University of Idaho Lesson Plan

Name
Felicia Beehner

Date 9/16/2016

Subject: Social Studies and Language

Arts, 5th grade

Topic: A Samurais Tale: summarizing

text and analyzing culture

The big idea(s) or essential question(s)

What can we learn about ourselves by studying cultures other than our own?
State of Idaho and/or common core standards addressed:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.2
Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media
and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and
phrases based on grade 5 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range
of strategies.
Objectives: Learn more about an unfamiliar culture to establish background
knowledge before beginning A Samurais Tale. Students will learn about
unfamiliar cultural words through listening, speaking, and writing. They should
also be able to summarize the work of other students as well.
TSWBAT

Prepare to read A Samurais Tale by Erik Christian Haugasrd by

learning more about Japan and their unfamiliar vocabulary.
Students will be able to effectively present a scene they have
written in groups and summarize the information from the
other students scenes.

Materials and/or technology

Book: A Samurais Tale by Erik Christian Haugaard
Paper for script
YouTube video
The vocab list and presentation handouts
Activities/procedures (include anticipated time for each)
Introduction/activator
Have you ever been talking to a friend about one of their interests and they
throw lots of strange terms at you? When my friend talks about football and I
hear blind side, halfback, and I-formation, its almost like they are speaking a
different language. I dont want you to feel like that even with a different
language, so we are going to explore some unfamiliar terms to help better
understand the Japanese expressions in A Samurais Tale.

*I think this lesson would be at the beginning of this rather long unit. I would
use this lesson as an introductory lesson before beginning to read A Samurais
Tale.
Class activities (what you/students will do)
Activity 1: I will briefly talk about
Japan and their language of Japanese.
I will ask if any students know any
Japanese terms. I will show a short
clip on modern Japan called Journey
between Tradition and Modern Life
which I have put in my resources at
the end. (15 minutes)

Class activities (why you will do them)

Activity 1: I need to know my
students prior understanding of
Japanese terms, if they have any. I
want to show the video since its
exciting and will get students
motivated to learn more about Japan. I
also need to give them an idea of what
Japan looks like today so that they
have an idea to compare feudal Japan
to.

I will go over how to pronounce vowels

in Japanese, since the book contains
many Japanese names, titles, and
places. I will reference a pronunciation
guide that Ill link at the end. (10
minutes)

These words have unfamiliar

pronunciations compared to English, so
students need a basic understanding of
how to pronounce them. Hearing them
pronounced and also being able to see
how they are spelled will help with
confusion.

I will hand out a short vocab list of

Japanese terms. In groups of 2-3,
students will write out a scene using at
least 6 terms from their list. The scene
will be decided as a group, but each
student needs to write it down.
Students will each need a character
role. So a group of 3 would need 3
characters. If students finish early,
they can begin to practice their lines. I
would like students to
underline/highlight their vocab use.
(25-30 minutes)

Students needs some beginning

practice reading, writing, and speaking
with these unfamiliar terms. The list
will help visually and to organize
student thoughts. Students are working
together, but they each need to write it
down so that they get practice writing
the words and I can assess their
understanding. Each student needs a
character to be so that everyone will
participate in presenting.

Students will present their scenes,

which should be 2-3 minutes each.
They will go to the front of the
classroom with their group and act
out/read their scene. A worksheet will
be passed out for students to fill out
during each presentation, and I
included it at the end of this lesson.

Students will get a chance to speak

using unfamiliar words, and practice
their presentation skills. The worksheet
is to make sure the audience is
listening and paying attention to the
presenters, get more practice with the
words, and practice summarizing
spoken information.

(30 minutes)
Closure/reminders
Remember to keep this list handy when we are reading A Samurais Tale
because we will see all of these words throughout this unit.
Assessment (how you will know students met the objectives - include rubrics)
For activity 1: Students will be assessed on their group participation and
presentation, as well as the script they wrote. I will check the script for the
use of terms as well as grammar use. I will also check that the presentation
worksheet is filled out with accurate summaries.
Accommodations/differentiation
Students have a choice of scene, so if students finish really early, they can add
more to it or practice for presenting. Students can write about the setting of
their scene if they finish early too. If other students are taking more time, these
students have something to do. If groups are still struggling with an idea after a
few minutes, I will provide a list of examples or topics to choose from.
Reflection/evaluation (after lesson is taught)
I havent taught this lesson, but I enjoyed planning out different ideas.
Resources I used:
Vocab list- https://sites.google.com/site/mrsskeltonroom24/home/coreliterature/the-samurai-s-tale/vocabulary-guide
Journey between Tradition and Modern Life videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp0kNjthFNQ

Name:___________________________Date:__________________
Group
#

What are some words from our list you

heard?

In 1-2 sentences, what is happening during the scene?