A Birthday Basket For Tia

This lesson will provide your students with an opportunity to brainstorm, predict, and check for understanding throughout this wonderful story about a little girl, Cecilia, who is preparing a special birthday gift for her 90 year-old Aunt Tia. Cecilia collects objects that represent her favorite memories with her aunt. Many uses of technology are suggested to integrate math and science with language and reading.

A lesson plan for grade K English Language Arts and Mathematics

By Jenny Walters

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• use pictures to predict main idea of story as well as key points throughout the story.
• use props to retell the story in sequential order. They will then transfer that skill into a flow map (using Thinking Maps Software).
• create a detailed picture of an object from the story and will write a complete sentence, using beginning and ending sounds and proper punctuation (using the Kid Pix Program).
• interview eight friends to poll their favorite ice cream flavor. They will be responsible to collect raw data then transfer that information to a database (using the Graph Club Software) by using a bar graph.
• complete a spreadsheet (Microsoft Works) to determine if certain objects from the story will roll, stack, or slide.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

5 days

Materials/resources

• The Book: A Birthday Basket For Tia by Pat Mora
• Props: a large basket, a book, a teacup, a mixing bowl, a small flowerpot, a red ball, and some flowers
• Writing/Drawing Paper
• Polling Sheet: which will allow for voting on three choices of favorite ice cream served at a birthday party (chocolate, vanilla and strawberry)
• Spreadsheet Template: an age/grade appropriate spreadsheet created on Microsoft Works which will allow for comparison of 3-D objects that roll, stack, or slide

Technology resources

• Kid Pix Studio Software
• Thinking Maps Software
• The Graph Club Software
• Microsoft Works
• Printers

Pre-activities

Students will need to know:

• how to operate Kid Pix Studio, Thinking Maps and the Graph Club Software.
• how to use a flow map as a graphic organizer.
• how to (or be in the process of learning how to) write sentences using beginning and ending sounds for unknown words and how to use proper punctuation.
• how to poll/interview people in order to collect data for a graph.
• what characteristics a 3-D object needs in order to roll, stack or slide.
• how to complete a basic spreadsheet format.

Activities

Day One

1. The teacher will begin this lesson by prompting the children to brainstorm the topic- Birthday Parties (the teacher will organize that information using a circle map or some other graphic organizer).
2. The teacher will present the book to the children by using pre-reading strategies (such as book/print awareness, story prediction, and good reader techniques). As s/he reads the story A Birthday Basket For Tia, s/he will refer back to the graphic organizer to match predictions. The teacher will place emphasis on the objects of the story, helping create the sequence in their mind.
3. After the completion, the children will retell the story (sequence) by using the props listed under materials needed. The children will then transfer that knowledge into a seven step graphic organizer (Flow Map) by using the software Thinking Maps. If this software is not available, a teacher/student made flow map can be used.

Day Two

The children will revisit their flow map by retelling the story to a friend. They will then create a detailed picture, with characters and setting, (using the Kid Pix Computer Program) in response to the teacher directed prompt “Choose an object from the story that went into the birthday basket. Tell me (in your drawing and writing) why it was important to Tia and Cecilia.” If Kid Pix computer program is not available, the children may create their drawing using various art forms.

Day Three

The children will spend this lesson time polling eight children on their favorite ice cream flavor. They will be instructed to interview eight friends (from within your classroom or outside) and collect data to use the next day. A polling sheet will need to be provided for each child.

Day Four

The children will take the information they collected the previous day and transfer that data into a database form using The Graph Club Software. If this software is not available, a teacher made bar graph can be used as the template for this activity.

Day Five

The children will be divided into small groups and will be given some of the objects from the story (presents, balloon, book, teacup, and a ball). They will determine which of those objects will roll, stack or slide. They will then record their findings by using a spreadsheet, created on Microsoft Works.

Assessment

• Teacher observation of story prediction.
• Students’ flow maps - Does it follow the sequence of the story?
• Students’ pictures - Are they detailed, showing the connection between the object and the characters?
• The sentence - Does it match the picture? Does it state the representation between the characters and the objects? Does the student use beginning and ending sounds for unknown words as well as use proper punctuation?
• Raw data and completed graph-Does the data match?
• Completed spreadsheet - Did the students correctly identify which objects will roll, stack or slide?

Supplemental information

Comments

This lesson plan can be adapted in many ways to meet the needs of your students. It was developed to meet the needs of most of my students but was adapted to reach my children who need to be challenged as well as my students who often struggle. The sequencing of the real objects and the flow map was very simple for my students who often need to be enriched. Because of this, after they completed the flow map they created a double bubble map (used for comparing 2 items). They chose a familiar story and compared it to the story, A Birthday Basket For Tia. They were also challenged to complete 2-3 sentences in their kid pix story writing as well as using the word “and” to combine two thoughts in one of the sentences. For my students who need more assistance in sequencing and story structure,as well as the recall of simple details, we spent most of their lesson times focusing on just those skills. They completed their Kid Pix drawing later that week. I also adapted the writing by modeling a sentence as a group then working independently with each child to create a sentence, modeling it on strip paper (with assistance from the child) then using it as a cut up sentence that the children put back into order then typed on the keyboard.