This Keala settle biography & character traits lesson is designed for your intermediate classroom
Each year, I begin my sixth-grade year with a This is Me song study. It has proven to an effective and engaging way to start the year!
This year, I decided to add a Keala Settle biography & character traits study to the lesson.
This is another free classroom idea from The Curriculum Corner.
Keala Settle Biography & Character Traits
Once I started reading about Keala Settle, I decided that she could be a great way to begin working on character traits in my classroom.
Included in the download below is a short biography about her life.
The biography is written so that students can identify character traits along with evidence. Students will make a list of three character traits. They will then share the text evidence that led them to their responses.
There are many words that can be used to describe her. It is important to emphasize to students that they must choose words that can be supported by the reading.
For example, the word kind is on the list. While this could be supported by reading students might find in other locations, this is not supported in the biography provided here. Emphasize that students must be able to support their responses.
Some examples of words that students might decide on based on the text are hard-worker, passionate, resilient, triumphant, anxious, and authentic.
Once students have read about her life, you can provide students with a copy of the song. It is not provided in this download due to copyrights but you can easily find it by searching for the lyrics on-line. I like to give my students space to write and draw on the edges of the song.
This is Me Lyrics Study
This song is great for helping students look into the meaning behind words. I will have my students underline any words they do not understand. Sometimes, we will draw pictures on the sides to show the meanings. Other times, students will explain a phrase beside the words. The writing and drawing helps keep them engaged in the conversation and helps them remember what we discuss.
***While I do allow my students to draw while we look at texts, I emphasize that the drawing must relate to the text. I should not see butterflies, rainbows, and other doodles if they do not go with the reading.
We then practice reading through the song together. This is a great opportunity to practice fluency!
Finally, I play the music, and we sing the song together. Usually, students request to sing along a few times.
I also like this video where you can see the rehearsal for the movie: The Greatest Showman Featurette – This is Me with Keala Settle (2017) | Movieclips Coming Soon (youtube.com).
You can download the materials for this activity by clicking on the green apples below:
As always, these materials are intended for free classroom use. You may copy for your school or home. You may not sell or modify these materials in any way.