MANCHESTER COLLEGE Education Department LESSON PLAN by Jessica Williams Lesson: Multi-Cultural, Multiple Viewpoints, Writing own tale Length: Approx. 2-3 hours Age or Grade Level Intended: 3 rd Academic Standard(s): READING: Comprehension and Analysis of Literary Text 3.3.2 Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Literary Text: Comprehend basic plots of classic fairy tales, myths, folktales, legends, and fables from around the world. (Core Standard) WRITING: Applications (Different Types of Writing and Their Characteristics) 3.5.1 Write narratives that: provide a context within which an action takes place. include details to develop the plot. (Core Standard) READING: Comprehension and Analysis of Literary Text 3.3.3 Determine what characters are like by what they say or do and by how the author or illustrator portrays them. (Core Standard) WRITING: Processes and Features 3.4.2 Discuss ideas for writing, use diagrams and charts to develop ideas, and make a list or notebook of ideas. (Core Standard) Performance Objective(s): Given the Cherokee tale The First Strawberries, the students will show comprehension by completing 2 character charts of characters in the tale using details from the book. Given the Cherokee tale The First Strawberries, the students will write a short tale about how something came into the world with a grade of 80% or higher on rubric. Given 2 character charts and the Cherokee tale The First Strawberries, the students will fill out charts for each the husband and wife character describing 4 different points of view for each. Given a graphic organizer, the student will write down a minimum of 4 supporting ideas for their tale. Assessment:
The students will write a short tale which will be graded with a rubric. Students will fill out and turn in two character charts. Students will fill out a graphic organizer with ideas, and will turn it in with final copy of tale. Advance Preparation by Teacher: Print off two character charts for each student Print off graphic organizer for each student Create rubric and make copy for each student Make a paper with reminders of what to write for each student. Obtain the book The First Strawberries Make sure each student has writing paper and a pencil Origin of lesson: Original, character charts taken from scholastic.com Graphic organizer taken from http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/cluster.pdf Rubric from http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=customizetemplateprint& Procedure: Introduction/Motivation: Tell your students we are going to use our imaginations. Tell them to imagine we are a Cherokee Indian tribe sitting outside around a fire. Then say it s a Friday night and you all want to be entertained. Since there are no televisions or video games, the Indian chief (the teacher) is going to tell a story. Not just any story, but a tale. This is very exciting because tales let us know how events happen and often explain how things in the world came to be. Not just anyone knows the Native American tales they usually get told by mouth. Tell them this tale might tell us what a strawberry means. Say I bet you did not know the delicious fruit strawberry had a meaning. Introduce the book The First Strawberries as a Cherokee tale from the Cherokee Native Americans. Explain that a tales are usually imaginative. Have the students predict what they think this particular tale is about. (Blooms:Comprehension) Step-by-Step Plan: 1. Read the story The First Strawberries aloud to the class. (Gardner s Verbal/Linguistic) Be asking questions such as how do you think she/he felt? or why did he/she feel this way? (Blooms: Evaluation) 2. After reading the story explain that the man and woman had different points of view on what was important and that led to an argument. Once they realized that they saw things differently they resolved their argument. Ask students to turn to a partner and share a time when they had a different point of view from a friend or family member. (Gardner s Interpersonal) (Blooms:Application) 3. Pass out two character charts to each student. Explain that a character trait is a feature or quality that the character has or even feels. Give some examples of character traits such as happy, sad, selfish and funny. Ask the students to fill out the chart so that they can see how each character had different traits which led to different points of view or them seeing and feeling the problem in different ways. (Gardner s Verbal/Linguistic, Visual/Spatial, Intrapersonal) (Blooms:Analysis) 4. Collect the character charts. (Bathroom break/stretch here) 5. After charts are turned in come back to the fact that the story was a tale. Have the students come up with reasons why this tale was probably imaginary. Write these on the
board. (Gardner s Verbal/Linguistic) (Blooms: Knowledge) An example might be that the sun really can t talk. 6. Also remind the students that tales often explain how something comes into the world and this tale explained how strawberries came to be. 7. Explain that tales often also have morals meaning they teach you something in the end. Ask the class what the moral of The First Strawberries is. (Gardner s Verbal/Linguistic) Answer: Always be kind to each other, remember that friendship and respect are as sweet as the taste of the ripe, red berries. 8. Tell the class they will be writing their very own imaginary tale about how something came to be. (Gardner s Verbal/Linguistic) (Blooms: Application) They must be sure to develop a plot of how the object came to be. They must use details about the item they are talking about and how this item came about. For example in The First Strawberries details such as They glowed like fire in the grass, and the woman had to stop when they saw them in front of her explains exactly how the first strawberries looked to the woman. Action and events must happen in the tale otherwise there would be no excitement or plot. From The First Strawberries some action that took place was the husband and wife arguing, the wife walking away, the sun shining it s very hardest on the fruit, etc. A beginning, middle, and end must be included otherwise the story won t flow and the reader won t understand what is happening. Start off with introducing your characters and setting. Then create a conflict or series of events leading to how the item you picked was discovered. End the story with resolving the conflict, the discovery of the item, or the lesson learned (moral). Also include where the story takes place (setting) which will be easy to do in the beginning of the story. It might be a good idea to have a moral to the story, but it is not required. Brainstorm ideas with the students of possible morals to have. 9. Have the students brainstorm individually items they would like to write about along with where the story is going to take place and other supporting details with the given graphic organizer. (Gardner s Visual/Spatial, Intrapersonal) (Blooms: Analysis) 10. After brainstorming, have them start writing their rough draft. (Gardner s Verbal/Linguistic) (Blooms: Application) Let them know that their story only has to be 1 to 2 pages long. 11. After they have worked on their rough drafts for awhile end the lesson for today and save editing for tomorrow. Closure: Wow girls and boys, we did a lot today with our Cherokee tale! We learned that people often have different points of view and this can sometimes lead to arguments. We also learned how the Cherokee s imagined strawberries coming into the world and what they mean to the Cherokee people. And now we know what a tale is. You did a great job being thinkers and writers. Tomorrow we are going to finish our sloppy copy tales and then you will get to share them with your reading group for some feedback. (Gardner s Interpersonal) Give yourselves a pat on the back; you are one step closer to being a published writer! Adaptations/Enrichment: Learning Disability: Allow student to type their rough draft rather than write it out. ADHD: Let student pass out the chart papers and graphic organizers to get up and moving. Be sure to ask student questions about their paper to keep them on task. Allow them to take breaks when needed.
Mild Disability: Allow student to fill out character charts and brainstorm ideas for their paper with a partner or paraprofessional. Also allow student to type paper if needed. High Ability: Allow student to create a character chart for the sun character as well. Also, allow student to include dialogue in their tale, include a moral, and include illustrations. Self-Reflection: Is the lesson too long? Did the students grasp the concept of different points of view? Is writing a tale too challenging? Were the directions clear? Did I accurately teach the state standards?
Write your very own tale! Remember to include A plot with a beginning, middle, and end to story A topic item, something that you describe that is introduced into the world, and how that something came to be. Could be ANYTHING! (examples: the first ladybug, the first Popsicle, the first football game). Where the story takes place How the item came into the world. Use your action verbs and describing adjectives! Characters Proper punctuation and spelling DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS ~Check out the rubric for more information on what is expected of you tale. Happy Writing
Tale of how something came to be Student Name: CATEGORY 4 3 2 1 Total Action Organization Focus on Assigned Topic of tale writing Spelling, Punctuation and length Setting Several action verbs (active voice) are used to describe what is happening in the story. The story seems exciting! The story is very well organized. Ideas are in a logical sequence with clear transitions. There is a clear BEGINNING, MIDDLE, and END The entire tale is related to the theme how something came to be. It is imaginative and can be easily followed by the reader. There are no spelling or punctuation errors in the final draft. Character and place names that the author invented are spelled consistently throughout. Paper is at least 1 page long. Many vivid, descriptive words are used to tell when and where the story took place. Several action verbs are used to describe what is happening in the story, but the word choice doesn't make the story as exciting as it could be. The story is pretty well organized. One idea may seem out of place. Clear transitions are used. There is a BEGINNING, MIDDLE, and END Most of the tale is related to how something came to be. The tale wanders off at one point, but the reader can still follow along. There is one spelling or punctuation error in the final draft. Paper is at least one page long. Some vivid, descriptive words are used to tell the audience when and where the story took place. A variety of verbs (passive voice) are used and describe the action accurately but not in a very exciting way. The story is a little hard to follow. The transitions are sometimes not clear. No logical BEGINNING, MIDDLE, or END Some of the tale is related to the theme, but a reader cannot follow the theme. There are 2-3 spelling and punctuation errors in the final draft. Paper is slightly under one page in length. The reader can figure out when and where the story took place, but the author didn't supply much detail. Little variety seen in the verbs that are used. The story seems a little boring. Ideas and scenes seem to be randomly arranged. Does not have BEGINNING, MIDDLE, and END No attempt has been made to relate the tale to the assigned theme of how something came to be. The final draft has more than 3 spelling and punctuation errors. Paper is under one page and does not meet the length requirement The reader has trouble figuring out when and where the story took place. Score