Strega Nona Lesson Plan
- Grades: PreK–K, 1–2
About this book
- Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola
Set Up and Prepare
Find Calabria, Italy on a map. Ask how many students like pasta.
Read the story with students and discuss the cause and effect situations.
The students could use Kidspiration on the computer to complete a character web and/or a cause and effect web.
The students could learn more about Italy using the resource links.
Create a class podcast about Strega Nona using different students for the different character voices. On a Mac, use GarageBand to create a podcast. On a PC use Audacity for recording. Each student records a part of Strega Nona. Have them create a chorus verse from the magic pasta chant. After the voices are recorded, add a beat or music to the podcast. Enhance the podcast by adding photos, scanned drawings or KidPix drawings. If a computer isn't available, a recording could be made with a tape recorder or with an iPod and a voice recorder attached. The podcast can be shared online through iWeb on a Mac or shared with other classes through the school server. Consult with your technology support person about how to do this.
Teaching with Favorite Tomie dePaola Books:
Engaging Activities That Build Essential Reading and Writing Skills and Explore the Themes in These Popular Books by Rebecca DeAngelis Callan, Laurie DeAngelis
Strega Nona video
Italy - www.gayleberthiaume.com/FGO/italy.html
GarageBand video tutorial - www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/garageband/gb3-1.html
Audacity for Windows or Mac - http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/
Audacity Tutorials - http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/tutorials