Lesson 4: Responsibility

Grade Levels:  3-4

Subjects Integrated:  Language Arts, Social Studies, Fine Arts, Technology

Learner Outcomes:

Students will define responsibility
Students will list examples of their own responsibilities
Students will complete a story map of the book Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
Students will use the Internet to read stories about being responsible
Students will create a poster about responsibility
Students will improve word processing skills

Duration of Lesson:  three or four 45-minute periods

Materials:

Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
construction paper or poster board, old magazines or books to cut for pictures,
scissors, glue, markers

Technology/Courseware:  Computers with word processing and Internet access

Teacher Notes:

Special Requirements:    Story maps

Procedures:

Activity 1:
  1. Introduce the lesson with the word responsibility written on the board and ask for definitions and examples.  Write these on the board.
  2. Divide the students into partners or small groups.  Each set of partners or group will create a poster showing some of the different responsibilities that people have.  Each poster needs to include a definition of responsibility.  Pictures showing responsibilities need to be labeled.

Activity 2:

  1. Read the book Horton Hatches the Egg to the class (use a class set of the book if available).  Discuss the characters and sequence of events.  Discuss how Horton was being responsible and the mother bird was not.
  2. Distribute the story map for students to fill out.  Reread the story so that students can fill it out while listening.  Alternative:  if using a single copy of the book, allow students time to work on this independently at a reading center.

Activity 3:

  1. After reading the book, students can go on the Internet and read more stories about honesty.  The Whootie Owl web site offers a variety of non-denominational multicultural fairy tales for children to read.  (There are also different activities to do with the stories.)
  2. Choose which story or stories about responsibility you want the students to read.  Tell students they are going to read a fairy tale from another country.  Locate the country on the world map and on the globe.
  3. This activity can be done as a whole class if you have access to a computer lab with enough computers for the class.  If not, this activity can be an independent activity that students can do individually or with a partner.  You will need to write the name of the web site and demonstrate how to bring it up on the computer.
  4. After reading the story on the computer, students can draw a picture of their favorite scene in the story and create a caption telling how the characters are being responsible.

Modifications: 

Adjust the lesson to meet individual needs or to meet the needs of students with IEPs.  Some students may need to be paired with a partner.

Enrichment Activities:

  1. Older students could write a class play about responsibility to perform for their class or another class.
  2. Students could give an oral presentation of their posters to their class or another class.

Evaluation/Assessment:

Story map, poster, student drawing and caption, teacher observation of word processing skills.

West Virginia Instructional Goals and Objectives:

Reading:  3.16, 3.17, 4.19, 4.20, 4.21
Writing:  3.41, 3.42, 3.44
Language:  3.57, 3.58, 3.64, 3.67, 4.69, 4.70, 4.75, 4.78
Social Studies:  3.8, 4.43
Technology:  3.83, 3.85, 4.101, 4.93

National Standards:

Language Arts:
Writing
1.    Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
3.    Uses grammatical and mechanical conventions in written compositions

Reading
5.    Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process
6.    Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of literary texts

Behavioral Studies Standards
4.    Understands conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among individuals, groups, and institutions

Visual Arts Standards
1.  Understands and applies media, techniques, and processes related to the visual arts

 Technology Standards
1.    Knows the characteristics and uses of computer hardware and operating systems

References/Resources:

Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
www.storiestogrowby.com/classplan.html

Authors:

Tammy Samples
Connie Wright
Deanna Young

   
 
Overview Lesson 1
Caring/Compassion		 Lesson 2
Perseverance		 Lesson 3
Fairness		 Lesson 4
Responsibility		 Lesson 5
Respect		 Lesson 6
Honesty

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