The next unit in our CKLA Amplify Knowledge series is Unit 3, and it is always one of their favorites: Different Lands, Similar Stories
This unit covers 3 stories they have heard before - but, each story is followed by 2 other stories that are from different countries, but have a similar plot. It really focuses on comparing and contrasting characters and events.
Themes:
- lost shoes: Cinderella, The Girl with the Red Slippers, and Billy Beg
- smaller sizes: Tom Thumb, Thumbelina, Issun Boshi
- disguised characters: Little Red Riding Hood, Hu Gu Po, Tselane
Retelling the Story
Ambience
I love to use photo backdrops for all of our Knowledge units. I hang them on our windows, so it is the first thing they see when they walk in. They get so excited whenever it is a new unit! They also make great conversation pieces when there are breaks in the classroom.
For this unit, I went with a world map. I have a lot of EL students, so they really enjoy looking at the flags of their countries too.
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Flyovers
For this unit, I found flyover videos for each country. Our Knowledge block is at the end of the day, so I would play them during arrival, snack, and center time.
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It helps to give the kids a bit of an idea as to what each new landscape looked like before we read the stories.
Google Earth
I have always used Google Earth whenever we read stories from other countries to help provide background for my students.
Using it on the fly can be tricky though, you never know where you will land!
One time my administrator came in while we were looking at France, and we happened to land in a hardware store. Needless to say he was quite amused!
This year, I saved four different locations for each of the nine countries ahead of time. This allowed me to get images from historical landmarks, cities, countries and more.
Click for a free copy of this file!
Art
We always use oil pastels, kwik sticks, and cardstock for these art projects because it is more durable when they are using the oil pastels.
That way they can see each others illustrations, and continue to discuss what they learned.
Passport
My classes are always fascinated by these stories and how they change from country to country. I wanted to find a way to put all the countries into book, so I created a passport for them.
The other page has a place for them to draw and write about that story.
Decorate a Shoe
Since the first 3 stories focus on losing shoes, one of our celebration stations was to decorate a shoe.
We had Cinderella's slipper, Rhodopis' slipper and Billy Beg's boot.
The next station was where they could design a paper bag character of their favorite character. Then they took it over to the rug area to act out their favorite scenes!
I put the image cards from the unit out too, so they could use them to set the scene when they acted out the stories.
How to Draw
This unit has so many animals - hippos, falcons, tigers, leopards and more!
My class was fascinated by all of them, so I wanted a station where they could draw these animal characters.
Tiny House
I also put out a variety of blocks, and building materials so they could create tiny houses for Thumbelina, Tom Thumb, and Issun Boshi.
Books
These are some additional books I read throughout the unit.
Cinderella's Stepsister and the Big Bad Wolf by Lorraine Carey this one combines Cinderella, Snow White, Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel - it's always a hit in my class!
Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz because who doesn't love ninjas?
Snacks from Around the World
What is a celebration without snacks? For this unit I wanted to try to incorporate foods from each country they learned about!
- apples (England, Germany, & Ireland)
- pears (France)
- strawberries (Denmark)
- kiwi (China, Japan)
- bananas (Egypt)
- watermelon (Botswana)
I hope you found some ideas that can help your class!
Don't miss the other posts in this series!
- Amplify Grade 1 Knowledge Unit 1: Fables and Stories - Celebration Ideas
- Amplify Grade 1 Knowledge Unit 2: The Human Body - Celebration Ideas
- Amplify Grade 1 Knowledge Unit 4: Early World Civilizations Celebration Ideas
- Amplify Grade 1 Knowledge Unit 5: Early American Civilizations Celebration Ideas
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