Tanya
Beers
IST571:
Children's Literature Lit Kit
Book: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Lesson
Plan and Selling Tool:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y-ErakagCxJMUAAxs22s4Ga76cpLmQSzfRYbTAoME18/edit
Tanya Beers
IST571: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan - Lit Kit
Title: Saran, Plain and Tall
Author: Patricia MacLachlan
Lexile Level: 660L
Grade Level: 1st through 5th grade
Age Range: 6 to 10 years
ISBN #: 0062399527
Sarah is a mail-order bride who travels from Maine to the prairie to marry Jacob Witting.
Jacob is a widower with two children, Anna and Caleb. Anna, Caleb, and Jacob worry
because Sarah is homesick for Maine and her family and they desperately want her to stay.
Will Sarah grow to love them and the prairie? Or will her yearning for home be too great?
Jacob is a widower with two children, Anna and Caleb. Anna, Caleb, and Jacob worry
because Sarah is homesick for Maine and her family and they desperately want her to stay.
Will Sarah grow to love them and the prairie? Or will her yearning for home be too great?
Lesson for 4th graders:
Students will read Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan.
I will do a PowerPoint lesson about prairie life and also show slides of illustrations of people
on the prairie (including Laura Ingalls Wilder).
on the prairie (including Laura Ingalls Wilder).
I will pass out the following worksheet that students will use to do their writing assignment:
(Teachers Pay Teachers)
Students will use the worksheet handout to write a 2 page letter as one of the main characters;
students will choose what characters they want to write as (i.e. Caleb to Sarah). Students will
also explain in this letter how they feel about their way of life (i.e. do they like/dislike living
on the prairie? Do they like/dislike living in Maine? and why?) *This worksheet is the only
part of this lesson that I did not create myself.
students will choose what characters they want to write as (i.e. Caleb to Sarah). Students will
also explain in this letter how they feel about their way of life (i.e. do they like/dislike living
on the prairie? Do they like/dislike living in Maine? and why?) *This worksheet is the only
part of this lesson that I did not create myself.
After the lesson, we will do a prairie activity as a class: make homemade lemonade to go
with snacks.
with snacks.
Learning Standards:
Common Core ELA Writing Standards K-5 (Grade 4).
4.1. Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and
information.
information.
a. Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational
structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the writer’s purpose.
structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the writer’s purpose.
b. Provide reasons that are supported by facts and details.
c. Link opinion and reasons using words and phrases (e.g., for instance, in order to,
in addition).
in addition).
d. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.
4.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information
clearly.
clearly.
4.3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
4.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types
are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types
are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
4.9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.
research.
Learning Goal:
Students will identify with one of the main characters from Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia
MacLachlan by writing a letter as one of the chosen characters. Students will develop the
ability to depict what prairie life was like.
MacLachlan by writing a letter as one of the chosen characters. Students will develop the
ability to depict what prairie life was like.
Learning Objectives:
1. Students will identify with one of the main characters and use their creative writing skills
through writing a letter as one of the main characters of the reading (Psychomotor).
through writing a letter as one of the main characters of the reading (Psychomotor).
2. Students will express their emotions through writing about how they feel about their way
of life in their writing assignment. (Affective)
of life in their writing assignment. (Affective)
3. Students will develop the ability to give a depiction of what prairie life was like through
the assigned reading, classroom lesson, and writing assignment. (Cognitive)
the assigned reading, classroom lesson, and writing assignment. (Cognitive)
Learning Outcome:
Students will successfully depict, through the writing assignment, what life was like on the
prairie.
prairie.
Works Cited:
MacLachlan, Patricia. Sarah, Plain and Tall. HarperCollins Children’s Books, 1985.
New York State Department of Education. (2011). New York State P-12 Common Core Learning
Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy. Retrieved from https://www.engageny.org/resource/
new-york-state-p-12-common-core-learning-standards-for-english-language-arts-and-literacy.
Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy. Retrieved from https://www.engageny.org/resource/
new-york-state-p-12-common-core-learning-standards-for-english-language-arts-and-literacy.
Teachers Pay Teachers. "Sarah, Plain and Tall" Study Guide. Retrieved from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Journeys-Sarah-Plain-and-Tall-Study-Guide-
1154480.
Selling Tool: Book Review of Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Sarah, Plain and Tall is a Newbery Medal winning book that is also part of a series.
This book introduces us to Sarah Wheaton, a mail-order bride from Maine. She agrees
to marry Jacob Witting a widower who lives on a prairie farm with his two children
named Anna and Caleb. Jacob’s wife died giving birth to Caleb so Caleb doesn’t remember
her but Anna does. However, Anna still longs for a mother and they all hope Sarah will
like them and want to stay. They know that Sarah loves the sea and her family is in Maine
while they live in the country far away from neighbors and anything else. Anna and
Caleb worry that Sarah will miss home too much and return there, leaving them without
a mother again. This book is a fiction book for young readers aged eight to ten years old
that contains a theme that can be difficult to deal with: discovering what “home” and
“family” means. Can love be strong enough to hold the fabric of those two things together,
even in dark times? This theme certainly is timeless which assists in the enduring appeal
of this book. The characters are realistic along with their emotional ties to each other and
the prairie. The emotional impact of the situation in the story and the relationship between
the characters will lead readers to empathize with the characters no matter whether the
reader loves the country or prefers city life; the story stands on its own. A heartwarming
book with characters that linger with the reader after the last page, Sarah, Plain and Tall
is a book everyone will enjoy!
This book introduces us to Sarah Wheaton, a mail-order bride from Maine. She agrees
to marry Jacob Witting a widower who lives on a prairie farm with his two children
named Anna and Caleb. Jacob’s wife died giving birth to Caleb so Caleb doesn’t remember
her but Anna does. However, Anna still longs for a mother and they all hope Sarah will
like them and want to stay. They know that Sarah loves the sea and her family is in Maine
while they live in the country far away from neighbors and anything else. Anna and
Caleb worry that Sarah will miss home too much and return there, leaving them without
a mother again. This book is a fiction book for young readers aged eight to ten years old
that contains a theme that can be difficult to deal with: discovering what “home” and
“family” means. Can love be strong enough to hold the fabric of those two things together,
even in dark times? This theme certainly is timeless which assists in the enduring appeal
of this book. The characters are realistic along with their emotional ties to each other and
the prairie. The emotional impact of the situation in the story and the relationship between
the characters will lead readers to empathize with the characters no matter whether the
reader loves the country or prefers city life; the story stands on its own. A heartwarming
book with characters that linger with the reader after the last page, Sarah, Plain and Tall
is a book everyone will enjoy!
Other books by Patricia MacLachlan:
Skylark (sequel to Sarah, Plain and Tall)
Caleb’s Story (third book in the Sarah, Plain and Tall series)
More Perfect than the Moon (fourth book in the Sarah, Plain and Tall series)
Just Dance
