Una vida asombrosa (An Amazing Life)

Transcription

1 Unit Guide for Una vida asombrosa (An Amazing Life) OVERVIEW Focus on: Instructional Terms: Genre Study Biography Instructional Terms: Academic Language línea de tiempo, secuencia Lesson with scripting in for Mae Jemison: Volar alto (Mae Jemison: Flying High!) List of thematically-related books in Ojo! Things to keep in mind when teaching Exploring language through scientific words Exploring language through cognates: inteligente, espacio, personas, compañía, necesarias PREPARE TO TEACH Mae Jemison: Volar alto (Mae Jemison: Flying High!) Synopsis: Mae Jemison was a little girl with a big dream she wanted to go into space. Everyone laughed at Mae s dream because in the 1960s there were no women and no African-Americans who were astronauts. Mae studied very hard and never gave up on her plan. She became a doctor and a scientist, and in 1992 Mae blasted off into space. Instructional Terms Genre Study: Biography A biography is a form of nonfiction in which a writer tells the life story of another person. Biographies are usually written about a person who has done something important in the world. The most important facts of the person s life are included, such as childhood experiences, family background, education, and contributions to his or her field of work. A biographer must know a lot about the life of the person her or she is writing about in order to write an accurate account of the person s environment, lifestyle, and events of the time in which he or she lived. Biographies can help generations of people understand and take pride in the people of our past and present. Academic Language: línea de tiempo, secuencia Ensure children are familiar with school words used in this unit. Draw a sample timeline on the board and say: Ésta es una línea de tiempo. (This is a timeline.) Explain that timelines can be useful for organizing information about a person s life. Once you have the information organized by what happened first, next, and last, you know the sequence (secuencia) of events. If appropriate for your classroom, teach children the English version of the words. línea de tiempo timeline secuencia sequence Scope and Sequence at a Glance Genre Biography Phonics Categorizing words with the diphthong /ai/ spelled ai/ay and the diphthong /ei/ spelled ei/ey. Word Study Matching the pairs of words that are synonyms, using secondgrade vocabulary Grammar Recognizing singular subject-verb agreement in Comprehension Skills Recognizing the distinguishing elements of a biography, including that it is written about a real person by someone else Select the most appropriate summary for a passage Match problems to solutions Categorizing how the subject of a biography was similar and different as a child and as an adult Writing Formulating and writing questions for inquiry and investigation 1

2 Book List This is a list of books in about astronauts and space. Children will enjoy reading or listening to these books. Ellen Ochoa: La primera astronauta latina by Lila Guzman A book about Ellen Ochoa, the first Latina astronaut. Astronautas by Carmen Bredeson A nonfiction book about astronauts. Los astronautas/astronauts by Thomas K. Adamson Read about brave scientists who risk their lives to explore space. BEFORE READING Vocabulary: Use context sentences to pre-teach words superar, obstáculo, ocuparse, despegar, asistencia sanitaria. Read the following sentences to children twice. Then ask them for the meaning of the target word. Write the vocabulary word on the board. 1. Ella usó una lamparilla de noche para superar su miedo a la oscuridad. (She got over her fear of the dark by using a nightlight.) 2. El perro saltó el obstáculo que estaba en su camino. (The dog jumped over the obstacle that was in his way.) 3. Los bomberos se ocupan de combatir incendios. (The firefighters are in charge of fighting fires.) 4. Después de ir muy rápido, el avión despegó. (The airplane took off after going very fast.) 5. Cada país tiene un sistema diferente de asistencia sanitaria. (Different countries have different systems of health care.) If appropriate for your classroom, teach children the English versions of the words. superar overcome obstáculo obstacle ocuparse to be in charge of despegar take off asistencia sanitaria health care Comprehension Strategy/Skill: Categorizing Categorizing is an early thinking skill young children learn to master. It involves grouping things or ideas with common features and allows children to see patterns and connections in objects, characters, events, or concepts within a text. Once children are able to categorize, they will be able to sort, organize, and manage larger amounts of information. Build Background Start a conversation with children about becoming an astronaut and going into outer space. Ask: Han soñado alguna vez con ser astronautas e ir al espacio? Cómo se llega a ser un astronauta? (Have you ever dreamed of becoming an astronaut and going into space? How do people become astronauts?) Discuss the schooling and training people have to complete in order to become an astronaut that goes into outer space. 2

3 Set Purpose for Tell children: Van a leer un relato acerca de una muchacha que superó su miedo a las alturas e hizo realidad su sueño. (Now you are going to read a story about a young girl who overcomes her fear of heights and makes her dream come true.) Encourage children to think about someone they know who had a dream as a child and accomplished it as an adult. DURING READING Before reading organize children into pairs. Have pairs fold a sheet of paper in half. On one half write: Niña and on the other write: Adulta. Tell children they will categorize characteristics or things about Mae as they read them. Have children pause while reading to write things that Mae did as a child on one side, and things she did as an adult on the other. Have them highlight the characteristics or events that are the same in both columns. Differentiated Instruction Special Needs Children: Have children draw a picture of Mae as a child and as an adult. Extra Support: As children read the story, pause after each page and ask a supporting question, such as: Por qué los amigos de Mae se rieron cuando ella les dijo que quería ir al espacio? (Why did Mae s friends laugh when she said she wanted to go into space?) (Because no women or African-Americans were astronauts.) Dual Language: Challenge children to write a bilingual list of all the jobs Mae had during her life. AFTER READING Check students reading comprehension by asking these questions: Cuál era la meta de Mae Jemison cuando era una jovencita? (When Mae Jemison was a young girl, what was her goal?) (to become an astronaut) Puedes mencionar dos cosas que Mae tuvo que hacer durante el año anterior a su viaje al espacio? (Can you name two things Mae had to do during the year before she went into space?) (spend time in a space shuttle, practice moving around underwater, make her body strong and healthy, learn about space) Por qué Mae Jemison inició The Jemison Group? (Why did Mae Jemison start The Jemison Group?) (Mae Jemison started The Jemison Group to help poor countries have better health care.) OJO! (Watch out for...) Children may not be familiar with the term NASA. Explain that the letters stand for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It is an agency of the federal government, and is responsible for the space program. Proverbs, or refranes, usually do not allow for a literal translation. If appropriate for your classroom, ask children whether they prefer the English version or the version of the proverbs on the last page. 3

4 EXPLORING LANGUAGE Science Words This story affords many opportunities for exploring the richness of the language when it comes to scientific words. Explain that many scientific words are very similar in and in English. Here are some words from the reading. Write the English word on the board and ask say them. Ask children to say the words. If children are not familiar with a word, explain what it means. electricidad electricity universidad university astronauta astronaut observar observe tecnología technology potable potable ciencias science La misma raíz Cognates Cognates, or words in English and that share the same origin, offer a natural scaffolding that children can use to grow their vocabulary in both languages. Help children see these links between the two languages by commenting on the words presented in this unit that are examples of cognates. Display the words below and say to children: Hay palabras en esta unidad que son muy parecidas en inglés y en español. Vamos a estudiar algunas de ellas. (There are words in this unit that are very similar in English and in. Let s study some of them now.) inteligente intelligent espacio space personas persons compañía company necesarias necessary REFRANES/PROVERBS Ask children if they are familiar with these proverbs. A palabras necias, oídos sordos. Take no notice of the stupid things people say. El saber no ocupa lugar. One can never know too much. Si vale la pena hacerlo, vale la pena hacerlo bien. If a job is worth doing, it s worth doing well. 4

5 THE READING-WRITING CONNECTION Cooperative Learning: Writing Questions for Inquiry Explain that biographies often answer five questions about a person s life known as the Five W s in English : Who? What? Why? When? Where? Say: Pueden surgir más preguntas cuando terminen de leer. (There may be more questions you still wonder about after reading.) Distribute a Question Chart (below) to each pair. Tell children that they will work with a partner to write questions they still wonder about after reading Mae Jemison: Volar alto. For example: Dónde se ubica el campamento científico para estudiantes de secundaria de Mae Jemison? Quién puede asistir? (Where is Mae Jemison s high school science camp located? Who can attend?) Encourage pairs to use the Internet, library books, or magazines to find answers to their questions. Lo que me pregunto acerca de la vida de Mae Jemison Quién? Qué? Cuándo? Dónde? Por qué? 5