This is a read aloud lesson plan designed for students in kindergarten or first grade.
SYNOPSIS:
When Elephant trod on Tricky Tortoise for the 332nd time, Tortoise
devised a cunning plan to teach Elephant a lesson. This is the story of
how Tricky Tortoise proves that brains are often better than strength
or size. Synopsis from Barnes and Noble.
OBJECTIVES:
Students will be able to:
- Identify story as an African tale
- Discuss how brain power is often more useful than muscle power
- Identify story as a trickster tale
- Make a text-to-self connection
- Locate continent of Africa on a world map or globe
- Make and verify predictions
- Work collaboratively with a partner
MATERIALS:
Materials needed for this lesson include:
- Copy of Tricky Tortoise
- World map or globe
- Copy of "Tricky Tortoise Response Sheet" for each student
- Box of crayons for each student
- Sharpened pencil for each student
- Browsing box of leveled books
Before Reading:
- Explain to students that we will hear an African story today.
- Display map or globe. Identify Africa and talk about its placement. Explain that Africa is a continent, and we live on the
continent of North America.
- Discuss how one of the characters is a trickster and discuss trickster tales. Make
correlation of Anansi the Spider as a trickster.
- Ask students if, when they have a problem, do the solve problems better by using their brains to think about it,
or do they solve problems by using their fists?
During Reading:
- Ask students how they would feel if an elephant stepped on them!
- Ask students to predict how the tortoise is going to jump over the elephant's head.
- Check predictions.
After Reading:
- Who was the trickster in the story?
- Who was bigger, and who was smaller? Who won the bet? Why did tortoise win?
- Guide students to explaining that tortoise used his brain to win.
- Have you ever used your brain to solve a problem? Discuss about 4 students' responses.
- Distribute "Tricky Tortoise Response Sheet."
- Explain that everyone has used his or her brain to solve a problem.
- For kindergarten, each student will draw self solving problem on the tortoise's shell. The student will
use inventive spelling to label or write a sentence about the picture he or she drew. The teacher or aide may act as a scribe as needed.
- For 1st grade, each student will draw self solving problem and write one or two sentences on the lines describing a time
(s)he used his/her brain to solve a problem.
- For students who are finished early, have a browsing box of leveled books for them to read.
- Have students choose a partner. Each student will share his or her story and picture with partner. Students will have one minute to share
and then will swap so the other partner can share his or her story.
EVALUATION:
- Student participation
- Teacher observation
- Completion of after-reading activity
- Following directions
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