Character and Setting FREE Unit :)

Hey friends!

My sweet girl took a 4 HOUR NAP yesterday, so guess who got their Character and Setting Unit finished??? ;)  This lady!

If you have followed my blog for a few months, you may remember that my sweet girl broke my school jump drive right near the end of the year.  I was broken hearted because, of course, I hadn't backed anything up...ugh!  So this year is all about recovery. 

I redid a few things with my Character and Setting Unit since I didn't have any electronic copies and some of my copies were ones I had written on, you get the idea.  I got ALL of these ideas from an AWESOME educator--Beth Estill.  She is with Virginia Beach Schools and was an instructor in a week long inservice that I did last summer.  She is just amazing.  I basically just reformatted her ideas into "my style" by adding/deleting here and there so that whatever I had was appropriate for 2nd grade and our standards.  Mrs. Estill deserves ALL the credit for this.  I want to make it clear that I used her ideas as the basis of my unit, then built on it from there. :)

I am also going to be sharing my lesson plans for this week as well, but everything is in the Unit.

Activities
"Pass the Bag" is a fun game that will help you introduce setting without saying, "Ok, boys and girls, the setting of the story is where and when the story takes place." because we ALL know that will go in one ear and out the other.  By doing this sort of "open" sort, students are constructing meaning on their own. 
Put the setting cards into a small bag (brown paper bag is fine).  Students pass the bag around their group, pulling one card out at a time and describing what they see on the card to the other members of their group.  For example, if the word was "Thanksgiving," they would give clues about Thanksgiving--it is a holiday that we celebrate in November.  We eat turkey.  We watch football, etc.  If they guess the word correctly, they get to keep the card.  Keep this going a few minutes until everyone has had a turn. 

Then, have the students tell you some of the words that they guessed.  As they are telling you this, you are writing them up on the board in two different categories which you have NOT labeled, but one side is for the words that tell WHEN the story is happening the other is for WHERE the story is happening.  After you have heard some of the words and YOU have sorted them into blank columns, think aloud by saying, "Hmm...I wonder if we can figure out a pattern for how these words are related to each other..." then keep going without getting answers from the students. 

Once all the words have been discussed, start taking ideas for what the categories could be--They may come up with something different than what you want, so just acknowledge it and say, "That is a great idea!  I'm thinking of a different way.  Can anyone else tell me a different way that I sorted these words?"

HOPEFULLY, your little sweeties will catch on...but if they don't, again, start thinking aloud to guide them to the right answers.

(I would also like to use this time to use some WBT and have the kids turn to their partners and describe what the setting of the story is.)


Visualize Setting
Use the "Visualize Setting" passage about Thanksgiving dinner to help students visualize the setting.  Explain to students that "When we visualize, we are forming pictures in our minds about the story.  To help us visualize, we can draw a picture."  As you're reading the paragraph, draw a picture of what's happening to model visualizing.  After you draw the picture, talk about what they see to help them determine the setting.

Do some guided practice of visualizing setting.  Read aloud the paragraphs #1 and #2.  As you're reading, students should also be drawing along with you.  Discuss when and where for each paragraph, emphasizing the author's words that give clues.  You could do this all in one lesson OR you could break it up, which is what I am going to do so that they can have independent practice with #3 and #4 the next day.

Use Clues to Identify Setting
Read aloud the paragraphs to students, then they will fill out the "Identifying Clues to find the Setting" graphic organizer together.

Pass the Bag--Character and Setting Cards
This is the same game as what I did to introduce setting and what I will do to introduce character, probably on Day 3 of week.

Incorporating Reading Street
On Day 4, we will listen to "Iris and Walter" and fill out a graphic organizer that I got from Mailbox called "Get the Scoop On ______."  It emphasizes characters, but what I like is that it says when and where for the setting.

Writing Activity
The last activity in the unit are some cards that have When? Where? and Who? listed and the students can create their own stories based on what is on their card.  This will be a great activity for your G/T students.  I will do this over two days--1st day just draw pictures, 2nd day do the writing.


That is what you will find in the unit I have put together.  Some of you have asked about assessments.  If you are using Scott Foresman Reading Street, this is what I did.  I took the HFW page from the weekly selection test and paired it with the Below Level paragraph from the Fresh Reads (just the paragraph), then asked students to name the characters and setting for the paragraph.  I think this year I will add the On Level paragraph as well.  That will give me an idea of who is reading on level or not, and it will also show the parents what a beginning 2nd grade reading level looks like.  If you are still confused by what I mean, comment or email me (amanda.c.archer@gmail.com) and I will try to explain my assessment for this week better.


To see the unit, go {here}.

To see my lesson plans, go {here}.

I would LOVE to hear your feedback.  Will this be useful to you?  Is there something wrong?  Do you have a different idea that you use to teach character and setting??  Share it with us!  I will try to share some of the ideas in my next blog post!