DRIVING QUESTION:
How can we design and share a set of activities for kids to do at home while their parents are working?
Day 2: Build Knowledge
Overview
It is essential for children to understand the reason for this challenging problem - the “why” behind this project. Today’s lesson is about getting a baseline of what children know about the coronavirus. To start this conversation, you might ask, What do you already know about the Coronavirus? Kids can share their ideas. Take time to listen to what they have to say. It is important that their ideas, whether they are fully accurate or not, are heard and their feelings validated.
Key Questions
What is the Coronavirus?
Why are we staying home from school?
Project Work Time: Reading, Speaking and Listening
Just For Kids: A Comic Exploring the New Coronavirus
Read the following materials with your child and have children share what they notice about the comic.
What are the different elements of the comic? (i.e. speech bubbles, pictures, words, color)
How might they make their own?
(These materials were originally printed on NPR’s website HERE. )
You can listen to a short piece from Cory Turner, NPR’s education reporter on Morning Edition here:
MALAKA GHARIB writes:
“It's based on a radio story that NPR education reporter Cory Turner did. He asked some experts what kids might want to know about the new coronavirus discovered in China.
To make this comic, we've used his interviews with Tara Powell at the University of Illinois School of Social Work, Joy Osofsky at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans and Krystal Lewis at the National Institute of Mental Health.
Print and fold a zine version of this comic here. Here are directions on how to fold it. To read this comic in Chinese, click here."
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
The Coronavirus Social Story
Read the story and Ask children to share what they noticed.
How do you think this story could help others?
Is this something we could make?
What did we learn about the virus and how to help ourselves stay healthy?
Additional Resources
“Over the last few weeks, children have called into “The Daily” with a lot of questions about the coronavirus: How did the virus get on earth? What color is coronavirus? And can dogs get it? Today, we try to answer them. Guest: Carl Zimmer, science reporter and author of the “Matter” column for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.”
Project Work Time: Writing
Create Your Own Comic Strip: A Printable Template
Children make their own comic strip intended to help other kids understand the virus. As they are designing their comic or story, check for understanding:
Do children have a basic grasp of the key concepts?
Is there room to revise/change?
How can you provide clarity around the concepts and context?
(The following is taken directly from Scholastic.com. See the original post HERE.)
BY SCHOLASTIC PARENTS STAFF FEB 15, 2018
Children can combine creativity and writing by filling in these blank comic strips with their own unique stories and illustrations. If children enjoy comics and graphic novels, encourage them to create their own comic strips using this template. You can brainstorm about what to draw — and write — in the comic strip. If you are a teacher, encourage your students to lead the way, filling in the speech bubbles and drawing in all the boxes. If the story can't fit in just one page's grids, print out more pages, and keep the comic going. This comic will be a part of the final product as children teach others why there is a current need for games and activities at home.
Checking for Understanding
Read over the social story or comic children created. Check for any misconceptions or misunderstandings and try to help clarify them.
Share Your Progress
Remember to share your photos, ideas, and questions on our Facebook page and to check out what everyone else is doing. You can take a photo of your child’s comic or social story and post it!