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Sheila Kilpatrick

Grade level: 3rd

Length: 50 minutes

Performance expectation: The student will discuss how homes are made differently around the world and create their own.

Materials: This is my House by Arthur Dorros, butcher paper, a globe, and materials to build their own house.

Procedures:

Introduction: 1) The teacher will begin this lesson by asking a question such as: Could you imagine living in a house made out of straw, branches, or snow? Then he/she will state how we all live differently around the world. The teacher will provide some more questions for the students to think about: Why do you think people from all over the world make their houses differently? Then the teacher will state that we all live in homes but they are made differently. 2) The student will brainstorm about some materials people use to build a house. The teacher will create a list of these on the butcher paper. The entire class will read the ideas together. Before the teacher reads the book, he/she will ask the children to listen to all the different ways houses are built. Also, have them listen for all the different languages in the book.

Development: 1) The teacher will read This is my House to the entire class. She/He will read the sentence ÒThis is my houseÓ in all the different languages while the students look at the illustration of what that house is made from in that particular country. While he/she is reading the students can locate the country on the globe. 2) Ask the students which kind of house they live in with their family. Have them draw or construct their own make-believe house and write a story about it. They can use similar materials to those that were used in the book or think of new materials. Have the students provide the location and language they speak in this country as the book did. Also, have them write “This is my house” in the country’s language. Display the houses and have the children talk about them and/or read their story about their house.

Closure: 1) Discuss the student’s responses to the book and their feelings toward living in a different type of home than they have. Ask them if they could be able to live in one of the homes in a different country. Discuss what makes each house a home. Discuss that there are many types of houses and that they can be a small room or a tall building. Discuss how each of these homes are different because they are made from different materials but that each is their home because of the people in it.

Assessment: Listen to the students while they are brainstorming ideas to construct the list in the introduction. This will indicate if they can predict what some houses are made of. Read the journals, the creative stories, and observe the drawings. Assess if they know where the country is located on the globe. Assess their project about their make-believe home. Observe if they used materials that were in the book or if they made up their own.

If children do not want to draw or construct their own house they can reflect on the story, or write their own story.

Adaptations/Considerations: Have the student write about other things that are different from country to country. Read another book or watch a movie about peopleÕs homes all around the world. Have the students draw a picture of what materials were used to make some of these homes.

References:

Dorros, A. (1992). This is my house. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.

S. D. Kilpatrick, October 4, 1997.