Ronald Charles Onion Jr.

Teaching Language Arts.

Dr. Luongo
October 20, 2014

Book: Chrysanthemum By: Kevin Henkes

Unit: Bullying
Grade level 3rd grade
Materials:

Chrysanthemum by: Kevin Henkes (if the book isnt available go

http://watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=29876

Loose-leaf papers

Pencils

Bullying pledge

Objective: Students will be able to write a letter to a character of their choice and pretend that
they are a real person. The students will write the letters after the story has been read.
Anticipatory Set: Bring an award that represents friendship and explain how the students can get
an award for showing compassion and kindness and how the students can make a difference in
the lives of other people.
Directions for writing a proper letter:

Heading (I.E. Dear Chrissy)

Indention when beginning a new paragraph

Capital letters when beginning a sentence

Closure (Sincerely; Yours Truly, Love)

Name and date

Assignment: After reading the story Chrysanthemum, students will choose either
Chrysanthemum; Rita, Victoria and Jo and pretend that they are real people. The students will
write a letter to the character of their choice and tell them how they felt when Chrysanthemum
was being bullied or when Rita, Victoria and Jo bullied Chrysanthemum. Explain how to write a
proper letter by teaching them about the rules on how to write a proper letter.

Formative Assessment:
Students will be involved in a discussion concerning respectful and disrespectful behaviors.
Students will create a T-chart with disrespectful behaviors on one side and respectful behaviors
on the other side. Have students use their prior knowledge to determine the behaviors. Students
will write a letter to the character of their choice by learning how to write a proper letter.
Detailed procedures for writing a letter

Subject- Subject is an essential part while writing the letter it mentions the matter that is
further discussed in the letter and provides a title to the description.

Salutation/ Greeting- Salutation or greeting expresses respect towards the individual to

whom the letter is addressed to. It may be addressed by using words like Dear sir

Body of a letter includes the description of the whole matter regarding which the letter
is being drafted. The body of a letter in case of a formal conversation should be clear
and precise

Conclusion- Conclusion must always end with a complementary close such as thank
you, yours sincerely which can be applied at the bottom right.

To address- The next step to write a letter includes mentioning the address of the
individual or party to whom the letter is addressed to and is generally written diagonally
opposite to the from address below the from address but at the left corner in the same
legible and tidy format as the from address.

From address - This is the first step of writing a letter, mentioning the address of the
individual/party who is writing the letter should be mentioned on the right hand top
corner of the letter with proper alignment and legible format that makes it look tidy.
http://my.englishclub.com/profiles/blogs/how-to-write-a-formal-or-informal-letter

http://www.cpalms.org/Public/PreviewResourceLesson/Preview/63231
Prior Knowledge: Students will need to

Be familiar with story elements (characters, setting, and events).

Be familiar with the concept of main idea or central message.

Have some knowledge of comprehension strategies, such as making connections (This

reminds me of...), making predictions (I think...), and asking questions (who, what,
where, when, why and how).

NJ common core standards: 3.2.3

1. Generate possible ideas for writing through recalling experiences, listening to stories, reading,
brainstorming, and discussion.
2. Examine real-world examples of writing in various genres to gain understanding of how
authors communicate ideas through form, structure, and authors voice.

3. Use graphic organizers to assist with planning writing.

4. Compose first drafts from prewriting work.
5. Revise a draft by rereading for meaning, narrowing the focus, and sequencing, elaborating
with detail, improving openings, closings, and word choice to show voice.
6. Participate with peers to comment on and react to each others writing.
7. Build awareness of ways authors use paragraphs to support meaning.
8. Begin to develop authors voice in own writing.
9. Use reference materials to revise work, such as a dictionary or internet/software resource.
10. Edit work for basic spelling and mechanics.
11. Use computer word-processing applications during parts of the writing process.
12. Understand and use a checklist and/or rubric to improve writing.
13. Reflect on own writing, noting strengths and areas needing improvement.
(http://www.state.nj.us/education/cccs/2004/cccs.pd)
Summative Assessment\Closure:
At the end of the lesson ask the students how they felt when they saw Chrysanthemum being
bullied by Victoria, Rita and Jo. Ask the students what they would have done differently if they
were in Chrysanthemums shoes. Suppose that Chrysanthemum; Victoria, Rita and Joe are 5
years older than they are in the book. What lesson do you want them to know when theyre
older?
Rubric for writing the letter
Category

Grammar and

Writer no

Writer makes 1-2 Writer makes 3-4 Writer makes

Spelling

errors in

errors in

errors in

more than 4

grammar or

grammar\spelling spelling\grammar errors in

spelling
Length

grammar\spelling

The letter is

The letter is 8 to

The letter is 5-7

The letter is less

more than 10

9 sentences

sentences

than 5 sentences

sentences
Salutation

Salutation

Salutation and

Salutation and

Salutation and/or

and Closure

and closing

closing have 1-2

closing have 3 or

closing are

have no

errors in

more errors in

missing.

errors in

capitalization

capitalization

capitalization and punctuation.

and punctuation.

and
punctuation
Capitalization Writer

Writer makes 1-2 Writer makes 3-4 Writer makes

and

makes no

errors in

errors in

more than 4

Punctuation

errors in

capitalization

capitalization

errors in

and punctuation.

capitalization

capitalization and punctuation.

and
punctuation.

Rubric for writing letter to character of the students choice

and punctuation.

http://www.standuptoday.net/anti-bullying-pledge/
Accommodations and Recommendations:
Students working below grade level may need to work with a partner or in a small group
with guidance from the teacher for independent portion of the lesson

Students needing extra support may need to orally dictate their ideas for writing while the
teacher is scribing their responses for them to copy.

Students may need a writing frame with sentence starters for the summative writing task.

Personal reflection:
When I did this lesson with my cooperating teacher Nora Ruanes third grade class at
Woodrow Wilson School in Bayonne NJ, I wanted her students to learn about compassion and
kindness; in addition, I wanted to encourage her students that if they see bullying happening to a
fellow classmate or to someone else, they shouldnt be an innocent bystander. They should speak
up and tell a teacher or stand up to the bully by defending the victim. I also wanted her students
to realize that when they are older, they will be going on social media websites like FaceBook
and MySpace to talk to their friends via the computer and they will be saying things behind their
back.
I felt a little bit uncomfortable when I was teaching this lesson in front of my peers
because my classmates are old enough to know about the importance of bullying and how they
can make a difference in the lives of their students.