Lesson Title: Cultural Values and the Legend Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
7th Grade/Ages 11-13
Topic: Sharing Stories through Myths, Legends, and Tales
The lesson specifically designed to meet the Social Studies State Standard listed begins at the
end of day two and continues throughout day three. Days one, two, and four were developed to
meet Reading and Writing standards, but were included to understand the context of day three.
Additionally, days one and two scaffold the learning students need to be successful day three.
NCSS Theme/Strand
 Culture
WI State Standard (Behavioral Sciences)
E.8.2 Give examples to explain and illustrate how factors such as family, gender, and
socioeconomic status contribute to individual identity and development.
Context
Story telling is not just about entertainment, though that is the most common value stories
maintain. People tell stories to explain something important, share varying perspectives, and/or
express cultural values. Myths, fables, and legends are specifically known for the cultural values
that underlie their interesting plots. Recognizing the cultural aspects of a story increases
comprehension as students grow to understand that one’s decisions and perspectives of the world
are highly influences by their culture. Prior to this lesson, students will have learned about
myths and fables, studying the cultural values presented in each of the stories read. Following
this lesson, students will draft either a legend or a myth, using the story features and cultural
values they have learned throughout this unit to strengthen their ideas.
Lesson Learning Goal
As students study the features of a legend and analyze the cultural values described in the
legend Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, they will learn to acknowledge and appreciate stories
not just for their entertainment value, but for the specific information, perspectives, and cultural
values they share. With this knowledge, they will begin to see how the contexts of our lives
determine our cultural values, which contribute to our individual identities.
Essential Questions
 How do our families and experiences influence our cultural values?
 What is identity?
 How do our cultural values shape our individual identities?
Lesson Objectives/Understandings
 Through discussion and the development of their own coat of arms, students will be able
to explain how specific values contribute to one’s personal identity.
 Following the completion of their coat of arms, students will discuss how diversity
among values influences the classroom community.
Student Assessment/Performance Tasks
 Through whole-group discussions and the coat of arms activity, the teacher will assess
students’ ability to identify and explain what and how cultural experiences influence
individual identities.
Accommodations
 For students who become restless when in their seats for too long, especially students
with disabilities or disorders that affect their self-regulation abilities, provide
opportunities for them to stretch their bodies, use the restroom, or get a drink of water
periodically throughout independent work time.
 Students whose disability/disorder impacts language processing should be allowed extra
time to complete the explanation on the back of their coat of arms. If this is not enough,
she or he may give a verbal explanation to the teacher.
Materials
 White Board and Dry Erase Markers
 Smart Board/Computer and Speakers
 Internet Access
 White Card Stock Papers (1 for each student)
 Markers/colored pencils/crayons for student use
 Sword of the Valiant Movie (available through Netflix and Redbox Instant)
Procedures
Day One (Reading)
I.
Beginning
a. Today’s Objectives (2 minutes)
i. Have the objectives written on the board prior to the lesson. Choose a
student to read them aloud:
1. Identify characteristics of a legend
2. Understand the meaning of chivalry in the Medieval Era
3. Make predictions during reading to improve our understanding
b. Whole-Group Review (3 minutes)
i. Ask aloud: What is a legend?
1. A story passed down through many generations that is believed to
be based on real people and events (p. 626)
ii. Ask aloud: What are the characteristics of a legend?
1. Tells about a hero or heroine who has unusual powers
2. Focuses on the hero’s/heroine’s struggle to defeat a powerful force
3. Highlights a positive quality or way of behaving
II.
Middle
a. Introduce the legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (10 minutes)
i. Ask aloud: What is a knight?
1. Teacher should write the word on the white board so students can
see that it’s not the same as “night.”
2. Recall the characters in Sword in the Stone. Who were the knights?
What was their role? How did they act?
3. Have the definition of knight in a PowerPoint or previously written
on chart paper. Select a student to read the definition aloud:
a. A knight is a young, male soldier (of medieval times) who
possessed weaponry and a horse. Often, a knight was from
a well-to-do family and worked for a wealthy
landowner/family of higher social rank. Knights were
expected to be extremely courteous and brave.
4. Teacher will write courteous and brave on the board underneath
the word knight.
ii. Chivalry
1. Before presenting the definition, explain that courtesy and bravery
are examples/traits of chivalry.
2. Exclaim: It is important to understand chivalry because it is
frequently used in the legend we’re about to read.
3. Have the definition in a PowerPoint or previously written on chart
paper. Choose a student to read the definition aloud:
a. Chivalry is a set of rules that gave knights guidance about
how to engage in battle, how to serve rulers, and how to
behave toward women. (p. 670).
4. Discuss aloud: Using what we know from Sword in the Stone,
what behaviors/characteristics traits would a knight need to have to
engage in battle? Serve rulers? Treat women?
a. Teacher should write student responses on the board.
i. Answers might include: honest, kind, loyal, etc.
b. Ask aloud: Why are these traits important? Would you
want people in power to follow the traits of chivalry today?
5. Exclaim: Although we commonly relate chivalry to knights from
the Medieval Era, the same traits may exist in some people today.
iii. Stand up if you think…
1. Most people today make sacrifices for others
2. People today are good at keeping promises
3. People today are polite
4. Chivalry is “dead” today
a. Teacher may choose 1-2 students to explain their response
b. Minilesson: Making Predictions (7 minutes)
i. Ask: What is a prediction?
1. Have a student read the definition from the PowerPoint:
a. A reasonable guess about what will happen next in a story
(p. 671).
ii. Example 1: The new girl struggled to open her jammed locker. Delmar
could tell she was worried about being late to class. Feeling chivalrous, he
walked over to her.
1. Teacher models making a prediction: What does Delmar do next?
a. Explain: Knowing the definition for chivalry, chivalrous
must mean… Therefore, I think next Delmar…
2. Explain what clues led you to this prediction.
iii. Example 2: What will you be doing at 6 pm tonight?
1. Guide predictions in whole group: I will be….
2. Ask aloud: What clues led you to this prediction?
3. Ask aloud: What might change your prediction?
a. Unexpected events/change of plans
iv. Have a student read aloud steps of making predictions.
1. Consider what you know about the characters and plot (setting)
2. Combine your thoughts with your own experiences, and make
logical guesses about what might happen next
3. Adjust your prediction when new information is presented
c. Whole-Group Reading (40 minutes)
i. Hand out Reading Strategy (predictions) worksheet.
1. Teacher should read the directions out loud.
ii. Play Sir Gawain and the Green Giant audio reading (25:11 minutes)
1. Students will follow the story in their textbooks (pg. 672-682).
iii. Stop to make and check predictions (identified in blue) during reading.
Text evidence can be identified in whole group. Predictions done
individually.
1. B (pg. 675): Reread lines 40-54. Why does Arthur refuse to let the
feast begin? Predict what will happen next.
2. E (pg. 677): As you read, check your predictions against what
actually happens. Did the prediction you made on page 675 come
true?
3. F (pg. 678): Use what you know about the plot and characters to
predict what you think will happen next.
4. I (pg. 680): Reread the line 223-224. How do King Arthur and the
other in the hall think the match will turn out? Make your own
prediction about the outcome.
5. K (pg. 682): Did the prediction you made on page 680 come true?
Describe what happened after Gawain struck the Green Knight.
III.
End
a. Wrap-Up (3-5 minutes)
i. Once the story has finished, give students 1-2 minutes to wrap up their
thoughts on the prediction worksheet.
ii. Ask students to raise their hands if all of their predictions were correct.
1. Ask: What helped you make these predictions?
iii. On the bottom of the worksheet, have students write how this reading
strategy supported their comprehension of the story.
iv. COLLECT prediction worksheets before the next lesson/students leave the
classroom.
*If the story cannot be completed on day one due to time constraints, stop the audio 5
minutes before class is over and continue with day one’s ending. Then, complete the story
immediately following the entrance slip activity on day two.
Day Two (Reading and the beginning of Social Studies)
I.
Beginning
a. Today’s Objectives (1 minute)
i. Have the objectives written on the board prior to the lesson. Select a
volunteer to read them aloud:
1. Summarize Sir Gawain in the Green Knight by identifying only the
main ideas/events that occurred
2. Describe how cultural values are portrayed within Sir Gawain and
the Green Knight
3. Create a coat of arms to exhibit personal cultural values
b. Entrance Slip-Individual (5 minutes)
i. Teacher should write the questions on the board. Remind students that an
entrance slip is not meant to assess them, but to inform me what students
are getting and what they’re misunderstanding.
1. What is a legend? What are the characteristics of a legend?
2. What legend have we started reading?
3. How does making predictions improve our understanding of a
text?
ii. Collect the entrance slips after 5 minutes whether or not students are
completed.
II.
Middle
a. Review (5 minutes)
i. Teacher should announce the answers to the entrance slip questions after
they have been collected.
1. Legend = a story passed down through many generations that is
believed to be based on real people and events; includes
hero/heroine with unusual powers, struggle to defeat a powerful
force, and a positive quality/behavior
2. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
a. Quick connection—ask aloud:
i. Who is the hero with unusual powers? (S.G.)
ii. What is the powerful force he has to defeat? (G.K.)
iii. What positive quality/way of behaving does Sir
Gawain (and Arthur in Sword in the Stone) have
that the other knights did not? (Chivalry)
3. Making predictions helps us think about the text and check for our
own understanding during reading.
b. Whole-Group Summary (5 minutes)
i. Choose a volunteer to begin summarizing Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight. When s/he runs out of ideas, choose another student to add more
information. Continue with this pattern until all the main ideas are
identified. Teacher should provide prompting as necessary.
ii. Keep in mind: a summary only draws out the main ideas of a text, whereas
paraphrasing recalls the entire text and rephrases it in your own words.
c. Small-Group Activity (15 minutes)
i. Using the Literary Analysis worksheet, the teacher will think aloud to
identify one trait of chivalry (i.e. courtesy) portrayed in Sir Gawain and
the Green Knight. Together, the teacher and students will find an example
from the story that supports that cultural value.
1. For example: The knights demonstrate courtesy as they wait for the
king to dine first.
ii. With the teacher’s support, students will identify three additional cultural
traits of chivalry.
1. Possible answers: courage/bravery, loyalty, honesty, kindness,
friendliness, patience, truthful/trustworthy, generous/helpful, etc.
iii. Break students into groups of 4 (nearby desks) to complete the web
diagram. They need to find at least one piece of textual evidence for each
cultural trait within the web.
d. Whole-Group Discussion (5 minutes)
i. Have students return to their assigned seats.
ii. Choose volunteers to share some examples they came up with in their
groups.
iii. Collect their worksheets and introduce the next activity.
e. Coat of Arms Activity (15-20 minutes)
i. Ask aloud: What is a coat of arms?
1. Have the definition in a PowerPoint or previously written on chart
paper. Choose a student to read it aloud:
a. A shield that a knight would hold containing
embellishments that represented his personal identity,
values, and virtues.
b. Review the terms identity and cultural value.
2. Explain that overtime, different colors and symbols have
maintained certain meanings.
a. Display the Fleur-de-Lis website on the SmartBoard to
provide examples of shield shapes, colors, furs, symbols...
ii. Discuss aloud: What might Sir Gawain’s coat of arms look like?
1. How could the traits of chivalry be portrayed with symbols or
other pictures?
iii. On card stock, students will independently create a coat of arms that
portrays what and how their cultural values/traits of chivalry are evident in
their lives today.
1. Teacher will share her/his own coat of arms (made prior to the
lesson), but must emphasize the importance of creating a unique
coat of arms—no two coats of arms will be the same, because we
all were raised differently and have many different experience.
Some of our cultural values may be similar though.
2. Give the directions and write them on the board:
a. Shields may be any shape you choose
b. Shield must take up 90% or more of the paper’s space
c. Name (first, last, or both) is displayed on the shield
d. Use pictures, use symbols, and/or add words to portray at
least 5 cultural values you have.
e. On the back: explain how you represented your 5 cultural
values and why those are important to you.
3. Emphasize that different cultures will express cultural values in
different ways. Chivalry still exists today, just not in the same way
it existed during the Arthurian era—people today don’t express
chivalry in the same way because our everyday experiences are
different and we come in contact with various cultures more
frequently.
III.
End
a. Clean Up (3 minutes)
i. Students will not yet be done with their coat of arms projects. Have them
clean up their materials and place their projects in the teacher’s homework
basket to be completed the following day.
Day Three (Social Studies)
I.
Beginning
a. Welcome & Week Review (5 minutes)
i. Welcome students to the classroom.
ii. Announce: Before we begin with today’s activities, let’s recall what we’ve
been doing this week.
1. What is a legend?
a. A story passed down through many generations that is
believed to be based on real people and events. Legends
tell about a hero/heroine who has unusual powers, focus on
the hero’s struggle to defeat a powerful force, and
highlights a positive quality or way of behaving.
2. What legend have we read?
a. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
3. What is the positive quality/trait highlighted throughout the story?
a. Chivalry: Chivalry is a set of rules that gave knights
guidance about how to engage in battle, how to serve
rulers, and how to behavior toward women.
4. What is a coat of arms? What do the pictures, symbols, words and
colors represent?
a. A shield that a knight would hold containing
embellishments that represented his personal identity,
values, and virtues.
b. Review identity and cultural values
b. Today’s Objectives (5 minutes)
i. Write the objectives on the board prior to students entering. Choose a
student to read them aloud:
1. Complete coat of arms projects.
2. Express cultural values to peers by sharing coat of arms.
ii. Announce: We will also be watching clips from Sword of the Valiant
(which means brave, worthy, chivalrous) that highlight the cultural values
of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
c. Also write the coat of arms checklist on the board. Remind students to refer to it
as they are working.
1. Shield should take up the entire sheet of paper
2. It needs to include their name (first and/or last)
3. Represent five cultural values they identify
4. Use pictures, symbols, color and words
5. On the back or a separate sheet of paper, student needs to explain
how their five cultural values were represented on their shields.
IV.
Middle
a. Coat of Arms and Movie Clips (25 minutes)
i. Hand back coat of arms materials. While doing so, explain to students
that the movie clips will be played as they are working. Inform them that
if they cannot work productively and/or do not remain quietly in their
assigned seats, the movie will be stopped. If they have questions, they are
expected to raise their hands.
ii. Play 1:30-16:00 and 1:35:00-1:38:00 (15.5 minutes)
1. As the video is playing, direct students’ attention to critical events
and/or parts that are particularly different than the text version.
a. For example, when King Arthur yells at his knights and the
sword fight Sir Gawain and the Green Knight get into.
V.
End
a. Whole-Group Share (10+ minutes)
i. Choose volunteers to present their coat of arms at the front of the
classroom. Each volunteer can share what their symbols are and two of
the cultural values represented on their shield.
ii. Ask aloud: How do our families and experiences influence our cultural
values? How do our cultural values shape our identity (who we think we
are and how others view us)? Why is it beneficial for us to create our own
coat of arms?
1. Remind students that everyone’s coat of arms projects will be
different (at least slightly), because each individual has a different
cultural background. Individuals learn values, beliefs, and
behaviors through culture. So, by completing this project, we
might begin to understand and accept why others think and behave
a certain way, helping us strengthen our classroom community.
Day Four (Writing)
I.
Beginning
a. Today’s Objectives (2 minutes)
i. Prior to the lesson, write the objectives on the board. Select a volunteer to
read them aloud:
1. Properly incorporate dialogue into a imagined writing piece
2. Write a legend that includes the characteristics of a legend and
your own cultural value(s)
b. Introduce Dialogue (5 minutes)
i. Ask aloud: What is dialogue?
1. Conversation within a text
ii. Ask aloud: How does it enhance a story?
1. Refer to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight—what dialogue do
students recall? How did that enhance the story?
II.
Middle
a. Minilesson: Dialogue (15 minutes)
i. Ask aloud: What punctuation is used for defining dialogue? Students may
refer to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight story for support.
1. Quotation marks surround what it said, and a speech tag is usually
offered to explain who is speaking and how (i.e. says, yells, asks).
2. Periods, commas, question marks, and exclamation points go
inside quotation marks (unless they apply to the sentence as a
whole).
3. When speech tag comes BEFORE dialogue, set it off with a
comma and capitalize the first word of dialogue (i.e. Jim said,
“Boy, it’s cold outside.”)
4. When the speech tag comes AFTER dialogue, place a comma,
question mark, or exclamation point (but NEVER a period) inside
the closing quotation mark. Keep the period for after speech (i.e.
“Do I really have to eat this hot dog?” Daisy asked.
**Not necessary to review speech tags that interrupt dialogue**
ii. Ask aloud: Why is proper punctuation important?
1. Tells you who is talking and what they’re saying; improves the
reader’s ability to read fluently
iii. Writing Notes Activity
1. Explain the directions:
a. Students will turn to the person next to them.
b. One person needs a piece of paper.
c. Partners will “pass notes legally.” They must be absolutely
silent, refer to themselves in third person (using their first
name instead of I), and use proper dialogue format.
d. Note: If your partner makes a punctuation mistake, you
must explain it to them through dialogue on the note.
2. Model the activity with a teacher or student.
a. Miss Turriff said, “How are you today, Dana?”
“I’m fine,” Dana replied. “How about you, Miss Turriff”?
“I am good,” Miss Turriff said, “but I noticed you put the
question mark outside of the quotation marks. It should be
before.”
3. Give students time to work with shoulder partners.
4. Ask if students have questions, comments, or concerns.
b. Legend Writing
i. Pass out the Create Your Own Legend worksheet.
ii. Read aloud the front and back. Both sides are almost identical to the
brainstorming worksheet students used when beginning their myths.
iii. Ask students if they have questions, comments, or concerns. They may
begin working when there are not questions to be answered.
iv. If students complete the brainstorming worksheet before class is over, they
should begin drafting their legend.
III.
End
a. Announce: Students who are not done with the brainstorming sheet must
complete it as homework. They should also begin their drafts so they don’t fall
behind the rest of the students that have already begun writing. There will be
more time for students to draft their legends. Once they have completed their
drafts, they must choose either their legend or myth to complete as their writing
assessment for this unit.
Resources
Archives. (2013). “Coat of Arms.” (8 April 2013). Web.
<http://www.archives.com/genealogy/family-history-coat-of-arms.html>
This website provides useful background information for the teacher to become
knowledgeable about coat of arms prior to executing the lesson. Coat of arms is defined and
described on this site, and a brief background is offered as well.
FamilyIQ. (2011). “Make your coat of arms.” (8 April 2013). Web.
<http://www.makeyourcoatofarms.com/>
This is an interactive site that students may utilize to develop their own personal coat of
arms. It is free and offers a variety of templates and various color, symbol, and wording options.
Utilizing this site would be engaging for students, but might limit their ideas.
Fleur-de-lis Design. (2011). “Symbolism of Heraldic Colors, Furs, Lines & Ordinaries
or…” (* April 2013). Web. http://www.fleurdelis.com/meanings.htm
This online resource provides an extensive list of colors, furs, line and ordinaries that
would be used on a traditional coat of arms. For each, the symbolic meaning is identified. This
is great for generating ideas prior to students creating their own coat of arms, or hypothesizing
what Sir Gawain’s coat of arms might have looked like based off of his personal traits and the
symbolism behind these features.