Summary: These three cards depict a mother reading a book to her daughter. The mother stops reading when she and her daughter hear something. The little girl becomes impatient waiting for her mother to continue reading to her instead of taking care of her baby sister.
Oral Language Teaching Strategy:
Promote Piggy-Backing Encourage the expansion of conversation through
‘piggy-backing’ (adding to another person’s ideas).
Time: one 30-minute lesson or two 15-minute lessons
Materials: Sequence Cards #29, 30, 31
Grouping: whole class or small group
Assessment: Kindergarten Oral Language Assessment Scale
FOCUSING ON THE PICTURE
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Today we are going to look at three pictures. These pictures are connected and tell a story. It will be our job to figure out the order of the pictures and what story is being told.
Have students sit in a circle and display the 3 cards prominently, in random order, so all students can see (e.g., along the ledge of the chalkboard). Provide ample time for students to analyze the picture, providing prompts to deepen their observations.
- After students have had time to closely analyze the pictures, have them discuss with a partner what they notice and determine an order for the pictures.
- Offer prompts to stimulate discussion and help students piggy-back on one another’s ideas:
- Who do you think the little girl is in these pictures? Let’s give her name.
- Where do you think she is? Why?
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It is great to add on to other people’s ideas. It makes us think even harder and shows that we’re really listening to what our partner is saying.
Who is reading to her? - What is happening in each picture?
- What clues can we use to figure out what is happening in these pictures?
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Have a pair of students volunteer to share their thinking as they place the sequence cards in order.
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Sean and Maya think they go in this sequence. Who agrees with them? Joanna and Owen agree with them. Why do you think they go in this sequence? That is great thinking and I can see that you have added to Sean and Maya’s ideas.
Ask the other students to raise their hands if they agree with the order in which the students placed the cards. - Continue until all the sequences have been represented, then place the sequence cards in the correct order. Have students turn to a new partner and discuss the story depicted by the order of these three cards.
GOING DEEPER
- Display the sequence cards in order. Offer open-ended prompts that focus the students on the emotions and interactions portrayed:
- Look at the first card. How the girl is feeling? What clues tell you this?
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Now that we know the order of the pictures, what do you think is happening? What story is being told? Ahmed you said that you think the little girl is feeling angry in the last picture. Why do you think this? I think the little girl is losing her patience. How could she be more patient? Can her mom just leave her baby sister alone?
What is happening in the next picture? Why do you think they stopped reading? - Look at the third card. How do you think the girl is feeling? What has changed?
- What do you think the girl would say after this happened? How would you feel in this situation? What would you say?
- What would you do or say if you were the little girl? How would you feel?
- How do you think the mom is feeling? How do you know?
Teaching Tip: You may want to discuss concept of patience. Some children’s books about patience are: It’s Taking Too Long by Cheryl Wagner and Let’s Talk About Being Patient by Joy Berry.
You may conclude the lesson at this point and do the second part on the next day, or you may decide to continue and do Connecting and Predicting as part of the first lesson.
CONNECTING
Teaching Tip: If you decide to do Connecting and Predicting on the second day, begin your lesson by reviewing the sequence cards with the students.
- Ask students to connect their personal experiences with the emotions and interactions in the pictures. Prompts might include:
- Have you ever felt like the girl in this picture? How did you feel?
- How is her mom feeling? How do you know this?
- What would you say if this happened to you?
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Have you ever felt impatient? Do your brothers or sisters ever get your parents’ attention when you want it?
Offer specific prompts that fit the discussion you have had with the group.
PREDICTING
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What do you think will happen next? Why do you think this?
Ask students to think about what happened after Sequence Card #31.
- Brainstorm with students possible scenarios that may occur (you may want to focus on predicting what the girl would say and how she could be more patient). Make sure to ask students to explain their thinking, ensuring they are building on the pictures and piggy-backing on the discussions that have taken place.
LESSON EXTENSIONS
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Use the sequence cards as the basis of a shared writing lesson by having the students:
- brainstorm what the mother and little girl are saying. Record the students’ suggestions using an erasable marker on speech/thought bubbles.
- create a feelings chart. Start with the word ‘happy’ and then have students brainstorm other ‘feeling’ words. Continue to add to this chart throughout the year. Students can draw faces to depict the feelings.
- Place the laminated speech/thought bubbles and sequence cards at a follow-up centre. Students can place the bubbles with the appropriate character(s).
FOLLOW-UP IN CENTRES
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Provide students with a variety of puppets and Sequence Cards # 29, 30 and 31. Students can retell the story, and then re-enact the predictions they made about what will happen following the image on the last sequence card.
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Provide pieces of paper with one feeling written on them, for example ‘sad.’ Have students illustrate the feeling.
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Have students draw faces in the sand depicting different feelings.
