Day: Date:

Subject: Grade K - English Language Arts

Common Core Standard(s):

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.2, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.3, CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.RI.K.7, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.8

Objective(s): At the end of this lesson my students will be able to…

 identify the characters and setting
 compare and contrast character experiences
 understand complex texts
 recall information from experience and write a response

Resources/Materials List:
 Book “Franklin and the Thunderstorm”
 Copies of pictures from the book
 Copies of Writing prompt (page 3)
 Extension Activity for proficient writers (page 4 of this lesson plan)
Procedure:

 Read aloud Franklin and the Thunderstorm by Paulette Bourgeois to all students.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baaqHVACckE)
 Then ask each student independently to answer a combination of orally read multiple-
choice and constructed-response questions about the text.
 Sample questions:
o Ask the student: “What is Franklin’s problem in the story?”
o Provide students with five to six cards of the images from the text and simple
statements, such as “Franklin walks to Fox’s house” and “The rain begins to
fall.”
o Ask students to place the events in order and retell what happens in the text.
o Ask the student: “Describe the weather at the beginning of the story. What
weather words can you use to describe the weather?”
o Ask the student: “How does the weather change from the beginning of the story
to the end of the story?”
o Ask the student: “What is one reason the animals give for why it rains? Is this
reason real or imaginary?”

Plans for differentiation:

 Provide the extension activity for proficient writers (Page 4 of this lesson plan).

Plans for accommodation/modification:

 Support students by rereading portions of the text as needed.
  Use teacher conferencing and small-group work to target student weaknesses and
improve student writing ability (i.e., correctly forming letters, using correct letters for
consonant and vowel sounds, capitalizing the first letter, using end punctuation, or
writing a complete sentence).
Assessment:

For this unit, students will be assessed on their reading comprehension.

 Can the student tell you what happened in the story in his or her own words?
 Does the student include the different parts of a story (the characters, setting, events,
problem and resolution)?
 Can the student identify the main idea and supporting details?
 Does the student use some of the vocabulary found in the text?
 Is the student's retelling minimal, adequate or very complete?

What’s next?

This unit connects to science. Students develop an awareness of weather and its patterns, how
weather affects living things, and its relationship to the seasons. Students are introduced to
using descriptive words for weather and investigating patterns through observations.

Reflection:
Name: ___________________________

Franklin and the Thunderstorm

Draw a picture

How do you feel when a thunderstorm starts? What do you do?

Name: ___________________________

Franklin and the Thunderstorm

1. Did Fox make the right choice by staying outside? Why do you think that?

2. Why didn’t Fox’s mother think the tree fort was a safe place to stay in a storm?

3. What did Franklin do when he heard thunder? Why did he do that?

4. How do you feel when a thunderstorm starts? What do you do?