Students will recognize patterns in writing by reading pattern books to a small group of younger children. They will also use echo and choral reading strategies to help the children learn to read.

Anticipatory Set:

Say to the learners, “Try to remember back to when you were first learning how to read. Do you remember asking to have stories read to you over and over again until you almost memorized them? One of the easiest types of books to memorize is the pattern book. That is what we're going to look at today.”

• Day One: Read Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? to the learners. Reread, incorporating the skills of echo and choral reading in the demonstration. Use Echo Reading ( Attachment One ) and Choral Reading Method ( Attachment Two ) for assistance in the techniques.
• Have the learners brainstorm for a couple of minutes on what they noticed about the book:
  • It was short.
  • There were not many words per page.
  • It had repetitive patterns and rhythms.
  • Some of the same words were repeated page after page.
  • Most of each page was an illustration.
• List the methods used when reading the pattern book:
  • Read straight through the first time.
  • Echo read a few pages while pointing to the words, then choral read.
  • Echo read the whole book, then choral read the book.
  • Use these characteristics to develop a rubric or use Pattern Book Reading Rubric ( Attachment Three ).
• Allow the learners to select short, simple pattern books to use with their elementary teams.
• Day Two: Review Pattern Book Reading Rubric . Form groups of three. Each learner will practice reading his/her pattern book to the other two learners in their group. The group will let the reader know areas which need practice (based on the Pattern Book Reading Rubric ).
• Day Three: Go to the elementary classroom and form groups of a middle school learner with two elementary children. Read the pattern books incorporating strategies from Days One and Two. Learners should point out the pattern used by the author in telling the story.
• Day Four: Form a reflective sharing circle. Share what happened with the elementary teams. What patterns were discovered in the books? What did the children like most and least? What changes would make the learning more beneficial if the lesson were repeated? Would learners recommend this exercise to others working with elementary children learning to read?
• Remind the learners that philanthropy includes individuals providing their time, talent and/or treasures for the common good. Ask if they see themselves as philanthropists when they interact with the elementary children in their reading teams. Explain that ordinarily most people think of philanthropists as “millionaires” who give their money away. Have the learners brainstorm a description of someone who helps the community. How different is their description from that of a millionaire giving money away? Do the learners believe that young people have a responsibility to volunteer to improve the common good? Why or why not?

Interactive Parent / Student Homework:
Learners should share with their families the discussion held in class about the definition of someone who helps the community. They should ask their family if they agree with the class' definition and add their own thoughts on this topic. Learners should ask if their families agree that they are philanthropists in their work with the elementary children. Do their families believe that young people have a responsibility to volunteer to improve the common good? If so, how? If not, why not?

• Adams, Pam (Illustrator). This Old Man. Auburn, Maine: Child's Play International, Ltd., 2000. ISBN: 0859536610
  
  
• Ahlberg, Allen and Janet Ahlberg. Each Peach, Pear, Plum . New York: Penguin USA, 1999. ISBN: 067088278X
  
  
• Brown, Margaret Wise. Runaway Bunny . Clement Hurd (Illustrator). New York: HarperCollins, 1942, Reissue edition. ISBN: 0060207655
  
  
• Kubler, Annie (Illustrator). The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round . Auburn, Maine: Child's Play International, Ltd., 2003. ISBN : 0859531368
  
  
• http://www.d21.k12.il.us/dept_instr/langarts/parentinfo/choral_rdg.html This Web site provides additional information on choral reading.
  
  
• http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/education/general.html Information is available on choral reading.
  
  
• http://wilearns.state.wi.us/apps/ This is the Web site of the Wisconsin Literacy Education and Reading Network Source which provides information on echo reading.
  
  
• London, Jonathan. I See the Moon and the Moon Sees Me . Peter M. Fiore (Illustrator). New York: Viking Children's Books, 1996. ASIN: 0670859184
  
  
• Martin, Bill Jr. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Eric Carle (Illustrator). New York: Henry Holt & Company, Inc., 1996. ISBN: 0805047905
  
  
• Martin, Bill Jr. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? Eric Carle (Illustrator). New York: Henry Holt & Company, Inc., 1991. ISBN: 0805017593
  
  
• Wadsworth, Olive A. Over in the Meadow . Anna Vojtech (Illustrator). New York: North South Books, 2002. ISBN: 0735815968
  
  
• Wattenberg, Jane (Illustrator). Henny Penny . New York: Scholastic, 2000. ISBN: 0439078172