The Quest for Cultural Folktales Unit Lesson Plan 2

GRADE/CLASS: 4th

SUBJECT AREA(S): English Language Arts

UNIT TOPIC: Cultural Folktales

DAY: 2

Desired learning outcome(s):

-Students will be able to distinguish right and wrong in a folktale in Italian culture
-Students will be able to identify characteristics that make this a folktale
Essential question(s) from learning objective:
-How can we use our knowledge of folktales to distinguish right and wrong?
NCSCOS goal and objective(s):
ELA-Literacy.RL.4.9 Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes and topics (e.g., opposition of
good and evil) and patterns of events (e.g., the quest) in stories, myths, and traditional literature from different
cultures.
Learner prior knowledge/ learner background experiences:
Learners should have a prior knowledge of different folktales, folklore or fables. The students should be
familiar with cultural stories and how to identify elements in the story that make this a folktale. The learner
should also have a prior knowledge of many of the stories that have been introduced to them. Students also
should have an idea of what is right and what is wrong. Students should also be able to draw main ideas out of
literature.
Materials and resources needed (include authentic literature selection):
-book Strega Nona
-document camera
-interactive whiteboard
-computer to watch video
-pencils
-paper
-props needed for readers theatre
Teaching strategies
Differentiation strategies should be infused throughout. Differentiate for content, product, and process.
anticipatory strategies (background knowledge)
The teacher will begin this lesson by instructing the students on the lesson they will begin. The teacher
will inform the students that they will begin studying the folktale Strega Nona. The teacher will show
the students the story of Strega Nona from the website http://video.nhptv.org/video/1689045929/ . The
teacher will then ask the students to think about how this is a folktale as they are watching.
developmental strategies
At this main developmental part of the story the teacher will read the book to the students. After reading
the book, the students will begin a study of students will begin filling out a graphic organizer to
identify the differences of the video version of the story and the book version of the story. The teacher
will then ask the students to describe the differences between the two on the graphic organizer. The
teacher will then discuss the differences in a class discussion. The teacher will then ask the students to
think about a main idea in the story of right and wrong. The students will then participate in a readers

theatre. The teacher will pass out a readers theatre script to the students as they break up into two
groups. Each group will perform a different part of the story. The students will be asked to be an
audience for the opposite group. This activity will lead into the concluding strategy as each group
finishes their readers theatre.
concluding strategies
The teacher will conclude this lesson by completing the graphic organizer and comparison of the
questions asked previously. The students will answer the questions on the organizer. Did your ideas of
right and wrong change after watching the performance? How did you feel performing vs. reading the
story? Will this affect the way you feel about doing the right thing?
Assessment (utilize a blend of traditional and performance assessments)
The teacher will use the questions that are being asked on the graphic organizer as a form of assessment. The
teacher will also use the reaction that the students have to the readers theatre to see if their comprehension of
the story and the ideas of right and wrong are correctly identified in the students.
EC accommodations/modifications to strategies or assessments (refer to IEPs or 504 plans)
Any accommodations will be stated in an IEP or 504; therefore the lesson will be modified to meet the needs of
any student requiring an accommodation or modification.
Wrap-up and reflection by the students
Reflection by the teacher

1. Did your ideas of right and wrong change after watching the performance?

2. How did you feel performing vs. reading the story?

3. Will this affect the way you feel about doing the right thing?

Readers Theater: Strega Nona

Written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola
Setting: Strega Nona takes place in Calabria, Italy.
**We pick up the story after Big Anthony has just made pasta for the townspeople out of
Strega Nonas magic pasta pot, while she is out of town visiting a friend.
Narrator 1: As soon as Strega Nona was out of sight, Big Anthony went inside, pulled
the pasta pot off the shelf, and put it on the floor.
Big Anthony: Now lets see if I can remember the words,
Narrator 2: said Big Anthony. And Big Anthony sang,
Big Anthony: Bubble, bubble, pasta pot,
Boil me some pasta, nice and hot,
Im hungry and its time to sup.
Boil enough to fill me up.
Narrator 3: And sure enough, the pot bubbled and boiled and began to fill up with
pasta.
Big Anthony: Aha!!
Narrator 4: said Big Anthony, and he ran to the town square, jumped on the fountain,
and shouted
Big Anthony: Everyone get forks and plates and platters and bowls. Pasta for all at
Strega Nonas house. Big Anthony has made the magic pasta pot work.
Narrator 1: Of course everyone laughed, but ran home to get forks and plates and
platters and bowls, and sure enough, when they got to Strega Nonas the pasta pot was
so full it was beginning to overflow
Narrator 2: Big Anthony was a hero!
Narrator 3: He scooped out pasta and filled the plates and platters and bowls. There
was more than enough for all the townspeople, including the priest and the sisters from
the convent.

Narrator 4: And some people came back for two and three helpings, but the pot was
never empty.
Narrator 1: When all had their fill, Big Anthony sang,
Big Anthony: Enough, enough, my pasta pot,
I have my pasta nice and hot.
So simmer down, my pot of clay
Until Im hungry another day.
Narrator 2: But, alas, he did not blow the three kisses! He went outside and to the
applause of the crowd, Big Anthony took a bow. He was so busy listening to
compliments from everyone that he didnt noctice the pasta pot was still bubbling and
boiling, until a sister from the convent said,
Sister: Oh, Big Anthony, look!
Narrator 3: And pasta was pouring ou of the pot all over the floor of Strega Nonas
house and was coming out the door!
Narrator 4: Big Anthony rushed in and shouted the magic words again, but the pot kept
bubbling. He took the pot off the floor, but pasta kept pouring from it. Big Anthony
grabbed a cover and put it on the pot and sat on it. But the pasta raised the cover, and
Big Anthony as well, and spilled on the floor of Strega Nonas house.
Big Anthony: Stop!
Narrator 1: yelled Big Anthony. But the pasta did not stop and if someone hadnt
grabbed poor Big Anthony, the pasta would have covered him up. The pasta had all but
filled the little house. Out of the windows and through the doors came the pasta and the
pot kept right on bubbling.
Narrator 2: The townspeople began to worry.
Townspeople: Do something, Big Anthony!
Narrator 3: By this time the pasta was on its way down the road and all the people were
running to keep ahead of it.

Mayor: We must protect our town from the pasta. Get mattresses, tables, doorsanything to make a barricade.
Narrator 4: But even that didnt work. The pot kept bubbling and the pasta kept
coming!
Townspeople: We are lost!
Narrator 1: said the people, and the people and the priest and the sisters of the
convent began praying,
Priest and Sisters: The pasta will cover our town!
Narrator 2: they cried. And it certainly would have, had Strega Nona not come down
the road, home from her visit. She didnt have to look twice to know what had
happened.