Our Sun: Friend or Foe?

Title:  "Lights, Camera, Action" --Multicultural Puppet Shows About the Sun

Grade Levels:  3-4

Subjects:  Language Arts, Art, Social Studies

Learner Outcomes:

• Students will read multicultural tales about the sun.
• Students will write scripts for multicultural stories about the sun.
• Students will dramatize stories using puppets they create

Duration of Lesson: 2- 45 min. periods
 

Materials:

• Copy of Aesop's Fable:  "The Wind and the Sun"
• Stick puppets for sun and wind
• Paper, pencils
• Markers
• Scissors
• Popsicle sticks or tongue depressors
• Tape or glue
• Oak tag
• Puppet stage (optional)

Technology Tools/Courseware:
Internet sites:
Multicultural Folklore about the Sun
 

Teacher Notes:

• Bookmark web sites for Multicultural Folklore About the Sun.
• Read and select stories which are appropriate for students at this grade level. List stories which will be used to create puppet shows.
• Aesop's Fables:  "The Wind and the Sun"

Day 1

1. Dramatize "The Wind and the Sun" by assigning the following characters:   Narrator, the Sun and the Wind. (Students  will hold sun and wind puppets which may be printed using a color printer.)

 

The Wind and the Sun                             The Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger.                            Suddenly they saw a traveler coming down the road, and the Sun                            said: "I see a way to decide our dispute.  Whichever of us can                            cause that traveler to take off his cloak shall be regarded as                            the stronger.  You begin."  So the Sun retired behind a cloud, and                            the Wind began to blow as hard as it could upon the traveler.                            But the harder he blew the more closely did the traveler wrap his                            cloak round him, till at last the Wind had to give up in despair.                            Then the Sun came out and shone in all his glory upon the                            traveler, who soon found it too hot to walk with his cloak on.                                    Kindness effects more than severity.

1. Tell students that they will be working in teams to create multicultural puppet shows about the sun.
2. In computer lab, help students locate the following site on the Internet: Multicultural Folklore About the Sun
3. Assign one story per group.
4. Students will read their assigned story and begin writing the story in script form.
5. When scripts are complete, proofread and correct errors.
6. Students will design  puppet characters for their stories by drawing, coloring and cutting individual characters from tag board.

1. Students will practice reading and using puppets to dramatize multicultural stories about the sun.
2. Perform the puppet shows for classmates.

Enrichment Activities:
Use digital camera to photograph scenes from puppet shows. Create a Power Point presentation titled: Our Sun Around the World.
Invite younger students at your school to watch the puppet shows.
Create invitations using Print Shop software.
 

Evaluation/Assessment:

Teachers observation and assessment of students' participation in puppet dramatizations.
Teacher will evaluate students' scripts implementing the COPS editing strategy (C-capitalization, O-overall appearance, P-punctuation, S-spelling.)
 

State IGOs:
Art--3.7, 3.21, 4.12, 4.15, 4.23.
Social Studies--3.40, 3.41, 3.42, 3.52, 4.31, 4.40, 4.50, 4.51, 4.52.
English Language Arts--3.15, 3.16, 3.18, 3.19, 3.27, 3.31, 3.37, 3.41, 3.43, 3.44, 3.46, 3.57, 3.58, 3.61, 4.19, 4.20, 4.22, 4.25, 4.28, 4.32, 4.40, 4.49, 4.50, 4.51, 4.52, 4.55, 4.69, 4.70.

National Standards

References:

Multicultural Folklore About the Sun
Print Shop
 

Authors:

Brenda Bleigh-bbleigh@access.k12.wv.us
Sandy Post-spost@access.k12.wv.us
Debbie Smith-dasmith@access.k12.wv.us
Burnsville Elementary School