Description

Using a graphic organizer, students synthesize and separate collected information.

Materials

- 4 T-charts (see attached file)
- Chart paper
- Movie Hercules by Disney
- Narrative Reading selection about Hercules (I recommend selecting an excerpt from D'aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri D'Aulaire and Edgar Prin D'Aulaire; copyright October 19, 1962, Doubleday)
- Another narrative reading selection about Hercules in case the movie is unavailable

Procedures

1. Collect students' homework assigned during the When Old Meets New lesson plan. Students were asked to list the qualities of elementary school in the left column and the elements of middle school in the right column (see attached file). Make sure students include at least 5 character traits in each column of the T-chart. Use the teacher model provided in the attached file to identify expected student outcomes. Provide specific feedback for each student who does not appear to understand.

2. Create a T-chart on a piece of chart paper #1, which includes the title, Schools Compared; qualities of elementary school are in the left column and the qualities of middle school are in the right column.

3. Lead students in a verbal discussion about their answers from last night 's homework.

4. Record student's verbal responses from the discussion on the chart paper #1. This will provide a model for students follow when using their own T-chart (see attached file for plausible answers).

5. Teacher and students observe the compiled list of qualities of elementary and middle schools on chart #1.

6. Discuss with students any similar qualities that appear in both columns. Also discuss with students if there are any differences between items that are listed in the left and right column. Explain to students that comparison and contrast are used in literature to identify the similarities and differences between characters from various texts. The purpose of comparing and contrasting characters form 2 texts is to help the student recognize the complex elements of character development within literature.

7. Provide each student with a T-chart titled, Schools Compared/Contrasted (see attached file).

8. Create another T-chart on a second piece of chart paper (#2). Write Comparisons in the left column and Contrasts in the right column. Include at least 5 elements in each (see-attached file for a teacher model).

9. Record student's ideas from the discussion on chart #2. Students should record the ideas that are identified during the discussion on their copy of the T-chart Schools Compared/Contrasted. The construction of the answers for the T-chart from the class discussion is meant to offer students a model to follow when creating their own and should not be formatively assessed. Ask students to bring this completed activity to class tomorrow because it will be used in the lesson titled A Graphic Scene.

10. Explain that this is another type of graphic organizer that is used to separate ideas. Remind students that graphic organizers can serve as practice for summarizing a reading selection. Also they enable the writer to separate compiled information in a visual way.

11. Provide a copy of the T-chart titled Movie Excerpt and Reading Selection Compared/Contrasted for each student (see attached file).

12. Explain that students will be watching an excerpt from a movie about Hercules. Ask them to record Hercules' character traits from the movie on a sheet of paper (#1).

13. Show students the excerpt from the movie Hercules, made by Disney. This excerpt must be no longer than 3 minutes due to copyright laws (feel free to provide another form of text that shows Hercules' character traits if this film is unavailable. Several possible texts are available through the web sites that are cited in the WebLinks section of this lesson plan). Also, check your district's policies for the use of copyright materials.

14. Find and distribute a narrative reading selection that describes Hercules. This piece should not take more than 15 minutes for students to read. If you are working on the mini-unit Mythology in the Middle, use the same reading selection that was selected for the lesson, When Old Meets New. (I recommend selecting an excerpt from D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri D'Aulaire and Edgar Prin D'Aulaire; copyright October 19, 1962).

15. Ask students to respond on another sheet of paper (#2), What are Hercules' character traits from the reading section? Require that students record at least 5 traits. Travel from desk to desk checking to see if each student has 5 plausible traits from the reading selection. Provide feedback for students who do not appear to understand.

16. Ask students to look for any similar character traits that appear in their lists from both texts (the movie/ reading selection or reading selection#1/selection #2). Also ask students to notice if there are any differences between the character traits that are listed on both pieces of paper.

17. Explain to students that in today's activity we used comparison and contrast. Comparison and contrast are used in literature to identify similar ideas and conflicting concepts in 2 separate texts. Comparison and contrast are used in literature to identify the similarities and differences between characters from various texts. The purpose of comparing and contrasting characters from 2 texts is to help the student recognize the complex elements of character development within literature.

18. On the worksheet titled Movie Excerpt and Reading Selection Compared/Contrasted, ask students to transfer similar character traits from their papers into the left column of the T-chart under Comparisons. Then students transfer character traits that are different between the 2 texts in the right column under Contrasts (see attached file). Ask students to identify at least 5 comparison and 5 contrasts from the texts on their T-chart. Ask students to identify at least 5 comparison and 5 contrasts from the texts on their T-chart. The completion of this assignment will serve as the formative assessment for this lesson. Ask students to bring this completed activity to class tomorrow because it will be used in the lesson titled A Graphic Scene.

Extensions

(A) Students must know how to use a T-chart, how to identify character traits, and an ability to draw comparisons and contrasts.
(B) This is the second lesson in a mini-unit titled Mythology in the Middle.
(C) Find and distribute a narrative reading selection that describes Hercules. This piece should not take more than 15 minutes for students to read. I recommend selecting an excerpt from D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri D'Aulaire and Edgar Prin D'Aulaire; copyright October 19, 1962.

Click here to view the Beacon Unit Plan associated with this lesson. See Associated Files to download the Unit Plan Overview, Unit Assessment, and other associated files.

Attached Files

Are They the Same or Different? Attached Files     File Extension: pdf