Pourquoi Tales
Created By:
Cyndi Jensen
Title/Role:
Elementary School Teacher/Librarian
Organization/School Name:
Anchorage School District/Ravenwood Elementary
Location:
Alaska
Grade Level:
4 Type of Lesson:
Lesson in a unit Type of Schedule:
Fixed Collaboration Continuum:
Limited Content Area:
Language Arts Content Topic:
A Pourquoi tale, French for why... because; explaining why something came to be in nature. Scenario:
While informally meeting with teachers on an upcoming unit it was identified that students have had difficulty distinguishing unique elements of a Pourquoi tale. Student frustration was experienced when attempting to write a Pourquoi tale which is the unit final project. Teacher/Librarian (TL) suggested the development of a chart identifying the essential features of the Pourquoi genre. Initial classroom and Library work will include reading a variety of tales to gain familiarity with these tales.
Overview:
Unit Focus: What purpose do Pourquoi tales serve in the understanding of early peoples about the natural world in which they lived?
Essential question for this lesson: Can students identify the unique features that distinguish a Pourquoi tale to enable them to write their own tale? Final Product:
The final product is a student created Semantic Feature Analysis Chart. The chart will serve as a guide and student self-assessment tool when writing their Pourquoi tale. Students will create by using notebook paper to underscore that charts are helpful when developing understanding of new/complex information and require easily accessible materials. Library Lesson:
Using the Inquiry method, students will develop an understanding of the critical differences of the Pourquoi genre by comparing and contrasting its features with the more familiar fiction genre. Estimated Lesson Time:
30 minutes Have you taught this lesson before:
No Strategies for differentiation:
The reading differentiation method in previous library sessions was Pourquoi Readers Theater scripts. Using the previously read scripts, students will highlight five Pourquoi features. Students will use different colored highlighters to identify critical features of the Pourquoi tales. Students will develop a legend to identify specific features.