Doris M. Vazquez
Lesson Plan #1
Topic:
Culture and its different forms of expression.
Grade Level:
7-12
Objectives:
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1. Students will improve research skills.
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2. Students will understand the different components found within CULTURE.
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3. Students will define myth, legend, folktale and fairy tale.
Procedure:
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1. Introduce the concept of culture by presenting several videos, musical samples, artistic expressions through painting, drawings, artifacts, and stories from different countries and times. If possible, a professional storyteller is recommended for this portion of the activity.
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2. Using the makeup of your classroom, work with the different ethnic groups that it may have. Have these students break up into groups of three or four. The students will define culture as they see have experienced it through the presentations. Each group will report their definition to the rest of the class.
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3. Each group will come together again to list different kinds of stories, oral or written, that they have heard either through the storyteller or someone that they know.
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4. The students will separate their stories into groups. The stories will then need to be categorized into fairy tales, myths, legends, or folktales. At this time, they may need to do further research to define each of the terms and/or to look for stories to fit the category.
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5. After the students have listed stories under the fairy tale category, they will choose one that they remember/liked best and write it down in their own words. They may add drawings and decorations to their story.
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6 . The group will put together a storybook which they will present to the rest of the class in a storytelling session.
Lesson Plan #2
This next lesson may last several days. In the preceding lesson, the students came together to work on stories that they had heard, read, or seen on film. Now they will focus on their ethnic roots.
Topic:
Stories from My Ancestors
Grade Level:
7-12
Objectives:
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1. Students will become familiar or reacquaint themselves with stories from their parents, grandparents, and other relatives.
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2. Students will record stories told to them in journals.
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3. Students will group stories into the different categories studied in the previous lesson. They need to have at least one story of each type.
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4 . Each group will share their stories with its members and other members in the class.
Procedure:
Each group will then rearrange its members so that there will be new people in it. To do this, one original member remains seated and the others move to other empty seats in other parts of the room. The basic rule to follow is that there should not be two or more members from one previous group in the new group. Each new member is to tell a story from his original group.
Lesson Plan #3
Topic:
Our Own Folktales
Grade Level:
7-12
In this lesson plan, the students will write a folktale of their own. In the first activity, the students researched the different kinds of tales. Then they told each other tales and have read many others. Before they can actually start the writing process, the students need to develop a list of essential elements needed to write a good folktale. This list will be used as the framework of their story. Basically, the list should include the following elements:
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1. Characters; who is(are) in the tale?
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2. Setting; where and when does the tale take place?
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3 Problem(s)
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4. Goal; what does the hero/ine want to accomplish?
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5. Events; what important things happen(ed)?
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6. Moral or outcome.
The list needs to be expanded to include characteristics found only in folktales, such as the use of trickery or enchantment, animal as helpers or doers, the use of numbers, the use of exaggeration and fantasy, many of the characters are regular people who do incredible feats, good overcomes/tricks evil, the hero or heroine is usually young, and in the end there is punishment or reward for an action.
Procedure:
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1. The students will decide which type of tale he or she will write. Once this decision has been made, the student will take the basic elements list and fill it in with the names, places, etc. from their proposed tale. This will serve as an outline or framework from which they will work and will facilitate the organization of their tale.
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2. The students will work individually on their first draft in the classroom and finish writing it for homework.
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3. In class, the students will break up into groups that are working in the same type of tale. They will read their tales to each other or silently, adding notes on the margins with suggestions or comments from other members of their group. There should be at least three people in the group. After this session of group interaction, the students will once again revise/rewrite their tale.
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4. The second draft is presented to the teacher for additional comments or suggestions. At this time, if the student wishes to illustrate his/her tale, he should include where these drawings or pictures will be and give a brief description of the illustration.
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5 . The third and final draft will form part of a book of folktales that will be on display or read to other students in the school library. The students are encouraged to share their stories with other students in their school.