Note: This unit plan is geared for a Grade 3 class, for the London (Ontario) Public School Board. It can easily be modified for almost any grade in the Early Years. As well, not all of the suggested elements need be used - pick and choose as you see fit. The overall aim has been to provide a well-rounded language arts unit, with activities and evaluation specifically designed for an outcomes or expectations based curriculum (i.e., the Ontario Ministry of Education and Training's Common Curriculum). The terminology used, if necessary, should be modifiable without too much difficulty to fit your own board's particular standards.

Introduction:

A shaft of sunlight opens the story of Fox Song. Jamie has, reluctantly, just awakened from a dream, a dream about herself and her great-grandmother, grama Bowman. Through a retelling of a series of four memories, we learn about Jamie, a girl of about eight years, and her relationship with her Abenaki grama.

Each memory takes place in a different season of the year - summer, spring, winter and fall. Like memory, these do not occur in their expected chronological sequence. Still, the physical seasons are used as a metaphor for the seasons of the human life cycle.

The story begins with a note of sadness - Jamie is reluctant to return to the wakening world because of a recent, painful memory, so she moves back for comfort into more distant memories. As we move from memory to memory, our initial suspicion is confirmed as we eventually learn that grama Bowman has recently died.

But grama Bowman's strong link with the natural world through her Abenaki culture is passed on to and shared by Jamie. At the climax of the story, Jamie revisits a favourite tree where she and grama used to sit. Here, Jamie sees a fox and is reminded of this bond through the living world with her great-grandmother, and is thus able to come to terms with her loss and sense of loneliness. Fox Song is a story of hope, a hope founded on humankind's unbreakable link with the cycles of the natural world, which says that the value of a human life is not diminished by the fact it is finite.

General Description:

The relationship between people and nature will form the main concept of the unit, and more specifically, through Fox Song and four related books, the way animals are viewed and how they are portrayed. For example, what role does the fox play? Why is it important?

And more generally: are the animals in a particular story shown realistically? If not, what is different, and why are they so described? If the image is not being used to represent a real animal, what is the image being used for? Through this and related discussions and activities, as a general outcome, children will become aware of some specific ways stories are structured, how authors get you to continue reading through the use of these structures, and some specific usages of language (in particular adjectives, use of past and present tenses).

Other key concepts and questions include:

Relationships between people (especially the young and the old), and between people and animals;

Cycles, both human and animal life cycles and the cycle of the seasons (these can be used as simply descriptive elements, to set a mood, but they can also be used as a means to establish a framework or time line for a story);

Mood B all of the five books selected establish a powerful mood, how is this created?;

Memories B as a mode of thinking about the past, but also as a tool to tell a story; what is the role of the author B as a passive narrator or active participant B and how does this affect the development of the story ?

The main theme of the unit, then with its emphasis on relationships and mood, dwells on the affective development of the children. Fox Song can also be used for its content in relation to cognitive development (for specific topics in reading, writing and story development, as well as for other general topics such as natural history or social studies/self and society). It can be used as a tool for a discussion on First Nations culture in Canada. What elements of Native culture are in evidence in Fox Song? These can be brainstormed and categorized: food, beliefs, etc. Singing or chanting the fox song can be used as an introduction into the Native words found in the story. How are they different form English words? What do you think the words in the song mean?

The feel of sunlight, the taste of berries, fox tracks seen in the snow, the texture of birch bark B all of these play a strong role in Fox Song and can be used for a discussion on the five senses, both in general terms and specifically in story telling. How do you convey the smell of something through words? This leads into the use of adjectives/descriptive words.

The five selections also share strong visual images through illustrations to complement the written word. What illustration techniques are used? How do they help in telling the story? Would the story be the same without the illustrations, and if not, what would change?

(Try reading the some of the stories without showing the pictures first.)

Note that all the above concepts can be used for affective development, or to examine various areas of how narratives are structured.

This can range from a straightforward chronological sequence of events (such as Owl Moon below) to develop the main idea, to a shift in moods as in Fox Song, to a complete absence of real time as in Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain. It can also include vocabulary, elements of grammar, use of past and present tenses, and so on.

Summary of the other four main book selected:

Owl Moon: an excellent counterpart to Fox Song in mood and style. It relates a moonlit, winter walk to spot an owl by a father and child (while the story is assumed to be autobiographical, the story itself is not explicit whether the narrator is a daughter or son B you can have an interesting discussion to see how many children think it is a boy or a girl). As a veteran owl spotter myself, this is a tricky business at best; most of the story is taken up with the long and apparently vain search for an unlikely sighting. Then, the sudden appearance of a great horned owl, like the fox in Fox Song, at one level incidental, creates a powerful mood. Owl Moon, too, uses a reflection on nature to examine human relationships.

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain: is a modern retelling of a Nandi (Kenyan) folk story. Through the form of a poem, the reader follows the cycle of a drought, as heavy clouds refuse to release their rain fall. (The form is based on the model of The House that Jack Built, a new element is added to each verse which is otherwise a repetition of the first verse, the new element then itself becoming part of the repeated phrases.) Finally, Kipat the hunter constructs an arrow using eagle feathers, and shoots the clouds, thous finally releasing the life-giving rains.

Once There Was a Tree: is a contemporary Russian story about the life of a tree. An old tree is struck by lightening and reduced to a stump. Various animals then take up ownership of the stump, including a woodsman at the end. The stump finally rots away and a new tree springs up. The tree is a metaphor for the earth, and the book asks the question: who actually owns the world?

Lon Po Po: like "Kapiti" is a traditional folk story, this time from China. It shares mixed elements of Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs. Here three sisters are threatened by a wolf, claiming to be their grandmother. But before it is too late, the girls uncover the deception, and in turn trick and kill the wolf. Key questions here involve how the wolf is different from the animals shown in the other stories. Do real wolves talk and disguise themselves as grandmothers? B no so what things is the wolf being used to represent? This involves the topic of what is real in stories, and what is not, and how the varying treatments can be used in story development.

Unit Outline:

The unit is based on a number of lessons, beginning with a reading of Fox Song to the whole class with some general discussion of the story. This is followed by shared reading of the book with a look at some specific elements of the story, based on the questions and concepts outlined in the first section.

This series of lessons would be complemented by the six activities. These are outlined below and are sketched out on the accompanying web diagram. Four separate mini-lessons and a research project will also be outlined.

Activity 1, Listening:

Objectives/outcomes: The student will demonstrate ability to listen with understanding.

Children will listen to a variety of recorded sounds from nature B bird songs, rain etc. B and jot down a few descriptive words on the mood created by each recording. Evaluation is tied into the second activity.

Activity 2, Viewing/Illustration:

Based on the notes from the first activity, the children will draw two or more pictures to tell a story. Captions can be written for each picture, combined with an outline of the story. Evaluation will consist of anecdotal notes based on the completed work.

Activity 3, Personal and Social Values:

Objectives /outcomes: The students will demonstrate the ability to listen and read for comprehension, and skim for key information.

The children, based on the readings of the story, will note the elements of Abenaki life found in Fox Song and categorize them. Copies of the story should be available for reference. Evaluations will be based on a brief oral discussion with each student on their findings.

This could also be done as a small group activity.

Activity 4, Reading:

Objectives/outcomes: Students will demonstrate reading with understanding, predict contents of a book based on title, illustration, author and/or cover picture, and demonstrate book knowledge skills by using the school library.

The children would find a theme-related book (based on the five main books) for independent reading. You would probably have to hold a mini-lesson on how to do this. Evaluation would be based on how well the student chose his/her book, and also anecdotal notes on individual oral reading to the teacher. Note that one strategy in finding a book would be consulting with the school librarian.

Activity 5, Writing:

Objectives/outcomes: Students will display a positive attitude towards writing, and develop purposes for writing and a sense of audience.

The children will write and publish their own book based one of the five main books. This could be a continuation or sequel of one of the stories, or a story using a similar theme or format. It could also be based on the results of activities 2 or 6 (below).

Activity 6, Speaking:

Objectives/outcomes: Students will express information gained in verbal/written form.

The children will re-write and act out a situation from one of the five main books. Evaluation will be made on the final presentation, based on both teacher and student observations.

Research Project:

Another general theme of the unit is the knowledge or information handed down from the older generation to the younger. Kapiti and Lon Po Po are examples of folktales that have been handed down over many generations. To further explore this theme, the children will interview a parent or other older relative about an event in their childhood, a favourite story or childhood song, etc. The students will then rewrite the story and present it in either a written format or dramatized. If dramatized, there would still be a requirement for a written component, i.e. a script. It could also be presented as a dramatic reading. (This could be connected to activities 5 and 6.)

There are several broad goals. This is one means of involving the parents in the project, and letting them about the unit and its aims. It also uses the children's own background or cultural knowledge. The children also become directly involved in the process of taking verbal information and putting it into a written format, thus duplicating or imitating the processes that have taken place in the five main readings.

The Mini-Lessons:

The mini-lessons can be used to introduce a particular book, or be used to reinforce the skills that will be needed for one of the activities described above.

Mini-Lesson 1: The first mini-lesson is based on a reading of Owl Moon to the whole class, followed by a group discussion. The students will be asked to compare and contrast the book the Fox Song. This would include questions on the key theme previously discussed, the relationship between the child and adult, and the role played by the owl and the fox in each story. Gender roles would be another issue for discussion.

Outcome: Listening for understanding. The children are expected to understand the basic storyline of each book, but especially what is meant by "theme", and what the two themes are in each book.

Mini-Lesson 2: Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain lends itself well for shared reading/chanting. A portion of the class would read the first verse, while succeeding groups would add in each new element.

Outcome: Students will demonstrate reading with understanding. The children will have to be able to put the elements of the story into their proper sequence.

Mini-Lesson 3: Developing concepts through categorization will be used with Once There Was a Tree. This would included categorizing the major orders of animals found in the book (amphibian, bird, etc.; carnivores and herbivores; flying animals and non-flying animals etc.) The activity could be extended by getting the children to list other animals that could use an old tree stump for a habitat.

Sequencing could also be reinforced by looking at the order in which the various animals visit the stump. What kind of animal habitats are in the children's neighbourhood?

Outcome: Students will show an awareness for animal habitats. The children will also have the opportunity to connect stories they are reading with the real world (this ties in with the theme of how animals are used in literature).

Mini-Lesson 4: Lon Po Po will serve as a model for a role-playing activity. After a reading of the story, the children will be asked to split into small groups and develop a sequel to the story or write an alternative ending (or the story could be retold from the perspective of one of the other participants instead of the author).

Outcomes: Students will read for meaning with the ability to extrapolate what they have read into a related format.

Note, that in all the mini-lessons, a brief discussion would be held after a reading of the story to tie the particular theme into the main concepts of the unit, thus helping the children develop ideas about the links between all the selected works.

Conclusion and Bibliography:

As a general conclusion, there has been an attempt to achieve a broad cultural diversity in the books selected for the unit. Following is a reading list of 15 books. These cover stories from the Canadian Arctic to China, and from Africa to Russia. These works can be used as supplemental readings for the students (in particular, when the children are required to find theme-related books).

Aardema, Verna. Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain, Dial Press: New York, 1981.

Allsburg, Chris Van. Two Bad Ants, Houghton Mifflin: Boston 1988.

A typical kitchen becomes a bizarre landscape when seen through the viewpoint of two small ants.

Berger, Barbara Helen. The Donkey's Dream, Philomel: New York, 1985.

The Christmas story is told through the eyes of the donkey that carried the Virgin Mary.

Bruchac, Joseph. Fox Song, illustrated by Paul Morin, Oxford University Press: Toronto, 1993.

The Foolish Tiger, illustrated by A. Traygot, Detgiz: Leningrad, 1963. A Tibetan folkstory about a young tiger who finds curiosity B and overconfidence B really does kill the cat.

Keats, Jack Ezra. Maggie and the Pirate, Four Winds Press: New York, 1979. A story about dealing with loss.

Kusugak, Michael Arvaluk. Hide and Sneak, illustrated by Vladyana Krykorka, Annick Press, Toronto, 1992. An Innuit folkstory.

Lon Po Po: A Chinese Red Riding Hood Tale, translated and illustrated by Ed Young, Philomel Books, New York, 1989.

Poortvliet, Rien. The Living Forest, H.N. Abrams: New York, 19179. A Dutch artist-naturalist, Poortvliet retells the life cycle of a number of common European animals with anecdotal notes and superb illustrations.

Romanova, Natalia. Once There Was a Tree, illustrated by Gennady Spirin, Dial Press: New York, 1985.

Rosen, Michael. How the Animals Got Their Colours, Lester Publications: Toronto, 1985.

Song Nan Zhong. A Little Tiger in the Chinese Night, Tundra Books: Montreal, 1993. An autobiography, the author also did the illustrations.

Thornhill, Jan. A Tree in a Forest, illustrated by the author, Greey de Pencier Books: Toronto, 1991.

Wood, Nancy. Spirit Walker, illustrations by Frank Howell, Double Day: New York, 1993. A book of poems.

Yolen, Jane. Owl Moon, illustrated by John Schoenherr, Philomel Books: New York, 1987.