“Fractured Fairytales” Writing Unit Plan Project Lesson Plan #1 Title/Topic of Lesson: Introduction to the writing unit: “Fractured Fairytales” Context of Lesson: This is the first day of the new language arts/writing unit. The students have just finished a research unit on biographies and presented them to other classrooms. Since that was a very lengthy, intense project, the students will enjoy a more relaxed unit to follow. This is the first in a series of lesson plans that will cover the month of March and culminate in reading their Fractured Fairytales to a 5th grade class. Grade Level and Length of Lesson: 4th grade classroom, approximately 1 hour Lesson Objectives (Goals): Introduce the unit: “Fractured Fairytales” Students discuss similarities and differences in The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and the original story, including the narration of the story. Students discuss the elements of a fairytale and state their presence in the example stories. Students will generate a list of possible fairytales to change in their own writing. Technology Foundation Standards (ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Students – NETS*S) Basic operations and concepts Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology systems. Students are proficient in the use of technology. Social, ethical, and human issues Students practice responsible use of technology systems, information, and software. Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity. Technology productivity tools Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity. Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works. Technology communications tools Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences.
Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences.
Chelsea School District Standards: Reading: Word Recognition and Word Study Students will… Determine the meaning of words and phrases in context (e.g., similes, metaphors, content vocabulary), using strategies and resources (e.g., context clues, semantic feature analysis, thesaurus). Narrative Text Students will… Identify and describe a variety of narrative genre (e.g., poetry, myths/legends, fantasy, adventure). Analyze characters’ thoughts and motivation through dialogue; various character roles and functions (e.g., hero, villain, narrator); know first person point of view and conflict/resolution. Comprehension Students will… Retell and summarize grade level appropriate narrative and informational text. Explain oral and written relationships among themes, ideas, and characters within and across texts to create a deeper understanding (e.g., categorize and classify, compare and contrast, draw parallels across time and culture). Speaking: Spoken Discourse Students will: Engage in interactive, extended discourse to socially construct meaning (e.g., book clubs, literature circles, partnerships, or other conversation protocols). Discuss narratives (e.g., mystery, myths and legends, tall tales, poetry), conveying the story grammar (i.e., various character roles, plot, story level theme) and emphasizing facial expressions, hand gestures, and body language. Listening and Viewing: Conventions Students will… Respond to questions asked of them, providing appropriate elaboration and details. Listen and interact appropriately and view knowledgably in small and large group settings.
Materials: Picture Book, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, by Jon Scieszka SmartBoard Computer (to project onto SmartBoard and save discussion materials) Worksheet, “Elements of a Fairytale” Pencils/pens for students
Instructional Sequence: 1. Begin by having the students retell the original story of the “Three Little Pigs.” As a whole class, determine the characteristics of the original story - some versions the students share may be different. 2. Introduce the book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. Tell the students that this story is a different version of the classic fairytale that they just retold together. This book is what can be called a “Fractured Fairytale” – it has elements of the classic fairytale but the narrator has been changed and it contains much more humor. Have students think of the movie “Shrek” – many parts of those movies were similar to the original tales, but changed to be very funny! Many students may have read this story before, so save discussion comments and questions to the end for those students that may not have read it before. 3. Teacher reads the book aloud to the whole class. She is standing at the front of the room while the students sit at their individual desks. 4. After the reading, ask students to help make a list of the similarities and differences between the two stories. Teacher will make this list on the SmartBoard creating two columns, one for similarities and one for differences. Ask students to share any other ideas or comments between these two stories. 5. Tell the students that they will be creating their own Fractured Fairytales. After they have published their stories and created illustrations for them, all of the stories will be put together in the form of a class book. These stories will then be shared on a field trip to a 5th grade class. 6. Have the class brainstorm a list of possible fairytales that they could change. Teacher will write this list on the SmartBoard to refer back to in lessons to come. 7. Distribute the worksheet “Elements of a Fairytale” to the students. Discuss each element of a fairytale as a whole class. Share ideas of which elements are present in each of the fairytales on the list generated by the class. Have the students take notes on their worksheets to help them remember what each element means. Inform the students that these are some of the things that will need to remain in their own Fractured Fairytale. 8. Tell students that their homework is to decide which fairytale they are going to rewrite. By tomorrow’s writing lesson they will need to know so that they can begin planning their story.
Assessment: This is just an introductory lesson to the unit, so the students will not have any material to assess. By allowing the students a full day to decide which fairytale to rewrite, they are given ownership over the material. Most of this lesson is discussion based – assessment on the students understanding of the material will be shown through their interactions and participation throughout the lessons discussions.