Story Mapping The Golden Touch

1.7 Formative and Summative Assessment:

Formative: At the stopping point of the first page, are the students able to
find the important information that has been mentioned thus far? If the
students are having a hard time weeding through the text to find information
the teacher should provide mediation and support to the students. In
addition, the teacher should create more stopping points on the second page
so the story is broken into smaller chunks, which provides better chance of
success for the students.
Summative: The teacher will note the depth of the conversation had after
reading. Were the students thinking critically about each component being
searched? Did the teacher need to provide a lot of guidance toward the
correct answer? The teacher will also collect the story maps. Is the student
finding another theme besides the one directly stated in the text?
1.1 Integration of Learning Outcomes:
Students will identify and explain each story element of The Golden Touch in the form of a story map.
1.2 Standards:
CC.1.3.4.A Determine a theme of a text from details in the text; summarize the text.
CC.1.3.4.C Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details
in the text.
1.3 Anticipatory Set:
Have individual students come up to the SmartBoard where there is a story map on the screen and fill out
this story map with the key elements from a myth the class read last week, the Myth of Cupid and Psyche
with the assistance from the rest of the class. Today class we are going to read a new myth, The Golden
Touch. Ms. Smith, Ms. O and I are going to break the class into small groups and we are going to read the
story and complete our own written story maps on this story while we read.
1.4 Procedures:
Before: Remind the students that it is helpful to mark up the text. In the case of this lesson, the students
should be focusing on finding the components of the map. As we read The Golden Touch, remember to
focus on finding the different components of a story- the title, characters, the problem and solution, the
theme, and any important events from the story.
During: Have the students switch off reading each paragraph of the story. At the end of the first page, What
have we learned about the story thus far? (Met characters King Midas and Marigold, Silenus and the god
Dionysus; an important event is that Midas was generous to Dionysus servant and Dionysus wanted to
reward this good behavior).
After: Does anyone have any initial thoughts or questions after finishing the story? Answer any confusion
and address any comments then, have a discussion about the story: who are the most important characters,

what is the problem of the story, how is it resolved, what other events transpired that led to the problem and
the solution, what is the theme or moral of the myth. Students fill out the map as the discussion is
happening. Reiterate, Using this story map helped me recall the different components of The Golden
Touch and will help me remember the important details in the future.
1.5 Differentiation:
There are several students in the class that are currently reading the Percy Jackson series and have a lot of
background information on Greek mythology. I would ask additional questions to access this background
knowledge, like Dionysus is the god of what? (god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual
madness, fertility, theatre and religious ecstasy) Does this myth have similar themes to any you have
read? Have you read many other myths involving Dionysus? This allows the students to feel like experts
on the subject and make more text to test connections.
1.6 Closure:
These elements of a story are important factors to find in every narrative piece that is read. Consider when
reading other stories whether for leisure or school these aspects of a story, can you identify all these
components? It does not even have to be written down, keeping track in your head helps to have the best
possible understanding of the story. What could you easily write now that you have this story map? The
students should say a summary.
1.8 Materials
Unknown. (n.d.) The Golden Touch. Retrieved from readinga-z.com (copy for each student)
Story Map Worksheet (per student)
1.9 Technology
The students are going to complete the story map for Cupid and Psyche on the SmartBoard. Since this is a
new strategy to build reading comprehension it is important to have mediation from the beginning of the
lesson to the end. This is why the whole class is doing the story map for Cupid and Psyche all together.
This allows for the teacher to see how well the students can already complete the strategy and what parts
need to be emphasized more than others. The SmartBoard is in a large central position in the classroom so
all the students can see and work together on this activity.
2.0 Reflection on Planning
How did you select your teaching activities and materials? My teacher had selected the materials and
activities for the lesson. This rendition of the myth is from readinga-z.com. The class is currently in a
mythology unit and the lesson was apart of that unit.
What professional resources helped you plan the lesson? I had a couple of brief conversations with
Madison, my co-teacher, on thoughts on the lesson and what we should do to streamline instruction. I also
used Wiesendanger for some ideas on how to best implement the story map.
How did you consider the students assessment needs when planning your lesson? The point of this lesson
was to teach the students a new way to organize a story to help retain all the information and events. I was
not concerned about how to teach the students about the Midas touch. This is not something that can be
utilized often. The strategy of a story map is much more universal; this became the importance of the
lesson. So when I was considering how to assess the students it became more about how the students
applied the story to the map. I wanted to see the student use their deduction skills to find the important
events and characters. So all the questions during the story were geared to the students showing their ability
to find the critical points of the story. Then after I collect the story maps I am seeing if the students were

able to use the tool correctly instead of testing the accuracy of their writings to the story.
How did you collaborate with your mentor teacher? I collaborated with my teacher on what to do the
lesson on. We discussed the extent to which the students were familiar with this strategy. There was also a
discussion on how my professor was to observe the two of us parallel teaching at the same time. We
decided to rotate instead of teaching simultaneously. I also collaborated with Madison a fair bit to make
sure we emphasized the same thing. We discussed potential questions during the reading and discussion
with the students.
Since Madison and I are parallel co-teaching this lesson it is set up to be in small groups. The small group
lends to better discussion of the text and themes. The map provides the students with a simple resource to
help the student discern the important aspects of each story they are reading. This map is easy for the
student to recreate for another novel or narrative piece that may be giving the child some trouble. The map
is a great way to remind the students while reading what they are looking for. The fun part of the lesson is
that the students are currently really interested in Greek mythology so the discussion of the text will be
enthusiastic and intelligent because the students have some knowledge going in on the subject.
2.1 Reflection on Instruction
What went well? The children in my small group were very talkative. The students were very thoughtful in
all their responses. I tried my best to engage myself fully with the students but I was rather worried about
finishing by eleven oclock. The students also tried to answer questions even if they were not sure if they
were correct. Students boldly tried to define courteous, and were almost correct, I was quite proud of their
boldness. Even with only twenty minutes to complete my lesson, I did a great job amending the lesson to
the time constraint and was done by 11 oclock.
Were the objectives met (what evidence do you have that learning occurred)? The students were completely
engaged in the discussion. They were not only asking questions to correct any confusion they may have
had, but they were also asking inferential questions about the story. A lot of time the students were filling
out their story maps then discussing what they had written down instead of verifying with the group first if
they were on the right track. Once again, this proved my groups boldness and understanding of the topic
and implementation of the tool. A follow-up lesson done individually after the reading was to write a
summary. I read each of my students summaries and they were able to take all the information compiled on
the map and apply it to the summary. This transposition of information assures me that the students are able
to use this strategy effectively.
Was your assessment of the students adequate and informative? The crux of my assessment was
observation of the discussion- the questions and comments the students were making. Ellery even expresses
how questions help students to pinpoint issues and find the meaning or purpose of the text (2009, p. 197).
For the structure of the lesson this was an adequate form of assessment. What makes discussion a strong
form of assessment is that the students dont feel like they are being evaluated in addition to not feeling
constricted to what they can write down. The danger of discussion being the main form of assessment is
that some students are going to show their knowledge or lack thereof clearly while other students may not.
For my small group this was not an issue, I was able to gage each students clarity on the use of the map.
After looking at each students map I was able to see the level of thoroughness from each child. Some
students had more events or characters than others, but each of my students had used the strategy
effectively and with ease.
What would you change? How could this lesson be improved? Well I had to change my lesson due to time
constraints. I had to cut my whole anticipatory set. I would ideally like to place this portion back in my
lesson, especially if I was not working with a higher-level classroom and thought the students need more
scaffolding. Once again if I knew that my students were not as advanced as my students I would not have
them read aloud in the small group but rather read with a partner or silently. For these students it was not a
problem and did not impede their comprehension.
2.2 Citations

Ellery, V. (2009). Creating Strategic Readers (Second ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading
Association.