C: The Rag Coat

Welcome! The following is the first in a series of 24 lesson plans, Learning the ABC’s through Literature, the 1st year. It was written especially for classroom use within a homeschool co-op, and was designed to teach the alphabet, over the course of a school year, using classic children’s literature. The books are primarily taken from the Five in a Row Curriculum by Jane Lambert, with several others added as well. The plans were designed to give just a little bit more, so it could be more usable within a classroom setting. Teacher’s questions, printables, craft ideas, classroom handouts, etc are included within all the lessons. This is geared towards a K-1st grade class. If you are interested in something similar for older children, the Learning through Literature series uses more Five-in-a-Row (FIAR) books and is a more developed concept of this same idea and also uses mostly Five in a Row books. You can find it here, Learning Snippets of History through Literature, (the 2nd year), geared for 1st-3rd and Learning the USA through Literature – (the 3rd year), geared for 2nd-4th and using books from Volume 4 of Five in a Row Curriculum.

FIAR: Week Three

What do I need:

The Rag Coat book
coal (if you can find it, or charcoal if you can’t)
coat template (below)
fabric scraps
glue
fabric scissors
buttons
Letter C handwriting sheets (see printable version here)
Coal Cookies (if you want something extra)
US Map that shows Appalachian Mountain area

Review:

So far we have done A for Apple Pie, B for Blueberries. Sing the alphabet if you’d like. Hold up alphabet flashcards if you’d like. See if the class can remember the books you’ve done so far. For a quick, weekly review of phonics sounds, I love the book, Merriam-Webster’s Alphabet Book.

Introduce The Rag Coat

Use a map of the United States to point out the Appalachian mountains, the mountain range that runs up and down the eastern coast, and the states that are within this range to show where Minna probably lived. (Probably around West Virginia)

Discuss how there are still a lot of people who live there. Poor area. Best Jobs are as coal workers, but it is a dangerous job. Stuck in mines for hours without clean air. Many people get sick, like Minna’s dad (can discuss this as reading). These are poor towns, where the biggest jobs are to work in coal. Lots of trains go in and out with coal for the whole country. Today, we have new ways to heat our houses (electricity, gas, solar heat), but back when Minna was living, the coal industry was booming.

Why do people use coal? To heat and power their houses. If you can find a piece of charcoal or happen to have some pure coal rock, you could show this to the students. We happen to live near an old coal mine, and found some pieces there. But a piece of charcoal will work. Show the students the coal. If you can go outside to show how it can burn – even better.

Read the Book

Because this book is a little sad (I had some tears reading it), I always like to preface for the sensitive kiddos, “it’s a little bit sad, but it’s going to get better” or something like that … so they don’t get too sad as you are reading.

Thoughts to Bring Out as you Read:

What does Minna’s dad tell her? (People only need people, and nothing else)
What do you think that means?
Why was the coat special to Minna? (filled with memories and stories, especially of her father)
Why did the students dislike the coat? (Made of rags, looked old)
What helped Minna go back to the students (she remembered her dad’s words)

Create Your Own Rag Coat

If you’ve looked any on Pinterest for, “The Rag Coat”, you have probably seen this Coat Template from Aussie Pumpkin Patch.

Click here for a printable version from aussiepumpkinpatch

There is also free fantastic lap book if you want to use pieces from it, as well. I’ve looked through other ideas, but I always come back to this one. It’s simple, cheap, and looks great.

Print out the Rag Coat on page 1. I’ve seen this done with paper scraps and with fabric scraps. If you can collect a handful of quilting or fabric scraps, and cut them into 1×1 inch pieces, it will look fantastic – and a bit better than the paper scraps.

Have the kids select and attach the scraps with glue or fabric glue if you have it.

Have them write their names at the bottom, and let them dry.

Voila! You’re done!

Complete the Handwriting Sheet, Letter C

Remind the class that we start our letters at the top. Allow a few students to demonstrate drawing a “C” on the board. Walk around the room and try to help the class trace and draw the C’s.