Alaska Native stories: Using narrative to introduce expository text
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=129
A lesson plan for Grade 5 English Language Arts
About this resource
- Appropriate grades
- 5
- Subjects
- English language arts (debate, literature, reading, speech), thinking skills (information literacy)
- Provider
- IRA/NCTE
Legal
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Students debate the role of narrative text versus expository text to provide information on animal species. After students make a KWLQ chart about sandhill cranes, they listen to John Active tell the Yu’pik tale, “Crane and His Blue Eyes”. The teacher engages students in a discussion about the story elements, including characterization, conflict, and prediction. In the next session, students research cranes using the International Crane Foundation website. Then students write a report on a specific crane’s body type, food, habitat, coloring, and migration habits. Then, in two groups, students debate the benefits of narrative text versus expository text, highlighting four benefits and creating a poster to illustrate these characteristics. After students have presented their argument to the class, the other team asks questions. Finally, students summarize why both types of text are important and complete the KWLQ charts they began in the introductory activity. Readwritethink suggests several extension activities and provides links to web resources on cranes.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
English Language Arts (2004)
Grade 5
- Goal 2: The learner will apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.
- Objective 2.02: Interact with the text before, during, and after reading, listening, and viewing by:
- making predictions.
- formulating questions.
- supporting answers from textual information, previous experience, and/or other sources.
- drawing on personal, literary, and cultural understandings.
- seeking additional information.
- making connections with previous experiences, information, and ideas.
- Objective 2.03: Read a variety of texts, such as:
- fiction (tall tales, myths).
- nonfiction (books of true experience, newspaper and magazine articles, schedules).
- poetry (narrative, lyric, and cinquains).
- drama (plays and skits).
- Objective 2.06: Analyze choice of reading materials congruent with purposes (e.g., reading for information, reading to extend content area learning, reading for pleasure, entertainment).
- Objective 2.09: Listen actively and critically by:
- asking questions.
- delving deeper into the topic.
- elaborating on the information and ideas presented.
- evaluating information and ideas.
- making inferences and drawing conclusions.
- making judgments.
- Objective 2.02: Interact with the text before, during, and after reading, listening, and viewing by:
- Goal 3: The learner will make connections through the use of oral language, written language, and media and technology.
- Objective 3.01: Respond to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive, critical, and evaluative processes by:
- analyzing word choice and content.
- examining reasons for a character's actions, taking into account the situation and basic motivation of the character.
- creating and presenting a product that effectively demonstrates a personal response to a selection or experience.
- examining alternative perspectives.
- evaluating the differences among genres.
- examining relationships among characters.
- making and evaluating inferences and conclusions about characters, events and themes.
- Objective 3.02: Make connections between texts by recognizing similarities and differences based on a common lesson, theme, or message.
- Objective 3.06: Conduct research (with assistance) from a variety of sources for assigned or self-selected projects (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people, libraries, databases, computer networks).
- Objective 3.01: Respond to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive, critical, and evaluative processes by:
- Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
- Objective 4.02: Use oral and written language to:
- formulate hypotheses.
- evaluate information and ideas.
- present and support arguments.
- influence the thinking of others.
- Objective 4.03: Make oral and written presentations to inform or persuade selecting vocabulary for impact.
- Objective 4.02: Use oral and written language to:
