Dusti Eide and Rachel Pankowski
Accommodations are highlighted
Lesson adapted from: A School of Fish: A Lesson in Character Development-by: Kaye Anderson.
Title: A School of Fish
Grade Level: 4/5th
Content Areas: Morals
Learning Target/Goals: Students will be able to apply knowledge of the seven virtues/habits to real life situations and literature.
EALR’s: Social Studies Skills: 1.3 Critical Thinking- Analyzes Cause and Effect Relationships - Investigates cause and effect relationships and their impact on people, environments, and economic systems. Reading: 2.1.4 understand how to use prior knowledge. Make connections or identify similarities between self and text and text-to-text including text from a variety of cultures and communities, after read aloud and independent reading.
Pre-lesson: Introducing the seven habits of highly effective people; by Steven Covey. The seven habits are; be proactive, begin with the end in mind, first things first, think win-win, seek first to understand, synergize, and sharpen the saw.
Assumptions: Students can work with partners; participate in class discussions, and either write, draw or act. Students will also be able to analyze literature.
Pre-assessment: Students will match each habit/virtue with a brief definition.
Lesson:
Day: (Article suggests one week per virtue…this would follow those weeks.)
Key Concepts: Morality
Objectives: Given a class read aloud and class discussion on the book in the read aloud, students will be able to identify virtues as exhibited by characters in the story.
Rationale: Understanding these virtues/habits, and being able to identify them in yourself and others, will enable you to more effectively solve problems.
EALR’s: Social Studies Skills: 1.3 Critical Thinking- Analyzes Cause and Effect Relationships - Investigates cause and effect relationships and their impact on people, environments, and economic systems. Reading: 2.1.4 understand how to use prior knowledge. Make connections or identify similarities between self and text and text-to-text including text from a variety of cultures and communities, after read aloud and independent reading.
Materials Needed: Swimmy by Leo Lioni, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, chalkboard or pieces of butcher paper.
Procedures:
Introduction: Today we are going to read a book (hold up book) and identify which virtues/habits the main character uses.
Activating Prior Knowledge: Take out a piece of paper and list all of the habits that you can remember. Use students’ responses to make the visual aid that you will use in the lesson. List habits students failed to identify on the board.
Learning Target: Application
Learning Activity:
1. Read Swimmy by: Leo Lioni to students. (3 min) While reading have seven habits listed on the board with pictures representing them.
2. After story is read, have the students Think Pair Share, to have students make connections between the book and the seven habits, with examples from the book. (2 min)
3. Teacher will lead a class discussion. Teacher will list the students’ ideas on the board in the spot where it corresponds to each of the seven habits. (5-10 min)
4. Students will have the choice of writing a poem, doing a skit, or drawing a picture that will relate an incident in the story to a virtue. (10-15 min)
5. Students will then share with the class their products. (1 min per student)
Closure: Who can tell me what we did today? (Knowledge)
What is something new that you learned today?
(Comprehension)
Tomorrow we are going to choose our own books to look for virtues displayed by the characters in the books.
Crystallization: In the days following this activity, students will interpret other literature for the seven virtues as exhibited by the fictional and nonfictional characters in the books. Students will repeat step four for the book of their choice.
Post Assessment: Rubric for product, including accuracy, ability to apply their knowledge of the seven virtues to the book.