Book Title: Ellens Broom

Author: Kelly Starling Lyons and Illustrated by Daniel Minter

Your Name: Haley Neidig
Lesson Overview

Issue Confronted: Slavery/Freedom

Standard:2.RL.2.3: Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and

how characters affect the plot.

Objectives/Assessment
o Objective: After reading Ellens Broom, students will be able to describe the
impact of the characters on the storys outcome.
Formative: I will listen to students answers in the Grand Conversation
and assess whether they understood the story.
Summative: After each group has finished creating an example of
freedom and positive actions, they will present the information to me
and I will check to see if they understood how their character changed
the outcome of the story. If the students have created a play, I will
take pictures for them to include in their final portfolio. The students
will be given a checklist to make sure their project meets the criteria
for characters changing the plot of the story. At the end of the unit,
the students will create a portfolio including all of the aspects of the
unit, and their creation today will be included in that portfolio.
Differentiation and Culturally-Responsive Practices
o In the Grand Conversation and the Extended Learning students will discuss
their background and some of the experiences where they have had no
freedom.
o Multiple learning styles will be addressed in the lesson like visual and auditory
in the book reading and kinesthetic and many more in the creative part of the
assignment. The creative portion of the lesson will allow students to use
several multiple intelligences and pick the one they want to use.
o Struggling learners will have the support of the read aloud, group discussion,
and also a buddy for the project. I will also be available and walking around to
help those in need during the project.
Management of:
o Time: Read Aloud (15 mins.); Grand Conversation (10 mins.); Craft Time (15
mins.); Closure (5 mins.)= Total Time (40 mins.)
o Materials: Ellens Broom, craft supplies, sticky notes, and sign up sheet
o Space: For the read aloud students will sit on the floor in the front of the room.
For the partner activity students will be working around the room. The closure
will occur at the students desks.
o Behavior: I will use the clip system in place in the classroom. If a student is
misbehaving or being disrespectful he will clip down. If a student is being
extra helpful or obedient, he will clip up. Students will be expected to raise
their hand during the Grand Conversation. Students will be expected to work
at a low level of volume during the group work. Once a group has presented
their creation to me, they will be expected to clean up and read silently.

Building/Activating Background Knowledge

Bring in an old fashion broom and lay it on the ground as if someone could jump over
it. Have students sit around it and tell you what someone might use this broom for.
Have them list off several ideas. Then ask them how one might use a broom in a
wedding. Have them puzzle through the idea. Then, show a picture a couple
jumping over a broom.
(http://www.finestluxuryvacations.com/uploads/packages/img536b9dd29dbd0.jpg)
Ask why someone would want to jump over a broom at a wedding? Maybe it is an old
tradition. Look at the front cover and back cover of the book and make predictions of
what will happen in the story by turning to your neighbor and telling him.
Purpose: Today we will be learning how characters can make decisions that impact the
outcome of a situation for good or bad.
Essential Questions: How can someone positively follow the rules even if it is a limitation to
his freedom?
Constructing Understanding

Read-Aloud: I will read Ellens Broom to the students using different voices for each of
the characters.
Grand Conversation: After reading the book, students will begin to answer questions
and discuss topics presented. These are a sample of many question to use as the
conversation flows.
o Did you like this book? What was your favorite part or your least favorite part?
o We predicted what might happen in the book from the front and back cover.
Did your ideas change by the end of the book? Thumbs up for yes, thumbs
down for no.
o Who are the main characters in the book? Ellen and her family
o Why were the people excited at the beginning of the book? They were free
and could get married.
o Where did the family live? In a cabin.
o What is a broom wedding? A wedding for those who were enslaved. They
could not have a real wedding, so this was their symbol of a wedding.
o What is freedom? Being able to act how you want without anyone stopping
you.
o How do we know there was not freedom from this story? The slaves had to
have a broom wedding. There were pictures of people in chains and husbands
and wives being separated.
o Why did the family keep the broom even after the parents were able to get
married by the law? The broom was a symbol of the past and what they went
through. The broom showed what they were able to overcome.
o Did the slaves just say Well I guess we cant get married because the law
says we cant? No, they had a broom wedding.
o Do you think it was right for slaves to not be allowed to get married by the
law? No.
o Do you think they were able to make a bad time good? How? Yes, they
decided to not let the law stop them and get married anyway.
o What if the characters had a bad attitude? How might the story have been
different?

Think to yourself of a time when you went through a bad time and were able
to make something good out of it. Turn to a friend and tell them what that
was. If you cannot think of a time or do not want to share, then think of an
example of how you could do this in the future. Now, tell them how the event
could have ended differently if you had a bad attitude or were mean.
Does anyone want to share a time when they made a bad thing good? Maybe
it was a time when your freedom was taken away from you and it did not
seem fair.
Follow-up Question: Class, how could this story have ended differently
if she had a bad attitude instead of having a positive one?

Using New Understanding:

Extending Understanding: Work with your eight oclock buddy to think of a time when
your freedom was taken from you and you made a situation good and followed the
rules. Another option is to think of a time when you had your freedom taken away
and you could have made a good thing out of it even if you didnt at the time. Think
of a time in the future when you might have your freedom taken away and how you
can make a good choice instead of being sad or mad. Pick one of those three options
and create some way to explain it to others. You can draw a picture, write about it, or
act it out. I am going to give you freedom to decide how you want to do this. For
example, if I were to do this, I would write about the time I was not allowed to pick
where I wanted to sit in the lunchroom. I did not think this was fair, but instead of
being mad I decided to make a new friend with the girl sitting next to me. We
became really good friends! When you are done come sign your name on the sign up
sheet. I will go around in order of the sheet, but do not sign up until you are sure you
are done. While you are waiting for me, you should be reading a book quietly. You
only have around 10 minutes, so work quickly, but I want it to be your best work. For
help, follow your checklist.

Closure

In Ellens Broom, the family had their freedom taken away. Her parents were not
allowed to marry by the law, so they decided to say they were married by jumping
over the broom. Her parents changed how the story ended by their attitudes. Write
down what freedom means to you after reading this story on your sticky note and
place it on one of the two papers up here.

EVALUATION:
Self-Answer Questions
1. How many students achieved the objective? For those that did not, why
not?
2. What were my strengths and weaknesses?
3. How should I alter this lesson?
4. How would I pace it differently?
5. Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
6. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability
levels?

a. Blooms Taxonomy

b. Gardners Multiple Intelligences

7. Did the students understand how the people did not have freedom?

Names:__________________

Checklist:
The project shows a bad situation.
The project shows how the character made the bad
thing into a good thing.
You can tell me how the situation would be different if
the character had a bad attitude instead of a good one.
If writing, then there are 5 sentences.
If acting, then the skit is 30 seconds and you have
some writing to show thinking.
If drawing, then the picture is neat, colorful, and you
wrote 2 sentences to talk about it.