Lessons & Units :: Plot 2nd Grade Unit

Lesson 3: How Characters Affect the Plot

Lesson Plan

When Charlie McButton Lost Power | NP

When Charlie McButton Lost Power
Learning Goal
Identify and describe how characters affect the plot.
Duration
Approximately 50 minutes
Necessary Materials
Provided: Example Chart for Guided Practice, Independent Practice Worksheet
Not Provided: When Charlie McButton Lost Power by Suzanne Collins and Strega Nona Meets Her Match by Tomie dePaola, chart paper, markers

  • Teacher Modeling

    will explain that a character’s feelings, actions, and personality can affect the plot of the story. I will use Charlie from When Charlie McButton Lost Power as an example and explain how Charlie’s feelings, actions, and personality affected the plot of the story. (For example, Charlie loved electronics such as computers, TV, and clocks. When Charlie’s house lost power, Charlie felt anxious and nervous which lead him to take the batteries from his sister’s doll.)

  • Think Check

    Ask: How did I determine what effects Charlie had on the plot of the story? Students should respond that you thought about Charlie's actions, feelings, and personality. Then, you thought about the problem in the story and how Charlie's actions, feelings, and personality caused the problem.

  • Guided Practice

    will read Strega Nona Meets Her Match by Tomie dePaola and chart the characteristics of Big Anthony that we learned from the story. (Guided Practice Teacher Example Chart is provided below in Teacher and Student Materials.)

    TIP: If students are already familiar with a character, they will be able to better identify how the character affects the plot. You may want to use a text previously read aloud for the Guided Practice and Independent Practice.

  • Independent Practice

    will identify the problem and solution in Strega Nona Meets Her Match. You will explain how Big Anthony affected the plot of the story. (Student Independent Practice is provided below.)

Build Student Vocabulary traitor

Tier 2 Word: traitor
Contextualize the word as it is used in the story When Big Anthony tells Strega Nona that he has a new job working for Strega Amelia, Strega Nona, “called after him. ‘How could he? How could he! The big ungrateful traitor!’”
Explain the meaning student-friendly definition) A traitor is a person that is unfaithful, disloyal, or false to a friend or a cause. Strega Nona called Big Anthony a traitor when he left to work for Strega Amelia because she felt he was being disloyal to her by leaving to work for someone else.
Students repeat the word Say the word traitor with me: traitor.
Teacher gives examples of the word in other contexts The boy was a traitor because he was a big Yankees fan but started rooting for the Mets. I told a secret to my best friend, but she told everyone my secret. I think she is a traitor.
Students provide examples Why would someone act like a traitor? Start by saying, “Someone might act like a traitor because ________________________.”
Students repeat the word again. What word are we talking about? traitor
Additional Vocabulary Words cure, modern

Build Student Background Knowledge

Explain that you are going to read a story that takes place in Italy. Show where boot-shaped Italy is on a map of Europe. Identify Rome, the capitol city of Italy, on the map. Tell your students that Italians are famous for over three thousand years of art, sculpture, and food. Explain that in the book, you are going to come across some words that are in Italian, the language of Italy. Italian is a Latin language, which means some of the words sound and look similar to Spanish. Time permitting, share some photographs of famous Italian images or landmarks, like the leaning tower of Pisa or the drawings of Leonardo DaVinci.

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

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