These lesson plans introduce students to the country of Mali through stories and visuals. Over four 30-minute lessons, students will read a story about a girl losing her tooth in Mali, make observations about Mali culture from illustrations, discuss what can be learned from stories versus facts, and examine photographs from a teacher's friend's trip to Mali to practice visual literacy skills. The lessons aim to improve students' cultural understanding and ability to make informed observations about other places.

1. LESSON PLANS
Introduction to Mali
• Description
Student Teacher name: Miriam Larson
Date of lesson: Tues, Sept. 25, Tuesday, Oct. 2, Wednesday, October 10
Cooperating teacher-librarian: Peggy Burton
Grade level: 4th and 5th grade
School & City: Williams Elementary School, Mattoon, IL
Length/number of lessons: 3 lessons, 30 min. each
• Purpose (“why” of the lesson; where and how does it fit in the curriculum?)
This enrichment curriculum aims to make students strong leaders in an increasingly globalized
world. By giving students the opportunity to connect with stories about Mali and make
observations about the country, students will improve their intercultural understanding and
visual literacy skills.
Learning Outcome(s)/Learning Target (what will students be able to do/know by the end of the
lesson?) Start with “Students will… “
• Visual Literacy: Students will be able to make an extensive list of observations about
the culture and environment in a foreign country by looking carefully at a picture or
illustration.
• Cultural Comparison: Students will be able to describe similarities and differences
between their own country and the country of Mali.
Larson – Mali Lesson

2. MALI LESSON 1: Connecting Tooth Fairy Traditions
• Purpose (“why” of the lesson; where and how does it fit in the curriculum?)
The purpose of this lesson is to help students draw connections between their experience and
the experience of people in the country of Mali. Students will draw parallels between their
traditions when they loose teeth, and the tradition of the girl in I Lost My Tooth in Africa.
• Learning Outcome(s)/Learning Target (what will students be able to do/know by the end of
the lesson?) Start with “Students will… “
Students will reflect on their experience of loosing a tooth and write similarities and
differences between their tradition and the tradition in Mali as depicted in I Lost My Tooth In
Africa.
• Standards (state which standards your lesson(s) is planned to meet)
1. Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy
CC.4.R.L.9 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Compare and contrast the treatment of similar
themes and topics (e.g., opposition of good and evil) and patterns of events (e.g., the quest) in
stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures.
2. AASL Standards for 21st Century Learner
1.1.7 Make sense of information gathered from diverse sources by identifying misconceptions,
main and supporting ideas, conflicting information, and point of view or bias.
• Materials (list all materials and/or equipment you will need)
Needed by you: I Lost My Tooth in Africa by Penda Diakite, illus. By Baba Wague
Diakite
Needed by students: Blank lined paper, a pencil
• Instructional procedures (outline your lesson so another person could teach it)
Focusing event: (how will you get the students’ attention?)
We are going to read a book and talk about tooth fairy traditions. The purpose of this
lesson is to start to learn about the country of a Mali. You are doing some art from Mali
in art class.
Introduction to logs: The idea of a log is to get your ideas flowing. It’s not to write
perfect sentences or spell just right. It’s like talking to your closest confidant or writing
in your journal. So I’m going put a question up and I’d like you to start writing your
response. You’ll write for 5 minutes and don’t lift up your pencil for the whole time.
Larson – Mali Lesson

3. Log Prompt: Pretend you are writing a letter to a pen pal in Mali about your first memory
of loosing a tooth. Describe the emotional experience. Describe what you did with your
tooth and what your tooth fairy was like, if you had one.
Input from you: (what are you teaching & how are you delivering the content?)
Now we are going to read a story about Amina, an American girl whose Dad is Malian-
American who looses her tooth during a summer visit to Mali.
Direction
• Listen for similarities and differences to your tooth-loss story
• Pay attention to what you can learn about Mali from the story and illustrations
Read I Lost My Tooth in Africa by Penda Diakite
Guided practice: (application of knowledge by students)
Discussion: Do you think Amina’s experience around loosing a tooth and waiting for her
gift from the African tooth fairy was similar to yours? Were her feelings similar?
Closure (how will you end the lesson?)
Log Continued: Continue your letter to a pen pal in Mali. Now that you know something
about what happens when Malian children loose teeth, use that knowledge to continue
your letter. Describe at least one similarity between your experiences or traditions and
one difference. If you have other questions that you want to ask about what it’s like to
loose a tooth in Mali, include those.
• Differentiation (indicate at least one change you could make to the lesson to accommodate
differing ability levels; identify the targeted learners for the differentiation)
Students that are inattentive could be put to work holding the read-aloud book and turning
pages.
• Assessment (what questions will you ask and/or which tools will you use to determine
students’ understanding?)
Informal: Discussion is informal assessment for listening comprehension
Formal: Exit slip with questions
• What’s next? (another related lesson, review, end of unit?)
Next lesson will look even more closely at image and story to gather information about a culture.
Larson – Mali Lesson

4. MALI LESSON 2: Making Visual Observations about a Country
• Purpose (“why” of the lesson; where and how does it fit in the curriculum?)
The purpose of this lesson is for students to make visual observations and consider what these
observations can tell us about the country in which the story takes place.
• Learning Outcome(s)/Learning Target (what will students be able to do/know by the end of
the lesson?) Start with “Students will… “
Students will be able to create a list of observations about the environment, culture and daily
life of Mali based on illustrations.
• Standards (state which standards your lesson(s) is planned to meet)
1. Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy
CC.4.R.I.7 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Interpret information presented visually, orally,
or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements
on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in
which it appears.
2. AASL Standards for 21st Century Learner
1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media,
digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.
• Materials (list all materials and/or equipment you will need)
Needed by you: 6 copies of I Lost My Tooth in Africa, Poster of the African continent,
Name cards with groups and group roles, Projector with example observation notes, Note-taking
paper, Music from Mali (optional background music)
Needed by students: Paper, pencils
• Instructional procedures (outline your lesson so another person could teach it)
Focusing event:
Group Log Prompt: Brainstorm as a group five or more things you see on your way to
school. This could include objects in your environment (trees, etc) or descriptions of
people, traffic, houses, and other things in daily life.
Input from you: (what are you teaching & how are you delivering the content?)
Larson – Mali Lesson

5. 1) MODEL:
• Make observations about page 1 in I Lost My Tooth in Africa.
• Point out the kinds of things students might look for: environment, clothes,
activities
• Show note-taking in list (use phrases, start a new line for each new thing)
2) EXPLAIN:
o In groups today, look at the book and make notes about what information we can
gather from the book.
o Each table will have people in different roles:
 Illustration researcher – Write down observations
 Text researcher – Observations and questions
 Note-taker – Writes notes of observations and questions
 Reporter – Notes three key things to share (star by these things)
Guided practice: (application of knowledge by students)
• Have students focus on observations, not interpretations.
• Remind students of areas of observation: environment, clothing, housing,
activities.
• Support group-work and reinforce roles.
Last 2 minutes, have groups help reporter write down most significant observations from
story and text.
If there’s time: Share what groups have found. Reflect on observations.
Closure (how will you end the lesson?)
Quick-write: For you individually, what stood out to you as most different or similar in in
Mali? What surprised you?  didn’t get to this.
• Differentiation (indicate at least one change you could make to the lesson to accommodate
differing ability levels; identify the targeted learners for the differentiation)
Instead of having students write their observations, students could simply discuss observations
and share-back orally. This would eliminate the challenge and time it would take to write down
observations.
• Assessment (what questions will you ask and/or which tools will you use to determine
students’ understanding?)
Informal: Assess group progress, quantity and quality of observations. Evaluate whether
students were making observations or interpretations.
What’s next? (another related lesson, review, end of unit?)
Larson – Mali Lesson

6. Students will reflect on observations.
Larson – Mali Lesson

7. MALI LESSON 3: What Can We Learn from Observation and Story?
• Purpose (“why” of the lesson; where and how does it fit in the curriculum?)
The purpose of this lesson is for students to discuss the question: What can we learn from
stories?
Learning Outcome(s)/Learning Target (what will students be able to do/know by the end of the
lesson?) Start with “Students will… “
Students will be able to identify what kind of information they can and cannot learn from visual
observations and stories.
• Standards (state which standards your lesson(s) is planned to meet)
1. Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy
CC.4.R.I.7 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Interpret information presented visually, orally,
or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements
on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in
which it appears.
2. AASL Standards for 21st Century Learner
1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media,
digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.
• Reference Sources:
http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html
Also Teaching Tolerance article about Teaching Africa
• Materials (list all materials and/or equipment you will need)
Needed by you: Notes from last week’s groups, Powerpoint: “What Do We Learn from
Stories?”, Large Map of Africa (this will be used for the whole unit on Africa)
Needed by students: Paper, pencils for quick-write
• Instructional procedures (outline your lesson so another person could teach it)
Focusing event: (how will you get the students’ attention?)
o Read examples from a student log that evocatively describes a tooth loss experience.
o Contrast with my personal experience: Tooth fairy brought me beads.
o Discuss:
 Is it true to say that everyone in the United States gets money when they
loose a tooth?
 How do these stories affect us emotionally as compared to an encyclopedia
entry?
Larson – Mali Lesson

8. Input from you: (what are you teaching & how are you delivering the content?)
Task: To make a list about what we know about Mali to add to our map of Africa. But
what kind of information do we have about Mali based on one story with text and images?
Discuss (Use Powerpoint):
o What kind of information do we learn from stories?
o From images?
o How does it compare to what we learn from an encyclopedia or non-fiction book?
From Powerpoint Slides:
“We remember stories (and information in stories) better and longer than the same
information presented in any other narrative form.” (Kendall Haven, Author of
Storyproof)
“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they
are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story. “
(Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nigerian novelist)
Important to acknowledge diversity within a place:
 Africa is not a country
 Point out Mali on the map to remind ourselves of the specific window we are
looking at in one part of Africa
Analyze:
Look at combined notes from group observations last week. Which of these observations
include interpretations that assume more than we actually know?
What facts can we write on our map of Africa next to the country of Mali?
Closing:
Reminder: Next week we will look at real pictures from my friend’s trip to Mali.
Bring your glasses and your thinking caps!
• Differentiation (indicate at least one change you could make to the lesson to accommodate
differing ability levels; identify the targeted learners for the differentiation)
o Have students with poor sight sit in front or on the carpet.
o Have students write responses to discussion questions instead of conducting
discussion. This would allow quiet students more opportunity to process and share
ideas.
• Assessment (what questions will you ask and/or which tools will you use to determine
students’ understanding?)
Larson – Mali Lesson

9. Informal: Notice if students are asking more specific questions about pictures. Notice if
students are drawing parallels with the book.
Semi-formal: Compare initial quick-write about Mali with the second quick-write about
Mali. Are there more specific observations about Mali?
• What’s next? (another related lesson, review, end of unit?)
Presentation of pictures from my friend’s trip to Mali.
Larson – Mali Lesson

10. MALI LESSON 4: Visual Observation – Photographs
• Purpose (“why” of the lesson; where and how does it fit in the curriculum?)
In this culminating lesson, students will demonstrate visual observation skills and their ability to
draw parallels between Mali and their own country, the United States.
Learning Outcome(s)/Learning Target (what will students be able to do/know by the end of the
lesson?) Start with “Students will… “
Students will be able to make detailed observations about a place based on photographs and
they will be able to identify ways these observations are similar to and different from
observations about their own country.
• Standards (state which standards your lesson(s) is planned to meet)
1. Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy
CC.4.R.I.7 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Interpret information presented visually, orally,
or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements
on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in
which it appears.
CC.4.R.L.9 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Compare and contrast the treatment of similar
themes and topics (e.g., opposition of good and evil) and patterns of events (e.g., the quest) in
stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures.
2. AASL Standards for 21st Century Learner
1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media,
digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.
1.1.7 Make sense of information gathered from diverse sources by identifying misconceptions,
main and supporting ideas, conflicting information, and point of view or bias.
Needed by you: Powerpoint - Adrienne’s Trip to Mali, Student logs and observation
notes
Needed by students: Paper, pencils
• Instructional procedures (outline your lesson so another person could teach it)
Focusing event: (how will you get the students’ attention?)
Have students with poor sight sit in front or on the carpet.
Larson – Mali Lesson

11. Show picture of Adrienne and me and ask students if they recognize anyone. Use this
opportunity to make a personal connection to the pictures that students are about to see of
Adrienne’s trip to Mali.
Guided practice: (application of knowledge by students)
Ask students to take notes on observations they make throughout the Powerpoint presentation.
Remind students of the kinds of things students might look for: environment, clothes, activities
Show Powerpoint:
• Point out similarities to book if no students have commented on them.
• Discuss:
o Do pictures change your impression of Mali at all? Why or why not?
o How do pictures compare to what we observed in the book I Lost My Tooth in Africa.
Closure (how will you end the lesson?)
Log Prompt: Pretend you are a traveler who has been to Bamako, Mali. What
stands out to you as particularly different? What are you surprised by that is
more similar than you expected?
Quick-write: Think back to all you have learned about Mali. Write what you imagine a day in
Bamako to be like and use as much factual information based on your observations as you can.
• Differentiation (indicate at least one change you could make to the lesson to accommodate
differing ability levels; identify the targeted learners for the differentiation)
• Students may express their observations orally instead of in writing.
• Show fewer pictures and talk more in depth about each one.
• Assessment (what questions will you ask and/or which tools will you use to determine
students’ understanding?)
Informal: Notice if students are asking more specific questions about pictures. Notice if
students are drawing parallels with the book.
Semi-formal: Compare initial quick-write about Mali with the second quick-write about
Mali. Are there more specific observations about Mali?
• What’s next? (another related lesson, review, end of unit?)
New unit on Africa will begin; library will continue collaboration with Art Enrichment curriculum
on global culture.
Larson – Mali Lesson