You’ll have bilingual fun with the “The Barking Mouse” in this lesson

Title – The Barking Mouse – Bilingual Fun
By – Mallory
Primary Subject – Language Arts
Grade Level – K-5

Materials Needed:

• The Barking Mouse by Antonio Sacre
  ( http://www.albertwhitman.com/content.cfm/bookdetails/The-Barking-Mouse )
• mouse and cat ears
• 8.5 x 11 paper for follow-up activity
• lined paper for follow-up activity
• poster board with Spanish words and sentences (optional)
• CD of Cuban music

Framing:

• Circle Center Warm-up Activities:
  • Game: “Define my Gibbers” (may need to adapt or find a simpler ‘gibberish’ games for younger grades). This game can be played with one player on the spot in front of all others, or within smaller groups/partners. It may also be presented in “war” fashion, where two players stand in front of all others and try to trip each other up.
  • The group will give the single player a gibberish word.
  • The single player must then define that word.
  • Try to use very little hesitation. Don’t wait! Go with your gut.
  • Be confident! You must prove that your definition is correct and you must believe your idea is a good one.
• Cuban Music Listen-Along:
  • Play 2 – 3 tracks that you like.
  • Optional questions to ask:
    • What kind of instruments do you hear in these songs?
    • Do any of you play those instruments?
    • What do you like about this music? What don’t you like?

Introduce Story:

• Today we are going to be exploring the Cuban folk tale called The Barking Mouse . The story is bilingual, meaning it uses two languages. Can anyone here speak another language, other than English? Well, today we will be speaking both English and Spanish!
• Distribute cat and mouse ears.
• Create a “picnic space”, a “fence”, and a “play area” (between the picnic and the fence).
• Have the mice set the scene by picking a food to eat. Have the cats set the scene by choosing one cat activity to play behind the fence.
• Next, follow the story, scene by scene. Allow students to follow along by performing the actions and repeating the Spanish. Each student should follow the actions with their corresponding character.
• A co-facilitator (if available) can display the Spanish phrases in large lettering on a poster board.

Follow-up Activities:

• Language Arts/Writing:
  • Students can rewrite the story from the cat’s perspective.
  • Students can rewrite the story using another language.
  • Students can write a story using the Spanish phrases from the story.
• Math:
  • Calculate how high cats can jump versus the height of a typical fence.
  • Calculate how fast cats and mice can run; separate and in regards to each other.
• History:
  • Research folktales: What cultures have them? What purpose do they serve?
  • Choose a different folktale from any country and report on it.

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