Problem

As a teacher, it can be challenging to create lesson plans that cater to the diverse needs of students in a classroom. This is especially true when it comes to teaching literature, where students may struggle with understanding the genre and its elements. In this case, the teacher was faced with the challenge of teaching folktales to a class of 30 students with varying levels of English proficiency and learning abilities.

The teacher wanted to create an inquiry-based lesson plan that would encourage critical thinking among students while also ensuring that they understood the key elements of folktales. However, creating such a lesson plan from scratch would take up a lot of time and effort, which the teacher did not have.

Solution

To solve this problem, we created an AI-generated lesson plan for folktale lessons learned - Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears. The lesson plan was designed to cater to the diverse needs of students in the classroom while also encouraging critical thinking and inquiry-based learning.

The AI-generated lesson plan included prompts for discussion questions, vocabulary words, and activities that would help students understand the key elements of folktales. The lesson plan was designed to be interactive and engaging for all students in the classroom, regardless of their learning abilities or English proficiency levels.

Final Prompt

You are a teacher for a 3rd grade classroom at an elementary school charter school in the South Bronx. You have a class of 30 students, and 9 of those students have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). For the majority of the class, English is their first language, however, you do have 5 students who are English Language Learners.

You just started to teach the Fairytales, Folktales, and Myths unit for your 45-minute literacy block. Students are just getting a grasp on the genre, and are still having trouble distinguishing it from a regular fiction text. They understand that fiction texts generally have characters, a problem, a solution, and a lesson learned.

You teach at a school where inquiry-based instruction and critical thinking are essential skills you want to build in students, and so there is a lot of focus on the thinking being put on the students through guiding prompting questions.

Generate a 45-minute 3rd-grade read aloud lesson plan for this 3rd grade class for the book Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale retold by Verna Aardema. The lesson activities should be broken down into the following components: sequence of events review (from yesterday's read aloud), group read aloud, guided practice with turn & talks, whole group discussion, an independent writing activity, and a whole group debrief based on the most common misconception.

The lesson should include the objectives, standards, activities, post-assessment, accommodations, time breakdown for each section, potential student written responses for the question "What lesson or moral does this story convey?", including an exemplar response in paragraph form that restates the question, answers the question completely and accurately, has two pieces of evidence with quotes directly from the text, and explains a new insight. You should include the most common misconception a student might have about the question and guiding questions to support students in thinking through. Provide very specific accommodations to support students with an IEP and English Language Learners.

You have already done a read-aloud of this story where students have completed an activity mapping out the sequence of events in the story. In this lesson, you will re-read the story one more time to determine the lesson learned and the natural event that is explained so that students can focus the discussion on that element now that they understand the sequence of events in the story.

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.RL.3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.RL.3.2: Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
CCSS.RL.3.3: Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

Objective:

SWBAT to identify and articulate the lesson or moral conveyed in a folklore story.
SWBAT recognize and explain the natural events or phenomena that are explained within a folklore story.
SWBAT engage in collaborative discussions about folklore stories, sharing their insights about the lessons or morals and natural events.
SWBAT apply their understanding of lessons, morals, and natural events to answer a written response about a folktale story.

Teaching Point: Good readers read folklore by using the thinking job, “What lesson or moral does this story teach us?” and “What natural event does this explain?”

Lesson Plan

Discovering Lessons and Natural Events in Folktales

Grade: 3rd grade

Duration: 45 minutes

Objectives:

SWBAT identify and articulate the lesson or moral conveyed in a folklore story.
SWBAT recognize and explain the natural events or phenomena explained within a folklore story.
SWBAT engage in collaborative discussions about folklore stories, sharing insights about lessons or morals and natural events.
SWBAT apply their understanding of lessons, morals, and natural events to answer a written response about a folktale story.

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.RL.3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.RL.3.2: Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
CCSS.RL.3.3: Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

Materials:

"Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale" by Verna Aardema
Chart paper and markers
Whiteboard and markers
Sticky notes
Pencils and paper for students
Copies of the story for each student

Accommodations:

For English Language Learners (ELLs):
- Provide bilingual dictionaries or translation support if needed.
- Use visual aids and gestures to support understanding.
For students with IEPs:
- Provide additional time for tasks and assignments.
- Offer modified assignments as required.
- Use visual cues and prompts for comprehension.

Time Breakdown:

Sequence of Events Review (5 minutes):

Begin the lesson by briefly reviewing the sequence of events from yesterday's read-aloud. Use the chart paper or whiteboard to display the key events in the story. Ask students to recall the beginning, middle, and end of the story.

Group Read Aloud (10 minutes):

Introduce the book, "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale," and mention that you will be reading it again to focus on the lesson learned and the natural event explained.
Read the story aloud, pausing to engage students with questions about the plot and characters. Use expression and tone to make the story engaging.

Guided Practice with Turn & Talks (10 minutes):

After the read-aloud, ask students to find a partner and discuss what lesson or moral they think the story is teaching. Encourage them to refer to specific parts of the story that support their ideas.
Circulate and listen to student conversations, offering guidance and support as needed.
Reconvene as a whole group and invite a few pairs to share their thoughts.

Whole Group Discussion (10 minutes):

Lead a discussion about the lesson or moral of the story. Use open-ended questions to stimulate critical thinking. For example:
- "What did you learn from this story?"
- "Why did the animals react the way they did?"
- "How did the mosquito's actions affect others?"
- Write key ideas and student responses on chart paper or the whiteboard.

Independent Writing Activity (5 minutes):

Distribute paper and pencils to students.
Instruct students to write a short paragraph (3-5 sentences) about the lesson or moral they identified in the story. Encourage them to provide evidence from the text to support their answers.
ELLs and students with IEPs may receive additional support or sentence starters if needed.

Common Misconception Debrief (5 minutes):

Discuss the common misconception that students may have, which is focusing solely on the actions of the characters rather than exploring the broader lesson or moral of the story.
Ask students: "Why is it important to look beyond the characters' actions to find the lesson or moral in a story?"
Encourage students to think critically and reflect on the deeper meaning of the story.

Whole Group Debrief and Exemplar Response (5 minutes):

Share an exemplar response to the question, "What lesson or moral does this story convey?" The response should:
- Restate the question.
- Answer the question completely and accurately.
- Include two pieces of evidence quoted from the text.
- Explain a new insight or understanding gained from the story.
- Encourage students to reflect on the exemplar response and discuss what made it effective.

Assessment: Assess students' written responses to determine if they can identify the lesson or moral of the story. Look for evidence from the text in their responses.
Common Misconception: The common misconception is that students may focus on the actions of individual characters rather than exploring the broader lesson or moral of the story.
Guiding Questions:

"What do you think the story is trying to teach us?"
"Why did the animals in the story behave the way they did?"
"How did the mosquito's actions affect others?"
"Can you find evidence in the text that supports your answer?"

Potential Student Written Response (Exemplar):

The story "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears" teaches us an important lesson about how our actions can have unintended consequences. One piece of evidence from the text that supports this lesson is when the iguana said, "Mosquito, you've killed the iguana's baby!" Another piece of evidence is when the mosquito said, "It's my fault the sun doesn't shine." This shows that the characters in the story didn't think about what they were doing, and it caused a lot of problems. It reminds us that we should think before we act and consider how our actions can affect others. This story helps us understand that even small actions can have big consequences.

AI-Generated Lesson Plan Boosts Folktale Learning