Sarah Plain and Tall

By: Patricia MacLachlan 

Introduction

This lesson was developed as part of Region V TLTC for the 5^th grade curriculum at Vincent Settlement Elementary in Carlyss, Louisiana.

Sarah Plain and Tall is the novel that Vincent Settlement has chosen to introduce our unit of novels.  The novel can be used as a great thematic unit and can be expanded on more than one WebQuest can offer.  The possibilities are endless.  This WebQuest focuses mainly on the reading and language arts curriculum. 

Patricia Mac Lachlan wrote the novel Sarah Plain and Tall. This is a wonderful story about two little kids, Anna and Caleb, their father Jacob, and a woman named Sarah. The time this story took place was long ago because they had wagons and did things the old fashion way. It takes place on a farm in the country on prairie grasslands.

Anna and Caleb’s mother died when Caleb was born, and their father wanted a new wife to help take care of the children.  Jacob placed an advertisement for a wife in the newspaper.  A woman from Maine named Sarah answers the ad and comes a few weeks later to see if Jacob, the children, and she would become friends.

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Task

You have finished reading the novel Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan, now you will make a booklet containing the following information.

• A title page
• A newspaper advertisement
• A letter
• A picture and description of a wildflower discussed in the story
• A copy of your power point

Using Microsoft Word you will make a title page.  This will consist of:

• The title of the book

• The author

• Your name

• The date

• Your homeroom teacher’s name

• (You may add a graphic if you like)

Using Microsoft Word, write an advertisement a person like Jacob may submit to the newspaper.  You should try to give as much information as possible using the least amount of words that you can.

At the bottom of your ad, answer these questions. 

• Under what classification would you place this ad?

•  How long do you think it would be necessary to run the ad?

• How much would this ad cost for that given amount of time?

http://www.americanpress.com/advertising/index.shtml

Pretend that you are a character in the novel.  Using Microsoft Word, write a friendly letter introducing yourself.   You should tell about where you live and why you are interested in meeting the other person.  Make sure you use correct grammar and punctuation.

http://www.globalresponse.org/letters.html

http://www.kingsharvest.com/letters.html#friendly

There are several wildflowers mentioned in the story.  Choose one of the following flowers from the link below.  Copy and paste a picture of it then write a description of the flower.

Wildflowers: http://www.io.com/~maddog/photos_f.htm

Create a power point presentation.  You will need to add clipart to at least 6 of the slides (remember to be creative – the pictures should be related to the slide).  Use the following as a guide.  You must develop complete sentences on all slides.

 Print a copy of your power point. 

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Resources

Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Lake Charles American Press
http://www.americanpress.com/advertising/index.shtml

Global Response Letter Writing
http://www.globalresponse.org/letters.html

King’s Harvest Letter Writing
http://www.kingsharvest.com/letters.html#friendly

Madddogg ‘n’ Miracles
http://www.io.com/~maddog/photos_f.htm

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Process

 Approximate duration:  4-5 class periods

Depending on the size of the class and the number of computers available the lesson duration will vary.  This lesson is designed as an individual project.  Each student will be graded on his/her own project. The focus of this WebQuest is mainly directed toward the reading and language arts curriculum. Students should be familiar with Microsoft Word and Power Point.  This should be an easy lesson for most. 

Variations

An alternative to making a power point would be to have students type the information in a Word document and add clip art to it or even draw pictures.

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Evaluation

The booklet and Power Point will be graded using the following rubrics. 

All slides must contain complete sentences with no grammatical errors. 

Points: (52-49) = A, (48-45) = B, (44-42) = C, (41-37) = D

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Conclusion

Sarah and Jacob used letters to correspond because they lived so far from each other.  Through placing an advertisement and writing letters to each other, Jacob and Sarah realized that they wanted to get to know each other better.  Sarah eventually decided to stay and join Jacob’s family. Where, other than your hometown, would you like to live one day? Explore maps, globes, and atlas' to discover the world.

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Teacher Page

Standard One: Students read, comprehend, and respond to a range of materials, using a variety of strategies for different purposes.

• ELA-1-M2 Interpreting story elements (e.g., mood, tone, style)* and literary devices (e.g., flashback, metaphor, foreshadowing, symbolism)* within a selection

• ELA-1-M3 Reading, comprehending, and responding to written, spoken, and visual texts in extended passages (e.g., ranging from 500-1,000 words)

• ELA-1-M4 Interpreting (e.g., paraphrasing, comparing, contrasting) texts with supportive explanations to generate connections to real- life situations and other texts (e.g., business, technical, scientific)

Standard Two: Students write competently for a variety of purposes and audiences.

• ELA-2-M2 Using language, concepts, and ideas that show an awareness of the intended audience and/or purpose (e.g., classroom, real-life, workplace) in developing complex compositions

• ELA-2-M3 Identifying and applying the steps of the writing process

This WebQuest will enable students to practice their writing skills and develop comprehension.

 References/resources:

Sarah Plain and Tall by Sarah MacLachlan

Lake Charles American Press
http://www.americanpress.com/advertising/index.shtml

Global Response Letter Writing
http://www.globalresponse.org/letters.html 

King’s Harvest Letter Writing
http://www.kingsharvest.com/letters.html#friendly 

Madddogg ‘n’ Miracles
http://www.io.com/~maddog/photos_f.htm

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