Response to Emily's Mini Lesson

After reading your lesson and reflection, I wish I had done a lesson similar to this one. Especially because I have never seen my MT address predicting. But I thought your lesson was well thought out and totally addressed the aspect of literacy you wanted to focus on. I haven't read this book, but the guesses by the students at the beginning are really cute. In your reflection I would have liked to hear more about what actually happened once you started reading the story and how did you talk about the predictions after you finished the story? But other than that I really like this mini-lesson!

Mini Lesson and Reflection

For this lesson I decided to focus on two of my students who are not lower level or higher lever, because a few readings this semester have showed that those students in the middle are sometimes overlooked. Javon was the first student I chose to do this with, because we had recently become friends, he took a while to warm up to me but once he did he always wanted me to sit by him, help him and play with him at recess. Like I said he is not at the top or the bottom of the class, but he is definitely closer to the top half. The next student I chose to work with was Tim, he is a student who get distracted easily and usually needs reminding to finish his work when students are left to work on their own. In the beginning I was just planning on working with these two students, but once Curt noticed I was sitting with these boys on the other side of the room he quickly came over and said, “Miss Andrea, can I sit with you too?!” Of course, I said yes, but he doesn’t fit into the middle of the class like the other two. Curt seems to be one of the lower level students, he has trouble staying in his seat (at his desk and the carpet) because of this it takes him longer than the other students to finish any work. 

Now that I have these three boys sitting in front of me I follow my outline and tell them I  am going to read The Lorax and we are going to be paying attention to what happens in the beginning, middle and end. All the boys nod their heads, they seem a little uncomfortable in the corner away from the rest of the class. So I start reading the story and very soon after Javon interrupts me to comment on the rhyming of the story, “This is a rhyming book!!” I say, “Yes, it is, but remember we want to focus on what happens in the story so try to pay attention to the words I am reading the the pictures, they can give you good clues since some of the words in this book are kind of silly and made-up.” All the boys agree that the words and pictures are kind of silly and I continue reading. I mostly make it through the reading without any other interruptions. While I am reading though, I realize this was not the best book to use to talk about beginning, middle and end, because it is two stories in one, it is about a boy who pays to hear a story, he hears it and then he brings back the trees. I get discouraged before finishing that this will be too difficult for these students since the structure of the book is kind of confusing.

Once we are done reading I ask if any of them can tell me what happened at the beginning and I am so excited when Tim says, “The boy pays the guy in the tower to tell him something.” I say yes and open the book to that page so the other boys can see and understand what Tim said. I say, “So in the beginning the boy goes and asks the thing at the top of the tower to tell him a story and then what happens after this? This is the middle of the story” At this point all three boys start talking, its hard to tell who is saying what, but one says something about the thneeds being made, another talks about the Lorax and all the other animals leaving because the trees are gone and someone else says, the Lorax comes! After they are all done sharing in top of each other I say, “Wow it sounds like a lot happened in the middle of this story can we think of a way to get all of your ideas together into one BIG idea?” All the boys agree, and I ask, “Should we get the book out and use the pictures to make our BIG idea?” In the end we decide to say that a man comes and uses all the trees and so the Lorax and all the other animals have to leave. This sentence seemed to incorporate all the ideas they had stated before. I say, “Okay now we have a beginning, he asks the Once-ler to tell him the story, then in the middle a man comes and uses all the trees and so the Lorax and all the other animals have to leave, now we have to figure out what happens in the end, can someone tell me what they think happens at the end? One at a time please.” This time I ask Curt to share and he says the boy gets a seed. And I am so excited!  

The students were able to identify the beginning, middle and end with ease when asked specifically about them. I think the focus and talking before the reading really set them up for success. Now I know that even though my teacher never really focuses on this aspect of comprehension these students have a pretty good understanding of it.

Grade: Kindergarten

Focus students: Tim, Javon, Curt (added later)

Mini-Lesson

Rationale (Why are you teaching this lesson?): I have noticed when I read books to students and then ask them what happened in the story they struggle to identify a beginning, middle or end. They can give a few details, but once the story is over they just put another book in front of my face and say, “Now read this!!!!”  I really want to concentrate on this aspect of comprehension to see if the students understand the order of events in a story, or if they don’t since I haven’t really seen it addressed by my MT/seen them do it on their own.


Objective for this lesson: Students will be able to…
(Remember it must be student centered and observable!!!!!!!) Students will be able to identify the beginning, middle and end of the story and they will be able to use discuss it with each other and use other ideas in order to come to a conclusion.

Materials & supplies needed:

-The Lorax by Dr. Suess

-Paper with 3 blank boxes for Assessment

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?) (2 minutes)

-I’m going to read you guys a story today, and I really want you to pay close attention to what happens throughout the story. In every story there is a beginning, middle and end. So while I am reading I want you to pay attention and try to remember what happens so you can tell me at the end. Does this make sense? Do you have any questions?

• OUTLINE of key events during the lesson (Include specific details about how you will begin and end activities; what questions you will use; how you will help children understand behavior expectations during the lesson; when/how you will distribute supplies and materials) (15-20 minutes)

-After introducing the objective of the lesson I will introduce the book I am reading. “This book is called The Lorax written by Dr. Suess. Let’s get started, please make sure to sit quietly and pay attention throughout the reading so we can talk about the beginning, middle and end of the story when I am finished reading.  

-Read the story

 
-Ask students, “Now that we are finished reading can anyone tell me what happened in the beginning of the story? The middle? The end?”

-If students need scaffolding we can get the book out and use it as a reference to find the order of events, so they can see the pictures and remind themselves of the storyline.

• 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?) (3 minutes)

-Wow, that was a great discussion of the events in the story, now that we know all the major parts of the story and the order they happened in, we are going to draw them out together so we don’t forget what we learned today. And from now on when you hear a story think about what happens in the beginning, the middle and the end, it will help you keep track of the story.

Assessment: (How will you know the students are progressing toward your identified objective? What will you observe for and/or take notes on to help you plan follow-up instruction?)
-Finally I will ask them to draw (as a group) the beginning, middle and end of the story on a piece of paper that has three boxes (already labeled for them).