Grade Levels: 1

In this lesson plan, first graders use BrainPOP Jr. resources to learn about author Allen Say. They explore making connections between themselves and a text. Then they apply their understanding by comparing and contrasting themselves to a character from one of Say’s books.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Students will:

  1. Build background knowledge: Watch the Allen Say movie.
  2. Think and Do: Complete a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting themselves with a character from one of Say’s books.
  3. Complete an Assessment: Take the Allen Say EASY Quiz to show what they learned.

Materials:

Preparation:

  • Preview the movie Allen Say to plan for any adaptations 
  • Read Allen Say Background Information
  • Assign Talk About It (optional)
  • Assign Easy Quiz (optional)
  • Lesson Procedure:

    1. Tap students’ prior knowledge. Explain that Allen Say was born in Japan and moved to the United States. Ask: Have you known anyone who has moved? Have you ever moved? How did you feel when you arrived at your new home?
    2. Watch the Allen Say movie. Click the pause button each time a question appears in Annie’s Notebook and invite students to answer it. Then play to see how Annie answers it.  TIP: The pause button turns red to remind you to pause.   Offline Option: Print out the transcript and Annie’s Notebook for a grown-up to read aloud at home. Suggest that the child play Moby and “Beep” in response to Annie.
    3. Instruct students to open their Talk About It assignment. Or, if you are not using the Assignment Builder, show how to open Talk About It.
    4. Hover over the prompt to hear it read aloud: Choose a character from Allen Say’s books. How are you alike and different from them?  Direct students to click the Start arrow. When they finish their Venn diagram, remind them to click the Submit To Teacher button and/or print it out. Offline Option: Students complete their Talk About It offline.
    5. Have students open their Quiz assignment. Or, if you are not using the Assignment Builder, show how to open the Easy Quiz
    6. To hear the questions and answer read aloud, show students how to hover over the words. If you assigned the quiz, you will see students’ results in your Dashboard. If not assigned, remind students to click the Submit to Teacher button. Offline Option: Read aloud each question and answer options, repeating as needed.