1. LESSON PLAN
Your name: Caitlin Bergan Cooperating teacher-librarian: Kathy Bennett
Date: November 29-December 3 School & City: Lincoln Trail, Mahomet
Lesson Title: Arachne Pourquoi Tale
Grade level: 3rd grade Length of lesson: 15 min
Purpose: (“why” of the lesson; where and how does it fit in the curriculum?)
Students will be able to recognize the features of a pourquoi tale
Learning Outcome(s): (what will students be able to do/know by the end of the
lesson?)
Students will…
• Be able to explain what a pourquoi tale is
• Review of what a folktale is
Illinois Learning Standard(s) Addressed:
1.B.1a Establish purposes for reading, make predictions, connect important ideas,
and link text to previous experiences and knowledge
1.B.1b Identify genres (forms and purposes) of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and
electronic literary forms.
1.C.1c Make comparisons across reading selections
18.A.1 Identify folklore from different cultures which became part of the heritage
of the United States
Standards for 21st Century Learner Addressed:
1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning.
4.1.1 Read, view, and listen for pleasure and personal growth.
4.1.2 Read widely and fluently to make connections with self, the world, and
previous reading.
4.1.3: Respond to literature and creative expressions of ideas in various formats
and genres.
4.4.4: Interpret new information based on cultural and social context.
Materials:
Needed by you: Needed by students:
The McElderry Book of Greek Myths
Retold by Eric A. Kimmel
Arachne p. 30
Instructional procedures:
Focusing event: (how will you get the students’ attention?)
Last week we talked about a kind of character called a noodle head who sometimes
appears in folktale – who remembers what a folktale is?
Now we’re going to look at another kind of folktale that is called a pourqoui story.
“Pourquoi” is the French word for “why”? Pourquoi tales tell a made up story about
why something exists in nature.

2. Input from you: (what are you teaching & how are you delivering the content?)
This is an old story from Greece. One of the main characters is the goddess
Athena – does anyone know anything about her? She is the goddess wisdom, which
covers strategy in war, as well as the goddess of home crafts like sewing, cooking,
and weaving.
Read Book
Guided practice: (application of knowledge by students)
What is the “why?” that this story answers? Why are there spiders – where do
they come from?
Why does Arachne end up as a spider? She boasts about the things she can do and
she’s disrespectful to the gods. In Greek stories, bad things happen to people who
boast about what they can do and are disrespectful to others.
The story of Arachne effects what we call spiders even today! We call them
arachnids – don’t we! It comes from Arachne in this story.
Closure (how will you end the lesson?)
Think about all the things that someone might explain how they came to be through
a story. (Example: why does it rain? Why do cats chase dogs? How did the elephant
get a long trunk? Have a few out for the kids to check out)
Next week we’ll read another pourquoi story about spiders, but from a different
country.
What’s next? (another related lesson, review, end of unit?)
Anansi Goes Fishing – A pourquoi tale from West Africa.