Help! The Big Bad Wolf has Mixed-Up Our Story

By

Kelly Walters

EDU614-BS2 (40664)/615-BS2 (40665)

Differentiated Instruction: Respecting Brain-Based Learner Differences

Nova Southeastern University

May 8, 2009

2

“Ms. Walters, oh it’s terrible. The Big Bad Wolf came into our classroom last night and

began huffing and puffing. He blew and blew. I was so frightened. I’m afraid he messed up some

of our work, stated Claireese.” This is an example of the dialogue I had with Claireese, the

puppet, I used to introduce our lesson on story sequence. My pre-kindergarten class enjoys

hearing from Claireese and when she began to tell us about the wolf they were instantly

attentive. This paper will illustrate how I incorporate the Three Phases of Genius and Meir’s four

phase strategies in my lessons to help my students think about what they are learning. My class

consists of nineteen four and five year olds. My class is very active and enjoys novelty and

hands-on practice. Over the past few weeks we have been working on story structure and

retelling stories. This week we focused on the sequence of a story. Our theme for the week was

Fairytales.

In preparation phase of this lesson, I made a few changes to our physical environment by

adding some props to the block center, dramatic play center, and literacy center. In the block

center I included pictures of castles, and finger puppets. Crowns and costumes were added to the

dramatic play center. Flannel board activities were added to the literacy center. The purpose of

adding these props was to get them excited about fairytales and to encourage students to act out

or retell some of the stories that we would be working on this week. In the presentation phase, I

began with a puppet to raise curiosity for the lesson. The puppet explained the problem that we

would need to fix as we learned about story sequence. I moved from facilitator presentation to a

facilitator/learner presentation as I got more of my students involved in the lesson. During the

lesson one student was anointed the “sequence fairy,” her job was to help us place the story

pages in the correct order using the magic sequencing wand. During the practice phase, my

students used collaborative role play and idea sharing as the practiced sequencing and retelling

3

the story using the flannel board and props. Finally, in the performance phase, I used oral

examination to determine their understanding by asking my students to retell the story in the

correct order. One student transferred what he learned to another story. Using the Little Red

Riding Hood magnet board he carefully placed the pieces on the board and replaced the pieces

with new characters as retold the story in the correct sequence.

One of the most prominent barcodes in my classroom is similarities and differences. My

class is very active and many of my students fall on the difference side of the similarities-

difference continuum, but a few prefer similarities. According to Wilson and Conyers (2005),

students that prefer difference learn best when novelty is present, and those that prefer

similarities are more comfortable with things that remain the same. To address these needs I used

a familiar puppet for those that like things the same, but I began the lesson with a novel problem.

The day before this lesson we read Little Red Riding hood and we had a very animated

discussion about the wolf in that story. Our puppet, Claireese, explained that the wolf had come

into the room during the night and began huffing and puffing and blowing things around our

room. I wanted my students to make the connection between the two wolves and to connect his

actions to the story we would be reading during the lesson- The Three Little Pigs. Due to their

familiarity with these stories they did not have any trouble with this connection. After

Claireese’s explanation we examined the room for any problems. One student noticed a piece of

art work on the wall was falling down. Next, I moved to my flannel board and began reading the

story. After a few minutes the kids began interrupting to tell me that the story did not make

sense. B stated, “see that’s not right… it’s not in the right order.” “The moon came down, he [the

wolf] blew them away and mixed them up…fix it,” exclaimed Michael. K came up and pointed

to the page and said “start it here.” After we realized that my story was all mixed up, we

4

discussed the importance of telling stories in the proper order. I explained that this was story

sequence and that this skill would be the focus of our lessons this week. This role-playing

exercise demonstrated the clear intent of the lesson by illustrating the reasons that stories are

written and told in sequential order.

Next, I introduced the “magic sequencing wand.” I explained that this wand would help

us put the story pieces in the correct order. I created this out of a paint stick and a foam star. I

wanted my students to have an interactive tool that they could use to help them remember the

importance of retelling stories in sequence and since our theme is Fairytales a wand tied in

nicely. During the lesson, E was our first sequencing fairy. I gave her the wand and asked her to

help her classmates as they took turns coming up to help me figure out which order I should put

my pages in so that the story would make sense. Next, we reread the story and determined that it

now made sense. Then, I explained that my flannel board and sequencing wand would be

available during center time to practice sequencing and retelling the story. I added a few more

flannel board pieces to make it more interactive and help my more visual students match the

houses so that they could put the pages in order. During center time students took turns playing

the “sequence fairy” and using the wand to place the pieces in the correct order. To assess their

progress I asked them to retell the story in the proper order. After practicing with the flannel

board, Michael walked over to my story prop box and pulled out the magnet board of Little Red

Riding Hood that I used the day before during circle time. He proceeded to place the character

magnets on the board and began telling the story. He would stop and replace the pieces as the

characters moved in and out of the story. This action demonstrates his understanding of the

concept of sequence as he transferred the skill from one story to another.

5

Introducing the lesson with Clairesse’s explanation of the problem captured the attention

of the entire class and they were actively engaged throughout the lesson. They were eager to help

me solve my problem. The interactive nature of the lesson kept my student’s interests and they

were ready to use the sequence wand and flannel board to retell the story. During center time it is

a requirement that our activities are self selected so I was pleased by the number of students that

came over to the literacy center to practice retelling the story. In my opinion, the lesson made an

impact and interested them enough to want to practice the concept for themselves. I was

particularly pleased by the way that M transferred the concept to a previous story. This

demonstrates that he had a clear understanding of how sequence works and its importance in

retelling stories. Many of my students are very creative. One student had the elements of the

story in the correct order demonstrating her understanding of the correct sequence of events, but

she decided to embellish her story with her own ideas by changing the houses and characters.

She began with, “Once upon of time three pigs built a house… one built a cave and one a castle,

then someone came and blowed their house down.” This too demonstrates her ability to transfer

what she has learned in a creative way by adding her own ideas while still adhering to the core

concept of sequencing.

In the future, I would conduct this lesson in a small group setting rather than whole

group. My students were eager to participate and I could feel the disappointment from some as

they did not get to come to the front of the class to participate during the whole group portion of

the lesson. This is a common problem during our large group instruction. They crave the

attention of their classmates and me. They are eager to show what they know. However, the time

constraints of a whole group setting, limits that participation and therefore the acknowledgement

of those students that enthusiastically wish to participate.

6

The cognitive assets of clear intent from the input phase and systematic planning from the

processing phase of genius in Wilson and Conyers: Thinking for Results (2006) were key

elements in planning this lesson. I had to create the materials and carefully sequence the entire

lesson so that my students could clearly see the impact of proper sequencing. Focusing on the

clear intent of the lesson allowed me to stay on target and maintain clear expectations for what I

wanted my students to learn. Presenting with the puppet and creating a story around the wolf

allowed me to help my students make other connections and generate curiosity which helped me

keep their attention focused throughout the lesson. Continuing with interactive practice allowed

my students to immediately practice and enabled me to assess what they learned. The fast paced

sequence of this lesson gave me instant feedback on the status of my students thinking skills as

they processed and practiced this concept.

Meir categorizes accelerated learning as “the results achieved, not the methods used”…

with the purpose of “awakening learners to their full learning ability (p. xiv, 2000).” This lesson

demonstrates both the purpose and results of accelerated learning. The systematic approach of

incorporating the elements of both the three phases of genius and Meir’s four phase model

yielded a concrete connection and expression of story sequence for both Michael and Chloe.

Although, their expressions are as unique as they are it is clear that the both connected the

concept and could use it effectively.

7

References

Meier, D. (2000). The accelerated learning handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Wilson, D. &. (2005). Courageous learners: Unleashing the brain power of students form at-risk

situations. Winter Park, FL: BrainSMART.

Wilson, D. &. (2006). Thinking for results. Winter Park, FL: BrainSMART.