The Secret Garden Comic Strip

Nikolea Cole
Grade 5 / Reading

Common Core Standards:

Key Ideas and Details

RL.5.2 Analyze literary text development.

a. Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters
in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic.

b. Summarize the text, incorporating a theme determined from details in the text.

RL.5.3 Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama,
drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact)

Craft and Structure

RL.5.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative
language such as metaphors, similes, and idioms.

RL.5.5 Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall
structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.

RL.5.6 Describe how a narrators or speakers point of view and perspective influence how events
are described.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

RL.5.7 Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, mood, or
appeal of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).

Range of Reading and Level of Text compatibility

RL.5.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and
poetry, at the high end of the grades 45 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Activate prior knowledge and draw on previous experiences in order to make text-to-self or text-to-
text connections and comparisons.

Lesson Summary:

Students will be expected to read/ listen to the text of a The Secret Garden. Students will be
expected to make a comic strip based on the book detailing several of the characters, scenes, and
dialogue and using a web app such as www.toondoo.com. Appropriate photos can be included, as
well as scanned drawings and digital artwork.
Estimated Duration:
The lesson will take four hours divided into four days.

Commentary:

I'm hoping that the students will be hooked into this lesson by the dramatic reading and the
opportunity to be creative and make a comic strip.
Instructional Procedures:
Day 1:
10 minutes Introduce the book, review the agenda on smartboard,
30 minutes: I will play the first 30 minutes of the dramatic reading from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx_GpxQvi5E and students will follow along with an e-book
on iPads. I will move around the class room to see if students are on task and able to follow along.

Day 2:
(Day 2 is a week after Day 1)
20 minutes I will give a demonstration of toondoo.com and show an example of the sort of comic
strip project that I am looking for.
60 minutes First student work day. Students will have a chance to work on their project on their
iPad and laptops on toondoo.com. Students are not expected to be finished with their books for
another week but can still start on their project. I will move around the room answering questions
and helping with technology issues.
Day 3:
(Day 3 is a week after Day 2)
60 minutes Another work day. Students will continue to work on their comic strips using
toondoo.com, cameras, scanners, digital art software like Microsoft paint, laptops, and iPads. I will
answers questions and help with technology issues and provide direction.
Day 4
60 minutes Students will present their comic strips to others in the class using the smartboard or
document projector to project their creation.

Pre-Assessment:
Because the reading level can be high for this book it is important to assess each child's reading
level. Being able to follow along with an audio reading allows students who are not the strongest
reader still keep up. Because the speed of the recording can be changed I can make suggestions for
students who are having difficulty or are not challenged. The introduction allows me to assess how
well students are understanding the material they are being presented with.

Scoring Guidelines:
Scoring will be based on observations of student reading levels on books read previously through
the school year.

Post-Assessment:
The post-assessment is a student presentation of their completed comic strip and explanation of
what is happening to the class.

Scoring Guidelines:
Projects will be graded on a rubric or checklist. Did the student use at least three characters,
three locations, and three panels? Was the story they told summative and accurate? Did the
student put effort into their comic strip? Did the student express and understanding of the
story told and the characters in it?
All of these aspects are important in demonstrating an understanding of the story being told,
the characters perspectives, and reading comprehension. Three characters are important for
addressing more than one storyline that takes place, three locations are important for
understanding the where the story takes place and three panels at minimum are important
for telling a story that spans more than one scene.

Differentiated Instructional Support

The amount of panels that a student can use varies between 3 panels to 6 panels. A student who
needs more of a challenge could be given more panels to complete or be a technology assistant or
editor who can walk around the class room making suggestions for changes.

The dramatic reading is already an example of something extra that can be used for students with
lower reading levels, students can also slow down the speed in order to follow along more easily. It
is entirely possible to hand draw the comic strip and either convert it to toondoo.com or just project
it with a document camera if they are struggling with the technology aspect of the assignment.

Extension
http://brownbagteacher.com/point-of-view-5th-grade-style/
Explains important information about POV, students and teachers can visit this site for ideas about
how to better address this concept.
Homework Options and Home Connections
The homework students will be required to do mostly consisted of the reading and audio recording
of the reading. There just isn't enough time to have students do all of their reading in class at this
level. To make this homework more enjoyable it is available as an e-book and as a dramatic
reading.
Any work not completed in class can be done at home on a laptop or personal computer.

Interdisciplinary Connections

Mary does a lot of gardening in the book so we can explore some of the different plants she talks
about and plant life cycles particularly their dormancy in winter.
We can talk about why Mary's father, who was part of the English military, was stationed in India
and what was happening in India when she lived there.

Materials and Resources:

For Pencil
teachers
Paper
Personal Computer
Document Projector
Scanner
Smartboard
toondoo.com
pagebypagebooks.com
youtube.com
http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Learning-in-Ohio/English-
Language-Art/English-Language-Arts-Standards/ELA-Learning-Standards-
2017.pdf.aspx
For Laptop
students
iPad
Personal Computer
Pencil
Paper
Camera
The internet
Smartboard
Document Projector
Document Scanner
Drawing Tablet / Apple Pencil (for better control when doing digital art)
toondoo.com
pagebypagebooks.com
youtube.com

Key Vocabulary
Dramatic Reading reading a work of literature with voices and inflection
Comic Strip a small comic sometimes found in newspapers
Digital Art - Artwork that uses technology during its creation
Yorkshire A county in the North of English
Moor (land) -a type of grass land
Cholera An infection that affects the lower intestine

Additional Notes