The Case of the Three Little Pigs…

The Case of the Three Little Pigs…

Created by Jodi Percival

Grade Level: 2-4

Critical Task: Using all of the facts, and opposing perspectives, students will determine if the wolf is at fault and then defend their views.

Overview: Students will listen first to the classic tale The Three Little Pigs, listening and then considering/discussing what went wrong for the pigs. Next, a teacher (myself or other available teacher) will appear at the door wearing a wolf costume and offer to read The True Story of The Three Little Pigs in order to "clear up any misunderstandings." The classroom teacher will reappear almost immediately, and the students will compare the two stories in a class discussion, and express their feelings, verbally and written, focusing eventually on who is to blame in the story.

Requisite Tools:

Background knowledge: Students will have listened to the two stories; will have discussed the qualities of good/ bad characters and the concepts of good/ evil in literature and in our societies. Also, students will have some knowledge about perspective and bias/point of view, and how a story can change depending on who is telling it.

Criteria for Judgement: Students will be involved in class discussion and debate, will understand and recognize "grey areas" in which it is difficult to ascertain good and bad, and be willing and able to express their decisions/views verbally and written using supportive evidence from the stories.

Critical Thinking Vocabulary: Perspective, bias, fair-mindedness, and food chain/ survival, justify.

Thinking Strategies: Review and discuss evidence from the story, comparing both the pigs’ and the wolf’s perspective, using a T-chart to clearly identify the events of the story in first the pigs’ and then the wolf’s point of view.

Suggested Activities:

Read to the students the classic fairy tale The Three Little Pigs

Encourage discussion, asking the students how the pigs must have felt to have their houses blown down by the wolf, and help the class to understand the reasons the pigs must have had for building the kinds of houses that they did: i.e. straw was readily available and a straw house could be constructed quickly; sticks were available and did not take too long; bricks were expensive, difficult to transport, and required more time and tools to be made into a house
A knock on the door will signal the class that there is a teacher dressed up like a wolf to read the students The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, by A. Wolf. Some interactive class discussion will follow/ be encouraged.
The classroom teacher will reappear, asking the students to now share their opinions about the story of three little pigs, considering the opposing perspectives that they have heard.
After reviewing/outlining the events of the story, ask the students to justify the events from both sides of view, organizing the opposing perspectives on a T-chart.
Ask the students to decide whether the wolf is guilty or not, and then have them respond like a reporter covering the story and write a one-page-response concerning what really happened and who is to blame, justifying their views with evidence from the stories.

Lesson Options/Extensions:

This Social Studies lesson could be easily extended into Science, Language Arts, Drama, and Visual Art activities curriculum. It could introduce a provincial study on the development of various communities in relation to their location and availability of resources, describe how technology affects individuals and communities, incorporate a scientific unit on food chains in the wild/ecosystems, a literature-based examination of perspective and the influence of bias, skits to act out the students own ending or interpretation of the story, and a picture of the ideal house that they would create.

Resources:

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, by A. Wolf. As told to Jon Scieszka, Illustrated by Lane Smith. Viking Penguin Publishing, 1989.

Assessment and Evaluation:

Students will participate in classroom discussion and brainstorming, completing a T-chart and justifying their responses with evidence from the story (ies). They will demonstrate an understanding of the opposing biases that framed the stories, and also that there is more than one interpretation of the texts. Finally, they will justify their opinions on the literature, and go on to write a report describing who is at fault based on what they have heard, the T-chart they have collectively formed, and their own interpretations.

Ed 412- Social Studies Lesson Plan, Created by Jodi Percival
Criteria Source Self Evaluation Teacher Evaluation

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Rationale: Rationale developed from:

It is important that IRP Social Studies general

students are able to outcomes: students will identify

evaluate choices, make an an issue and provide several

informed decision, and reasons to support a position.

justify their thinking. They have demonstrated willingness

to share their opinions in

classroom discussions and

brainstorm sessions

previously, and are able to

express themselves in

writing with some assistance

with spelling and punctuation.

This lesson will tie in with

Their Language Arts, Creative

Writing, and Personal Planning

curriculum, in particular the

significance of bias/perspective

in their conflict resolution/ "how

to be a friend" activities and learning.

Learning Outcomes: Students will listen to both versions

Students will be able to of the story about the three little pigs,

describe how the physical compare them with some discussion

environment influenced the activity about bias and opposing perspective,

of the pigs and the wolf; collect evaluate the information and arrange it.

information from a variety of visually in a T-chart. And then, based

sources and experiences; draw on evidence from the stories, students

interpretations from oral will decide who is really at fault in the

sources, visual and written ‘Case of the Three Pigs’ and express

representations; Organize their opinions and justifications

information in a written assignment.

Lesson Description: Students will listen to a story that most

Read the students first of them will have heard before, but

the classic fairy tale The Three

Little Pigs, and then encourage

a class discussion about what

the pigs must have been feeling,

and also help the class to

understand why the pigs might

have built the houses they did.

ED412- The Case of the Three Little Pigs, A Lesson Requiring Critical Thought

Grade Level: 2-4

Created by Jodi Percival

Rationale: It is important that students are able to process information, evaluate choices, make an informed decision, and justify their decision.

Learning Outcome: Students will be able to describe how the physical environment influenced the activity of the pigs and the wolf; collect and process information from a variety of sources and experiences; draw interpretations from oral, visual, and written sources; organize and present information.

Lesson Description:
Student Learning Activities:

-Students will listen to a story that most of them have heard before, and then discuss, as a group, what the pigs must have been feeling, why they built the houses they did, and the wolf’s character.

-Students will listen to another version of the same story, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, as told by someone in a wolf mask/costume. Interactive class discussion will follow.

-Students will listen attentively to the

new vocabulary, and will recognize the words on the board.

-The students will brainstorm and offer suggestions to be included on the T-chart at the front of the room, specifically the opposing perspectives of the events of the story as they understand them from the two stories.

-Assuming the role of a reporter, each student will write a one-page analysis of the case of the three little pigs, with their own interpretations/judgements based on the two stories.

Teacher Activities:

-Read the students the original version of "The Three Little Pigs," and then encourage class discussion about what

the pigs must have been feeling; and

help the students explore why the pigs

built the houses they did.

-Slip out of the classroom, put on a wolf mask and tail, and return to read another version about the three little pigs- this one from the wolf’s perspective.

-Introduce to the class the critical thinking vocabulary and concepts that they will need in order to be successful with this lesson: perspective, bias, fair-mindedness, justify, and food chain/survival.

-After reviewing/outlining the events of the stories, ask the students to justify the events from both sides of view, organizing the perspectives on a T-chart.

-Ask the students to put on their "reporter’s hats" and cover the story of the three little pigs in a one-page response. Instruct them to include what really happened, who was to blame, and justifications for their views from the texts in their written reflection.

Lesson Options/Extensions:

Resources:

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, by A. Wolf. As told to Jon Scieszka, Illustrated by Lane Smith. Viking Penguin Publishing, 1989.

Assessment and Evaluation:

Self-Evaluation: I loved The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, and feel certain that it is a book that students will also be interested in. I am sure that it will be unforgettable for both myself and the class when I find a wolf’s costume to appear in and read the wolf’s perspective. By framing this lesson around the traditional version of the story, which most of the students will be familiar with, I am hoping that they will be comfortable with the critical thinking vocabulary that is introduced and eager to hear another perspective with fair-mindedness. The concepts of bias and perspective could be readily reinforced to students by examining some news headlines, especially the ones buried deep within the newspaper, and thinking about the opposing perspective. An art extension would be to have the students illustrate their reports. I am sure that I would have to brainstorm with the class before they started writing, and then print the spellings of the words suggested on the board for encouragement.