Lesson Plan : R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Teacher Name: | Kayla Hearne |
Grade: | Grade 3 |
Subject: | Language Arts |
Topic: | Compare/Contrast |
Content: | How does racism effect us? Key Concepts- compare and contrast two different books with related themes Vocabulary- compare, contrast, acceptance, rejection |
Goals: | The student uses varied strategies to comprehend bodies of work. |
Objectives: | 1.The student will be able to identify similarities and differences within two books, including characterizations and plots, by way of mouth and pen and paper. 2.The student will be able to discriminate between positive and negative, in regards to acceptance and rejection. |
Materials: | The Brand New Kid by Katie Couric, The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson, Venn-Diagram worksheet, orange, apple, blank sheets of paper, strips of paper |
Introduction: | Hold up an orange and an apple side by side. Ask what the two items have in common, making a list of all answers for the class to see. Then ask how the two items differ. (Explain that the first is called comparing and the latter is called contrasting.) Then ask the students which piece of fruit he/she would prefer and why, linking back to acceptance and rejection. Refer back to The Brand New Kid, which was read in a prior lesson, reviewing whatever had been discussed previously. Introduce The Ugly Duckling, allowing for predictions to be made about what the book may be about by taking a picture walk through the book. During the prediction stage, make a list of predictions on the white/chalk board or on a piece of chart paper, for later reference. After making any and all predictions, proceed to read through the story. After reading the story, discuss how the ugly duckling must have felt when treated the way he was. (�Do you think he felt rejected or accepted in the beginning of the story? Why? How about in the end of the story? Why?) Proceed to question how his brothers and sisters should have treated him in order for him to have felt accepted rather than rejected. |
Development: | Provide a concrete definition for compare, contrast, accepted, and rejected. To compare means to name similarities among two or more objects. To contrast means to name differences among two or more objects. To accept something means to take or receive something or someone with approval. To reject something or feel rejected means to refuse to accept someone or something. Introduce the Venn-diagram, providing clear-cut instructions on how it is used. A Venn-diagram is two circles that overlap. The right circle is used to describe attributes or characteristics about one object, the left circle is used to describe the other object, and the middle where the two circles overlap is used to describe attributes both objects have. Review the plot of each story, asking the students to name important events, specifically those that showed signs of acceptance and/or rejection, which occurred within each text, as well as how each character felt throughout the stories. Using a t-chart, write down each event and emotion, supposedly felt by the characters, to be used for later reference. Read through the list of events for each story and circle what the two have in common, as directed by the students. Allow for opportunities for students to explain why or why not something should be circled. |
Practice: | After coming to a consensus on what the two stories have in common, develop a Venn-diagram and transfer the information circled onto the diagram. Allow students to write in the information where they think it should go within the diagram. All the circled items should end up in the middle where the circles overlap one another because that is what the two stories have in common. The information that is not circled should end up written down within its respective circle. Check with the class on whether or not everything is put in its proper place. If yes, then move on to the next item. If no, then allow for debate among the class until a consensus is reached. |
Accommodations: | When first introducing the concept of compare/contrast, pass the orange and apple around, giving each student a chance to look at and feel each piece of fruit at a more concrete level. Then allow time for think-pair-share for partners to discuss similarities and differences of the fruit. After think-pair-share, begin to write down the similarities and differences. Provide a Venn-diagram worksheet for each student to provide the opportunity to take notes if needed as well as reduce stress in making the Venn-diagram from scratch. This will provide a visual aid for the independent practice portion of the lesson. Also, providing different compare/contrast graphic organizers, such as a t-chart or a bubble map, will also provide a more concrete example of how comparing and contrasting works. |
Checking For Understanding: | Do a walk-through around the room as students complete their Venn-diagrams, asking questions such as, �What do you and your partner have in common?� giving students an opportunity to state the similarities they found among each other, as well as allow the teacher to see if what the students say match up to where the information is written down in the diagram. Also, it allows time to check whether or not students can discriminate positive from the negative, or acceptance from rejection for that matter. Instead of having students write, invite students to draw pictures to represent words they may not have the knowledge of in the English language. |
Closure: | Review the concepts of compare, contrast, acceptance, and rejection. Invite students to share with the class what he/she and his/her partner have in common as well as different. |
Evaluation: | Assign students to keep a journal of two consecutive days out of the week, with pictures or words. Instruct them to keep a log of everything positive that happens throughout those two days. Then have students transfer the information into a Venn-diagram, placing in the middle any events that may resemble one another. |
Teacher Reflections: |
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