Grade 4 - Lesson 4

Identifying Clues

Objectives

ü    The learner will recognize and describe how to interpret the feelings of others.

ü    The learner will respond to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive, critical, and evaluative processes by

o     analyzing the impact of authors’ word choice and context

o     examining the reasons for characters’ actions

o     identifying and examining characters’ motives

o     considering a situation or problem from different characters’ points of view (SCS – LA 3.01)

Materials

Fantastic Friends poster, Clues sheet, Magic Clue rings, A Feeling Character sheet

Introduction

Explain to the students that Puzzler has identified four different types of clues they should look for to help them determine how other people may be feeling.  He uses a magic ring to find the clues and figure out what they mean. Review the four types of clues form the Clues sheet.

Words - The words that someone uses when they speak, and they way they speak those words can give us clues about what a person is feeling.

Body Language - The way a person’s body is moving or posing can tell us a lot about how they feel.

Facial Expression –The look on a person’s face can clue us in about their feelings.

Environment – Looking around at what other people are doing or what is happening around a person can give us an idea about how a person is feeling.

Teacher Tip:  You may want to create a transparency for the Clues sheet so that the entire class can see exactly how to complete it.

Activity I: Developing a Feeling Character

In this activity, students will design a cartoon, write a short story, or write a play with a main character who is exhibiting the clues associated with a certain emotion. The cartoon, story, or play must reveal facial expressions, the tone of voice used or the words spoken by the character, the body language of the main character, and environmental clues. Remind the students that they will need to include many social clues in the cartoon, play, or story to help the reader understand how the main character is feeling. Pass out the sheet called A Feeling Character. 

Activity II: Sharing a Feeling

Tell the students they are going to practice the skills of the Puzzler.  In order to have the power to recognize clues like the Puzzler, they must put on Magic Clue rings. These rings are supposed to help them identify clues they will read about.

Pair each student with a partner. Let the partners read one another’s cartoons, stories, or plays they created in Activity I. Each partner can write a paragraph to describe what they perceive to be happening in the social situation, including the clues they recognize.  The partner who developed the play, cartoon, or story can see how closely the other partner’s interpretation matches the social situation they were trying to create.

Conclusion

Ask the students to discuss why it is important to recognize the feelings of others. Let the students describe what the world might be like if we did not recognize how people around us are feeling.