Dare to Dream

Adapted from:

Harcourt Brace Signatures

Second Grade

February 2006

Elizabeth Luwe

Seattle University

Masters in Teaching Program

TEED 521

Winter 2007

Thematic Book & Resource List

Farr, R. C. & Strickland, D.S. Harcourt Brace: Signatures. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1999.

This is the textbook provided by the school to teach literature in the classroom. I used this book for most of my guided practice lessons and used the books below to supplement the lessons.

Hoffman, Mary. (1991) Amazing Grace. New York, N.Y.: Dial Books for Young Readers.

Nana takes Grace to a theater where an African American dancer is the star and shows her that she can be anything she wants to be.

dePaola, Tomie. (1997). The Art Lesson. New York: Putnam and Grossett Publishing Group.

A little boy fulfills an assignment given to him by is art teacher.

Barrett, Judi. (1982). Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. New York: Macmillan.

Grandpa tells the best bedtime story about a town called Chewandswallow where food falls from the sky.

Martin, Bill & Archambault, John. (1987) Knots on a Counting Rope. New York: Henry Holt.

The counting rope represents the passage of time and the strength and courage a blind boys faces each day in his life.

Lionni, Leo. (1991). Matthew’s Dream. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Matthew, a little mouse, goes to a museum and dreams of becoming a famous painter.

Learning Targets

1. Students will use different reading strategies to comprehend texts.

2. Students will make predictions by using clues found in the text.

3. Students will understand that the theme Dare to Dream can be found in a variety of genres.

4. Students will express their future dreams through different artistic forms.

5. Students will write to tell personal stories about their dreams.

6. Students will show their participation in guided reading by using different listening strategies.

7. Students will present a passage to the class using effective delivery of oral communications while using visual aids/technology.

Content Generalizations

Central Question

In this unit, students will explore their hopes and dreams for the future. In this theme, dreams become goals for action. They can be about caring for the natural world, creating a thing of beauty, or working for peace on earth. Whatever the subject, our dreams can sustain us. Students will learn about people of all ages can have the courage to dream and accomplish something worthwhile. These overarching ideas will help students grapple with the central question of the unit: Do you Dare to Dream?

Rationale

The rationale behind teaching the unit, Dare to Dream, in my second grade class is to address the need of the students to begin a discussion about student’s ideas and dreams for the future. In second grade students beginning to develop their self-concept and it is important that students understand their natural talents and how to use them to pursue their dream. This unit is designed to be incorporated with, Recycling in our Community social studies unit plan, as well as, their recycling service learning project. This unit will allow the students to take an active role in helping the community by thinking about ways of using their creative talents to benefit a community group. Students will learn that pursuing dreams can often bring joy to others as well as to the dreamer.

This unit stresses the importance of students understanding their own goals and dreams. With this, it is important for students to have a strong understanding of the text they read. The reading EALRs emphasize comprehension, which will help them understand and enjoy the text and hopefully also inspired them to think about their own dreams. The writing EALRs emphasize expression of the students’ dreams in written from. The communication EALRs emphasize skills that are important to all subjects and encourage student self-sufficiency.

Unit Overview

This unit was chosen not only to create an understanding and appreciation of reading, but also to inspire students to pursue their dreams. Students will learn reading comprehension strategies though a personal and interactive way. All students have dreams and can understand the process of achieving a dream; this will make the literature more engaging for all students. Students will also have the opportunity to read a passage to the class to practice their presentation skills.

The strengths of this program are detailed above and are centered on student development of knowledge though a meaningful, relevant, holistic literature unit. The weakness in this unit might be the way it is organized on paper. When implementing this unit I know there will be many times that I want to discuss or incorporate different reading and writing strategies that are not outlined in the learning targets or unit outline. However, this is the constant dilemma that teachers face every day with all units they teach, and only experience in teaching will inform of the exact instruction my students will need.