Bring a story video into your literacy block and your SEL time in one ready-to-teach lesson.
The Path That Wouldn't Go Straight is Episode 4 of The Stories Symbols Tell on Teach Between the Lines TV. Tano the tortoise loves a good plan, so he draws one perfectly straight line to the Great Gathering. A fallen tree, a river that has changed its course and a trail of zigzagging stepping stones send him the long way around, where he finds a beautiful forest, a new friend and a way to bring the missing musicians to the celebration. The story is inspired by Nkyinkyim (n-chin-chim), the Adinkra symbol of life's twists and turns, from the Akan peoples of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.
What's inside (24-page printable PDF):
3 sessions of 40–45 minutes each, with timed video pause points and discussion questions
ELA focus: story order, character change, point of view, central message, nonliteral language and picture clues
SEL focus: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making
Common Core reading, writing and speaking standards (RL.3.1, RL.3.2, RL.3.3, RL.3.4, RL.3.6, RL.3.7, W.3.3 and SL.3.1), with grade 2 and grade 4 notes
Cultural background on Adinkra and Nkyinkyim, with the traditional proverb, a pronunciation guide and teaching-with-care notes
A "stepping-stone walk" to open the SEL session
11 printer-friendly student pages: word work, story sequencing, a "Tano Then and Now" character chart, "Bend Like Nkyinkyim" sorting cards, a writing planner, "My Winding Path Map" and exit tickets
Differentiation for emerging readers, multilingual learners and advanced students
Writing rubric, SEL observation checklist, family take-home page and answer key
Works with the free video on Teach Between the Lines TV (15 minutes, captions available): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48pzT_hqVrE
License: one teacher, for use with their own students. Please do not share, post publicly or resell.