Amplify Grade 1 Knowledge Unit 3: Different Lands, Similar Stories Celebration Ideas

The next unit in our CKLA Amplify Knowledge series is Unit 3, and it is always one of their favorites: Different Lands, Similar Stories


different lands, similar stories celebration activities




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


a printable guide for the 9 stories with the title, country, and its flag



  • smaller sizes: Tom Thumb, Thumbelina, Issun Boshi


a printable guide for the 9 stories with the title, country, and its flag




  • disguised characters: Little Red Riding Hood, Hu Gu Po, Tselane





a printable guide for the 9 stories with the title, country, and its flag



I display these pictures on the wall to help my students remember where each story takes place. Click for a free copy of these charts.



Retelling the Story


Since a lot of this unit focuses on retelling the parts of the story each day, I use sentence strips to build this chart on the wall.

story retell chart



It has the vocabulary words they need to learn: title, character, setting, plot, conflict and resolution.



story retell chart


I added a definition for each, so we could review them each day as we built our story retell charts. 


story retell chart




Ambience


world map backdrop with flags


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. 


Click for a free copy of this file!


drone flyover videos for each of the countries


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!



four landmarks for each of the countries in the unit on Google Earth



Art



art and writing for different lands similar stories using oil pastels and paint sticks



After every knowledge unit, we do an art project where they can illustrate a story or character they liked best, and write a few sentences about it.


art and writing for different lands similar stories using oil pastels and paint sticks

art and writing for different lands similar stories using oil pastels and paint sticks

We  always use oil pastelskwik sticks, and cardstock for these art projects because it is more durable when they are using the oil pastels. 



art and writing for different lands similar stories using oil pastels and paint sticks

art and writing for different lands similar stories using oil pastels and paint sticks

I leave them up until we finish the next Knowledge unit.  

art and writing for different lands similar stories using oil pastels and paint sticks

art and writing for different lands similar stories using oil pastels and paint sticks

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. 



A passport for all 9 countries with coloring and writing activities


It has a place for their name and birthdate on the cover. 


A passport for all 9 countries with coloring and writing activities


There is a page for each country, where they can color the flag, a passport stamp and the outline of the country.


A passport for all 9 countries with coloring and writing activities

The other page has a place for them to draw and write about that story. 


different lands, similar stories passport activity



I also included country keys, flag keys and a list of all the stories and where they take place.



different lands, similar stories passport activity



Decorate a Shoe


          color a shoe station


Cinderella's slipper


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.



Rhodopis' slipper



coloring a shoe station




Design a Puppet


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!


Billy Beg puppet


Billy Beg


Cinderella paper bag puppet


Cinderella


Tselane tiger puppet


Hu Gu Po's tiger


Tselane paper bag tiger puppet


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. 


how to draw guides for the animal characters in different lands, similar stories

how to draw guides for the animal characters


The dry erase pockets are a nice way to keep the original safe, and allow them to trace.  We used vellum, as well as scrap paper. 


how to draw guides for the animal characters in different lands, similar stories

They love tracing at our windows!

how to draw guides for different lands, similar stories

Some even made entire scenes out of theirs!


how to draw a falcon


how to draw a falcon



I used easydrawingguides.com to find different animals for many of our Knowledge units throughout the year.


how to draw a frog


easydrawingguides.com has wonderful step by step drawing directions



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.



tiny houses for our tiny characters

tiny houses for our tiny characters


They loved using the Playstix to created a variety of houses, and furniture! 



tiny houses for our tiny characters



They also love the building block bars, because they lock together! 


tiny houses for our tiny characters



Books


These are some additional books I read throughout the unit.


Cinderelephant by Emma Dodd a twist on the Cinderella Story



Cinderelephant by Emma Dodd a twist on the classic Cinderella story



Cinderella's Stepsister and the Big Bad Wolf by Lorraine Carey


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


Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz because who doesn't love ninjas? 



Snacks from Around the World



healthy snacks to represent each of the 9 countries



fruits from the 9 countries they studied in different lands, similar stories




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)


               fruits from the 9 countries they studied in different lands, similar stories



I hope you found some ideas that can help your class!



Don't miss the other posts in this series!



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