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Summary of the story Ali Baba, a poor woodcutter finds a cave full of gold, hidden there by thieves. He tells his brother who goes to look but is caught in the cave by the thieves. The brother tells the leader Ali Baba has been taking the gold from the cave. The leader plans to kill Ali Baba and his brother and the 40 thieves go to Ali Baba’s house where they hide in big oil jars in Ali Baba’s garden. Ali Baba’s daughter overhears them talking in the jars and saves her family Background to the story The origins of “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” are uncertain. The story may be from Iran, Syria, or India; some even say that the translator Galland made it up himself. We usually think of it as an Arabian story, though. The story was first printed by Antoine Galland in his French translation of The Thousand and One Nights in 1704. It seems likely that it was really a European tale to which he added Eastern colouring. The story first appeared in English in 1722, in the 11th volume of the Arabian Nights Entertainments, or The Thousand and One Nights under the title “The Story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Destroyed by a Slave”. Topics and themes Buildings. Pyramids, caves, houses, with flat roofs The country. Look at the illustrations of the pyramids and other things in the story that are found in Egypt. Look at a map, globe or atlas and find out where Egypt is. How far is it from your school? Is it hot or cold in Egypt? What animals live in Egypt? Family. Mother, father, daughter, uncle and aunt, brother. The relationship of the two brothers could start a discussion. Jobs. Talk about the different jobs there are and discuss Ali Baba’s job as a woodcutter. Ask about the jobs of the pupil’s families. Brainstorm all these different types of jobs on the board. Ask the pupils what jobs they would like when they are adults? Ask about the job of the thieves. Is it a real job? Is it a good job? Why? Why not?
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Making use of the story: Collect a list of the adjectives in the story e.g. beautiful, clever, fierce, dangerous, poor, rich, long, happy. Then ask the pupils if they can find any opposites for these words or tell you what it might be e.g. ugly, dim, mild, rich etc. Game. Make a bingo game with words from the story. Write the following words on the board: pyramid sand town donkey market horses thieves stone cave gold scales brother Pupils should choose six words from this list and write them down on a piece of paper. The teacher puts cards with each word on it into a bag/hat and pulls one out unseen and calls it out. The pupils cross their words off as the teacher reads them out. The winner is the first pupil to cross out all their words and shout ‘Bingo’. Making puppets. Draw pictures of the characters from the story or enlarge pictures of them from the book (use Ali Baba, his brother, his wife, his brother’s wife and the leader of the thieves). Pupils should be in groups of five each with a different mask of a character. Now read out the story and let them mime the story as one of the characters. Character Education • “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” has a lot to say about greed. Ali Baba steals from the thieves — or, if it is not possible to steal something that has already been stolen, he at least does not make any attempt to restore the property to its rightful owners. His wife wants to measure the gold so that she will know exactly how much there is, even though she has no practical reason to do so. Qasim’s wife is motivated by greed to find out what Ali Baba’s wife is measuring. Qasim is not satisfied with what his brother shares with him, but is led by his greed into danger. The thieves clearly have enough treasure for their own needs, and yet are angry enough about Ali Baba’s small reduction of their treasure that they are willing to go to a lot of trouble to exact revenge on him. Use the story as a writing prompt for student essays on greed. • This is quite a violent story, but that is not much of an issue in the traditional telling of it. No one seems to be bothered by the mass murders committed by Morgiana, for example. But the ethical questions are complex. Does Morgiana’s loyalty override her quickness to kill thieves? Write the names of all the characters on word cards and put them in a pocket chart. As a class or in small groups, work to arrive at a consensus ordering the names from the best to the worst character. Insist that students support their positions on the question. 3
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The magic words, “Open, Sesame!” are a central point of the story. Use this as a starting point for a lesson on using the magic words “please” and “thank you.” Challenge your class to use these words to one another for a week, and then to write about how the experiment changed their classroom experience.
Critical Thinking • Play a traditional game designed to improve concentration. Sit in a circle. The leader says, “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” while performing some simple action, such as clapping. The person to the leader’s left must copy the action and add another. Each student does this in turn, maintaining an even rhythm, until each member of the class is performing a different action at the same time. • Here is the classic Ali Baba brainteaser: Ali Baba had four sons, to whom he bequeathed his 39 camels, dividing them according to this formula : The oldest son was to receive one half the property, the next a quarter, the third an eighth and the youngest one a tenth. The four brothers were at a loss as how to divide the inheritance among themselves without cutting up a camel, until a stranger appeared upon the scene. Dismounting from his camel, he asked if he might help, for he knew just what to do. The brothers gratefully accepted his offer. Adding his own camel to Ali Baba’s 39, he divided the 40. The oldest son received 20, the next 10, the third 5 and the youngest 4. One camel remained: this was his, which he mounted and rode away. Scratching their heads in amazement, they started calculating. The oldest thought : is not 20 greater than the half of 39? Someone must have received less than his proper share ! But each brother discovered that he had received more than his due. How is it possible? Science • Use this story in a study of minerals, comparing the value of precious metals like gold and precious stones like diamonds. • “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” doesn’t have much magic in it; most of the twists and turns in the plot have to do with human ingenuity and human failings. But there is the question of the magic words which open the treasure cave. Challenge students to come up with a non-magical explanation for this — perhaps a voice-activated mechanism of some kind. Have students draw designs or build models showing their ideas.
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Can you read the secret sentence? What does it say? Now write a secret sentence to your friend.
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Put these words in alphabetical order …... pyramids, cave, wife, coins, garden, jars, thieves, scales, gold, donkey
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Discuss greed and relate this to the story. Ask questions such as Why wasn’t Kasim happy for his brother? Why did Ali Baba pretend to be surprised? Why did Kasim’s wife put the honey at the bottom of the pan? Why did Kasim say, ‘I’m your brother!’? Why did Ali Baba tell Kasim to take a little gold for himself? Why did Kasim take ten huge empty chests to the forest? Response to the story lAsk Did you like the story? Why (not)? Did you think it was interesting, or boring? Was it exciting, or too predictable? Which part of the story did you like best? What did you think of the ending? Talk about the way each chapter ended in a thrilling way. Look back at some of the chapter endings together. Ask Did this make you want to read on? Ask: Did you like the author’s style? Do you think she wrote well? Did she use exciting words?
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Characters Ask the children about the main story characters. Did you like Ali Baba? Did you like Marjaneh? Which character did you not like? Ask how the characters behaved: Did you think Marjaneh was brave? What did you think of the tailor, Mustafa? Plot Encourage the class to re-tell the basic story, in their own words. Settings Ask Where did the story take place? Go through the book with the class and ask them to identify the setting of each chapter. Moral issues and themes Use any of these themes from the story as a basis for a class discussion: – Greed: Discuss which characters in the story were greedy, and how they showed it. – Loyalty: Discuss the loyalty the thieves showed to their leader, and the loyalty Marjaneh showed to Ali Baba. – Stealing: The thieves stole from people and hid the treasure in a cave. Ali Baba and his brother stole from the thieves. After the thieves were dead, Ali Baba showed his son where he could find the treasure. Discuss the wrongfulness of stealing. – Bravery: Marjaneh, a servant girl, was very brave to kill the thirty-nine thieves and later, to kill the leader of the thieves. Her bravery came from her love for the family she worked for, who rewarded her. Discuss acts of bravery the children have experienced or heard of. 8
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– Honesty: Khaled was young and inexperienced, so he trusted the silk merchant, a man who was totally dishonest. Discuss how young people learn who to trust and who not to trust. Hospitality: When Khaled brings the silk merchant, Khoja Hoseyn, to his family’s house, Ali Baba insists that his son’s friend stay and eat supper with the family. Discuss why it is important to be hospitable. Justice: Kasim and the forty thieves were punished for what they did. Ali Baba, who stole only enough to keep his family from being poor, went unpunished. Discuss the thieves and Kasim’s motives for stealing (greed) and contrast that with Ali Baba’s motives (helping his family).
Drama The story lends itself well to dramatisation. Encourage the children to act out the story. Give individuals a role to play, then ask them to mime their character’s actions as you read the story, or play the audio download. You can help the class make and paint simple props, and sound effects could be suggested and included. Alternatively, you could have a compositional writing activity, with the children in groups producing drama scripts that include stage directions, use of a narrator, sound effects, props, etc. Art Put the children into groups and give them some coloured card to make a market scene. Ask each group to draw and paint characters from the story. Ask them to make sure their clothes look like the clothes they wore in the story. As well as Ali Baba and his family, the forty thieves, Mustafa,Marjaneh, also ask the children to make some merchants and townspeople. Perhaps some donkeys, too! Make a display of the characters and the market stalls. Persia (Iran) Ask the class to do some research and find out more about Persia, including information about the geography, weather, religion, food, dress, etc. Explain that Persia is the former name and that today it is called Iran. Help the children find it on the map. Luck Ali Baba was lucky to find the thieves’ treasure, but his brother was unlucky. Poll the class to find out which children think they are lucky and which think they are unlucky. Encourage them to explain why. Hide something, such as a bag of sweets, in the classroom before the children come to class. Tell them that there is ‘hidden treasure’ in the classroom and they have five minutes, and no more, to find it. If they are having difficulty, say to those who are near the treasure, ‘You’re getting warmer.’ To those who are getting far away from it, say ‘You’re getting 9
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colder’. When the lucky individual finds the treasure, have a class discussion about whether it should be shared with everyone in the class. Music Marjaneh dances with a dagger and a tambourine while Ali Baba’s wife and Kasim’s wife sing. Take the children outside with their rulers (to be used as pretend daggers, as long as they are sensible) and with some tambourines (or plastic plates if you do not have tambourines). Let them have fun dancing in small groups: twirling, clapping, slicing through the air, etc. while others sing and watch. Celebration Khaled and Marjaneh get married at the end of the story. Family, friends and neighbours go to the wedding feast. Choose two children to take on the roles of these characters and have a ‘wedding feast’ to celebrate finishing the book . Narrow escapes Ali Baba had several narrow escapes from danger. Ask the class to recount any narrow escapes they have had.
Complete a plot diagram of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Cut out and read the series of events in the boxes below. Move the events around until you have them in the correct order. Then copy the number next to each event into the correct place on the plot diagram on the next page. 10
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OPEN SESAME: A MAGICAL WORLD OF READING ABSTRACT 13
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This is a six lesson unit. It creates a magical world of reading for students through a variety of activities using music, food, costumes, artifacts, and maps. As the tales of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and Aladdin and the Lamp from The Arabian Nights are read aloud, the students will use reading comprehension, writing, and geography skills to develop an appreciation of classic multicultural literature and geographical awareness. The overall assessment will be based upon the student's participation and ability to retell the stories. OVERVIEW A. Concept Objectives 1. Students will develop an appreciation of classic multicultural literature. 2. Students will develop geographical awareness. C. Skill Objectives: 1. Synthesize 2. Analyze 3. Summarize 4. Infer 5. Generalize 6. Classify 7. Discuss 8. Listen 9. Comprehend 10. Decode 11. Communicate (oral and written) 12. Develop vocabulary 13. Compare/Contrast 14. Dramatize 15. Appreciate 16. Question 17. Identify BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE A. For teachers: 1. "Arabian Nights," Compton's Encyclopedia Online http://www.optonline.com/comptons 2. "Arabian Nights," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2000 http://encarta.msn.com 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. 3. Davis, Dick. (1998). The World Book Encyclopedia. "Arabian Knights". (Vol.1, p.582b). Chicago: World Book, Inc. 4. Hirsch, E. D. Jr. What Your Third Grader Needs to Know. 5. Kervin, Rosalind. Aladdin and other Tales from the Arabian Nights. 14
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B. For Students: 1. The students will have experience with fairy tales. They will have basic listening and reading skills. RESOURCES A. Kervin, Rosalind. Aladdin and other Tales from the Arabian Nights B. Kimmel, Eric. The Tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
LESSONS Lesson One: Scheherazade's Cultural Tour of Ali Baba's Village A. Daily Objectives 1. Concept Objectives a. Students will develop an appreciation of classic multicultural literature b. Students will develop geographical awareness. 2. Lesson Content a. North Africa; Asia Minor (peninsula); Turkey 3. Skill Objectives a. Summarize b. Identify c. Appreciate d. Develop Vocabulary e. Listen B. Materials 1. Sesame Seeds 2. Silk 3. Brocade Cloth 4. Oil Lamp 5. Turban 6. Face Scarf 7. Tambour 15
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8. Bushel Basket 9. Dinar or Gold Coin 10. Vests 11. Persian Carpet or Reasonable Substitute 12. Map for Time Period of Persia (around A. D. 800-900). 13. Drawing Paper 14. Parchment Paper 15. Recording of Scheherazade, Part One: "The Sea and Sinbad's Ship" 16. "Sultan's Chair" 17. Costumes for Characters in Tour of Village (optional) 18. Large Floor Pillows 19. Picture of the Sultan (Scheherazade's husband) 20. Picture of Baghdad 21. Labels for objects: brocade cloth, oil lamp, tambor, bushel basket, dinar, Persian carpet, parchment, ladle, awl, sesame seeds, scarf, incense, sultan C. Key Vocabulary 1. Tambour: a drum with a head of parchment resembling a tambourine without jingles (alternate spelling: tambor) 2. Peninsula: a portion of land surrounded by water on 3 sides 3. Turban: a headdress worn chiefly in countries of the eastern Mediterranean and southern Asia 4. Bushel: a unit for measuring dry objects 5. Dinar: a gold coin formerly used in Muslim countries 6. Parchment: the skin of a sheep or goat prepared for writing upon 7. Sultan: a king or sovereign, especially of a Muslim state 8. Brocade: a rich oriental silk fabric with raised patterns in gold and silver; a fabric characterized by raised designs 9. Silk: a fabric made from thread produced by silkworms D. Procedures/Activities 1. Teacher will set out various props to create ambiance. These will include: oil lamp, dinars, tambour, student vests, bushel basket, Persian carpet, map of Persia, parchment, "sultan's chair", floor pillows, bowl of sesame seeds, cloth samples, and set up music to play. Place labels by each object for vocabulary development. 2. Students will be given items to wear such as scarves, turbans, or vests. They will be invited to the "palace" by Scheherazade (the teacher) to hear a story about how she told stories to save her life. While listening, students will sit on floor pillows. 3. Scheherazade (the teacher) will show and describe various objects and tell the students they will encounter them in an adventure with Ali Baba tomorrow. 4. The students will interact with the various objects (e.g., they will eat the sesame seeds, touch the rug, rub the oil lamp). 16
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Scheherazade (the teacher) will show the students a map of the world. The teacher will trace the route from the students' place of residence to Baghdad, where Ali Baba lives. 6. While looking at the map, the students will locate Asia Minor, Turkey, and North Africa with Scheherazade's (the teacher's) guidance. 7. The students will draw a picture to show how they imagine Ali Baba's village to look. They will include at least five of the objects shown to them by the teacher (Scheherazade). 8. The students will label the items in their drawing. E. Evaluation/Assessment 1. The student drawings will contain 5 or more objects they interacted with and be able to explain the use of the objects. 2. Each student will go to the map and show the locations taught in the lesson.
Lesson Two: The Tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves A. Daily Objectives 1. Concept Objectives a. Students will develop an appreciation of classic multicultural literature. 2. Lesson Content a. Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves from The Arabian Nights b. Ask and pose plausible answers to how, why, and what-if questions c. Orally summarize main points from fiction readings. 3. Skill Objectives a. Comprehend b. Listen 17
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c. Discuss d. Develop Vocabulary e. Appreciate f. Question g. Summarize B. Materials 1. Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves from The Arabian Nights 2. Tambors 3. Sesame Seeds 4. Oil Lamp 5. Cloth 6. Clothing and Accessories 7. Dinars 8. Floor Pillows 9. Cave Wall (Appendix A) 10. File Folders 11. Awl 12. Ladle C. Key Vocabulary 1. Quartered: to divide into four equal parts 2. Sheikh: an Arab chief 3. Awl: a pointed tool for punching holes in leather or wood 4. Cobbler: a shoe maker or shoe repair person 5. Dervish: a member of a Muslim religious order 6. Ladle: a long handled spoon with a deep bowl used for dipping liquids 7. Merchant: a buyer and seller of goods; a store keeper D. Procedure/Activities 1. The teacher will use the pictures in the book to introduce vocabulary and familiarize students with the story. The teacher will ask questions which expose the students to the vocabulary in the story .This is called a "picture walk". (See Bibliography for Teacher's Guide to Four Blocks.) 2. During the "picture walk", the teacher will use vocabulary and question students about what they think is happening. As the vocabulary is used, take the labels from the different items and display them on the "cave wall". (See appendix A) 3. The teacher will sit in the "Sultan's Chair" and the students will sit on the floor pillows while the teacher reads Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Before reading, the teacher will encourage the students to think about other stories they have read and personal experiences that relate to the journey they are about to travel. 4. To help develop comprehension skills, the teacher will "think aloud" about events in the story making sure to relate to personal 18
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experiences. Students will also share their thoughts as the tale unfolds. 5. Each student will be given a personal "Cave Wall" made from a file folder. (Appendix A) 6. Students will do the "Cave Wall Chant" with the following words: Qasim, Ali Baba, thieves, sheikh, sesame, treasure, dinars, quartered. Repeat the following sequence for each word. a. Give each student 8 pieces of paper in the shape of a rock. b. Call out the first word and have the students focus on it. After the first word students will lead the chant. c. Have the students chant and beat on a tambour for each letter of the word. d. Point to the word on the "Cave Wall" as the students write it on their paper. e. Students will draw around the shape of the words to help remember the sequence and shape of the word. f. Students will now copy the "Cave Wall" words onto their folders. E. Evaluation/Assessment 1. Through observation, the teacher will assess students' understanding of new vocabulary as they use it in their discussion of the story. 2. The teacher will ask the students to sit around in a circle on the pillows. The students will be divided into 3 groups and given about 3 to 5 minutes to sum up what they will be telling in the group circle. Each group will be assigned beginning, middle, or end. The teacher will start off the story and then beat a tambour and pass on the telling to the first student. This will proceed until each student has told a portion of the story with the understanding that the last student must tell the last part of the ending.
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Lesson Three: Tell it Again Ali Baba A. Daily Objectives 1. Concept Objective a. Students will develop an appreciation of classic multicultural literature. 2. Lesson Content a. Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves from The Arabian Nights b. Produce a variety of types of writing and make reasonable judgments about what to include in his or her own written works based on the purpose and type of composition. c. Produce written work with a beginning, middle, and end. d. Organize material in paragraphs and understand how to use a topic sentence, how to develop a paragraph with examples and details, and that each new paragraph is indented. e. In some writings, proceed with guidance through a process of gathering information, organizing thoughts, composing a draft, revising to clarify and refine his or her meaning, and proofreading with attention to spelling, mechanics, and presentation of a final draft. f. Literary term: Fiction g. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade, part one: "The Sea and Sinbad's Ship" 3. Skill Objectives a. Summarize b. Synthesize c. Analyze d. Written Communication e. Develop Vocabulary B. Materials 1. Storybook (Appendix B) 2. File Folder "Cave Walls" 3. Notebook Paper C. Vocabulary *No new vocabulary D. Procedures/Activities 1. Write the phrase "Once upon a time" on the chalkboard. 20
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Show the students that the opening sentence in Ali Baba begins with this phrase. 3. Relate to prior learning by asking the students if they have read other stories that started out this way. 4. Next ask the students what the stories had in common, and list their responses on the board. Their answers should include the fact that they were not real. 5. The teacher will label these commonalities as being fiction. 6. Tell the students that today they are going to pretend to be Ali Baba and retell his fictitious story about his adventure with the forty thieves. 7. The students will be given notebook paper and will be instructed to write (or dictate) a rough draft for the beginning, middle, or end. Each student will be writing or dictating each part. They will skip lines so corrections can be made during their conference with the teacher. 8. The teacher will have a conference with each student. During this time the teacher will help the student make corrections. 9. The students will use their "Cave Walls" as a resource during writing. 10. The students will copy each revised part of their story onto the appropriate storybook page (Appendix B). *The above procedure will take more than one day. E. Evaluation/Assessment 1. The teacher will check the students' mechanics, comprehension, clarity, and ability to retell a story in writing or through dictation. Lesson Four: Once Upon a Time With Ali Baba A. Daily Objectives 1. Concept Objective a. Students will develop an appreciation of classic multicultural literature. 2. Lesson Content a. Produce a variety of types of writing, such as stories, poems, and letters, and make reasonable judgments about what to include in his or her own written works based on the purpose and type of composition. 3. Skill Objectives a. Dramatize b. Appreciate c. Comprehend d. Listen B. Materials 1. Each Student's Story 2. Sultan's Chair 21
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3. Storyteller Rubric (Appendix C) C. Key Vocabulary *No new vocabulary D. Procedures/Activities 1. Students will take turns sitting in the Sultan's chair (author's chair) and read their story with dramatization. 2. When each student finishes their reading, they may take or ask questions. 3. Completed stories will be bound and displayed in the school library. E. Evaluation/Assessment 1. As students present their story, the teacher will grade according to the Storyteller Rubric (Appendix C). Lesson Five: Aladdin and the Lamp A. Daily Objectives 1. Concept Objectives a. Students will develop an appreciation of classic multicultural literature. b. Students will develop geographical awareness. 2. Lesson Content a. Point to specific words or passages that are causing difficulties in comprehension. b. Orally summarize main points from fiction readings. c. Ask and pose plausible answers to how, why, and what-if questions in interpreting fiction texts. 3. Skill Objectives a. Summarize b. Discuss c. Listen e. Comprehend f. Decode g. Develop Vocabulary h. Appreciate i. Question j. Locate B. Materials 1. Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights 2. World Map 3. Floor Pillows C. Key Vocabulary 1. Spell: spoken word or form of words held to have magic power: incantation 2. Incense: material used to produce a fragrant odor when burned 3. Gleaming: shining 22
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4. Slab: a thick slice (as of stone, wood, or bread) 5. Folklore: traditional tales preserved among a people 6. Conjure: bring about by magic 7. Peddler: one who sells door to door or on the street D. Procedures/Activities 1. The teacher will introduce the vocabulary by writing each word on a separate piece of paper. A definition and/or description will be given. Examples of objects will be shown whenever possible. Each word will be written on a piece of parchment paper and rolled and placed in a wide mouth vase. Students will take turns pulling the word from the vase. Say a magic word as each new term is conjured. 2. Everyone will sit on floor pillows while the teacher reads Aladdin and the Lamp from Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights. The students will read along silently or orally with the teacher. When the teacher reads the passage about China on page 6, she will review the location of China by pointing to it on the world map. 3. The students will be placed in teams or individually assigned to illustrate a word on a mural. The illustrations will reflect events from the story. They will also use their word in a written sentence. 4. Students will tell about their depiction of their word. 5. The mural will be displayed in the classroom adding to the ambiance. E. Evaluation/Assessment 1. The teacher will check the drawings for accuracy. 2. The students' oral descriptions will reflect the story . Lesson Six: Poof!!! A Story is Created A. Daily Objectives 1. Concept Objective a. Students will develop an appreciation of classic multicultural literature. 2. Lesson Content a. Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp from The Arabian Nights b. Produce a variety of writings, such as stories, poems, and letters, and make reasonable judgments about what to include in his or her own written works based on the purpose and type of composition. c. Produce written work with a beginning, middle, and end. d. Organize materials and paragraphs and understand how to use a topic sentence, how to develop a paragraph with examples and details, and that each new paragraph is indented. 3. Skill Objectives a. Comprehend 23
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b. Summarize c. Communicate d. Synthesize Materials 1. Kid Pix Computer Program 2. Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights Key Vocabulary *No new vocabulary. Procedures/Activities 1. The teacher will break the story down into five parts to summarize. The parts will be pages 6-7, 8-11, 12-15,16-19, 2023. 2. The students will use Kid Pix to write and illustrate their summarization of Aladdin. 3. The students will use the editing tools to revise their story. Evaluation/Assessment 1. The students will be assessed on their use of mechanics and organization of ideas.
HANDOUTS/WORKSHEETS Appendices A-C
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APPENDIX A Cave Wall
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APPENDIX B Story Book
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________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________
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APPENDIX C Storyteller Rubric Name _________________________________ Date ________________ Voice quality:
1
2
3
Number of events/details in the beginning
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Number of events/details in the middle
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Number of events/details in the end
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Sequencing
1
2
Relevance of events included Posture Total:
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2
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3 1
2
3
3 Grade:
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USING VOICE INFLECTIONS WHEN YOU READ MATERIALS: Χ Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka Χ Poetry Buddies Procedures chart for Poetry Center Χ Playback Pipe (You can use an elbow PVC pipe for students to read into. This helps them hear themselves as an audience would.) Χ Poetry Buddies Discussion Log INTERACTIVE READ ALOUD: 1. Begin by reading aloud the book Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka with no voice inflection. After reading a couple of pages, stop and ask the students if they notice something different about this read aloud. 2. Discuss with them the importance of reading the punctuation to build meaning. Demonstrate by reading the title again using the punctuation. 3. Read the book through with fluency, voice inflections, and expression. Talk with the students about how this changes the way they understand the story. 4. Re-read the text. Invite your students to join in by reading for one of the characters. 5. Remind students of the importance of using voice inflections during reading to help the reader understand. 6. One of the best ways to express fluency and voice is when reading poetry. Explain to the students that they will have the opportunity to take part in the Poetry Buddies where they will learn to read and perform a poem with fluency. CENTER IDEA: Place a variety of familiar and unfamiliar poems in your poetry centre. These can be on chart paper, overhead transparencies, books, file folders, etc. Assign each student to a Poetry Buddies group. This could be the group who will be at the Poetry Centre at the same time. Each student will do the following: 1. Choose a poem. 2. Rehearse the poem until you feel you know it well. 30
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3. Read it into the playback pipe to listen to how the audience will hear you. 4. Try it with a new rhythm, read it to music, or use a new voice. 5. When it sounds just right to you, read it to two of your group members. 6. Ask for group member feedback. 7. Fill out one of the Poetry Buddies Response Logs (attached) and discuss in your group. VARIATIONS AND IDEAS: Χ You can monitor group discussions using a tape recorder. This will provide feedback on your students’ learning and interactions during their group sessions. Χ Display familiar poems from the shared reading experience throughout the classroom for students to practice reading in the poetry centre. Χ Students can keep a lot of the poems they have learned and shared in their group. Χ Help kids tune their ears to language and fluency by putting poems and poetry books in your listening centre. Χ Occasionally record your students reading a familiar poem on tape. Put these tapes in your listening centre with a copy of the text.
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POETRY BUDDIES PROCEDURES
1. Choose a poem to read. 2. Use your body and your voice to read it. 3. Read it with rhythm. 4. Practice it until you know it. 5. Read it into the play back pipe. 6. Read your poem to a friend.
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POETRY BUDDIES RESPONSE LOG Name __________ Title of Poem __________ I used my body and my voice. I read it with rhythm. I need more practice. The person who listened to me was: ______________________________ My thoughts: ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________
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POETRY BUDDIES RESPONSE LOG Name __________ Title of Poem __________ Here’s how I feel about my poem: ∼
I loved it!
∼
It made me think!
∼ ∼
I plan to share it with a friend. I didn’t like it.
Here’s how I think I read my poem: ∼
I used my body and my voice.
∼
I kept the rhythm.
∼
I need more practice.
Discuss your answers with your Poetry Buddies Group. 34
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__________________________’s Poetry Log Date
Name of Poem and Author
Date Shared
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BUILDING FLUENCY IN ORAL READING MATERIALS: Poems and charts displayed around the room. Pointers Eyeglass frames without lenses (available from the local vision care center) SHARED READING: 1. Begin by thinking aloud: Good readers always want to get better at reading. One way to get better at reading is to practice reading over and over. When I plan to read a book, I always read it several times before I read it to you. I do this so I can think about how it should be read and what my voice should sound like. This helps me to practice so I can read it without messing up. Today we are going to practice one of our old favorites to learn and to get better at reading. 2. Select a pointer and read with your students a few times. (Note: Preselect familiar text so your students are past the word identification stage and ready to move to oral fluency.) Discuss ways to read with meaning and emotion during this practice time. 3. After reading the poem or chart two or three times, split your class into groups of three or four and let them practice small copies of the poem to each other. Talk about the difference that practice makes. VARIATION AND IDEAS: Χ Use stories, news articles, letters, dialogue, etc. to practice reading as a shared reading activity.
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RETELLING A STORY MATERIALS: Χ Text from your read aloud and shared reading experiences Χ A Prop Box: items that can be used to aid in retelling READ ALOUD: 1. Choose a book you have read before. Pre-select items to start your story-telling box. These items should be necessary to retell the book you are going to read. 2. Before reading, ask your students to talk about what they remember about the book. What happened in the beginning? The middle? The end? 3. After several students have responded, read the book. Tell the students you want them to listen for important details. Those things that make the story special. 4. When you are finished reading, talk about what the students think would be important to tell this story to somebody who has never seen the book. Record responses on chart paper. 5. Show the students the prop box you have assembled. Ask them to identify how many items you have in your box that could help in telling or acting out the important details listed on the chart. 6. Select several students to help retell the story using the props provided. CENTRE IDEA: Keep a prop box in this centre stocked with items for retelling familiar stories. Encourage students to work together to retell the story. Periodically change items in the box to keep it fresh for your students. Provide plenty of pens, pencils, markers, and paper for students who decide to write their own play about a book they have read. VARIATIONS AND IDEAS: Χ Gather items from yard sales and thrift stores. Χ Looking for additional items? Try your classroom parents; they may be able to help.
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RETELLING PLANNER Group Members: _____________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Book Title: __________________________________________________ Author: _____________________________________________________ Important Characters: _________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Important Part(s): ____________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Props We Will Need: __________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ What We Will Say:
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STORY PYRAMID MATERIALS: Χ The Giant Jam Sandwich by Lord, John. Houghton Mifflin Co. Χ Marker Χ Story Pyramid worksheet (you need to make, see activity) Χ Before the lesson, prepare the large chart paper like a “story pyramid” for the students to see as a model. ACTIVITY: Set: Ask the students what they think this book is about by just looking at the pictures. Tell the students to listen carefully to the order in which events in the story takes place (what happens first, second, and so on) because the class is going to be filling in a “story pyramid.” Show them what a “story pyramid” looks like. STORY PYRAMID
1. ____ 2. ____ ____ 3. ____ ____ ____ 4. ____ ____ ____ ____ 5. ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ 6. ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
7. ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ 8. ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Procedure: − Read the book, The Giant Jam Sandwich, aloud to the students. − Hand out the “story pyramid” worksheets − The students are to fill in the pyramid with the information asked below: On line: 39
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1. Write the name of the main character 2. Two words describing the main character 3. Three words describing the setting 4. Four words stating the story problem 5. Five words describing the first event in the story 6. Six words describing a second event 7. Seven words describing a third event 8. Eight words describing the solution to the problem * Have the students write a sentence for each line using one word for each space provided. Closure: − Ask the students how many liked using the “story pyramid” and what they liked or disliked. − Discuss with the class how using the “story pyramid” helped to organize the story. Did the pyramid make it easier to identify the chain of events in the story? − Ask the class if their predictions for the book were right and ask how they came up with those predictions (example: by looking at pictures, title) * Have students choose their own book and have them create a Story Pyramid. Allow students to use this to aid them in retelling the story to the class.
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IDENTIFYING UNKNOWN WORDS BY WORD PATTERNS MATERIALS: Χ Word cards from a familiar read aloud/shared reading Χ Sorting tray (plastic relish trays with dividers work well) Χ Other items to sort Χ What’s My Sort? Worksheet WORD WORK: 1. Think about words that you have tried to write but didn’t know how to spell. What did you do? Did any of you ask a friend or teacher? Did anyone go to the dictionary? One thing I do when I don’t know how to spell a word is to think about how it might look. In my mind, I think about words I know that sound the same or almost the same. For example, if I want to spell the word train, I think about the words I know that sound like train like rain and plain. Then I try it out on a piece of paper to see if it looks right. 2. Show your students how to try spelling a word in three different ways and pick one. For train, you might write trane, tran, and train. Then help them to see how you think about what might be the right spelling. 3.
Your choice may not be right, but this is a good way to try and spell. Most of the time, you will be able to figure it out, or at least get close enough until you can check it somewhere else.
CENTRE IDEA: Explain to your students that this centre is in the research centre because it focuses on noticing similarities and differences in words or things. Remind students of the mini-lesson where you thought about words that were alike to help you spell in your writing. Place several word cards in your research centre. These words can come from your big books, guided reading books, word wall, spelling lists, etc. Provide a divided paper or plastic serving tray for students to sort the word. They need to find a friend and have them guess how the words were sorted. Occasionally replace the words with other small objects to be sorted. VARIATIONS AND IDEAS: Χ Ask parents to help you collect items to sort 41
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SOME SORTING IDEAS Alphabet cereal Beads Buttons Coins (real or plastic) Crayons (peel and use the broken ones) Coupons Flower pictures (use the seed catalog) Food boxes and labels Grocery coupons, gift wrap Insects (plastic) Jingle bells Keys Matchbox cars Marker caps (save the ones from dried up markers) Nuts and bolts Pasta in a variety of shapes Quilt squares (make out of paper) Rocks Seeds Sea shells Small Toys Words Yarn in various lengths and colors Zippers (from your local sewing center)
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Things I notice about _____________________’s sort: ______________________ _______________ ______________________ _______________
Things I notice about _____________________’s sort: _______________________ ______________ _______________________ ______________
Things I notice about _____________________’s sort: ______________________ _______________ ______________________ _______________ ______________________ _______________ ______________________ _______________ ______________________ _______________ ______________________ _______________ ______________________ _______________ ______________________ _______________
Things I notice about _____________________’s sort: _______________________ ______________ _______________________ ______________ _______________________ ______________ _______________________ ______________ _______________________ ______________ _______________________ ______________ _______________________ ______________ _______________________ ______________ 44
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CAT IN THE HAT MATERIALS: Χ One copy of The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss (for 2 students) Χ Note cards with words of specific phonograms printed on them OBJECTIVE: Students will learn various phonograms and identify these phonograms through several words in context. REASONING: By learning various phonograms (such as –at and –ake), students will be able to combine them with different onset phonemes to become familiar with a variety of words. By keeping this learning in the context of reading a book, the student will realize the meaning associated with these phonograms and words. ACTIVITY: Procedure Divide the note cards evenly among the students. Read each word on the note cards along with the students to help them become familiar with the words. Read the book to the students, having them hold up and say a word on their note card whenever it is read in the story. If a student misses one of their words when read, stop and ask, “Do you have any of the words in that sentence?” This will clue them to look for the word and help them to identify it. Continue to read the book until all students are familiar with reading their note cards.
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SPLASH PURPOSE: This is a pre-reading predicting activity that causes students to use their background knowledge. It is an excellent way to engage the students and motivate them to read a story or passage you want to present. OBJECTIVE: Using background knowledge, students will use every word on the SPLASH sheet to write a short story. PROCEDURES: 1. Choose key words from the passage or story that the children will be reading. 2. Write the words randomly on a group chart or the overhead projector. 3. You can tell the children that these words are from an actual passage or story that we will be reading. 4. Ask them to use all of the words to construct a story similar to what they imagine these words to be from. (“What story do you think these words are from? Can you write about it using all of these words?”) This can be done in small groups, or in pairs as a cooperative grouping lesson. 5. Have students share what they have written. 6. Read actual passage or story. You can put it up on the overhead if you prefer. FOLLOW-UP: Talk about how a word can have more than one meaning. Point out that, in some cases, students used words differently than they were used in the story (same word, different meaning). This can lead into work with the Dictionary.
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MY WORD Select a word category (e.g. musical instrument, wild animals, nationalities… anything goes!). Allow students a minute or so to write down as many appropriate words as they can. The teacher should also write ONE word belonging to the chosen category. That’s HIS/HER word…and it must be kept secret until the students have read their answers. Then students take turns reading their words, one at a time. The first time a correct answer is given, the student who said the word (e.g. guitar) gets 3 points for it. All the others who wrote the same word get 1 point for their efforts. Suppose that the teacher’s word was, for instance, “piano.” Should a student come up with that answer, the Teacher says “My Word!” out loud and the lucky student gets 10 points for striking the right key, while the others get one point for that particular word. This ends the round. Students add up their points and try another word category. Should no one come up with the teacher’s word, the bonus 10 points accumulate for the following round, when a lucky student will get 20 points, 30, or even more… After a few rounds, the student with the most points wins the game. When you are done, you may wish to go through the students’ lists again and check whether any right words remained unsaid or just add a few more anyway. The teacher is free to choose his/her word, of course. As a rule of thumb, the lower the students’ level, the simpler your words should be.
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THINKING ABOUT AND RESPONDING TO TEXT MATERIALS: Χ Shared reading books (fiction and non-fiction) Χ Reading Response Sentence Stem Chart Χ Paper Χ Writing tools SHARED READING: 1. Pull out several familiar shared reading books. Ask your students to tell you what they remember about some of them. 2. Discuss what kinds of things we remember when we read books: characters, what we like, how we feel, things we notice, etc. 3. Think aloud: When good readers read books they think about what they are reading. In their mind they make notes about what they notice, what they think, or how they feel. Thinking about my reading helps me understand what I read. When I notice something in the book that I think is interesting, it seems to stick in my mind. 4. Share a book with the whole class. 5. Post the sentence stem “I notice…” in a pocket chart. 6. Invite your students to write or draw a response to the stem. Remind them to put the title and author on their response sheet. 7. Post these in the pocket chart with the stem “I notice…” 8. Encourage students to use the stem to respond to independent reading. CENTER IDEA: Post the sentence stems on a chart in your Literature Response center. Provide plenty of paper, pencils, and markers for students to write and illustrate their response. Students can use the chart as a reference anytime they want to write a response to their reading. VARIATIONS AND IDEAS: Χ Students can record their response in a notebook. Χ Occasionally respond to your student’s writing. You might write I did not notice __________________ in this book, but I did notice ___________________. Did you like the part about ___________________? or Why do you think the author chose ______________________? 48
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In my book . . .
I I I I I
notice… think… like… learned… wonder… 50
Alonso & Nations “Making Reading and Writing STICK” Adapted from Bobbi Fisher’s Chart, Thinking and Learning Together
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READING POWER THROUGH VISUALIZATIONS MATERIALS: Core Literature OBJECTIVE: Students will visualize images from the text and create an oral collage. ACTIVITY: Anticipatory set: If you close your eyes, can you see pictures in your mind? Procedure: The teacher asks students to close their eyes and visualize images while s/he reads excerpts from a core literature book. When the teacher finishes reading, s/he asks students to share what images they saw. Next, the teacher asks students to visualize with their eyes open as s/he reads the text. Then the teacher asks students to read a page silently and visualize what they are reading. Following each visualization exercise, students share their images with the rest of the class. Finally, the teacher asks students to write down their favourite line of imagery from the text. Four or five students come up to the front of the class and, while the rest of the class has its eyes closed, create an oral collage by reading their selected passages and leaving space between speakers so the class can visualize each passage. Independent Practice: For homework, students are assigned pages to read and visualize. They are to describe their visualizations in a double-entry reading journal.
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