I remember being
so overwhelmed when I first received the Engage NY E.L.A curriculum. There was so
much there and I did not know where to begin but I HAD to begin. I can tell you it was a rough start.
Teaching little
6 and 7 year old children about topics like Early Asian Civilization, Ancient Greece,
Wars, Civil Rights, and various science topics, was difficult because my students had a hard time retaining the information because they did not have the background
knowledge to attach it to. Also, it just did not seem authentic or meaningful to them. Their initial excitement about the topics began to fall flat and I wondered if they were really 'getting' it. I had to adjust.
I needed to find a balance of delivering high level
content to young learners in a way that would support their understanding and
make the concepts meaningful and fun. I also needed a way to separate who
really understood and who was just copying the students that already responded
to the oral comprehension questions. Sound familiar?
I created support
materials to help my own students. I was not sure that it would work but I was
determined to find a way to reach every student in my class.
Thankfully, I started to see a big difference in my students’ attention during the lesson and their retention of lesson concepts when I implemented the pre and post activities. So, I shared these with my team and we all began to see positive outcomes with our students.
Thankfully, I started to see a big difference in my students’ attention during the lesson and their retention of lesson concepts when I implemented the pre and post activities. So, I shared these with my team and we all began to see positive outcomes with our students.
The kids were
becoming vested in listening to the lessons, they were excited about the next
story and best of all they were retaining the information that was taught.
Although this is a listening and learning strand and students are responding orally to the content to show their listening comprehension, the extension activities gives the teacher an opportunity to have concrete evidence of individual student learning. The companion packs also help students to take ownership of their learning. I finally felt like I had the tools to get the best results from using this program.
Although this is a listening and learning strand and students are responding orally to the content to show their listening comprehension, the extension activities gives the teacher an opportunity to have concrete evidence of individual student learning. The companion packs also help students to take ownership of their learning. I finally felt like I had the tools to get the best results from using this program.
I created these companion
packs to help my own students and was encouraged by the results. If you are new
to this curriculum or have been struggling to make it work in your classroom, I
know that these companion packs will help you and your students find more
success with the program.
These are supplemental to the program. They allow students to work with the content on a deeper level after the lessons and have fun while doing so.
Here are some sample pages for four of the units that you can try in your classroom.
These are supplemental to the program. They allow students to work with the content on a deeper level after the lessons and have fun while doing so.
Here are some sample pages for four of the units that you can try in your classroom.
Tall Tale Sheet Domain 1
Ancient Greece Sampler Domain 3
Insect Journal Sampler Domain 8
Immigration Sampler Domain 11
Ancient Greece Sampler Domain 3
Insect Journal Sampler Domain 8
Immigration Sampler Domain 11
I hope these are
helpful to you as you teach. If you have any questions leave a comment below.
Happy Teaching!
Anne :)
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