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Language Arts: a unit plan and Lesson plan

Candidate’s Name: Dana Omer ID # 040130080

Subject: English language arts Grade: k Lesson Topic: Understanding

interrogatives

Language Arts Lesson Plan

1. K12 Academic Content Standards:

Content standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.D

Understand and use question words (interrogatives) (e.g., who, what, where, when,
why, how). “Emphasis on who”

2. Learning Objective:

Students will make progress toward understanding Rationale:

how to use interrogatives by asking and answering
interrogatives based on the story, Pouch, during a
morning meeting. They will also draw pictures in
a trifold book depicting who the story was about,
what they did in the story, and where the story
This objective directly correlates
with the ELA literacy standard,
k.1.D. By the end of this lesson,
students should understand how to
took place.
3. Pre-assessment Activity:
I will show students the cover of the story and ask
the following questions:
“What do you see?”
“Who do you think the story will be about?”
“What do you think the story will be about?”
“Where do you think these animals are?”
We will have a whole-group discussion to assess
the extent to which students understand
interrogatives.
answer and use interrogative words
in a simple conversation with a
partner or partners and should be
able to answer those interrogatives
by producing a drawing that
demonstrates their understanding of
the terms who, what, when, where
and why. At this point of the year,
asking and answering one question
in a complete sentence is age
appropriate.
Rationale:
I want to teach students how to
effectively use questions words to
determine contextual meaning and
to understand content. Before I
begin any activities, I need to assess
how well students can already
produce and use interrogatives so
that I know where to focus most of
my attention during the upcoming
lessons in order to meet the
learning objective. This
information will help me determine
what type of differentiation I need
to include to assist all my students
in meeting the learning goal.
4. Differentiation, Adaptation & Accommodation Strategies:
ELL and Learning Disabilities
I will point to characters in the book when I am
asking “Who.” I will use hand gestures and point
to scenes in the book when asking “Where,” and
“what.” Students with special needs will sit up
close during group discussion so that they can
clearly see the book and hear the questions. I will fluent English speakers, they are
also make sure that these students are surrounded
by fluent English speakers during discussion and
during independent practice. For struggling
students, I will ask tiered questions and guide them they can look at their neighbor and
to answering the questions with simple, one-word
answers. For instance:
“Who is on this page?”
“Is Joey a character in the story?”
“Who else is a character in this story?”
High Achieving students
For high achieving students, I will ask higher order modeled instruction while
thinking questions. I will guide them to asking
other things they want to know about the story,
like how high can Joey hop? Why was he so
scared? Etc. I will also guide these students to
connecting the story with their own experiences.
For example, I will ask, “How do you feel when
you have to leave home?”
Low Achieving students
During group discussion, I will ask these students
leveled questions, starting with very basic yes or
no questions, building up to questions that are a
little more complex. For example:
“Who is on this page?” (“Joey,” “kangaroo,”
Rationale:
Seating arrangements provide
excellent support to struggling
students. By seating ELL students
and students with learning
disabilities next to high achieving,
provided with another resource for
information. If they do not
understand how to perform a task,
mimic the actions of their
neighbors. For example, if they see
their neighbor drawing a picture in
their trifolds during independent
practice, they may know or
recognize that they are supposed to
be drawing in their trifolds. By
placing the ELL students up front
in the class, they can easily see the
simultaneously hearing it.
High Achieving students will need
additional challenges to keep them
engaged and to keep their brains
working. By having them answer
deeper thinking questions and
guiding them to asking their own
deeper thinking questions, they are
given the opportunity to challenge
themselves and to build off of what
they already know.
By asking tiered questions, lower
achieving students will not feel
pressured to perform well in front
“Baby kangaroo, etc.”)
“Is Joey a character in the story?” (“yes”)
“Who else is a character in this story?” (“Mama,”
“bee,” “rabbit,” etc)
During the independent practice portion, I will use
positive reinforcement to help keep them on task,
repeating instructions as many times as necessary
and pointing out acceptable behaviors from them
and the students around them. They will also be
seated next to positive role models during group
discussions and independent work.
5. Resources:
Wonders book, Pouch. (one teacher copy)
1 sample of a trifold book to model to students
of their peers. They can relax and
build confidence as they answer the
simple questions correctly. The
questions will gradually become
more complex so that I can test
their knowledge of the content in a
slow and steady pace.
Lower achieving students will also
need reinforcement to stay on task
and complete the lesson. By
providing positive reinforcement,
they are more likely to participate
and try their hardest. There is
abundant research that suggests that
positive reinforcement is the most
effective way of changing or
encouraging certain behaviors.
According to educationgy.org, “As
a consequence (of positive
reinforcement), the person feels
encouraged to repeat the positive
action that earned the praise in the
first place” (Positive Reinforcement
in the Classroom, 2017). Also, by
seating the lower achieving
students near positive role models,
they are provided with an example
everyday of how they should
behave, as well as an extra resource
if they do not understand a concept
or task.
Rationale:
The Wonders book will be used to
read the story to the students.
1 trifold book per student
1 pencil per student plus extra if any of them
break.
1 box of crayons per student.
6. Learning Activities - Explicit Teacher Instruction:
1. I will explain to students that today I will
be reading a story and one of the questions
the story asks, is where is the setting? That
means, where does it take place, where is
the story happening? So, setting simply
means, “Where are they?”
2. I will read the title.
3. I will ask students if they think their
predictions were right during the pre-
assessment activity. Do you think this
story is about a kangaroo?
4. I will point to the kangaroo.
5. I will read the book, stopping after each
paragraph or so to ask questions. My
The sample of a trifold book with
the pre-drawn pictures will be used
as a model for students so that they
know what is expected of them.
The drawing will be a
demonstration of interrogatives that
we asked during group discussion.
Who is the story about? What are
they doing? Where are they? The
drawing will have a picture of
characters and setting from a
previously read book.
Each student will use their own
trifolds, a pencil, and crayons, to
demonstrate their understanding of
interrogatives.
Rationale:
1. By explaining to students
that all stories have a
setting, I am preparing them
for hearing this new word
when it comes up again in
this current story. By
asking students if their
predictions were correct
after reading the title, I am
drawing a connection
between making
observations and how those
observations relate to
 questions will be in the forms of who, stories.
what, when, where, why, and how. I will 2. By pointing to the
characters when I say what
stress those words as I ask the questions. I
they are I am providing
will call on students to answer the visual aids for my ELL
questions along the way. learners, my students with
disabilities, and my low
6. At the end of the book, I will guide
achieving students.
students to asking their own questions. I 3. Stopping after each
will scaffold the lesson by giving a lot of paragraph will allow me to
help the students access
guidance on how to pose the questions, to
complex text. We can stop
gradually giving less guidance and having and ask questions and fully
other students eventually answer each other understand the context
instead of only answering my questions. I before moving on to a new
event in the story. By
will ask, “What else would you like to asking question words like
know? What do you think they’ll do who, what, where, when,
now?” I will guide students to ask the why, and how, I am
modeling to students the
questions, and then I will guide other
kind of questions I would
students to answer them. like them to be asking
7. At the end of the discussion, I will explain themselves when reading
text.
to students that they are going to answer
4. Scaffolding the instruction
some of these questions by drawing so that students eventually
pictures. The things I want to know are, ask and answer each other’s
questions helps to build
“Who is a character in the story?” I will
their social language skills
ask students to name some characters. I as well as helps them
will ask, “What did that character do in the develop mastery of the
story?” I will ask students to tell me what concepts.
5. When scaffolding
specific characters did in the story. I will
instruction, it is important to
guide them through answering other provide plenty of
interrogatives from the story and then will opportunities for students to
practice the task with
remind them that they have a lot of things
teacher-assistance after the
they can draw in their trifolds now. When task has been modeled.
they go to their seats, they will draw a Students should be
 picture in their trifolds that tells me who
was a character in the story, what the
character did in the story, and where the
characters were. I will show them an
example of a pre-drawn trifold.
Student activities
1. Students will examine the cover page of the
book during the pre-assessment activity
and make predictions as to what it is about
based on my interrogative questioning.
2. After hearing the title, students will
confirm whether their predictions of who
the story is about were correct.
3. Students will listen as I read. They will
raise their hand and answer questions
posed by the teacher along the way.
4. At the end of the story, students will
answer additional questions about the end
of the story.
5. When asked if they have any of their own
questions about the story, students will
raise their hand and ask their own questions
in the form of who, what, when, where,
why, and how.
6. Students will return to their desks and
watch as the teacher models what their
trifolds should look like.
7. Students will draw a picture in their trifolds
that demonstrates their understanding of
who a character in the story was, what the
character did, and where that character was
when they did it.
8. When students are finished, they will raise
their hand and wait for the teacher to
approve their work.
attempting to ask
interrogative questions on
their own, with teacher
guidance.
6. The pre-drawn trifold
pictures will pose as a
model for students to follow
when they draw in their own
trifolds.
Rationale:
1. By examining the cover
page and making predictions
based only on pictures,
students are learning how to
use context to develop
meaning.
2. Confirming or correcting
their predictions after
hearing the title will help
students learn self-
correction strategies while
reading.
3. Answering questions along
the way during the read-
aloud will help students
understand the context in
small pieces, building their
comprehension skills as well
as build their understanding
of interrogatives.
4. By answering questions
about the story at the end,
students are learning how
the ending of a story ties
everything together and
usually answers many
interrogatives posed while
reading.
5. Students will practice using
 interrogatives with teacher
guidance during the group
discussion after the story.
6. After seeing a modeled
trifold, students will have a
visual aid of exactly what is
expected of them. This is
especially helpful for ELL
students and students with
special needs.
7. Students will get the
opportunity to practice
demonstrating their
understanding
independently as they draw
in their trifolds.
8. Seeking teacher approval at
the end of their trifold
activity will allow the
teacher a chance to
informally assess progress.
Monitoring student learning Rationale:
1. Informal, formative observations during class 1. Formative assessments are
discussions, guided practice, and independent ongoing assessments used to
practice. keep track of student
2. Informal progress monitoring at the completion progress. The informal
of their trifold. observations during the
group discussions and
guided practice provide the
teacher with a chance to
assess whether students are
understanding the material
and ready to begin
practicing independently.
2. When students show the
teacher their trifolds, the
teacher can quickly assess
which students are
understanding the content
and which students are

7. Guided Practice:
During guided practice, I will scaffold the process
of using interrogatives to better explain/understand
the story. For example, I will say to students,
“What is this character doing in the story?”
“Hiding” or “Going back to a safe place.”
“Why is this character doing this in the story?”
(Insert reasoning). These may vary based on
opinion.
I will use these questions to guide students towards
acceptable answers and/or guide their reasoning.
For higher-order thinkers, I will ask, “What else
would you like to know about this story?” If
students are unsure of what relevant questions to
ask I will remind them of the terms, “Who, what,
when, where, why, and how.” I will model such a
question by asking, “What do you think they’ll do
now?” I will guide students to ask a similar
“what” question. I will continue in this fashion for
another 2-3 questions using other interrogatives.
struggling and need
additional help. I can also
look for common mistakes
that I can instantly address
to all the students if I notice
similar patterns.
Rationale:
By modeling a correctly worded
interrogative, I am providing
students with an example of what is
expected of them. At the
kindergarten age, even if students
are merely mimicking my sentence
phrasing, they are still learning, and
this is perfectly acceptable.
Guiding students toward creating
their own question will assist them
in understanding how to use
interrogatives correctly and
effectively.
Not only will students be guided
toward asking their own
interrogatives, but they will also be
guided toward answering
interrogatives as well. This ensures
that they are understanding how
interrogatives work and what
purpose they serve. By pointing to
the pictures on the illustrations, I
am providing students with a visual
aid to help them use context to
answer comprehension questions.
8. Independent Practice:
Trifolds:
Students will use their trifolds to practice and
demonstrate their understanding of interrogatives.
Students will open their trifolds and will draw a
picture that answers at least 2 of interrogatives,
based on the story, Pouch. For example, students
will draw who the story is about, they will draw
what they are doing, and may or may not add
details describing where the characters are.
Higher achieving students will be encouraged to
answer as many interrogatives as they can, and to
use their imagination to draw an additional picture
on the back of their trifold of what the characters
might do next in the story.
Lower achieving students may look at the
illustrations in the story to help them draw their
pictures.
ELL students and students with special needs may
only be expected to answer the who interrogative
by drawing a picture of one of the characters or
answering verbally. After a quick, informal
assessment, the teacher may choose to encourage
the student to answer one more interrogative by
drawing where the characters are in the story.
Rationale:
In kindergarten, students are not
writing complete sentences and are
only expected to know the spelling
of a select few CVC (consonant,
vowel, consonant) words.
Kindergarteners also have a short
attention span and will have spent
enough time speaking out loud with
their partners at this point in the
lesson. It is crucial to allow them to
move around and to engage in
something hands-on frequently
throughout the day. The drawing
assignment serves both purposes.
Students will have a chance to get
up from the group setting (the
carpet) and walk back to their
desks. They will also have a
chance to color, draw and use their
imagination as they demonstrate
their understanding of
interrogatives in their drawings. It
would be impractical to expect
students at this age to write a
sentence that demonstrates their
understanding. At this age,
kindergarteners communicate
verbally and through drawing
pictures.
Having the higher achieving
students draw a picture of what they
think will happen next, allows them

9. Post Assessment Activities:
Informal assessment of drawing:
When students have completed their trifolds, they
will raise their hands and wait for me to approach
them. They will show me their drawings. I will
ask students the questions that they were supposed
to answer in their trifold drawings and will ask
them to also explain their drawings. For example:
“Who was the story about?”
“A kangaroo” or “Joey.”
“Can you point to Joey in your drawing?”
“What is Joey doing?”
to use the context of the story to
make predictions, a challenging
skill that will peak their interest,
keep them engaged, and promote
their higher order thinking.
Low achieving students often need
visual aids to assist in their
engagement and motivation. The
Interactive Read Aloud cards have
illustrations that follow the story
and will serve as a decent visual aid
to help jog students memory of the
events in the story.
ELL students and special needs
students will only be expected to
draw and respond to who is the
story about, to demonstrate their
understanding of the word who.
The teacher can gauge their
readiness to answer another
interrogative as long as it does not
overwhelm the student.
Rationale:
Informal assessments should be
taken periodically throughout a
unit. Because this lesson works
towards an objective early on in the
year, students are not expected to
master the content just yet. They
are, however, expected to show
progress toward understanding and
meeting the objective. Therefore,
an informal observation at this
point in the unit is the best form of
assessment to determine how much
“He is hiding.”
“Where are these animals?”
“In the woods,” “the forest,” “outside,” etc.
This informal observation will assist me in
determining which students understand the content
and which students may need additional support.
High achieving students will be asked higher order
thinking question immediately following the who,
what, when, where questions. For example, the
teacher may ask, “What lesson do you think this
story is trying to teach us?”
Lower achieving students and students with
special needs will be assessed by viewing their
pictures and then asking leveled questions about
the picture. The questions will start simple and
will gradually become more challenging. For
example, “Who is the story about?” “Is that who
you drew?” “What are they doing in your
picture?” “Why is Joey scared??” The teacher will
stop asking questions when student seems to not
be able to answer anymore, indicating that he/she
has reached his/her level of difficulty.
ELL students will be asked to point to their picture
rather than form sentences.
10. Closure:
Students will raise their hands to share what they
have drawn in their trifolds. I will reiterate the
questions again, for all students to answer in front
of their peers.
more time needs to be spent on this
particular subject before moving on
in the unit.
Immediately following the initial
questions, I will ask high achieving
students higher order thinking
questions to promote meeting their
highest potential for learning.
Leveled questions helps the teacher
determine a tasks level of difficulty
that low achieving students and
students with special needs can
complete without teacher
assistance. It also helps to build
confidence in students who are
more likely to try their best if they
feel that they are intelligent and can
really do it!
ELL students will not be expected
to speak when demonstrating their
understanding because many ELL
students at this age know little to no
English. Demonstrating their
understanding of the content by
pointing to their picture is the most
effective way to assess their
understanding.
Rationale:
By having students share their
drawings out loud, other students
are given a chance to compare what
 they have drawn. This is a form of
self-regulation. By repeating the
questions once again, I am exposing
students to the correct way of
forming interrogatives.
Kindergarten students learn by
repetition and by mimicking and
mirroring. Repeating new content
any time it is possible is an
effective way to promote learning
in kindergarten students.

Reference:

Positive Reinforcement in the Classroom. (2017). Ministry of Education: Guyana. Retrieved

from http://educationgy.org/web/index.php/teachers/tips-for-teaching/item/1385-positive-
reinforcement-in-the-classroom