Lesson Title: Work or Play?
By: Dee Anne Squire
Burning Question:
Can I make Tom Sawyer accessible and enjoyable to the primary grades?
Can young children discover the concept regarding work that Tom Sawyer does?
Objective/Introduction:
· Introduce young students to Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer
· Relate the prior knowledge of students to the text.
· Having students draw conclusions from the text.
· Have students relate the text to their own lives.
Materials:
· Nichols, Catherine (Adapter). The Adventures of Tom Sawyer #2: The Best Fence Painter (Easy Reader Classics). New York: Sterling Publishing Co, 2006.
· Chart paper divided into 3 columns and labeled: Work,?, Play-- in that order
· Larger blank paper appropriate for making a poster
· Art supplies
Context:
Grade level K-3
Time Span:
About 45 min. – It can and should be broken up to suit the needs of the students. It may possibly span 2 or 3 days. Save the chart each day as a reminder of the work that has already been done.
Procedures:
· Hang up the chart and discuss the difference between work and play. Decide upon a class definition for both terms and record them in the appropriate columns.
· As a group, make a list of words or pictures of things the students consider play and those they consider work. After each suggestion, use thumbs up or thumbs down to find out if students agree on the category, before recording it in the appropriate space. Any items that the categories are not agreeable to all students should be written in the question mark column.
· Introduce the students to the book, The Best Fence Painter, as a book about a boy named Tom Sawyer who has a job to do. Read from the beginning to page 22 of the book. Stop at the section “All Done.”
· Pose the following question to the students: Is painting the fence work or play? Discuss again the definitions of work and play and what caused Tom’s work to become his friends’ play. Revisit the question mark section of the chart and discuss why some saw the items as work and the others as play. You may choose to read either of the attached quotes to the students to solidify their understanding.
· Chose one item from the work side. Solicit ideas from the students as to ways to make that job fun. With the students draw and write a poster advertisement selling for money the opportunity to do this job. Repeat if necessary for understanding.
· Assign students to create their own poster advertisement selling a job of their choice. The poster should include some drawing and some writing as appropriate for the students’ skill level. Remind students this job needs to look fun enough that someone will pay to do it.
· Display posters in the classroom. Share with other classes.
Extensions:
1. Assign student to choose one of their most detested jobs and brainstorm in their journals a way to make that job more enjoyable. Encourage them to use this method to motivate themselves to do those things that might be less desirable.
2. Create an ABC book of words describing work and play. It could include both modern and past examples. Students can each be assigned one letter page to design.
Rationale:
As many students are expose to Mark Twain for the first time, this lesson will help them to understand that concepts true more than a century ago are still viable in their lives today. The concept of changing work into play is something that can impact their lives for a long time.
Resources:
· Nichols, Catherine. The Best Fence Painter. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., 2006.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer:
“He (Tom) had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it – namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do. And this would help him to understand why constructing artificial flowers or per forming on a treadmill is work, while rolling tenpins or climbing Mont Blanc is only amusement.” (pg. 20-21)
Usborne Classics Retold Tom Sawyer:
“Tom had discovered one of the great laws of human nature: in order to make a man or boy long for something, all you have to do is make it hard to come by. And, if Tom had been philosopher and though carefully about the day’s events, he would have understood another human truth. Work is everything we are forced to do, and Play is everything we choose to do. This truth explains why sleeping under the stares and riding a horse can seem like hard work to a cowboy, but the rich man in a city will hand over his cash to have a chance to do it.” (pg. 21)