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Expressive Arts Lesson Plan

1. Title: Personal Folktale

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2. Name: Megan Ross

Date: 12/9/16

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3. Grade level/Subject/Context: First grade – Expressive Arts – Storytelling

This lesson fits into a larger writing unit the kids have been working on to develop an understanding for personal narrative. The students each have their own Weekend Journal, in which they write a narrative about their weekend each week during writing time. Each week we cover different aspects of personal narrative, to help students create stronger stories with more detail and expression. The students already have a basic understanding of events, character, and setting. For each story they write, they also illustrate one half-page picture to demonstrate their narrative. This lesson is intended to relate personal narrative writing to storytelling, specifically Ukrainian Folktales. This lesson is intended for teaching during the winter months, due to the subject matter of the mentor text, when the topic of snow is relevant in the classroom. It can be taught during one day over the course of about 2 hours – in which case students will need to be provided the handout for the art project ahead of time to gather art supplies and plan their folktale. I recommend spacing the activities out over a two day period (see Day 1 and Day 2 in Sequence of Activities).

 

4. TIP Critical Question:

In what ways does Jan Brett manifest Ukrainian culture in her book The Mitten?

 

5. Standards: Discipline-Based Art Education (DBAE) Standards – Visual Arts K-4

  • Content Standard #1: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes

    • Students use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories

  • Content Standard #2: Using knowledge of structures and functions

    • Students know the differences among visual characteristics and purposes of art in order to convey ideas

  • Content Standard #4: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures

    • Students identify specific works of art as belonging to particular cultures, times, and places

    • Students demonstrate how history, culture, and the visual arts can influence each other in making and studying works of art

  • Content Standard #5: Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others

    • Students describe how people's experiences influence the development of specific artworks

  • Oregon Social Sciences Academic Content Standard 1.9: Describe ways people celebrate their diverse cultural heritages in the community.

  • ELP Standards for 1st Grade English learners:

    • 1.3 – An ELL can speak and write about grade-appropriate complex literary and informational texts and topics. - By the end of Level 3, an ELL can deliver short simple oral presentations about familiar topics, stories, experiences, or events.

 

6. Learning Targets:

  • I can identify characteristics of Ukrainian culture in the story The Mitten.

  • I can define folktale.

  • I can create a work of art (a mitten) that represents a personal folktale story.

  • I can describe how a personal experience influenced my artwork.  

 

7. Content Objectives:

  • By the end of this lesson, students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of how culture effects artwork by identifying characteristics of Ukrainian culture within Jan Brett’s The Mitten that were previously observed during a Ukrainian dance video.

  • By the end of this lesson, students will be able to apply what they have learned about personal narrative and folktales, by creating a mitten art piece that represents a story told/passed on to them by someone in their family.

  • By the end of this lesson, students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of how personal experiences can influence the development of artwork, by providing a verbal explanation of why they chose the materials they did to convey their own personal folktale in their mitten artwork.

  • By the end of this lesson, students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the term folktale by constructing an agreed upon definition with a small group of peers.

 

8. Language objectives:

  • Students will be able to define folktale using language from this lesson. (speaking)

  • Students will be able to retell a story that relates to their artwork. (speaking)

  • Students will be able to deliver a short simple oral presentation about a familiar story. (ELP)

 

9. Student Assessment:

Students will be informally assessed on the objectives of this lesson, throughout and at the end of the lesson. Students will demonstrate their learning through participating in a group discussion about their observations after being read The Mitten by Jan Brett. I will be looking for students to note the aesthetic similarities between the Ukrainian dance video they watched and the illustrations in the book. I will also be assessing students on their ability to express their own personal narrative through their mitten art. This assessment will be conducted during group presentations. The class will be split into groups of 5, and each student will have 5 minutes to present their work of art to other 4 group members. During this time, I will be walking around the room and listening for presenters to tell their folktale and explain how it relates to their choice of materials on their mitten. The final form of assessment will aim at determining student understanding of the word folktale. This will be done in two parts, one pre-assessment and one post-assessment. The pre-assessment will be an informal survey of student knowledge at the beginning of the lesson. I will begin by asking students to show me (by a raise of hands) if they know what the word folktale means. I will do my best to call on every student who raises their hand, so they can explain what they think the word means to the rest of the class. The post-assessment will be given at the end of the lesson when the students are still in their presentation groups. I will ask each group to develop one cohesive definition for the term folktale. Each group will nominate one student to share their definition with the rest of the class.                

 

10. Materials/Preparation:

            Online story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3rRWzdHv5M&t=11s

            Second version of The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt

  • Background Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qODoFJEZBY

  • Craft supplies – Paper, pencils, markers, crayons, scissors, glue/ModPodge, paint brushes, cotton balls, magazines (for images), pipe cleaners, feathers, buttons, natural materials, miscellaneous trinkets, and items brought from home (provided by the student).

  • Laminator (if accessible)

  • Single-hole punch

  • Newspaper

 

11. Differentiation Strategies:

This lesson was framed within a context of universal design for learning. Throughout the lesson, I will demonstrate the following differentiation tactics for students who need additional support: scaffolding, reiteration or interpretation, further explanation, and allow for alternative forms of participation. I will also have extensions prepared for students of high-ability.

Environment – Accommodate physical needs by allowing students to select their own choice of seating (chairs, rug, stools, etc.) during read-aloud time. May arrange larger craft areas for extra expressive students to move around but not make a mess. Play soothing instrumental Ukrainian background music for students with busy minds.  

Content – Can be altered to allow for student discussion and input relating to personal stories and family experiences. Explanations, direction, and question responses can be formulated up or down for students of ranging ability and interest.

Process – May alter expectations of personal folktale manifestation if students present alternative ideas or creative outlets.

Product – Expectation of student art is not defined or limited. Students may contribute their own mitten materials if interested.

Extensions – Allow students to explore a hard copy of the mentor text and second version written by Alvin Tresselt, for comparison. Encourage students to create two pieces of art if they have multiple stories they want to express (if time allows). Students who express an interest in writing their story can accompany their artwork with a written piece.   

 

Sequence of Activities:

12. Lesson Introduction/Set: (5 min)

Today I am going to play a video for you to watch. It is a short clip of some dancers from a distinct culture. Who knows what culture is? (Pause for a raise of hands) Culture is the characteristics of a particular group of people. A culture can be based on beliefs, arts, language, way of life, and more. As you watch this video, I want you to pay close attention to the characteristics of the people you see, and listen for clues that tell you about their culture. Video will be shown via computer/projector in front of class.

 

13. Communication of Learning Targets: (3 min)

I hope that you all enjoy the activities I have planned for us today, but I also hope that you will learn something new! I want you to notice some characteristics of Ukrainian culture, like you have just seen in the video we watched. I want you to know what the word folktale means by the end of our activities today. I know you will all have fun being creative during our art project, but I want you to give your art meaning – I want your art to represent a story. And finally, after you have completed your art projects, you are going to get to present your artwork to a few classmates and tell them how your chosen story influenced your piece. I will be writing the four learning targets on the whiteboard for students to see and refer back to throughout our lesson.

 

14. Learning Activities:

DAY 1:

a. Introduction (10 minutes)

  • Who here has read this story before? Teacher holds up The Mitten by Jan Brett. Oh wow, quite a few of you. This was one of my favorite books when I was your age. Since we are getting into a new season, I wanted to read a book about snow. Who knows what season we associate with snow? I don’t know about you, but I love the snow.

  • Remember the video we just watched about the Voloshky dancers? Who noticed some things about the dancers and their culture? What did the people in the video tell you about the dancers?

  • I will play a clip of the video for you again to help you remember.

  • Time for students to raise their hands and share characteristics of the Ukrainian dancers in the opening video (their colorful dresses, their hair, the announcer said that they were Ukrainian dancers, etc).

  • I will reiterate some of the answers students share, and add in any important facts about the Ukrainian dancers that students might have missed.

  • I think it is safe to say that clothing, dance, music, language, and love are all characteristics of the Ukrainian culture. These things make the culture special to the Ukrainian people because it connects them together, just like our culture here at school connects us together.

 

b. Storytime (15 minutes)

  • Now, as I read this story to you, I want to see if you guys can notice any similarities between the video and the illustrations in this book.

  • I will read The Mitten aloud to the class, pausing to interact with students when someone raises a hand to point out something they notice on the pages. If no student makes the connection between the clothing of the people in the video and the characters in the book, I will bring it up as a provocation.

  • In the beginning of the story, the grandmother is referred to as Baba. I want to use this opportunity to point something out to students: Baba, that is a word we don’t hear very often. Does anyone think they know what Baba means? Yes, it means grandma. Who thinks they know what language or culture Baba comes from? Yes, the word Baba is Ukrainian for grandmother. This must be a Ukrainian story.

  • Continue reading, pointing out Ukrainian characteristics in the clothing and in the mitten – Do you notice the kind of pants Nicki is wearing? I think I saw the male dancers in the video wearing the same thing! Did you know that many Ukrainian people used to be hunters and farmers? Can you guess what they used to make their mittens out of? Wool from sheep and fur from animals.

  • Finish reading the book and ask students how they liked it, and what their favorite parts were.

  • Remind students of the connections they made between the video and the book, and what this tells us about Ukrainian culture. Did you all learn something new already? Do you know more about another culture than you did before? Great!

 

c. Vocabulary Talk (5 min)

  • Does anyone know what kind of story this was? Allow time for a couple answers.

  • This story is what you call a folktale. Who here has heard of a folktale? Does anyone think they know what makes a folktale? A folktale is a story that is passed on through a culture, from person to person. Usually the stories are shared by word of mouth and not written down. In this case, there are many books written about the mitten, which is a Ukrainian folktale.

 

d. Folktale Brainstorm Session (10 min) 

  • Now that you guys know more about Ukrainian culture and folktales, I want you all to think of a story that someone in your family, or a friend, has told you about something that happened years ago. Maybe it is a story that our grandparents told your parents, and then they told you. Maybe it is a special story that you family shares on special holidays. This will be your personal folktale that you use for your art project.

  • I am going to give you all time to think about special stories you have been told. Talk with your peers for ideas. Write them down if you want to. And then tonight, I want you to go home and ask your family members to help you think of your folktale. It can be whatever you want, as long as it is real and not made up.

  • After allowing students time to brainstorm ideas, explain that they are going to be doing an art project that represents their folktale.

  • Provide students a handout explaining the project, which they will bring home and share with their parents. Encourage them to bring craft supplies (pictures, small glue-able items, material, etc.) that they want to include in their artwork.

  • Remember how the illustrations in the book looked like the designs on the dancers clothing in the video we watched? Those are forms of art influenced by a specific culture. I want you to think of your art projects as a way to tell your story.

 

DAY 2:

e. Art Activity (30 min)

  • I will re-introduce the lesson and remind students what we covered the previous class. Remind students about culture and folktales. Go over the learning targets we wrote on the whiteboard the day before.

  • Art materials (teacher provided) will be laid out on tables for students to use and explore during the activity.

  • At each seat, I have provided everyone one cardboard mitten that you will be decoupaging with your materials. Remember to pick your materials mindfully based on the story you are trying to tell. I have laid out mod-podge at each table group for you to glue your materials on to your mitten with. 

  • If any of you brought your own art materials, please go get them and find a seat to do your art project. Those of you who did not bring any art materials, don’t worry, I have brought in some extra things that you may use however you wish.

  • I will be walking around the room if any of you have questions, or need advice. I will also be giving you a countdown so you know how much time you have left to finish your art, because when you are done I am going to have you get into five groups to present your artwork to your classmates!

 

f. Presentations (30 min)

  • Spilt the class into 5 even groups. Each person in the group will have 5 minutes to talk about their artwork and show their groupmates. Set a timer and give 30-second warnings to each group of presenters, and then cue the next person to go.

  • This is when I will be walking around the room to assess whether students grasped the idea of influencing their artwork with their folktale. I will also be listening to see if anyone mentions that their art has to do with their culture.

 

g. Group Vocabulary Session (2 min)

  • Once students have all presented, get everyone’s attention and explain the vocabulary assignment.

  • In your groups, I want you to all talk amongst yourselves to come up with your own definition for folktale. You will have one minute to discuss and nominate one group member to tell your definition to the whole class.

 

15. Closure: (5 min)

I am going to bring students together on the carpet, and give those who want to share the opportunity to talk about someone’s art in their group (other than their own) that they thought told a good story. How did their materials add to their folktale? Do you feel like their artwork conveys parts of their culture like the dancers in the video or the illustrations in the book, and why? Allow time for simple compliments of other student’s work if this concept is too complex for everyone to grasp. I will point to each of the learning targets I wrote on the board the previous day, and ask students (as I move down the list) Did we accomplish this? What about this? Explaining the parts of the lesson that tied into each learning target. Reveal to the class that their artwork will be hung in classroom/hallway for everyone to see. Encourage students to go home and tell their family members a story that they heard in class today, because that is how folktales are spread and kept alive from generation to generation.

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