Organization: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

Lesson Focus: Using a mentor text to teach students how to organize their writing
Grade Level: First Grade
Title of Book & Author: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
Materials Needed: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka, story map, writing paper, green, yellow, and red crayons
Ohio Academic Content Standards K-12 English Language Arts:
Writing Processes
Ohio Benchmarks K-12 English Language Arts:

C. Use organizers to clarify ideas for writing.   

Grade 1 Level Indicators:
4. Use organizational strategies ( e.g. brainstorming, lists, webs, and Venn diagrams) to plan writing
5. Organize writing to include a beginning, middle, and end

Book Summary: 
A. Wolf claims that he has been framed for a crime he did not commit. In this tale, the story is told from A. Wolf's perspective, and he is finally able to tell his side of the story. It all starts when A. Wolf goes over to his pig neighbor's house to borrow a cup of sugar. He suddenly has to sneeze. Because the pig's house is built poorly, A. Wolf's sneezed and the house falls down. He continues onto the next two pigs' houses, where the same thing occurs. Can he help it if the pigs are accidentally killed and he decides to have snack? The cops show up and A. Wolf is blamed for the crime.

Story Map

Introduction:
The focus of this lesson is to teach students how to organize their writing by reading The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka. Students need to understand how to organize their writing. In order to do this, they need to be shown how to create a beginning, middle, and end to construct a story. They also need a good model of how to sequence events in a story so that they story is clear and makes sense.  It takes practice to organize a story and we must give students many opportunities to organize their writing. Teachers can help students become aware of story organization by guiding them to analyze successful introductions, middles, and conclusions. In this lesson, we will explore how reading The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka can help students become aware of story organization. This story gives students a perfect example of how to sequence events in a plot.The students will then take what they have learned and apply it to their own writing.


Before the Lesson: It is important that students are familiar with the book prior to the lesson. The day before the lesson, read the story to the students. Discuss the story content and make sure students understand the story.


Lesson:
1. Read the book again to students. Before reading the story, encourage students to keep in mind what they see happening at the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
2. As you read through the story, stop after each section and discuss what has happened in the story. Guide students to understand that the beginning sets up the story, the middle is where the problem occurs, and the end is where the conclusion occurs in the story. After reading the story,  ask students to "think pair share" with a partner about the sequence of events that happen in the beginning, middle, and end of the story. What if the author had left one of these out? Would the story be as understandable? Allow the students to share their partner discussions as a class.
3. Take students on a walk outside (or around the school) so that they can share a common experience. Allow them to talk about their observations while walking. Remind them to pay attention to the sequence of events occurring on their walk. What did they do first? Second? Last?
4. Once back inside, have students sit on the carpet. On chart paper, create a story map (shown above) that is divided into three sections: Beginning, Middle, and End. Write the words in three different colors Beginning (Green), Middle (yellow) and End (Red). Students will use this color-code later in their own writing.
5. In the students words, write down what they did on the beginning, middle, and end of their walk.
6. After discussing the sequence of events, have students create their own writing piece and describe what they noticed on their walk. Remind them to include a beginning, middle, and end to their story.
7. After writing, have students draw a box around the beginning of their story in green, the middle in yellow, and the end in red.
8. Allow students to share their stories with the class.