Grade Level:  6

Subjects:  Language Arts, Science, Health

Learner Outcomes:

1. Students will complete chapters 10-20 of The Secret Garden.
2. Students will define key vocabulary terms and be able to use each in a context sentence.
3. Students will take comprehension quizzes after reading each chapter.
4. Students will complete worksheets wo help them understand the novel up to this point.
5. Students will be able to listen to and apply poetry.
6. Students will continue to monitor a science experiment which will help them understand the importance of nurturing a living thing.
7. Students will understand that everyone has certain strengths and weaknesses.
8. Students will be able to differentiate between physical and mental change.
9. Students will discuss self-esteem and why it is so important to the growth of an individual.
10. Students will set self-esteem goals.
11. Students will discuss how each character has changed up to this point and tell what they believe has changed them.
12. Students will continue keeping relevant information in their looseleaf notebooks.
13. Students will continue journal activities.

Materials:
 

1. Copies of novel The Secret Garden
2. Quizzes
3. Worksheets
4. Looseleaf notebooks
5. Journals
6. Plants
7. Selected poetry

• Computer to access Keywords and Quizzes

Teacher Notes:

1. Teacher may need to have an informal discussion of what constitutes self-esteem and why it is so important to an individual.
2. Teacher needs to take time to evaluate the plants daily and discuss their relevance to the characters in the novel.

1. Students will be given a list of vocabulary words for  chapters 10-20.  They will write the word in their notebook and find the context sentence in the chapter.  They will write the sentence in their notebook.  Students will then make up a sentence using the word(s).   Keywords
2. Students will read one chapter a night in the novel until chapters 10-20 are completed.
3. Students will be quizzed daily on the chapter they read.   Quiz10, Quiz11, Quiz12, Quiz13, Quiz14, Quiz15, Quiz16, Quiz17, Quiz18, Quiz19, Quiz20
4. The teacher will then read the chapter to the students or play the cassette of that particular chapter.
5. The teacher will read a selection of poems to the students.  These poems will come from LIFT by Stundance and includes poetry by Robert Browning, Thomas Gray, and Wordsworth.  Students will listen to these passages and write in their notebooks which character the passage might relate to. Worksheet2
6. Teacher will lead a discussion on how everyone has certain strengths and certain weaknesses.  This is what makes them who they are.  The students will then be given a worksheet listing the strength and weaknesses of all the major characters they have become acquainted with in the novel. (Lift, by Sundance).  Worksheet3
7. Students will be given a worksheet that helps them analyze how Mary has changed throughout the course of the novel.  Certain events in Mary's life help her to change.  After a brief discussion, the students will complete a worksheet telling how Mary is different after these things happen to her. (Lift, by Sundance).  Worksheet4
8. Students will brainstorm (in their notebooks) some aspects of self-esteem that they feel are most important to the well-being of a person.
9. Students will select one goal to help raise their self-esteem that they will work on for one week.  They will monitor their progress in their notebooks.
10. Students will check their plants and notice that the plant that is neglected is slowly dying while the plant that is being nurtured is thriving.  They will then discuss how important nurturing is to Mary and Colin as well as the garden.
11. The teacher will then lead a discussion how an individual needs nurturing mentally as well as physically.  The students will then discuss the mental and physical changes that have happened to Mary and Colin.
12. Students will make sure all relevant information is entered into their notebooks.
13. Students will write a journal entry discussing why a person needs love as well as physical necessities in order to grow into a healthy, satisfied person.

1. Teachers should modify the lesson as necessary to meet the students' IEP requirements.
2. Cassette tapes should be made available to students who have difficulty reading.  These tapes could be checked out until the completion of the novel.
3. Peer tutoring should be made available to those students who need it.
4. Teachers should determine the need for student assistance based on inclusion and request a special education teacher when needed.

1. Students should continue working on powerpoint presentations.
2. Students who have completed the novel should work on a book report to be presented to the class.

1. Students quizzes will be evaluated daily
2. Student worksheets will be evaluated.
3. Notebooks will be evaluated.
4. Journals will be evaluated.
5. Class participation will be evaluated.

Language Arts:

Writing
     1.  Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
Reading
     5.  Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process
     6.  Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of literary texts.
Listening and Speaking
     8.  Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes

Science:

Life science
     6.  Understands relationships among organisms and their physical environment

Health:

West Virginia State Instructional Goals and Objectives:

Language Arts:

Listening/Speaking
      6.14:  think critically about oral selection to foster exploration, questioning and imagining

Reading Comprehension
      616:  read library works by national and international authors to include by not to be
               limited to:  short stories, biographies, contemporary nonfiction (science and social
               sciences), narratives, novels, folk-lore, poetry and drama.
      6.20:  locate key words and other explicit information to construct initial meaning
      6.25:  determine the meaning of a word by using context clues
      6.26:  draw conclusions to describe character traits, thoughts, feelings, and motives
      6:27:  draw conclusions to make generalizations, judgments, inferences, and to summarize
                and analyze information based on reading selection
      6:30:  make logical predictions based on events in a passage
      6:31:   use setting, plot, characterization, author' style, and theme to determine understanding
                 and extend the story
      6:34:  identify and apply appropriate strategies to aid in comprehension

Reading Vocabulary
      6:35:  recognize and use key words introduced in the next

Writing
      6:52:  write sentences that are complete, varied, and economical
      6:54:  use writing strategies to address specific writing purposes, such as research, creative,
                journalistic, essay, narrative, informative and persuasive
      6:56:  use a writing prompt to develop a composition that addresses the assigned topic

Science:

Scientific Processes/Thinking Skills
      6:13:  formulate conclusions through close observations
      6:15:  compare and contrast objects and/or organisms.

Health:

Personal health/wellness
     6.8:  Describe characteristics of positive mental and emotional health; discuss self-concept,
             self-esteem and self-control as they relate to personal decision making and mental/
             emotional health

References:

Resources Cited:
      LIFT Literature for Thinking. The Secret Garden.  Massachusetts:  Sundance Publishing, 1997.

Authors:
Williamson Middle School
                  Delores Gattuso   and    Eddie Booten

 

Links to Other Lessons: 
 
 

Overview

Lesson1

Lesson2

Lesson4

Lesson5

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