Teaching demo: Using, building on and supporting L1s and C1s

Teaching Demo: Using, Building on and Supporting L1s and C1s
Content Focus: Artifacts
Grade level: 3rd to 6th grade

1. Put objectives on board:
Content objectives: Become introduced to the concept of artifacts; build list of questions that should be asked about artifacts; understand relationship between culture and artifacts; demonstrate understanding of the genre of ‘artifact talks’.
Language objectives: Expand vocabulary with ‘artifact’ and ‘item’ (and possibly ‘antique’ and ‘Cracker Jack’ from my model); use question-formation skills; use general listening skills.

2. Go over objectives.

3. Tell students that today they are going to learn about artifacts because we have a very special school event coming up soon. Ask if anyone has heard of ‘artifact’ before. If so, ask them to tell us what they think it means. Build on this response.

4. Tell students that you brought an artifact of your own today to help them learn about what an artifact is. Hold up the item that you brought. Tell students that you will pass it around twice. The first time, they should each only hold if for a few seconds. Be gentle with it. The second time it comes, they can take longer with it.

5. After each student has gotten to hold it once, tell the students that this item is a very special item in your family. Tell them that museums are full of special items like this but also very different. Each time a new item is found or brought into a museum, the people working there ask questions about it. These questions allow them to find out about the item.

6. Tell the students that you will be glad to tell them about the item, but that they need to come up with the questions that they will ask. Have a volunteer come to the board and lead the class in creating questions.

7. When the class feels that the task is completed, offer both content and structure feedback on these questions so that the following are included: What is it? How is it used? Who owns/uses it? What is its significance? What is its story?

8. Next, allow the students to ask the questions. Answer them by telling about the antique toy that you brought with you.

9. Tell them that the information that you just gave is what is called an ‘artifact talk’. Tell them that each of them will be giving an artifact talk at the Spring Artifact fair that will be held in your school. To do this, they will complete the following steps: a) Look around their homes for something interesting that belongs to the family; b) Ask their parents about the item using the questions that we created; c) Write an artifact talk with your family’s help; d) Memorize the talk with your family’s help. Tell students that our artifact talks will be in English but that the students can use their first languages with their families as they ask about the objects and begin to put the ideas together. Ask for any questions.

10. Give homework: Go home and look for objects. Come with two ideas tomorrow. We’ll talk about the choices then.