue to add words, phrases, and graphics to your classroom graphic organizers and semantic maps as the children deepen their understanding. Expose the children to these words conceptually and in print repeatedly throughout the unit.

3. Tell or present the story. Use the original text or videotape, pausing at key points to focus on the concepts of the day. Model your understanding for the children, making your thinking visible. Start out in the language or code the children are most comfortable with conversationally, telling the story yourself or using one of the Cornerstones videotapes. Since you will tell and present the story several times during the unit, you may vary the format of the story, choosing from

• Telling the story yourself
• Showing a video of the story taken from the Between the Lions episode with print on screen and open captions
• Showing a storyteller in an alternate language or mode (ASL, SEE II , cued speech)
• Electronic storybook

4. Students read the text. They may start with shared reading (the teacher takes the lead), guided reading (student reads with teacher support), or cooperative reading (student reads with peer), but the goal is to read the text independently by the end of the unit.

• Focus on a particular section each day.
• Teach the written language in that section and the conceptual meaning of the printed text.
• Students retell the portion of the story, taking turns writing or dictating each sentence.
• Ask comprehension questions relevant to the focus of the day.
• Make sure each child has an opportunity to read the text that you focused on together.

5. Enrich the students’ experiences with the keywords and concepts. Provide supplementary classroom activities, writing tasks, games, and worksheets, using the Between the Lions website and computer games and activities provided by Cornerstones.

Writing

Children should write every day during the unit, at the very least copying the keywords. Those who have the skills should write original sentences and stories. Use interactive writing, in which children dictate to a teacher or aide and the adult verifies the information with the children. The writing activities listed in the guide are suggestions; if they do not match the skill levels of your students, substitute with writing activities of your own.

Before the First Lesson

Preview the story:

1. Identify the title, “The Fox and the Crow.”
2. Explain that the author, Aesop, wrote the story long ago.
3. Explain that “The Fox and the Crow” is a fable.

Discuss any fables the students may have read in the past. Discuss the role of animals in a fable: they take on the characteristics of people and they speak. In “The Fox and the Crow,” something happens to one of the characters that teaches him or her something important about life. This is referred to as the lesson, or the moral, of the story.

Engage in a background discussion:

1. Find out what the children already know about foxes and crows, and birds in general. Also find out what the children might know about flattery.
2. Engage the children in an art project, encouraging them to use images and words to express what they know.
3. Ask the children to predict what might happen if a fox and a crow met. Note that in the Between the Lions episode, the pigeons make predictions about the story.

Present the story in the language or code the children are most comfortable with conversationally. Ask each student to retell the story in his or her own words. Accept whatever level of detail the students provide. Videotape (or write down) each individual retelling, which will be saved and compared to students’ retellings at the end of the unit.

Assign homework:

• Find out the name of one kind of bird to share with the class.
• Bring in pictures or photos of various birds from a book or magazine.

Note: Keywords and essential concepts for understanding “The Fox and the Crow” are spread over six lessons. Each word has many dimensions; children should learn at least one beyond the word’s basic meaning in the story.

Overview of Lessons 1 to 9

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Lesson 6

Lesson 7

Lesson 8

Lesson 9