Modern Day Characters from Children's Literature
Teacher:
Linda Stone, Wolfgang A. Mozart Elementary School
Suggested grade/s: 3 and
4
Illinois
Learning Standards
English Language Arts 1-4
Fine Arts 25, 27
Estimated time: Four to five weeks
Mural/s addressed
Charles Freeman, Characters from Children's
Literature, c. 1938, two-panel oil on canvas, Wolfgang A.
Mozart Elementary School
Objectives
Students read several children's fairy tales,
nursery rhymes, or folk tales. They compare themes and narratives
in each version. Students then rewrite a story that they have
read, placing the characters in a contemporary setting. They write
and illustrate their modern day story in book form and present
their stories orally.
|
Key terms
|
Materials
- pencils and colored pencils
- watercolors
- paper (white and multi-colored)
- poster board
- masking tape
- Little Red Riding Hood
- Rip Van Winkle
|
Procedures
- View the Freeman mural. Ask students: Which
characters do you recognize? How do you recognize these characters?
(i.e., through costumes, attributes,
and setting).
- Discuss the meaning of the "Key terms"
above.
- Read aloud one or two tales illustrated
in Freeman’s murals, such as Little Red Riding Hood
and Rip Van Winkle. Ask students to find the characters
in the mural. Ask: Who are the characters? How do clothing
and setting function in the stories? What is the plot? What
is the central problem and how is it resolved?
- Have students pick one of the stories discussed
in class to rewrite and illustrate in a contemporary setting.
Have them put their texts and images into a book with pages
made of white or colored paper. Have them make the cover out
of posterboard. Bind the book parts with tape.
- Have students read their stories to their
classmates.
Evaluation
Base students’ achievements on their
written and creative work, and oral presentations.
|
