Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligences from Theory to Practice

NON-FICTION

CONVENTIONS OF WRITING:

SUBJECT and PREDICATE with FIREBOAT

November 11, 2010

Author: Larry Delgado, EDU 0300A

ELA, Standard 1:
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral and written text. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language to acquire, interpret and apply information.

Lesson Topic: Identifying Subject and Predicate

Grade LeveL3rd   4th Grade

Time: 45 minutes to an hour

Overview:  In this lesson, we will be reading from Fireboat by Maria Kalman as an example of a story with sentences that have a subject and predicate and then identifying those parts.  Fireboat is a wonderful book for teaching subjects and predicates in sentences because the book is made of small direct sentences and the picture illustrations are great in supporting the text. After subjects and predicates are identified, the children will be asked to match and create parts of sentences with sentence strips that have a subject and predicate, or, for above level students, create new independent sentences. The tiered content lesson will follow the Writer�s Workshop model. As outlined in  Fountas and Pinnell in Guided Readers and Writers, the Writers Workshop is an extremely effective instructional strategy in that the format provides appropriate, intensive, targeted instruction to whole groups, small groups and individuals and it further provides the  opportunities to write during the school day. 

Student Objective/Aim:
 
� Read Aloud  and discuss subject and predicate;
� Identify subject and predicate in Fireboat;
� Demonstrate an understanding of subject and predicate by writing sentences.

Material:

� Fireboat by Maria Kalman;
� Blackboard or overhead projector to display sentence strips;
� Material to make sentence strips.

Instruction: 
Phase 1
Writer�s Workshop
The Mini-Lesson:

Connection: In today�s lesson I�m going to show you how to identify a sentence. Sentences are always made up of parts. We will be learning how to identify a subject and predicate in a sentence. Next, you will be writing sentence in which you will have to identify the subject and predicate. The book I have chosen for this lesson is Fireboat. Has anyone ever read this book? What I like about this book is that it has lots of sentences and nice pictures that will help us identify the subject.   We will also continue with making a chart of the heroes attributes, like we did with Superman story mapping lesson.

Teach:  During the first reading of Fireboat the instructor teaches the highlighted points below.  The teacher re-reads the book, only this time focusing on a few sentences in the story book and points out subjects and predicates in those selected sentences.

Teaching: Subject and Predicate

� The teacher will write several sentences on the blackboard chosen from Fireboat;
� The instructor will ask the students to try to identify the subject and predicate in the sentences. Should the students be unable to identify the subject, the teacher will have to clearly explain what a subject is and then identify it in the first sentence listed on the board by circling it in color;
� Once the subject is identified, the instructor should ask about the remainder of the sentence. If students cannot identify it, he should explain to them that it is the complete predicate and then underline that portion of a sentence;
� The teacher should encourage students to identify subjects and predicates in the remaining sentences from Fireboat in the same way.

Engagement:  The teacher will ask the children to find the subject and predicate, as they work in groups, by having them do the following:

� Provide students with cut outs listing four complete subjects and matching four complete predicates written on sentence strips;

Subject Predicate
     
The Harvey                       Was the largest, fastest and shiniest fireboat of them all
The Harvey                       Was considered old and useless
It                                         Had 5 diesel engines so it could go 20 miles per hour
The Sky                              Filled with fire and smoke

� Have the students find sentence strips that go together to create a match;
� Once the pairs are created, have the students explain which part goes first and which one last and thenname them both;
� Remind them that in order to determine where the predicate is located in the sentence, they have to always find the verb first;
� Tell the students that they can find the subject by asking �Who� or �What� about the verb;
� Ask the students whether not keeping the sequence (i.e. placing predicate before the subject in a particular sentence) would still create a coherent, grammatically complete sentence;
� Ask the students why do they think subjects and predicates need each other;
� Have the students indicate how the subjects in all sentences begin and what punctuation marks are present in each predicate part of the sentence.

Readiness Level:

Students in tier 1 will work in pairs with sentence strips from the non-fiction story book. Each strip will have a subject and predicate and the students are to match them correctly. Students will work with strips similar to the ones listed above.

Students in tier 2 will work in triads with sentence strips from the non-fiction story book. Each strip will have a subject and predicate and the students are to create new subjects and predicates for each strip. This activity is more challenging than the activity created for students in tier 1. 

Students in tier 3 will work in pairs and create their own independent sentences in their writer�s notebook. Each student-created sentence will have a subject and predicate. Students in this group will identify their subjects and predicates in their creative sentence by underlining the predicate and circling the subject. Afterwards, students will share their sentences with the class while indentifying the subject and predicate. This activity is more challenging than the activity designed for students in tier 1 and 2. 

Differentiating by Multiples Intelligences

Interest and Learning Style:

Visual Spatial- Draw a picture then identify subject and predicate
Verbal Linguistic- Tell me a story and then identify subject and predicate
Naturalist-Making comparisons identify subject and predicate in different sentences
Musical-Rhythmic-Create a jingle and then identify subject and predicate
Logical-Mathematical-Make a puzzle and then identify subject and predicate
Intrapersonal- Personal Journal writing and then identify subject and predicate
Interpersonal- Group discussion and then identify subject and predicate
Bodily-Kinesthetic- Role play and event and then identify subject and predicate

Link: After completing the lesson and writing activity, the teacher will choose two sentences and a Multiple Intelligence product completed by the children and display them on a chart, and remind students that a sentence must always have two parts: a subject and predicate. The teacher should keep up a chart with the sentences on the classroom wall so the children can referrer to it during other literacy lessons.

Teacher may say:We must always remember that a sentence is made up of parts, together they make a sentence. When we have writing assignment check to see if you have a complete sentence by checking if you have subject and a predicate in every sentence. We will keep our sentence strip up on the wall so that you can use it as a reminder.

Phase 2
Writer�s Workshop
Independent Practice and Conferencing:

Activity:  The children use their assigned reading literature to select sentences to practice the new lesson. They will be writing their selected sentences in their writing notebooks and drawing a circle around the subject and underline the predicate. During this phase of the lesson the teacher is walking around the class observing and helping. This activity will help demonstrate understanding of the lesson.

Phase 3
Writer�s Workshop
Sharing:

Activity: The children share their sentences with the class by volunteering to go up to the blackboard and write one of their sentences. While at the board they are to draw a circle around the complete subject and underline the complete predicate. Review each sentences with the entire class by reading them aloud. Make sure the students that go up to the board have accurately identified the subject and predicate before they are selected to go to the board to display their work.
Evaluation: Evaluation and assessments can be performed by the teacher throughout the lesson in

Phase 2, as the teacher conducts conferencing with the students. Teacher will observe the success rate of the students understanding the concept of subject and predicate by observing how the students were successful at matching the subject and predicate in the sentence strip exercise. The teacher will also note how well the students comprehend the new lesson through the exercise of drawing a circle around the subject and underlining the predicate in their selected sentences from assigned readings. These activities will demonstrate if students are able to apply their knowledge of subject and predicate.

Extension Activities: (Optional) Advanced learners can create their own sentences and then circle the

subject and predicate with a creative story.

Modification for Special Needs: (Optional)  Special Needs learners will get needed assistance in small

group conferencing during Phase 2 of �Writer�s Workshop.�

Rubric: The Rubric is class created. 

An alternative that incorporates all the intelligences would be, for example, a unit in social studies asking students to investigate the Executive Branch of Government.

Objective: Students experience how a political campaign is organized.

In addition to the typical text research, lecture and test, teachers could implement the following activities to accommodate the Multiple Intelligences:

Intelligences Stimulated

� Verbal Intelligences: research the various political parties and their platforms.
 
� Logical, Naturalist, and Interpersonal: form a political party and create a platform, and select a presidential candidate

� Kinesthetic and Visual: create brochures, posters and bumper stickers supporting presidential candidate and his or her platform. 

� Visual, Musical and Kinesthetic: create political commercial using computers and cameras.

� Verbal and Interpersonal Intelligences: presidential candidate could give a speech

� Verbal and Logical Intelligences: students vote on their favorite candidate
Throughout the unit, students are using their interpersonal intelligence because it is a collaborative effort.