1. Lesson Plans<br />Ready To RhymeAdd a CommentaryThe description below was contributed by: Joy McBroom, on Feb 09, 2000 05:23:00PM<br />Curriculum area(s):Reading/Language ArtsGrade Level:Elementary -- Lower Grades K-2Objectives:The student will recognize similar letters in groups of words. Using index cards, the student will form rhyming words. Using letter tiles, the student will write rhyming words correctly. Materials needed:Letter tiles, one container per student Practice masters Index cards, markers Hop on Pop, by Dr. Seuss, one per student Rhyming Bingo game Time estimated to complete lesson:6-10 days, depending on the ability of the studentProcedure:1. Using practice masters, the students will circle similar letters in words(rhyming sounds). 2. Using 2 sets of index cards, students will form rhyming words. One group of students will have cards with red letters printed on them. The other group will have blue letters. Each set of cards will contain all letters of the alphabet. The teacher will write a word, such as bag, on the board. At the sound, quot;
Goquot;
, each group will be instructed to form the word using the index cards. The first group to correctly spell the word, earns one point. The game continues until ten points are earned by one of the groups. 3. The students will be given a BINGO card and markers. Play the game as usual. 4. The book, Hop on Pop, by Dr. Seuss, will be given to each student. The teacher will read it aloud to the students. Students will follow along with the teacher. After every 2-3 pages, the teacher will stop reading and ask students, quot;
Which words are rhyming words?quot;
5. Using the book, Hop on Pop, students will use letter tiles to make words found in the book. The students will place tiles in proper order to make words such as day, play, say, all, tall, ball. Extension activities:<br />http://www.familyeducation.com/whatworks/item/group-index/0,2554,2-9142,00.html<br />Introducing Questioning, The Mitten<br />Grade Levels: K - 3 <br />Objective<br />This lesson is designed to introduce primary students to the importance of asking questions before, during, and after listening to a story. In this lesson, using the story The Mitten by Jan Brett, students learn how to become good readers by asking questions. This is the first lesson in a set of questioning lessons designed for primary grades. <br />Materials<br />The Mitten by Jan Brett <br />Chart paper<br />Procedure<br />Planning and Diagnostics<br />Asking questions before, during, and after reading is a strategy that primary students can use to become better readers. Students should be able to ask and answer basic, literal questions about a story.<br />Hook/Engagement<br />Tell students that you will read a story titled The Mitten. It's best if you have some mittens to show you especially if students live in a warmer climate and may not have worn mittens. Ask students questions such as: <br />What are mittens?<br />How many of you have ever worn mittens? <br />How many of you have ever lost a mitten? How did you feel?<br />Why are mittens so easy to lose? <br />Why do you think this story is called The Mitten?<br />Why is it called The Mitten and not The Mittens?<br />Now that you've gotten the students thinking about mittens, you can transition to the topic of the lesson: asking questions before, during, and after reading. You might want to say something such as: <br />quot;
You know, it's often a good idea to ask questions like this before you read a book. Then, when you start reading the book, you can look for the answers. You can also ask questions while you're reading the book and after you read the book.quot;
<br />Show the following chart and ask students to help you think of other questions.<br />Questions Before ReadingQuestions During ReadingQuestions After ReadingWhat is this book about? What does the title mean?What will happen next? Will the story have a happy ending?Why did the author write this book? What does the author want us to think? What is the main idea?<br />You may want to use these framework questions when teaching or print them for students to reference while using this strategy.<br />Vocabulary<br />Students should be familiar with most of the animals in this story, but they might not know what a hedgehog and a badger are. <br />Hedgehog: is a mammal that has hair and a spine that it shows outwardly when it is threatened; it is like a porcupine<br />Badger: a mammal that burrows and is related to the weasel<br />Measurable Objectives<br />Explain to students that you are going to read The Mitten aloud to them and you will ask them to help you make a list of questions before, during, and after you read. Then you'll ask them to help you answer the questions to see how thinking about the questions and knowing the answers can help them understand The Mitten better. <br />Focused Instruction <br />Create a chart with three columns labeled, quot;
Questions Before Reading,quot;
quot;
Questions During Reading,quot;
and quot;
Questions After Reading.quot;
Explain to students that you ask questions before you begin reading a book to help you think about and focus on what you're going to read. Explain that looking at the cover of a book can help you think of questions to ask before you start reading. Look at the cover of The Mitten and think aloud: <br />quot;
Well, I know that this book must have animals in it. Are all of these characters going to be in the story? What does a mitten have to do with these animals? Why are these animals looking at the mitten? The animals can't wear the mitten, so whose mitten is on the ground? Is this a true story?quot;
<br />Write these questions in the table in the quot;
Questions Before Reading Columnquot;
and explain that they will help you focus before you begin reading The Mitten. Explain that everybody can look at the cover of the book and come up with different questions. There are no right and wrong questions to ask, but there are right answers to find once you start reading.<br />Guided Practice<br />Explain to students that as you read a story you always ask yourself questions. You wonder about what the main character will do next; you ask a question about something that seems unclear; or you wonder what will happen next in the story. You usually can answer most, if not all, your questions by the time you finish reading the story. Read the first five pages of text aloud and then stop. Think aloud these three questions: <br />quot;
Will Nicki notice that he dropped his mitten?quot;
<br />quot;
Will Baba be upset with Nicki for losing his mitten? <br />quot;
I notice that there is an open mitten on each page that shows what else is happening in the story. Will the mittens on the next few pages give me a clue about what Nicki is doing?quot;
<br />Record these questions in the quot;
Questions During Readingquot;
column, or at least point to these columns as you ask the questions. Read the next three pages of text aloud to students and then stop. Think aloud the answers to the above questions:<br />quot;
I can tell from the mitten on the side of the page that Nicki does not know yet that he has lost his mitten. So far, his grandmother does not know he lost his mitten, either. I think that some of my questions will have to wait to be answered, then. But, after reading these three pages, I have some more questions.quot;
<br />Now, record several questions that you asked yourself while you were reading these three pages:<br />quot;
There are already a mole, a rabbit, and a hedgehog in this mitten. Can anymore animals possibly fit into the mitten?quot;
<br />quot;
Could three animals really fit into Nicki's mitten?quot;
<br />Read the next six pages of text aloud to students and then stop. Think aloud the answers to the above questions that you asked yourself: <br />quot;
It seems that more animals can fit into Nicki's mitten. Now an owl, a badger, a fox, a bear, and a mouse joined the other animals. But, in real life, these animals would be too big to fit into a boy's mitten.quot;
<br />Next, think aloud and record several questions that you asked yourself while you were reading these six pages: <br />quot;
How many animals are going to fit into Nicki's mitten?quot;
<br />quot;
These animals are so squished together. How will they possibly get out of Nicki's mitten?quot;
<br />Read the final three pages of text aloud to students. Think aloud and record this question that you asked yourself while you were reading these pages: <br />quot;
What will happen to Nicki's mitten now that the animals are gone?quot;
<br />Explain to students that you shared with them the questions you asked yourself as you read the story. Ask several students to answer the remaining three quot;
during readingquot;
questions. Emphasize that they may have asked themselves different questions, which is fine. Give students the opportunity to give you some examples of questions they asked themselves as you read the story aloud to them and record their questions. Then, have students think-aloud and tell you the answers to the questions. Point out how the questions that you asked could either be answered during your next stopping point or when you finished the book. Explain that asking questions during reading helps you to become good readers. <br />Independent Practice <br />Explain to students that asking questions after reading a book helps them to think more about the story or connect to the story in some way. For example, tell students that you wonder whether Nicki ever told his grandmother that he lost his mitten or if his grandmother will ever figure out why one of Nicki's mittens is so much larger than the other. Explain that questions you ask after reading are more open-ended and do not have definite answers that can be found in the book. Ask students to help you add questions to the quot;
Questions After Readingquot;
column. Some sample questions include: <br />Did any of the predictions that I made about The Mitten come true? <br />What did I learn about the animals in the story?<br />Have I ever lost something and then found it and wondered what really happened to it?<br />Why did the author tell this story?<br />Once students generate a list of questions, have students answer them. Explain how these questions have helped students to think about The Mitten by connecting to the story. Point out how remembering the answers to these questions will help them always remember what The Mitten is about.<br />Assessment<br />To assess whether students have mastered the importance of asking questions before, during, and after reading, generate six new questions about The Mitten and ask students to tell you under which heading the questions should go. Then, have students answer the questions to assess their reading comprehension (i.e., how much of the story they understand.) Then, select another book from the unit you are studying. Before you begin the book, ask students to come up with several questions by looking at the cover. Then, read the book aloud to students. Have students ask questions about the story at your designated stopping points. Then, have students ask questions after you've finished reading the story to them. <br />Reflection and Planning<br />Determine which students understand how to ask good questions before, during, and after reading by listening to the questions they ask for the Assessment activity and how they answer those questions. If a small number of students are struggling, form a small group to work with these students more intensively. As you go on to other lessons, encourage all students to ask questions before, during, and after reading any type of fiction or nonfiction in class.<br />Big Books<br />adapted by Melissa M.<br />Grade Level/Subject: Kindergarten; Reading <br />Circle One: Whole Class, Small Group, Individual<br />Objectives: (Observable and Measurable)<br />Students will listen attentively to a Big Book selection (4.A.1a )Students will ask appropriate questions. (4.A.1b )Students will identify print and book features.Students will use the reading comprehension strategies of Monitoring and Clarifying, and Predicting. (1.B.1a ) (1.B.1c)Students will understand that school has a unique set of routines that we need to learn. ( 1.C.1b )Students will recognize that stories are composed of a set of events that are related temporarily and casually.<br />Materials: <br />Open Court Language Arts CurriculumBig Book, School, including Boomer Goes To School, written by Constance W. McGeorge, illustrated by Mary Whyte.<br />Procedures: <br />Building Background: Display the Big Book, School, open to the first page of “Boomer Goes to School”. Invite the students to name some of the things they have done in school so far, such as learn where things are in the classroom and meet new friends. Then ask them if they think this story about Boomer going to school might tell about some of these things. Help students give complete responses by paraphrasing and clarifying some of their statements. For example, if a student says “numbers” you might say, “At school we learn about numbers and counting at math time.”Background Information: Tell the students about your own dog or a dog that you know, or invite students who have dogs to tell about some of the things dogs like to do. Ask students to share what they think might happen if a dog came to spend the day in your classroom.<br />Comprehension Strategies: Teacher Modeling<br />Predicting: Read page one of “Boomer Goes to School”. Discuss with the children about good reading skills such as predicting. “Good readers predict, or think about what’s going to happen in a story. (Ask students to tell you again what the word predict means.) Boomer thinks he might be going for a walk when he hears his name and sees the leash. I predict Boomer is right. He is going for a walk. Let’s read on and see if Boomer is right.” Be sure to confirm all predictions when you reach the appropriate place in the text.Monitoring and Clarifying: Read page 2. “What kind of bus is Boomer on? I’ll look at the pictures again to help me. Oh, yes, I see. It’s a school bus. The words and pictures help me clarify, or figure out what is confusing me or what I don’t understand.”Read pages 3 and 4.Turn to pages 5 and 6. Before reading page 5, use Monitoring and Clarifying techniques: “This picture is a little confusing. I’m not quite sure what I’m looking at. Oh, when I look again I see that it is the inside of the school.” Read pages 5 and 6. “When I hear the words and look at the picture, I can see where Boomer was going. Looking at it this way, from overhead, lets me see more. It’s like looking down from upstairs.”Read pages 7 and 8. Predicting: “Boomer seems to be a little confused, but I predict that he’ll feel better as soon as he figures out he’s going to have fun. Do you have any predictions?”Monitoring and Clarifying: “I need to clarify something. This says, “A grownup started talking.” But I don’t know who. I know that Boomer is at school. I know that teachers, the principal, custodians and others are grownups. They are in a classroom. A teacher talks in the classroom. This grownup must be a teacher.”Read pages 9 and 10. Monitoring and Clarifying: “I need to clarify something. This says, “A grownup started talking.” But I don’t know who. I know that Boomer is at school. I know that teachers, the principal, custodians and others are grownups. They are in a classroom. A teacher talks in the classroom. This grownup must be a teacher.”Read pages 9 and 10. Monitoring and Clarifying: “How can Boomer share and paint and play? The pictures help me understand or clarify this for me-they help me see what Boomer is doing in the classroom. I see that Boomer is running around and playing with the children as they share and paint. Does anyone else need to clarify something? Does anyone have any questions about the story?”Read pages 11 and 12. Predicting: “So far Boomer has played with toys, gotten into paint, played games, and gotten into the lunches. I wonder what is going to happen next. I predict he’ll keep on getting into trouble in school. What do you think? Let’s read on and see.”Read pages 13 and 14. Monitoring and Clarifying: “Boomer seems to understand why he’s in school, but I’m not sure. Let me think about what’s happened and try to clarify this. He had to sit still while his owner shared stories and showed Boomer to the class. I see now. Boomer’s owner brought Boomer to school to show to his classmates during sharing time.”Read pages 15 and 16. Predicting: “The story seems to say that because a loud bell rang, it was time for Boomer to take another bus ride. From what we already know about how school works, what will happen next? Does anyone have a prediction? (I predict that the bell is the dismissal bell for the day and that Boomer is going to ride the school bus home.)”<br />Discussing the Selection:Remind students that good thinkers often talk about stories that have read. Have the students share their thoughts about the selection. Call on volunteers to tell about all the things that happened to Boomer at school in the correct sequence. Encourage them to tell what they liked best about the story and to ask any questions about school the story might have sparked. If they seem reluctant to begin, prompt them with questions such as:What would happen if you brought a pet to school?How do you think your pet would behave?What would happen if everyone brought their pets on the same day?What routines or rules do we have in Kindergarten?Tell the students that we read both for entertainment and to get information.Ask them what information they found out from Boomer Goes to School. Did they find out why Boomer went to school?Ask them if they enjoyed the story and what their favorite parts were.<br />Modifications/Adaptations: <br />I modified this lesson plan only by paraphrasing the prescribed dialogue. You can also read the story once through with the children and then go back and reread the selection with the appropriate teacher modeling cues. <br />Extensions and Technology: <br />Have the students illustrate a picture book of what would happen if they brought their pet to school.<br />Assessment: <br />This lesson is designed for informal assessment only. I was able to assess the interest and participation of the students by monitoring their behavior as well as their responses and predictions. Most of the students were actively engaged in the story, and those that weren’t as responsive during the reading were asked questions about the story during the snack-time immediately following the lesson. In a one on one conversation, these students were able to point out different events that occurred in the story and we discussed what their favorite parts were, but they were lacking in the whole class participation, and were more concerned about their shoelaces than in listening attentively.<br />