Kelsey Jurewicz

Term 4 Integrated Curriculum Unit

Lesson Plan III
Integrated Social Studies and Literacy Lesson: Nigerian Proverbs and Fables
Location:
Grade:
Duration:
Anticipated Date/Time:

Powel Elementary School

Third grade
60 minutes
Monday, March 14th, 11:30am 12:00pm
Tuesday, March 15th, 2:30pm 3:00pm

Goals and Objectives

Essential Question(s):
What and how can we learn about another culture?
Relevant Unit-Long Understanding Goal(s):
Students will understand how to gather information from text and use it to construct
their own informational writing.
Students will understand how elements of a culture reflect what is valued and
important in that culture.
Content Objectives:
Students will be able to
use details in a text (fable or proverb) to identify the central message, lesson or moral.
articulate how the message is conveyed through the text.
compare and contrast Nigerian and U.S. proverbs
make inferences about Nigerian culture based on details or themes in a text.
Standards
Social Studies, PA SAS
- 7.3.3.A. Identify the human characteristics of places and regions using the following
criteria: population, culture, settlement, economic activities, political activities.
- 8.4.3.A. Identify the elements of culture and ethnicity.
- 8.4.3.C. Compare and contrast selected world cultures.
- 8.4.3.B. Identify the importance of artifacts and sites to different cultures and ethnicities.
Literacy, Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2. Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths
from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it
is conveyed through key details in the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.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.RI.3.2. Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key

details and explain how they support the main idea.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.2. Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a
text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually,
quantitatively, and orally.

Materials

Promethean board [technology requirement]

Laptop
Proverbs PowerPoint
Flocabulary video, African Proverbs [technology requirement]
The Girl Who Married a Ghost (and other tales from Nigeria) by Ifeoma Onyefulu
25 copies of Nigerian and U.S. proverbs handout
25 proverbs exit slips
25 copies of Nigerian fable, The Famine (from The Girl Who Married a Ghost)
Ongoing, class-generated KWL chart about Nigeria

Classroom Arrangement and Management

Arrangement and materials: On Day 1 of the lesson, students will be seated at their desks
(arranged in three tables) for the duration of the lesson. I will ask paper helpers to hand out
papers as needed. Pencils will already be at their tables. The second day of the lesson will take
place at the carpet. At the start of the lesson, I will pass out copies of the fable and then dismiss
tables one at a time back to the carpet. Students know to sit in five rows of five. Students will not
need any materials other than the fable handout.
Management: Since the format of the first days lesson is familiar to students, I do not
anticipate any specific management problems. As always, staying consistent with the norms and
procedures established by my CM will help to keep management issues to a minimum. The
primary concern with this group of students is off-task talking, which I will mitigate by
circulating the room throughout the lesson (proximity helps keeps students on-task) and
explicitly reminding students of the behavioral norms and expectations at the start of the lesson.
For the second day of this lesson, we will be at the carpet. The carpet does pose a
distraction to some students due to the proximity to other students. I will try to lessen this
distraction, as my CM does, by asking these students to sit in the front row. Proximity to the
teacher, as well as less people surrounding them, should help them to stay focused and on-task.
Plan
Task (60 minutes total)
Read and interpret Nigerian proverbs and fables.
Before task (2 minutes)
Establish norms
o Remind students of the behavioral expectationsfollow directions, stay on-task,
raise your hand, respect others and their thoughts.

Part I (25 minutes)

Proverbs lesson using PowerPoint
o Ask paper helpers to pass out proverbs handout (for note-taking)
o Lesson introduction notes:
As we grow up, we learn much about life from the people around us. They
can teach us what the world is like, how to be a good person, and give us
advice. One way these ideas are passed along is through oral traditions
stories and sayings that are passed down from generation to generation.
Proverbs are one type of oral tradition. Proverbs are common sayings.
Different cultures and languages sometimes have very similar proverbs.
For example, in the United States, people say, many hands make light
work. The African proverb, two ants do not fail to pull one
grasshopper, has a similar meaningboth talk about the benefit of
teamwork. Another African proverb, as a crab walks, so walk its
children is very similar to the saying in the U.S., like father like son.
o Give students some examples of common English proverbs that they will
probably be familiar with (select a few from this list):
Two wrongs dont make a right.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
Theres no place like home.
A watched pot never boils.
Practice makes perfect.
A penny saved is a penny earned.
Good things come to those who wait.
The grass is always greener on the other side.
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
Honesty is the best policy.
You can lead a horse to water, but you cant make him drink.
Dont judge a book by its cover.
You cant have your cake and eat it too.
If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.
Beggars cant be choosers.
Better late than never.
Rome wasnt built in a day.
Its better to be safe than sorry.
Dont bite the hand that feeds you.
Dont bite off more than you can chew.
o Have students turn and talk about the meaning of some of these proverbs.
o Can students think of any other English proverbs they know?

o What do these proverbs tell us about English-speaking cultures? Can they help us
to understand the way Americans think about the world?
o Show Flocabulary video, African Proverbs
Ask students to interpret the African proverbs from the video (proverbs
from the video are listed on the handout)What does each mean? What
do they tell us about Nigerian culture? Are there plants or animals
mentioned in the proverbs that can give us clues about what Nigeria is
like? Can we make any inferences about what the people of Nigeria
value? Which proverb do you think gives the best advice? Are there any
English proverbs we can think of that have similar (or contradicting)
messages?
o Give out proverbs exit slip, which asks students to choose a message/lesson that
they think would be relevant for themselves and their classmates and create a
proverb to go along with it. Note: this exit slip will not be graded; it is a formative
assessment of students understanding of proverbs and ability to apply them to
their own lives.
Part II (25 minutes)
Fables lesson
o Remind students of norms and behavioral expectations.
o Hand out a copy of the fable for todays lesson to each student.
o Dismiss students one table at a time to move to the carpet.
o Lesson introduction notes:
Fables are another type of oral tradition. A fable is a short tale that teaches
something about life. Many fables use animal characters to act out a
simple lesson. Like proverbs, fables are often passed down from
generation to generation. Every fable has a moral. A moral is like a
proverb because it tells what the story should teach youit is giving you a
piece of advice. Is anyone familiar with the fable, The Hare and the
Tortoise? (Ask someone to summarize the fable). What moral/advice is
given in that fable? (slow and steady wins the race).
o Ask students to follow along as I read the Nigerian fable, The Famine
Stop periodically to ask comprehension questions and engage students in
active reading strategiesmaking predictions and inferences, using
context clues to decode unfamiliar words.
Encourage students to follow along as I read aloud.
o When I am finished reading, have students turn and talk about various discussion
questions.
What do you think the moral of the story waswhat lesson is being
taught? (You mustnt be greedy. Share what you have with others,
especially those who have none).
What can we learn about Nigerian culture from reading this fable? What
values are important to the people of Nigeria?
Why do you think fables usually use animal characters?

Close (5 minutes)
Ask students to think about some things they have learned about Nigeria over the past
two days. Add some of these ideas to our ongoing KWL chart.
Tell students that tomorrow we will start on a new writing project involving proverbs and
fables.
Assessment of goals and objectives
Formal assessment (evaluated formatively): exit slip
Were students able to identify an important message/lesson that has relevance to
themselves and their peers?
Were students able to create a proverb that fits with the message/lesson they articulated?
Informal assessment: class discussion
Are students able to determine the central message of a proverb or fable?
Can students use the text to make inferences about Nigerian culture?
Can students compare and contrast these elements of Nigerian and U.S. culture?
Did students participate in the class discussion? (whether through turn and talk or sharing
out)
Anticipating students responses
Students may have a hard time, at first, determining the message or lesson of proverbs and
fables. My CM often utilizes an I do, we do, you do model, which I think would be helpful in
this situation. I will model how to think about what the proverb or fable is telling me, citing
details from the text that inform my thinking. Then we will interpret some examples as a group
before students are asked to do this on their own (through the exit slip).
Accommodations
There are several students in my class who have IEPs for varying visual and auditory disabilities.
These students seat assignments (in the front of the room, facing the whiteboard/Promethean
board) were made with these considerations in mind, and as such, provide the necessary
accommodations for them to engage with the lesson. Furthermore, these students know to sit in
the front row when instruction takes place at the carpet.
I will also be providing students with a copy of the fable that I will be reading aloud. Students
will be able to follow along if theyd like, which should make the activity more accessible to
students of multiple intelligences.