Thursday, January 7, 2010

Norman Rockwell - Activity 1 Parts of Speech

This is part of the Norman Rockwell integration blog series. To gain access to all the blogs in this series, click the tag “Norman Rockwell”.

You are encouraged to try out these activities and to comment on the blogs, activities and ideas. You might even find that you can share other ways to integrate Rockwell into what you do! Your voice and ideas matter!

Muse Away!

ACTIVITY Parts of speech –

Practicing the parts of speech can become a chore with traditional worksheets. And it’s important for students to understand that parts of speech are everywhere, not just on weekly papers. Using some of Rockwell’s beloved paintings to help students develop and review their knowledge of nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs can be an entertaining and interesting twist to a traditional task.

Materials:

Procedure:

1. Have students look closely at the painting and allow for some time for first impressions and conversations about the characters and the situation.

2. Ask students to take a closer look at the painting and state the prompt depending on what part(s) of speech you are studying or reviewing.

a. “We know a lot about what a noun is – a person, place or thing – now, let’s see if you can locate nouns in this painting.”

b. “We have been studying both nouns and verbs. There are many examples of nouns and verbs in this painting. Look closely and see if you can locate some nouns and verbs.”

c. “You have begun study on adjectives. Now I want to see how many adjectives you can notice in this painting.” Students offer suggestions and then halt. “Look carefully, there are more adjectives in the painting than meets the eye. Take your time and you will see more.”

3. After a short introduction to the activity, invite students to work in small groups or on their own with a new painting. You may want students to complete the WORKSHEET.

Worksheet link: http://theinspiredclassroom.com/articles/Rockwell%20parts%20of%20speech.pdf

Implementation Ideas:

  • Have a copy of a painting for each student. (They do not have to be the same.)
  • Give students a copy to use in small groups.
  • Place copies of paintings around the room and have students do the activity while traveling from piece to piece in an “around the world” format.
  • Do a shared lesson or activity with your whole class or with a small group.
  • Create a center in your room where students can visit and complete the activity.

Extensions and Variations

  • In the t-chart, have students locate common and proper nouns.
  • In the t-chart, have students come up with a relate subject and verb to later use in a sentence.
  • Have students write a sentence about what they see in the painting and underline the nouns, circle the verbs, etc.
  • Students can then expand their sentences by adding in adjectives and adverbs.

Next Blog (due out on Tues, January 12, 2010) – A little bit about Norman Rockwell and how to bring his paintings into your classroom effectively. Plus more activities coming in future blogs this month!

Make a Comment - We want to hear from you. What do you think of this activity? Any extension or variation ideas? Comments are welcomed and encouraged.

2 comments:

  1. What a great lesson plan! It's user friendly and sounds like an amazing way to get students to learn parts of speech! I plan to give this lesson a shot within the next 3 weeks or so. I'll let you know how it goes.

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