ELA LESSON PLAN USING GO 2

Grade: Three Subject Area: English Language Arts Lesson Topic: A Promise is a Promise: Inuit Legends and Storytelling
General Learning Outcome: General Outcome 2 Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, literacy, and media texts. Specific Learning Outcomes: 2.2 Respond to Texts - 2.2.1 Experience various texts: Choose to engage in a variety of shared and independent listening, reading, and viewing experiences using texts from a variety of genres (such as legends, video programs, fables, riddles) and cultural traditions. 2.2.2 Connect self, texts and culture: Discuss the experiences and traditions of various communities and cultures portrayed in oral, literacy, and media texts. 2.1 Use Strategies and Cues - 2.1.1 Prior knowledge: Make connections between texts, prior knowledge and personal experiences. ELAs Applied: Listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, and representing. Connection to Last Lesson:
Students have acquired a general understanding of legends (stories which were originally passed on through oral tradition) and have listened to a story and video about a particular Inuit legend.

Assessment: Get the students to hand in their Story Maps at the end of the class to assess students understanding of story elements and structure as well as recall of the Inuit Legend of the Qallupilluit story: A Promise is a Promise by Robert Munsch and Michael Kusugak. Also, observe students within their talking stick circle discussions. Observe those students who are participating and those who are not. Flexible Groupings: The teacher asks the students to get into two groups for the talking stick circle activity. Small groups should be made (5-8 children per group). Activating Strategies: Preparing for Learning:

The teacher will revisit the prior discussion on legends by asking the students to recall the meaning of a legend as well as introducing the notion of a cautionary legend. The teacher will also revisit the discussion about Inuit culture, teaching many important lessons through storytelling to their children to protect them from the dangers of the Arctic. The teacher will reiterate the Inuit legend of the Qallupilluit which was the focus of the book and video. The teacher then asks the students what they believe is the lesson children are to learn from this Inuit legend. The students can then share their ideas with the class. Acquiring Strategies: Integrating and Processing Learning: Explain the key story elements and hand out Story Maps to the students that are to be filled out with the teacher. Applying Strategies: Consolidating Learning: The teacher then explains to the students that they will be getting into two groups and participating in talking stick circles. Explain the history to the students including the fact that Rattles and Talking Sticks were used among Inuit elders during storytelling. Each group will then be given a paper towel roll to make their own talking stick to use in the discussion. Pictures will be shown to give the students ideas. Give the students instructions about how to participate in a Talking Stick Circle and what is to be discussed. With this discussion strategy, students gather in a circle and one student at a time is given the talking stick. The talking stick can be any object such as a small ruler or a small tree stick. When a student is holding the talking stick, he/she has is able to talk freely about the topic at hand while other members of the group are to listen respectfully. The talking stick continues to move around the circle until everyone shares their thoughts and ideas. The teacher then tells the students that the topics to be discussed are about other legends that they may have encountered as well as discussing the text and video that were viewed. When each student has the talking stick, they can feel free to discuss any legends that they have heard before be it Inuit or not, as well as discuss events that interested them in the text and video. If the children finish their circles early the artificial snow can be passed around. Strategies Used: The teacher will use discussion/brainstorming, Story Maps and Talking Stick Circles. Learning Resources: Artificial snow, Story Map outlines, paper towel rolls for groups to make their own talking sticks and a whiteboard. Sources: Kindergarten to Grade 4 ELA Curriculum: A Foundation for Implementation