Storytelling in the social studies classroom
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=928
A lesson plan for grades 3–5 English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Theater Arts Education
This lesson invites students to tell their own stories and explore the stories of other Americans. Practiced skills include reading, researching, visually representing, writing, and presenting. After engaging students in discussion about great storytellers, the class’ ideas are pulled together to create an Effective Storytelling Strategies reference sheet. Then students either listen to an actual storyteller or audio clips from a storyteller and then discuss the speaker’s strategies for making the story come to life. Once the teacher shares a personal story with students, they are instructed to decorate a shoebox and place three personal objects that will help them tell their own stories. After each student has the opportunity to tell their personal stories, they self-assess using characteristics and guidelines created by the class. Working together, the class brainstorms words that describe people they admire, and the teacher explains that these characteristics are called “democratic dispositions”. Once students have had the opportunity to share their own uses of democratic dispositions, they complete a graphic organizer about a memorable moment in which one or more family member exhibited these qualities. Students create family drawings and share their graphic organizers with their group members. Then, after the teacher explains that stories are also told about famous people, students listen to a read-aloud of a story about a memorable moment and the class completes a graphic organizer for the story. Students then spend a few sessions researching a memorable moment or historic highlight about a selected famous American and how their exhibition of democratic dispositions enhanced the lives of others. Once students have collected their information, they write a narrative about the moment researched and create a visual display. Finally, students present their creations in a Tellers’ Theatre format. Readwritethink provides graphic organizers, online graphic organizers, and links to websites about famous Americans. This lesson also suggests extension activities and opportunities for student reflection.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
English Language Arts (2004)
Grade 3
- Goal 3: The learner will make connections through the use of oral language, written language, and media and technology.
- Objective 3.06: Conduct research for assigned and self-selected projects (with assistance) from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people, libraries, databases, computer networks).
- 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:
- present information in a sequenced, logical manner.
- discuss.
- sustain conversation on a topic.
- share information and ideas.
- recount or narrate.
- answer open-ended questions.
- report information on a topic.
- explain own learning.
- Objective 4.02: Use oral and written language to:
Grade 4
- Goal 3: The learner will make connections with text through the use of oral language, written language, and media and technology.
- Objective 3.06: Conduct research for assigned projects or self-selected projects (with assistance) from a variety of sources through the use of technological and informal tools (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people, libraries, databases, computer networks).
Grade 5
- Goal 3: The learner will make connections through the use of oral language, written language, and media and technology.
- 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).
Social Studies (2003)
Grade 3
- Goal 1: The learner will characterize qualities of good citizenship by identifying people who made a difference in the community and other social environments.
- Objective 1.01: Identify and demonstrate characteristics of responsible citizenship and explain how citizen participation can impact changes within a community.
Theatre Arts Education (2001)
Grade 3
- Goal 5: The learner will research by finding information to support informal or formal productions.
- Objective 5.02: Justify the need for simple props and costumes to support the character or story.
- Objective 5.05: Tell stories using narration.
Grade 4
- Goal 5: The learner will research by finding information to support informal or formal productions.
- Objective 5.05: Reference stories to determine and justify technical needs to support the character or story.
- Objective 5.07: Reference forms of literature other than scripts to support dramatic presentations.
Grade 5
- Goal 5: The learner will research by finding information to support informal or formal productions.
- Objective 5.05: Reference stories to determine and justify technical needs to support the character or story.
- Objective 5.07: Reference various forms of literature other than scripts to support dramatic presentations.
