Kara Harniman Livingston EDU 740 Summer I University of New England

These lessons will center on text that examines the life and teachings of the Buddha. The lessons are written based on the model currently used in my school. It is purpose-driven planning and breaks daily teaching down into three components: Before (introductory activity) During (focus lesson) After (assessment of understanding of content)

At the conclusion of these three lessons, students will be able to explain the origins, teachings and diffusion of Buddhism from ancient India to other civilizations.

Students will complete a KWLS chart and organize information from text.
What I think I know about Buddhism What I want to learn about Buddhism What I have learned about Buddhism What I still want to learn about Buddhism

Students will complete the K and W columns on their chart. Students will share their ideas with a partner As a group we will create a chart on the Smartboard.

Students will skim and scan a page of text, highlighting words that are unfamiliar to them. After a brief discussion of what the students have highlighted, I will introduce my list of vocabulary words for them to focus on in their reading, with the instructions to circle these words as they come up in the text while they partner read. After reading the text, we will share the definitions of these words using context cues, and students will create a reference to the term to help them remember its meaning. For example, they might draw an arm in a cast for the caste system to refer to its rigidity in preventing mobility to other social classes.

Vocabulary Word caste system Buddhism

Definition Rigid social class structure of Hinduism The philosophical and spiritual teachings of the Buddha The state of perfect peace attained through meditation The effects of ones actions on their existence Kindness towards someone or something

What does it remind me of?

nirvana

karma compassion

Students will go back to KWLS chart and fill in the last two columns L and S. This after strategy serves as an informal assessment to determine if the students comprehended the content of the text they read.

Turn and talk: Share what you know about Buddhism. Share out with whole group as a warm up to prepare for todays lesson about Siddhartha Gautama and his teachings as the Buddha.

Modified QAR strategy Students read paragraph, restate the main idea, react to it, and draw a simple picture to give them an image of the concept. Reading assignment for this section of text has six paragraphs. Main ideas include life of Buddha, Eightfold Path, Four Noble Truths, Asoka and his conversion to Buddhism, Jainism, and the spread of Buddhism to China

Restate 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

React

Illustrate

What is the most interesting idea in your reading today and why? Answer in complete sentences. Collecting and reading these quick write samples is a quick informal assessment strategy to determine what content need to be readdressed in next lesson.

Students respond to prompt in a few sentences. You are the son of a member of the servant caste in ancient India. Your parents work very hard for very little pay, and many nights you and your siblings go to bed without dinner. Your parents have told you that it is your duty to accept where you are in life in order to be in better position when you die and reincarnate. The idea of growing old and dying poor and hungry is depressing to you. One day you are walking with your family and a man on the side of road is talking to a group of people about a new philosophy that teaches everyone is the same and can reach happiness on earth. How does what the man is teaching make you feel?

Students will create a history frame organizer of determining important events in the development and spread of Buddhism based on assigned reading. This activity will require the students to read for meaning and determine main ideas. Teacher talk will include modeling the completion of a history frame with class based on short passage about Asoka, a Hindu king who converted to Buddhism and spent the rest of his life dedicated to sharing Buddhism with other civilizations.

Teacher will make a series of statements about todays lesson and students will respond by holding up their cards to indicate agree (A), disagree (D), or unsure (U). Reusable class sets of DUA cards are available This exit strategy offers a quick informal way to assess student comprehension of reading in todays lesson.

This project encouraged me to stretch activities to fit the needs and challenges of sixth grade. Ellery states, Teachers need to remember that good comprehension instruction needs to be taught explicitly and strategically (Ellery 2009). It is the imperative of educators to teach reading and improve literacy for their students regardless of the content of the course being taught.

http://www.readingquest.org/pdf/hist_frame .pdf Ellery, V. (2009). Creating Strategic Readers: Techniques for developing competency in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. (2nd ed.) International Reading Association.