This document provides details about a kindergarten unit on the elements of a story. The unit is designed to teach students to identify characters, setting, problem, and resolution in stories. Students will learn these elements in stories read aloud and in their own writing. They will recognize the beginning, middle, and end of stories and be able to retell stories including these parts. The unit includes performance tasks where students analyze story elements in videos and write their own stories. It is a completed unit plan that is ready for implementation.

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UbD Unit by Autumn Schaffer
Title of Unit Elements of a Story Grade Kindergarten
Level
Subject/Topi Reading Time
3 weeks
c Area Frame
Key Words reading, story Designed
elements, beginning by Autumn Schaffer
middle end, main idea
School Griffin Spalding Co School
Anne Street Elementary
District Schools
Brief Summary of Unit
In this introductory unit to the story elements of literature, the students will learn to
identify the characters, setting, problem, and resolution. The students will be able to recognize
these elements in stories that are read aloud to them. They will also learn to recognize and
develop these elements in their own stories. The students will learn to identify the beginning,
middle, and end of a story by giving a short statement as to what is occurring during each
section.
As performance tasks within this unit, the students will have to watch stories via vodcasts
and determine the main story elements within them. They will also create their own stories by
developing all of the story elements along with a plot with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Unit Design Status
*Completed template pages- Stages 1, 2, 3
*Completed blue print for each performance task
*Completed rubrics
*Directions to students and teachers
*Materials and resources listed
*Suggested accommodations
*Suggested extensions
Stage 1 – Identify Desired Results
Content Standards:
Georgia Performance Standards: Reading Comprehension ELAKR6: The student gains
meaning from orally presented text. The student will:
a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and informational texts
and materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.

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b. Makes predictions from pictures and titles.
c. Asks and answers questions about essential narrative elements (e.g., beginning-middle-
end, setting, characters, problems, events, resolution) of a read-aloud text.
e. Retells familiar events and stories to include beginning, middle, and end.
h. Retells important facts in the student’s own words.
Understandings
Students will understand that:
Understanding 1: Events occurring in the beginning, middle, and end of a story are usually
interrelated and the outcomes of each event determine what will happen next in the story.
(Explanation- Students will be asked to explain the parts of a story as well as describe how
they build from one another.)
Understanding 2: Pictures and illustrations in storybooks provide insight about what is
occurring, as well as what will occur, within the plot of the story. (Interpretation- Students
are asked to interpret, make judgments and predict what the story will be about based upon the
illustrations within the story.)
Understanding 3: A character’s decisions and actions within a story are based upon his/her
unique characteristics and perception of the story’s events. (Perception- Characters have
different perspectives of the events occurring within the story and students should be aware of
them. The students should also understand how to use their own perspective to make
judgments about the events and characters in the story.)
Understanding 4: Characters in a story are not completely “good” or “bad.” They simply
view the events of the story in another way than what is being expressed to the reader. The
reader can gain insight into the character’s motives by considering the events of the story
through the eyes of that specific character. (Empathy- Students imagine that they are another
character in the story in order to understand that character’s personal motives and feelings
about the events in the story.)
Understanding 5: Authors use the characters’ decisions and actions about problems within
the story to teach a moral to the readers. The reader should question how the moral can be
applied into their specific life. (Self Knowledge- Realizing how morals apply to one’s own
life.)
Understanding 6: The events of the story lead up to the end, which may or may not be easily
predicted based upon what has happened in the story or what the reader may expect to happen.
The reader can only apply what seems logical in order to predict the ending of the story.
(Application- Students apply their knowledge of how stories lead to an ending to provide an
alternative ending to the story).

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Related Misconceptions:
*Sometimes there are several problems within a story and not all of these problems are
resolved by the story’s ending.
*The illustrations within a story do not always explicitly detail what will happen within the
plot of the story.
*Stories are usually told through one character’s perspective. The perspectives of the other
characters are not always obvious.
*The person who is telling the story is always the “good guy.” There is also a “bad guy” in the
story. The point of the story is for the “good guy” to succeed despite the “bad guy’s” attempts
to stop him/her.
*The moral of a story is not explicit. It can be interpreted and applied differently by the
readers.
*Stories do not always end the way that one would expect them to.
Essential Questions
Overarching Questions: Topical Questions:
EQ 1: What is a story? EQ 5: What if the story was told from
(Explanation- Students describe what makes another perspective? (ie- What if the story,
up a story as well as provides examples.) The Three Little Pigs, was told from the
wolf’s perspective?)
EQ 2: Why do we read stories? Empathy- Students have to consider the
(Explanation- Students express why they, and other characters in a story to decide upon
other people, read stories as well as determine their point of view of certain events.)
the purpose of the story.)
EQ 6: What is a different way this story may
EQ 3: Why do authors/illustrators include end?
pictures in their books? (Application- Students have to create a new
(Interpretation- Students evaluate, judge, and ending to the story based upon their existing
draw conclusions about how pictures are understanding of how stories are formed.)
related to the story plot.)
EQ 7: What was the author (of any of the
EQ 4: How can you tell what will happen in a stories in the unit) trying to make us see?
story? (Interpretation- Students try to make
(Perspective- Students have to analyze the meaning of the plot of the story so they can
events in the story to propose and predict what understand why the author wrote it and what
will happen in the story.) they are supposed to take away from the
story.)

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EQ 8: How do I feel about the moral of the
story (of one of the specific books)?
(Self-Knowledge- Students are to reflect on
the moral of the story and decide how it
addresses their personal life.)
Knowledge and Skills
Knowledge Skills
Students will know: Students will be able to:
. Knowledge 1: Key terms- characters, setting, Skill 1: Use their listening skills to listen to
problem, resolution, plot and then engage in class discussions of age-
appropriate stories.
Knowledge 2: Most story plots contain at least
one major problem and end with some type of Skill 2: Make predictions about a story’s
resolution. plot by reading and observing the title and
illustrations in the book.
Knowledge 3: Characters in a story interact
with one another to cause and resolve Skill 3: Name the characters, setting,
problems. problems, and resolution of specific age-
appropriate stories.
Knowledge 4: Stories are made up of events
that occur in the beginning, middle, and end of Skill 4: Describe and retell the beginning,
the story’s plot. middle, and end of specific age-appropriate
stories.
Knowledge 5: Pictures used in storybooks are
used to enhance the story’s plot. Skill 5: Determine the moral of common
fairytales.
Knowledge 6: Many stories are based upon
morals that are not explicitly stated but the Skill 6: Provide a logical, alterative ending
reader can remember and apply to their to an age-appropriate story.
personal life.
Stage 2 - Evidence
Performance Task(s)

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I. Performance Task 1: Writing a “B.M.E.” Story (Facet- Application)
Goal: Your goal is to create your own “B.M.E.” story with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Role: You are a new writer for a famous book company.
Audience: The audience is other students ranging in the grades from pre-k to second grade
who may want to read or buy your story from the store.
Situation: You have been asked to write a story titled, “The Best Day Ever.” This story must
have a clear beginning, middle, and end. It may also have a moral at the end.
Product Performance and Purpose: You need to create this story by using a graphic organizer
first. After you have determined the characters, setting, and problem in the story, then you will
need to develop the story plot. Use the graphic organizer to develop the beginning, middle,
and end of the story. You will then design the book by writing the words and drawing
illustrations on a blank booklet.
Standards and Criteria for Success: Your story needs to include:
- A title, “The Best Day Ever.”
- At least two characters.
- A setting.
- At least one problem.
- A clear beginning, middle, and end.
- Illustrations that allow the reader to predict what will happen in the story.
Standard demonstrated within this Performance Task:
ELAKR6: The students:
c. Asks and answers questions about essential narrative elements (e.g., beginning-middle-end,
setting, characters, problems, events, resolution) of a read-aloud text.
e. Retells familiar events and stories to include beginning, middle, and end.
h. Retells important facts in the student’s own words.
II. Performance Task 2: Story from a Different Point of View (Facet-
Perspective/ Empathy)
Goal: Your goal is to analyze the story of the Three Little Pigs and then imagine how the story
may be different if told from the wolf’s perspective. You are then to re-write the story based
upon how the events would occur if the story was told by the wolf.
Role: You are a member of a committee designing new perspectives from older stories. Your
committee works to re-create favorite fairytale stories from the perspective of another
character.

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Audience: The audience is a group of students, in the grades kindergarten to second grade,
who have already heard the original story but would like to hear it from another perspective.
Situation: You have been asked to re-read the Three Little Pigs. As you read it make sure to
focus on how the events and situations involve the wolf. After finishing, you are to use a
graphic organizer to re-write the story from the perspective of the wolf.
Product Performance and Purpose: You need to use a graphic organizer to design and then
write the Three Little Pigs from the perceptive of the wolf. You will need to use the same
basic events of the story but analyze how they would have occurred through the eyes of the
wolf. Create a booklet with words and illustrations titled “The Three Little Pigs: From the
Wolf’s Eyes.”
Standards and Criteria for Success: Your revised story needs to include:
-The main character of the original story (the 3 pigs and the wolf)
-The main events of the original story (the three houses falling down)
-A different story plot told from the eyes of the wolf.
-A different ending that correlates to the new plot.
-Illustrations that help the reader predict what the events may be about.
Standard demonstrated within this Performance Task:
ELAKR6: The students:
c. Asks and answers questions about essential narrative elements (e.g., beginning-middle-end,
setting, characters, problems, events, resolution) of a read-aloud text.
e. Retells familiar events and stories to include beginning, middle, and end.
h. Retells important facts in the student’s own words.
Performance Task(s) Rubric(s)

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I. Teacher Rubric for Performance Task 1: Writing a “B.M.E.” Story

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Beginner Intermediate Successful Mastery Total
(1 pts.) (2 pts.) (3 pts.) (4 pts.) Pts.
Characters □ The student □ The student □ The student □ The student
has an has a practical has an has a fluent
appropriate understanding efficient understanding
understanding of what a understanding of what a
of what a “character” is of what a “character” is
“character” is, and is able to “character” is and is able to
but is unable develop flat, and is able to develop
to develop one-sided, develop characters
one of their non- characters that interact
own. expressive that interact with each
characters. with one other as well
No characters another. as engage in
are present One or two the plot,
within the characters are Two or more problem, and
student’s present, but characters are resolution of
composed they are one- present and the problem.
story. dimensional, interact with
flat, or non- each other Two are more
expressive or through characters are
responsive. dialogue. A present in the
problem is story. They
also present interact with
among or one another,
between the as well as in
characters. the setting, to
cause/solve
problems and
develop a
resolution.
Setting □ The student □ The student □ The student □ The student
has an has a practical has an has a fluent
appropriate understanding effective understanding
understanding of what a understanding of what a
of what a “setting” is of what a “setting” is
“setting” is, and is able to “setting” is and is able to
but is unable provide a hint and is able to provide,
to develop of a setting provide, through
one of their within the through illustrations
own. beginning, illustrations and words,
middle, or and words, the location
No setting of end of the the location or and time of
the story story. time of the the story.
(place or story.
time) is The story’s The story’s
provided setting is only The story’s illustrations

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Other Evidence
(e.g. tests, quizzes, work samples, observations)
*Dictated Observation/ Journal: Students will individually be assessed on their ability to
“picture read” or predict what will occur in a story based solely upon the illustrations. The
teacher or parapro will have each student look at a book, page by page, and predict what is
occurring on the page. The student will then predict, verbally, what will happen next on the
page. When the student reaches the middle of the book, the students will then make a
judgment based upon how they think the story will end. The student will draw a picture and
write a few words, with the aid of the instructor, to translate their prediction of how the story
will end.
Facet- Interpretation/Perspective
Standard demonstrated within this assessment:
ELAKR6: The students:
b. Makes predictions from pictures and titles.
*Work Sample- Graphic Organizer Book Analysis: After listening to a read-aloud book
students will then complete a graphic organizer based upon the story elements of the book.
The student will have to describe and draw the characters in the story, the setting of the story,
the problem(s) in the story, as well as the resolution in the story.
Facet-Explanation/Application
Standard demonstrated within this Performance Task:
ELAKR6: The students:
a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and informational texts
and materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
c. Asks and answers questions about essential narrative elements (e.g., beginning-middle-end,
setting, characters, problems, events, resolution) of a read-aloud text.
*Journaling: Self-Regulation and Reflection in Understanding Morals: Students will keep
a journal of their ideas about the morals of each story that is read aloud. The teacher will
scaffold this activity for the students. The students will be expected to draw and write a few
words about the moral, or what should be taken away from each story. The students will also
explain how they came to that moral and how it could affect them in their real life. The
students will answer the following questions:
1. What do I think is the moral of this story?
2. What about the story (character’s actions, problems) made me come to this conclusion?
3. How does this moral apply to my real life? What is a situation when I could use this moral?
Facet- Self-Knowledge, Interpretation, Perspective
Standard demonstrated within this Performance Task:
ELAKR6: The students:
h. Retells important facts in the student’s own words.
*Role-Play/Drama of Little Red Riding Hood: In small groups students will role-play
different roles of the characters in the Little Red Riding Hood story. After the play, which will
be child-friendly and easy-to read, has been completed, the students will use their journals to

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record their feelings about that character and why they feel the character made the decisions
that he/she made. Then, the students would role-play the same story again, but each student
will be a different character. The students will then journal their feelings that they felt as that
character as well as what they felt was that character’s motives.
Facet- Empathy
Standard demonstrated within this Performance Task:
ELAKR6: The students:
a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and informational texts
and materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
c. Asks and answers questions about essential narrative elements (e.g., beginning-middle-end,
setting, characters, problems, events, resolution) of a read-aloud text.
Student Self-Assessment and Reflection
*Self assessment of the students’ “B.E.M.” story (see student rubric above)
(Facet-Self Knowledge, Perspective)
Students will self-assess their own story using a child-friendly rubric. This rubric will be
closely based upon what the teacher uses to assess the story; this rubric is aligned with the
standards and the understandings of the unit. The teacher and parapro will then have a
discussion with each student as both parties share their rubric and why they completed it the
way that he/she did. This will be the time that specific feedback will be given about the
assignment.
*Self assessment of the students’ “Story from a Different Point of View” story (see
student rubric above)
(Facet-Self Knowledge, Perspective)
Students will self-assess their own story using a child-friendly rubric. This rubric will be
closely based upon what the teacher uses to assess the story; this rubric is aligned with the
standards and the understandings of the unit. The teacher and parapro will then have a
discussion with each student as both parties share their rubric and why they completed it the
way that he/she did. This will be the time that specific feedback will be given about the
assignment.
*Self assessment of Journaling: Self Regulation in Understanding Morals (as viewed in
“Other Evidence”)
(Facet- Self-Knowledge, Interpretation, Perspective)
As a part of this designed assessment, the students will self-assess their ability to
determine, interpret, and use morals of specific stories. Through journaling, students will have
to answer several questions that will prompt their self-assessment of the story and its morals.
*Self assessment of Role Play/Drama of Little Red Riding Hood (as viewed in “Other
Evidence”)
(Facet- Empathy)
As a part of this designed assessment, the student will self-assess the characters in the

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story via journal entries. The students will describe the characters’ emotions and motives as
they role play them.
Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences
Week 1
Before Beginning Unit Pretest:
1. The Three Little Pigs by Golden Books Pre-Test: Students are given a pre-assessment to
determine their existing knowledge of the goals and standards of the unit. This pre-assessment
contains and is administered in two parts.
Part 1: Students complete a “prediction story” as they “picture-read” the book Three Little Pigs
by Golden Books. On an individual basis with either the teacher, parapro, or graduate student, the
kindergarten student will use the images in the book to describe what they feel the book will be
about.
Part 2: Students will be asked questions by the teacher, parapro, or graduate student about the
elements of the story, which include the characters, setting, problem, and resolution. The student
will also be asked to write/draw an alterative ending to the story.
*This pre-assessment is located at the end of this unit guide. It is labeled “Appendix A”.
(All standards, goals, knowledge, skills, and understandings are assessed within this pre-
test.)
Monday:
2. Draw the Next Scene:
Alignment:
*Standard: ELAKR6 a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and
informational texts and materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
b. Makes predictions from pictures and titles.
*Understanding 2- Interpretation, Understanding 6- Application
*EQ 3-Intepretation, EQ 4- Perspective
*Knowledge 5
*Skill 1, Skill 2
Entry Point: Foundation Entry Point: The teacher tells the students that they will be making

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“smart guesses” today. The “smart guesses” are called “predictions.” Sometimes predictions are
easy to make and sometimes they are not so easy. Also, sometimes, your prediction is correct and
what you think will happen actually does happen. Sometimes that is not true. Ask the students to
close their eyes and think of a time when they thought something would happened a certain way,
but then it actually turned out differently. The teacher should provide several examples similar to:
-“I thought my favorite football team would win the game because they were winning at halftime,
but they actually didn’t because the other team started working very hard after the halftime
show.”
-“I thought my brownies would be delicious because I followed the recipe just right. They didn’t
turn out how I predicted, however, because I left them in the oven too long and they burnt.
The teacher should allow the students to share their “prediction incident” with a classmate
neighbor.
W: Where & Why: The teacher tells the students that they will listen to a story. She will read it
aloud to them and they will get to look at the pictures and ask questions. She should also tell them
that she will be asking questions about the story as she reads it to make sure that they were
listening. As she reads the story, the teacher should tell the students to ask themselves after each
page, “What will happen next?” Then, the student should check their thoughts with what really
happened and then ask themselves again, “Did what actually happened make sense? What led up
to that? Could I have guessed that would have happened?” Finally, the teacher should tell the
students that they will use their journal every time she says “scene” to draw what they feel will
happen next in the story. Then they will check their drawing with what actually happened in the
story.
H: Hook & Hold: The teacher should complete the following think aloud activity. The teacher
should have the students close their eyes and imagine what she is saying to them. The teacher
should tell the students, “Close your eyes and imagine your best friend. What does he/she look
like? Then ask the students to imagine themselves standing beside their best friend. Do you look a
lot alike? How would you feel if your friends only wanted to be around people that looked like
them, and you didn’t? What if you didn’t have any friends because you didn’t look like anyone
else? Would you feel sad or lonely? This story is about a little duck who feels that way.”
E: Explore through Experience: The teacher should read aloud the story The Ugly Duckling by
Hans Christian Anderson. The students should have their prediction journals open and ready.
After every page or so the teacher should say, “Stop! Draw!” and give the students a few minutes
to draw what they predict will be the next scene in the story.
R: Reflect, Rethink, Revise: After the students complete the drawing, the teacher then continues
with the story. After the next scene unfolds, the teacher should stop and ask the students if their
drawn prediction matches what actually happened in the story. This is the time that the students
are asked to rethink what lead up to the event and if they could have predicted in another way.
They are asked to think about the clues that hinted at what would happen next in the story. The
students are also reminded that sometimes there are not any clues about what will happen in the
story. Finally, the students are given the option to revise their drawings on a new page of the
journal and actually draw what did happen.

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E: Evaluate Work & Progress: After the teacher is finished reading the book aloud and the
students have finished drawing and revising selected scenes from the story, the teacher will give
each student the option of sharing one of their predictions. They will be asked to describe what
was going on before the scene, what they predicted would happen (by also showing the image),
and then showing their revised image based upon what actually did happened within the story.
The class will then be allowed to ask questions and comment on the student’s work.
T: Tailor & Personalize: **Plan for Differentiation: Depending on the ability of the students,
some students will be asked to write a few sentences or words describing the scene that they drew
in their journals. Some students will be able to write sentences, some may only be able to write
words. Some students, however, will not be able to write words and will simply be allowed to
draw their thoughts about the scene and explain their predictions verbally. The paraprofessional
and teacher will work together to record what they student verbally describes on their journal
paper. This will help in informal assessment as the teacher reviews the journals at a later date.
O: Organize for Optimal Effectiveness: This activity is arranged in a whole-to-part-to whole
sequence. The teacher brings the students’ attention to the overall theme of the story during the
think-aloud hook. The students then analyze specific parts of the story during the prediction-based
reading activity. The theme of the overall story is then resumed at the end of the activity as the
students discuss how the parts of the story combined to form the overall plot of the story.
Tuesday:
3. Felt board Creation Center Activity: (See Appendix B for Materials)
Alignment:
*Standard: ELAKR6 a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and
informational texts and materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
b. Makes predictions from pictures and titles.
*Understanding 2- Interpretation, Understanding 6- Application
*EQ 3-Intepretation, EQ 4- Perspective
*Knowledge 5
*Skill 1, Skill 2
Entry Point: Experiential Entry Point: The teacher should tell the students that she is going to tell
them a story by using a book and something else. She should show the students the felt board and
let them touch it. She should ask them what it is and what they think she will use it for. She
should tell the students that this will be like the stage for some of the characters or people in the
story. The teacher should then show the class some of the felt characters she will be using, like
the gingerbread man, the old man, the fox, etc. She should tell them that these will be the
characters in the story because they will be the ones using the felt board, or stage. She should then
let the students touch and practice putting the felt board characters on and off of the felt board.
W: Where & Why: The teacher should explain that this activity will be used in the “dramatic
play” center for the rest of the week and that everyone will get a chance to use it. She should also
say that it is best to work with a partner; so that one can tell the story and another can guess what

14. Schaffer 14
will come next. She should tell them that she is going to show them how they should do the
activity when it is center time. She should tell them that she is going to tell the story with her
book and the felt board as the students listen and participate.
H: Hook & Hold: The teacher should ask the students if they have ever eaten gingerbread. Let
them describe how it tasted, smelled, or when/where they tasted it. Also, ask the students have
they ever made a gingerbread man. Ask them, “Well, when you made it, did it jump up from your
plate and run away from you? What do you think would happen if it did that?” Then tell the
students that the gingerbread man in this story does just that!
E: Explore through Experience: The teacher should begin reading The Gingerbread Man by
Catherine McCafferty and making the scenes on the felt board using the felt characters. She
should explain what is going on in her scene and ask the students if that is what is happening in
the story. Then, the teacher should ask the students, “What do you think will happen next in the
story?” Based on their responses, she should build the predicted scene with the felt characters. As
she reads to the next scene, the students should check to see if that is what actually occurred in the
plot of the book.
R: Reflect, Rethink, Revise: If the scene that the students predicted is not correct, the students
should then be asked how their predicted felt board scene was different than what actually
happened in the story. They should be asked, “What made you think that would happen in the
story?” as well as “Did what really happen in the story be something that you could have actually
predicted?” The students will then be given the opportunity to revise their scenes and make a felt
board scene that matches with what actually happened in the story.
E: Evaluate Work & Progress: As the students make the scenes using the felt board, they
should also be instructed to draw the predicted scenes in their prediction journal. Below their
predicted drawing, they should draw what actually happened in the book. They should also
attempt to write a few words or sentences to describe what is happening in each scene and how
the predicted scene and what actually happened in the story are different.
T: Tailor & Personalize: **Plan for Differentiation: Since some students express difficulty
reading, various levels of books will be available in the center. All of these texts will be age-
appropriate for a kindergartener to read on their own, however. Also, the students have been
grouped by their center rotation so that higher functioning kids are in the centers with lower
functioning kids. This allows for some peer tutoring and modeling. For example, the higher level
functioning student may read the story as the lower functioning student makes the felt scenes.
Also, the higher functioning student should be able to help the lower functioning student write
sentences or words about what is going on in their prediction journals.
O: Organize for Optimal Effectiveness: This activity is actually a center activity that will occur
as the teacher and parapro are individually assessing the students ability to predict what comes
next in a story on an individual basis. (This Dictated Observation Journal is described within
the Stage 2 assessment section of the unit plan). Students will be called individually as the
others work within their centers, one of which includes the felt board activity. Students are given
15 minutes at each center and they rotate twice a day. By the end of the week, all students should

15. Schaffer 15
have had the opportunity to participate in the felt board activity center.
Wednesday:
4. Movie Stop and Go:
Alignment:
*Standard: ELAKR6 a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and
informational texts and materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and informational texts and
materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
b. Makes predictions from pictures and titles.
*Understanding 1- Explanation, Understanding 2- Interpretation, Understanding 6-
Application
*EQ 3-Intepretation, EQ 4- Perspective
*Knowledge 5
*Skill 1, Skill 2
Entry Point: Aesthetic Entry Point: The teacher should show pictures (via PowerPoint or
Activboard or just print photos) of images from the book Cinderella (any of the versions by any
author is acceptable). They should also incorporate images from Disney’s movie Cinderella. They
teacher should then aid the students in sorting which images come from the movie and which
come from the actual book. The students may also pair the images of the book and movie scenes
that look alike, with the same action occurring. Finally, the teacher should tell the students that
instead of reading a book about Cinderella they are going to watch a movie! (The teacher can also
choose to use the vodcasts of “The Best Day Ever” or “The Princess’ Friend” for this activitiy)
W: Where & Why: The teacher should tell the students that she is going to show a movie about
Cinderella. At points in the movie she is going to stop it and let the student predict, using their
predication journals, what they think will happen next in the story. They will then get to watch the
movie some more and see if what they predicted actually happens in the story. The teacher should
also make a note of specifically stating that while this is a movie, it is very similar to the book
because it still has scenes and characters, or people in it.
H: Hook & Hold: The teacher should ask the students if they have ever saw a pumpkin turn into
a carriage, or a ragged dress magically turn into a beautiful gown. Ask the students if they have
ever saw a mouse turn into a horse. Then, ask if they think that could ever really happen. The
teacher should tell them that things like that do happen in this movie, so that means this movie
isn’t really based on real things that happen. Instead, tell them that this movie is called a fairytale,
which means it is told just for fun.
E: Explore through Experience: The teacher should begin the movie and stop it at significant
points in the film where students would be able to make a prediction, such as when Cinderella is
told that she cannot go to the ball. Some students may predict that she gets angry; some may
predict that she cries, some may even predict that she goes anyway. As the movie is paused, let
the students draw the next scene. Then, resume the movie and stop it when the real event actually

16. Schaffer 16
unfolds. Ask the students if that is what they predicted would happen. Below their prediction in
their prediction journal, have the students draw and write what really happened.
R: Reflect, Rethink, Revise: Before resuming the movie, have the students discuss whether or
not their prediction was correct. Knowing what actually happened now, could they have actually
predicted that? Did anything happen that you never would have guessed? (Particularly in this film
certain things occur that seem so outlandish that a child who has never read or watched the movie
might not have ever guessed what would happen.) Also ask the students if what they drew as their
prediction was logical, meaning that it could have happened in real life. Then ask them if what
actually happened could have happened in real life. Then restate the purpose of a fairytale.
E: Evaluate Work & Progress: As the students draw their predictions during the activity, the
teacher and paraprofessional should monitor and ask the students to describe what they are
drawing. They should also ask questions like, “What made you think that?” or “How did you get
the idea that this would be the next scene?” If the prediction is illogical with what is happening in
the plot, then the teacher may choose to summarize what happened again to help the student make
a better prediction.
T: Tailor & Personalize: **Plan for Differentiation: Some students may need more prompting
when deciding what will come next in the story. As the teacher’s monitor the activity, they will
need to be especially aware of these students to make sure they that have not gotten lost within
the details of the movie and are actually following the plot of the story. The teacher or
paraprofessional may choose to give the students options of what they think will happen next. For
example, the teacher may give the student three scenarios of what might happen based on the plot
of the story. After the student chooses one, the student will then need to explain why he made that
choice based upon what he has watched in the movie.
O: Organize for Optimal Effectiveness: This activity is based upon a learning-doing-reflecting
model. At this point in the week the students have learned that a story follows a sequence and that
what happens earlier in the plot affects what will happen later. Also they have learned that they
can sometimes make predictions about what will occur next, but sometimes the plot is not so
obvious. The students practice reinforcing this learning through the “movie stop and go”. Finally,
the students are given the opportunity to reflect on their predictions as they continue to watch the
movie.
Thursday:
5. Character’s Naughty/Nice List: (See Appendix C for Materials)
Alignment:
*Standard: ELAKR6 a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and
informational texts and materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and informational texts and
materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
c. Asks and answers questions about essential narrative elements (e.g., beginning-middle-end,
setting, characters, problems, events, resolution) of a read-aloud text.
*Understanding 3- Perception, Understanding 4- Empathy

17. Schaffer 17
*EQ 5-Empathy
*Knowledge 1, Knowledge 3
*Skill 1, Skill 3
Entry Point: Logical-Quantitative Entry Point: Before beginning the lesson have the students
guess how many “bad guys” there are in the stories you have read this week. Then, ask the
students how many “good guys” there were in those stories. Ask them to decide if there was more
“good guys” or more “bad guys” in the story. Allow them to discuss which characters were “bad
guys” and which ones were “good guys.”
W: Where & Why: Introduce the term “character.” The teacher should explain that a “character”
is a person or animal in the story. There are usually several characters in the story that interact
with each other. Tell them to think of a character as a person in a play that does the talking and
interacting. Also, have the students remember some of the characters in the books that you have
read earlier in the week. Tell the students that they will be looking more specifically at these
characters and why they act the way that they do. When they get finished with this activity
perhaps they will have a better understanding of the characters and what makes the act a certain
way.
H: Hook & Hold: Tell the students that just like Santa Claus, they will be making a naughty and
nice list. They will look at some of the characters from the books this week and decide whether or
not they belong on the naughty or nice list. They have to be careful though, because someone has
to be completely nice or completely naughty to be placed in either category.
E: Explore through Experience: Allow the students to work with partners in making a list of
“naughty characters” and “nice characters” from the stories read in the previous week. The
teacher may choose to post pictures of these characters on the board and explain a little about
what they did within the story. Also, ask the students to think carefully about where and why they
are placing each character within each category. Also, give them a hint by asking, “Do any of
these characters seem like they might not fit in either category?”
R: Reflect, Rethink, Revise: The teacher should then review each character with the entire class
as a whole group. Many of the students will have classified certain characters as “good” or “bad.”
It will be the teacher’s goal, however, to ask deeper questions about the characters to help the
students see them from another perspective. For example, some may say the fox in The
Gingerbread Man is “bad” because he ate the gingerbread man. The teacher should ask, however,
“What if the fox was very hungry and hadn’t eaten in days. If you hadn’t eaten in days would you
eat the gingerbread man?” Hopefully this should help the students see that while a character may
seem good or bad, he/she usually is not completely one or the other. The teacher should point out
that if you look at the story from the “bad” guy’s perspective, he might not seem as bad after all.
Perhaps through this prompting the students will realize that characters are usually not completely
good or bad. The student should be given time to revise their “naughty” and “nice” lists by also
looking at other aspects of the story-as the teacher has encouraged through the discussion.
E: Evaluate Work & Progress: The teacher will collect these papers and look to see if the
students verified the placement of characters on each list. The students still may choose to qualify

18. Schaffer 18
a certain character as “naughty” or “nice” but they will need to explain why they feel that way.
Also, some students may revise their answers and say that while a character may seem “naughty”
or “nice” in the book, if you look at it from another perspective, their actions might not be totally
good or bad.
T: Tailor & Personalize: **Plan for Differentiation: Students will work in pairs to complete
this assignment. Students who have difficulty reading or who have poor analytical skills will be
aided by another student selected by the teacher. The partners will discuss the characters and
decide as a whole where the place of the character should go. Students who have higher order
thinking skills should be able to help the lower functioning students view the characters from
various viewpoints.
O: Organize for Optimal Effectiveness: This activity is based upon an inquiry model. The
students are allowed to make their lists before the teacher really explains and reveals the goal of
the assignment, which is to discover that characters are not usually completely “naughty” or
“nice.” Only after the students have made their lists will the teacher describe other aspects of the
story to make the students re-think their lists and their previous notions. As they question their
own answers based upon the teacher’s prompts, the students will revise their overall
understandings of characters as a whole.
Friday:
6. What’s the Problem?
Alignment:
*Standard: ELAKR6 a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and
informational texts and materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and informational texts and
materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
c. Asks and answers questions about essential narrative elements (e.g., beginning-middle-end,
setting, characters, problems, events, resolution) of a read-aloud text.
*Understanding 3- Perception, Understanding 4- Empathy
*EQ 5-Empathy
*Knowledge 1, Knowledge 2, Knowledge 3
*Skill 1, Skill 3
Entry Point: Experimental Entry Point: Have the students close their eyes and think of a scene
that occurred within their life within this past week. It can be something that was happy, sad, or
even angry. Knowing now what characters are, ask the students to determine who the characters
were in those scenes. (The student themselves will more than likely be a character and maybe a
friend or a mother will also be characters.) The teacher should ask when it happened- in the
morning, afternoon, or night. Also, ask where it happened- at school, home, playground, etc. This
is called the setting of the story. Finally, what exactly happened? Usually stories have some type
of problem in them that makes them interesting. Either something bad happens or the characters
cannot get along. Usually, however, by the end of the story, the characters have reached a
resolution- which means an agreement has been made and everything is better. Ask the students

19. Schaffer 19
to determine their problem and resolution within their own personal scene.
W: Where & Why: Tell the students they will be working with story scenes. It will be their job
to determine the setting, problem, and resolution of the scene. They may also want to pay special
attention to the way the characters act when dealing with the problem. The students might also
want to determine if there is anything they can take away from the mini-story as well as who the
characters were in the story.
H: Hook & Hold: Tell the students that their lives are made up of many story scenes, and they
are the characters within their own life story. Tell them that their life scenes are made up of may
different settings seeing as they commonly change where they are. Also, their life scene is made
up of many different problems that they all deal with differently. Finally, they also resolve the
problems in their life scenes so that they can move on to the next scene.
E: Explore through Experience: The teacher should read aloud simple scenes that students may
encounter within their daily lives. For example, a teacher may read a scene about a little boy
taking a spelling test and coming to a word he doesn’t know how to spell. He sounds it out and
spells it correctly! Within their prediction journals the students will need to record the characters
within the scene, the problem, as well as the resolution of the scene. After the teacher has
modeled a few of these scenes, the students in groups of 3 will be continuing the activity in a
small group setting. The students will be given several scenes. They will take turns reading them
out loud and then record who the characters were, what the setting was, as well as the problem
and the resolution.
R: Reflect, Rethink, Revise: After all the scenes have been read, the students will discuss their
individual answers. If there is a discrepancy, the students will re-read the scene and talk about it
as a whole group. The students may then choose to revise their own analysis of the scene after it
has been discussed.
E: Evaluate Work & Progress: As the students complete this assignment the teacher will
monitor and ask questions to check to see if the students are on target and deciphering the correct
information from the scenes. If need be, the teacher may also choose to collect the prediction
journals and evaluate the progress based upon their actual recordings.
T: Tailor & Personalize: **Plan for Differentiation: The teacher will group the students based
upon their abilities. Each group will have a high functioning student, a grade-level student, as
well as a lower-functioning student. This will hopefully provide various perspectives of the daily
scenes. Also, students should be grouped together by various cultures, races, and social economic
statuses. This will not only provide a wide range of understandings and interpretations of the
scenes, but it will also help those who have difficulty reading English understand what the
template providing the information means. As the students discuss the scene they will be able to
add in their own subculture beliefs, practices, and understandings.
O: Organize for Optimal Effectiveness: This activity will be conducted in a whole-part format
where the teacher models the activity at first. She then allows for their whole group assistance in
answering g the questions. Finally, the students become completely involved as they are divided

20. Schaffer 20
into small groups and discuss the information on their own with teacher monitoring.
Week 2
Monday:
7. Graphic Organizer (Assessment of Characters, Setting, Problem, and Resolution): (See
Appendix D for materials)
Alignment:
*Standard: ELAKR6 a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and
informational texts and materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
b. Makes predictions from pictures and titles.
c. Asks and answers questions about essential narrative elements (e.g., beginning-middle-end,
setting, characters, problems, events, resolution) of a read-aloud text.
*Understanding 3- Perception, Understanding 4- Empathy
*EQ 5-Empathy
*Knowledge 1, Knowledge 2, Knowledge 3
*Skill 1, Skill 3
Entry Point: Narrational Entry Point: Tell the students to imagine that they are going to be
analysts today. Analysts are people who look at different things and make conclusions about
them. Remind the students that they have learned about the characters, setting, problem, and
resolution in the story. Now it is there time to analyze the story and see if they can determine
these parts of the story.
W: Where & Why: The teacher should tell the students that she is going to show them how to
complete this assignment first. She is going to read one book to them and help them complete the
graphic organizer that determines the characters, setting, problem, and resolution. Then, she will
read them another story and they will have to complete the graphic organizer on their own (as part
of the Stage 2 assessment process).
H: Hook & Hold: The teacher should ask the students to imagine that they are shoemakers,
which means that they make shoes for people to buy. Ask them did they know that long time ago
people had to make their own shoes by hand? Tell them that it was very hard work, but the people
who made the shoes still didn’t have a lot of money. It took a really long time for someone to
make a set of shoes, but if someone wanted them, then the shoemaker would certainly try. What
would happen, however, if a lot of people wanted you to make them a pair of shoes, but it took a
really long time to make them? Would you say that you would, so you would have the money,
even though you knew that you might not be able to make them on time? Tell them that is very
similar to the plot of the story.
E: Explore through Experience: The teacher should read aloud the story The Elves and the
Shoemaker to the students. After she gets finished reading she should ask the students if they feel
that this story is real or fake. Most should say “fake” because little magical elves cannot appear to

21. Schaffer 21
make shoes in the middle of the night. The teacher should then give the students a few minutes to
fill out the graphic organizer. She should ask them to do this independently, since they will soon
complete an assessment similar to this all by themselves.
R: Reflect, Rethink, Revise: After the students have completed the graphic organizer about the
read aloud book, the teacher should review the correct answers. She may have a sample copy
scanned on the activborad so that the students can match their answers to hers. She should review
the main characters in the story, which are the elves and the shoemaker. She should review the
setting, which was in the shoemaker’s shop, long ago. She should point out that the setting is both
where and when the story takes place, even though you might not know a specific date, like in
this story. The teacher should then allow feedback from the students to describe the problem,
which was that the shoemaker couldn’t make all of the shoes in time. The resolution to the story,
however, was that the little magical elves came to help. The students should be given time to
revise and “fix” their answers. They will also be given time to ask any questions about the graphic
organizer, how it works, and how they should fill it out. Next, the teacher will read aloud The
Three Billy Goats Gruff. The students should listen first, and then fill out their graphic organizer
independently.
E: Evaluate Work & Progress: The teacher will collect The Three Billy Goats Gruff graphic
organizer and evaluate it based on the correct answers. The teacher will check to see if the
students can determine the characters, setting, problem, and resolution of the story. If over half of
the class does not seem to grasp a certain element, the teacher will make modifications to the
schedule to re-teach that certain element. If only a few students seem to struggle with this
assignment, the teacher will work with those students in a small group format during intervention
time.
T: Tailor & Personalize: **Plan for Differentiation: While everyone will work together in a
whole group setting during the modeling task, certain students will be pulled to the back of the
room during the assessment time. The teacher will provide these students, who are not able to
read yet, the topic and titles of the graphic organizer. They will be provided more prompts than
the rest of the students due to their lack in abilities. The teacher, however, will not provide them
the answer. Also, some students will be able to write the names of the characters and setting as
well as describe the problem and resolution in words. Some students will only be able to draw
pictures of these. The paraprofessional will help in dictating the students’ verbal description of
their picture.
O: Organize for Optimal Effectiveness: This activity begins as a whole group modeling activity
so that the students will know exactly what is expected of them on the assessment. The
assessment itself, however, is individual because it will be used in evaluating the students’
progress on the particular subject and goal area. Some students will receive small group help due
to their inability to effectively read for meaning. The whole group to small group or whole group
to individual will hopefully allow the students to understand the meaning and directions of the
assignment.
Tuesday:

22. Schaffer 22
8. Story Sequencing:
Alignment:
*Standard: ELAKR6 a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and
informational texts and materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
c. Asks and answers questions about essential narrative elements (e.g., beginning-middle-end,
setting, characters, problems, events, resolution) of a read-aloud text.
e. Retells familiar events and stories to include beginning, middle, and end.
h. Retells important facts in the student’s own words.
*Understanding 1- Explanation
*EQ 1- Explanation, EQ 4- Perspective
*Knowledge 4
*Skill 4
Entry Point: Foundational Entry Point: Tell the students that every story, or every scene,
including scenes in their lives, have a beginning, middle, and end. Every situation has to begin
with something, have something going on in the middle, and then a final end to something. A lot
of times something that happens in the beginning leads to the middle, which leads to the end. For
example, when you brush your teeth in the morning, it has a beginning, middle, and end. The first
thing, or first scene, would be you picking up your toothbrush and putting tooth paste on it. The
middle of the activity would you brushing your teeth. The last thing would be you rinsing your
mouth and toothbrush out. In this case, the middle certainly led to the end. Having the toothpaste
in your mouth lead to you spiting it out and rinsing your mouth out.
W: Where & Why: The teacher will tell the students that they will be putting scene puzzles
together today. They will be given a set of scenes based upon a certain event, like making a
sandwich, getting dressed in the morning, or even the daily class schedule. Just like a puzzle, they
will have to put them together to make the correct sequence of events. They will then record in
their prediction journals what occurred at the beginning, middle, and end of the certain event.
H: Hook & Hold: The teacher should ask the students, “What do you do before you get ready for
bed?” Some of the students will suggest several answers. The teacher should then ask the
students, “If I wanted to write a story about how to get ready for bed, what would I have to write
first?” Then, making a list on the board as the students suggest answers, the teacher will list the
sequence of events that the students suggest lead up to their bedtime. As these answers are
recorded on the board, the teacher should ask, “What is the beginning of this activity? What is the
middle of this activity? What happens at the end of this activity?”
E: Explore through Experience: The teacher should then provide groups of students (about 3 or
4 in a group) with a set of sequencing activities. This activities should be pictures placed on index
cards, such as a student putting tooth on a toothbrush, a student brushing his/her teeth, and a
student rinsing their mouth out. The teacher should tell the students that they are to put the cards
in order of how they occur. Put them in their “beginning, middle, and end” placement. Then, after
they all have agreed that this is the correct sequence the students should record their sequence in
their prediction journals. After they have completed this sequence their will be given another set
of cards to try.

23. Schaffer 23
R: Reflect, Rethink, Revise: Before the students are given the next set of cards the teacher or the
paraprofessional will evaluate the groups’ work. They will make sure that the sequence is in
correct order. If they are not, the teacher should ask the students to describe what is happening in
each picture. She should then read the sequence of events as they have placed them. Hopefully,
since these are common task sequences that students should be familiar with, they will realize the
flaw in sequencing.
At this time the students should also be asked, “Based on what you are doing now, what do you
think makes up a story?” Perhaps the students should be prompted to answer, “A list of events in
a certain order (like a beginning, middle, or end) make up a story.”
E: Evaluate Work & Progress: The teachers may choose to informally evaluate the student’s
journal as they check for the groups’ understanding. The teacher may also choose to use the
student’s journals as evidence for understanding or misunderstanding. If the students seem to
struggle sequencing some of the activities, the teacher may want to provide special intervention
time to practice this skill on a one-to-one basis.
T: Tailor & Personalize: **Plan for Differentiation: Some students will have difficulty
writing the events within their journals. They should be allowed to mimic the pictures on the
index cards and draw the sequence of events. The important element is that they are able to put
the events in order. Also, students who struggle with this sequencing may need to have
intervention aid during another time in the day when the practice can be in small group or one to
one. Also, the sequencing activities and subjects should be extremely general so that all students
have been exposed to them. If the students are having difficulty sequencing the events from the
previously formed sequences, perhaps the teacher will need to choose and event, such as a culture
or social-economic commonality, that students are more familiar with and are therefore able to
sequence adequately.
O: Organize for Optimal Effectiveness: The activity is organized into a small group format.
This is so that students can use each other’s prior knowledge understandings of the sequence of
activities. Also, students are able to build upon each other’s sense of logic as they determine the
order of common activities in daily life.
Wednesday:
8. Film Scene Sequence:
Alignment:
*Standard: ELAKR6 a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and
informational texts and materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
e. Retells familiar events and stories to include beginning, middle, and end.
*Understanding 1- Explanation
*EQ 1- Explanation, EQ 4- Perspective
*Knowledge 2, Knowledge 4
*Skill 4
Entry Point: Aesthetic Entry Point: The teacher should ask the students how they would feel
about making their very own movie. Also, the teacher should remind the students that actors are

24. Schaffer 24
not the only people involved with making a movie. Movies also have editors that look at the
different parts of the film and decide what order they should go in. (Because, believe it or not,
films are not shot in the exact order that they appear when you actually watch them.)
W: Where & Why: The teacher will tell the students that they will continue working with the
beginning, middle, and ending of the stories, but they will use some technology today to make
their own films! They will use the hand-held cameras, from the library, to make their own videos.
The students may choose to be singing, dancing, doing a trick, or even telling a story during the
film. They will then download the film onto the lab computers. Using Windows Movie Maker the
students will divide the scenes and place them out of order. They will then watch the new video
that they made, which was completely out of order, and then practice putting the scenes back
together using movie maker. By watching the film out of order the students should see how
having a clear beginning, middle, and, end that build upon one another truly is.
H: Hook & Hold: The teacher should ask the students if they have ever made a video before.
(She should also ask if they have ever used the mini-camera technology that many will need to be
briefed upon). The teacher should also ask the students to describe their favorite movies, using
just the bare minim information. The teacher should then ask the students to imagine if they
watched the movie in reverse, or only saw a piece of the movie- like from the middle to the end.
The teacher should ask, “Would the movie make much sense? Would you have a clear
understanding of what is happening in the story? Would you be able to adequately predict what
would happen next in the story?”
E: Explore through Experience: The teacher should give the students a mini tutorial of how to
use the mini-cameras. In groups of 3 or 4 the students should be allowed to use the camera to flip
some type of event, which may involve all students or just some of the students in the group. The
students should then be escorted to the computer lab where they are aided in downloading their
films into Windows Movie Maker. There, the students should break their film into several scenes.
They should then rearrange the scene and watch, via Movie Maker, the scenes out of order. The
students should then place the film back in order and determine the beginning, middle, and end of
the film.
R: Reflect, Rethink, Revise: After rearranging the film scenes using the appropriate technology,
the students should decide what the true beginning, middle, and end of the film are. They should
then reflect upon the importance of having a sequence of events as well as how these events build
off of one another and are not completely random. The students should reflect on perhaps the
reason why they are able to predict what will happen next within the plot of the story is because
each scene within the story builds upon and helps to develop the next. The teacher may provide
prompts for these questions as well as allow the students to reflect upon them using their
prediction journals
E: Evaluate Work & Progress: The teacher will informally evaluate the students as they mix
and match the film scenes in movie maker. She may verbally ask the students questions like,
“How difficult is it to watch the story out of order? Does it make sense at all? Was it difficult to
put the story back in order? How is the order of the story important for readers to understand it?”
For those who are unable to answer these informal questions, the teacher may need to review

25. Schaffer 25
aspects of the other beginning, middle, and ending lessons.
T: Tailor & Personalize: **Plan for Differentiation: When beginning this assignment, it
would be wise of the teacher to pair students who are more likely to know how to use the
technology effectively with those who do not. Also, some students may need extra help when
manipulating the technology- so the teacher will need to make sure that a specific watch is kept
on them. This will be an activity that many students who may struggle with reading have the
ability to show their expertise. This specific activity does not require a lot of reading, so students
will be able to focus on other aspects of the lesson verses the reading portion of the assignment.
Also, the arranging and rearranging of the scenes are not considered an extreme assessment, so
most students should be able to complete this task with ease and little anxiety.
O: Organize for Optimal Effectiveness: The organization for this activity is rather loose. While
the teacher should explain how to use the technology, the students are pretty much given the
option to utilize it and create their own unique products. As they use the technology within the
computer lab the teacher will certainly be monitoring and investigating the usage and the abilities
of the technology itself. While the students will film in the classroom, the computer lab will be
the area in which the students download their creation as well as practice sequencing and un-
sequencing it.
Thursday:
9. Write a BME Story: (See Appendix E for materials)
Alignment:
*Standard: ELAKR6 a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and
informational texts and materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
e. Retells familiar events and stories to include beginning, middle, and end.
*Understanding 1- Explanation, Understanding 2- Interpretation, Understanding 5- Self
Knowledge
*EQ 1- Explanation, EQ 3- Interpretation, EQ 4- Persepective
*Knowledge 2, Knowledge 3, Knowledge 4, Knowledge 5, Knowledge 6
*Skill 3, Skill 4
Entry Point: Foundational Entry Point: The teacher should tell the students that since they have
read several books over the past few weeks, it is their turn to be the author! They are going to use
the skills that they have learned over the past few weeks to become an author. Being an author is
an important job, however, because they have to make sure that their story is entertaining but
believable. They must also keep their audience happy. Tell the students that their audience will be
other classmates around their age. The title of their story will be “The Best Day Ever!”
W: Where & Why: The teacher should tell the students that their story will be a BME story,
which stands for a “beginning, middle, and end” story. This means that their story should have
those three elements. Also, however, their story should have characters, a setting, a problem, and
a resolution, just like they have studied over the past week. It should also include pictures that
students can predict from. (This is Performance Task 1 in the Stage 2 Assessment section.

26. Schaffer 26
There is a teacher scoring rubric as well as a student self-assessment scoring rubric.) After
the students finish their story they will get to share it with their classmates. They will also get to
use a rubric to grade themselves, just like the teacher!
H: Hook & Hold: Ask the students to close their eyes and think about the best day that they have
ever had. Was it Christmas Day? Was it at your birthday party? Was it your first day of school?
Was it your last day of school? Was it when you won your football/soccer/baseball game? Was it
just a regular day that you thought was special? Think about who was there. You were the of
course. Was you mom, dad, sisters, brothers, friends, or grandparents there? They would all be
characters in your story. Where did it happen? Was it at your house, the park, school, and the
field? When was it? Was it last year, this past weekend, a long time ago? Those elements are the
setting. There has to be a problem in the story, even if you remember it as being “The Best Day
Ever.” Was your team losing and you helped them win? Were you decorating up to the last
minute and was rushed before your birthday party? Were you nervous about the first day of
school? Were you sad that it was the last day of school? Those would all be problems in the story.
What was the resolution? How did the story end happily? Did you win the game anyway? Did
you party turn out wonderful? Did you realize there was nothing to be afraid of at school? Did
you realize that you would see your friends the next year? Those are examples of the resolution of
the story.
E: Explore through Experience: As an example- show the students the sample “The Best Day
Ever” vodcast. Give the students their booklet, which can be white pages stapled together. You
may want to review the student rubric before they begin. Make a list on the board that students
are to do, such as create a title, list themselves as author, tell their story with all of the elements,
and draw pictures that a reader could predict with. Since this is used as a performance task
assessment, make sure that students work independently. They may talk and share a little during
the task, but make sure there work is truly representing what they can do.
R: Reflect, Rethink, Revise: After the students have completed their books, the teacher may
allow them to share with a partner or the whole class. The students should then self-assess
themselves using the student rubric. It will be at this time that the students reflect on how they
follow the instructions and fulfilled the requirements of the task. There is a section on the rubric
where the students can also reflect and describe what they could change about their story to make
it better fit the requirements of the lesson and rubric.
E: Evaluate Work & Progress: The teacher will collect the books, the self-reflection rubrics,
and the reflections themselves to evaluate the students. She will use her rubric to assess the
students based upon their creations. She will then look at the self-assessment rubrics to make sure
that the students understood the process of grading themselves and judging their work against a
rubric. Also, the teacher will take into account the reflections that the students complete to
determine if they logically found ways that their current work could be modified for the better.
T: Tailor & Personalize: **Plan for Differentiation Some students may need to work in small
groups as they complete their books. Specific students in the class do not work well with larger
groups or a lot of noise. They will be in small groups or separated from the larger group to make
sure their focus is in tact. Some students will not be able to write very many words to describe

27. Schaffer 27
their story, due to their reading and writing disabilities. The paraprofessional and teacher will help
to dictate what the students describe while also allowing the student to write and complete the
project as independently as possible. Some students also may need individual aid in filling out the
self-assessment rubric. This rubric will probably be completed in a whole group manner as the
teacher reads and the students follow along. Developmentally disabled students, as well as ESOL
students, may need more independent instruction with this.
:
O: Organize for Optimal Effectiveness: This assignment is designed to be a mainly
independent activity seeing as this activity is used as a performance task within stage 2 of the
assessment process. The teacher does give the students a brief summary and clear explanation of
what is expected of them, as well as examples that they could use, during the instructional part of
the lesson. The students are also shown their self-assessment rubric that they are to complete
before they begin the task. The majority of the task, however, is independent.
Friday:
10. Moral Read Around :
Alignment:
*Standard: ELAKR6 a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and
informational texts and materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
e. Retells familiar events and stories to include beginning, middle, and end.
h. Retells important facts in the student’s own words.
*Understanding 3- Perception, Understanding 4- Empathy, Understanding 5- Self-
Knowledge
* EQ 2- Explanation, EQ 7- Interpretation, EQ 8- Self Knowledge
*Knowledge 6
*Skill 2, Skill 5
Entry Point: Logical-Quantitative Entry Point: Ask the students to think of all of the stories that
they have read that really meant something to them. Ask them to think of the top, say, five stories
that they were able to take something away from. What did you learn from this book? Why was it
so memorable to you? Could you use what you learned in real life? If so, that means that this
story had a moral.
W: Where & Why: Tell the students that they will be engaging in a read-around activity. First
the teacher will read them a story and they will complete the activity as a whole. Then the
students will be broken up into three groups and work together to find the moral in other stories.
Tell the students not to worry, because the books in each of the stations is something that they
will be able to read (they are easy-reader books). They will use their prediction journals to record
the moral of the story and how they feel about that moral. They will also record how they feel the
moral could apply to their real lives.
H: Hook & Hold: Ask the students to think of why people read stories. Do they read because the
story is fun or funny? Do they read to learn something? Are there stories that students can read
that are fun as well as teach them something? Why do writers write? To they try to tell the readers

28. Schaffer 28
something? Sometimes authors use stories to teach the audience about a moral, or an
understanding that the readers can take away with them and apply it to their real life. Today we
are going to be investigators and try to find the moral in several stories.
E: Explore through Experience: As a whole group the teacher will read The Tortoise and the
Hare. The students will talk about the characters, setting, problem, and resolution. They will also
determine the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Finally, the teacher should ask the
students, after they have finished the story, “What do you think the author is trying to tell us in
this story? What can you apply to your real life?” After the students determine the moral, they
should record it, along with the title of their story, within their prediction journal. The students
should then describe how the moral makes them feel and how it applies to them in their real lives.
(This journaling is also included in the “Other Evidence” within the stage 2 assessment of the
unit. It is titled: Journaling: Self-Regulation and Reflection in Understanding Morals.)
The students will then be placed into small groups in different stations in the room. The students
will be responsible for reading the following books as a whole group: The Boy Who Cried Wolf,
The Ants and the Grasshopper, and The Lion and the Mouse. Each station will have a specific
book. The students should read the book, discuss it, and try to determine the moral of the story.
The students should then record the story in their prediction journals as well as how they feel
about the journal and how it applies in their real life.
R: Reflect, Rethink, Revise: A part of the major reflection of this article would be to apply it to
his/her real life and decide how it can be used. The students should work as a whole to rethink
their predictions about the moral of the story. At the end of the assignment, the students are able
to open the special envelope at the end of the book that the teacher has added. This will reveal the
real moral of the story. If the students’ ideas did not match, in some manner, what was in the
envelope, they are encouraged to look back through the story and see if they can determine where
their thoughts might have gone array or where they could have made a better prediction.
E: Evaluate Work & Progress: The students will record their moral predictions within their
journaling notebook, which will be evaluated by the teacher on a regular basis. The evaluation of
this assignment will not only focus on how well the students were able to determine the moral,
but also how well they were able to communicate their thoughts about the moral. Also their
ability to determine how the moral might apply to his/her real life will be evaluated. If the
students have difficulty with any of these areas the teacher may need to plan an intervention time
to discuss their thoughts and redirect their understandings of the subject of morals.
T: Tailor & Personalize: **Plan for Differentiation Some students within the groups will not
be able to read the stories on their own. For that reason it is important that the teacher place the
students in groups so that at least one student will be able to read the book and aid the others.
Also, some students may not possess the higher order thinking skills of determining a moral of
the story. Prompts and suggestions either in a small group or a one-to-one basis may be the best
way for the students to understand how morals apply to the story.
:
O: Organize for Optimal Effectiveness: This activity is organized in a small group format.
First the teacher models the activity and then the students complete it in cooperative groups. A

29. Schaffer 29
large among of scaffolding on behalf of the teacher during the first part of the lesson is used.
Students also work together to decided upon and meet the standards of the assignment.
Week 3
Monday:
11. The Three Little Pigs- Part 1 :
Alignment:
a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and informational texts and
materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
b. Makes predictions from pictures and titles.
c. Asks and answers questions about essential narrative elements (e.g., beginning-middle-end,
setting, characters, problems, events, resolution) of a read-aloud text.
e. Retells familiar events and stories to include beginning, middle, and end.
h. Retells important facts in the student’s own words.
*Understanding 3- Perception, Understanding 5- Self-Knowledge
*EQ 5- Empathy, EQ 7- Interpretation, EQ 8- Self Knowledge
*Knowledge 6
*Skill 2, Skill 3, Skill 4, Skill 5
Entry Point: Foundation Entry Point: Tell the students that they will be reading one of the most
commonly known stories, The Three Little Pigs. They will, however, also look at several
elements of the story. They will have to be investigators again. They will look at the characters,
setting, problem, and resolution. The teacher should allow the students to describe what each of
these elements are and mean. Then, they will also determine the beginning, middle, and end of the
story. They will then look at new things about the story. The teacher should also give the students
a preview of what is going to happen the next day, which will involve looking at the story from
anther perspective.
W: Where & Why: The teacher should continue the discussion with the students and explain that
today they will be determining the moral of the story. She will advise them that this story can
actually have several morals. Depending upon how you look at the story. The students will again
record their morals and predictions in their prediction journals.
H: Hook & Hold: Ask the students if they have brothers or sisters, or even cousins, that they
compete with. Tell them that this story is about three brother pigs that complete with each other
when building a house. Ask them, “Which do you think could be built the quickest: a straw house,
a stick house, or a brick house?” Then ask them, “Which house do you think is the most sturdy, or
strongest?” These are answers that you will find out in the story!
E: Explore through Experience: The teacher will read the story The Three Little Pigs to the
students. After she finishes she will begin a series of questions that will help the students review

30. Schaffer 30
some of the elements that have been discussed within the unit. She will also ask the students to
determine the characters, setting, problems, and resolution of the story. She will also ask the
students to determine the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
After the story is complete, the teacher should ask that the students record what they think the
moral of the story would be. They should also describe the moral of how it applies to their lives.
They should be encouraged to look at the moral from different characters and determine the moral
from their eyes. For example, “What is the moral from the pig who built the hay house? What is
the moral from the wolf? What is the moral from the pig who built the brick house?”
R: Reflect, Rethink, Revise: After the students have recorded their ideas about the different
morals from the different perspectives of the characters within the story, the students will be
prompted to share their ideas. The teacher may have to prompt the students into viewing the
moral from other perspectives. It is suspected that students may not naturally view the plot of the
story from another characters’ perspective, so the teacher may need to say something like,
“Imagine you were the wolf- What would you learn from what happened in the story?” This
discussion will allow the students to add to their prediction journals by analyzing journals from
other perspectives.
E: Evaluate Work & Progress: Since this is a whole group activity it will be rather easy to
monitor student progress. The teacher and paraprofessional may choose to walk around the room
as the students complete the task to make sure their thoughts are in align with the assignment.
Also some students may need extra prompting. At the end of the session, the teacher will collect
the students’ prediction books to evaluate their overall understanding of the lesson, how well they
have mastered the objective of defining morals, and determine their preexisting skills for
determining aspects of a story from another perspective.
T: Tailor & Personalize: **Plan for Differentiation Some students may have difficulty
describing the moral in clear sentences are statements. They should use their words to the best of
their ability as well as attempt to draw images to aid in their explanation. If this is a severe
enough problem the paraprofessional may work in a small group with those students so that their
ideas are shared and recorded individually. If this is not too large of a problem then the teacher
and paraprofessional will work together to dictate the students responses enough so that the
teacher can evaluate the journal at a later time.
:
O: Organize for Optimal Effectiveness: This assignment is based upon a whole group-small
group activity. The story and prompting is conducted in a whole group matter. The actual activity
itself is in a small group, or individualized session. This is done so that the teacher is truly able to
assess the student’s mastery of determining the moral of a story as well as their pre-exisisting
skills of determining aspects of the story from various perspectives.
Tuesday:
12. The Three Little Pigs- Part 2 :
Alignment:

31. Schaffer 31
a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and informational texts and
materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
b. Makes predictions from pictures and titles.
*Understanding 2- Interpretation, Understanding 3- Perception, Understanding 6-
Application
*EQ 5- Empathy, EQ 6- Application
*Knowledge 3
*Skill 2, Skill 6
Entry Point: Narrational Entry Point: Ask the students to imagine that there are two news
reporters reporting on two thunderstorms that they are watching first hand, on site. Do you think
their reports would be exactly the same? After the students have suggested their answers, tell
them that they probably wouldn’t be exactly the same, because they are not the exact same
person. Even though they are watching the same events, they will describe them slightly
differently simply because they are two different people. Now ask the students if a member of a
winning football team and a member of a losing football team would describe the game exactly
the same. The football game is the event that both of them are describing, yet one team won and
one team lost. They would probably describe the events slightly differently because certain things
that occurred were more important to each person. Looking at the same event from other people’s
eyes is called looking at it from their perspective.
W: Where & Why: Tell the students that they will be re-visiting the story of The Three Little
Pigs today, but they will be looking at it through a different perspective. The first book was told
by the pigs’ perspective. Now, however, the book read today will be told from the wolf’s
perspective. It will be the same story, with the same events, but they will be described in a
different way. Afterwards the students will determine how this story was different than the other
story using a Venn diagram. They will then be given the opportunity to give the story a new
ending, from their own perspective.
H: Hook & Hold: Ask the students if they remembered last week’s lesson when they realized
that characters are not completely good or bad. They will see this again in this story. By show of
hands, ask the students if they thought the wolf in the story was “bad”? Ask them to describe
why. Now ask them to pretend like they were the wolf. Ask them to describe a situation in which
the events could have happened in the story, but not because the wolf was being mean. Tell them
that this story is going to let them see the story from the wolf’s perspective, and perhaps they will
be able to determine that the wolf is not so “bad” after all.
E: Explore through Experience: The teacher should read aloud the story The True Story of the
Three Little Pigs. As she read the story she should point out events that seem similar to what
occurred in the first story that the class read. Then she should point out how the event was
different as it was told through the eyes of the wolf. The teacher should also allow the students to
describe some of these events.
After the story is complete the students should aid the teacher in completing a Venn diagram
comparing and contrasting the first and second book. The teacher may organize this by focusing
on how specific scenes or events were different in the story. Also, the teacher may choose to

32. Schaffer 32
include how the characters were different within the story as well. The students should record this
Venn diagram in their prediction journal.
After the students have completed the Venn Diagram, they will be asked to re-write the end of the
story. The story has remained the same up until the wolf knocks on the last little pig’s door. The
teacher should remind the students of what occurred in both books. She should then tell them to
write their own event that could occur. They have to make sure that it is logical and make sense in
the story.
R: Reflect, Rethink, Revise: The students will be given ample time to reflect and review the two
books as well as analyze the scenes as they complete the Venn diagram with the teacher. After
they complete writing their alternative ending, the teacher may choose to read some aloud. The
students will then be given the opportunity to share their alternative ending with a buddy. The
buddy should be able to tell them if their ending makes sense with the rest of the plot. If it does
not, the students will be given time to rearrange their ending so that it does fit with the rest of the
plot.
E: Evaluate Work & Progress: The teacher will informally evaluate the students as they
participate in the Venn diagram activity. She will be able to tell who is able to determine the
differences and similarities within the book. Some students may need individualized help and will
be pulled into a small group to complete the activity. This will help the students understand and
have a more vocal attempt in completing the activity. Also, the teacher will collect and read the
alternative endings in the prediction journal. She will make comments about them. If the
alternative ending is still not logical after the buddy share, the teacher will have a mini-interview
to determine the student’s trouble and aid them in imagining an event that could have really
occurred.
T: Tailor & Personalize: **Plan for Differentiation Some students may have difficulty
following along with the Venn diagram task. They will be pulled aside and worked with on a
more individual basis. In a small group the paraprofessional or teacher will help them determine
the differences as well as allow for them to re-look at the pictures to locate specific similarities or
differences. (Some of these students seem to have short term memory problems.) Also, depending
on the results of the buddy share, the students may need extra help in completing their alternative
ending assignment. The teacher may need to meet with them individually and aid them in
forming a logical alternative ending.
:
O: Organize for Optimal Effectiveness: This task is organized in a modeling- scaffolding-
independent activity. The teacher reads and models, recognizing the difference between the two
books as a whole group activity. The teacher then scaffolds the students into determining the
similarities and differences using a Venn diagram. Finally, the students form their own ending
independently.
Wednesday:
13. Role Play/ Drama of Little Red Riding Hood (Script for the play can be obtained at:

33. Schaffer 33
http://www.puppetstoyou.com/little_red_riding_hood.html)
Alignment:
a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and informational texts and
materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
c. Asks and answers questions about essential narrative elements (e.g., beginning-middle-end,
setting, characters, problems, events, resolution) of a read-aloud text.
e. Retells familiar events and stories to include beginning, middle, and end.
h. Retells important facts in the student’s own words.
* Understanding 3- Perception, Understanding 4- Empathy
*EQ 5- Empathy, EQ 6- Application
*Knowledge 3
*Skill 5
Entry Point: Aesthetic Entry Point: Ask the students to imagine that they were in a play. How
would that make them feel? How would they get ready for their role? Of course they would
memorize their lines, but could they do something to prepare them beyond just saying the lines?
Would they be able to get themselves ready to act like that person and have their same feelings?
Would they be able to understand and look at the story from their character’s perceptive? Remind
the students that they have learned that characters act differently in stories based upon their
perspective of what is happening within the story.
W: Where & Why: Tell the students that they will be performing a play today. In fact, they will
be performing the play several times. In small groups the students will be given a script of Little
Red Riding Hood. Each student will be given a role. The students will conduct the mini-play.
After they finished the play they will use their prediction journals to describe how being that
character made them feel, as well as how the story is viewed from the eyes of that character that
they have just played. Then, the roles will rotate and the students will conduct the play again, but
each person will “be” another character. They will then use their journals to reflect upon how
being that character made them feel as well as how they can describe the perspective of the story
through the eyes of that character. This will occur until every student has played every role within
the story.
H: Hook & Hold: The teacher should ask the students if they have ever been in a play before.
She should allow time for the students to share their experience as well as how they felt about the
experience. She should then ask them how a play is related to a story. As a group the students
should come up with the ideas that they both have characters, a setting, a problem, and a
resolution. They both have a beginning, middle, and end. The teacher should ask them if they
think the play might be told from one perspective verses all of the perspectives in the story. The
students should come to the conclusion that like in a book, the play is usually told from a certain
perspective and the other characters in the story might indeed have different perspectives.
E: Explore through Experience: The teacher should read through the mini-play of Little Red
Riding Hood as a whole group. The students should then be split into small groups so that
everyone will have a turn to be every character. Each student should be given their own copy of
the script. The teacher should assign the first roles and show the students how the roles will rotate
after each play. She should remind them that every student should play every character within the

34. Schaffer 34
play, which will take several play readings. Finally, the teacher should remind them that after
each play the students should record the character that they played, how playing that character
made them feel, as well as describe the perspective of that character.
R: Reflect, Rethink, Revise: The students will be given time to reflect upon each character as
well as how their role fit into the play after each activity. When the group finishes all of the plays,
and everyone has had the opportunity to play every character, the teacher will then allow the
students to compare and contrast each role with other student’s feelings toward that role. For
example, students may choose to compare the notes that they made after they played the role of
Little Red Ridding Hood. From this sharing students may choose to add certain information to
their journals that they did not think about own their own.
E: Evaluate Work & Progress: After the assignment has been completed the teacher will collect
and review the journal entries for this assignment. If there is a significant misunderstanding
between a certain character, the teacher may choose to address this on an individual basis.
T: Tailor & Personalize: **Plan for Differentiation The groups for this activity will be
arranged so that at least one or two of the students will be able to read all of the words within the
play. There will be some students who truly struggle reading the words. If this is too difficult of a
task for them, the teacher and paraprofessional can group these students together and aid that
group specifically in reading the words and conducting the play.
:
O: Organize for Optimal Effectiveness: This task is organized in a small group rotation
manner. The students work together to come to a new understanding. The roles are rotated so
students are not only asked to follow the teacher’s directions but to also aid their peers in
understanding and coming to the realizations of the lesson. As they complete their reflections the
students are also to collaborate and share their thoughts with one another so that everyone can
come to a new understanding.
Thursday:
14. Story From a Different Point of View
Alignment:
a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and informational texts and
materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.
b. Makes predictions from pictures and titles.
c. Asks and answers questions about essential narrative elements (e.g., beginning-middle-end,
setting, characters, problems, events, resolution) of a read-aloud text.
e. Retells familiar events and stories to include beginning, middle, and end.
h. Retells important facts in the student’s own words.
* Understanding 1- Explanation, Understanding 2- Interpretation, Understanding 3-
Perception, Understanding 5- Self Knowledge, Understanding 6- Application
*EQ 5- Empathy, EQ 6- Application
*Knowledge 2, 3, 4, 5
*Skill 6

35. Schaffer 35
Entry Point: Foundation Entry Point: Tell the students that they will be using all of their
knowledge that they have learned over the past few weeks in a project today. They will once
again become authors. They will be re-writing a familiar story in a new way based upon another
perceptive. They should be reminded that when writing from another perspective it is best to
begin to think through the eyes of that character.
W: Where & Why: The teacher should tell the students that they will be rewriting the story of
The Three Little Pigs from the wolf’s perspective. It will be similar to the book that the read
earlier this week, but they cannot just copy what happened in that book. They are encouraged to
be creative in this activity. The teacher may also want to explain the details of the assignment,
like the audience and standards/criteria for success (located in stage 2 of the unit labeled:
Performance Task 2: Story from a Different Point of View.)
H: Hook & Hold: Tell the students that they are finishing up this unit! They have learned so
much about characters, settings, problems, and solutions. They have also learned about the
beginning, middle, and end of assignments! Finally, they have learned to find the moral of stories
as well as determine the perspective of the story. They have even re-wrote stories from another
perspective! Today is the day that they will put all of that together.
E: Explore through Experience: The teacher should briefly review, or even re-read, the basic
story of The Three Little Pigs. The teacher should then provide the and review the self-assessment
rubric that the students will be completing after they have finished writing their story. The teacher
should explain each element so that the students know exactly what to expect and what they
should do. Finally, the teacher should give specific instructions, and even write some of the
instructions on the board. She should tell them about the characters, setting, events, and ending
they should have (see Performance Task 2 in the stage 2 of the unit.) The teacher should then
allow time for the students to complete this task individually. Since this is used as an assessment,
the students should not work together on this activity.
R: Reflect, Rethink, Revise: After the students have completed their assignment, the teacher
should guide the students in completing the student rubric. The students should grade themselves
based upon the work that they completed. They will also be given time to write a short reflection
of what they would change about their writing, based upon the guidelines in the rubric.
E: Evaluate Work & Progress: The teacher will collect the story, the student rubric, and
reflection. She will evaluate the story based upon the teacher rubric. She will also read and take
into account the student rubric and reflection. These pieces will be used to determine if the
student understood how to grade oneself as well as how to look at their work and determine if it
could be modified for the better.
T: Tailor & Personalize: **Plan for Differentiation Some students may need specific aid in
completing the assignment. For this reason some students will be placed in a small group area
where the teacher can more directly monitor their progress and attempts. They, due to their
reading and writing disabilities, will receive more spelling and grammatical aid than the other
students. They will be expected, however, to use their own creativity in creating a new end to the

36. Schaffer 36
story. Also, the students may need to complete the rubric in a small group or individual basis.
:
O: Organize for Optimal Effectiveness: This assignment is an independent one since it will be
used for assessment purposes. While the teacher provides the information in a whole group
setting, the assignment itself is completed on an individual basis. The teacher will probably need
to aid the students in completing the rubric together as a whole group, but the students will be
expected to follow along and complete the assignment as an individual.
Friday:
15. The Three Little Pigs by Golden Books Post-Test: Students are given a post-assessment to
determine their learned knowledge of the goals and standards of the unit. This post-assessment
contains and is administered in two parts.
Part 1: Students complete a “prediction story” as they “picture-read” the book Three Little Pigs
by Golden Books. On an individual basis with either the teacher, parapro, or graduate student, the
kindergarten student will use the images in the book to describe what they feel the book will be
about.
Part 2: Students will be asked questions by the teacher, parapro, or graduate student about the
elements of the story, which include the characters, setting, problem, and resolution. The student
will also be asked to write/draw an alterative ending to the story.
*This pre-assessment is located at the end of this unit guide. It is labeled “Appendix A”.
(All standards, goals, knowledge, skills, and understandings are assessed within this pre-
test.)
Follow up Activities- These are extension activities to be completed
after the unit in order to bridge to the 1st grade standards.
First Grade Reading Standard: ELA1R6 The student uses a variety of strategies to
understand and gain meaning from grade-level text. The student
f. Makes connections between texts and/or personal experiences.
g. Identifies the main idea and supporting details of informational text read or heard.
1. Main Idea Graphic Organizer (See Appendix F for materials)
Entry Point: Foundation Entry Point: Tell the students that they will be using all of their
knowledge that they have learned over the past few weeks to learn how to do something first
graders do. Tell them that they will be using a graphic organizer, but it is a new/different one than
they have used before.
W: Where & Why: The teacher should tell the students that they are going to be identifying the
main idea and details of the story. The main idea is how you would sum up the entire story in one
sentence. The students already know how to do this by putting together the beginning, middle,
and end of the story. The details are the small parts of the story. These are the ones you learned to
keep out when you were telling the beginning, middle, and end of the story.

37. Schaffer 37
H: Hook & Hold: Tell the students to remember the vodcast that they watched earlier in the unit.
Ask them if they remember telling the beginning middle and end of the story. Remind them that
they only wrote the main thing that happened, not all of the small parts. That is what they will be
doing this time too. The main idea is the main thing that happened, and the small parts are the
details.
E: Explore through Experience: This activity will be a center time activity so that it is
completed in small groups of no more than five. The teacher or a parapro will help in the
translation of the students thoughts into words. The students will draw their own graphic
organizer by drawing a big circle in the middle of their paper and three smaller circles around the
big circle. They will decide, as a group, the main thing that has happened in the story- what the
story was all about. They will then take turns giving details of things they remember in the story.
R: Reflect, Rethink, Revise: After the students have completed this activity, they will do a
partner check. They will be grouped with another person in the group. They will read their
answers to each other. They will give each other a thumbs up or down depending on if they agree
it is a main idea or detail. This will also give the students time to revise anything that wasn’t
clear.
E: Evaluate Work & Progress: The teacher or the parapro will then take the time to read the
student’s graphic organizers aloud. She will show them to the rest of the students so that everyone
can receive praise. They will decided what is the main idea and details. This will also serve as a
time for the teacher to evaluate this work as she shares it.
T: Tailor & Personalize: **Plan for Differentiation Some students will be groups together
because they have shown they need extra help with the subject area. The group leader will work
to tie this information more closely to the idea of the beginning, middle, and end of the story. The
students will look at their previous work of where they have identified the beginning, middle, and
end of the story. They will then pull these thoughts together into one sentence. This will be the
main idea. They will then look at the pictures in the book to remember any details. These will
become their details in their graphic organizer.
:
O: Organize for Optimal Effectiveness: This activity is best completed in a small group
format. The students will have access to their previous work as well as the book itself. This will
also allow for the teacher to help the students in writing sentences. By peer reviewing the students
will have a chance to read their own writing as well as communicate their own thoughts from
paper into words.
2. Personal Experience Checklist (See Appendix G for materials)
Entry Point: Foundation Entry Point: Tell the students that they will be looking at one of the
stories that one of their friends have written and determine if any of it has happened to them
before. This is a part of remembering the pieces of a story. It is easier to remember the pieces of a
story if you try to relate them to something you have done that is similar.

38. Schaffer 38
W: Where & Why: The teacher should tell the students that they are going to determine the parts
of the story that they have a personal connection to. This means that they have done something or
felt the same way as it describes in the story. This will help them remember the parts of the story
because it has happened to them as well. It will also help to make the story meaningful because it
will be based off of something that they have actually done in the past.
H: Hook & Hold: Tell the students that they will get to read their classmates stories this week.
They will get to see what thoughts their classmates have and what interesting stories they have
come up with. They will also get to determine if they have done anything similar in their own
lives.
E: Explore through Experience: During center time the students will be given a copy of one of
their classmates “Best Day Ever” stories. The teacher/parapro will help the students read the story
and translate the plot. The students will then draw a t-chart and on one side write the details of the
stories. On the other side they will place a check or an “x” based upon if that has ever happened
to them in real life.
R: Reflect, Rethink, Revise: After they have completed the t-chart, the students will go back and
add up how many checks and how many “x”s are in their chart. They will then have to decide if
this story is more close to something that has happened to them or not. They will do this by seeing
if there are more checks or “x”s in their t-chart.
E: Evaluate Work & Progress: The teacher or parapro will review the t-chart to make sure that
the students identified the details that were actually in the story. They will also make sure to see if
the checks and “x”s are actually located within the t-chart. They might decide to individually
conference with the students to answer any questions or extend any personal experiences that
might be in question.
T: Tailor & Personalize: **Plan for Differentiation Some students will be groups together
because they have shown they need extra help with the subject area. The teacher or the parapro
will select one of the student stories to read. They will read it aloud to the group of students and
discuss it. They will then work together to identify the main idea and details within the story. This
is the time when they will work together to record them on the paper. The students will then
individually decide whether or not the details are something that they have experienced in the
past. The teacher may work with individual students who have shown that they need extra help in
relating the topics to their actual experiences.
:
O: Organize for Optimal Effectiveness: This activity is best completed in a small group
format. The students will have access to a copy of the individual stories that they will be
reviewing. The checklist should be completed individually but there will be a teacher on hand to
help with any relations that might be necessary.

39. Schaffer 39
Notes to the Instructor
*Please note that the alignment of the standards, essential questions, understandings,
knowledge, and skills have been addressed under each activity title. Also, the plan for
differentiation is included within the “T: Tailor and Personalize” subsections.
*Also, a pretest and post-test were used at the beginning and ending of this unit. A copy of
this test can be found in the appendix below. The “entry points” and “WHERETO”
elements are located into each daily activity (and are labeled). Technology is incorporated
into several activities.
This is a reference list for children’s text/storybooks used in the unit:
Anderson, Hans Christian. (1995). The Ugly Duckling. Racine, WI: Western Publishing Inc.
Blair, Eric. (2008). The Boy Who Cried Wolf. New York, NY: Picture Window Books.
Herman, Gail. (1998). The Lion and the Mouse. New York, NY: Random House Publishing for
Young Readers.
Golden Books. (2004). Three Little Pigs. Racine, WI: Western Publishing Inc.
Ransom, Candice. (2002). The Three Bears. Columbus, OH: School Specialty Publishing.
Ransom, Candice. (2002). Little Red Riding Hood. Columbus, OH: School Specialty Publishing.
McCafferty, Catherine. (2002). The Gingerbread Man. Columbus, OH: School Specialty
Publishing.
Scieszka, Jon. (1996). The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. New York, NY: Penguin
Group.
Stevens, Janet. (1985). The Tortoise and the Hare. New York, NY: Holiday House.
Walt Disney Inc. (Producer), & Geronimi, C. (Director). (1950). Cinderella. [Motion picture].
United States: Walt Disney Home Entertainment.
Williams, Rozeanne. (2005). The Ants and the Grasshopper. Columbus, OH: Creative Teaching
Press.
This is a reference list for other textbooks used in the creation of this unit:
Tomlinson, C. A. (1999). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners.

40. Schaffer 40
Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design, (2nd edition). Alexandria, VA:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design: Professional development
workbook. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
This is a reference list of professional materials that support the unit and the activities:
Adomat, D. (2009). Actively engaging with stories through drama: Portraits of two young
readers. Reading Teacher, 62(8), 628-636.
Morrison, V., & Wlodarczyk, L. (2009). Revisiting read-aloud: Instructional strategies that
encourage students' engagement with texts. Reading Teacher, 63(2), 110-118.
Patel, P., & Laud, L. (2009). Helping students to add detail and flair to their stories.
Preventing School Failure, 54(1), 2-11.
Rupley, W. (2009). Introduction to direct/explicit instruction in reading for the struggling reader:
Phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Reading & Writing
Quarterly, 25(2/3), 119-124.
Woolley, G. (2010). Developing reading comprehension: combining visual and verbal cognitive
processes. Australian Journal of Language & Literacy, 33(2), 108-125.
This is a reference list of further reading materials that might be beneficial to extend this
unit:
Rhodes, I. (2007). Teaching Literary Elements With Favorite Chapter Books: Engaging Lessons,
Graphic Organizers, and Hands-On Activities That Help Students Respond to What They Read
and Deepen Comprehension. New York, NY: Scholastic Teaching Resources.
Tarlow, E., & Chambliss, M. (1999). Teaching Story Elements With Favorite Books (Grades
1-3).
New York, NY: Scholastic Teaching Resources.
Van Zile, S. (2001). Awesome Hands-on Activities for Teaching Literary Elements: 30 Easy,
Learning-Rich Activities That Tap Into Students' Multiple Intelligences to Teach Plot,
Setting, Character, and Theme. New York, NY: Scholastic Teaching Resources.
Warrick, K. (2001). Basic Skills Story Elements, Grades 1 to 2: Learning About the Components
of Stories to Deepen Comprehension. Grand Rapids, MI: Instructional Fair.
Wilhelm, J. & Smith, M. (2010). Fresh Takes on Teaching Literary Elements: How to Teach
What Really Matters About Character, Setting, Point of View, and Theme. New York, NY:

41. Schaffer 41
Scholastic Teaching Resources.
Appendix A
Kindergarten Pre-Assessment & Post-Assessment
The Three Little Pigs by Golden Books.
ELAKR6: The teacher and student sit together and look at the book. The teacher records
the student’s answer to the following questions.
1. What do you think this book will be about?
___________________________________________________________________
2. What makes you think that?
____________________________________________________________________
3. What else do you think this book may have in it?
____________________________________________________________________
*After reading the book to the class, the teacher will record the student’s individual
answers to the following questions.
4. What happened at the beginning of the book?
_______________________________________________________________________
_
_______________________________________________________________________.
5. What happened in the middle of the book?
_______________________________________________________________________
_
_______________________________________________________________________.
6. What happened at the end of the book?

42. Schaffer 42
_______________________________________________________________________
_
_______________________________________________________________________.
7. What was the setting of the story? __________________________________________
8. Who were the characters in the story? _______________________________________
9. What was the problem in the story? ________________________________________
10. What was the resolution of the story? ______________________________________
ELAKW2:
11. Have the student retell the story but change the ending to make it new. Record what
the student says, especially considering the amount of detail, flow, and correct
information.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________.
Appendix B
Gingerbread Man Felt Pieces

43. Schaffer 43

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Appendix C
Naughty/Nice Graphic Organizer
Character- a person or animal
that does the action in the story
Naughty Nice

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Appendix D
Story Elements Graphic Organizer
Characters Setting
Problem Resolution

47. Schaffer 47
Appendix E
BME Story Graphic Organizer
Beginning
Middle
End

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Appendix F
Main Idea Graphic Organizer
Main Idea:
Detail: Detail:
Detail: Detail:
Appendix G

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Personal Experience Checklist
Event in Story It has happened to
me too!

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