Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Legend of the Bluebonnet

The Legend of the Bluebonnet is such a great story of courage and sacrifice.

When I was planning this lesson, I was thinking of what vocabulary would be difficult for my English Learners. One of the foundations of the story is that the little girl has to sacrifice her most "valued possession" to save her people from a terrible drought. As I thought, many of my kids did not know the word "possession." So I showed them many of my own and we listed them--simple enough!

Then, we had a discussion about the word "value" and the term "valued possession." So, I told them the story about my engagement ring and how it belonged to my husband's grandmother. I bring in pictures and tell about her sweet personality. Then, the students discuss their personal "valued possessions" and the reason they have meaning. It may seem like a lot of effort for one term, but it really drives home the point when the little girl sacrifices her most valued possession.



After we read the story, it was a perfect opportunity to revisit our text connections. We quickly made the connection about valued possessions, but we also worked on making connections to the theme of sacrifice. Overall, I feel like this book gives a great opportunity for some deep discussions!

1 comment:

  1. Hi Casey!

    This is one of my all-time favorite books. How smart to tie it to connections!

    Sounds like this was a wonderful lesson. I always learn something new from you.

    Kim
    http://joyin6th.blogspot.com

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