Grade Level:  First

Subjects:   English Language Arts, Mathematics

Learner Outcomes:

The student will use the computer and printer to help design a personalized take home sheet for D.E.A.R. Time @ Home.
The student will be reading with their families at least twice a week. 
The student (with the help of the parent) will fill out the D.E.A.R. Time @ Home slip and illustrate some aspect of the story read.
The student will return the slip to school and place it in the D.E.A.R. Time @ Home folder. 
The student will go to the Internet and look for books they find interesting to them and check with the school, classroom, or public library for availability.

Duration of Lesson:  45 minutes

Materials:

• Print paper 
• Books
• Appropriate and varied reading materials 
• Template or sample D.E.A.R. Time @ Home slips 
• Write-on markers/white board

Technology Tools: 

Computer
Clip Art Files
Internet
Printer

Teacher Notes: 

Each student must have an Acceptable Use Policy on file.
Provide samples of D.E.A.R. Time @ Home slips.
Save and provide template for blank slips. 
Prepare and store appropriate clip art files for student access. 
Provide ample and appropriate reading materials for check-out.
Provide folder for saving returned D.E.A.R. Time @ Home slips.
Send home a teacher prepared memo explaining D.E.A.R. Time @ Home to parents

1. Teacher leads a class discussion of the meaning of D.E.A.R.(Drop Everything And Read) Time and writes down suggestions of how this could take place at home. 
2. Children will use the computer to design (using template or sample as suggestion) a D.E.A.R Time @ Home slip to be signed whenever Family D.E.A.R. Time takes place in the home. Criteria for slips: ( Picture pertaining to reading or books/Lines provided for date and student/parent names)
3. The children (with the teacher's help) will print out the slip.
4. The teacher will duplicate one to be sent home per week.    The child will keep a tally of how many times the family had D.E.A.R. Time that week and total the number on the slip to be turned in at the end of the week.
5. The child will bring in the D.E.A.R. slip and keep track of the week's reading on the "Tracking The D.E.A.R. Time Chart" by using a colored pencil to color the corresponding number of books read each week.
6. The children will either check out books from the classroom/media center or may use books available to them at home and/or through the Internet.
7. The children and supervising adult will sign the D.E.A.R. Time @ Home slip on a regular basis confirming the assignment's completion.
8. The child will draw a representative picture on the slip or write a short one or two word reaction to the materials read.
9. The children will place the slip in the proper folder.
10. These may be shared weekly by the children as they discuss what was read at home and by whom.
11. Slips may be filled out either by the parent or child or both. Reading at home in any configuration is acceptable; parent reading to child, child to parent, sharing of text and/or pictures, whether aloud or silently.
12. Offer, on each slip, a comment section as an option for parents.

Modifications:  Find people who can listen to or share books with non-participating students (principals, co-workers, volunteers).  Allow these people to help the child fill out the D.E.A.R. Time @ Home slips. This gives every student the opportunity to participate in the Drop Everything And Read Program in their classroom. 

Enrichment Activities:

1. Invite students to do D.E.A.R. oral reports or written reports and share with the class.
2. Ask able students to read to others to provide good reading models.
3. Read Internet stories to others in the classroom.

1. The on-going collections of D.E.A.R. Time @ Home slips document the participation level of the class.
2. The parent comment section is a very valuable documentation of the parent's assessment of the program as well as their evaluation of their child's reading.

West Virginia Instructional Goals and Objectives:
English Language Arts:
Listening/Speaking/Viewing:  1.1, 1.6, 1.9, 1.12, 1.13
Reading Comprehension:  1.20, 1.22, 1.26, 1.32, 1.34, 1.37
Reading Vocabulary:  1.41, 1.51, 1.58
Composition:  1.76
Computer/Technology:  1.117
Mathematics:
Probability/Statistics:  1.25, 1.26

National Standards:
Language Arts:
Writing:  1.6
Reading:  5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.8, 5.9
Listening and Speaking:  8.1, 8.3, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8
Mathematics: 2.1

References: 
Discovery.com
Candlelight Stories
RIF Net
Kinderstart
Adventures from The Book of Virtues
 
 

Overview

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5