Concordia University Nebraska Education Department Lesson Plan Scaffold

Name: Emily Covert Grade Level: 4th Grade

Topic/Central Focus: Night of the Twisters Subject: Reading

Time Frame:

Standard(s) to be met in the lesson:

Learning Objective: Assessment Tool(s) and Procedures:

- TSWBAT correctly identify red letter and black - Letter Days to tests writing skills
letter days and tell about one of their own. - Literacy Circles to test their
- TSWBAT comprehend and investigate comprehension of the story.
different aspects of literacy.

Research-Based Best Practice used in lesson and why it is appropriate/useful:


- Nonlinguistic Representation (Marzano)

- Cooperative Learning (Marzano)

- Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback (Marzano)

Student Engagement used throughout the lesson:

Students will be following along in the readings in their books

Students will answer questions about the readings
Academic Language:
- Twister
- Red Letter Day
- Black Letter Day

Materials: Technology:
- Night of the Twisters - Document Camera
- Lined Paper
- Literacy Circle Organizer
Faith/Values Integration:
- This is a fictional story but real people experienced it, I want them to understand that and
keep in mind how difficult it might have been.
- The book has plenty of mentions of religion and faith and praying.

Assets (Knowledge of Students: personal, cultural, community):

- Most of these students have grown up in Lincoln. They should be familiar with tornado
warnings and procedures for a tornado.

Updated 8/15/19
Concordia University Nebraska Education Department Lesson Plan Scaffold

Differentiating Instruction
Identify the elements of the lesson that are differentiated (content, process, product).

Identify the student characteristic you will use to differentiate (readiness, interest, learning profile).

Explain how you differentiate (whole class, groups of students, individuals, or students with IEPs or 504 plans)

The students will work in groups to complete the literacy centers. This helps the students who
might struggle with a particular category.

Procedure with time allotments:

A) Hook/Engage/Pre-Assess Students
- Reveal the title of the book
- Ask if they know what a “twister” is

B) Communicate the purpose of the lesson to students (objective/assessment)


- “This is our next book that we’re going to read.”

- Hand out books

C) Instructional Sequence:

- Read the intro from the Grand Island newspaper

- Talk about how the overall event (the tornados) is real, but the characters aren’t.
Very similar to Anna’s Blizzard.

- Ask if they’ve been in a serious storm, heard the sirens go off, etc.

- Read prologue “As Told by Dan Hatch.”

- Let the kids stand up and move, walk around desks once then spin in place three
times.

- Read chapter 1 “Five O’clock.”

- Discuss some questions.

- Explain class work about Red Letter Day and Black Letter Day assignment. They will
have to complete this before starting on their literacy circle, but I will continue on to
explain the circles.

- Explain how literature circle will be different. Everyone at a table group will be doing
the same thing, but no two tables have the same thing. Sometimes they will choose as
a group the best from their table groups. Other times I will randomly pick someone
from the groups so they all have to do their part.

- The literature circle will discuss and a debrief tomorrow.

- They will start on the Letter Day assignment and get the literacy circle worksheet
once it’s done. I will make sure everyone has the worksheet by the end of Reading
time.

D) Closure:
- Their homework for the day is the letter day writings, if they don’t get it done in
time, and their literature circle assignment

Updated 8/15/19