Week+1+-+Characterization+Lesson

// Narrative // : During the introduction Ms. Amanda will have introduced the students to close reading and I will have shown them what our expectations are for doing characterizations. This activity will build upon Ms. Amanda’s lesson on close reading and note taking because these strategies must be utilized when gathering information to do characterizations which list specific traits, motives, beliefs, and agendas of the main characters in the text. Also we will revisit our class trip to **//Mill Creek Farm//** in a classroom discussion. At this point in our lesson I will model for them from the book __The Three Little Pigs__ how to use the characterizations from the information gathered from the templates used previously to implement a drama activity (TLA, 74) in class. They will take part in a role playing activity called //Radio Show.// (TLA, 76) This is the phase where the students are “Being out and Stepping Into an Envisionment” and our making initial contact with literary conventions (Langer). Process for the student: The class will divide into 5 groups of 5 if more students six small groups. The students will be given telephone props at each table and someone from each group will take turns being the radio host while their classmates take turns “calling in” with their opinions and interpretations of the feelings the Black and Alec when they fell into the ocean because their ship the //Drake// sank.
 * Closing/Summation: ** I Will also reiterate before class ends that we will be using all information to put into our storyboard comic book anthologies at the end of the six week series, and that they are to keep all completed materials in their classroom file folders for use at that time. We will also ask them to start bringing in any old magazines, or coloring books from younger relatives with landscape or pictures of horses in them. Also, we will request that they bring in old 17-17.5 oz. cereal boxes until we reach our limit for a cereal box per student, plus two more for Ms. Amanda, and myself.
 * Objective ** : Students will be able to interpret characters’ actions within their social and cultural contexts (TLA, 74).
 * Process for the teacher ** : I will model by using the information about the first pig that was eaten by the wolf by first talking about what happened to him which from the template’s order is the **“act”** and discuss what he (the pig) did; he bought straw to build a house. Next, I will ask the class what was the **“situation”** Did the pig realize what would happen if a wolf came to his new house? Next, we would address the **“agency”** of the first pig and the wolf. Here I would do “think alouds” as suggested in front-loading activities in TLA as to qualities I believe the wolf and the first pig to have that are not correct in an attempt to scaffold interpretive responses from the students. Our further discourse in this activity would call for me introducing the **“purpose”** I would ask aloud to myself, “I wonder why the first pig built a straw house?” and “What was the wolf up to hm…..?” while taking feedback from students. Lastly, I would address the last component of the characterization template **“attitude”** and talk about how in our previous week we dealt with a series on emotions and how sometimes they cause us joy while other times they cause us to make bad decisions. With that being the case I would continue to talk aloud how would the first pig feel if he knew that the pig was coming to his house. Also, I would ask myself out loud if I was the wolf what would I be feeling like to see a pig’s house made of straw. I will then explain to them that by using this information extracted from their nightly reading “call in” to a “Radio Show” and have people talk about how they felt about what happened to the the Black and Alec when the //Drake// sank in the ocean and they ended up in the ocean (TLA, 76).
 * Introduction ** : I will explain that during the Radio Show every group member will get the chance to be the radio announcer who will ask, “Caller, how do you think the characters Alec and the Black in the Black Stallion felt about being in the ocean after their boat sank, and why?” I will give them directions on proper turn taking and how they need to record their classmates name and answers to the question. Each person will be given 3 minutes to respond to the question and the radio announcer will take time. When someone is the radio announcer their responsibility is to ask the question, make sure that every one has a turn to “call in” and to record the time. After everyone has taken a turn they will switch papers, read off their group member’s response and talk about why they agree or disagree with their stance. This will also be for three minutes apiece after everyone has gone we will return to our seats to discuss our character portrayal with the whole class, and how we would feel if it were one of the horses we encountered during our visit to Mill Creek Farm.
 * Activities ** : Previous to our lesson our class along with family members who were invited to join us took a field trip into our community to visit a retired police horse farm called to give the children and their families first hand experiences on how horses look, act, and are taken care of. They upon returning wrote a brief summary reflection and write a cinquain poem on their visit. Later on in the week they will also watch the DVD movie __Over the Hedge,__ and start plotting features into the story wall chart. Fridays will always culminate with the four to five chapter sections they had to read for homework, and we will discuss the four main points they were required to record from the weeks reading plus review using 1-5 questions they listed for class discussion.

DVD Player At least 10(12) old phones Sanitizer Class copies of **__The Black Stallion__** DVD **__Over the Hedge__** Class set of Xeroxed copies of the poem by Jeff Preluctsky, //**__He thought He Saw a Crocodile__**// He thought he saw a crocodile But it was just a frog. He pointed to a hippo That turned out to be a log.
 * Material: **

He spied a pterodactyl That was nothing but a kite, Then thought he saw a dinosaur- We miss him...he was right.

//**Papers**// //**Pens**// //**Assessmen**////t**:** I will walk around to do informal assessments of student responses to the “call in” portion of the Radio Show activity, as well as monitor their participation efforts and reactions to how they would feel when tying in the event of the Black and Alec as it related to the animals they met on the field trip to Mills Creek Farm. If I notice that someone needs help finding their voice I will ask them if they have any questions. The written responses to each others reactions to the incident in The Black Stallion involving the boat sinking will serve as a formal assessment of students. (Monique)//