Author: Betty Turpin

Healthy Body, Balanced Lifestyle #3: Mabela the Clever Learns Wisdom, by Margaret Read MacDonald

Lesson Overview:

Switching gears a bit, this lesson does not focus on physical health, but on learning wisdom and making healthy choices through listening, thinking, and observing the world around you.   I am a huge fan of Dr. Margaret Read MacDonald’s work, and her Mabela the Clever text is my favorite.  If your students have a hard time listening, this is the lesson for them!

Lesson Plan:

Suggested Grades:

1-3

Objective:

Every student will be able to summarize the wisdom of the Limba people as taught in the text.  (AASL  4.1.4, “Seek information for personal learning in a variety of formats and genres.”)

Suggested Time:

35-40 minutes

Success Criteria:

Each student will be able to summarize the teachings of the Limba people of Sierra Leone as presented in the story Mabela the Clever.  This will be done by completing a capture sheet to help them remember the main ideas from the text.

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction:

Ask the students to tell you two things that they have learned recently about making healthy choices.  Ask the students what they do to keep their mind or spirits healthy.  Ask them if they know what it means to be a listener or a thinker.  Is being a good listener or thinking part of being healthy?  Try to steer the conversation towards the idea that healthy minds and healthy bodies are both important.

Tell the kids that today they will get to hear another folktale.  This one is not as funny as the gecko’s story, but it is just as important!  This story is about a little mouse named Mabela.  There is also a cat in the story.  What do we know about cats and mice?  Are they usually friends?  What is the typical relationship between a cat and a mouse?  Keep that idea as we read this story together and see what happens.

2. Main:

Teach Mabela the Clever by Margaret Read MacDonald.  The story is easy to understand, but the children may be like Mabela and become swept up in the promises of the cat!

  • On the page where the cat lines the mice up in a straight line, ask the children if they think this is a good idea.
  • On the page where the cat “Fo Fengs” the mice, ask the children what they think “Fo Feng” means. They should be able to tell you from the illustration and context.
  • On the page where Mabela begins to listen, ask the children what they think is in the red bag on the cat’s back.

After the story wraps up, ask the children why Limba parents are still telling the story to their children today.  What wisdom have we learned that was true for Mabela and could also be true for us?  Be sure that the children can summarize the four teachings of the story which are:

“When you are out and about, keep your ears open and listen.”

“When you are out and about, keep your eyes open and look around you.”

“When you are speaking, pay attention to what you are saying.”

“If you have to move, most fast!”

Source:  MacDonald, Margaret Read, and Tim Coffey. Mabela the Clever. Albert Whitman, 2001.

Pass out the student assignment sheets and make sure that every student can correctly write these teachings on his/her paper.  For those who have extra time, encourage them to draw a scene from the Mabela story at the bottom of the page.

3. Conclusion:

Emphasize that when we think about making healthy choices, we must think about our minds as well as our bodies.  Learning to listen, considering your words, and observing your surroundings is very important.  Mabela learned these lessons as a little mouse, and we can learn them as well.  This week, show your teacher and your parents how well you listen!

Resources:
  1. A copy of Mabela the Clever by Margaret Read MacDonald.
  2. Copies of the student handout (attached).
  3. Globe or map to show where Sierra Leone is.
Notes:

As I wrote in the lesson plan for Go To Sleep, Gecko!, if you are not familiar with Dr. Margaret Read MacDonald’s work, spend some time getting to know her books.  Dr. MacDonald earned a degree in anthropology before she became a children’s librarian.  Through later studies, including her doctorate in folklore, she has become the world’s expert on gathering traditional tales and retelling them for today’s audiences.  Order a few of her stories and you will be delighted at how versatile they are, how much the children enjoy them, and how easy they are to incorporate into your teaching.

Recommended books for this lesson:

Mabela the Clever by Margaret Read MacDonald.

Key Terms:

Cats, Mice, Sierra Leone, Folktales, Wisdom, Thinker

 

Mabela the Clever, Student Handout

Healthy Body, Balanced Lifestyle #2: Go To Sleep, Gecko, by Margaret Read MacDonald

Lesson Overview:

In this lesson, students think about sleep and its importance for health.  Using a Balinese folk tale as the source text, children will describe how, where, and under what conditions they like to sleep.  Then they will draw a simple picture of themselves sound asleep.  To make this lesson more fun, bring a few pillows, stuffed animals, and blankets for an in-the-library sleep experience!

Lesson Plan:

Suggested Grades:

1-3

Objective:

To learn a Balinese folktale and to describe how (s)he (the student) best sleeps.  (AASL 4.1.5, “Connect ideas to own interests and previous knowledge and experience.”)

Suggested Time:

45-50 minutes

Success Criteria:

Each student will listen to a Balinese folktale, then complete seven sentence prompts describing how he or she best likes to sleep.  If there is enough time, each student will draw a simple picture of how she likes to sleep.

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction:

Ask the students to tell you one or two things that they have learned in their Unit of Inquiry thus far.  What do we need to have or need to do to stay healthy?  Gather a few ideas for the class.  If no one mentions sleep, ask them what they do at night that is very important for their health.  Give clues until the children come up with the idea that sleep is important for health and wellbeing.

Explain that today, we will learn about sleep from a traditional folk tale from Bali.  Show where Bali is on a map or globe.  In the story, the main character is a gecko!  Show a picture of a gecko and perhaps a video clip of a gecko walking or catching an insect.

Be sure to let the kids hear what a gecko’s call sounds like.  If they know this, they will be able to better imagine the story.

2. Main:

Let the kids get comfortable with pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals.  Since this is a sleep story, they get to pretend to sleep during the lesson!

Teach Go to Sleep, Gecko! A Balinese Folktale by Margaret Read MacDonald.  Check for understanding as you go.

After the story, ask some thinking questions such as:

  • Do you ever have trouble sleeping?
  • If so, how do you manage that problem?
  • What kinds of things might change the amount of sleep you get?
  • What could change the quality of sleep that you get?
  • Did you notice what the gecko is sleeping with in the final illustration? What do you like to sleep with?

After a bit of sharing, explain the assignment.  Tell the children that they will each complete seven sentences.  Once they complete the seven sentences, they will have described how they like to sleep.

After the sentences are complete, ask the children to draw pictures of themselves asleep at home on the reverse side of the assignment.

3. Conclusion:

Wrap up by drawing everyone back together.  Emphasize how important sleep is.  Encourage the children to go to sleep early so that they can grow and so that they will be well-rested to start every day off with lots of energy.

Thank them for their work as they tidy up, fold the blankets, and put away the pillows.  Another library lesson well done!

Resources:
  1. Map or globe
  2. Pictures of a gecko
  3. Sound recording of a gecko. Perhaps this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a44rInONJRY
  4. Copies of the student assignment sheet (attached)
  5. Stuffed animals, pillows, and blankets (optional)
  6. Margaret Read MacDonald’s web site: http://www.margaretreadmacdonald.com/
Notes:

I have taught this lesson for many years, and it is a kid pleaser.  The children love to hear the word “poop” in a story, and they get a charge out of the gecko’s constant complaining.   Even better is talking about sleep at school!  Try to bring along the stuffed animals, pillows, and blankets to make listening a real sleep experience.

If you are not familiar with Dr. Margaret Read MacDonald’s work, spend some time getting to know her books.  Dr. MacDonald earned a degree in anthropology before she became a children’s librarian.  Through later studies, including her doctorate in folklore, she has become the world’s expert on gathering traditional tales and retelling them for today’s audiences.  My personal favorite is Mabela the Clever, a tale from the Limba in Sierra Leone.  Order a few of her stories, and you will be delighted at how versatile they are, how much the children enjoy them, and how easy they are to incorporate into your planning.

Recommended books for this lesson:

Go to Sleep, Gecko! A Balinese Folk Tale by Margaret Read MacDonald.

Key Terms:

Geckos, Sleep, Bali, Folktales, Folklore

 

Go To Sleep, Gecko, Student Handout

Healthy Body, Balanced Lifestyle #1: Oliver’s Vegetables, by Vivian French, Question Skills

Lesson Overview:

This lesson is the most successful I’ve ever designed for early elementary students to promote the skill of developing questions.  It is tied to the Unit of Inquiry on health and making healthy choices, and I’ve chosen a popular text and paired it with a question-asking exercise.  The output is a class book that parallels the text.  I’ve provided the template so all you need to do is take our my kids’ work and fill it with your kids’ work!  Your children will love the activity once they get the hang of asking questions, and you’ll have a top-rate class work sample for your Weebly, digital portfolio, or display.  Hurrah for vegetables and learning how to ask questions!

Lesson Plan:

Suggested Grades:

1-3

Objective:

To develop questions to guide further inquiry about vegetables and healthy eating.   (AASL 1.1.3, “Develop and refine a range of questions to frame the search for new understanding.”)

Suggested Time:

45-50 minutes

Success Criteria:

The class will write a book with at least fifty questions for further inquiry about vegetables, gardens, or healthy eating.

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction:

Ask the children to tell you what their new Unit of Inquiry is about.  Hopefully they will be able to tell you, “Making healthy choices”. or “Staying healthy”.  Ask them what they know about how to stay healthy.  One of the children will undoubtedly mention healthy foods.  Follow that up with “What kinds of foods are healthy?”  Hopefully one of them will reply with, “vegetables”.  If you are in a multilingual environment, ask the children how to say “vegetables” in their mother tongue languages.

Tell the kids that today’s lesson is about vegetables, but it is also about becoming great question askers.  To become good learners, we must ask good questions, and to ask good questions we must practice.  Quickly review how questions are formed.  For early learners, I simply say, “You can make a question by starting a sentence with ‘Who,’ ‘What,’ ‘Why,’ ‘When,’ or ‘How.’”  Many teachers have the question words displayed in the classroom.  If your teacher does not, consider making a small poster or chart for the class with the question words on it.  (See attached photo.)  If you are working in the library, be sure to have the question words prominently displayed.

Explain to the children that today, they will learn a story, but they will also write their own book full of questions!

2. Main:

Teach Oliver’s Vegetables by Vivian French.  Make sure the children understand the progression of the story including the days of the week and Oliver’s search through the garden.  Also make sure they understand Grandpa’s deal with Oliver.  Children should understand what “chips” are – this could vary for your country.

Go back to the beginning, and this time work through the story with the PowerPoint template (attached).  Replace the date and name of the class and take out my children’s work.  Before you erase my kids’ work, please have a quick look through the file so that you know the kind of product we are after.  I have taken a key sentence from each two-page spread, inserted an image, and left room for the children to ask questions.

This will be hard for the kids at first, and you may have to prompt them by asking, “We need a ‘What’ question for spinach.”  They may then come up with, “What does spinach taste like?” or “What can you make with spinach?” Try to get the kids to use every question word on every page and try to get at least ten questions per page.

Project the file so that the kids can see their book coming together as they work!  They will love this, and teachers love it too, because the evidence of learning is immediate!

3. Conclusion:

Wrap up by drawing everyone back together.  Emphasize how important it is to be able to ask good questions.  (Learner Profile:  Inquirer.)  Challenge the children to ask good questions to guide their learning.  Also, encourage them to follow up on some of these questions with a bit of research next time they come to the library.  Print a copy of the file so that each class has a hard copy of the class book.

Resources:
  1. A copy of Oliver’s Vegetables by Vivian French.
  2. Question Word Poster (optional).
  3. Power Point Template for this lesson. (See attached file.)
Notes:

This lesson has a solid Unit of Inquiry link and has a strong information literacy component as well.  Better than that, though, is that it shows the children that with a bit of practice, and by using their question words, they can come up with questions to guide inquiry.

I like teaching the skill of forming questions, and I do it at least three different ways in different grade levels.  My target is for the children to have one lesson in which they practice asking questions with me each year.

Be sure to print and spiral-bind a copy of the file so that the kids have a class book.  They will be very excited to show off their work, and it will also remind them of the importance of asking questions.

Recommended books for this lesson:
  1. Oliver’s Vegetables by Vivian French.
Key Terms:

Vegetables, Gardens, Grandfathers, Health, Diet, Nutrition, Potatoes, Chips

 

Question Words Poster

Oliver’s Vegetables, PowerPoint

Sense of Place: Geography #5: Geography Review, A Holiday Getaway

Lesson Overview:

In this lesson, students use what they have learned about atlases, geography, and travel writing to create an imaginary holiday itinerary.  Using places nominated by their classmates, they will build some crazy and exciting holiday plans!  This is the final lesson in the unit and should be a celebration of learning while assessing the students’ abilities to use an atlas, recognize features of an area, and promote those features to a reader or audience.

Lesson Plan:

Suggested Grades:

4 and above

Objective:

Working independently and using what they have learned in this unit about geography, students will plan a journey that takes them from a beginning point to three different destinations and back home again.  (AASL 2.3.1, “Connect learning to the real world.”)

Suggested Time:

50-55 minutes

Success Criteria:

Using destination suggestions from their classmates, students will work independently to create an imaginary holiday itinerary, including recommended sites to visit.

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction:

Remind the students that in this unit they have learned to use an atlas, have looked at some of the most stunning sites on the planet (Beautiful World Game), have created an accordion travel book (“Panorama Pops”), and have written a brochure to promote the school.  Explain that today, they will use all their skills – atlas skills, writing, and destination promotion – to tie the unit together.  Today, they will plan an imaginary holiday!

2. Main:

To begin, each student needs three pieces of scrap paper and a pencil.  Ask them to use an atlas, if needed, and to write the following on each of the pieces of paper:

Scrap Paper #1:  Name of their country’s capital city.  (Example: Moscow, Russia)

Scrap Paper #2:  Name of another national capital city on the same continent.  (Example: Lisbon, Portugal – Russia and Portugal are on the same continent.)

Scrap Paper #3:  Name of a capital city on a different continent.  (Ex:  Suva, Fiji, which is in the continent of Australia/Oceania.)

Have each student fold all slips of paper in half and deposit them in the jar/hat/basket.  Toss the papers well.

Pass out the student assignment sheets (see attached).  After the students write their names and the date, have them write the city in which your school is located as the starting point for their imaginary journeys.  My students would write, “Dubai, United Arab Emirates.”  Make sure that they have a city and country, or, where appropriate, city, state, and country.

Next, have each child draw one slip of paper out of the hat.  They should write the name of that place under “Destination #1, Place.”  After everyone has drawn one place, have them draw their second and third destinations and write those on their assignment as well.  Their itineraries are now set.

To complete the assignment, the student needs to write a few words about the location.  For example, if the student draws “Stockholm, Sweden”, they could write, “the capital city of Sweden, a country in northern Europe”.  Another possible response could be, “A country in northern Europe bordering Norway, Finland, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea”.  Make sure that they mention the continent, region, or proximity of neighboring countries or bodies of water.  Basically, they need to use the atlas to provide a geographic description.

Under “Sites to Visit”, ask the student to list two places visitors might be drawn to.  They should get this information by talking to their classmates, using the atlas, using World Book’s Compare Places tool (or whatever digital resources your school subscribes to).  They could also use country books or travel books.  For example, if a student is working on Ireland, he could mention the Cliffs of Moher or Blarney Castle.  This is not a big research effort – the kids only need to find two attractions or sites for each of the locations.

For “Notes”, ask the students to write a few words about the way they would recommend traveling from site to site.  If the sites are very far apart, aircraft might be necessary.  However, a few of them might have different ideas.  Would they sail, hike, take a train or a hot air balloon?  How about a submarine?  How many ways can they think of to get from destination to destination?

3. Conclusion:

Ask the children if any of them would like to share their imaginary holiday journeys.  They will likely be excited to tell about where they are headed and what they plan to see.  Collect the work and submit it to the teacher for the student’s portfolio.

Resources:
  1. Small slips of scrap paper for nominating three destinations.
  2. Hat, jar, or basket to collect all the nominations.  (Each student will contribute three destination ideas.)
  3. Student Assignment Sheet (see attached.)
  4. Pencils, colored pencils.
Notes:

This lesson is designed to be a summative experience for the unit.  If you wish, film the students presenting or telling about their travel itineraries.  This would make a great addition to a digital portfolio.  If you do not have the option of a digital portfolio, place the student assignment from today’s lesson in a paper portfolio of work.

The lesson can easily be adapted for destinations within one country or destinations within one state or region.  I’ve purposely omitted the words “Country” or “State” so that you can simply tailor the lesson to the geography that works best for your students.

Recommended books for this lesson: 

A collection of atlases, preferably National Geographic Kids’ Atlas.

Key Terms:

Travel Journalism, Holidays, Vacations, Sight Seeing, Travel, Geography

 

Student Handout, A Holiday Getaway

Sense of Place: Geography #4: Travel Writing, Visit Our School!

Lesson Overview:

In this lesson, we build on last week’s idea of creating a piece of work that highlights the students’ understanding of new places.  However, instead of creating an artistic piece of work, students will combine their efforts to create a written piece.  Using travel guide books and local travel brochures as samples, students will write a travel guide to their school convincing others to come, visit, and perhaps even stay!  Students will be journalists for a day as their ideas about their own learning spaces coalesce into publication-worthy travel brochures.

Lesson Plan:

Suggested Grades:

4 and above

Objective:

Working in small groups, students will create a travel brochure highlighting the features, services, and people of their school.  (AASL 2.16: “Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings.”)

Suggested Time:

50-55 minutes

Success Criteria:

Students will work in small groups to create a travel brochure for their school.  Highlighting areas, services, people, and programs that they feel are noteworthy, students will use their persuasive writing skills to highlight the school’s most attractive features.

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction:

Remind the students that in the last lesson they looked briefly at travel guide books.  As a review, travel guide books usually draw the reader’s attention to:

  • Sights and attractions
  • Famous architecture including bridges, fountains, skyscrapers, churches, or monuments
  • Shopping venues
  • Restaurants
  • Hotels
  • Parks
  • Entertainment or leisure venues

Today, explain to the students that they won’t be creating a piece of art for a book, but a piece of writing, just like those who write travel books.  Today, the students become travel journalists!

However, schools don’t have restaurants, and schools don’t have hotels!  Ask the students what a travel brochure for a school might include.  Possible responses:

  • Sports facilities
  • Musical instruments, concert hall, rehearsal rooms
  • Playgrounds!! (Everyone’s favorite)
  • Murals and distinctive artwork
  • Gardens or school greenhouse
  • Nurse or counselor offices
  • Secretary and principal offices
  • Cafeteria or kitchens
  • Favorite teachers or staff
  • Technology center and libraries

Scribe this list where children can see it.

2. Main:

Ask each student to choose ONE area of the school from the list about which to write.  It is important that not everyone write on the same topic!  Organize the activity so that no more than three children write on the same section of the school.  This way, you can later assemble their work into a brochure promoting the school, and there will be enough variety to keep it interesting.

If the students do not know how to compose a short paragraph, teach them the structure of a paragraph so that they can write one that has:

  1. An introductory sentence.  (Example:  GWA has an awesome library!)
  2. At least three distinct pieces of evidence to support the claim in the introduction.  (Example: In the library, you can choose from hundreds of comics.  There are art books for those who want to learn to draw and cookbooks for kids who like to make dinner at home.  Also, you can do your own book scanning at the student check-out station!)
  3. A conclusion.  (Example: The library is one of the best parts of our school. Stop by soon!)

Completed Sample Paragraph:

GWA has an awesome library!  In the library, you can choose from hundreds of comics.  There are art books for those who want to learn to draw and cookbooks for kids who like to make dinner at home.  Also, you can do your own book scanning at the student check-out station!  The library is one of the best parts of our school.  Stop by soon!

Once the children have completed their paragraphs, if there is time, give them equipment and send them off to take pictures of the people or places they have just written about.  This way, when the work is published, it can be published with photos.

3. Conclusion:

Bring the students back together.  Have a few of them share what they have written with the class.  Explain that, before the next lesson, you will group their work into collections to make school-themed travel brochures.

Resources:
  1. A collection of travel guide books or country books, whichever you can easily pull from your collection.
  2. A collection of travel brochures, preferably local, which will show the students that it is easy to highlight places without having to write an entire book. The local tourist information office or visitor’s center should be able to supply you with these, or you might be able to download them from the web.  Samples might include:
  • Theme Parks
  • County, State, or National Parks
  • Public Libraries
  • Farmer’s Markets
  • Walking Tours, Culinary Tours, Trolley Tours
  • Landmarks, Historical Sites
  • Special Events Such as Winter Wonderland or Autumn Corn Maze
  1. Blank paper, lined paper.
  2. Pencils, pens. (No erasers!!!)
Notes:

I have designed this lesson around the idea of writing a travel brochure for your school.  However, you could adapt it for younger students to write about their classroom.  A classroom’s brochure content might feature the reading corner or classroom library, hand washing station, cubbies, art area, dress-up or play areas, working spaces including tables and chairs, teacher and assistant spaces, media and technology.  The concept works equally well for a classroom as it does for a school.

The project could also be adapted for a group of children that wanted to focus just on the sports program and facilities, or just on the art program and facilities.  Encourage the children to follow their interests as long as there is enough varied content to support the travel brochure idea.

Because you typically only have one period, do not look for a finished product.  Expect the kids to complete a draft which, if you or the teacher choose, could be refined into a finished product.  The emphasis here should be on the content, recording ideas that would promote the school to someone who knows nothing about it.  Content, not product!  You’ll need to collaborate with the classroom teacher on this.  Quite often, I find that teachers want to continue with the writing projects I start.  Sometimes they design their own writing tasks to get the children to reflect on or explain the work we do.  So, be sure to talk to your teachers to make sure that the writing component of this project is well integrated.

Finally, if your kids have done a lot of writing lately, this lesson could also be adapted to be a travel documentary (video) instead of a travel brochure.  Using technology, especially Adobe Spark, children could photograph their favorite areas of the school and then record a simple script to go with the photos.

In my experience, children can talk forever, but when asked to write, many of them grind to a halt.  Encourage them to “talk on paper” (aka write).  For students with learning differences, use a recording device so that their ideas can be captured through speech.  But, this is the only writing lesson in the unit, so I would try to stick with writing if possible.

Recommended books for this lesson: 

A collection of travel guides from your library collection or public library. They are usually available in these series:  Let’s Go, Lonely Planet, Insight Guides, Rough Guides, DK Eyewitness Travel, DK Top 10, Marco Polo, Rick Steves, and Fodor’s.  (Use the same ones you used in the last lesson.)

Key Terms:

Travel Journalism, Persuasive Writing, Sight Seeing, Brochures