CHAPTER 2
A Close-Up Look at a Pursuit-Driven Lesson Here, I offer an example of a pursuit-driven lesson for English language arts.
Each PDL focuses on a content area: arts and culture, ELA, social studies, or STEM.
The topic of the PDL is presented at its start.
Think about the pre-lesson questions before sharing the focus text with children. These questions are designed to spark your interest in the topic and activate
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
The Heart and Love
your background knowledge on it.
LESSON ELA
REFLECT Ask yourself these questions before the lesson to spur your thinking about the topic and focus text. • What do you already know about the heart? • How’s your heart? • How is love connected to our hearts? • What must be the condition of one’s heart to make the world a better place? • What is the function of the heart?
Each PDL has a focus text that centers the learning— for example, a historical document, a piece of art, an article from a magazine, and, in this case, a poem— and, often, supporting texts and images.
FOCUS TEXT “Love Came” by Rumi
SHARE THE TEXT Start the lesson by reading the poem with students. Love Came... and became like blood in my body. It rushed through my veins and
encircled my Heart. Everywhere I looked, I saw One Thing Love’s Name written on my limbs,
Study the focus text before giving the PDL and write your thoughts on its meaning and special qualities. Then, to begin the lesson, read aloud the text to or display the image for children and analyze it together. Share this information to build background knowledge on the topic and text. While this information is not designed to be exhaustive or comprehensive, it will engage children and give them some insight into the topic and text.
on my left palm, on my forehead, on the back of my neck, on my right big toe. Oh, my friend, all that you see of me is just a shell, and the rest belongs to Love.
If the focus text has a supporting text or image, read and analyze it, too. Ask children to share their thoughts before sharing yours.
Rumi, by Iranian artist Hossein Behzad (1957)
BUILD BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE Share the following background on Rumi and the human heart, encouraging discussion and questions.
Jalāl al-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī or Rumi for short, was a 13th century Persian poet and writer, who was best known for writing about love and humanity. In the poem above, he describes love. He writes that love came and flowed throughout the entire body. Just like the heart functions to pump and circulate blood and oxygen throughout the body in order to live, love works the way and can be found in the limbs—hands, head, neck and feet—from
NURTURING THE HEART AND MIND
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Step-by-step guidance for each pursuit-driven lesson
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