CURRICULUM DESIGN TEMPLATE

Curriculum Title: The World Around Stellaluna

Grade: 2nd
Location: Metro-Detroit Area Schools
Standards (both arts and non-arts):

 ART.D.IV.2.1- Students explore a variety of movement experiences using

props
 ART.VA.II.2.1- Demonstrate how materials, techniques, and processes can be
used creatively to communicate ideas
 ART.T.I.2.1- Identify and describe different characters though vocal
expression
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.6- Acknowledge differences in the points of view of
characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when
reading dialogue aloud.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1- Ask and answer such questions as who, what,
where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a
text.

Curriculum Theme/Summary:
 My curriculum is based on the book Stella Luna by Janelle Cannon. My
curriculum will take place over 3 days, with periods of lesson lasting around
30-40 minuets for each day. The lesson will begin with reading the book
Stellaluna with the whole class. After we have read the book, the class will
look at the characters from the story and comparing and contrasting them
based on the illustrations. For the next lesson, students will be assigned roles
to these characters, and they will begin rehearsing for a reader’s theatre
based on the book. They will be broken up into groups (either birds or bats),
and in those groups, they will create headpieces that represent these animals
for their costumes. On the last day, students will rehearse again, finish their
costumes, and perform their reader’s theatre.

 The content areas that lesson addresses are Language Arts, science, the
performing arts, and visual arts. I chose this theme and these particular
content areas because I thought that this story would be a great way to
engage students about comparing flying animals (science), but could also
integrate multiple core content areas and different variations of the arts. This
will be meaningful and thoughtful for students because this lesson is meant
to incorporate all types of learners and abilities, in a way that is fun,
engaging, active, and exciting. Not only do most students love animals, they
also love having the opportunity to showcase their skills and work that they
are proud of.
Theoretical connections:
There are multiple theoretical connections that I made to this course when
planning my curriculum design. One of the things that I wanted to emphasize
throughout my lesson was the importance of integrating art into multiple core
subjects through various formats. Art (in any form) is such a powerful tool to help
students to master content in a variety of ways outside of traditional learning. I am a
huge proponent of hands on learning, an aspect we have learned throughout this
course as being incredibly important for student development.
In my lesson plans, I chose to work more specifically on the visual and
performing arts. The visual arts piece is met by having the students create either bat
or bird headpieces from a variety of materials. Students begin this portion of the
lesson by learning about different types of masks, and watching a performance of
the Lion King, a show that uses a variety of detailed masks and headpieces to tell a
story (this portion can also be used for performing arts as well). This integration of
visual arts is a way for students to tell a story, in addition to displaying skills in
science and language arts content. In the Sylverstien and Layne article about arts
integration, they touch on how understanding can be displayed through art,
“Students’ visible demonstrations of learning serve as both formative assessments
to guide instruction and summative assessments to determine what students have
learned” (Sylverstien and Layne, pg. 3). As someone who relies heavily on visual
learning skills as an aid, I felt that adding a visual arts element into my curriculum
design was a powerful way to demonstrate the importance of integration, while
helping the students to show what they know in alternative ways.
The other arts element that I chose to integrate into my lesson plan was the
performing arts. Throughout the semester, we have had so much positive exposure
to the performing arts; whether it was from the videos we watched, or the multiple
experiences we had with guest teachers in and out of the classroom, my love for the
performing arts has grown even more with these engaging interactions. I felt that
this curriculum worked wonderfully with integrating performing arts, since this
book is a great platform for a reader’s theatre. In particular, I connected this lesson
to when we worked with the educator in the Shakespeare lesson we had. This lesson
taught us how to incorporate literature and theatre in a fun, and non-threatening
way for students. He introduced as to how we could integrate vocabulary from the
book that we were reading into various performing arts skills. I used this lesson for
a connection in my curriculum because I also use a book as the basis of my lesson
plan.
In the lesson, students will all be assigned a role where they have at least one
speaking line, so they have the chance to engage with the roles and emotions of their
character. In Pelo’s article, Growing a Culture of Inquiry Through Art, she talks about
the importance of allowing children to express emotion through the arts, “Art can be
a tool for thinking about emotion. When children can give form to express their
feelings, they can look at them with new awareness better and better talk about
them with each other” (Pelo, pg. 112). The performing arts give students the
opportunity to express emotions while building reading and speaking skills in a fun
and engaging way.
Learner Outcomes/Objectives:
Students will be able to…
 Distinguish between different animals of flight (birds and bats)
 Re-tell a story that they have already read using…
o A loud, fluent, and articulate presenting voice
o Props and costumes to enhance the story
o Reading skills to break down words they may not be able to
pronounce
 Social skills to work together and cooperate in small and large groups
 Use visual arts skills to…
o Cut, color, and glue together materials to create headpieces that
represent characters from the story
 Using performing arts skills to…
o Re-tell a story using reader’s theater
o Understand elements of a play, such as plot, setting, characters,
themes, ect…
o Take on the role of a character
 Use literacy skills to read and comprehend a story

Arts Content:
 Visual Arts Element- Bat and Bird Headpieces
 The visual arts element will consist of students using multiple materials such
as paper, glue, markers, feathers, leather, etc… to make headpieces that
represent the characters of bats or birds that they will be playing. There are
very few limitations on how students can interpret this project, as long as the
audience will be able to tell what part they are playing, students may use
whatever materials available to create their designs
o I chose this visual arts element because it is a fun and engaging
activity for students to use multiple medias to create costumes for
their performance
o If I were to use research and other art to spark student’s knowledge
about their headpieces, I would take them to The Met’s page on how
masks can be used in a variety of formats, representing multiple
thoughts, feelings, and cultural heritage’s. The link below shows a
PowerPoint of a variety of different masks, everything ranging from
ancient African masks to modern day performances.
o Experts Yaëlle Biro and Dirk Breiding also accompany this slide show
with an audio lecture about the empowerment of masks throughout
history. This information is a helpful resource as a teacher to
understand more about the power of using masks, but should be
condensed and simplified if presented to students
o https://www.metmuseum.org/connections/masks

 Performing Arts/Visual Arts Element- Creating bat and bird head pieces
that they can use for their readers theatre, and how to use masks in
 performance
 The visual and performing arts tie together when students get to put their
visual arts element to its intended use. The combination of these two
elements will show students how to move about in their headpieces, and how
their creations can enhance the storytelling that they are doing for their
reader’s theatre
o I chose to use this element of visual/performing art because it is a
great way to incorporate costumes and props into their reader’s
theatre, but also allows students to look at other uses of headpieces in
the arts that can be used for theatrical and non-theatrical uses.
o If I were to show the students art to represent the element that they
are using, I would show them a clip of “The Circle of Life” from the
Broadway performance of The Lion King
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0OdIcCQG9I
o This video clip shows a performance from the Broadway cast of the
Lion King, displaying the magnificent costumes and masks that this
show uses to portray animals and creatures in the Savannah.
According to broadway.com, the artistic direction for this show was
chosen because it paid tribute to the African culture, which inspired
the Disney Movie. They also wrote about how the masks and costumes
can allow human actors to have more flexibility and movement on the
stage, while still portraying the animals characters in the script.
o This can be relevant to students since most will be familiar with the
story of The Lion King, and they will have concrete background
knowledge to pair with the class activity. Both the performance and
the book use animal masks and characters
 Other Resources-
o Because this lesson does rely so heavily on both visual and preforming
arts, I feel that it would be beneficial to try and reach out to other
school/community members.
o Visual Arts- If you school has an art teacher, it would be helpful to
reach out to them for tips on art project management, how to keep the
students engaged, and could be a resource for materials.
o Performing Arts- If the community has a local theater program; I
would reach out to them to see if they would have any interest in
coming to the dress rehearsal of the reader’s theatre to work with the
students on their performance skills. This also allows students who
have a genuine interest in theatre to see and outreach in the
community where they can continue in the performing arts. An
outside member from a community theatre can also serve as a
motivation for students to work with someone who is seen more as an
“expert” in this area, and can support them in a meaningful and caring
way.

Lesson Descriptions:
Lesson 1:
In the first lesson, the class will start off by reading the book, Stellaluna. After
reading and having a chance to look at the pictures in the book, we will have a whole
class discussion on the characters, plot and theme of the story. Having an anchor
chart or a written list on a whiteboard/large piece of paper can facilitate this
discussion. Once you feel like the students have explored the elements of the book,
you will explain to them that they will be creating costumes for their reader’s
theatre production of the book.
You will explain to the students that they will be categorized into two
different groups, either bats or birds, as they are the main character groups in the
story. Take some time to discuss the difference between bats and birds. What is
similar about them? What is different? How can we tell? These groups will be
assigned at random. Once they have been put into groups, they will receive their
copy of the reader’s theatre script and the roles that they will be playing (the roles
can be assigned at random, or they can be picked by you before hand).
To help the students get more into character, you will explain to them that
they will be making headpieces of either bats or birds that they will wear for
costumes during their reader’s theatre performance. You can introduce this portion
of the assignment by showing them the slideshow of the mask PowerPoint from The
Met that explains that different masks have different purposes. Their goal is to
enhance the experience of their reader’s theatre by adding costumes. After you have
looked at a variety of masks, you can begin working on building the head pieces with
the students. Give them a variety of materials to use to create their masks with. If
they do not finish today, they will have time to work tomorrow.

Lesson 2:
Today will be a combination of headpiece creation and working on their
reader’s theatre. To start off today’s lesson, the students will be watching a clip from
a performance of The Lion King. This clip demonstrates the use of performing and
using masks/other costume pieces to enhance performance. Ask students why they
think that the actors use these costumes, and why they think that their costumes
will help them in their performance.
After the students have watch the video, they will continue to finish up their
costume head pieces if they did not finish the day before. Today should be focused
less on construction and more on decoration. Provide different materials to the
birds and bats to help them enhance their costumes. Once the students are finished
with their creations, have them place the costumes in a safe spot. If there are still
students who need to finish up, have the students who are done start to go over
their lines for their reader’s theatre performance.
Once all students have finished with their headpiece creations, have the class
go through the script of their reader’s theatre. This first run through can be done
with the students sitting at their desks so they can become more comfortable with
their lines. This can also be time for students to highlight their lines if need be.
After students have had the chance to read through their lines as a whole
class, ask students to stand so the class can work on simple blocking. Students will
stand divided by bats and birds in the back, and those who have lines will come
forward towards the audience to speak. Run through the reader’s theatre a few
more times with blocking so students are feeling comfortable about their
performance.

Lesson 3:
The last day of our Stellaluna lesson will be spent rehearsing our reader’s
theatre, adding any last minuet touches to costumes, and then performing our
reader’s theatre to parents!
Now that the headpieces that students have created have had the chance to
dry overnight, students will add any final touches (if needed). After this, students
will put on their headpieces and practice their reader’s theatre with them on. Take
this time to help students adjust or add support to their headpiece if it does not stay
on well with movement.
Take time to rehearse through the reader’s theatre twice, as if it were an
actual performance. Have students be ready and standing in their spots as parents
and other staff members arrive. Remind students that they should be using loud,
projecting voices towards the audience so they can be heard! Once everyone has
gathered, prompt students to begin their performance.
Once the performance has finished, have students bow together for their
audience. Let students have time to meet with their family members, and make sure
that their headpieces are put away in a safe place. If parents or guardians have taken
pictures during the performance, ask them to email you so you and your students
can look at them the next day to celebrate their reader’s theatre!

References:
1. Pelo, A. (2007 ). Growing a Culture of Inquiry Through Art. Retrieved
November 26, 2017.
2. Silverstien, & Layne. (n.d.). Defining Arts Integration . Retrieved November
26, 2017.
3. The Met. (n.d.). Connections/Masks. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
4. Q. (2012, November 21). 'Lion King' on Broadway: 'Circle of Life' on 'GMA'.
Retrieved November 26, 2017.