Teacher: Angela Court and Ashley Hoisington Date: ?

Class: Grade 2 (44 Students Grade 6 Reading Buddies included)

Unit: Traditional Stories from a variety of Cultures

Lesson 2: Traditional Stories from A variety of Cultures

Description:
Student Information:
Previous Knowledge:
Students will have previous knowledge of what makes a good story
and the parts of a story from the class prior.
Students should be familiar with oral storytelling and the role it
plays in communities and it s importance from the previous lesson.
Students have prior knowledge of storytelling from home
experiences, and at school.
It should be noted that students are aware of their reading buddies
and have had previous experience with working with them on
activities and reading together.

Summary Overview:
We have explored oral stories and traditions in the last lesson, and now
this lesson will focus on traditional folktales, while exploring the meaning
in them to challenge the students in different forms of writing.
Each folktale originates from somewhere different; this will allow the
students a glimpse into other cultures and ways of telling stories. They can
learn to appreciate the similarities and the differences amongst cultures. It
should be noted that we chose some books we found interesting, but it is
encouraged that you choose books based on the cultures within your
classroom.
This lesson will be done with reading buddies to help the students to read
some of the folktales, as many of them are a higher reading level than the
grade 2s can read.
We will begin the lesson by reviewing the previous lesson and looking
back to oral storytelling and their meaning. This will lead us into another
form of storytelling with the written word, specifically folktales. They will
work in their groups to read their chosen stories and identify the important
parts and summarize the story. They will finish off with presenting in their
groups the parts of their stories and summary, each taking turns. This will
lead up to our performance task in helping them to know parts in a story
and practice speaking in front of an audience.
Objectives:
Curriculum Objectives:
General Outcomes:
● Social Studies
 o 2.2 - A Community in the Past: Students will demonstrate an
understanding and appreciation of how a community emerged, and
of how the various interactions and cooperation among peoples
ensure the continued growth and vitality of the community.
● Language Arts
o GLO 1- Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent
to explore thoughts, ideas, feelings and experiences.
o GLO 2- Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent
to comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, print
and other media texts.
o GLO 5- Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent
to respect, support and collaborate with others.
Specific Outcomes:
● Social Studies:
o 2.2.1- appreciate how stories of the past connect individuals and
communities to the present
o 2.2.4- appreciate how connections to a community contribute to
one s identity
● Language Arts
o 1.1- Discover and Explore: express ideas and understanding;
experiments with language and forms
o 1.2- Clarify and Extend: consider the ideas of others
o 2.1 - Use Strategies and Cues: use prior knowledge, use
comprehension strategies and use textual cues.
o 2.2 - Respond to Texts: experience various texts, construct
meaning from texts,
o 2.3- Understand forms, elements and techniques: understand forms
and genres; understand techniques and elements; experiment with
language
o 5.1- Respect others and strengthen community: appreciate
diversity; relate text to culture; use language to show respect

Lesson Objectives: At the end of the lesson, students ill be able to

1. Read a story, while paying close attention to the important parts, by preparingan
oral summary presentation for classmates. (Remembering)
2. Identify important components of a story, by analyzing a story and collaborating
with peers to identify the necessary parts of the story they read. (Analyze)
3. Develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for traditional stories, from a
variety of cultures, by demonstrating the ability to identify similarities and
differences amongst them. (Analyzing)
Inclusion:

Whole Class LEARNING STYLES

Groups Visual
Pairs Auditory
Individuals Kinesthetic

Adaptations:
We have 2 students in our class that we should be differentiating for: Hans and
Julia
Hans: we have incorporated group work to help him work on his
classroom engagement, social skills, and to encourage understanding with
help from his peers. We also chose a book from Germany which will help
him stay connected to his culture and bring it into the classroom; give him
the opportunity to share some of his memories, perhaps even share some
of the language.
Julia: She is a very social student, and she tends to finish work early. We
decided that by having her work within a group setting she will be
challenged to work alongside her peers and help them finish as well- it
would also be beneficial to provide an extensive list of questions to be
answered within the group time so if they finish early there is not a
distraction for other students. She also has a high reading level, so we
must pair her with other students who are more advanced- they can choose
harder books to read with their reading buddies. We can also provide Julia
with some more complex questions for journaling, such as: talking about a
time you read another book that relates to the one you just read.

Materials/Resources:

● A variety of traditional stories from different cultures

o The Love of Two Stars: A Korean Legend by Janie Jaehyun Park (Curriculum
Lab, CURLB 398.209519 Par)
o The Water of Life: A Tale from the Brothers Grimm By Barbara Rogalsky, Trina
Schart Hyman, Jacob Grimm (CURLB 398.2 Rog) (German origin to Hans feel
connected to his culture)
o Two of Everything By Lily Toy Hong (CURLB 398.21 Hon)
o Horse Hooves and Chicken Feet By Neil Philip (CURLB 398.20972 Hor)
o King Midas and the Golden Touch Retold By Freya Littledale (398.22 Lit)
o Usborne Stories from India By Anna Milbourne (ULCUR 398.20954 Sto)
o Filipino Children s Favorite Stories By Liana Romulo (CURLB 398.2 Rom)
o The Magic Tree A Folktale from Nigeria By T. Obinkaram Echewa (ULCUR
398.20966 Ech)
o The King and the Tortoise By Tololwa M. Mollel (ULCUR 398.245 Mol)
 o Stories From The Billabong By James Vance Marshall and Francis Firebrace
(ULCUR 398.2 Mar)
o The Blind Boy and the Loon By Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (ULCUR 398.2089 Arn)

● Talking Stick; if you have been gifted one of these then use it, or find another object to
represent it
● “Parts of a story posters
● Resources:
o From last class:
▪ Learn Alberta, Walking Together Oral Tradition Document:
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/aswt/oral_tradition/documents/oral_tra
dition.pdf
▪ Learn Alberta, Talking Circle:Fact Sheet:
https://www.learnalberta.ca/content/aswt/talkingtogether/facilitated_talkin
g_circle_fact_sheet.html
o For this lesson:
▪ Elements of a story worksheet (attached below)

Instructions/Procedures:

Introduction Time
● Welcome students into the class; Have the older reading buddies
stay lined up as they enter the classroom. Go through each student
in the line to see if the grade 2 s can identify their reading buddy. As
they identify their buddies, they can sit at the carpet together. (If
students cannot recall who their reading buddies are, refer to the older
students to recall. If they still are unable to identify refer to the
buddies list attached to help them identify)
● This type of seating will be used to introduce the lesson and to
accommodate the large number of students. You can use the
desks and tables if there isn t enough room at the carpet, as
long as they can see the whiteboard.
15 mins
● Introduce students to what we are doing today: Begin the lesson with
a recap of the previous class.
▪ Prompt questions:
▪ What are some important parts of a story?
▪ Give an example of a possible Character you
would find in a story? Setting? Conflict?
Resolution?
▪ What does the plot of a story do?
● Write the parts of a story on the whiteboard (Flipchart) as
the students identify them. Leave room between parts of a
story for examples that we ll brainstorm next. This will be
 used so students can refer to as needed. (Character, Setting,
Plot, Conflict, Resolution)
● Write the examples of the parts of a story alongside the trait
on the whiteboard as students list them. (Brainstorm 2-3
examples for reference)
● Briefly discuss the plot and its significance in the story.
Explaining it is the sequence of events in the story.
● Review the importance of Oral Traditions and storytelling. Why we
tell stories?
▪ Why do we tell stories?
▪ What are different ways we can tell a story?
(Oral? Reading a story?)
● Stories are told in all cultures for many reasons. To inform
children of morals and how to act, to keep track of historical
events that have occurred, they are also told for fun and
entertainment
● Stories are important to all cultures; it is something that all
cultures share in some form or capacity.
● The focus for today is on Written stories, traditions and more
specifically folktales. Explain to students they will have the
opportunity to explore a folktale/traditional story from a specific
culture in groups of 4.
▪ The groups have been predetermined on a list
provided to make sure the groups are balanced into
the different types of reading skills are balanced.
● Read the groups out and have the students form into their
groups, by sitting with each other at the carpet or at the desks.

Body Time
Book Talk Introduce the different books that have been
chosen to give all the students a sense of the
books and from which culture they originated
from.
Summary of each book is provided on 10 mins
the attached resource page that can be
read to students to get them familiar
with the books they will be choosing.
.
Reading and Explain the activity.
Activity Each group will choose one book from the
books selected. They will then read the story
once over.
25 mins
The reading buddies will read to the
students.
They will then complete the worksheet sheet
identifying the parts of their story.
 When all students have completed the sheet,
they will put those ideas together to prepare
to give a brief oral presentation summarizing
these main parts and the story as a whole. (They
will only have 3-5 minute to present their ideas)
Each student should be given a part to
speak, so that all have an opportunity to
speak at the end.
Briefly go over the handout and expectations of
the handout highlighting the main areas.
Handout the activity sheet to each group. One
per group for them to work on.
Choose a name from the jar of classroom names
on the teachers desk. This student can collect
their group, pencils and choose a book.
The areas designated for students to
work are the classrooms, they can work
in their own classrooms or the reading
budd s classroom.
Each room has a teacher supervisor for
extra help or assistance if needed
Students can find a workspace to read the story
together and start working on the activity sheet.

Clean-up Students will all be brought back to the class

with all their materials. They will choose a
student s desk to place all these materials to 5 mins
prepare for recess.
Wrap up
Recess During recess, decide presentation order do it
15 mins
is ready for students when they arrive back
Oral Presentations The students will be brought back into the class.
They will be asked to grab their material and sit
in their groups at the carpet.
They will be given 5 Minutes to discuss how
they want to present their summary of the book
and what parts each student will take.
40 mins
Suggestion: How to split it up.
(Max)
Title of the story/Characters/Setting,
Summary/Plot, Conflict, Resolution
The presentation order was pre decided at recess
and written on the board.
The first group will be given 3-5 minutes to
present their summaries and main points.
 Use the talking stick to signify whose
turn it is to talk in the group.

Conclusion/ The reading buddies will line up to get ready to

Journal writing
Cliff Hanger for next class.
Next class we will have a guest speaker and will get the opportunity
to listen to them tell an oral story.
return to their own class.
Our students will return to their desks with their
materials.
As a class we will have a brief discussion of the
differences between the books and the
similarities that were noticed.
They will finish the class writing in their
13 Mins
journals.
Prompt questions
What did you like about your
story?
Did the story remind you of
anything in your life or
experiences that were similar or
different for any reason?
Time
2 Mins

Assessment:
This lesson will use Formative Assessment as its main source of assessment to capture
knowledge and understanding of the students through brainstorming, worksheet, oral
presentation, and journal entry. By having students brainstorm, we will be able to assess their
articulation and understanding of different parts of the story through recall from the last lesson.
Students will also participate in a worksheet, which will assess their abilities to extract the
relevant parts of a story. Students will participate in an oral presentation which will push them to
work on their presentation skills (in preparation for their performance task) as well as their
ability to work with and respect others. The journal entry will prompt students to make deeper
connections and develop an understanding of various cultural/community stories and recognize
how those differ from their own.
As long as students are participating in the group activity, brainstorming, oral
presentation and the prompted journal entry it will give a snapshot into the students knowledge
and understanding. Observation is important to ensure students stay on task and are participating.

Teacher Notes:
Make sure that the popsicle sticks are on the teacher s desk with the students names on them.
At recess decide the order the groups will go for the oral presentation.
Reflection: How did the lesson go? Is there anything you would do differently next time? What
worked well/ not so well?

Rationale:
This is the second lesson in a series of lessons used to scaffold the knowledge for students to
create their own individual stories and be able to tell them. We have used the double block
session to fully develop the ideas presented from ELA and SS, while allowing recess in between
for a break. We have incorporated reading buddies to help students read and synthesize what
they were reading. Folktales have a way of telling a story that isn t always obvious, we thought
this would be a good direction to show students a different way of telling a story, specifically
written stories. The books that were chosen to originate from a variety of cultures to showcase
similarities of cultures and differences. The activity used will help students to have a reference
point with their ideas and to capture the essence of the story. We chose to have students present
orally to gain confidence in sharing their ideas to an audience in preparation for their
performance task.
We have created a positive and safe learning environment that allows the exploration of these
cultures so students can express their own unique identity within these cultural differences.
Creating awareness and understanding. We chose to include the buddies in this lesson to
encourage students to form relationships outside of our classroom and form collaboration skills
that are different than what is required when working with peers their own age.
 Elements of a Story
Name: ____________

PLOT
What happens in the story?
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
_________
CHARACTERS THE STORY SETTING
Name and Describe Where and When?
___________ Title: ___________
___________ ____________ ___________
___________ ____________ ___________
___________ Author:
___________
___________ ____________ ___________
___________ ____________ ___________
___________ ___________
___________ ! ___________

PROBLEM
Describe the problem in the
story.
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
_________________
!
SOLUTION
Describe how the problem is
solved.
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
__________