Braidy Lesson: Camille and The SunflowersEllen Weber, Ed.S., CCC-SLP

July 2010

Target population: 2nd-5th grade and MID intermediate studentsStudent Objectives: Retell story, using visuals, to include all Braidy story elements Identify feelings in text (both written and implied) & relate to personal experience

Explore appropriate and inappropriate responses to bullying

Literary elements: Characters’ perspective Cohesive ties: one day, then, and, instead, so, if, perhaps, but now, for, one afternoon, just, but, at last, today, as, often, after, that night, so

that, next morning. Feeling words: (explicit) pleased, loved, excited, sad, tired;

(implicit) proud, “laughed”, “in tears”

Materials: Camille and the Sunflowers, by Laurence Anholt (true story about Vincent Van Gogh) Picture sequencing cards (included here)

Pictures of Van Gogh’s paintings Chart paper or white board to write on, markers

Activities:

1. Discuss who Vincent Van Gogh was. Show his paintings and discuss briefly his impressionistic style of painting. Make a chart to show student’s response to his type of painting – a list of describing words from the people who like it, and a list of describing words from the people who do not like it (i.e., messy, crazy, colorful, pretty). Discuss how people in his time did not understand his type of painting, they were used to literal pictures. They also did not appreciate his job - to them, being an artist was not a real job.

2. Prior to reading the story, discuss perspective and prepare students to discuss the difference between the two main characters’ perspective in the story. As most of the perspective is revealed through their feelings, have students listen for the words in the story that describe their feelings.

3. Read story to the class. A shorter version is available online at http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ict.mic.ul.ie/websites/2002/Olive_Ryan/My%2520Website/book.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ict.mic.ul.ie/websites/2002/Olive_Ryan/My%2520Website/camille_and_the_sunflowers.htm&usg=__c5fYWq32-glynWqyU0YIKVFZPyo=&h=295&w=292&sz=18&hl=en&start=4&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=YBd5hXEcner0ZM:&tbnh=115&tbnw=114&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcamille%2Band%2Bthe%2Bsunflowers%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26tbs%3Disch:1 NOTE: do not click on this link – copy/paste it into your browser address window.

4. Using Braidy visuals for story elements, discuss the story from the perspective of Camille first, then from the perspective of Van Gogh. Compare. Find the feeling words in the text and discuss, relate to own experiences.

5. Break class into small groups of about 3 students. Have them using Braidy visuals and/or sequencing pictures to practice retelling the story to each other.

Extension Activities:

1. You can expand this story into a lesson about bullying. Why did the other people pick on Van Gogh? Did he respond the right way? What is the right way to respond to someone bullying you?

2. Writing activity – students rewrite the story, but have one of the characters (Camille or Van Gogh) respond in a different way to the bullying, including what the consequence would be.

3. Art activity: painting sunflowers in an impressionistic style. Explore the different colors sunflowers come in.

4. Science activity: plant sunflower seeds and watch them grow. Keep data, make a chart for math class.

5. Music: play Don McLean’s “Starry Starry Night” and show Van Gogh’s painting. Discuss how the two are connected, if the song captures the feeling of the painting.

Curriculum Standards: ELA2R4.h Comprehension: Makes connections between texts and/or personal experiences. ELA2R4.i Comprehension: Identifies and infers main idea and supporting details. ELA3R3.f Comprehension: Makes judgements and inferences about setting, characters, and events and supports them with evidence from the text. ELA3R3.j Comprehension: Identifies and infers main idea and supporting details in appropriate sequence. ELA3R3.p Comprehension: Recognizes the author's purpose and discriminates between realism and fantasy. ELA4R1.g Literary Texts: Identifies similarities and differences between the characters or events and theme in a literary work.ELA4W2.d Response to Literature: Demonstrates an understanding of the literary work (e.g., a summary that contains the main idea and most significant details of the reading selection). ELA4LSV1.k Listening, Speaking, and Viewing: Gives reasons in support of opinions expressedELA5R1.i Comprehension - Literary Texts: Makes judgements and inferences about setting, characters,and events and supports them with elaborating and convincing evidence from the text. ELA5LSV1.k Listening, Speaking, and Viewing: Gives reasons in support of opinions expressed

Copy/paste these picture files onto your smart/active boards to share with your students:

Sequencing Cards:

Enlarge for coloring page/art lesson: Enlarge and print out for math – count the seeds.

Follow-up with cooking project: toasted s.f. seeds

Write math problems on each petal. Answer is the number

of the color to color it. Ex: 1= red, 2= yellow, 3 = orange, etc.