English Language Learners – Cranes
Art
Content Area(s):
Language Arts/Reading
Grade Level:
4th grade
Rationale:
The purpose of this lesson is to use the book Sadako
and the Thousand Paper Cranes to introduce the concepts
of Memorial Day and memorial monuments by “finishing”
Sadako’s cranes.
Objectives:
Learners will be able to:
Fold an origami paper crane and create a
traditional Japanese art form by following
written/oral/pictorial instructions.
Materials:
Origami paper
Copies of pictorial crane instructions
Overhead transparencies of instructions
Procedure:
Preview (review/introduce):
After reading and discussion of Sadako and the
Thousand Paper Cranes students are shown a real
origami paper crane. Students are then told they
will have the opportunity to make some cranes and
send them to Sadako’s memorial in Japan.
Present:
Show students a completed crane
Demonstrate step by step how to fold a paper crane
using information from the overhead and modeling
simultaneously.
Review (Practice/assessment):
Students fold at least 5 paper cranes to go in a
“send to memorial box.” Students will be assessed
by teacher (adult) observation when they teach
their “6th grade pal” how to fold a paper crane.
(In this classroom we have sixth grade peer tutors
for every fourth grade student.)
Follow-up:
Students will put a package of all the origami cranes
together and mail it to Hiroshima City public office to
be added to Sadako’s memorial on Memorial Day.
Rhythm Chant
Content Area:
Language Arts
Grade Level:
Fourth Grade
Rational:
The purpose of this lesson is to expose students to
another aspect of Japanese culture through music chants
and to facilitate pronounciation of difficult
sounds/words in English.
Objectives:
Learners will be able to:
1.) Understand how Taiko chants are used in
Japanese culture.
2.) Follow the rhythm of the chants
3.) Create their own chants using sounds in
English that they find difficult to
pronounce.
4.) Present their chants to the class.
Materials:
Taiko chart with chants (Available with this lesson but
can be created by the teacher for specific language
needs)
Bamboo, Taiko drums (optional, but preferred)
Procedure:
Preview (review/introduce)
Give a brief history on the use of Taiko and its
importance in Japanes culture.
Present
Teach Taiko rhythm while students play drums….or
desks, or clap hands. Add the sounds/syllables
and practice as students learn the new Japanese
pronounciations. Organize students in groups of
about four and have them create their own chants
to go with the rhythm using words or sounds in
English that they find difficult to pronounce.
Review (practice/assessment)
Give the students time to practice their chants so
that they can successfully present them to the
class.
Follow Up:
Create a class chant to present to the whole school at
the next assembly.
Computer
Content Area:
Language Arts
Grade Level:
Fourth Grade
Rational:
The purpose of this lesson is to provide an opportunity
for students to use the computer and discover the
extent of our global community.
Objectives:
Learners will be able to:
1) Access the World Wide Web URL:
http://wings.buffalo.edu/world/vt2//
2) Understand some of the geography of WWII
Materials:
Computer
Instructions for accessing the World Wide Web
Procedure:
Preview (review/introduce)
Discuss the amount of information available on the
Internet and how we can make use of the Internet
as we study the geography of WWII.
Present
1) With a partner students will find the country
where their “book club” book took place,
using the map on the World Wide Web.
2) Students follow instructions on how to enter
the World Wide Web.
3) Students find their country and then four
other countries involved in WWII.
4) Students will report their findings to the
teacher.
Review (practice/assessment)
Students will be assessed when they show their
findings to the teacher. This will show that they
correctly accessed World Wide Web and found their
countries.
Follow Up:
Students will make use of the World Wide Web in other
areas of the curriculum.
Content Area:
Language
Grade Level:
4th Grade
Rationale:
The purpose of this lesson is to give the students a
chance to actively negotiate with others who might have
a different point of view.
Objectives:
Students will be able to cooperate with others in a
small group setting towards a mutual goal.
Materials:
Four copies each of the following books:
Durrant, George D. There’s an Enemy Sub in
Potter’s Pond. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1981.
74p.
The juvenile protagonist learns about friendship,
courage, and loyalty when Pearl Harbor is attacked
and neighborhood opinion threatens his friendship
with his young Japanese friend.
Tripp, Valerie Meet Molly, an American Girl
Madison, WI: Pleasant Company, 1986. 58p.
An American girls experiences during WWII. This
book shows Molly’s reactions to eating
victory-garden vegetables and her Halloween
disappointments.
Ray, Deborah Kogan. My Daddy Was a Soldier, A
World War II Story New York: Holiday House, 1990.
40p.
Jennie’s father joins the army when Jennie is in
the third grade. Her mother becomes a welder. The
text talks about ration books, blue stamps, food
shortages and victory gardens.
Treseder, Terry Walton. Hear O Isreal, A Story of
the Warsaw Ghetto New York: Atheneum, 1990. 41p.
This book is a narrative of Isaac, a young Jewish
boy who is steadfast in his belief in God. He
describes what happens with his fathers and
brothers beliefs. This book could be disturbing
but should be a valuable dose of reality for many
young readers.
Kudlinski, Kathleen V. Pearl Harbor is Burning! A
Story of World War II New York: Viking Penguin,
1991. 54p.
About a young boy who has recently moved to
Hawaii. He becomes friends with a
Japanese-American boy. Together they witness the
bombing of Pearl harbor from a tree house.
Prejudice is used as a didactic theme.
Mellecker, Judith. Randolph’s Dream New York:
Knopf, 1991. 40p.
This book is about a boy who dreams that he can
fly. In his dream he travels to North Africa
where his father is stationed. In this fantasy
story he saves his father who is lost in the
desert. He awakes home in England with the orange
he picked up in North Africa still in his pocket.
Procedure:
Preview (review/introduce):
Discuss with the class the WWII memorial that is
to be put up in the school library. The memorial
is to be created by the fourth grade students and
will stay up for 2-4 weeks to share with the
school.
Present:
Children join “book clubs” (6 total) in which they
read books dealing with different childhood
aspects of WWII. Children make personal choices
as to which “book club” they would like to join
but the five-finger rule should be employed.
Students should complete their books within one
week (about ten pages per day) After books have
been completed and discussed, the representatives
from each book club will come together to form new
groups. Each student will be an expert on the
aspect of WWII they read about. Now the new
groups will need to decide what they want to
create for the memorial and present their idea to
the class to be voted on. The class will work
together to build the memorial that is decided
upon.
Review (practice/assessment):
Assessment will take place throughout as adult
volunteers in the “book clubs” observe students.
Also, when the students debate upon what to
include in the memorial using the information they
learned in their books.
Follow Up:
Putting up the memorial in the library.
Video
Content Area:
Language Arts
Grade Level:
Fourth Grade
Rational:
The purpose of this lesson is to visually expose the
students to the Japanese festival that Sadako’s family
attended and to stimulate discussion of festivals and
ceremonies of the cultures represented in our
classroom.
Materials:
Video: “Japan: The Island Empire” (1988). San
Ramon, CA: International Video Network. 50 minutes.
Procedure:
Preview (review/introduce)
After reading and discussing the festival in the
book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes,
students will be shown a video segment of a
similar festival.
Present
1) Show video
2) Discuss how this festival is similar and/or
different from festivals or ceremonies that
we attend.
3) Write a short story about a festival or
ceremony that the students have attended.
Review (practice/assessment)
Assessment takes place during class discussion of
festivals and ceremonies and teacher review of
students stories.
Follow Up:
Have the class design a festival that reflects the
“beliefs” of our classroom.