Third Grade Unit: Lesson 3 Historical Fiction

Detailed Descriptions and World War II

Ms. Delaney

Grade level: Third
Time required: 50 minutes

Materials:
Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochuzuki
Newspaper Article Template
Computer for playing music
Newspaper article example
Word Wall with new words (internment, detail, empathy)
Student folders
Explorer hat
World War II passport stickers
Explorer name tags
Behavior Management Plan
Camera for taking pictures
Website: http://amhistory.si.edu/perfectunion/experience/index.html (quick explanation of
Japanese Internment camps)

Common Core Standards:
Reading Literature:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text,
referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or
feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.6 Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or
those of the characters.
Writing:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey
ideas and information clearly.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.2b Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events
using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

Lesson Objectives:
1) Students will listen attentively and respond appropriately to the text.
2) Students will be able to describe a situation from the text after the read aloud using
descriptive words that are appropriate to the story.
3) Students will understand the importance of using detail in telling a story.
4) Students will understand and develop a sense of empathy for others by understanding
aspects of a Japanese internment camp.
5) Students will utilize detailed perspective in their writing.
Anticipatory Set:
Ask the students immediately to get out their folders and turn to a blank sheet of paper. Tell them
to imagine that they will be moving out of the state with their family. They have to pack all their
belongings. They will be given three minutes to write down as much as they can that they would
bring with them. After, I would say to them, now imagine that this was going to happen in the
next twenty minutes and you could only bring with you what you could carry in your arms. I
would explain that this was what Japanese Americans had to endure after the bombing at Pearl
Harbor when they were put into internment camps.

Step by Step Procedure:
1) I will go through the first few slides of the website on Japanese American internment
camps. I will ask the students to add internment camp to their word wall and explain that
these were areas fenced off with barbed wire and under strict guard, where Japanese
Americans were forced to stay for extended periods of time (show word card to add to
word wall). They were removed from their homes and could not take many personal
belongings with them.
2) I will tell the students that when reading about things like this, they may develop a sense
of empathy. I will ask if any one of the students know what empathy means. If they do, I
will have a student explain and clarify key points. If not, I will give the definition that it
is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. I will ask them to write this
word in the word wall (show notecard to help with spelling).
3) I will let the students know that today we will be reading a fictional story about a boy
named Shorty who was around their age in an internment camp during the time after
Pearl Harbor. The story is called Baseball Saved Us, by Ken Mochizuki. I will ask the
students what they think the title means and how it relates to internment camps. If
needed, I can prompt students with a situation like its a Sunday afternoon and they have
been extremely bored all weekend. Being cooped up in the house all weekend has been
very frustrating. They finally get an offer to go play baseball with some friends. Would
they say that baseball saved them from boredom?
4) Read the story and ask the students to pay attention to difficult aspects of life for Shorty
and his family, as well as how they think baseball saved them.
5) After reading, I will tell the students that as explorers, we sometimes must reveal what
we learned in unique ways to get the word out to all people. Well, we must become
journalists this afternoon in order to tell everyone what we have learned; we can become
story tellers to report our findings.
6) We will be writing about Shortys home run. I want you to think back to what happened
in the story. Do you remember details? Flip back to the pages where Shorty hit the home
run. Do a picture walk and ask the students to recall information.
7) I will then let the students know that they should write a newspaper article story about
Shortys home run. Tell them to include specific details, like a description of the baseball
field, or the events leading up to the home run. Remember, that we must make the story
appealing for others to read because then they will want to learn more. Have the students
write the word detail in their word walls and explain that this is incredibly important to
story-telling. It is what grabs a readers attention and holds it. If I wrote sentences like, I
played a basketball game. It was fun, would you be excited about reading more?
(Students respond) Now, if I included details like the tension in the cramped gymnasium
was so thick I was almost choking on it. Sweat was pouring down my face and my heart
was beating a mile a minute as the clock revealed that there were only ten seconds left in
the game. My team was utterly exhausted from being pushed and shoved and beaten for
sixty grueling minutes. We were behind one point as my teammate took the ball from the
referee and waited for the whistle to blow. Ask the students which version they liked
better and why. Explain that writing with more detail garners more interest and will hold
the readers attention. Students should strive to have plenty of necessary detail in their
own writing.
8) Show the students a sample article that I have created and give them a few lines that are
underlined to share details. Tell the students that those are just a few examples of what I
thought of the story, but they are free to go whatever direction they choose.

Independent Practice:
The students will write on the newspaper article template that I have provided in their folders. A
significant portion of the lesson will be devoted to the students writing their articles on Shortys
home run. I will provide help and guidance as needed, but this should be a quiet time where
students can write. I will let them know that they can brainstorm any ideas they have on a blank
sheet of paper in their explorer folders. I will also provide some ideas for descriptive words so
the students may use those if they would like.

Conclusion:
If there is time allotted, I would like a student or two to share their article if they would like to. I
will then tell the students that they have done a great job again today and they have earned
another sticker for their passports (internment camp). Glue those into their passports.

Assessment:
I will assess the students reaction and discussion of Japanese internment camps. I will assess the
students ability to write a descriptive, detailed account of Shortys home run or a significant
moment of their own. The student will be able to provide an accurate account from the book with
detail related to the topic.

Adaptations for Students with Diverse Needs:
I will place students who have difficulty seeing or hearing near me so they can see and hear more
clearly. I will allow students with behavioral issues the chance to help me and do various tasks
such as writing down the word wall words or gluing the stickers into their passports. Students
who have difficulty writing their stories will be given the opportunity to write about their own
sports experiences or orally tell me rather than utilize penmanship.