I chose this book and online story because they have great illustrations and are at the 2nd grade level. It is also a version of a fable, “Town Mouse and Country Mouse”. This literature is considered classic literature and should be read as a basis for general knowledge. Compareing and contrasting versions of the same story by different authors allows students to examine the approaches that an author takes toward a story (RL.2.9). This builds content literacy and creates close readers that can evaluate the authors' purpose and theme of the story.
I have demonstrated how to summarize with this organizer in several lessons before. These lessons include Summarize and Make a Movie and Summarize and Make a Scene.
Underlined words below are lesson vocabulary words that are emphasized and written on sentence strips for my Reading & Writing word wall. I pull off the words off the wall for each lesson, helping students understand this key 'reading and writing' vocabulary can be generalized across texts and topics. The focus on acquiring and using these words is part of a shift in the Common Core Standards towards building students’ academic vocabulary. My words are color coded ‘pink’ for literature/’blue’ for reading strategies/’orange’ for informational text/'yellow' for writing/’green’ for all other words)
Bring students to a common point to start learning
Engage students
Discuss strategy
Demonstrate how to use the strategy
*I chose to demonstrate the organizer with the movie version of the fable. It's harder to summarize a movie because you can't go back and check evidence or refresh a memory of what happened. The students will be using a story and I'll encourage them to think about what they saw and spend a moment looking back through the pages to refresh their memory.
Explain the task
Students complete the task
** If this is the first time your students have done this kind of summary, prompt more. I like this organizer because it's very clear and limits the language needed to summarize, but kids still may need help finding the key details.
Summarizing is a difficult skill for many students to master. Then tend to want to retell details or share personal information. This organizer is clear and simple and encourages them to focus on the main story elements, creating a nice summary. It allows them to recount this fable and determine the central message. (RL.2.2) Using fables in the lesson allows for the kids to use stories that are considered general knowledge to practice skill. These fables tend to more complex text that the Common Core Standards ask students to read and comprehend.
Compare and Contrast
Explain the project to students
Students are set to task
Scaffolding and Special Education: This lesson could be easily scaffolded up or down, depending on student ability.
For students with academic challenges, the reading difficulty is minimized because I read the book to students. They may need to work with a partner or use prompts on a slate at their desk. The poster art should be easier, but just check in with them to see if they can support their opinions.
For students with greater ability, I would expect better ideas for the retelling portion. Instead of 1-2 word answers, challenge them to bolster the vocabulary (‘he missed his old life’ v ‘he wanted to go home’.) I would also see if they can truly support their opinions with stronger evidence. For those that choose the city, perhaps they could comment on the cool ‘sights’ or ‘exciting opportunities.’