Lesson plan: Class 10 - Unit 4 supplementary - The aged mother

 LESSON PLAN

Lesson Plan: The Aged Mother

Unit: 4

Text: Supplementary Reading – “The Aged Mother”

Author: Matsuo Basho

1. Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Understand the cultural value placed on the wisdom of the aged in the Japanese folktale.
• Identify and appreciate the deep love and affection between a son and his mother as depicted in the story.
• Analyze the moral lesson conveyed by the folktale regarding the importance of respecting and valuing elders.

2. Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to:

1007 reads, comprehends, and responds to complex texts independently.

1011 writes paragraphs, narratives, etc., by planning revising, editing, rewriting, and finalising.

1008 reads stories and literary texts, both fiction and non-fiction, with understanding for pleasure and enjoyment and discusses about these.

1001 listens to announcements, instructions, read-aloud texts, audio, videos for information, gist and details; responds by answering questions accordingly.

• Recognize the importance of wisdom and experience that comes with age in their day-to-day lives.
• Demonstrate empathy and appreciation for the sacrifices and love of their family members, especially elders.
• Apply critical thinking to understand societal problems and propose solutions that respect human dignity, particularly that of the elderly.

3. Introduction

The teacher will introduce the lesson by asking a few questions to engage students:

• "Have you ever made a difficult decision that involved someone you love?"
• "Do you believe that older people have a special kind of wisdom or insight?"
• "What do you think happens when a society stops valuing its elders?"

4. Reading and Understanding

• Students will be instructed to read the entire supplementary text, "The Aged Mother," from their textbook.
• While reading, students should pay attention to unfamiliar words and refer to the glossary provided in the textbook to understand their meanings.

Key Vocabulary from Glossary:

• despotic (adj.) – tyrannical, cruel
• proclamation (n) – announcement
• barbarous (adj.) – extremely brutal or mercilessly harsh
• abandon (v) – desert, give up completely
• reverence (n) – deep respect
• mandate (n) – an official order
• summit (n) – the topmost point of a hill or mountain
• injunction (n) – an order restraining someone from performing an act
• shriveled (adj.) – wrinkled and contracted due to old age or due to strain
• gravely (adv.) – seriously

5. Mind Map (Flowchart of Key Events)

The teacher will guide students to create a flowchart summarizing the main events of the story.

6. Consolidation and Presentation (Summary)

"The Aged Mother" is a Japanese folktale that takes place in the country of Shining, ruled by a cruel and despotic leader who orders all elderly people to be put to death. A poor farmer, out of love and reverence for his widowed mother, reluctantly takes her up Mount Obatsuyama, the mountain designated for abandoning the aged. During the arduous journey, the wise mother, despite her own pain, drops tiny piles of twigs along the path to ensure her son can find his way back safely. This selfless act profoundly moves the son, who, realizing her deep love and wisdom, defies the law and brings her back home, hiding her under his kitchen floor.

Later, the governor issues an impossible demand: a rope of ashes. Distraught, the son consults his hidden mother, who devises a brilliant solution involving twisted straw and flat stones. When the farmer presents the perfect rope of ashes, the astonished governor demands to know how he achieved it. The farmer reveals his secret, and the governor, enlightened by the mother's sagacity, understands that "with the crown of snow, there cometh wisdom!" He immediately abolishes the cruel law, demonstrating the tale's central message about the invaluable wisdom and love of the aged.

7. Reinforcement

• The teacher will emphasize that this story is an adaptation of a Japanese folktale and highlights the traditional Japanese value of filial piety and respect for elders.
• The story's moral, "the aged are sharp witted," is a timeless message found in many cultures worldwide.
• The author, Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), is one of the most famous poets of Japan, known for traveling to gain inspiration for his writing, with many of his poems found on monuments and traditional sites.

8. Evaluation

• a) Lower Order Thinking Question: "What cruel proclamation did the despotic leader in Shining make?"
• b) Middle Order Thinking Question: "How did the mother’s action of dropping twigs help her son, and what does this reveal about her character?"
• c) Higher Order Thinking Question: "'The old are wise.' Prove this statement with reference to the story 'The Aged Mother,' giving specific instances from the plot."

9. Remedial Teaching

For slow learners, the following methods can be employed:

• Simplified Plot Points: Provide a simplified version of the plot in bullet points, focusing only on the most essential events.
• Visual Aids: Use simple drawings or stick figures to illustrate key scenes (e.g., son carrying mother, mother dropping twigs, rope of ashes).
• Paired Reading: Have students read the story aloud in pairs, helping each other with pronunciation and comprehension.
• Sentence Scramble: Provide key sentences from the story on strips of paper for students to arrange in the correct chronological order.

10. Writing

Students will be asked to write a short paragraph (approximately 50-75 words) on one of the following options:

• Option 1: Imagine you are the farmer. Write a short diary entry expressing your feelings before and after your journey up the mountain with your mother.
• Option 2: Write about the importance of respecting and listening to elders, drawing inspiration from the mother's wisdom in the story.

11. Follow Up

• Homework/Assignment: Students will research and bring to class one example of a folk tale from their own culture that emphasizes the importance of wisdom or family bonds. They should be prepared to briefly share the story's moral.
• Activity: In groups, students can brainstorm modern-day "impossible tasks" that could be solved with simple, out-of-the-box thinking, similar to the "rope of ashes" problem.

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Lesson plan: Class-10 - Unit 4 Poem - The ant and the cricket

 LESSON PLAN 

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Lesson Plan: Unit 4 – Poem – The Ant and the Cricket

1. Learning Objectives The teacher expects students to learn:

• To understand the narrative and central theme of the poem, which highlights the importance of hard work and planning.
• To identify and understand the characteristics of the main characters, the ant and the cricket.
• To recognize and explain the moral lesson conveyed through the fable.
• To comprehend and interpret new vocabulary used in the poem.
• To analyze the poet's message about responsibility and foresight.

2. Learning Outcomes Upon completion of the lesson, students will be able to:

1009 -  appreciates nuances and shades of literary meanings, talks about literary devices like onomatopoeic sounds, symbols, metaphors, alliterations, comparisons, allusions and the poet's or the writer's point of view.

 1027 - identifies significant literary elements such as figurative language— metaphor, imagery, symbol, simile, intention or point of view, rhyme scheme, etc.

• Apply the moral lesson of hard work and planning in their daily lives and decision-making.
• Compare and contrast characters based on their actions and attitudes, drawing parallels to human behavior.
• Articulate the importance of preparing for the future and the consequences of idleness.
• Use new vocabulary from the poem in their own sentences and discussions.
• Discuss and justify their views on the characters' actions with reference to the poem.

3. Introduction The teacher will introduce the poem by asking a few engaging questions related to its themes:

• "What are some common tasks animals do to prepare for winter or difficult times?"
• "Do you think it's important to save for the future, or live for today?"
• "Have you heard any stories where animals teach us a lesson about life?"
• "What do you think happens when someone spends all their time enjoying themselves without preparing for challenges?"

4. Reading and Understanding Students will read the poem "The Ant and the Cricket". The teacher will guide students to understand new words and phrases encountered in the poem, using the provided glossary:

• Accustomed to (v): Be used to
• Gay (adj.): Glad, joyful
• Crumb (n): Piece of bread
• Famine (n): Extreme scarcity of food
• Miserly (adj.): Stingy, ungenerous
• Quoth (v): Said (old English usage, used only in first and third person singular before the subject)
• Hastily (adv.): Hurriedly
• Warrant (v): Guarantee, promise

5. Mind Map A comparison table or a character analysis map can be used to illustrate the differences between the two main characters:

Feature/Action	The Ant	The Cricket
Attitude	Hardworking, disciplined, prepared, miserly	Silly, pleasure-loving, unprepared, complaining
Actions in Summer	Spends summer saving grains for the future	Sings and dances happily day and night
Condition in Winter	Well-provided, able to refuse help	Starving, trembling with cold, cupboard empty
Motto/Belief	"We ants never borrow; we ants never lend."	"My heart was so light / That I sang day and night"
Life Lesson	Importance of foresight and labor	Consequence of idleness and lack of preparation

6. Consolidation and Presentation The teacher will consolidate the understanding of the poem by presenting a summary: "This narrative poem, adapted from Aesop’s fables, brings out the idea that saving for the future is essential for every creature. The story contrasts an ant and a cricket. The ant spends all its summer saving food, while the cricket sings and dances happily, failing to save anything for the winter. When winter arrives, the cricket finds his cupboard empty and is worried. He seeks help from the ant, asking for food and shelter, even promising to repay it. However, the ant makes it clear that ants neither borrow nor lend. The ant questions what the cricket did during the warmer weather, and the cricket admits he sang and enjoyed nature. The ant then dismisses the cricket, telling him to 'dance the winter away'. The poet concludes by affirming that this is not just a fable but a truth applicable to human beings also, implying that some humans, like the cricket, fail to prepare for the future."

7. Reinforcement

• Discuss the concept of a fable: Explain that a fable is a traditional story that teaches a moral lesson, usually featuring animals as characters. Mention that this poem is adapted from Aesop's Fables, and provide a brief context about Aesop.
• Connect to real-life proverbs: Discuss proverbs or sayings that reflect the poem's moral, such as "A stitch in time saves nine" or "Make hay while the sun shines."
• Historical context of the ant as a symbol: Briefly mention how ants are often depicted in literature as symbols of diligence and hard work.

8. Evaluation The teacher will ask the following questions to assess student understanding:

• a) Lower Order Thinking Question: "What was the young cricket accustomed to do during the warm, sunny months?"
• b) Middle Order Thinking Question: "Why did the cricket's cupboard become empty when winter arrived?"
• c) Higher Order Thinking Question: "Compare and contrast the attitude and actions of the ant and the cricket. If you were in a similar situation to the cricket, how would you have prepared differently based on the lesson learned from the poem?"

9. Remedial Teaching For slow learners, the teacher will:

• Provide a simplified summary of the poem in bullet points.
• Use visual aids (e.g., drawings of the ant and cricket, scenes from the poem).
• Focus on key vocabulary through flashcards and repeated pronunciation.
• Encourage peer tutoring, pairing slow learners with students who have a strong understanding.
• Break down the poem into smaller stanzas for line-by-line interpretation.

10. Writing Students will be asked to write a paragraph (about 100 words) on one of the following topics, drawing on their understanding of the poem:

• "Describe the journey of life as depicted in 'The Ant and the Cricket,' focusing on the importance of preparation." (Adapted from a similar exercise for another poem).
• "Explain what kind of behavior the poet wants the readers to possess, with reference to the poem 'The Ant and the Cricket'." (Adapted from a similar exercise for another poem).
• "If you were the cricket, what would you say to the ant to convince him to help you, and how would you promise to change your ways?"

11. Follow Up

• Homework/Assignment: "Write a short paragraph explaining the meaning of the poet's concluding lines: 'Some crickets have four legs, and some have two,' and how this applies to human beings."
• Activity: Students can create a poster illustrating the moral of the poem with drawings and short slogans (e.g., "Work today, enjoy tomorrow!").
• Discussion: In groups, discuss modern-day examples of "ants" and "crickets" in society.