Lesson Plan #:AELP-WCP0064
Date: December 7, 1998
Grade Level(s): 2
Subject(s):
Description: Students will engage in story mapping and identification of the various elements of a story.
Goals: Students will engage in creative writing skills.
Objective(s): Students will be able to:
1. demonstrate an understanding of the different elements of a story (i.e. title, author, setting, plot, and characters) by creating a graphic organizer (story map) for the story The Polar Express, written by Chris Van Allsburg.
2. create their own story maps using the story The little Engine That Could, written by Watty Piper.
Materials:
Initiation:
Review with students the components that make up a story- (i.e. title,
author, setting, plot, and characters). Make sure to give a brief
definition of each and why each is important in the creation of a
story.
Tell the students that you want to see how well they know the five parts that make up a story. Have each of the five story elements written on five large pieces of paper. On another five pieces of paper, have the corresponding definitions written. Show these to the students. Tell them that their job will be to come up to the front of the room and match the story element with the correct definition. Have students take turns to come up and make a match. When all students have had a turn, tell the class that since they now know the elements of a story, they will have a turn to create story maps using these elements as guides.
Main Activities:
Show the class the book,
The Element Express. Discuss the front cover of the book and ask the class if they can tell
what the story will be about. Ask if anyone can tell you what the title
of the book is. When it is correctly stated, tell the class that they are
going to hear a story about a train and the magic of Christmas. Tell
students to keep in mind, while the story is being read, the five elements
that were previously discussed. Tell the students to pay close attention to
these elements that make up a story, because they will be asked about
them later.
Read aloud the story The Polar Express. Have a copy of the train story map at hand. (This story map should be large enough for the whole class to see. It should also be in bright colors in order to get the students' attention and interest.) When the story is finished, tell the students that they will each use the parts of the story to help you construct a story train. In order to put the train story map together, children must answer questions relating to the story just read. But, at the same time, students must know the elements of the story in order to answer these questions correctly.
Have the students think about the different parts of the story. Ask them questions on each story element. Direct responses to include discussions on the characters involved in the story, the setting, the plot, the title and the author. When each individual response is given fill in that section on the story train. When the train is completed, tell the students that they will now have a turn to create their own story train. Have each child read The Little Engine That Could. When students are done reading the story, distribute crayons, scissors, glue, a sheet of construction paper, and a copy of the story train- The Element Express. Instruct each student to complete the information on each section of the train. Provide time for each student to color and cut out the pieces of the train, then glue them to construction paper.
Closure:
1. Review with the students the elements of a story and what they mean.
2. Have the students share their individual story maps with each other.
Additional Activities:
To further reinforce the idea of the different parts of a story, place
students in cooperative groups to read a story together. Have each member of the group complete a section of the story train. The completed story maps can be displayed on a bulletin board.
Assessment:
Students will be assessed on the accuracy of the completion of
their
individual story maps. I will also monitor students' understanding by
walking around the room and asking them various questions about each
story element and each section of their story trains.
The students' progress will also be assessed through supplemental and additional activities. These activities will focus on each element separately. For example, in order to make sure that the students understand the concept of characters, I will have them read a story and then have them come dressed to school as their favorite character. They will then have to write a few sentences as to why this specific character was their favorite.
Another way to demonstrate the students' understanding of character is to have them draw their favorite character on their story map. A final way to assess the concept of character is to give the students a picture of a blank suitcase and have the students draw pictures of what the main character, in the book The Polar Express, would pack in his suitcase before boarding on the Polar Express. This activity would also incorporate the concept of plot. The students would have to know what the story is about to know what the character would pack.
One way to assess the understanding of setting of the book is to have the student draw a scene from the book as a background for their story map. In order to assess plot, I would have 3-4 events that occurred in the story written on sentence strips. I would then have the students come up and sequence the events in the order that they occurred in the story. This would not only reiterate the concept of plot but would help in the understanding and comprehension of the story.