Title: Isla Story Map and Time-line

Materials: clothespins, string, story maps

Objectives:

• Students will arrange five major events from the story Isla in correct order on a quiz.
• Students will represent the sequence of at least five story events through a story map based on the book, Isla.

Procedures:

Reading Isla

• Remind students of the activities they participated in dealing with the characteristics of Caribbean islands.
• Prompt students to pay careful attention to the second reading of Isla, and think about the sequence of events in the story so they will be able to participate in this lesson's activities.
• Re-read the story, Isla.

Timeline

• Ask students to recall events of the story orally as they are called upon.
• Place events on the chalkboard [Have several events pre-written on slips of paper (see Appendix). If students add extra events, add them to the list by writing them on additional slips of paper.]
• Prompt students to remember the events of the story in the order in which they occurred. As students state answers, hang slips of paper with clothespins from a string hung across the front of the classroom.
• Discuss the time-line, asking questions such as, "Why are going to and coming from the island good first and last events of the story? Why do you think the girl and her grandmother go visit their relatives first when they arrive on the island? What are the specific places on the island the girl and her grandmother traveled to?"
• Put a star by the major events: 1) The girl and her grandmother travel to the island. 2) They go to visit their relatives. 3) They travel to the rain forest. 4) The family has dinner. 5) The girl and her grandmother travel back to New York.
• State these events in the order they occurred in the story.
• List these five major events of the story on the board in random order.
• Take down the time-line for the quiz.
• Instruct students to write down the five events in the correct order they occurred in the story.
• Collect papers when all the students have finished.
• Hang time-line back up in front of the class-room.

Story Map

• Supply students with a map of an island (see Appendix).
• Ask students to make a path on the island of where the girl and her grandmother traveled in the story. Instruct students to include at least five major events from the story in the correct sequence. Remind students they can use the timeline for extra help.
• Instruct students to color maps if they finish early.
• Collect maps.

Evaluation: Check students' quizzes to ensure they listed at least four of the five events in proper sequence. Check each student's story map to ensure they included five major points from the story in proper sequence.