Being Afraid: Strange Bumps
Plan Author: Mathew Needleman Date Created: 4/6/2003 3:00:00 PM PST
School: Saturn Street
Grade Level: 1
Students: 16 students. 8 boys and 8 girls. 8 English only or IFEP, 8 ELLs. One student is receiving resource services.
Subject Area(s): Language Arts (English)
Goal(s): Students will compare and contrast two pieces of literature.
Concept(s): Sometimes people can be afraid of things that cannot possibly hurt them.
Standards: CA- CCTC: Aligned CSTP's and TPE's • Standard : CSTP: Standard for Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments for Student Learning TPE: E. Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments for Student Learning CSTP Description: Teachers create physical environments that engage all students in purposeful learning activities and encourage constructive interactions among students. Teachers maintain safe learning environments in which all students are treated fairly and respectfully as they assume responsibility for themselves and one another. Teachers encourage all students to participate in making decisions and in working independently and collaboratively. Expectations for student behavior are established early, clearly understood, and consistently maintained. Teachers make effective use of instructional time as they implement class procedures and routines. • CSTP Key Element : Establishing and maintaining standards for student behavior.  Question : understand the reasons for student behavior? CA- California K-12 Academic Content Standards • Subject : English Language Arts • Grade : Grade One • Area : Reading • Sub-Strand 3.0: Literary Response and Analysis Students read and respond to a wide variety of significant works of children’s literature. They distinguish between the structural features of the text and the literary terms or elements (e.g., theme, plot, setting, characters). The selections in Recommended Readings in Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Eight illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students. • Concept : Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text  Standard 3.1: Identify and describe the elements of plot, setting, and character(s) in a story, as well as the story’s beginning, middle, and ending.
Objective(s): After reading the stories, Strange Bumps and Goblin Story, children will be able to compare and contrast the plots and characters of each by stating at least one similarity and one difference between the two stories.
Prerequisite Background Skills/Knowledge: Children must be familiar with the concept of fantasy. We have discussed this before but it is worth reviewing.
Vocabulary / Language Skills: Goblin: many children already know the word goblin from the Spiderman film featuring the Green Goblin. The word will not confuse them but they will be able to fine-tune their meaning by seeing a goblin as a mischievious little guy.
Materials: Student Anthologies Chart Paper Markers
Classroom Management: Children may get bored sitting on the carpet for long periods. Allow children chances to stretch and opportunities to participate often to minimize boredom and misbehavior.
Procedure: Open (Part One) Explain to students that today we will be reading a story by Maurice Sendak, the same author as "Where the Wild Things Are." Remind students that Sendak is both an author and a illustrator and ask them to explain what those jobs are. Ask children if they are familiar with the folktale character of goblins (they will invariably mention Spiderman--accept this then pull the conversation back to the folktales we have read). Tell children we are going to hear a story about a goblin who was afraid and that we will be reading to find out what he was afraid of. Body Read "Goblin Story" to the children as they follow along in their anthologies, stopping occasionally to have children predict what is going to happen to a partner. After reading, discuss with children any vocabulary they did not know and then ask for general reactions. Make sure to discuss in conversation why the story is funny and what we can learn about fear from this story (the goblin ends up being terrified of his shoes which are completely harmless). --Day Two-- Allow children to re-read "Goblin Story" and brainstorm a list of ideas of other harmless things that might have scared the goblin. --Day Three-- Repeat book sense activities with the new story, "Strange Bumps" by Arnold Lobel, author of the Frog and Toad stories. Again, guide the students through a reading of the book and also allow them time to read the story independently to partners. --Day Four-- Discuss with students the similarities between the two stories. Both stories have characters who are afraid of "nothing" both characters are afraid of something related to their feet, both characters resolve their fears at the end of their stories. And differences...one's an animal and one's a fictional character, each deals with his fear differently, etc... Have children assist you in completing a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the two stories. Close Re-read the Venn Diagram with students. Have them practice telling each other one similarity and one difference between the two tales and circulate to assess student understanding. If necessary, repeat the discussion about how both characters are afraid of things that are harmless.
Assessment: Children will demonstrate their understandings of the differences between the two stories by stating one similarity and one difference between them.