Download Try It Out: Team 2

Part Three: Try It Out!
Team member’s name: Lisa Murphy
Name of strategy implemented: Hearts Activity
With whom the strategy was implemented (grade-level/content
nd
area, other teachers, etc.): 2 grade, language arts, whole group
literacy instruction with a certified regular classroom teacher
Student/participant examples and pictures (if available) to
document the outcome of the strategy attached.
Sociocultural Benefits
The Hearts Activity provides many sociocultural benefits by
addressing the students’ memories of their own culture and the
world by reading a book and making connections to their life and
culture through written expression on the hearts chart.
Linguistic Benefits
The Hearts activity allowed students to use their language in an
informal way because it allowed them to express feelings and
memories from their own experiences.
Classroom Tips:
The book that was used had many words that the students had
Classroom Tips:
little background knowledge of so they had a visual in order to help
The graphic organizer helped the students be able to express
them understand the meanings of the words and make those
themselves privately and in an organized way. They were allowed
connections socially and culturally.
to share orally but were not forced to do so.
Academic Benefits
The students were able to make self to text to world connections
by reading a book and then they were about to think about the
content as it related to their own lives personally which added to
their background knowledge of the content.
Cognitive Benefits
The cognitive benefits of this activity are that the students are
allowed to see the information presented in an organized way by
use of a graphic organizer. The students also practiced organizing
information by using their own graphic organizer. This taps into
differing learning styles.
Classroom Tips:
This activity can be used across the curriculum and subject areas,
Classroom Tips:
which include social studies, science, reading skills and strategies,
Incorporating different learning styles is important and teachers
writing that deals with fiction and nonfiction. It also correlates with
should be aware of the different ways their students learn.
our current second grade animal projects.
Questions for the team regarding implementation of the strategy (e.g., length of time, supplementary materials, recommendations for
implementing/adapting the strategy) written as a bulleted list by the team member who implemented the strategy.
I would complete this activity over 2 days for 45-50 minutes each day:
Day 1: I would complete a KWL chart to build on background knowledge of the rainforest. Read the book “The Great Kapok Tree”
aloud to the class. Discuss how the animals felt about losing their habitat or home? Discuss how they would feel if they lost their
home. Discuss any connections they may make to their culture or other cultures or other life experiences. Students can make a
connection to text and world.
Day 2: Review what happened in the story “The Great Kapok Tree”. How did the animals feel? Introduce the heart graphic organizer.
Explain what each part means to the class. On the outer part of the hear discuss, when are times people could lose their home. In my
class, this lead to a discussion of what happened in Haiti and Chile. In the middle part of the heart, discuss how people would feel if
they lost their home. In the inner part of the heart discuss, a memory of a time they had to move to a new home or new country.
Students could share their responses if they chose to.
Materials: Colorful pictures to correlate with the vocabulary words which have been copied onto paper and laminated, “The Great
Kapok” book, tape, copies of the heart graphic organizer for each child, the heart graphic organizer on chart paper, pencils, marker
Recommendations for implementing/adapting the strategy:
- This activity can be used during whole group instruction or in small group
- Children can work together with partners or in cooperative groups.
-The push in teacher can also use this activity to help newcomers overcome anxiety of coming to a new country.