Your Name:Lauren Murray Grade Level:5th Date: 11/18/08CT: Mrs. Scheetz School:Mt. Hope Elementary School
Overall lesson topic/title: Practice of Comprehension Strategies for Informational Text
Grade Level Content Expectation(s):
R.WS.05.01 explain when to use and apply word structure, sentence structure, and
prediction to aid in decoding words and understanding meanings of words encountered
in context.
R.IT.05.03 explain how authors use text features including timelines, graphs, charts,
diagrams, tables of contents, indices, introductions, summaries, and conclusions to enhance
the understanding of key and supporting ideas.
R.CM.05.01 connect personal knowledge, experiences, and understanding of
world to themes and perspectives in text through oral and written responses.
R.CM.05.02 retell through concise summarization grade-level narrative and
informational text.
R.MT.05.01 self-monitor comprehension when reading or listening to text by
automatically applying and discussing the strategies used by mature readers to increase
comprehension including: predicting, constructing mental images, visually representing
ideas in text, questioning, rereading or listening again if uncertain about meaning, inferring,
summarizing, and engaging in interpretive discussions.
Goals/Objectives:Knowledge Goal: Each student will learn how to apply different comprehension strategies to reading informational text. Each student will also learn to identify literary devices and conventions used in a piece of text that they can apply to their own writing.
Capacity Goal: Each student willneed to apply proper strategies for finding the meaning of an unknown word, recognize how certain literary devices effect meaning, make personal connections between the text and their own experiences, and use the format of the piece to aid in making meaning, and be able to recognize when they are not making sense of something they read and how to remedy that.
Commitment Goal: Each student will demonstrate engagement in the task as he/she actively works together with the teacher to put meaning together about the passage. Students are expected to show enthusiasm for the opportunity to learn something new from the text they are reading.
Materials & supplies needed:
- Text passage chosen by the teacher
- Three other text passages for the students to choose from on their own
- Lined Paper
- Pencil or other writing utensil
Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event
• Introduction to the lesson (What will you say to help children understand the purpose of the lesson? How will you help them make connections to prior lessons or experiences? How will you motivate them to become engaged in the lesson?) (3-5 minutes)
“Today we’re going to read a passage about the history of gum. Do you like to chew gum? I know I do. Have you ever wondered about what gum is made of or who invented it? Well, we’re going to find out a little about that today.”
“I’m going to give you this short informational piece about the history of gum and you’re going to read it aloud to me. As you read, I will stop you every once in a while to point out things that I think are important. We know that when we read we can’t just sit back and read passively, we have to actively think about what we’re reading and try to understand it as best we can. This is especially true for non-fiction. What are some thing s we need to watch out for when we read non-fiction, some things we might need to be aware of or not understand? Have the student respond with what he/she thinks. If he/she doesn’t have anything to say, prompt with ideas about things like unknown words, sequence of events (note this is particularly true for history readings), cause/effect, etc.
“Let’s keep all of these things in mind while we read. I’ll help you pick some of them out.”
• OUTLINE of key events during the lesson (Include specific details about how you will begin and end activities; what discussion questions you will use; how you will help children understand behavior expectations during the lesson; when/how you will distribute supplies and materials) (7-10 minutes)
Give the student the text passage and have them start reading. Stop them periodically to point out important details. Here are some ideas I thought of during my own reading of the passage:
At the end of the 1st paragraph: “Those first sentences sounded a little funny, like the author was kidding around about eating car tire. This is called sarcasm. Also, notice how the piece started with a good attention grabber. Notice how it linked the attention grabber to the point of essay, telling you what this would be about.”
2nd paragraph: Discuss context of the word “prehistoric.” “Where have you heard this word before?” Point out the italicized word “resin,” “What do we do when we see a word in italics or bold in a non-fiction text? What does this mean? This word is probably going to come up again later.”
3rd paragraph: Same word discussion about the word “chicle.” “It says here that a big breakthrough in gum technology came in 1869? How long ago was that? Let’s do some math. Gum’s been around a long time hasn’t it?”
6th paragraph: “Have you ever chewed gum that you would describe as a chiclet?”
7th paragraph: “I don’t think I’d want gum sticking to my skin forever, would you? I’m glad gum’s not like that anymore. Note the fact that based on our own experience with gum today, we know that this problem was fixed. Let’s find out how.”
8th paragraph: “What is an accountant? Nothing to do with gum. So experimenting with gum recipes in his spare time must have been a hobby. Kind of a weird hobby though, what do you think?”
9th paragraph: “This is a good example of a conclusion. It sums up everything we were talking about, history of gum, and gives you something new to think about.”
“When we read non-fiction text about history, when can expect a similar format to this. The story is told in a sequence of events in chronological order. Keeping that order in mind helps our comprehension of future texts about history.”
• Closing summary for the lesson (How will you bring closure to the lesson and involve children in reflecting on their experiences? How will you involve them making connections to prior lessons or prepare for future experiences? What kind of feedback do you want from them at this time?) (2-3 minutes)
“Can you tell me a little bit about the comments I made throughout the story? What kinds of things did I bring up? What kinds of things did I want you to think about?” Make a written list of these things. “Do you feel that you learned a little more about gum from reading this story?” / Academic, Social and Linguistic Support during each event
Post-Assessment:(How will you know the students are progressing toward your identified goals? What are key areas to include in a rubric or other post-assessment?) (6-8 minutes)
Have the student choose another text to read from three possible choices: 1)America’s Lost Colony, 2)Lunch or Junk?, 3)More Miracles for Helen Keller. Tell him/her to think about the comprehension strategies used for the gum passage to help comprehend this passage they will read on their own. Have them read it silently, writing down unfamiliar words (anything that they are remotely unsure of) and personal reactions. At the end, ask them what they thought of the introduction and conclusion and ask them to briefly retell the important information from the text. Assess based on how easily they can retell. This exercise has a lot of subjectivity and variability, but it should show how well the student can actively apply comprehension strategies. / Academic, Social, and Linguistic Support during assessment