Main Idea in NPR’s “This I Believe”

Grade Level: 6 and up
Classroom Time: Two 1 hr. 15 min. periods

Skills Addressed:

ELA skill: main idea
ELA skill: organization in writing
Visual Arts skill: subject matter, symbols, and ideas
Visual Arts skill: evaluation/assessment

Process: Day One

The teacher introduces or reviews the skill Main Idea and Supporting Details, using the following resource:
http://www.doversherborn.org/doverelementary/ Library/CANADA/MainIdea.htm
Model the process of identifying the main idea with a recent article from Scholastic at http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/ index.asp
Post the word and definition of philosophy: someone's basic beliefs about the way people should live. Tell students they will be reading essays (website with essays found in Step 4) based on a person’s philosophy, or belief on life (main idea) and that many of these philosophies are based on and supported by experiences we have in life (supporting details). (There is a wide variety of essays—select the ones you feel your students will benefit most from reading.)
Organize students into groups of 3-4. Assign each student a “This I Believe” essay (provide a handout of each essay for each group). Tell students they are to listen/read their assigned essay at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php? storyId=4538138
(If your student computers do not have headphones, you can do this as a whole class exercise with your computer.)
As they are listening/reading, they are to identify the main idea of each essay with a yellow highlighter and supporting details with a blue highlighter.
In their group, students should share and discuss their assigned essay, its main idea and supporting details.
Let students see/read the article on NPR’s website about recreating Seurat’s famous pointillist painting
(http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php? storyId=5550190 ). Discuss what the main idea and the supporting details of Seurat’s original and how this was updated in the Wisconsin version. Prompt students to think about other artworks they have seen and how these could be “updated” but still contain the main idea of the original work of art.

Process: Day Two

Review the concepts discussed the day before: main idea, supporting details, and philosophy.
Students will do a timed writing of their own “This I Believe” essay based on their beliefs about life (main idea). They will need to use their own experiences to support their belief (supporting details). Students may use the webbing tool at ReadWriteThink.org
(http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx? id=127&title=), Inspiration Software, Microsoft Word’s Diagram tool, etc… to organize their thoughts.
Give students 30 minutes to write a “This I Believe” rough draft. When their time is over, have students identify the main idea of each essay (their belief about life) with a yellow highlighter and supporting details with a blue highlighter.

National ELA Standards

Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.
Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

Painter National Visual Arts Standards

Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes.
Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas.
Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others.
Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines.

Painter Art Extension:

Have students record their essays to the computer using a microphone (Logitech makes inexpensive plug n play ones). You can listen as a class, publish to the web or CD, or even submit to NPR.
Use the essays to discuss voice in writing.
Update a work of art by having student’s reenact the scene, main idea and supporting details. Photograph the student creation. A few works that might be fun to recreate might be:

Winslow Homer’s The Country School http://stlouis.art.museum/index.aspx?id=134&obj=41

Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker * Note this image does show some nudity- please review prior to displaying for your students http://www.clevelandart.org/explore/artistwork.asp? searchText= Rodin&tab=1&recNo=0&woRecNo=3

Frida Kahlo’s Las Dos Fridas http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Perspectives /English/ pop.php3?artid=193&language= English&imagename=l_am08.jpg

The mission of Project GRAD is to ensure a quality public education for all students in economically disadvantaged communities so that high school and college graduation rates increase.