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 Web-Based Thematic Unit:
Tuck Everlasting - Teacher Resources 

This web-based thematic unit has a wide range of activities for grades 4-6 On this page you'll find an overview of the unit as well as lesson outlines and links to student activities.

Establishing the Learning Environment

This project can be implemented some of the following ways:

Read the book aloud to the entire class.

Read the book individually as a class.

Read the book in reading groups.

Read the book along with cassette tape.

Read the book at the same time as another class at a remote site.

Many activities can become as part of a learning center that contains books, print materials, real objects, a computer, and workspace. Consider creating a display that contains a Tuck Everlasting bulletin board and a table display with a purchased rock fountain or one made by the whole class, music box, art books of impressionist artists, pictures of sunsets and sunrises, old and new family photos, a Ferris wheel made out of tinker toys, and books on friendship.

Resources

  • Collect a variety of fiction, nonfiction, and reference print resources.
  • Organize computer software. (Greetings Workshop)

Technology Setup

  • Schedule time for computer lab to use internet; schedule check out for video camera and tripod; and see if there's a tape available for the camera; schedule time to use digital camera and make sure there's a programmed disk ready to use.

Classroom Management and Activity Guidelines

Classroom activities have been provided as part of this thematic unit. A lesson overview has been provided for each activity. For each lesson, you'll find a set of benchmarks, a suggested timing of the lesson, specific pages connecting the book to the activities, performance assessments, and other activity ideas. Each activity page contains an introduction, task, process and resources, project guidelines, and a conclusion.

Technology access issues: Please modify the activities to fit the needs of your class and access to technology. For example, each activity indicates the need for individual, small group, or whole class work. If you have limited access to technology, you may want to complete many of the activities as a large group using one computer and a large monitor.

Water Fountain - Activity 1

  • Overview: Students will create a 3-D representation of the water fountain and explain its "effect" in the story.
  • Benchmark
    • Make inferences and draw conclusions about story elements and information in texts
      • Understands the relationship between cause and effect
  • Timing:Complete activity after reading Chapter 7.
  • Performance Assessments: 3-D Model and Cause/Effect Rubric
Keeping Secrets - Activity 2
  • Overview: Students will create a card and write a letter to Winnie and give advise on how to handle the problem she is facing in the story of whether she should tell about the spring or keep it a secret.
  • Benchmarks
    • Make inferences and draw conclusions about story elements and information in texts
      • Drawing conclusions
    • Know sensory words, figurative language and their effect on a reader
      • Inferring motives, traits, feelings of characters
  • Timing: Complete activity after reading Chapter 12
  • Book Connections: Chapter 7 and Chapter 12
  • Performance Assessments: Friendship Card Rubric

Never-Ending Water Cycle - Activity 3

  • Overview: Students will visualize the water cycle and/or other topics relating to the water cycle by creating a poster supported with facts, details, illustrations, and examples from internet sources.
  • Benchmarks
    • Summarize and paraphrase information from text
      • Summarizing details from website
      • Thinking about what has been read
      • Paraphrasing
      • Selecting important information
    • Organize ideas for oral presentations
      • Speaking skills
      • Graphic organizers
    • Using visual aids to make presentation
      • Posters
      • Gathering information
      • Cooperative work skills
    • Uses strategies to edit writing
      • Capitalization, Organization, Punctuation, Spelling (COPS)
  • Timing: Complete activity after reading Chapter 7 and Chapter 12
  • Book Connections: Tuck's discussion on page 61-63.
  • Performance Assessments: Poster Rubric and Written Summary Rubric

Conclusion Study the evaporation of water and the water cycle further with some classroom experiments and have students make a family tree for their family by trying to take it back as far as they have the information for. (Ask parents for assistance with this.)


Developed by Crista Ashcraft