Reading Enrichment / Enjoyment Activity

Rebecca Russell

Background

After consulting the elementary school media specialist, she reported that due to certain scheduling
conflicts, the 2nd graders did not often get to have a story time. As the 2nd graders are currently studying
Cherokee and Creek Native Americans, we chose a traditional Cherokee story from the Media Center.
The story is “The First Strawberries” by Joseph Bruchac. This activity is intended to increase the
student's understanding of Cherokee culture, especially the importance of storytelling, in an enjoyable
way. Two classes of 2nd grader will participate at two different times.

Assessed GPS Standards

SS2H2 The student will describe the Georgia Creek and Cherokee cultures of the past in terms of
tools, clothing, homes, ways of making a living, and accomplishments.
a. Describe the regions in Georgia where the Creeks and Cherokees lived and how the people used their
local resources.
b. Compare and contrast the Georgia Creek and Cherokee cultures of the past to Georgians today.

Six Facets of Understanding

1. Explanation: students will be able to explain differences in the Cherokee lifestyle of the past
and the way we live today.
2. Interpretation: students will be able to interpret the lesson of the story.
3. Application: students will be able to apply the lesson of the story to their own lives.
4. Perspective: students will appreciate the important role that stories played for the Cherokee.
5. Empathy: students will have a greater understanding of the difficulties the Cherokee faced.
6. Self-Knowledge: the story will make the students more cognizant of how they treat others.

Lesson Plan
Stage One:
Desired Results: students will have a greater understanding of the Cherokee culture and the
importance of their traditional stories. They will be inspired to read about other Native Americans and
other cultures around the world.

Essential Questions:
• What lesson do the characters in “The First Strawberries” learn?
• According to the story, how did the first strawberries come about?

Understandings
• Students will be able to explain the moral of the story.
• Students will know the importance of storytelling to the Cherokee.
Stage Two

Assessment Evidence

Performance Task: I will read “The First Strawberries” to the class. After the reading, I will show
them slides to review the story and generate questions.

Materials Needed: “The First Strawberries” by Joseph Bruchac, laptop, projection screen, and
attentive second graders.

Other Evidence:
• The students' verbal responses to the story.
• As this is an enrichment / enjoyment activity, there will be no
formal evaluation.

Stage Three:

Learning Experiences

• I will introduce myself to the class.

• I will tell the students the title and author of the book and some
information about the author.
• I will read the story aloud to the students, also allowing them to see
the illustrations.
• After the story, we will view the slides. I will ask the students questions
about the meaning of the story, about Cherokee culture, and then allow
them to ask me questions.
• I have also created a Cherokee Web Quest and a screen cast tutorial about
Web Quests, should their teacher want to introduce them to this technology.