I. Curricular Framework

Concept:

Identity

Essential Question:

Why is it important to appreciate the differences in others?

Bridge:

The Value of Differences

Content:

Outcomes:

II. Standards Aligned

III. Instruction and Assessment

1. Connect: Connecting to the Concept Experientially

Objective: For the children to imagine what it would be like to be another species.

Activity: Tell the children the following story:

Once upon a time there was a little boy who decided he wanted to be a horse. Being a horse he could run fast across the meadow. That was better than being a boy he thought. So he told his mother that from now on, he would be a horse. She smiled.
And so he began to be a horse. He walked on his hands and his feet, he whinnied instead of talking and he brought his things into the barn so he could sleep there with the other horses. His mother told him it was fine with her is he wanted to be a horse and that she would bring him his supper in the barn.
After a day of walking on all fours, and running in the meadow, he was tired and hungry. He was anxious for his mother to bring him his supper. She came into the barn with a large bundle of hay for him. He was not happy about eating the hay even though it smelled very sweet. He could also smell what was cooking in the house where the people ate, and he asked his mother what the people were eating tonight. She answered, “Oh, we’re having hot dogs and French fires and ice cream.”
What do you think he did?

Assessment: Discussion liveliness and fun.

2. Attend: Attending to the Connection

Objective: To have the children examine more closely the value of differences.

Activity: Initiate a discussion with the children about horses being horses and people being people. Ask them why these differences are good. Have them list some of the good things about having different species in our world. List the good things on a paper chart.

Assessment: Discussion indicating the children are beginning to develop a deeper appreciation for the diversity of life on this planet.

Assessment, Phase One, Level of Engagement, Fascination:

3. Image: Creating a Mental Picture

Objective: To canvass the group on their understanding so far.

Activity: Have the children complete the sentence orally, “Differences are…”

Assessment: Do the children understand the value of differences?

Assessment, Phase Two, Seeing the Big Picture:

4. Inform: Receiving Facts & Knowledge

Objective: To understand and enjoy the book

Activity: Read Stellaluna

Assessment: Attentiveness and understanding on the part of the children.

Assessment, Phase Three, Success with Acquiring Knowledge:

5. Practice: Developing Skills

Objective: To elicit from the children the pertinent details of the story.

Activity: Ask the following questions:
Why did Mother Bat drop Stellaluna?
Who took care of Stellaluna when she got lost?
Why did mother bird scold Stellaluna?

Name three differences between birds and bats.

Assessment: Accuracy of the answers. Children may look up the answers in the book.

Assessment, Phase Four, Success with Acquiring Skills:

6. Extend: Extending Learning to the Outside World

Objective: To further examine the differences in birds and bats.

Activity: Have the children create a two-fold picture:
Stellaluna flying like a bird, and Stellaluna flying like a Bat

Assessment: The accuracy of the pictures.

7. Refine: Refining the Extension

Objective: To have the children share each other’s understanding of the meaning of differences.

Activity: Have the children write or discuss their reflections on the dialogue on the last page of the book concerning the mystery of being different and still being friends.

Assessment: The level of the children’s understanding of the beauty of diversity

8. Perform: Creative Manifestation of Material Learned

Objective: To have the children visualize the person they are now.

Activity: Have the children create a collage depicting: their favorite color, their favorite food, their favorite game and themselves in their favorite clothes. Title the picture, “This is Me.” Post them around the room or in their homes in a prominent place. Title the display, “Our Differences.”

Assessment: Quality of the details, overall presentation.

Assessment, Phase Five,Performance, Creative Use of Material Learned: