Making Multicultural Connections
Social Studies/Language Arts 5 Day Teacher Work Sample:Day 1

St. Patricks Day in the Morning by Eve Bunting


Name: Chasity Rice
Date: March 12, 2001
Lesson Length: 35 Minutes
Subject: Social Studies/Language Arts
Grade Level: 1st
Topic: Making Multicultural Connections

Objective:

The students will identify by writing a fiction story, important facts about Ireland or St. Patricks Day.

Connections:

Social Studies National Standards:
I. Culture
(c.) Describe ways in which language, stories, folktales, music, and artistic creations serve as expressions of culture and influence behavior of people living in a particular culture.

IV. Individual Development & Identity
(g.) Analyze a particular event to identify reasons individuals might respond to it in different ways.

KY Learner Goals, Academic Expectations, Related Core Content
1.11
Students write using appropriate forms, conventions, and styles to communicate ideas and information to different audiences for different purposes.

Related Core Content:
Literary writing artfully communicates with the reader about the human condition. Characteristics of literary writing may includeshort stories.

2.16
Students observe, analyze, and interpret human behaviors, social groupings, and institutions to better understand people and the relationships among individuals and among groups.

Related Core Content:
All cultures develop institutions, customs, beliefs, and holidays reflecting their unique histories, situations, and perspectives.

Context:

This lesson is the beginning of a five-day unit on St. Patricks Day and Ireland. In this unit, Ireland and its culture as well as the symbols and traditions of St. Patricks Day will be presented. This unit will also be an introduction to writing fiction stories. This lesson should be presented a week before St. Patricks Day.

Materials/Technology:

-The book

Bunting, Eve. (1980). St. patricks day in the morning. New York: Clarion Books.

-St. Patricks Day History (attached)
-writing paper (preferably paper where the student have room to draw a picture)
-pencils
-crayons or markers

Procedures:

Initiation: Today boys and girls, we are going to talk about our next holiday. Who can tell me what holiday this is? In case the students dont know give them hints by showing them pictures of leprechauns, shamrocks, or anything green. This should lead them to the correct answer, St. Patricks Day. Then, ask the students what is special about this day. They should respond by saying that one gets to wear green, and anyone who doesnt have on green will get pinched. Its possible that 1st graders are not aware of this custom. Lastly, ask the students if they know the date of St. Patricks Day. They should respond by saying March 17th. Discuss what day March 17th falls on by using the calendar.

Strategy: Now read about the history of St. Patricks Day. Ask the students questions throughout the reading passage to make sure they understand. Now read, St. Patricks Day in the Morning by Eve Bunting. Ask questions throughout the story to check reading comprehension. Now, discuss Jamie. Jamie was too little in the story to be in the St. Patricks Day parade with his brothers and father. Ask the students if there is anything that they have wanted to do, but were told that they were too small. This should generate an interesting discussion. Ask the children how this made them feel.

Practice: Now, lets think. Jamie had an adventure while everyone else was asleep. What adventure did Jamie have? Students should answer by saying that Jamie had his very own parade and marched to the top of Acorn Hill. Now, everyone think of an adventure you would like to have while everyone else was sleeping. Ask students for suggestions. Now, tell the students that today they are going to write a story about an adventure they had while everyone else was asleep on St. Patricks Day. This story will be make-believe or pretend so use your imagination. If you get done before the other students, then you need to use the time and draw and color a picture about your story. If you dont know how to spell a word then try and sound it out or look for it in your Quick Word. Everyones story should start out with: On St. Patricks Day, While You Were Sleeping, I

Closure: Lets try to include some of our St. Patricks Day spelling words in our story. Remember that this week our St. Patricks Day spelling words are: shamrock, clover, St. Patrick, lucky, charm, and leprechaun. You can also incorporate facts from the history of St. Patricks Day or from the story such as a St. Patricks Day parade or perhaps how St. Patrick got the snakes out of Ireland. Raise your hand if you need help.

Assessment:

Did the students identify by writing a fiction story the elements about the Irish culture or St. Patricks Day?

Tool: Fiction Story

Criteria: Must include elements about the Irish culture or St. Patricks Day.

Reflection/Analysis of Teaching and Learning:

After I read the history of St. Patricks Day, the students seemed to be very interested in learning more about this holiday and where it originated. The students were most fascinated with the legend of how St. Patrick got the snakes out of Ireland. This legend was definitely an attention getter. I proceeded to read the book St. Patricks Day in the Morning. The students seemed to really enjoy the book, and I checked their comprehension by continuously asking questions. The peek of the lesson was the discussion generated by the topic of not being able to do something because they were told they were too small. The children had a lot of comments about this subject, and most of them were able to communicate how this made them feel. One student commented that his parents told him he was too little to ride his bike on the road. He said that this made him feel real sad.
I feel that this was a good activity to use to get students to start thinking about fiction stories. The students were able to use their imagination to come up with an idea about something they would do while everyone else is asleep on St. Patricks Day morning. Many of the students were very imaginative. For example, Kole wrote a story about driving his parents car to Toys R Us. He even had details such as driving slow so that the police wouldnt stop him. Another example is Mekiahs story. He wrote that he would ride his bike to New York. He even drew tall buildings in his picture to illustrate New York.
Generally, all the students used the story starter On St. Patricks Day, While you were Sleeping, I. to start their fiction story, but only one student included some of their St. Patricks Day spelling words. This student was Ambrazia. She wrote a story about finding a shamrock, and how this shamrock gave her the power to do whatever she wanted to do. I think that I should have stressed to the students that they had to use at least one of the spelling words dealing with St. Patricks Day. I felt this approach would be easier for first graders, instead of having them include specific information from the St. Patricks Day history or details from the story.

Lesson Extension/Follow-Up:

I think the students had the most problem with following directions to complete the activity. I would reinforce following directions by having the children write another fiction story based on a piece of literature. We would use another story starter and I would give them a group of words in which they must include at least one in their story. I would also monitor the students while working to make sure they are all following directions. If not following directions, I would make suggestions that would help the student meet the criteria I had set.

Bibliography:

http://www.homeschooldad.com/sphist.html