Grade: 4th Grade Teacher(s): Patrice O. Toulson

Content Topic: Fables (Reading Enrichment Unit)

Summary of Unit: This unit consists of five separate lessons. The students will read books of fables, learn about fables and will create an original fable.

Learner Analysis: These lessons will be taught to a 4th grade class of heterogeneous students.

UbD Stage 1 Established Goals

Title of Unit

The Moral to the Story

Grade Level

4th Grade

Curriculum Area Language Arts

Time Frame

5 days

Stage 1 – Identify Desired ResultsGPS Content Standards: ELA4R1 The student demonstrates comprehension and shows evidence of a warranted and responsible explanation of a variety of literary and informational texts.

h. Identifies themes and lessons in folktales, tall tales, and fables.

Standards for the 21st Century Learner Goals:4 – Pursue personal and aesthetic growthSkills Indicator(s):4.1.1 Read, view, and listen for pleasure and personal growth.4.1.2 Read widely and fluently to make connections with self, the world, and previous reading.4.1.3 Respond to literature and creative expressions of ideas in various formats and genres.4.1.8 Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning.

Benchmark(s):- Read, listen to, and view a range of resources for a variety of purposes: to live

the experiences of a character, to answer questions, to find out about something new, to explore personal interests.

- Use evidence from the text to discuss the author’s purpose.- Identify problems and solutions to a story.- Use personal experiences to stimulate responses to literature and art.- Discuss theme of stories, using evidence to support opinions- Participate in book talks and book discussion groups.- Use multimedia authoring tools for independent and collaborative publishing

activities.Dispositions Indicator(s):4.2.3 Maintain openness to new ideas by considering divergent opinions, changing opinions or conclusions when evidence supports the change, and seeking information about new ideas encountered through academic or personal experiences.

4.2.4 Show an appreciation for literature by electing to read for pleasure and expressing an interest in various literary genres.

Responsibilities Indicator(s):

4.3.1 Participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person.4.3.2 Recognize that resources are created for a variety of purposes.4.3.3 Seek opportunities for pursuing personal and aesthetic growth.4.3.4 Practice safe and ethical behaviors in personal electronic communication and interaction.

Self-Assessment Strategies Indicator(s):

4.4.4 Interpret new information based on cultural and social context.4.4.5 Develop personal criteria for gauging how effectively own ideas are expressed.4.4.6 Evaluate own ability to select resources that are engaging and appropriate for personal interests and needs.

Understandings

Students will understand that…. fables have three characteristics. fables have a lesson. There are different ways to express a fable.

Related Misconceptions: 1) A fable can only have one lesson.

Essential Questions

Overarching Questions:

1) Why is learning about fables important?

Topical Questions:

1) What is a fable?

2) How do we use the characteristics to help us determine that the correct genre is a fable?

3) How do we use the lessons that a fable teaches in our daily lives?

2) What are the characteristics of fables?

3) What do fables teach?

Knowledge and Skills

KnowledgeStudents will know:

That life lessons are common across cultures.

That life lessons have been passed through oral/written tradition around the world.

How to identify a fable when he/she is reading one.

Skills Students will be able to:

Identify a fable. Identify the characteristics

of a fable. Identify life lessons that a

fable teaches

Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence

Performance Task(s)

Goal: The goal is to create an original fable.

Role: You are an author of fables.

Audience: The target audiences are other 4th grade students, the teacher and yourself.

Situation: You need to write a fable that will help students understand that fables have three characteristics: short story, animal characters that have human characteristics, and teach a lesson.

Product Performance and Purpose: You will assist your classmates in putting together a book with original fables.

Standards and Criteria for Success: Student must create an original fable and use one type of technology in order to publish the final product.

Performance Task(s) Rubric(s)

Rubric for being an author and creating an original fable and publishing the material:

Fable Writing Assessment Rubric:Points are assigned on a scale of 1-4.

4= Excellent 3= Good 2= Fair 1=Poor

Composition Illustrations Editing Wiki/Team Work

Presents amoral and has

animal characters _______

Pictures go along with

the story________

Final draft of fable is done with Bookr and isneat ____________

Participates in a class wiki

______________

The fable is clearly written and makes sense in the order that it is written.

Picturesare neat andare placed one on each page.

__________

Rough draftshows student hasedited for spelling,grammar, andpunctuation (mustbe turned in)

___________

Wiki discussion has no spelling or grammar errors.

________________

Organizationof writing isclearlystructured__________

Illustrationsare creative incolor anddesign__________

Propergrammar,mechanics, andspelling_______

Student works well with classmate in writing the original fable.

_______________

Total Points Total Points Total Points Total Points

___________ ___________ ___________ _________

Other Evidence(e.g. tests, quizzes, work samples, observations)

Ticket Out the Door: The student will have to list the three characteristics of a fable.

Teacher will observe the student in the “short reading comprehension exercise” to make sure the student has understanding of the fables being read.

Teacher will view the wiki for verification that the students understand the fable they read.

Teacher will view the Fable Characteristic Chart to ensure the students understand the different categories on the chart based on the fable they read.

Teacher will observe classroom discussion.

Student Self-Assessment and Reflection

Reflective Feedback:

How do you feel about naming the three characteristics of a fable that you read?

How do you feel about picking out the lesson in each fable that you read?

How well do you feel you understand a wiki in order to communicate with your teacher and other classmates?

How well do you feel about using Web 2.0 tools to present information to your teacher and other classmates?

Which activity did you enjoy the most?

Which activity did you enjoy the least?

Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences

Week 1

Day 1:

1) How many of you believe that a tortoise could dare a hare to a race and win the race? They will vote by a show of hands. We are going to read about this happening (H)

2) What is a fable and the three characteristics?? You will pretend to be an author and you will create a new fable. (W)

3) KWL Chart on fables. The students will write down what they previously know about fables and what they would like to know about fables. (R)

4) Teacher will show a podcast of the elements of a fable. In this podcast, there is an explanation of each characteristic of a fable. This will help the visual impaired student, the

hearing impaired student and the ADHD students. This will also allow the students to download it onto their Ipod/MP3 player so they can review it as many times as they need to for better understanding. (E,T) Podcast: http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/chellis22-1174362-fable-ppt/

5) Teacher will use a Computer, Internet and a Projector to show the students an online interactive version of the fable, The Tortoise and the Hare. After it is read to the students, we will discuss the characteristics of a fable and how each characteristic is found in The Tortoise and the Hare. The characteristics of this particular fable will be discussed in whole group. (E)

6) Teacher will introduce the “Fable Dissection Chart” to the students. The chart includes 1) Exposition (Characters and Setting), 2) Rising Action (Events leading to conflict), 3) Conflict (The struggle in the story), 4) Falling Action (Events Resulting from Conflict), and 5) Moral (Lesson). I will give each student a copy of the chart. Together, we will fill in the chart on the fable, The Tortoise and the Hare.

7) Students will complete the KWL Chart by discussing what they have learned about fables in this lesson. (R)

Day 2:

8) In the computer lab, students will get on the internet and go to aesopfables.com. They will each be assigned a fable to read. After reading their fable, we will have a “short reading comprehension exercise” where each student will summarize for their classmates the fable they read in their own words. They will discuss what the moral of the fable is. After summarizing the fable to the group, they will ask two questions to their classmates that could be included on their Fable Dissection Chart to verify that the classmates understand the fable. If the student can think of a true story that

has happened to them that goes along with the moral, they can tell it.9) After all the students have participated in the “short reading comprehension exercise”, they will do a

ticket out the door to inform teacher of which fable they enjoyed hearing about the most and why. (E)

Day 3:10) In the computer lab, the teacher will introduce the students to a class wiki. I will explain that a wiki is a webspace used to create and make changes to information. I will give them their login

information and will show them how to edit and save the wiki with their information in it. I will explain to them that they are going to use a wiki today to answer questions about a fable that they are going to read. (T)

11) Teacher will have books of fables and will also have websites where fables can be found. Each student will read one fable from one of these resources and will use the Fable Dissection Chart. Instead of writing the information on paper, the students will go to the class wiki and type their information from their chosen fable that they read. (E,T)

12) After the activity, I will ask them some questions to make them reflect on the activity:

How did you feel about typing on the class wiki? Did you understand how to use the Fable Dissection Chart? How do you feel you did in dissecting the fable that you read? (R)

Day 4:

13) Teacher will hand out a “Dial-A-Fable” worksheets to each student. The teacher will have already previously cut the worksheets out, glued them to construction paper and mounted it on a piece of cardboard with a bred in the middle for the students to be able to spin easily. The students will get into groups of two and will spin to determine what animals they will use in the fable, character traits, and the moral they will use in their fable. In pairs, the students will begin writing an original fable using the information from their “Dial – A – Fable”. (E)

14) At the end of class, the students will reflect on how they did on creating their original fable with.their partner. They will discuss what they felt was hard about it and what they felt was easy about it. (R)

Day 5:

15) The students will publish their original fable that they created the previous day with a partner by using the Web 2.0 tool, Bookr. This is a very easy tool for students to use. The students will be able to type their fable as well as illustrate it. They will be able to create an online book with pages that actually turn. (E, T)

16) After completing their book with their fable, each student will assess their finished product byusing the same rubric as the teacher will use to assess their original fable.

Lesson Extension

https://sites.google.com/site/readingenrichmentfables/home

Off the Shelf Resources:

Computers with Internet Accesshttp://www..Aesopfables.com http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/webquests/fables/animals.htm http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/webquests/fables/Morals.htm http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/webquests/fables/Traits.htm http://www.pbworks.com Fable BooksWeb 2.0 tool, Bookr