Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Savannah Bakker
LESSON RATIONALE
First grade is a year of learning “the basics.” Learning these fundamental reading skills is important
because they impact the way we look at and interact with the text we read.
READINESS
I.Goals/Objectives/Standard(s)
A. Goal(s)—
- Students will be able to read the given books during their guided reading group.
- Students will be able to show understanding of their given strategy (sequencing or
cause/effect).
B. Objective(s)—
- After sounding out difficult words as a group, students in each group will be able to
chorally read the book they are given.
- After the mini-lesson and choral reading, students will demonstrate understanding of their
strategies through (Group 1: discussion questions, Group 2: Sequencing activity and
discussion).
- After the mini-lesson and choral reading, students will be able to explain key details of
the story read.
C. Standard(s):
- 1.RF.5 Orally read grade-level appropriate or higher texts smoothly and accurately, with
expression that connotes comprehension at the independent level.
- 1.RL.1 With support, read and comprehend literature that is grade-level appropriate
- 1.RL.2.1 Ask and answer questions about main idea and key details in a text.
- 1.RL.2.2 Retell stories, fables, and fairy tales in sequence, including key details, and
demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
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II. Management Plan-
o Time:
- Anticipatory Set / Full-group: (3-5 Minutes)
- Guided Reading Groups: (15-20 Minutes)
- 90 Minute Literacy Block
o Space
- For the anticipatory set/full group explanation, students will be at their usual seats.
- During the guided reading groups, my group will be at the round table in the back of the
room.
- The groups that are not with me will be rotating through their usual centers (kidney table,
desks, etc).
o Materials
- Construction paper puzzle piece
- Shell Shopping by Alison Adams (Level E – 8 copies)
- Brer Rabbit Hears a Noise by Deana Kirk (Level I – 6 copies)
- Shell Shopping sequencing sort cards
- Brer Rabbit cause and effect “worksheet”
o Expectations
- I expect the students to be actively engaged and participating in my guided reading
groups. Students should be responsive during discussions and try their best on the
activities.
- Students who aren’t in my guided reading groups are expected to be working hard on
their activities and staying on-task.
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- After this we will transition the students into their rotations – I will explain that the
orange group is starting with me at the back table. The students know their rotation order,
and they will be going through the centers in pretty much the same routine as normal.
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- I will ask the students a few questions and allow time for a few student responses
- “What did you think of this book?”
- “Were you able to see any examples of cause and effect during this book?”
- Brer Rabbit didn’t want to be laughed at so he told a lie about the mall.
- Brer got beat in the race, so he became more nervous and timid.
4.) Exploring
- We will discuss a few examples of cause and effect seen in the book.
- “Can someone tell me some specific cause and effect examples from the book, and why
you think they happened how they did?”
- I will also remind students to go back and look in the story if they cannot remember
specific examples.
- “Why do you think the character made the choices he did?”
5.) Applying
- I will pass out the little “worksheet”
- “Now that we saw the cause and effect of some actions in our story, let’s see if you can
think of another example. This could be an example from in your own life or an example
from another book.”
- “On the top of the page you’ll see that I filled in the boxes with a cause and effect from
our book. At the bottom, I want you to fill in your own example with a drawing.”
- This paper can be done at the guided reading table if time allows, and if not, students can
complete it later during another center.
- Closure: “As you go through other books that you’re reading, be on the look-out for
causes and effects.”
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- If it seems necessary, I will stop at a few points during the book and review the order that
details had happened in.
- I will have a class list to take notes on individual students if I notice them
struggling/excelling in certain areas.
8.) Responding
- I will ask the students a few questions and allow time for a few student responses
- “What did you think of this book?”
- “What happened at the beginning of this story?... then what?... and how did it end?”
9.) Exploring
- We will discuss a few examples of specific sequencing seen in the book.
- “Can someone tell me some specific sequencing examples from the book, and why you
think it is important to remember them?”
- I will also remind students to go back and look in the story if they cannot remember
specific examples.
- “Sequencing allows us to pay closer attention to details in the story, which is an
important skill to learn.”
10.) Applying
- I will pass out a few of the sort cards with our “key details” on them.
- “As a group, we are going to sort these cards and put them in the right order based on
what happened in the book. We can always go back and look if we can’t remember
exactly where each detail happened.”
- “Sequencing is a skill that you can use in any book you read, because all books have
details that you have to remember.”
- Closure: “As you go through other books that you’re reading, pay attention to all of the
details and keep your eyes open for other examples of sequencing. I would love to hear
more examples that you find.”
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- After each guided reading group, I will do a small closure with each group (explained in
lesson presentation)
- I will briefly remind students what their strategy is and encourage them to use it
throughout their day.
- Either myself or the aid will transition students into their next rotation.
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If I had more time, I would have added a more in-depth mini-lesson about the strategies.
However, overall, I think the lesson was paced well, with most emphasis on the reading, then
discussing the strategies seen within the book.
5. Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
The students for the reading portion were mostly following along. I could hear the
majority of them reading, but there were a few that did not read the whole time.
However, during the activities, the students were all participating and following along. I think
that sometimes when the students do not know how to pronounce a word in the reading, they
would rather just not try so that they do not get embarrassed. So, by adding time for the
students to gain more confidence in the reading, that would hopefully help the situation.
6. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
By having two different guided reading groups, I was differentiating the learning for my
students. Both groups worked on different books and different strategies. The groups were
based on how their teacher thinks the students work best, and based on how I have seen them
in class. I also had a variety of learning styles included. The students read chorally, had
discussion questions, and had activities/writings to do.
7. Were we able to complete everything during the 15-minute groups?
I think the students would have benefited from having more time. Probably at least 5
more minutes, if not 10 more. The students wouldn't have had to rush as much, and could
have had more time to develop their learning and understanding of the topic. While we did
complete everything, I think it could have been completed with more success if there was
more time.
8. If I was doing guided reading groups for all of the students in the class, would I use
these two again or create new ones?
I actually ended up completing all of the groups since I did not have a real "observation"
today. So the teacher had me work with the two other groups using the same plans. Both of
the other groups did pretty well, so I probably could have done the full activities, maybe with
some slight variations.
9. Did introducing the book early seem to help the students when the actual lesson time
rolled around?
Yes! Especially since there was a limited time, I think having the students familiar with
the books was extremely beneficial. Rather than spending all of our time on going through
the books, we were able to focus more on the strategy learning. I would likely do this again if
I ever teach this lesson again in the future.
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Shell was near a shark
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but another crab
got it first
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