Understanding and Writing Pourquoi Stories

Understanding and Writing Pourquoi Stories
Dianna Narotski
3 grade English Language Arts
rd
Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.2
Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message,
lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive
details, and clear event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.3.a
Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds
naturally.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.3.b
Use dialogue and descriptions of actions, thoughts, and feelings to develop experiences and events or show the
response of characters to situations.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.3.c
Use temporal words and phrases to signal event order.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.3.d
Provide a sense of closure.
Lesson Summary:
This lesson is designed to teach students how to identify pourquoi stories by their characteristics and use the
knowledge to write their own pourquoi story. The students will use the Storybird web site as inspiration to
create their own pourquoi story, following the editing process to refine their story.
Estimated Duration:
The lesson will take approximately 4 days, broken into 50 minute segments.
Commentary:
To start the lesson, we will engage the students with a familiar pourquoi story, reading the story of How the
Tiger Got Its Stripes aloud.
Instructional Procedures:
Day 1:
For the first 15 minutes, I will tell the students that we will be learning about pourquoi stories and then writing
our own. I will mention that all folktales began in the oral tradition, meaning that they were passed down as
stories that were not written down, and pourquoi stories are types of folktales. I will tell the students that
pouquoi stories explain why something is currently how it is or they explain how something in nature came to
be. We will read aloud the story How the Tiger Got Its Stripes as an example to model a good pourquoi
story.
For the next 15 minutes, I will explain to the students that the pourquoi story explains why things are how they
are and that pourquoi means why in French. I will ask the students questions to discuss what the moral of
the story is and what this story tells us about the culture of the country the story originated from.
Using the Smartboard, I will outline the key elements of a pourquoi story.
1) It takes place long ago
2) It asks the question why
3) The characters can be human or animals
4) It usually contains personification
5) It presents a problem
6) It solves the why question (and suggests a moral)
Then, I will display the pourquoi story elements on the smartboard with the vocabulary and definitions. The
vocabulary are: customs, folktales, traditional, traits, personification, moral, trickster tale.
For the last 20 minutes of the class, the students will use Quizlet to create their own flash cards and game to
help them learn the vocabulary for the Pourquoi tales unit. Once they create their Quizlet, they will quiz
themselves to make sure they know the vocabulary and elements of a pourquoi story.
Day 2:
I will introduce the class by quickly reviewing the pourquoi story that we read. I will display the key elements
of a pourquoi story on the Smartboard and give the students approximately 20 minutes to search for pourquoi
story on Google and read two stories that they find interesting.
Then, for the last 30 minutes of class, they will then use Google docs to write a brief synopsis one of the
pourquoi stories that they found. They should answer how the pourquoi story that they found shows the key
elements of pourquoi stories.
Day 3:
I will introduce the students to the Storybird web application. I will show the students how they can choose a
style of artwork that will inspire their stories. I will tell the students that their goal is to write their own
pourquoi tale. Each student will be able to choose the style of artwork that they would like to use in their book
and write a pourquoi tale that uses the artwork.

Day 4:
The students may need another class period to complete their book. Once complete, the students then submit
their book to the teacher for comments and feedback. The students will get some time to revise their book.
Once their books are complete, the PDF can be printed and bound into books to share. The students will have
some time to review the vocabulary with Quizlet before taking a quiz on the elements of a pourquoi story and
the vocabulary.
Pre-Assessment:
During the lesson introduction, I will ask the students what they know about pourquoi stories and if they can
name any. This will give a good estimate for the students prior knowledge on these types of stories.
Scoring Guidelines:
The teacher will judge based on the pre-assessment how well students understand the elements of a pourquoi
story. From the writing in the Google doc that the students submit, the teacher will be able to assess the
students understanding of the characteristics of pourquoi tales based on tales that they find.
Post-Assessment:
The stories that the students create will show the teacher how well the students understand the elements of a
pourquoi story. The short quiz at the end of the lesson will show the teacher how well the students have
learned the vocabulary and elements of a pourquoi story.
Scoring Guidelines:
If the students score a 5 or a 6 on the 6-point rubric for their book and an 80% or higher on the quiz, they will
have mastered the content in this lesson. A student who scores a 4 or below will have the opportunity to revise
his or her story to achieve a higher score. Scoring a 3 or 4 on the book means that the students book is
missing a key element to being a pourquoi tale, and the student needs some support to mastering the
objectives. Scoring a 1 or a 2 reflects limited effort and suggests that the student needs intense support to
master the objectives.
Differentiated Instructional Support

For students who have mastered the objectives, they can further their understanding by creating alternate
pourquoi tales about the same topic. For example, the student can write two different versions of How the
Elephant got its Trunk. This gives the student the opportunity to think about how the same story can be told
in different ways.
For students who are struggling with creating a story, the teacher can assist with ideas for the end-result. By
brainstorming different ideas, the teacher can make suggestions on the direction the story can take. For
students who have struggled with incorporating the elements of a pourquoi story into their story, the teacher
can meet with them for additional feedback to improve their stories.
Extension
This website, geared for kids has tips on how to create a good story. It can be used for any story and is good
for kids who are stuck and need some ideas.
http://www.coreygreen.com/storytips.html
This article called How to become a storyteller gives some good information to students who want to tell a
good story orally.
http://www.storynet.org/resources/howtobecomeastoryteller.html
Homework Options and Home Connections

Students can read more pourquoi tales at home through online or library resources. They can also compare
pourquoi tales that tell the same story through the eyes of different cultures.
Interdisciplinary Connections
During this lesson, students are reading about pourquoi tales that were written in different cultures. This can
connect to lessons in social studies on either native American cultures or cultures from other countries to
explore their traditional stories.
Students are exploring creative ideas from the natural world. They can be encouraged to find out the real
reason why things are the way they are (for example, why tigers are striped).
Students are creating their own books using artwork and creatively analyzing the artwork for possible meaning
that they can attach to it for their projects.
Materials and Resources:
For teachers
Smartboard, projector, color printer, binding machine and binding combs, Google
account, Storybird account, Quizlet account, computer with internet access
For students
Internet capable computers (Chromebooks)
Key Vocabulary
customs, folktales, traditional, traits, personification, moral, trickster tale
Additional Notes
Common Core Standards English Language Arts
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/W/3/
Elements of Pourquoi Tales
http://www.lessonswithlaughter.com/2012/04/pourquoi-tales.html

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Understanding and Writing Pourquoi Stories

Common Core Standards:

and write a pourquoi tale that uses the artwork.

Differentiated Instructional Support

Homework Options and Home Connections

Internet capable computers (Chromebooks)

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