Drawing on the book The War With Grandpa by Robert Kimmel Smith, students explore their thoughts and feelings about families, elderly relatives, and conflict resolution. This unit is ideal for students who are above-average readers at the 4th-grade level and can read independently.
Learning Unit: The War With Grandpa – Solutions to Family Problems
- Author(s): Marilyn McCredy
- Grade Level: 4-6
- School: Madison Central School
- Topic/Subject Area: English Language Arts & Conflict Resolution
Overview
This literature-based unit is based on the book The War With Grandpa by Robert Kimmel Smith. The unit was originally written for use with a heterogeneous group of 4th-grade students. It would be most successful with students who are above-average readers at the 4th-grade level and can read independently.
It can also be used successfully if the book is read aloud by the teacher, and students have copies of the book to follow along and/or read together. In this unit, students will explore their thoughts and feelings about families, elderly relatives, and conflict resolution.
Story summary
Peter is thrilled that Grandpa is coming to live with his family. That is, until Grandpa moves right into Peter’s room, forcing him upstairs. Peter loves his grandpa but wants his room back. He has no choice but to declare war! With the help of his friends, Peter devises outrageous plans to make Grandpa surrender the room. But Grandpa is tougher than he looks. Rather than give in, Grandpa plans to get even. They used to be such great pals. Has their war gone too far?
Summary taken from back cover of October 1984 Yearling/Dell edition of The War With Grandpa. Page numbers referenced throughout this unit refer to that edition.
Essential Questions
Using thought-provoking essential questions on the novel The War with Grandpa, students can explore topics such as the impact of aging, family dynamics, and problem-solving strategies. Here are three essential questions, including short follow-up questions in each case.
1. How does aging affect the way in which people are treated?
- Are there instances in the book where the elderly characters face ageism or stereotypes? How do they respond?
- What are some examples of positive attitudes towards aging portrayed in the story?
- How do the interactions between different generations in the book reflect society’s perception of aging?
This question dives into how getting older affects how people are treated. It aims to understand how age shapes the way others think, act, and see elderly individuals. By looking closely at the characters’ experiences in the book, readers can get a better understanding of how different generations interact and how society views aging. It’s a chance to gain valuable insights into the relationships between different age groups and the attitudes towards growing older.
2. What characteristics are important to the success of a family unit?
- Can you identify specific moments in the book where empathy and understanding are crucial for resolving conflicts within the family?
- How do the characters in the story demonstrate compromise and cooperation to maintain family harmony?
- Are there instances where respect and open communication contribute to a strong family dynamic? Provide examples.
The question explores what makes a family strong and happy. It encourages readers to think about the things that help families stick together and communicate well. By looking closely at the interactions and relationships in the book, readers can recognize and value qualities like empathy, understanding, compromise, and respect in the context of a family. It’s a chance to appreciate the importance of these traits and how they contribute to a healthy family dynamic.
3. What is the best way to work out solutions to problems?
- How do the characters in the book approach conflicts and negotiate with each other?
- Can you identify instances where effective communication plays a key role in problem-solving?
- Are there different problem-solving strategies or methods used by the characters? Which ones are successful and why?
This question is all about solving problems and getting along with others. It invites us to think about how to handle conflicts, overcome obstacles, and find solutions that work for everyone involved. By looking at the experiences of the characters in the novel, we can learn about different ways of negotiating, communicating, and finding compromises. It’s a chance to gain insights into constructive approaches for addressing and resolving conflicts in different situations.
Content Knowledge
These instructions or activities involve both understanding and stating information (declarative knowledge) as well as performing certain actions or tasks (procedural knowledge).
| Declarative | Procedural |
| Evaluate characteristics of elderly relatives; specifically grandmothers and grandfathers. | Using a story map, identify literary elements such as growth and change of characters. |
| Describe how characters grow and change. | Using Dialectical Journals reflect throughout the study of the book. |
| Understand a variety of methods of conflict resolution. | Write an essay. |
| Relate story to personal experience. | Write a descriptive paragraph. |
Connections to NYS Learning Standards
List Standard # and Key Idea #: Write out related Performance Indicator(s) or Benchmark(s)
Content Area: ENGLISH / LANGUAGE ARTS
Level: Elementary
Standard 1
Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding.
Listening and Reading
1. Listening and reading to acquire information and understanding involves collecting data, facts, and ideas; discovering relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and using knowledge from oral, written, and electronic sources.
- gather and interpret information from children’s reference books, magazines, textbooks, electronic bulletin boards, audio and media presentations, oral interviews, and from such forms as charts, graphs, maps, and diagrams.
- select information appropriate to the purpose of their investigation and relate ideas from one text to another
- select and use strategies they have been taught for note-taking, organizing, and categorizing information
- ask specific questions to clarify and extend meaning
- make appropriate and effective use of strategies to construct meaning from print, such as prior knowledge about subject, structural and context clues, and an understanding of letter-sound relationships to decode difficult words
- support inferences about information and ideas with reference to text features, such as vocabulary and organizational patterns.
Speaking and Writing
2. Speaking and writing to acquire and transmit information requires asking probing and clarifying questions, interpreting information in one’s own words, applying information from one context to another, and presenting the information and interpretation clearly, concisely and comprehensibly.
- present information clearly in a variety of oral and written forms such as summaries,paraphrases, brief reports, stories, posters, and charts
- select a focus, organization, and point of view for oral and written presentations
- use a few traditional structures for conveying information such as chronological order, cause and effect, and similarity and difference
- use details, examples, anecdotes, or personal experiences to explain or clarify information
- include relevant information and exclude extraneous material
- use the process of pre-writing, drafting, revising, and proofreading (the “writing process”) to produce well-constructed informational texts
- observe basic writing conventions, such as correct spelling, punctuation, and capitalization, as well as sentence and paragraph structure appropriate to written forms.
Content Area: ENGLISH / LANGUAGE ARTS
Level: Elementary
Standard 2
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.
Listening and Reading
1. Listening and reading for literary response involves comprehending, interpreting, and critiquing imaginative texts in every medium, drawing on personal experiences and knowledge to understand the text, and recognizing the social, historical and cultural features of the text.
- understand the literary elements of setting, character, plot, theme, and point of view and compare those features to other works and to their own lives
- use inference and deduction to understand the text
- read aloud accurately and fluently, using phonics and context cues to determine pronunciation and meaning
- evaluate literary meaning
Speaking and Writing
2. Speaking and writing for literary response involves presenting interpretations, analyses, and reaction to the content and language of a text. Speaking and writing for literary expression involves producing imaginative texts that use language and text structures that are inventive and often
multilayered.
- present personal responses to literature that make reference to the plot, characters, ideas, vocabulary, and text structure
- explain the meaning of literary works with some attention to meanings beyond the literal level
- observe the conventions of grammar and usage, spelling, and punctuation
Content Area: ENGLISH / LANGUAGE ARTS
Level: Elementary
Standard 4
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.
Listening and Speaking
1.Oral communication in formal and informal settings requires the ability to talk with people of different ages, genders, and cultures, to adapt presentations to different audiences, and to reflect on how talk varies in different situations.
- listen attentively and recognize when it is appropriate for them to speak
- take turns speaking and respond to others’ ideas in conversations on familiar topics
- recognize the kind of interaction appropriate for different circumstances, such as story hour, group discussions, and one-on-one conversations.
Reading and Writing
2. Written communication for social interaction requires using written messages to establish, maintain, and enhance personal relationships with others.
- exchange friendly notes, cards, and letters with friends, relatives, and pen pals to keep in touch and to commemorate special occasions
- adjust their vocabulary and style to take into account the nature of the relationship and the knowledge and interests of the person receiving the message
Content Area: MATH / SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY
Level: Elementary
Standard 2
Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.
Information Systems
1. Information technology is used to retrieve, process, and communicate information and as a tool to enhance learning.
- use a variety of equipment and software packages to enter, process, display, and communicate information on different forma, using text, tables, pictures, and sound
- access needed information from printed media, electronic databases, and community resources.
Initiating Activity
The teacher should begin the class with a review of the meanings of verbs and adjectives, and instruct the class to think about older relatives, specifically grandparents. Using chart paper, students’ responses to the following statements should be recorded on the paper:
- Some verbs that tell what grandparents do are:
- Some adjectives that describe grandparents are:
- Reasons “war” begins:
This activity should give students a common pool of information about elderly people, and begin conversations about family disputes, ie: wars. The teacher should then give an introduction to the book The War With Grandpa by reading the book jacket and ask students if they have any experiences that relate to what they have learned will take place in the book. Allow students the opportunity to share their personal stories regarding grandparents and/or family conflict. The charts should be displayed prominently throughout the unit and referred to as Grandpa exhibits behaviors mentioned by the students. A list of student generated responses can be found in the Appendix. Teacher should then hand out copies of the book to students and begin the book
Learning Experiences
Learning Experience # 1:
Title: “Doing” the Book – General Activities
Learning Context: This learning unit contains four additional, very specific, learning experiences. This section gives a brief overview of additional activities that could be included in the unit as the book is being read by the students.
Procedure:
- General discussion throughout the book plays an important role in the students’ understanding and in connecting the events in the story with their lives. Character charts could be kept and revised as the reading continues.
- Conflict resolution discussions could also be charted. Alternative solutions to generic, and individual, problems should be generated and discussed.
- The school guidance counselor and/or principal could be brought in as resources for discussion on families and/or conflict resolution.
- Vocabulary and spelling words, in addition to comprehension questions could be used throughout the unit to increase students’ skills and check for understanding.
- A booklet could be made by each student containing copies of the work he/she did throughout the unit in addition to a family tree (if desired), a copy of the “Initiating Activity” list, photocopied illustrations from the book, student illustrations and any other activities completed. This book can be sent home with the child and shared with the family to perhaps spark more discussion on families and conflict resolution.
Learning Experience # 2:
Title: My Room
Learning Context: This activity will be introduced after reading and discussing chapter 3, “A Room Without Gloom”.
Procedure: After reading and discussing the chapter in which Peter describes his room and how much it means to him students will be directed to first draw a rough sketch of their bedroom. Then, with a partner, students should talk about their sketches as their partners write down key information during the discussion. When finished discussing their drawings direct students to write a rough draft of a descriptive paragraph about their room – using Peter’s chapter as a guide. These paragraphs will be shared, peer edited, revised, rewritten etc. (the writing process) and the final copies will be written on the computer. The amount of teacher involvement will, of course, depend on the computer skills of the students. I have included a copy of the directions used by my students who were able to work on their writing pieces independently in the classroom every day and/or in a computer lab once a week. I have also attached a student’s sample writing piece in the Appendix.
Instructional/Environmental Modifications: I did have a student who did not have his own bedroom, sleeping on the living room couch. I directed him to design and write about a bedroom of his dreams. The drafts of their final writing pieces were attached to their original sketches, and their final copies, at the end of the unit and included in a final packet of work sent home to parents.
Supplies and Materials: Drawing paper, crayons, colored pencils, computers.
Time Required:
- Planning: Depends on writing skills of students and how much writing they have done. I completed this unit in March of the school year and students were quite competent at writing an assignment like this.
- Implementation: We spent a class period (60 minutes) reading and discussing the chapter on which this activity is based. Another class period was spent sketching and discussing the rooms with partners. Students then independently worked on their rough drafts with a deadline of a week to have it “polished” and ready to put on the computer, although they will continue to edit as they write (see Final Draft: Directions sheet). Naturally, some students will be able to complete the task more independently than others, and they will be able to help their peers.
- Assessment: Assessment will be done using rubrics similar to those included in the scoring packet for the 4th grade New York State English Language Arts test. Familiarizing students, throughout the year, with what is quality work on the ELA test gives them practice all year at seeing their work evaluated as it will be evaluated by scorers on the state test. Independent writing piece rubric can be found in the Appendix. Approximate time to assess each student’s work will depend on teacher’s experience with rubrics – approximately 5 minutes per student.
Student work: Student sample can be found in Appendix
Reflection: All students were successful at completing this activity, and had a “hard copy” of the finished paragraph.
Learning Experience # 3:
Title: Ten Things That Scare Me
Learning Context: This experience relates to growth and change of characters as students write about “things” they are scared of. This activity comes after reading and discussing Chapter 8 in which Peter talks about being scared in his new attic room, now that he has been forced to give his room to his grandfather.
Procedure: After reading and discussing the chapter and holding a class discussion about what students are scared of students complete a computer-generated list of “Ten Things That Scare Me”. This was completed in one class period (60 minutes) by most of the students following the list of directions included in the Appendix. Other students saved their work in the computer lab and completed the assignment during study hall time with a deadline of one week.
Materials and Supplies: no special supplies
Assessment tools and techniques: This was evaluated by whether or not the student correctly followed the directions provided by the teacher. All students were able to complete this assignment successfully.
Time required:
- Planning: Minimal as the chapter is read and discussed in class and assignment is completed independently.
- Implementation: Depending on ability levels of students and availability of computers, implementation time will vary. My students all completed this task within a week.
- Assessment: It should take less than three minutes per student to evaluate this list as to how closely it follows the directions given.
Student work: Sample of student work can be found in Appendix.
Reflection: Ability ranges of individual students did not vary too much on this somewhat simple activity. Class discussions were lively and students were very involved in talking about how they themselves had changed and were no longer scared of things that they had been scared of when they were younger. We also discussed what fears they will probably face as they grow older, and how someday their fears on this list may seem “silly”.
Learning Experience # 4:
Title: Conflict Resolution:
Family Problems & Solutions
Learning Context: This assignment gives the students an opportunity to write an essay, modeled after a NYS ELA task, about a time in their life when something didn’t go the way they wanted it to, focusing on the solution. This activity also involves family input as the students complete the plan of this writing piece at home with help from family members concerning a family problem.
Procedure: Throughout the reading of the book the teacher should allow time for class discussion about various problems that occur in families. Students were partnered up and discussed sample problems given by the teacher. See Appendix for “What if Sam…” and “What if Jill…” pages which were used in this unit to spark discussion that was not too personal. Students will be directed to complete the planning page as homework, and then complete their final draft under circumstances somewhat similar to those in which they will take the NYS ELA test – with a time limit and independently using the plan they developed at home. The planning page, task directions, and a student sample can be found in the Appendix.
Instructional/Environmental Modifications: Students who were not able to complete the planning page at home due to environmental factors discussed a generic family problem with a teaching assistant and received help with their plan in this way. Also, students were allowed to have another family member actually fill out the planning page at home and I received many positive comments from parents about helping their children understand that all families have problems and there is usually more than one solution that will work.
Materials and Supplies: no special supplies are needed
Assessment Tools and Techniques: Use of New York State English Language Arts test writing rubrics were used.
Time Required:
- Planning: By using the worksheets included in the Appendix the planning time will be minimal.
- Implementation: Time for implementation depends upon the skills of the students. However, since the final draft of this piece was completed under ELA “conditions” (time limit etc.) this activity (final draft) was completed in one class period.
- Assessment: I held individual conferences (approximately 15 minutes) with each student on this writing piece. I went over the rubric with each student and showed him/her the strengths and weaknesses of the individual piece. Several student chose to rework their writing piece and generate a computer word-processed final copy.
Student work: A student sample is available in the Appendix.
Reflection: This was an excellent activity and a favorite of the students. Taking the time to evaluate each writing piece with the individual students helped them see their strengths and weaknesses as writers, and also allowed me one-on-one time to discuss family problems and conflict resolution. Several students volunteered to share their efforts with their classmates sparking more discussions.
Learning Experience # 5:
Title: “Dear Author…”
Learning Context: This activity will come at the conclusion of the unit and involves each individual student writing a letter to the author of The War With Grandpa, Robert Kimmell Smith. Letters to authors should always be sent to the book’s publisher (address on inside front cover) and will be forwarded to the author. Most children’s authors will write back!
Procedure: At the conclusion of the book a class discussion should be held concerning the book, and reviewing the contents of the book – how characters changed, what we learned, how much we enjoyed the book and reasons why, or why not. Proper letter writing technique should also be reviewed. I decided not to have the students do these letters using computers as I felt the author would respond more personally to handwritten letters. Students wrote their letters and I sent them out with a cover letter. We received a handwritten response within three weeks.
Instructional/Environmental Modifications: None
Materials and Supplies: Paper, pencils, envelope, postage
Assessment Tools and Techniques: Letter writing rubric can be found in the Appendix.
Time Required:
- Planning: class discussion of the book and review of correct format of a friendly letter.
- Implementation: completed in one class period (60 minutes)
- Assessment: Using the rubric for each letter should take the teacher approximately 3-4 minutes per letter.
Student Work: Student sample available in Appendix
Reflection: There is no motivation stronger to a nine-year-old than thinking an author whose book was just read will be reading a letter written by the student. The students edited, rewrote, edited, fixed etc. these letters until they were “perfect” (in their own eyes). They were rewarded with a return letter from the author, which I made copies of and gave to each student, attached to a copy of the student’s own letter (which I made before I sent their letters).
Culminating Performance
The culminating performance of this unit is a The War With Grandpa presentation. Included in the Appendix is a draft of the presentation performed by my students.
The culminating performance is only limited by the imagination of the teacher and the class. My class worked approximately three class periods (one hour each) preparing for the presentation. Each student was able to choose in what way he/she would share a part of the book. Students rewrote scenes from the book and performed them complete with costumes. Several students chose to read their writing piece, “My Room” and drew more elaborate depictions of their rooms to share with the audience. Two students chose to read a chapter from the book and talk about it. Once students decided what their part in the performance would be I organized it into some sort of order and we practiced.
We invited a third grade class to our performance which we video-taped. The video-tape became part of our “circulating classroom library” and students were able to take copies of it home to watch and share with their families. This was really a student directed performance and they were indeed proud of their accomplishments.
Assessment: The culminating activity is the performance-based task / product. It should be assessed informally by the teacher; perhaps using a checklist on which is indicated notes pertaining to individual students’ participation in the performance and amount of preparation. Since students were allowed to choose their participation activity all students were quite comfortable presenting their section to the audience. This, in addition to the assessments used throughout the unit in the learning experiences, should give the teacher a clear picture of how well the student accomplished the goals set forth by the teacher at the outset of the unit.
Other: Since this novel is so “family” oriented I encouraged as much family input as possible. At the end of the unit all of the students’ work was sent home in an envelope with a letter from the teacher (which can be found in the Appendix). In addition to the activities presented in this unit, students were required to keep a journal/reading log as we read, and to periodically answer comprehension questions following independent reading assignments.
Prerequisite Skills
To successfully complete the activities in this unit the students must be able to read and should be somewhat computer literate. Also, since the culminating performance includes oral presentation the students should have, at some time, practiced speaking in front of an audience.
Modifications
For this unit to be effective for all students, push-in and resource staff should be used as often as possible. As mentioned in the overview of the unit students may need to be paired with a partner to read, make use of an audio-cassettte, or have the book read aloud to them. Activities should also be adapted to meet individual ability levels so as not to cause undue frustration. With simple modifications, all learning experiences in this unit can be successfully completed by all students.
Unit Schedule / Time Plan
General guides for time management are included in each learning experience. This unit was completed over a six-week period, including the Culminating Performance. Each class period was one-hour in length, although some days we did extend our Language Arts class. Also, some students worked on their writing pieces independently, both at home and during study hall time.
Technology Use
Technology use was extensive as much of the work that was student produced was completed using the computer as a word processor. Several students chose to insert graphics on their final writing pieces which was a new skill for most of them. Students could also be in charge of the video-taping process for the Culminating Performance.
Further reading: How to Write a Lesson Plan: 7 Steps