Lesson Title: The Best Fence Painter

 

By: Johanna Hofmeister

 

Burning Question: 

How can I use writing to promote students’ self-reflection about their own values and actions as we study the character Tom Sawyer?

 

Objectives:

• Students will relate prior knowledge to make connections to text (e.g., text to text, text to self, text to world).
• Students will make inferences and draw conclusions from text.
• Students will explore ethical issues related to honesty.

 

Context:

Grades K-3

 

Materials:

·         Nichols, Catherine (Adapter). The Adventures of Tom Sawyer #2: The Best Fence Painter (Easy Reader Classics). New York: Sterling Publishing Co., 2006.

• pencils, paper
• friendly letter template
•  whiteboard or chart paper

 

Time Span:  45 minutes (Extensions may require additional time.)

 

Procedures:

• Think-Pair-Share: Think about a time that you had to do something you really didn’t want to do. What happened?  How did you feel?
• “Today we’re going to read a story about a young boy named Tom Sawyer. In the story, Tom is supposed to paint a fence. Tom thinks painting the fence is hard work and he doesn’t want to do it, so he tricks his friends into painting the fence for him.”
• Read The Best Fence Painter.
  • Integrate reading comprehension strategies by guiding students towards making predictions, connections, clarifying, questioning, and evaluating.
  • Ask questions that help students make inferences and draw conclusions.
  • Emphasize the inferences throughout the text.
• Elicit from students Tom’s actions in the story that were not honest. Confirm by revisiting the text.
• With the whole class, use a T-Chart to brainstorm characters to whom Tom should apologize and why.

Character	Reason Tom Should Apologize
Aunt Polly Billy	He lied to her. He tricked Billy into painting the fence.

 

• As a shared writing with the whole class, select a character and write a letter of apology from Tom to that character.

 

Extensions:  (Critical for exploring the burning question.)

• Guide students in brainstorming about the people to whom they owe an apology (parent, sibling, friend, etc.) Have students name the specific behavior for which they are apologizing.

• Using a friendly letter template, students write (or dictate to a cross-age buddy) a letter of apology.

 

Rationale:

This lesson is designed to build foundational knowledge about the characters and plot of the novel so that when students encounter the text as more mature individuals, they will be better prepared to focus on the numerous complex social issues presented by Mark Twain.

 

Resources:

·         Nichols, Catherine (Adapter). The Adventures of Tom Sawyer #2: The Best Fence Painter (Easy Reader Classics). New York: Sterling Publishing Co., 2006.

·         Rasmusen, Kent. Mark Twain for Kids: His Life & Times, 21 Activities (For Kids series), Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2004.

·         “friendly letter” templates are available from:

·         http://www.k6edu.com/6thgrade/language_arts/friendly-letter-template.html

·         http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/03/lp326-05.shtml

·         http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=5475