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The Important Thing about Reading Is ...
Lesson 1:
From Unit The Important Thing About Reading
Purpose:
The purpose of this lesson is for students to develop awareness of why reading is important for everyone. Students will learn that some students do not have access to books in the same way they do and will decide how they can take action to ensure others have access to books.
Duration:
One 60-minute class period
Objectives:
The learner will:
- listen and respond to The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown.
- write about the importance of reading.
- decide how they can take action to provide books for children who do not have books to read.
Service Experience:
Although this lesson contains a service project example, decisions about service plans and implementation should be made by students, as age appropriate.
This unit is designed to accompany a book drive.
Materials:
- Read aloud copy of The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown (see Bibliographical References)
- Paper
- Pencils
- Construction paper
- Colored pencils, crayons, and/or markers
Instructional Procedure(s):
Anticipatory Set:
Ask students what it means for something to be important. Ask them what things are important to them and why.
- Read aloud The Important Book to students.
- After reading, ask the students what they learned about the topic of importance and what makes something important.
- Write on the board, “The most important thing about reading is…” Brainstorm attributes of books and reading. Create a list on the board of reading-related words and feelings. Have each student use the sentence starter on the board to draft his or her own sentence on paper.
- Have each student create a final copy of his or her sentence on construction paper with markers and decorate the page to match the sentence. As an extension, students may write additional attributes of reading, following the model of the book. They name the most important thing first and at least two other attributes of reading.
- After students have finished, allow them to share their sentences with the class.
- Ask the students whether they think reading is important for everyone. Allow students to share thoughts in a brainstorm fashion about why reading is important to our society (think of all the things we read in a day).
- Explain to students that not everyone has access to books and not everyone can read. Allow students to share how they feel about this.
- Ask students what they can do to help more people gain access to books. This should give you an opportunity to guide students to come up with the idea of holding a book drive.
Assessment:
Students' written statements can be collected and graded or students can be assessed based on their participation in the discussion.
School/Home Connection:
Have students share their ideas about the importance of reading at home and ask their families about why reading is important. They may also discuss appropriate ideas for service projects with their families.
Cross-Curriculum Extensions:
None for this lesson.
Bibliographical References:
Brown, Margaret Wise, The Important Book, HarperColins Publishers, 1949. ISBN: 978-0064432276.
Handouts:
Unit Contents:
Overview:The Important Thing About Reading Summary
Lessons:
- 1.
- The Important Thing about Reading Is ...
- 2.
- Read 'n' Give -- Planning Our Book Drive
- 3.
- Judging a Book by its Cover
- 4.
- Read 'n' Give--Sharing Our Treasure
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