For the past few weeks during whole group reading, my
students and I read the book Because of Winn Dixie. Students enjoyed
reading about a young girl and her relationship with her dog. After this unit,
we spent one week learning about text features. I wanted students to combine
the chapter book with their understanding of text features, which led me to
this activity implemented in small group. I sat at the kidney table in the back
of the room with Jessica, Kevin, Michelle, Anthony, and Karen (Brian was out sick).
After reviewing text features and their purposes, I explained that students
were to assume the role of Opal (the young girl in Because of Winn Dixie),
and pretend their dog, Winn Dixie, had just run away from home. They were to
create a “Missing Poster” using five text features. Smiles grew across the
eager faces of Jessica and Karen. Since feedback was minimal from Michelle,
Kevin, and Anthony, I asked if they knew what a “Missing Poster” was. When the
response was “No,” I explained what I was talking about. After my explanation,
Anthony commented, “Oh, like how the police have those ‘Wanted’ posters?” I
explained that students may color their posters if they included five text
features, and if time allowed. Twenty minutes was dedicated to this activity.
Once students understood the assignment, all went to work. Michelle drew a
small box in the top right corner and listed the five text features she wanted
to include on her poster. After seeing this, Karen and Kevin did the same.
Meanwhile, Jessica was hard at work adding pictures, captions, and a bulleted
list to her poster. Ten minutes into creating his poster, Anthony asked, “Are
we going to be able to color this?” From this, I determined he was most excited
about coloring than creating the actual poster since he was lacking key
information. While working, I observed Kevin looking off Karen’s paper. When he
was redirected, he began humming and talking to himself. Jessica obviously knew
exactly what she wanted her poster to look like because she worked for ten
minutes straight and did not speak to anyone. When she was finished, her poster
looked great, included key information from the book, and incorporated five
text features. She eagerly asked if she could color her poster, which she did
for the remaining ten minutes. Michelle gave great effort on her poster and
even included a map, illustrating the location of Opal’s home. During the twenty-minute
block, Kevin was redirected three times, and was able to create a poster with
three text features. Anthony spent his twenty minutes perfecting the drawing of
the dog and did not add any text to his poster. Although they were not colored,
Karen and Michelle completed their posters, meeting my expectations. The
purpose of this activity was to determine how well students could apply their
knowledge of text features to their comprehension of the chapter book. Overall,
three of the five were able to complete this assignment as expected.
Jessica's Poster
Karen's poster
Anthony's poster
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