Mystical! Magical! and Mysterious! What better topic for our nonfiction unit. My students are very curious about many things. I know this book will both entertain, amuse, and captivate their attention. It will motivate them to go beyond the text and do some serious research.
I have three classes of middle school students (mostly boys).
They are sixth grade students in a large urban city with a predominately Hispanic population in a public school setting. Almost all of our families come from very low income situations. My students are constantly changing, both physically and emotionally. They are curious, very bright, and challenging. They want to know about everything they come across; from news reports to many interesting game websites. Researching on a topic is always their next step in their education. They love to read nonfiction materials, especially about magic, circus, and acrobatic performers. What a better way to engage them then through a performer like Houdini!
My Project
My middle school students are very curious, always wanting to try different things and asking many questions. As such, I want to engage their intellectual curiosity by exposing them to good nonfiction literature. One fascinating and enticing topic is magic. I want my students read the novel, Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini by Sid Fleischman. Through this novel, my students will develop the reading technique of "coding the text" to help their comprehension of story concepts. They will utilize this reading and thinking strategy to help them improve their reading comprehension as well in other disciplines, such as Humanities, Science, and Math. Furthermore, I will use this topic as a catalyst to introduce research skills and further guide them to the Library of Congress website as a resource.
I want to empower my students with the competitive skills they will need now and in the future.
This project will help them develop academically and provide them with the intellectual foundations to meet the new Common Core Standards.
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