Lesson Sweetest Kulu Grade Level 1

Subject Literacy Time Frame 4-5 days; ~1 hour per day

Developed By Andie Gingrich

Learning Outcomes: What relevant goals will this unit address?

1.1 - Discover and Explore

Express ideas and develop understanding:
• share personal experiences that are clearly related to oral, print, and other media texts.
Experiment with language and forms:
• experiment with different ways of exploring and developing stories, ideas, and experiences.

2.2 - Respond to Texts

Construct meaning from text:
• tell what is liked or disliked about oral, print, and other media texts.

2.4 - Create Original Text

Generate ideas:
• generate and contribute ideas for individual or group oral, print, and other media texts.

3.1 - Plan and focus

Focus attention:
• explore and share own ideas on topics of discussion and study.

3.4 - Share and Review

Share ideas and information:
• share ideas and information from oral, print, and other media with familiar audiences.
• answer questions directly related to texts.

4.1 - Enhance and Improve

Appraise own and others’ work:
• ask or respond to questions or comments related to the content of own or others’ pictures,
stories or talk.
Enhance artistry:
• use words and pictures to add sensory detail in oral, print, and other media texts.

4.3 - Present and Share

Present information:
• present ideas and information to a familiar audience, and respond to questions.
Enhance presentation:
• add such details as labels, captions, and pictures to oral, print, and other media texts.
Demonstrate attentive listening and viewing:
• ask questions to clarify information.
• be attentive and show interest during listening or viewing activities.

5.1 - Respect Others and Strengthen Community:

Appreciate diversity:
• share personal experiences and family traditions related to oral, print, and other media
texts.

Essential Questions: What provocative questions will foster inquiry into the content?
What are the special characteristics we possess?

How did Kulu get his special traits in the story?

Stage 1: Desired Results

General
Learning See above
Outcome(s)

Specific
Learning See above
Outcome(s)

Students will…
• Select and share a novel trait they perceive in themselves
• We will share both in discussion during the beginning and by displaying
their art on the bulletin board in the halls.
• Communicate verbally what they liked and disliked about the text.
Learning • Respond to questions/comments during group discussions related to the
Objective(s) text.
• Respond to questions about their own content/project.
• Contribute and generate ideas related to the text.
• Represent their idea visually and through writing, using detail and labels.
• Demonstrate respect (by being attentive) and appreciation for diversity
during class discussion.

Stage 2: Assessment Evidence

• Conversations during class/individually

Summative Formative • Their rough drafts in their big beautiful
1. None
Assessment Assessment journals
• Their finished copies
 Stage 3: Learning Experience
• Book: Sweetest Kulu by Celina Kalluk
• Main text
• Potential relaxing music for
• Example rough drafts
work periods:
• For student rough drafts:
• https://www.youtube.com/
• Big beautiful journals, pencil,
watch?v=ejic-rCdwrI
eraser, and pencil crayons.
• https://www.youtube.com/
• Book: Sky Color by Peter H.
watch?v=Eo9qB-vqSiQ
Reynolds
• https://www.youtube.com/
Tech Resource • Intro for water colour painting
watch?
to Do s to Bring • For water colour painting:
v=TRJkxG2GTjw&list=PLNo
• Water colour paper, water colour
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paints, paint brushes, and cups for
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water.
• https://www.youtube.com/
• Example finished copy
watch?v=PgV-z7Q2t5U
• For finishing the good copy:
• Last two have videos
• Glue sticks, pencils, permanent
(might distract)
markers, cloud cut outs for their
good copies.

Time Content/Description Notes

 Reading Sweetest Kulu by Celina Kalluk:
• Pre-reading activity:
• Activate prior knowledge: What do students know about
animals in the arctic? What are some animals that live in the
arctic? What people live in the arctic?
• Preview the book: What can we predict about the book
based on the cover? Who is in the story? What do we think
the story will be about? Who is Kulu? What happens to Kulu
in the story? - SOUND OUT TITLE WITH STUDENTS
• Reading activity:
• Listening to the text read aloud
• MAKE SURE TO DEFINE/EXPLAIN NEW VOCABULARY
WHILE READING
• Responding activity:
• Grand conversation:
• What special qualities did the animals give Kulu? Can you
remember some examples?
• What special qualities do you have? I want you to think
beyond things you can do (ex. running fast). Are you
patient? Are you kind? Are you friendly? Are you gentle?
Are you caring? - Give students a silent moment to think
about this.
• Exploring activity:
• Make connections to personal experiences: If you had a
special guardian animal that gave you a special trait, what Let them
animal would it be? What trait does your special animal give grab
Day 1 you? snacks to
• Identify memorable quotes: Use the example from Sweetest eat while
Draft Day 1 Kulu and my personal examples to model thinking. they
• Expanding activity: work at
• Construct project: Explain what we will be doing (below). 10:25

Explain activity:
• Today and tomorrow we will be working on our rough drafts in
our Big Beautiful Journals. You will start by drawing a cloud -
demonstrate on flip chart, draw the coil of the book at the top of
the page - on the left of your paper in your Big Beautiful
Journals. Make it big, you will draw your animal inside of it.
• Then you will copy the writing on the board that says “Sweetest
___Your name here___”. This will be your own version of
Sweetest Kulu.
• Below your name you will draw the animal you have picked.
• LET STUDENTS COMPLETE THIS - Chunking instructions
• On the right you will copy down some writing from the board. It
says “My ___(Animal name here)___ gives me ___(trait
here)____.” - Can have them help my sound it out and use “kid
writing”.
• Show my Kulu sample of my rough drafts. Talk about how if
Kulu was doing our project this is what his rough draft might
look like.
• Show my personal rough draft. Explain about Vida and Bond
and how I choose to use a real example of two animals in my
life because they are so sweet and kind and I am kind.
• They can choose a real animal in their life or an imagined
one.
 Continue working on the rough draft:
Part 1 - On the carpet
• Review concept of story
• See what they remember about the story
• Brainstorm ideas of traits on chart paper
• Give them a quiet moment to think about it
• Needs to be close to their hearts
• Brainstorm animals that could be this trait on the chart paper
• Show them how to do their rough draft - REMIND THEM
ABOUT THE ORIENTATION OF THE BIG BEAUTIFUL
JOURNALS - coil up
• Draw the cloud again with them watching on the chart paper
• Write “Sweetest Miss Gingrich” in the cloud - SOUND OUT Let them
SWEETEST grab
Day 2 • Draw the animal while they watch on the chart paper snacks to
Release the students to go do their cloud and animal in the big eat while
Draft Day 2 beautiful journals they
work at
Transition to and from the carpet using the quiet table 10:25
groups by table groups strategy

Part 2 - Back to the carpet

• Now we will move on to the writing part
• On the flip chart model how to sound out the sentence “My
____(Animal)____ give me ____(Trait)_____.” - WRITE THE
SENTENCE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE PAPER
• Write with them sounding out the words
Release the students to go write on their rough drafts.

** This part of the lesson plan was adapted after Day 1 to clarify
some confusion from the students.

Working on the finished nice copy cloud:

• Will need: good copy cut out clouds, pencils, erasers, sharpies,
pencil crayons…


On the carpet go over the expectations for the clouds.
Let them
• Students will get a short review of the cloud expectations:
grab
Day 3 • Each student will be given only one cloud cut out, so they must
snacks to
take their time and be neat with their drawing and colouring.
eat while
Good copy • Go over the writing that happens inside of the cloud “Sweetest
they
cloud day 1 Miss Gingrich” - Model making the finished cloud copy on the
work at
flip chart paper.
10:25
• What two things should go on the cloud? Answer; the
animal and the words “Sweetest ___(name)___”
• Make sure to hand out the students Big Beautiful Journals
before so they can look at their rough draft as they do their
good copy clouds.
 Let them
grab
Day 4
Friday Literacy Catch Up day! snacks to
• Finish up good copy clouds (instructions above), finish writing eat while
Good copy
for Lila and the Crow, finish up Heart Stories. they
cloud day 2
work at
10:25

Reading Sky Color by Peter H. Reynolds:

• This is an activity to lead into the water colour painting activity
and therefore will need to be a fast read through.
• Challenge the students to NOT USE BLUE IN THEIR SKY.
• Students are NOT ALLOWED to use black.

Painting their sky:

• Will need: paints, water colour paper, cups for water, brushes,
and place mats.
• Remind students of painting technique:
• Students will only be given one page of water colour
paper!!! END AT
• Just tickle the paper with the paint brush (don’t push too 10:25
Day 5 hard on the paper) FOR
• Too much water will cause the paper to rip and have a SNACK -
Painting water hole. CANNOT
color paint for • You need to make a puddle in the puck of water colour SNACK
background paint. WHILE
• When you need to get water off of your paint brush, press THEY
it against the side of the water container. PAINT
• Start with light colours because it won’t work to add light
colours over dark colours. The more colours you add, the
more it will look like brown.

After painting instructions:

• When you have finished painting tell an adult and they will put it
on the drying rack.
• Students will wash out their paint brush and place it in the black
bucket by the sink.
• When you are done painting, students will quiet read on the
carpet.

We will start on the carpet to review what the sentence will

say and where it will go on their page. Hold up some student Let them
Day 6
examples because not all clouds are glued in the same grab
place. snacks to
Finishing the
eat while
project -
Students will get their paper with the cloud glued onto it and they
writing on the
the will start by writing in pencil. Once an adult has checked work at
paper
their work, they can grab a think black sharpie to go over 10:25
their words.