1. Regina Cucinotta<br />TAH: Maritcha Lesson<br />2/26/10<br /> I decided to create a lesson exactly the way I would in my own classroom. My students as individuals all learn on various levels and in different ways. Since this book is above many, if not all, of their independent reading levels, splitting them up into groups would work best for all of them. I would take the time to group them according to levels as well as their needs. Including higher level learners with lower level learners is important, since the lower levels are often guided by the higher level learner. <br />In addition, the main focus would be for all groups to first learn about Maritcha. I would have each group together while I instructed them as a whole class to discuss main important events of her life, and walk them through parts of the book. This way, they will become familiar with the book and find it easier to look through to research her life. <br />Objective: Students will work in differentiated groups to research Maritcha Remond Lyons life, which includes her childhood, education, struggles, adult life, and her accomplishments. Students will also use photographs and illustrations within the book to observe and make inferences about what life was like for Maritcha, and compare that to their own lives. <br />Motivation: Using the smart board, all groups will join together to study the photograph of Maritcha, as shown on the cover of the book. I will ask the students to tell me what they feel, see, or think about when they observe this picture. What do you notice about this girl? How old do you think she is? What can you infer about the way she is dressed? When do you think this picture was taken? What do you feel when you study her facial expression? How can you describe her features? After they have scrutinized her picture, I will introduce her name, and who she is. I will give books out to each group and explain to them that they will be researching the life of this African-American girl in the 19th century. I will proceed to do a book-walk with them, showing them the content in the book, including the Preface ( I will read aloud the preface as they read along silently), photos, captions, Author’s Note, notes, and any other pertinent content in the book that will be useful for them.<br />Groups: Next, the groups will scatter at different sections of the classroom to work. I’d like each group to have at least 3 books, since they would be split into 5 groups of 5, with 3 groups having 6 (since there are 28 kids in my class). <br />Group one: The focus of group one is to find information on the early childhood years of Maritcha. I will hand out index cards with different questions on each. Each member will get a card and can work in pairs or all together. <br />Questions: Where and when was Maritcha born? Where was her first home located?<br />Questions: Who were her siblings? What did her family do for work? What type of chores did Maritcha have? <br />Questions: What did Maritcha do for fun? Who were her parents? What were some of Maritcha’s cherished childhood memories? <br />Questions: What church did Maritcha and her family attend? What was segregated seating in church? Who was Fredrick Douglas to Maritcha?<br />Questions: What illness does the author think Maritcha had? What did her parents purchase for Maritcha to keep her spirits up while she recovered from her illness? What occupation did her Grandfather, Dr. James McCune have?<br />Group two: The focus of this group is to find information on Maritcha’s education, and the triumphs she endured during her education experience.<br />Questions: When was Maritcha ready to return to school? What school did she attend? What was the problem with Maritcha going back to school?<br />Questions: How did Maritcha feel about school? What made her anxious about her journey to and from school? Read over page 20. What does this information tell you about her family?<br />Questions: What was the Lyon’s house used for according to pages 20-22? What would have happened if anyone found out about this? What happened on Saturday, July 11, 1863? What problems arose from this? <br />Questions: What happened on the second day of the riots? (p.26) Explain how the author describes how Maritcha’s home appeared after the third attack. (p28)<br />Questions: Where did Maritcha and her family go after they realized it was too dangerous to stay in their home? What did her father do? Where did Maritcha and her family stay during this time? <br />Questions: In what year was her family ready to live back in NY? When did Maritcha graduate? Where did she end up moving to? Why?<br />Group three: This groups focus will be on Maritcha’s fight to follow her dreams, the family’s new life in Rhode Island, and her adulthood.<br />Questions: In Rhode Island, what business did her father begin? What did her mother do for work? Why couldn’t Maritcha enroll in the high school she wanted to? What was the result of Maritcha’s plea to the law makers?<br />Questions: What was Maritcha forced to do in order for her to enter Colored Grammar school 3? In what years did she attend this high school? What was Maritcha’s main focus in school? What was school like for her by her senior year? <br />Questions: Who was Maritcha’s lifelong friend? How old was Maritcha when she finally graduated? What did Maritcha decide to do as her occupation? <br />Questions: According to the Authors Note, when did Maritcha begin teaching? What was the name of her first school? What was her position at Brooklyn’s Public School No. 83? In what year did she retire? <br />Questions: According to the Author’s Note on p. 43, what were Maritcha’s brightest memories in her adult life? When did Maritcha die? How old was she?<br />Group 4: ( 6 students) This group will focus on the observations of some illustrations and photographs in the book. I will have a quadrant card cut to fit the size of the picture, and students in this group will first work as a group, then in pairs, and back to a whole group.<br />Picture 1: Look at the illustration on page 6. Read the caption. Study the picture. Talk about what you see with your group members.<br />Next, students will use the quadrant card to help observe sections of the picture. They will cover the picture, and study the section that is uncovered. (Each pair will have a different section of the quadrant card uncovered) <br />Now what do you see? Discuss it with your partner, and chose a writer to write about your observations on loose-leaf paper.<br />Finally, discuss what you saw in your quadrant as a group. After members have discussed their findings, they can switch quadrant cards to observe other sections of the picture. <br />Group 5: This group will observe the Lyons’ Ice Cream Depot advertisement on page 34, and create a new ad that will help the Lyons’ family gain more customers by persuasion. Students will use supplied construction paper, crayons, etc. to create a persuasive ad for the family’s Ice cream shop, then compare it to the one in the book. <br />Questions to help creativity: Look at the way the ad is pictured. Think about the ads you have seen in Ice Cream shops that you have been to. How can you create a new advertisement that will look more appealing to the customer? What things can you add to it or take away from it that will help? Think of a catchy phrase you can write on the ad to make the customer interested or curious about tasting the Lyons’ ice cream. Do you think the ad is organized? If not, how would you organize it so that it the customer can easily read it? <br />At the end of this lesson, student will share what they have come up with throughout their research. For homework, students will compare Maritcha’s life to their own lives, including their wardrobe, play, family experiences, etc. For the next few days, I would like to switch the role of each group in order for all groups to complete each task. <br />