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Alyssa Petrino
ELD-308
Lesson Plan: Interactive Read-Aloud
Grade: 4
Time: 15 minutes
Standards: Speaking and Listening Standards: Grade 4: Comprehension and Collaboration: 1.C.
and 2.
1. C. Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on information, and
make comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the remarks of others.
2. Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and
formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
Objective: Students will listen as the teacher reads aloud, stopping to make connections,
predictions, and wonderings.
Materials: Dandelions by Eve Bunting
Lesson Sequence:
Before Reading:
“Girls and boys, today I am going to read a picture book aloud by one of my
favorite authors. Have you ever heard of Eve Bunting? Yes, that’s right; she also
wrote The Wall, Fly Away Home, and Train to Somewhere. The title of this book
is Dandelions. I want you to look at the cover of the book, and then I would like
you to tell me what you see. Based on your observations, what do you think this
book is going to be about? Can you make any predictions?
- Allow students to predict. Remember to ask students the reasoning behind their
predictions.
- “These are very interesting predictions. Now let me read the book aloud. I want
you to listen as I read, and I would like you to determine if your predictions were
confirmed. Remember, predictions are never wrong. They are only what we think
might happen. If we find our predictions are not what the author was thinking,
then we can make new predictions. Raise your hand when you hear one of your
predictions being confirmed. Also raise your hand when we need to make a new
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prediction. I would like you to be thinking about how your life is similar or
different from the main character in this book.”
During Reading:
- Stop reading occasionally and allow students to confirm or change their
predictions. If you notice students are not engaged with the story, then stop
and redirect by asking questions or discussing connections.
- Ask students, “What do you think is going to happen next?” Ask a few
students, “Would you like to share your predictions?” Also ask, “Can you
make any personal connections with Zoe?”
- Discuss the differences and similarities between the 19th and 21st Centuries.
After Reading:
- “I would like you to turn and talk to a neighbor about a couple different
things:
What did you find interesting about this book?
What connections did you make with this book?”
After a few minutes, discuss these questions with the whole group.
“We have made some great predictions and connections with this
book. Thank you everyone for letting me share my favorite book
with you.”
Assessment:
- I will know if students were successful if they made interesting connections,
reasonable predictions, and wonderings.
15
Alyssa Petrino
ELD-308
Lesson Plan: Reading Mini-Lesson
Grade: 4
Time: 15 minutes
Standards: Reading Standards for Literature: Grade 4: Key Ideas and Details: 1.
1. Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and
when drawing inferences from the text.
Reading Standards for Informational Text: Grade 4: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: 7
7. Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs,
diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how
the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.
Objective: Students will create compare and contrast charts in determining how their lives in the
21st Century are similar and different from the main character Zoe’s during the 19th Century in
the book Dandelions, by Eve Bunting.
Materials:
Dandelions by Eve Bunting
Compare and contrast chart
Lesson Sequence:
1. Anticipatory Set (Engagement)-
“Girls and boys, do you remember the book I read to you yesterday? Yes,
Dandelions by Eve Bunting. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Do you remember we made
connections with the book and how our lives in the 21st Century were either
similar or different than Zoe’s life during the 19th Century?”
2. State Objective and Purpose-
“Well, today I am going to model what I do when I’m comparing and contrasting
myself to a main character in a book. (Ask students if they understand the
meaning of compare and contrast). This way, you will learn a strategy that you
can use when you need to understand how you connect or do not connect with a
character in a story.”
3. Teach and Model-
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Draw a compare and contrast chart on the board. Ask students if they have ever
seen this type of chart before. Call on three students. Say to students, “While
reading a book, I ask myself how I connect personally with one of the characters.
I also think about how I have never experienced what the character is going
through. I am going to read a few sentences to you from Dandelions by Eve
Bunting and model how I would use a compare and contrast chart in comparing
my life to Zoe’s.” Read aloud a few sentences you can compare and contrast your
life with Zoe’s. “As I read, I was thinking about Zoe’s life, as well as my life. I
was thinking about the differences and similarities between the 19th and 21st
Centuries. I felt my life was different from Zoe’s because I travel by car, not a
wagon. Therefore, I would write this difference under the compare side of the
chart. However, I feel that I am similar to Zoe because she used a ferry to get
across a river and we still use ferries in order to get across a body of water.
Therefore, I would write this under the compare side of the chart. Explain to
students “Compare and contrast charts are very useful because they are a strategy
we can use when we need to organize our thoughts as we read. We can use this
type of chart in guiding us when we need to write about the information we
organized”.
4. Guided Practice-
Have two to three experiences about Zoe’s life during the 19th Century written on
the board.
Have the students read the first sentence aloud and tell/write where this sentence
would go on a compare and contrast chart if they had one. Call on students raising
their hands. Ask students to discuss where they would place the sentence on their
chart and why. Do at least two to three examples.
5. Independent Practice/Assessment-
“Girls and boys, when you begin reading for independent reading today, I want
you to use the strategies we just discussed. I want you to create a compare and
contrast chart as you read about a character’s life. Find at least three experiences.
Compare or contrast them to your life, and write them on your chart. During
independent reading, I will be walking around to discuss with you your compare
and contrast charts.”
6. Closure-
“Who can tell me the meanings of the words compare and contrast? That’s right:
similar and different.”
“Who can tell me why we use a compare and contrast chart?”
“Now, who can tell me what you are going to be doing during independent
reading today? Great! Return to your seats quietly and begin reading.”
7. How do I know if students are successful?
I will know if students were successful if they were able to compare and contrast
three experiences to their personal lives from their independent reading books,
using their compare and contrast charts.
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Alyssa Petrino
ELD-308
Lesson Plan: Writing Mini-Lesson
Grade: 4
Time: 15 minutes
Standards: Writing Standards: Grade 4: Text Types and Purposes: 3
3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique,
descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
Writing Standards: Grade 4: Production and Distribution of Writing: 4
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate
to task, purpose, and audience.
Objective: Students will use their compare and contrast charts in determining how their lives in
the 21st Century are similar and different from the main character Zoe’s during the 19th Century
in the book Dandelions, by Eve Bunting, to write an introduction of their compare and contrast
essay.
Materials:
Dandelions, by Eve Bunting
Compare and contrast chart
Paper for writing compare and contrast essay
Lesson Sequence:
1. Anticipatory Set (Engagement)-
“Girls and boys, do you remember the book I read aloud to you a couple days
ago by Eve Bunting? Also, do you remember how we compared our lives to
the main character Zoe because she lived in the 19th Century and we live in the
21st Century? Remember, we even began making compare and contrast
charts?”
2. State Objective and Purpose-
“Well, today we are going to learn how to use our compare and contrast charts
in order to write a compare and contrast essay. This essay is going to be about
how your lives are similar and different to Zoe’s life. You will be comparing
Zoe’s live in the 19th Century, to your lives in the 21st Century.”
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3. Teach and Model-
Show the students a Dandelions, by Eve Bunting, compare and contrast chart you
had made about your own personal life. Make sure there are at least three to four
life experiences on the chart. Remind students that when you’re using comparing
and contrasting, comparing is similar, while contrasting is different. Also, remind
students that a compare and contrast chart is a strategy that can be used to
organize your thoughts and ideas in order to guide you with your reading and
writing. (Especially when writing a compare and contrast essay).
Then, model to students what you are thinking about your compare and contrast
chart. Model how you are thinking of a main idea from the chart and how to begin
your essay. Use the compare and contrast chart for support, and if necessary
demonstrate how to use notes about your chart in order to guide the students.
Remind students that an essay begins with a clear, catching introduction. Then
write a beginning sentence to your compare and contrast essay.
4. Guide Practice-
Give each student a piece of paper in which they can write a compare and
contrast chart on. Have the students write a few life experiences from the book
Dandelions by Eve Bunting, on their charts. Have a few students share what
they wrote, where they wrote it, and why.
Also, ask students if they used notes to guide them with their thinking. Have
students begin thinking about how they are going to begin their compare and
contrast essays. Have three students share.
5. Independent Practice/Assessment-
“Girls and boys, I am now going to show you a compare and contrast essay I
wrote, comparing and contrasting Zoe’s life during the 19th Century to my life
during the 21st Century.” Show students the important parts of a compare and
contrast essay. Explain how you have a clear, catching introduction. Then,
show students how you compared a few main ideas in the next couple of
paragraphs. Next, show the students how you contrasted a few main ideas in
the next couple of paragraphs. Finally, show the students how you concluded
the essay by wrapping up all the main ideas you just wrote about. Make sure
you discuss the title of your essay.
“When you begin writing for Writer’s Workshop today, I would like you to
add more life experiences to your charts. If you would like, you can also add
notes about what you are thinking. Use your compare and contrast charts and
notes to begin writing the introduction to your compare and contrast essays. I
want you to write at least three to four sentences of your introduction of your
compare and contrast essay during Writer’s Workshop.
6. Closure-
“Who can tell me why you would use a compare and contrast chart?”
“Who can tell me the important parts of a compare and contrast essay?”
“Who can tell me what you are going to do during writing today? Great! Return
to your seats quietly and begin writing.”
7. How do I know if students are successful?
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I will know if students are successful if they are able to make and use their
compare and contrast charts, in order to write a few sentences of their introduction
for their compare and contrast essays.