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The Three Little Pigs

Lesson

The Three Little Pigs

Grade Levels

Pre-Kindergarten

Course, Subject

English Language Arts, Mathematics
  • Big Ideas
    Audience and purpose influence the writer’s choice of organizational pattern, language, and literacy techniques.
    Critical thinkers actively and skillfully interpret, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information.
    Effective readers use appropriate strategies to construct meaning
    Effective readers use appropriate strategies to construct meaning.
    Data can be modeled and used to make inferences.
    Mathematical relations and functions can be modeled through multiple representations and analyzed to raise and answer questions.
    Mathematical relationships among numbers can be represented, compared, and communicated.
    Measurement attributes can be quantified, and estimated using customary and non-customary units of measure.
    Numerical quantities, calculations, and measurements can be estimated or analyzed by using appropriate strategies and tools.
    Patterns exhibit relationships that can be extended, described, and generalized.
  • Concepts
    Focus for Writing
    Literary Elements
    Main Idea
    Range of Reading
    Text Analysis
    Theme
    Measureable Attributes
    Object Classification and Count
    Object Quantity
  • Competencies
    Informative: With prompting and support, draw/dictate about one specific topic. Narrative: Establish “who” and “what” the narrative will be about.
    With prompting and support, actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
    With prompting and support, answer questions about key details in a text
    With prompting and support, answer questions to identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
    With prompting and support, retell a familiar story in sequence with picture support.
    With prompting and support, retell key details that support a provided main idea
    Classify up to 10 objects using one attribute into categories; display the number of objects in each category; count and compare the quantities of each category.
    Compare two objects with a measureable attribute in common and describe the difference.
    Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length and weight. Sort and order by one attribute.
    Recognize small quantities up to 6.
    State the total number of objects counted, demonstrating understanding that the last number named tells the number of objects counted.
    Use a one-to-one correspondence when counting to 10.

Rationale

This lesson is adapted from a STEM workshop that I attended. In this lesson, students will explore the story of The Three Little Pigs. They will compare and contrast two different versions of the story. They will also sequence the story from beginning to the end. Students will then be given materials and build their own house for the three little pigs to live in. The house will have to withstand the force of the wolfs (teachers) blow.

Vocabulary

Architect: a person who designs buildings and, in many cases, also supervises their construction

Materials: the matter from which a thing is or can be made

Sequence: arrange in a particular order

Compare: estimate, measure, or note the similarity or dissimilarity between

Contrast: compare in such a way as to emphasize differences

Structure: a building or other object constructed from several parts

Objectives

The students will retell a story in sequential order from beginning, middle, and end.

The students will compare and contrast two versions of the same story.

The students will create and build a stable structure using given materials.

Lesson Essential Question(s)

How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text?
How does a readers’ purpose influence how text should be read?
How does interaction with text provoke thinking and response?
How does what readers’ read influence how they should read it?
What is the purpose?
What is this text really about?
What is this text really about? How do readers know what to believe?
Why do writers write?
How can data be organized and represented to provide insight into the relationship between quantities?
How can mathematics support effective communication?
How can patterns be used to describe relationships in mathematical situations?
How does the type of data influence the choice of display?
How is mathematics used to quantify, compare, represent, and model numbers?
In what ways are the mathematical attributes of objects or processes measured, calculated and/or interpreted?
What does it mean to estimate or analyze numerical quantities?
What makes a tool and/or strategy appropriate for a given task?
Why does “what” we measure influence “how” we measure?

How do we think while reading in order to organize and respond?

Duration

1 hour, 1-2 lessons

Materials

The Three Little Pigs (Reading Railroad) (Amazon.com) (YouTube)

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (Amazon.com) (YouTube)

Beginning, Middle, End Foldable for Retelling (TeachersPayTeachers.com)

The Three Little Pigs Numbers to Five (TeachersPayTeachers.com)

Large pad of paper

Markers

Elmer's Washable Glue

Popsicle sticks

Wooden blocks

Corrugated cardboard (cut into 3x3 squares)

Cardstock (cut into 3x3 squares)

Tagboard (cut into 3x3 squares)

Scrap paper

Pencils

Suggested Instructional Strategies

W: Teacher will explain to students that they will be hearing two versions of The Three Little Pigs.  They will be told to pay close attention to what is the same and what is different.  They will also be designing a house for the pigs to live in.
H: Teacher will keep students interested by providing them with many opportunities to put their knowledge to use.
E: Students will retell the story using a beginning, middle, and end resource.  Students will build a stable structure for the pigs to live in.
R: Students will be given the opportunity to revisit their structure and add to it to make it stronger.
E: Students will evaluate whether or not their structure can withstand the force of the wolf's blow.
T: Students will be presented with many activities that they may freely choose to engage in.
O: Students will go from the carpet to the learning stations as they are dismissed from the carpet.

Instructional Procedures

Day One

1.  Teacher will explain to the students that they will be reading two versions of The Three Little Pigs.  They will be instructed to listen carefully and take note of what is the same and what is different.  Teacher will read "The Three Little Pigs (Reading Railroad)".  The teacher will discuss the story with the students and ask them to recall what happened at the beginning, middle, and end of the story.  Teacher will then read "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs".  The teacher will then disucss the story and ask them to recall what happened at the beginning, middle, and end of the story.

2.  The teacher will draw a Venn Diagram on the large pad of paper.  On the top of one circle, the teacher will write "The Three Little Pigs".  On the top of the other, the teacher will write "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs".  The teacher and students will discuss what was the same and what was different in the two stories.  The teacher will add student responses to the Venn Diagram.

3.  The teacher will explain to the students that they will be put into groups of 4 students each and will design and build a house for the pigs to live in.  Teacher will give the students the Elmer's Washable Glue, corrugated cardboard, tagboard, cardstock, wooden blocks, and popsicle sticks.  They will be instructed to use the materials that they are given to come up with a plan for a house.  They will be asked to draw a picture of what they will build.  They will then use the glue and materials to build their house.  Teacher will closely supervise and provide assistance (helping to glue or hold materials together) where needed.

 

For disinterested students, learning stations will be set up throughout the room.  The stations that will be open are:

-drawing the beginning, middle, and end of the story with the foldable for retelling

-playing The Three Little Pigs Numbers to Five game

-building a house for the three little pigs in the Lego area

-re-enacting the story in the dramatic play area

-building a house for the three little pigs with the unit blocks

 

4.  Students will come together as a whole group to watch the wolf (teacher) try to blow over the houses that the students built.

 

Day Two (voluntary)

1.  The students will be challenged to add on to their houses or create something new with the left over materials.

2.  The wolf (teacher) will try to blow over the new houses that the students have created.

Instructional Procedures

Assessment:

Students will mostly be assessed through teacher observation by answering the following questions.

Was the student able to sit through both versions of the story?

Was the student able to retell the stories in sequential order?

Did the student participate in the design on building of a house?

If the student did participate in the design and building of a house, were they able to work cooperatively with their peers?

Did their house withstand the wolf's blow?

If the student did not participate in the design and building of a house, what else did they choose?

Was the student able to complete an alternative learning activity?

Related Materials & Resources

Author

Annie Yocum
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