Lesson Title: Cendrillon - Compare & Contrast Lesson Number: 6
Grade/Age Level: 4 Time: 10:45am Total Minutes: 90
STANDARD: Common Core State Standard (CCSS) 4.RL.10 By the end of the year, read and
comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, in the grades 4-5 text
complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
Common Curriculum Goal (CCG) Listen to and Read Informational and Narrative
Text: Listen to, read, and understand a wide variety of informational and narrative text
across the subject areas at school and on own, applying comprehension strategies as
needed.
Benchmark (BMK) EL.04.RE.07 Understand and draw upon a variety of
comprehension strategies as needed – re-reading, self-correcting, summarizing, class
and group discussions, generating and responding to essential questions, making
predictions, and comparing information from several sources.
Common Core State Standard (CCSS) 4.W.6 With some guidance and support from
adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as
to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding
skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting.
Common Curriculum Goal (CCG) Writing Modes: Write narrative, expository, and
persuasive texts, using a variety of written forms – including journals, essays, short
stories, poems, research reports, research papers, business and technical writing – to
express ideas appropriate to audience and purpose across the subject areas.
Literacy Focus: Continuing to build on the student’s comprehension skills through
comparing and contrasting texts.
Previous Assessment used to inform Lesson Objective: This lesson is drawn
from the Houghton Mifflin (HM) reading curriculum adopted by the school district. This
lesson continues the learning objective from lesson 5 in this unit.
LESSON OBJECTIVE: Given yesterday’s lesson and a whole group discussion about 4th grade writing
expectations, the student will be able to use a Venn diagram to compare their selected
version of Cinderella to Cendrillon, as well as continue composing their own version of
the Cinderella fairytale, as evidenced by the completed Venn diagram and their
continued work on their story on Storybird to be scored as follows:
Exceeded: The Venn diagram contains 6 or more details in each category, and
their story is complete
Met: Venn diagram contains 4-6 details in each category, and/or their story is
nearly complete
Not Met: Venn diagram contains 3 or less details in each category, and/or their
story only has a few pages
Blooms Level: Synthesis/Create ADAPTATIONS: Addressing Learning Styles:
• Auditory – whole group discussion & partner reading
• Visual – Public record of brainstorm, partner reading, and Venn diagram
• Sociological – Partner reading, working in reading groups to fill out Venn
diagram Structure of Lessons – Students start out at the carpet for a review of Venn diagrams
and directions on the activity. Students return to their desks to work in pairs comparing
their selected version of Cinderella with Cendrillon. As students finish they may get
permission from the teacher to get out a computer to work on their sort-of Cinderella
stories. Students reconvene at the carpet to share highlights from their selected version
of Cinderella. Prerequisite Skills:
• Students are familiar with a Venn diagram
• Students have read Cendrillon
• Students know the routine of partner reading
• Students have been on the Storybird website
• Students know proper behavior with the computers
ESOL:
• JM will have first pick of the various versions of Cinderella, one of which is from
Mexico
• Students are working in pairs
TAG:
• There are not TAG students in this reading group
• A TAG student would be given the option of working independently
Special Needs:
• JM sits on an exercise ball to help maintain focus
• AK, JM, MS, TM, and EC need frequent check-ins
Extension Activities:
• Storybird
Cultural Considerations:
• The provided Cinderella stories are from around the world, and may provide a
variety of cultural curiosities for the students.
MATERIALS: Teacher
• Cinderella/Cendrillon Venn diagram from lesson 5
• Marker
Use of Technology
• iPad
o Listing login information for Storybird website
Student
• 1 student selected version of Cindrella
• Paper (one per reading group)
• Pencil
• HM anthology book
PRIOR TO LESSON:
• Give students their new reading partner(s).
• Set out Cinderella books so that the students can select on without crowding
around the same bin.
ANTICIPATORY SET:
• Have students come sit at the carpet.
• “We will continue writing our stories on Storybird today, but first we need to do
some more research to help make our stories the best that they can be.”
• “Yesterday we compared the stories of Cendrillon and Cinderella using a Venn
diagram. I want you to take some private think time to think about how we used
the Venn diagram to compare the stories. What story elements did we have to
think about in order to fill in the Venn diagram? Turn and talk to your partner.”
• Listen to student responses to check for understanding. Points you want students
to hit are:
o Characters
o Setting
o Plot
o Resolution
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES: Input:
• “We are going to practice this skill again today, but now you will do it with your
reading partner.”
• “I borrowed a bunch of different versions of the Cinderella fairytale from the
library, and each set of partners is going to select one to read together.”
• “When we read from the same book in pairs, I expect for the partner who is not
reading aloud to be following along in the book with their finger. You will alternate
or switch who is reading after each page of text.” Model reading with a partner.
• “When you are finished reading the story, you will use the Venn Diagram to
compare the story you just read with Cendrillon. It would be a good idea to get
out an anthology book so you can look at the Cendrillon story when you compare
them.”
• “I want to remind you that when you are filling out the Venn Diagram to be
thinking about all the parts of a story that we just brainstormed together.”
• List off for students the different versions of Cinderella that you have so they can
decide which version they would like to read.
• “I want the lake partner to select the book you will read, and when you are
finished reading, the window partner will get the materials for the Venn Diagram.”
Output:
• Students read their selected version of Cinderella with their partner(s).
• When done the lake partner will gather the paper and the anthology book so they
can compare their book with Cendrillon.
• As students finish their work with the Venn diagram, they turn in their work to the
teacher for approval to get out a computer to continue writing their sort-of
Cinderella story on storybird.com
• Multiple intelligence(s) Addressed through Activity:
X Linguistic X Logical/Mathematical X Intrapersonal
X Spatial Bodily Kinesthetic Naturalist
Musical X Interpersonal Existentialist
CLOSURE: Ask: “When you are using a Venn diagram, what are some story elements that you
have to think about?”
Tell: “When you are comparing stories, you kind of have to think like an author. You
have to think about the setting, the characters, the plot, and the resolution. These are all
things authors have to think a bunch about when they are writing, because they are
things they know the reader is going to be thinking about.”
Celebrate: “You all did a wonderful job of comparing and contrasting your stories with
Cendrillon today. I was also very impressed with how well your stories are going, and
was very pleased to see many of you going back and adding more detail to your writing.
Record: See Venn diagrams and stories.
REFLECTION: Bringing in a variety of versions of the Cinderella story was a great way to have
these students work in pairs on comparing and contrasting. All of the students were
engaged throughout the entire lesson. I feel like a large portion of this has to do with the
fact that I let them choose what version they were going to read rather than assigning
them. This is the intervention reading group, and due to this fact, a majority of our time
is spent working with the core reading curriculum materials. All of our reading in this
group is assigned, so having a choice was a novelty for these students, and they really
took to it.
Image 3.4 Student Work Sample of Venn Diagram
Some students wanted to be done filling in their Venn diagram with only a couple
of details in each section of the Venn diagram. I had to push these students to think of
more similarities and differences between Cendrillon and their selected Cinderella by
reminding them of comparing the setting and characters in addition to the events of the
stories.
This activity took longer than I had anticipated, but that was okay with me
because my students were so actively engaged in reading and comparing/contrasting
that it was highly beneficial for them. I liked having the continuing project of their sort-of
Cinderella stories for students to work on once they were finished with their Venn
diagrams. This made it so all the students had something to be working on even though
they were all finishing at different paces.
One other thing that I would change for the next time that I teach this lesson, or
one similar, would be to try and select books that are more similar in length rather than
just looking at what culture the story is from. I had one group of boys who selected the
Cinderella story from Mexico, making JM really excited because his family is from
Mexico, so he got to be the expert on the language and culture. The problem arose
when all the other groups were finished and they were still reading, because it was such
a long story. I had them skim the remainder of the story to do their Venn diagram, but I
would like to avoid this problem in the future.