Mattie Beal Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan for "Mattie Beal"
by Andrea Hardzog

Introduction to Lesson

P.A.S.S. objectives
Language Arts: The learner will

I.B.1.	Read and comprehend both the fiction and nonfiction that is appropriately designed for the second half of grade four.
I.B.5.	Visualize descriptions in written text.
I.C.	Independently read aloud level 4 material using intonation, pauses, and emphasis that signal the structure of the sentence and meaning of the text.
II.E.	Know the defining characteristics of a variety of genre (e.g., historical fiction and biography).
VII.C.	Speak before a group using appropriate delivery (volume, enunciation, and movement) and language skills (pronunciation, word choice, and usage).

Social Studies: The learner will

I.B.1

Locate, describe, and compare the human characteristics and early settlement patterns of regions in the United States and Oklahoma (locations of ethnic group concentrations, the impact of the westward movement, languages, economic activities, and cultural patterns).

Teacher's purposes for the lesson: The purpose of today's lesson is to

help students improve their oral reading fluency and comprehension using Readers Theater
help students visualize the events in the Mattie Beal story as they read the story and act out the Readers Theater script
review the defining characteristics of historical fiction and biography
allow students to speak before a group using apppropriate delivery

II.

Objectives

A.	Given a copy of the Readers Theater script "Mattie Beal: The Girl Who Won the Land Lottery", the learner will practice his/her assigned part in the Readers Theater production until s/he can read the part fluently without error in front of an audience, demonstrating appropriate delivery (volume, enunciation, and movement) and language skills (pronunciation, word choice, and usage).
B.	Given a copy of the Readers Theater script "Mattie Beal: The Girl Who Won the Land Lottery", the learner will design a stage set, including costumes, music, and coreography, that demonstrates comprehension of his/her assigned part in the Readers Theater production.
C.	Following whole class discussion of the defining characteristics of historical fiction and biography, the learner will correctly list the defining characteristics of both genre.

III.

Procedures

Materials

1.	Copy of the story "Mattie Beal, the Girl Who Won the Land Lottery" for each student
2.	Copies of the Mattie Beal Word Search and Mattie Beal Crossword Puzzle for each student
3.	Land Lottery materials: copy of the replica of the original "registration slip" for the Land Lottery for each student (index card for each student containing blanks for the following information: name, last residence, birthplace, where nationalized, age, color, weight, height, current address, signature, date, countersigned at: ____), cardboard box to hold the registration slips, handkerchief for use as a blindfold for whoever draws the winners' names, fake plot map for 160-acre plots drawn on a very large piece of paper (there should only be enough plots for 20% of the students--not everyone won the lottery!), markers to mark off claims filed by the winners
4.	Copy of the Mattie Beal Readers Theater script for each student

Anticipatory set

1.	Key vocabulary: claim, drawing, filing the claim, landmark, land lottery, platform, proposal, register, reporter, thousand Key concepts: The Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation was opened to settlement by President William McKinley. Anyone had not already filed for a homestead could register for the Land Lottery in El Reno or Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Mattie Beal, a single female telephone operator from Kansas, registered; her card was the second one drawn in the lottery. It was unusual for a single woman in 1906 to register, let alone travel with only a female companion for company, which suggests that Mattie and her friend Florence were brave women seeking to better themselves. Mattie claimed her property, homesteaded it, and eventually married. She built a grand home in Lawton, Oklahoma, that is now on the National Register of Historic Places. The lottery was a much fairer way of assigning the lands than were the land rushes held earlier in Oklahoma.
2.	Method: Assess students' prior knowledge by having them complete the Mattie Beal Word Search and Mattie Beal Crossword Puzzle. Check the answers as a whole class activity. Post the plot map on the board or wall so all students can see it. The plot map is for the mock lottery thatt will help students understand the Land Lottery process and terminology: registration slip, Land Lottery, filing the claim, homesteading, and proving up on the claim.
3.	Student purpose statement: Say, "Today we will learn about a brave young woman who took a chance and won a lottery, changing her life forever. See how much you already know about the words in this story by completing the word search and crossword puzzle. After you finish the puzzles, we will check the answers, then hold a mock lottery. Maybe you will be as lucky as Mattie Beal! Later we will act out the story using a Readers Theater script, and then we will perform the script for an audience next week."

Lesson activities

1.	Input: Review the answers to the word search and crossword puzzles. Say, "Now we are going to have a mock Land Lottery of our own." Pass out copies of the "registration slips" and have students fill out the forms. Check the forms. If any information is missing or words are misspelled, have the students correct the errors. Place the registration slips face down in the Land Lottery box. Explain that not everyone will win the chance to file a claim. "There are only xxx claims available. Some of your names will not be drawn, but everyone will have a chance to bid on the lots in the town site later during the Land Auction." Arrange for a student from another class to serve as the child who draws the names of the winners. Draw all of the names from the box. Have a student serve as the clerk at the Land Office. The clerk will record the names of the winners in the order in which they were draw and send out "postcards" (more index cards) informing the students of the results of the drawing. Students then take their postcards to the Land Office clerk. The student whose name was drawn first is allowed to file for the first claim (choose which homestead s/he wants to own). The clerk writes the winner's name on the plot map. Then the person whose registration slip was drawn second chooses the next plot, etc., until all claims have been filed, and all plots have been assigned. Review with the students the regulations for homesteading, and proving up on their claims.
2.	Modeling: Have the students read the story together (choral reading), with a fluent reader serving as the leader.
3.	Guided practice: Assign roles for the Readers Theater script. Allow students to practice their parts and sketch a stage set, including costumes, music, and coreography, that demonstrates comprehension of his/her assigned part in the Readers Theater production. Once students have completed preliminary sketches, have them show the sketches to other students in order to gain input from peers. Did every student envision the story the same way? Review the differences between two genre: Historical fiction includes characters who are fictional and historical. The setting of the story is in the past. Fictional characters enact historically accurate episodes. Island of the Blue Dolphin is an example of this type of literature. A biography focuses on historically important individuals and provides a factual account of the historical figure's life. An example of this type of literature genre is Lincoln: A Photobiography. Ask students to decide if "Mattie Beal: The Girl Who Won the Lottery" is historical fiction, a biography, or some of both by providing pertinent examples from the story.
4.	Checking for understanding: Have students list the defining characteristics of both genre in their notesbooks. As students list the defining characteristics, walk around the classroom and check for understanding.
5.	Culminating activity (independent practice): Practice the Reading Theater script. Remind the students that they will be performing before an audience in the near future.
6.	Sponge activity: Have students write a paragraph in their response journal describing some of the hardships they faced during the first year on their "claim."

IV.

Closure

A.	Summary of what has been learned: Say, "Today we learned about a brave young woman who won a lottery, Mattie Beal. You reviewed some of the vocabular in the story by completing the word search and crossword puzzle. You participated in a mock lottery and learned firsthand about registration slips, the Land Lottery, filing a claim, homesteading, and proving up on a claim. You also acted out the story using a Readers Theater script and reviewed the definitions of historical fiction and biography."
B.	Transfer: Plan a field trip (use the web site for a virtual tour, if necessary) to the Mattie Beal Home so that students can visit the house that Mattie and Charles Payne built. Emphasize the initiative and determination shown by Mattie Beal, a telephone switchboard operator who took a chance and changed the course of her life.
C.	Student evaluation and assessment: Did the learner read his/her part of the Readers Theater script fluently without error in front of an audience, demonstrating appropriate delivery (volume, enunciation, and movement) and language skills (pronunciation, word choice, and usage)? Did the learner design a stage set, including costumes, music, and coreography, that demonstrated comprehension of his/her assigned part in the Readers Theater production? Did the learner correctly list the defining characteristics of historical fiction and biography?
D.	Teacher evaluation: Reflect on students' mastery of objectives (including re-teaching), teacher's personal response to the lesson, and changes that should be made before the lesson is taught again.