Professional Documents
Culture Documents
English Language Arts & Reading - Stone Soup from Around the World
What prior knowledge and skills do students have that is relevant to todays lesson?:
* As a class we would have already read all of the different versions of Stone Soup earlier that week,
thus, the students would be familiar with the stories and their unique characters (but without deep
discussion and questions into what the morals mean).
* The students have been working on reading their assigned version together the day before, and with
this lesson they will act out that version together, and then follow up with a class discussion.
* Reading skills of at least a beginner 2nd grade level. (More details further on).
LEARNING OUTCOMES
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.2
Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and
determine their central message, lesson, or moral.
Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g.,
Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.
1. What did you notice that was similar from each version of Stone Soup?
2. The main character(s) from each Stone Soup tricked one or more people into giving him food for the
stone soup. How do you feel about how the minor characters were treated? Can you sympathize with
them? Why?
3. Can you relate to the moral of Stone Soup? Why or how?
1. Even though stories that are written from different cultures can vary in setting, characters, and time
frame, the morals of all the stories were always the same.
2. The moral of the stories being: If we all give a little, we can all enjoy the fruits of our labor and
efforts.
3. Understanding the different roles and equal importance of both the main characters and supporting
characters.
1. Students will be expected to read the dialogue to the best of their personal ability. Words read
incorrectly that are beyond the 2nd grade level will be excused.
2. Students should "step into" their characters and read from their scripts in a loud and clear voice.
They will be encouraged to change their body language or change their voice to engage the audience.
3. After each presentation, all students should be able to ask and answer any who, what, where, when,
why, and how questions in response to discussion about key elements of literature (characters, plot,
setting, point of views, etc.).
4. Students should be able to declare and explain the moral or lesson of Stone Soup.
5. Students should be able to compare and contrast between their own version of Stone Soup that they
presented and the other versions that they watched and listened to.
Plan for Evaluating: What questioning techniques or other informal or formal assessment
tools/strategies did I utilize during the lesson to measure my students level of understanding of the
instructional objectives?:
Instructional Objective(s) Assessment(s) for Each Objective (In parentheses, mark each I for informal or
F for formal.)
Students will be expected This will vary from book to book, I will note which words I will excuse as
to read the dialogue to the too difficult, and I will write and take note of each word a child reads
best of their personal incorrectly to help them improve. I would like to see each child read no
ability. Words read more than 10 words incorrectly or need assistance. (I)
incorrectly that are beyond
the 2nd grade level will be
excused.
Students should "step I would like to see that I do not have to remind a student more than three
into" their characters and times to either speak up or do as the character in the book does (that they
read from their scripts in a are acting as). (For example, if a character is placing food in the soup pot, I
loud and clear voice. They would expect them to do so, even if it is imaginary.) Narrators will be
will be encouraged to expected to read in a loud and clear voice consistently. (I)
change their body
language or change their
voice to engage the
audience.
After each presentation, all This is the most important part of the lesson. During the discussions after
students should be able to each story is finished I will ask the essential questions, having them written
ask and answer any who, down on separate large note pads so we can compare the answers
what, where, when, why, between stories. I will take notes, marking down which students answer or
and how questions in ask questions, encourage everyone to answer at least one, who, what,
response to discussion where, why, or how question when asked questions about the key
about key elements of elements of literature. (I)
literature (characters, plot,
setting, point of views,
etc.).
Students should be able to Some essential questions will be asking the students to compare and
compare and contrast contrast between each version of Stone Soup. I will take notes on what
between their own version people say and how they contribute to the discussion. (I)
of Stone Soup that they
presented and the other
versions that watched and
listened to.
INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN
Materials/Supplies/Resources/Technology:
***Include in your final submission any documents associated with the instructional plan or
assessments, this could be graphic organizers, worksheets, sets of questions, etc.)***
The following four versions of Stone Soup will be divided to the four groups, depending on which
group they are in, they will receive one version of the folktale the day before. Before handing out the
copied versions of the stories to each group, I will highlight the dialogue pertaining to each character to
help students follow along. The students will know going into the lesson that they will be acting out
their version. The lesson provides the first big group discussion on folktales and their morals and also
talks about differences in cultures through literacy.
The sets of questions will need to be written on a jumbo pad ready to go so after each story has been
presented a discussion can follow in a timely manner.
A soup cauldron that each group can use, any play food materials that can be used, props, etc.
In my universally designed classroom for this lesson, I would always have the audiobook version
of the book that we are currently reading, or if they were not available I would personally record
myself reading the book along with signals to turn the pages to help students who have trouble
reading or have a visual disability. I would also make copies of the notes and answers to the
essential questions for students who may not fully understand the moral of Stone Soup, who may
need more time and one-on-one assistance to go over each presentation.
Multiple Means of Engagement (Strategies to Facilitate the Process of Learning): How are you going to
provide multiple pathways for students to actually learn the material presented and make it interesting? How
will you engage all learners? Embracing student interests in the classroom, inquiry, investigative learning,
active/mental/physical engagement is required by students to make real learning happen. Are choices given
to students for how they can do their work? Options may include - working independently, pair learning, small
group learning, at a desk, table, floor, using technology, inside the classroom, or outside the classroom. How
will feedback be given to keep students motivated? Some students will need to write, others will need to talk
through ideas before they understand, while others may need to physically or graphically represent what they
are learning.
Before this lesson, on previous days, I will have already read all four versions of Stone Soup, so
the students will have a base and a previous experience to support watching their fellow students
present each version of the folktale. I am relying on the students to engage their peers as they
present their assigned versions of Stone Soup. I encourage the students beforehand to really step
into the character they are playing, or for the narrator to really use a loud and clear voice so that
we can follow along with what is happening in the story. They are given the choice to decide which
character they will play in the story, a big responsibility they have is to make sure that every
person in the group has a part, they need to work together and decide who they will be. During this
short piece they will practice delegating, problem solving, communication. I will be observing the
conversations and help and step in if necessary. If a student who is learning with a visual disability
is a part of our class group during the ELA portion of our day, I would recommend that I read for
them, or tell them their lines as they come up in the story, but they would still act out to the best of
their ability. I would want them to have as much a chance as the other students. For students who
may be learning with a physical disability, I would want them to decide what part they can play, I
would not want to pressure them to step outside of their comfort zone and I would not demand that
they are the narrator either. I would want them to participate in the least restrictive and most
comfortable way possible.
Multiple Means of Expression (Strategies to Assess Student Learning): How will students demonstrate
what they have learned? The creation of many paths is the key. Some students are good test-takers, while
others are not. Assessments such as projects, tiered assignments, oral exams, building a model, making a
film, or creating a portfolio are examples of alternatives to traditional paper/pencil tests. Informal assessments
can be utilized as well (ie. class discussions, comprehension questions provided at the conclusion of class,
etc.)
Students will demonstrate what they have learned, such as their reading skills through reading
their assigned dialogue, to the best of their ability. I will be taking notes on how well they do. I
wont be assessing how well they act out their part, the important aspects of this lesson are to see
how well they are doing with reading and how well they are beginning to understand folktales with
morals and the differences we can see in different cultures. Instead of just reading the four
different versions and following up with a class discussion, I decided that it would be incredibly
more engaging for all students to participate and do some acting and moving around the
classroom. By doing so, this lesson will be more memorable and they can hopefully retain the
importance of differences in cultures, yet we all can have the same morals and learn the same
lessons.
Describe an aspect of your lesson that accommodated the needs of this student (why will this
accommodation help the student to achieve the learning outcomes for the lesson?):
I found that the hardest aspect of the daily routine of the classroom schedule and structure for students with
ADHD is for them to have to sit still and listen. This would only be a helpful situation for them if the peer to
teacher ratio was very low. The teacher would be able really focus and keep the attention of the student with
ADHD. When a student with ADHD is placed in a general education classroom because they are absolutely
capable and wanting to learn, they just have a harder time finding themselves able to sit still and focus for a
long period of time. It is our job to realize such disorders and change our structure and adjust to the needs of
all of our students.
In my lesson plan, I thought about how it can be difficult for a student learning with ADHD to sit still for so
long, especially if they are not ultimately interested in what we are talking about. Two suggestions from the
text, Teaching Students with Special Needs in the General Education Classroom by Lewis & Dorlag (2011),
1) If the child has difficulty staying in one place at school, alternate sitting with a standing and activities which
require moving during the day. and also Provide activities that require active participation such as talking
through problems or acting out the steps. (208). By incorporating movement and speaking and of course fun
into a lesson on folktales and morals, the student with ADHD will be more engaged and wont have to focus
so hard on trying to sit still. Also, while they are watching the other groups present their versions of Stone
Soup, the student will be occupied by what they are watching, instead of just listening to a lecture by me.
Students with ADHD can absolutely learn just as well in the general education classroom as other students, it
is our job as educators to figure out how to make our lessons for the students rather than for tests and
assessments.