Lesson Planning Form for Accessible Instruction Calvin College Education Program

Teacher

Rachel Polikaitis

Date
November 20, 2015
______2nd____

Subject/ Topic/ Theme

Comparing and Contrasting Fables

Grade

I. Objectives
How does this lesson connect to the unit plan?
By comparing and contrasting fables, students are able to recognize what the moral of the story is and also determine character traits.
cognitiveR U Ap An E C*

Learners will be able to:

physical
development

socioemotional

R
U

Recognize what the moral of the story is

Compare and contrast two fables
Act out fables and read part of a fable out loud
Explain what the fable is about on their own

X
E

Common Core standards (or GLCEs if not available in Common Core) addressed:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding
of key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.2
Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central
message, lesson, or moral.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3
Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.6
Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when
reading dialogue aloud.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.5
Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and
the ending concludes the action.
(Note: Write as many as needed. Indicate taxonomy levels and connections to applicable national or state standards. If an objective applies to particular learners
write the name(s) of the learner(s) to whom it applies.)
*remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create

II. Before you start

Identify prerequisite
knowledge and skills.

Recognize and state the moral of the story. General understanding of how to act out stories.
Understand what it means by compare and contrast.
Pre-assessment (for learning):

Asking the question, what does it mean by compare and contrast. Also, asking why they think it may
be important to find similarities and differences between two fables.
Formative (for learning):

Outline assessment
activities
(applicable to this lesson)

Asking the students what do the stories have in common and what are some differences between the
two fables. Asking what the story was about and what they think the moral of the story is.
Formative (as learning):

Try to answer on their own what the moral of the fable is and what the fable was about. Trying to fill
out the venn diagram first before discussing it as a class.
Summative (of learning):
Having the students be able to fill out a venn diagram comparing and contrasting two fables.
Provide Multiple Means of
Representation

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Provide Multiple Means of

Action and Expression

Provide Multiple Means of

Engagement

Provide options for perceptionmaking information perceptible

By not only reading the fables to
them, but also having the students
act it out provides a new and
different perception of the fable.

What barriers might this

lesson present?
- Some students will not
feel comfortable
performing in front of
their classmates. The
students who do perform
may have difficulty
reading their lines.

Provide options for language,

mathematical expressions, and
symbols- clarify & connect
language
Letting the students read their part
of the fable when acting it out.
Making sure they can define
compare and contrast.

What will it take

neurodevelopmentally,
experientially,
emotionally, etc., for your
students to do this lesson?

Materials-what materials
(books, handouts, etc) do
you need for this lesson
and are they ready to use?

How will your classroom

be set up for this lesson?

Provide options for

comprehension- activate, apply &
highlight

Representing the fable in more

than one way. By reading the
fable and then acting it out.

Provide options for physical actionincrease options for interaction

Having the students act out the
fable. Having them first sit on the
floor to listen to the book, then act
it out. After they will go to their
seats to fill out the compare and
contrast worksheet.
Provide options for expression and
communication- increase medium
of expression
Acting out the two fables that I
read.

Provide options for executive

functions- coordinate short & long
term goals, monitor progress, and
modify strategies
Asking them questions about the
fables throughout the lesson.
Letting them first fill out the Venn
diagram and then going over it as a
class after.

Provide options for recruiting

interest- choice, relevance, value,
authenticity, minimize threats
Letting them decide what role they
want to play in the skit. Having the
students come up with the
similarities and differences that
they found between the two fables.
Provide options for sustaining effort
and persistence- optimize
challenge, collaboration, masteryoriented feedback
Letting them first fill out the Venn
diagram and then going over it as a
class after. Letting them collaborate
and work together to perform the
skit well.
Provide options for self-regulationexpectations, personal skills and
strategies, self-assessment &
reflection

Letting the students fill out the

Venn diagram first and then
providing a time to let them
share their answers with the
class, as well as, hearing what
other students wrote down.

- The book The Lion and the Mouse and The Dove and the Ant
- Compare and Contrast Venn Diagram worksheet
- Props for acting out the fable

Students will be on the carpet sitting in their rows. I will be in front of them and the students who act
out the stories will come to the front facing their classmates. When doing the Venn diagram
worksheet, students will be sitting at their desks that are grouped in four to six students.

III. The Plan

Time
2 min

1min

10min

2 min

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Components
Motivation
(opening/
introduction/
engagement)

Development
(the largest
component or
main body of
the lesson)

Describe teacher activities

AND
student activities
for each component of the lesson. Include important higher order thinking questions and/or
prompts.
Review with the students what are the key
Review what are the key components of a fable and
components of a fable and what is the definition of what is the definition of morals.
morals.
Explain that we will be reading two different
stories and see how they are similar and different.
Read the Lion and the Mouse. Choose two students
to come up and act it out while I read it the second
time. One student will act as the mouse and one
student will act as the lion.
Ask the students what the story was about and
what they think the moral of the story is. Write
what they said on the board.

Act out the fable the second time reading the fable.

Discuss what the fable was about and state the

moral of the fable.

10min

2min

Read the Dove and the Ant. Choose two students to

come up and act it out while I read it the second
time. One student will act as the dove and one
student will act as the ant.

Act out the fable the second time reading the fable

Ask the students what the story was about and

what they think the moral of the story is. Write
what they said on the board.

Discuss what the fable was about and state the

moral of the fable.

Have the students go back to their seats and hand

out the Venn Diagram worksheet.
5 min

3 min

Closure
(conclusion,
culmination,
wrap-up)

Fill out the worksheet on the elmo by having

students state the similarities and differences
between the two fables that we read/acted out.

Fill out the Venn Diagram worksheet and state

what the similarities and differences were between
the two fables.

Review what the moral of the fables were and what

we learned from the lesson.

State the moral of the fables were and what they

learned from the lesson.

Your reflection about the lesson, including evidence(s) of student learning and engagement, as well as ideas for improvement
for next time. (Write this after teaching the lesson, if you had a chance to teach it. If you did not teach this lesson, focus on the
process of preparing the lesson.)
My original plan for my lesson was to have my students act out the fables. However, while reading the fables out loud to the students
I thought that it may be too difficult for them. Firstly, the fables are short and have difficult vocabulary. Second, only one to two
students would be able to act out the fable in front of the class. I wondered if other students would get upset that they could not do it.
Also, I thought about how the characters in the fable don't do too much, therefore, how would my students be able to act it out.
Therefore right before teaching my lesson, I decided to make an adjustment. Since my students loved when I showed a video of the
fable, I thought I could incorporate that into my lesson. So I began my lesson by having my students close their eyes and imagine the
fable I was reading to them. I found that the vocabulary in the fables I read was too difficult for them and I had to continually explain
to them what words meant. Therefore, I should have chosen a version that matched their reading levels. After we talked about the
fable and what they imagined, we watched the video and discussed the similarities and differences they had from their imagination
and how the video depicted the fable. This turned out very well and my students seemed very excited and engaged. After we went
over the Venn diagram worksheet. I believe that my pace was good and by walking around the classroom, I was able to see where my
students were at before continuing. However, one thing that I would change in my lesson would be how I wrote my students answers
on the worksheet. For similarities, I would write both fables , instead of just writing setting was outside. Making it wordier,
made it more difficult for my English language learners to write down. Even though I was unable to do my original lesson, I think it
turned out well. However, in the future I would like to teach my original lesson and would have to find simpler fables and ones that
they can act out easily.

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