Background to resource
The idea behind this resource is for students to improve their reading, writing and presentation skills. The purpose of this resource is to find strengths in what students can do.
By using the short story Butterflies by Patricia Grace students work with oral, written, digital and creative skills.
Teacher tips
This is a great opportunity for students to develop their reading, writing, understanding and presentation skills. See the step-by-step guide on how to achieve this.
Key words
Reading, writing, comprehension, presentation training, building self-confidence, multimodal texts, cultural sensitivity
LK20
Oral, reading and writing skills are the main focus of this resource.
Core elements
- Reading - the short story Butterflies to each other
- Writing - Making 10 questions about the story
- Speaking - general conversation about what Butterflies is about/asking and answering their own questions
- Communication - being able to communicate the information on their multimodal text
Interdisciplinary topics
Health and Life skills
the discussion from the story is about the dilemma an indigenous girl in the story faces, a conflict between cultures. Should she listen to the teacher like her grandparents say?
Democracy and Citizenship
indigenous knowledge is an important element of this story. If the teacher in the story was culturally sensitive to the background of her indigenous student, she would not have commented about why butterflies should not be killed
Competence aims LK20 Vg1 Vocational and General Studies
- use appropriate strategies for language learning, text creation and communication
- use patterns of pronunciation in communication
- express oneself in a nuanced and precise manner with fluency and coherence, using idiomatic expressions and varied sentence structures adapted to the purpose, recipient and situation
- read, analyze and interpret fictional texts in English
- use different sources in a critical, appropriate and accountable manner
Learning outcomes
The pupils(s) should be able to:
- read the story out loud to a partner using pronunciation patterns that communicate the story.
- write 5-10 questions that show understanding of the text and allow for interpretation of meaning.
- orally reflect over the dilemmas in the story
- identify and discuss examples of cultural (in)sensitivity found in the text and in their lives
- produce a multimodal text with information about the author and theirexperiences and interpretations of the text
Reflection and assessment
To what degree are the students able to reflect over the dilemmas in the story? Can the students the dilemmas in the stories to their own lives or the lives of their peers?
Reflections should show they understand the situation of the young girl, and how the teacher needs to be culturally sensitive to someone that is indigenous in her class on basic level. A deeper reflection may include examples from personal lives or lives of people the students know.
Materials needed / Start of resource
- Print out copies of the story Butterflies, one for each student
- Give highlighter pens for students to underline any unknown/difficult words
- Glue/scissors/colours
Outcomes
- Written questions in full sentences.
- Vocabulary list of unknown words from the text.
- A multimodal text where students present to each other in small groups.
Comments and follow-up that may lead to deeper learning
- Have a conversation about what cultural sensitivity means - empower your students to challenge situations they encounter in everyday life.
- Encourage students to research more about the indigenous people of New Zealand
- Encourage students to investigate more about the lives of butterflies and the roles butterflies play in a local or global environment.
Idea developed by
Elaine Gowie-Fleischer (EL EDUCATION) © Fremmedspråksenteret