Grade: 4

Subject: Fairytales

Length of Lesson: 45-50 minutes

Topic/Theme: Types of Narrative Structure

Purpose:

The students are learning about the different forms of narrative structure. Today we will focus in on one type: fairytales. Students will develop an understanding of a fairytale and the relationship of reading and writing. They will begin to develop their writing process’s with the development of their own fairytale which will take place over a period of time.

Materials, Resources, Methods, Classroom procedures:

• Fairytale- “Young Guinevere” by Robert D. San Souci
• read a loud the book

Background Knowledge:

In the previous class, the students were informed about what narrative structure was, how it is used, etc. They saw examples of the different forms it takes, defining characteristics that help distinguish one from the other.

Body of Lesson:

1. I will discuss with the students what a fairytale is. The common structural characteristics of narratives, where a fairytale fits in with its own special characteristics that set’s it apart from the others.
2. I will read the story “Young Guinevere” by Robert D. San Souci so the children can see a real example of a fairytale. We will discuss this story and other examples that the students may have read.
3. Then I will begin to introduce the students to a project that we will be working on: writing our own fairytale. This will happen in a step-by-step process, the first of which is prewriting that we have begun today.
4. Next, I will write fairytale on the board and the class will brainstorm together about possible writing ideas. Keywords, phrases, special objects that are in fairytales, etc. This will give the students a place to start.
5. Next, I will have the students begin their writing by simply writing down an idea they may have, a character they thought of, anything that they think of in terms of their own fairytale.

Completion and Closure of Lesson:

While the children have been writing their ideas, I have been walking around the class room seeing their progress, helping those who may have been having difficulty. Once I am sure that everyone has an idea that will allow them to begin, I will assign the first draft of the story. It does not have to be pages long, or a completed fairytale because this is only the first draft. The students are to bring in their drafts the following day where we will continue working on them in class.

Assessment:

The first draft of the writing assignment will give me an idea of the students understanding and writing ability: if they are able to incorporate the information they learned in class and use it in terms of developing their own fairytale. The end result will be their evaluation.