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Amelia
the Pigeon: Lesson 1 (3-4) Predicting Amelia's Story |
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Grade Level: 3-4 Time Estimation: Allow one class period of approximately 45 minutes. Students will:
Materials:
Grouping: |
About the Lesson Story Prediction - Students’ explore and illustrate places around their home. They build view of their neighborhood by pulling together drawings from the class/group. Using pictures of New York City, students predict Amelia’s story and create their own story of Amelia’s flight. Engage In the story, Maria wonders where Amelia goes. What if Amelia flew around the students' neighborhood. Brainstorm: Ask the students to think about where they live and what is around their house? (Stores, schools, parks, etc.) As students individually give their answers, record them on chart paper or the board for students to see. Explore Ask each group to draw pictures of places that are near their home or in their neighborhood. Each child in the group should draw a different place. They may choose to draw some they offered in the brainstorming session. Ask the children to "imagine they are a bird flying HIGH above a place. Draw a picture of what they would see looking DOWN at this place." (Careful not to lead the children. They may draw objects from the side. Just repeat and be encouraging about drawing what they think the bird would see) Have the students write a story using their drawings. If Amelia were to take a trip through their neighborhood, where would she go and who might she meet. Explain Have each group share their stories. Begin to tie each of the stories together to create a neighborhood or community. Place a piece of paper labeled "school" on a bulletin board or wall. Ask each student to place their drawing on the board in relation to the school. Children can offer input on where to put each picture. The school is beside the park. The store is a near the fire station. The houses form two lines as if they were on a street. Discuss places that more than one student drew. Are there stories different? Did they describe different people Amelia might meet. Optional. Use yarn on the bulletin board to show the path Amelia might fly in their neighborhood. Add a cut out or picture of a pigeon. Expand (second class period or homework) Look at some pictures of New York (post cards, magazine pictures, etc.) What places do the children see in the pictures? What places do they think Amelia would go when she leaves Maria’s house and flies around her neighborhood? With the students' input, post the pictues of places in New York Amelia might visit. Ask students to predict where Amelia might go in the story. As students to look at the story to see if they can find anything that is also on their mural. Have students write a paragraph describing three places Amelia might go and who she might meet. Evaluate What the students choose to draw of their own neighborhood will provide assessment of their grasp of neighborhood features. What the students choose to include on the mural of Maria’s neighborhood will provide a clearer understanding of a higher level of thinking by being able to connect their neighborhood to one of someone else’s and recognizing similar features in the story. Resources:
"As
the Crow Flies: A First Book of Maps", Gail Hartman Follow the Eagle. Follow the Rabbit. Follow the Crow. Follow the Horse and the Seagull. From the Mountains to the Sea follow the animals and each of their maps. At the end, the world is brought together with a map of the whole story. All maps and illustrations are from side or oblique views providing a concrete approach to a new perspective of looking at our world.
"My
New York", Kathy Jakobsen A young girl's tour of New York City with elaborate painting of places in the city from Skyscrapers to the Central Park Zoo. |
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