Ping Dai

GPTE
AEYL, 2021

The giving tree lesson plan

The age: 9 years old

Number of Ss: 10
Level of English: B1
Grade: 3rd
Topic: Identifying the Author’s purpose
Materials/teaching aids: The giving tree book, worksheets

Objectives of the lesson:

- Ss will be able to identify author’s purpose to understand why an author wrote the
book. Authors write books because they want to persuade, inform, or entertain
their reader.
- Ss will be able to think about what the author is trying to tell Ss or make Ss think
about.
- Ss will be able to talk about their thoughts about this book and the message the
author wants to share.
- Ss will be able to reflect how identifying the author’s purpose will help Ss be a
better reader.
-
Background knowledge:

Ss should already be familiar with this story in the previous lesson. Ss are able to
summarize and retell the story. The Giving Tree is a story about a very special tree
that loves a boy more than anything else in the world. When the boy is young, the tree
gives the boy her branches to play on and her trunk to climb. The boy visits the tree
every day. As the boy grows older, he no longer comes to play in the tree’s shade.
Instead, he comes and asks the tree to give him things that he wants. He thinks that
the things he wants will make him happy. Because the tree loves the boy and wants
him to be happy, the tree gives him what he wants. Soon, the boy grows old and
learns a very important lesson. They should already know the important words, such
as, shade, stump, trunk.

Teaching aims:

lexical- to teach student describe their thoughts toward this book and the message the
author wants to share.
grammatical- to facilitate the ability using the connecting words such as ‘because’
skills- to develop the ability to identify the author’s purpose
functions- to analyze the intention of author

stages of the lesson instructions

pre-teaching Think of a time when you shared something with someone
you love. What did you share? Who did you share with?
What does the word “selfish” mean?
Why Readers Identify the Author’s Purpose While Reading?
while -teaching Stop on the following pages. Think about the questions for
each page. Then talk with a reading partner or write your
thoughts down in your notebook.

Page 24 – What do you think the author wants you to know

about the boy and the tree?

Page 34 – Why has the author taken the time to tell you
about the boy and the tree’s apples? What does the tree’s
actions tell you about its character?

Page 46 – What message is the author trying to tell you

about the boy and the tree? Does the tree still love the boy?

Page 51 – How do the boy and the tree feel at the end of the
story? What do you think the author wants you to know
about love and friendship?

Why do you think Shel Silverstein wrote this book?

post- teaching Think – Shel Silverstein is the author of The Giving Tree.
What was his purpose for writing this book? Did he write the
book to persuade, inform, or entertain you? How do you
know?

Talk – Tell your reading partner what this book made you
think about. What message did the author share with you?
Remember to ask your partner to share their thoughts about
the book too.

Reflect – Think about what you learned while reading The

Giving Tree. Think about the things you and your reading
partner discussed. How does identifying the author’s purpose
help you be a better reader?

Write –Write on your worksheets

formative assessment:
write it down
summative assessment:

peer assessment:
Think pair share
Ss will think about the questions in P24, 34, 46, 51, then they will be put into pairs to
talk about it, then they could share it in whole class later.
self-assessment: