Robin Adamopoulos
Lesson Plan
ENGL 538: Bilingualism
Dr. Vilá
Summer, 2004
Lesson Plan: Introduction to Animal Trickster Tales
Setting:
Transitional Bilingual Education setting – students would be instructed in English
for 60 percent of the day – 40 percent of instruction would be given in student’s native
language. This lesson plan is built around intermediate to advanced English Language
Learners in an inclusion classroom where instruction is delivered primarily in English.
The use of bilingual materials would be strongly encouraged in all content areas. The
lesson assumes the class has a bilingual instructor – English and Spanish.
Inclusion classroom of upper elementary students
(4th or 5th) in a reading/ language arts period (90 minutes).
Mainstream classroom demographics: 50 percent native English speakers and 50
percent English Language Learners in a transitional bilingual education program. Of the
native English speakers, 25 percent would be African-American and/or HispanicAmerican. The first language background of the ELLs would include a majority of
Spanish speakers and a small minority of Asian students – Korean, Mandarin Chinese
and Hindi speakers.
Assumed Knowledge for this Lesson:
The students in this program would participate in a team teaching or integrated
curriculum setting. The students would complete a unit on the Amazon rainforest in a
science class prior to or concurrent with this lesson. They would be familiar with
Amazon animals and their Spanish names. Posters could be placed in the classroom with
pictures of Amazon animals, and the teacher could display student projects in the
classroom as a visual reference for the following lesson.
Lesson Objectives:
1.) Students will read a short animal folktale in English and identify the tale as a
Trickster Tale. Trickster Tales involve the underdog prevailing against
seemingly impossible circumstances and overcoming obstacles while teaching
his/her opponent a lesson – usually through some kind of deception or
omission of truth.
2.) Students will be able to recognize the various words for animals in the story
and use these words in creating their own Trickster Tales.
3.) Students will identify the characters of the Trickster Tales: The trickster, also
known as a “pícaro” in Spanish, and the victim(s) of the trick.
4.) Students will explain the conflict or problem of the story and the resolution of
the problem – or how the trickster gets out of trouble by hoodwinking his/her
victim.
5.) Students will recognize the moral of the trickster tale and be able to relate the
story in oral form.
6.) Students will gain an understanding of trickster tales as a literary form which
is common to many cultures as a lesson in human nature.
Materials:
DeSpain, Pleasant, Ed. (1999) “Why Beetle is Beautiful: a Brazilian Folktale.”
The Emerald Lizard: Fifteen Latin American Tales to Tell. English and Spanish,
Little Rock, AR: August House, Inc. 63-70. (Copy of Story is Attached).
Suggested reading for silent sustained reading time:
González, Lucía M. (1997) “How Uncle Rabbit Tricked Uncle Tiger.” Señor Cat’s
Romance and other Favorite Stories from Latin America. New York: Scholastic
Press. 35-41.
Sherman, Josepha. (1996) Trickster Tales: Forty Folk Stories from Around the World.
Little Rock, AR: August House, Inc.
Other materials:
Posters of Amazon animals – pictures of Parrots, Beetles and Pacas – jungle rats
Hand Out – Reading Guide to “Why Beetle is Beautiful.” “Porqué es hermoso el
escarabajo.”(attached)
Craft supplies or access to computer word processing program for students to
write and illustrate their own Trickster Tales.
Procedure:
1.) 20-25 minutes -- Pre-reading discussion – builds background knowledge for reading.
 Ask students if they have ever heard of Aesop’s Fable: “The Tortoise and the
Hare.” Ask student volunteers to tell the story to the class – as much as they
know. Encourage students to help each other to tell the tale. (If students do
not know the story – the teacher will have to tell the story and ask students
questions.) As students are recounting the tale – write the names of the
characters on the board – post pictures of a tortoise and a hare underneath.
 Ask students which one of the characters was a “trickster” – What helped the
turtle to win the race? (He knew the rabbit was lazy. He knew that hard work
paid off. Slow and steady wins the race, etc.) What is the lesson to be learned
from the story?
 Write the responses to the discussion on the board by identifying the turtle as
the “trickster”—write the word “pícaro” next to this -- identify the hare as the
“victim.” Write the word “moral” in large letters and record the students’
answers to what is the lesson of the story. Emphasize that trickster stories
always have a trickster – or a character who does not seem like he/she has the
“stuff” to succeed – but who has brains or wit and uses their knowledge or
intelligence to win. Emphasize that sometimes trickster stories have a
“moral” or a lesson to be learned. Tell students that trickster tales are popular
around the world, and that in Spanish stories, the trickster is often called a
“pícaro.” Native Spanish speaking students may be able to identify with this –
encourage and acknowledge responses in Spanish and English – translate to
English for the class. For example, some students may know of “Juan Bobo,”
a Puerto Rican trickster tale. Encourage other ELLs to share trickster tales
from their cultures – what do they call these tales in Korean, for example. An
optional assignment could invite students to ask their parents to tell them
trickster tales that they could share with the class.
 Introduce the reading activity by telling students that we will be reading a
story today that comes from Brazil and is very similar to “The Tortoise and
the Hare” story. But instead of a tortoise and a hare, this is a story about a
beetle, a rat, and a very wise Parrot.
Silent Reading/During Reading Activity (30 minutes)
2.) Students will read the story silently to themselves – the story can be read in
Spanish for newcomer Spanish speakers – If other language translations are
available for students – use them.
3.) During reading: Handout the reading guide with discussion questions – students
do not need to fill this out using complete sentences – they can jot down phrases
or words or just yes or no answers – writing in their first language is acceptable –
but they must be able to tell someone else what they wrote in English.
Modification: Students with special needs will use the visual graphic
organizer to do this.
After Reading and DEAR time activities (35 minutes)
4.) After reading: Bring students back together to discuss what they wrote on their
handouts.
5.) Close the lesson with a dramatic/choral reading of the story in English – choose
students to play the parts and have the class read the narrator’s role together. Ask
students to act like the characters of the animals – El loro – the parrot – flaps his
wings – Paca, the rat can scurry, and the beetle can flit from flower to flower
showing her pretty wings.
6.) Students will be invited to read other Trickster Tales during silent sustained
reading time. Have these materials available in the classroom or ask the school
librarian to pull some animal folktales for students to check out during media
center time.
Assessment:
Formative Assessments:
1.) Teacher observations – the teacher should mentally note the students’
responses during the discussion time, and circulate during silent reading of the
story to make sure that students are understanding directions – grasping the
concepts and comprehending the story.
2.) The reading guide handout – this handout should be collected or kept in a
folder of student work (portfolio) in the classroom so that the teacher can
review the students’ work. If a lot of responses are illegible, don’t make sense
or are written in the student’s first language – the teacher can begin to identify
areas where instruction can be adjusted to meet the needs of individual
students or address recurring problems.
Summative Assessments:
1.) The students will recount one of the Trickster Tales they have read during
DEAR time. They can do this orally – to the teacher alone – not in front of
the class – or in written form – in a reading log or journal format, for example.
2.) Students will write their own Trickster Tale using animal characters.
a. The teacher can start students thinking about this by naming some
animals and asking the class to think of certain characteristics of each
animal.
b. The students can choose to either tell a tale that is actually from their
cultural background or pick one of the tales they have read and adapt it
to their culture – using animals that they are familiar with.
c. The students will first brainstorm with a partner -- who will be the
trickster, the victim, the problem, the trick or secret of the trickster,
and the moral or lesson to be learned from the story. A graphic
organizer could facilitate this – or have students take notes on their
brainstorming session. Modification: Students could have several
options: A “Trickster Tale Cartoon” using a cartoon strip-type of
organizer. The students can draw pictures and add words and
phrases to enhance their cartoon with text. The other optional
assessment could be to design a “WANTED” poster for the
trickster – a large picture of the trickster and a few sentences
describing the characteristics of the trickster – what he/she is
“wanted” for. Students could work together in pairs to produce a
“RAP Song” which would talk about the trickster’s legendary
tricks. Sample Rubrics follow.
d. The students will write the story – either by hand or using a word
processor.
e. Writing Process: First peer review for content – the student will share
the story with a partner to read and comment – only on the content of
the story. Note: Guide to pairing up students – pair ELLs with native
speaking students to help with peer review and the teacher can also
help with reviewing stories. The teacher can provide a guide to this
activity by asking some questions: Such as, who is the trickster, what
is his/her trick – secret knowledge, who is the victim, how does the
trickster fool him/her, does the story make sense to you – do you
understand the lesson here? Have students revise their stories for
content. – Second draft peer review – spelling, punctuation, grammar –
teacher review of second draft.
Publish: Students will revise their second draft and prepare a final
draft of the story with illustrations – to be shared with the class.
Suggested Rubric for Scoring the Project:
Original Trickster Tale:
100 Points Possible
40 points for plot– the story includes at least two characters – a trickster and
a victim – clear explanation of a problem/conflict between the two characters –
resolution of the conflict – the story should convey a lesson or a moral.
30 points for characterization– Descriptions of the characters and their
characteristics – the flaws of the victim which lead him/her to be tricked – the
“trick” or secret talents of the trickster
20 points for illustrations – help to understand the story.
10 points for spelling, grammar and punctuation
Trickster Cartoon:
100 points possible
40 points for plot – the comic/cartoon strip exhibits a sequence of events
leading to the victim falling prey to the trickster’s tricks. The strip should convey a
lesson or a moral.
30 points for characterization – the drawings match the character of the
trickster and the victim.
20 points for illustrations – help to understand the story
10 points for neatness, creativity, overall presentation
WANTED poster:
100 points possible
40 points – Content – the poster consists of a picture of the trickster and a
description of his/her characteristics.
30 points – A brief description of the “crime”
20 points – A stated reward, plus what the victim is asking for as
compensation or punishment for the trickster – maybe a phone number to call the
victim with tips on the trickster’s whereabouts, for example.
10 points for neatness, creativity, overall presentation
Trickster RAP:
100 points possible
40 points – Content – the song must explain the story of the trickster and the
victim. The song must end with a moral or lesson to be learned. “So, listen up
people, when you think you’re small – you might just find that you can have it all,
uh-huh, uh-huh etc.”
30 points – Format – Rhyming pairs with a steady beat. A chorus of some
kind to reinforce the story. Appropriate language is required. “home-boys” or
“crib” would be okay – but nothing of the four-letter variety.
30 points – Performance of the RAP for the teacher and the class. Again,
emphasize standards of propriety – certain gestures would not be allowed.
Reference:
Young, Terrell A. and Phyllis M. Ferguson. (1998). “From Anansi to Zomo: Trickster
Tales in the Classroom.” Literacy Instruction for Culturally and Linguistically
Diverse Students. Michael F. Opitz, editor. Newark, DE: International Reading
Association. 258-274.
Appendix A: Reading Guide Handout to “Why Beetle is Beautiful”
1.) Why does the parrot want to give beetle a new coat?
2.) What does Paca want?
3.) Why does the parrot tell Beetle and Paca to have a race? Who has the best chance
to win? Why?
4.) Who wins the race? What did Paca forget about beetle?
5.) What is the “Moral” or the lesson to be learned from the story?
6.) In the story – who is the “trickster” and who is the “victim”?
7.) What “trick” is used to win? (Hint: This is really the same answer as number 4.)
8.) In your opinion, is a beetle more beautiful than a rat? Why do you think this
way?