Lessons from Anansi the Spider

Lesson 9
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ELA

Alternate Unit 3

2nd Grade

Lesson 9 of 19

Objective


Describe Spider by describing how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: The Adventures of Spider: West African Folktales by Joyce Cooper Arkhurst  — "How Spider Helped a Fisherman"

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Target Task


Discussion & Writing Prompt

Who is the fool in this story, Spider or the fisherman? Defend your thinking with evidence from the text.

Sample Response

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Key Questions


  • Spider offered to help the fisherman. Was this helpful? Why or why not?

  • Describe the fisherman.

  • What options does the fisherman give Spider? Why does he give him the choice to get tired?

  • Model fluent reading: “Watch me as I read the characters’ dialogue with expression today. How does it help you understand what they are thinking or feeling?”

  • Why did the people pay the fisherman, even though Spider did all the work?

Vocabulary


fool

n.

a person who is likely to get tricked/acting like a fool

foolish

adj.

a person who is likely to get tricked/acting like a fool

gullible

adj.

easily tricked

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Common Core Standards


  • L.2.6 — Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me happy).
  • RL.2.2 — Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.
  • RL.2.3 — Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
  • RL.2.9 — Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.

Supporting Standards

L.2.1.e
L.2.1.f
L.2.4.a
RL.2.10
SL.2.1
SL.2.2

Next

Retell “How Spider Helped a Fisherman” and determine the central message or lesson.

Lesson 10
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Lesson Map

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