Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 28855
Literary Analysis of "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and Narrative
Writing Activity
In this lesson, students will be able to analyze how Rudyard Kipling uses theme and short story elements to create the classic story, "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi."
Students will engage in various pre-reading activities to scaffold background knowledge, vocabulary, and ability to identify theme. Working in
cooperative groups will allow students to discuss and evaluate their learning in a non-threatening environment. At the conclusion of the lesson,
students will write an original narrative using what they learned in this lesson to create their own story.
Subject(s): English Language Arts
Grade Level(s): 7
Intended Audience: Educators
Instructional Time: 5 Hour(s)
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: Rikki-Tikki Tavi, reading comprehension, text analysis, narrative writing, main idea, theme, mongoose,
cobra
Instructional Design Framework(s): Direct Instruction, Writing to Learn, Cooperative Learning
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative
ATTACHMENTS
RikkiTikki Formative Vocabulary Assessment.doc
RikkiTikki Tavi Background PreAssessment.doc
RikkiTikkiTaviHandout.doc
RikkiTikki Summative Assessment.doc
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
During the reading of "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," students will cite specific textual evidence to support their analysis of the story. Students will also make inferences about the
story and use textual evidence to support their inferences.
Students will be able to determine a theme or central idea of the short story "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi." They will be able to analyze its development over the course of the
story and provide an objective summary.
Students will be able to use a graphic organizer to make and confirm logical predictions and preview vocabulary. Students will use context clues and dictionaries as
resources to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.
Students will analyze how conflict unfolds in the story.
Students will be able to write their own creative story about different animals using descriptive details and a logical order of events.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
Students must be familiar with what a mongoose and a cobra are
Students should be familiar with grade level vocabulary and key words in the story
Students should understand how to use evidence from a text to support any inferences or conclusions they draw
page 1 of 5 Students need to understand main idea and theme (what each term means and how to identify them in a story)
Students should be familiar with different types of conflict used in literature
Students need to be able to understand how the setting shapes the characters and the plot
Students should already be familiar with class procedures during cooperative group learning
Students should already be familiar with how to craft a narrative story using descriptive details with events that follow a logical sequence
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
What conflict is revealed in the beginning of the story?
How do the animals in the story resemble humans?
What is the theme or central message of the story?
What is the relationship between Rikki and Teddy and how does their relationship develop?
Explain the battle between good and evil in the story.
Give a similar example of the battle between good and evil in real life.
Describe the character Darzee in the story. What important part does Darzee play in the story's conclusion?
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
Use the following link or acquire a copy of the full text story (preferably with pictures and captions as you will ask student to preview them and make predictions about
the story): "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" Full Text Story
The "Hook" and Activation of Prior Knowledge
1. Bellwork: Students will work with a partner to complete the chart about cats and dogs on the "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" handout. Then, students will describe the conflicts
that sometimes occur between cats and dogs on the handout.
2. Teacher makes the connection between the bell work and the lesson by telling students: As you read the short story, "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," notice the conflict between
the cobra and the mongoose, two natural enemies.
3. Students will use the chart and nonfiction articles on the mongoose and on the cobra to write down the characteristics of a mongoose and a cobra. Students may
work on the comparison chart with a partner for support.
4. Using the handout, students will complete the vocabulary in context.
5. Students will preview the pictures and captions in the short story, "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi." Students will then read the first paragraph. Then, the teacher will instruct the
students to write a two-sentence prediction telling what they think will happen in the story next. The teacher will employ the numbered heads together strategy a
second time choosing different students to read their two-sentence predictions.
Introducing/Modeling the Concept or Skill
To get students ready to read "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and complete the last page in the student handout in their groups, the teacher will select one group of students to
function as a modeling group. The other groups will observe this group as the teacher guides them through reading of the first few paragraphs, demonstrating the
roles of each group member; and as students record answers on the handout, the teacher will reinforce the need to use textual support.
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
1. The teacher will model reading with expression by reading the first few paragraphs of the story and ask students about the setting of the story.
2. The teacher could select one group of students to model reading with expression by reading one paragraph each. After the model group takes turns reading, the
teacher could ask the rest of the class what the group did correctly and what could have been improved. Alternatively, the teacher could read these paragraphs as
additional modeling.
3. The teacher will ask students to create a T-chart graphic organizer to make predictions. The left column is for students to record their predictions and the right
column is for them to record what actually happens later as they continue reading the story.
4. The teacher will ask students to make predictions about what might happen later in the story. Each student in the model group could be asked to start by offering
one prediction about what he/she thinks will happen later. Then the teacher could open it up for other students to make predictions as well. All students (including
those in the model group) are to write down each prediction (or a certain number of predictions) on their paper.
5. The teacher will introduce the guiding questions for students to consider. These can be presented orally, projected, or provided on a handout. Students should keep
these questions in mind as they keep reading. Questions are:
What conflict is revealed in the beginning of the story?
How do the animals in the story resemble humans?
What is the theme or central message of the story?
What is the relationship between Rikki and Teddy and how does their relationship develop?
Explain the battle between good and evil in the story.
Give a similar example of the battle between good and evil in real life.
Describe the character Darzee in the story. What important part does Darzee play in the story's conclusion?
6. The teacher will instruct students to take turns reading the rest of the story in their groups, starting where the model group left off. Students will be divided into
groups of three or four for cooperative learning. Each student will be assigned one of the following jobs: leader, material collector, coach, and timekeeper. Students
will take turns reading the story with their groups.
Job responsibilities are as follows:
Leader: 1. Read all directions to your group. 2. Lead discussions/ reading rotation. 3. Make sure everyone completes their answer sheets. 4. Help with cleanup.
Material collector: 1. Collect and return all materials and supplies to appropriate place(s). 2. You are the only one who can retrieve materials and supplies. 3.
Make sure everyone has equal access to materials and supplies. 4. Make sure everyone completes his/her answer sheets. Help with clean-up.
Coach: 1. Monitor all team members to ensure they do their own jobs. 2. Take responsibility for praising and affirming jobs well done. 3. Record comments
and actions that show positive interpersonal communication. 4. Make sure everyone completes his/her answer sheets. Help with clean-up.
Timekeeper: 1. Hold team stopwatch or watch the clock. 2. Keep group on task and remind them about time. 3. You are responsible for getting the group to
finish on time. 4. Make sure everyone completes his/her answer sheets. Help with clean-up.
7. Students are encouraged to self-monitor their reading in groups and maintain an appropriate level of volume. The teacher may want to give students the choice of
reading between one and three paragraphs each so that struggling readers may read less and more proficient readers may read more with the goal of everyone
reading. NOTE: Alternate suggestions rather than all groups reading aloud are included in the "Further Recommendations" section.
8. The teacher will instruct all students to write down what really happened in the story next to each prediction as they are reading in their groups.
9. Once all students have read the story, students complete the Rikki-Tikki Tavi Handout (the last page) and answer the guiding questions on their own or in groups.
page 2 of 5 Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
For the independent practice, students will create their own short story about two animals who have some sort of internal or external conflict or both, following this
procedure:
1. Show students a graphic organizer for writing a narrative. Here are some links (or you can use a story frame that you already have): The first two organizers come
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Education Place (www.eduplace.com); these organizers are free for all teachers to use: Describing Wheel and Story Map.
Teachers might also want to try a free organizer from TeacherVision: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/tv/printables/TCR/0743932080_019.pdf
2. Ask students to brainstorm a conflict between two animals. If they are having difficulty, you may remind them to think of the children's story Charlotte's Web. Use
an ELMO or Overhead Projector to show students your example and encourage them to write down their own topic on their organizer.
3. Model brainstorming details about your story using the organizer - characters, events, etc.- and then have students do the same. Prompt student answers by asking
what they want their readers to see, hear, taste, touch, and smell.
4. Continue to prompt students to brainstorm ideas by asking the questions:who, what, when, where, why and how the conflict is resolved? Model this first with your
own organizer. If you run out of space on the graphic organizer, use the back and encourage students to do the same.
5. Students should be provided with a copy of the rubric (see summative assessment section) to use as they draft and edit their narrative.
6. The teacher will instruct students to draft their narrative writing independently.
7. Then, students will be organized in small groups for peer review. Each student will review another student's narrative essay.
First, the peer can ask questions or request clarification if there is anything confusing, illogical or unfinished about their partner's story.
Then, each partner should read through their peer's story for descriptive details. Using a highlighter or colored pen, students will mark overused, common, or
dull words such as amazing, awesome, bad, beautiful, big, fine, good, great, happy, interesting, look, nice, quite, really, said, so, very and well (students could
also brainstorm more words to add to the list).
Then, the original author will consult a dictionary/thesaurus to replace each marked word with more vivid, descriptive vocabulary.
Students can also use another color to highlight vivid words, providing positive feedback to those who are using advanced vocabulary.
8. After revising and editing their work, students will complete a final copy of their narrative to be scored using the rubric.
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
Lesson Review Activity
Step One: Return to Guiding Questions as follows:
What conflict is revealed in the beginning of the story?
How do the animals in the story resemble humans?
What is the theme or central message of the story?
What is the relationship between Rikki and Teddy and how does their relationship develop?
Explain the battle between good and evil in the story.
Give a similar example of the battle between good and evil in real life.
Describe the character Darzee in the story. What important part does Darzee play in the story's conclusion?
Review and assess student understanding of the story by returning to the guiding questions which will give you another chance to give the students feedback.
Step Two: Individual students will share their stories with classmates. Each partner will compare/contrast how their original narrative is different and similar to "RikkiTikki-Tavi."
Summative Assessment
1. In addition to the formative assessments provided, students will also complete a summative assessment to check their understanding of the reading (an answer key
for teacher use is provided at the end of the test).
2. Students' stories will also serve as a summative assessment. Teachers can use the following link from ReadWriteThink.org to score students' narratives: Narrative
Rubric
Formative Assessment
Determining themes or central ideas can sometimes be challenging for students. Before the lesson begins, teachers might want to create a formative assessment
that assesses students' prior understanding of how to determine a theme or central idea. Teachers could provide students with a short passage and have them
write down the theme(s), or central idea(s), and require them to use evidence from the passage to support their determination of theme. Teachers can use the
data from this assessment to determine if a mini-lesson on determining theme should be provided prior to continuing the lesson.
Teachers can distribute the "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" Pre-Assessment to students (an answer key is included at the end of the document for teacher use) and use the
results to inform instruction.
Teachers can distribute the "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" Formative Vocabulary Assessment to students (an answer key is included at the end of the document for teacher use)
and use the results to inform instruction.
The teacher will use students' answers about cats and dogs on the handout to assess if the students are able to understand the concept of conflict and help
students make a connection between the conflict represented in the bell work assignment and the conflict between the mongoose and the cobra in the short story,
"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi."
Teachers will use the data from the comparison chart about the cobra and mongoose to determine if students have the background knowledge to begin reading the
story.
Teachers will circulate during the class period and observe students as they fill out their T-chart and the last page of the handout. Based on these observations, the
teacher will provide feedback about events in the story.
The teacher will circulate as students are brainstorming for their story and as they write their drafts, looking to be sure that students seem to have enough detail
and are using interesting vocabulary.
Feedback to Students
The teacher will provide verbal feedback to students as they are working with a partner to identify words used to describe cats and words used to describe dogs.
In the activity where students preview vocabulary in context, the teacher will review the correct definitions and ask students to make final additions/modifications.
The teacher will grade the pre-assessment and provide additional instruction if necessary.
The teacher will provide verbal feedback to students during and after cooperative reading. The teacher will encourage groups to exhibit on-task behavior and meet
their learning goals. (For suggestions on cooperative groups, please see the further recommendation section for classroom management tips.)
Since the students should be able to cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the
text, the teacher should examine the worksheets and ask students where they found their answers. If helpful, students may write down page numbers and
page 3 of 5 paragraph numbers to reference where answers were found.
If the teacher chooses to collect either the T-charts or the last page of the handout, he/she could provide written or verbal feedback to students based on their
understanding of the text. This could take the form of individual comments on students' papers or verbal advice to the entire class based on common strengths and
weaknesses.
The teacher may choose to collect students' brainstorming or first drafts and to provide feedback. As above, the feedback could be individual or group, written or
verbal. The teacher could also identify students who need a conference prior to continuing with their final draft.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations:
Some students with special needs may benefit from having an audio recording of the story. Then, they may use it at home with a parent when they have more time
to review a fluently read fictional piece. The recording can be paused to allow the students to take notes or review portions that were not previously clear during
the first read.
The lesson may be chunked into more manageable sessions by extending pre-reading, during reading, and after reading sessions to include additional graphic
organizers that guide students step-by-step through the text.
The narrative writing may also be chunked into more manageable sessions by allowing additional time to work on a graphic organizer to brainstorm ideas and
another graphic organizer to plan/pre-write the essay. Students may work in a workshop format to draft their essays allowing peers to review each others work
and make suggestions for editing and revising their work. They may conference with the teacher before writing their final copy and publishing their work.
Working individually with struggling students in short conferences is a great strategy that often increases student success in writing in particular.
Extensions:
Have students research biographical information and complete an author study for Rudyard Kipling. They may also research other short stories, novels and works
he has authored. Give them a choice of products they may turn in to show their learning (ie. Power Point, Web Quest, report with illustrations, flipbook, display
board, pod cast, pamphlet, dramatic play/ readers' theater, etc.)
Animals are significant and play a role in eastern religions (ie. Hinduism). Have students research the roles of various animals and report their findings to the class.
View the animated version of "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi." Instruct students to compare and contrast the short story with the movie version.
Special Materials Needed:
1. The text version of the non-fiction articles can be accessed from the following links: http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/mongoose.aspx
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/cobra.aspx
2. "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" Pre-Assessment (attached)
3. "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" Formative Vocabulary Assessment (attached)
4. "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" Handout (attached)
5. "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" Summative Assessment (attached)
6. Teachers may wish to use or adapt a different handout from ReadWriteThink.org than the one linked to in the summative assessment section as a rubric for the
narrative essays: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson398/rubric-essay2.pdf
Further Recommendations: Literature Circles
Depending on the number of students in a class and the size of a teacher's classroom, it may be difficult for students to focus when many groups are reading aloud all
at once. An option would be for students to read the story independently in strategically chosen chunks, complete part of the graphic organizer, and then discuss,
compare, and justify their answers in their teams. Then, have two or three groups share with the whole class, providing you with an opportunity to clarify/rectify any
misreading or misunderstandings of either the text or the graphic organizer(s) - this would also be a type of formative assessment. You could repeat that process a
few more times. If that strategy was used instead of group read aloud, you may want to read the first chunk of the story aloud and model a "think aloud" while
showing students how to fill out the graphic organizer(s) on an overhead or LCD projector.
Classroom management tips
1. Monitor students' work by walking around the classroom. You'll catch mistakes and see who is off task much more easily than if you were sitting at your desk. Also,
stand in close proximity of students who tend to be easily distracted.
2. Limit the amount of time that you are talking. Let the students talk and give input.
3. Use positive encouragement: As the teacher walks around, he/she notices what students are doing right, and makes comments such as "I noticed the way your
group has been taking turns…" "I like the way you have been using teamwork; for example, when one person gets stuck, the other team members offer
suggestions…"
4. Use your students' names a lot. Our name is who we are. It is special to us. What does that do for a child? It shows that they are special. They matter.
5. Give students a friendly reminder to work. Use a soft, kind voice to remind them to get to work. You might be frustrated, but don't show it. That just turns a student
off.
6. Choose group members carefully. When creating your seating chart, consider learning styles as well as personalities. (Rarely, if ever, do I allow students to choose
their own seats.)
7. When teachers provide student feedback consistently and focus their attention on students' progress toward meeting the academic objectives throughout the lesson,
students will often tend to focus on those goals more attentively as well.
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: Sandy Beck
Name of Author/Source: Sandy Beck
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Seminole
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
page 4 of 5 Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
LAFS.7.L.3.4:
LAFS.7.RL.1.1:
LAFS.7.RL.1.2:
LAFS.7.RL.1.3:
LAFS.7.RL.2.4:
LAFS.7.W.1.3:
Description
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 7 reading and
content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
a. Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as
a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
b. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g.,
belligerent, bellicose, rebel).
c. Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and
digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.
d. Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in
context or in a dictionary).
Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn
from the text.
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an
objective summary of the text.
Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot).
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative
meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or
stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive
details, and well-structured event sequences.
a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or
characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or
characters.
c. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame
or setting to another.
d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and
convey experiences and events.
e. Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events.
page 5 of 5