KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

PROFESSIONAL SEMESTER PROGRAM
LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Teacher Candidate: Rachel Burns Date: 11/22/2021

Cooperating Teacher: Mrs. Caracappa Coop. Initials: ________________
Group Size: 22 Allotted Time: 1 hr Grade Level: ____2_____________
Subject or Topic: Writing an explanatory text Section:931

STANDARD: (PA Common Core):

Standard - CC.1.4.2.A - Write informative/ explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information
clearly.

I. Performance Objectives (Learning Outcomes)

Students will be able to demonstrate the ability to write an informative text by organizing ideas in a formal writing
piece.

II. Instructional Materials

● Turkey Trouble by Wendi J Silvano
● Pre-decorated paper turkeys
● Graphic organizer for brainstorming
● Lined paper
● Pens/Pencils

III. Subject Matter/ Content (prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, big idea, new content)

Prerequisite skills
● Handwriting
● Reading
Key Vocabulary
● Organize- arrange into a structured whole; order
● Informative text- nonfiction writing written with the intention of informing the reader about a specific topic
Big Idea
● Writing informative texts
New Content
● Organizing ideas into a text that describes how and why

IV. Implementation

A. Introduction –
“ Friends, I want you to think about math class. Now I know we are in ELA, but I want you to think about
when Mrs. Caracappa or I call on you and ask you how you solved a math problem and why you did it that way.” * I
will give them a minute of think time* “Now I want you to think about how you felt while you were trying to
explain. Did all of the ideas come easily to you and you were able to just give the full answer all the way? Or did
you have to stop at times and organize your thoughts before speaking?” * I will give them another minute of think
time* “ I want a couple of you to share your experiences.” * I will take a couple of volunteers to talk about their
experiences* “Sometimes we may have a really easy time just coming up with what we want to say and saying it.
Other times though, we struggle. We might trip over our words, get lost in what we are saying, or just completely
forget what we want to say all together. This can happen when we want to write too. The best way to keep our
thoughts in the right order is to brainstorm and organize. When we organize something we make sure it is in the
right order. Today we are going to use this skill, with the help of our handy dandy graphic organizer, to write an
informational text about the turkeys that we disguised. An informational text is a piece of writing that we create to
inform our readers about a specific topic. Today you are going to be writing your very own informational texts about
what you disguise your turkey as, how you disguised them, and why you disguised them that way.”

B. Development –
● ( I do) * I will pull up a copy of the graphic organizer on the screen* “Up on the board you’ll see a copy of
 the graphic organizer that I am going to give you. As you can see there are three bubbles with three
questions in them. The first one says “What” the second says “How” and the third says “why.” When we go
to organize our thoughts about a topic, an organizer like this can help us sort through our thoughts and jot
down ideas that we want to write or talk about. So, for example, if I were thinking about math class again I
could use this organizer to help me sort my thoughts on what, how, and why. Say the problem was asking
me to find the missing number in the problem 2+__ = 5. I would put it in my “what” bubble that the
problem was 2+__=5 and that my answer was...can anybody help me out? *Students would respond 3*
“Right, my answer would be 3. I would then move over to my how bubble. Well, I know that when I solved
this problem I took 5 away from 2 and gave me 3. So I would write in my “why” bubble that I took 2 away
from 5. Lastly, I would move over to my “why” bubble. I know that the reason I would take away 2 from 5
to find 3 is because I know that the missing number plus 2 would be five so taking 5 away from two would
give me the missing number. So, I will write that taking away 2 from 5 works because subtraction is the
opposite of addition. Today, I am going to read the story Turkey Trouble by Wendi J Silvano. While I am
reading I want you to be really paying attention to what the turkey disguises himself as, why he disguises
himself that way, and how he does it. Now, the how may be a little tricky because we don’t get that
information directly from the words in the story. You also need to be paying close attention to the pictures.
So, while I read you are listening for the what and why and looking for the how and thinking about how we
would put that information into our organizer. Give me a thumbs up if you are ready.” *Watch for student
response* “Great, let’s get into our story”
● (We do) “Okay, now I want you to turn and talk to the person next to you about what you noticed for
the''what ``,''how ``, and''why ``.'' *I will then listen in on their conversations. I will then have a few pairs
share out what they think. As they share out I will have them tell me what bubble their information should
go to and I will write it on the board. As a group we will create a shared graphic organizer on the board
about the story we read.*
● (You do) “Alright, I want you to give me a thumbs up, thumbs, down, or thumbs in the middle to show me
you understand how to use the organizer. Wonderful, now I am going to give you your own copy of the
organizer as well as a piece of lined paper for you to write your final piece on. Remember, you are going to
use your organizer to sort out what you disguise your turkey as, how you disguised them like that, and why
you chose that disguise. I am going to put a few sentence starters on the board so that when you go to write
your final piece you have a couple of starters to work off in case you are having a hard time. Alright, I will
be around if you have any questions or need any help. Go ahead and start writing!” *I will then be walking
around the room conversing with students individually about their writing and helping them to enrich their
writing.”

C. Closure –
● “Alright my friends, you guys did such an amazing job with your writing. Can anyone remind me why it's
so important to organize your thoughts before writing your final piece?” *Wait for student response*
“Exactly, we want to make sure we have all our thoughts in order so that we don’t get lost in our writing. If
anyone would like to show their turkey and talk about their writing I will give you the time now to stand up
and talk about it!” *Students who would like to share will then stand individually and share their turkey and
writing.*

D. Accommodations / Differentiation -
● For students who struggle with handwriting, I will provide them with a seesaw version of the activity
● For high fliers I will ask them to write about how their turkey connects to the turkey in the story.

E. Assessment/Evaluation plan
1. Formative- I will keep track of students' understanding through using thumbs up
thumbs down as well as keeping anecdotal notes about student conversation and use of the graphic organizer.
2. Summative- I will collect the final written piece and use the rubric to assess student
performance.

V. Reflective Response

A. Report of Students’ Performance in Terms of States Objectives (Reflection on students performance written
after lesson is taught, includes remediation for students who failed to meet acceptable level of achievement)
 About 99% of the class scored in the mastery range of 80% or higher on the writing project. Those
students were able to complete the graphic organizer and show that they understood the task of sorting out
their ideas into the correct categories. Those students were also then able to show me that they understood
how to describe fully the what and how and why of their turkey creation process. The part that they
struggled most with was the capitalization and punctuation to create full sentences. For this I would create a
lesson mainly focusing on those topics where students have to practice the skill. The 1% of students who
did not reach the mastery level did not meet the requirements of the rubric in the high enough levels. These
students are the ones who often struggle in the reading and writing portion of our day. For these students I
should have provided a more structured example of the final writing format so that they were more able to
fill out the sections rather than being thrown into the expectation of a full writing piece. I also should have
pulled them into a small group to discuss their topics and ideas with them before their completion of the
writing portion.

B. Personal Reflection (Questions written before lesson is taught.)(Reflective answers to

questions recorded after lesson is taught.)
● How can I engage students more?
○ I thought that the students were very engaged in the lesson. I was feeling very tired when
I had to do my lesson and I felt myself not giving all of my energy into the lesson which
is what my students deserved. In reflecting I felt very bad for this but I have realized that
it only took me a few moments to get back into the groove of things and give the students
my all. At one instance I likened brainstorming to an actual storm in which trees are
being whipped around and it is hard to make sense of things. I think that one way that I
could have made my lesson a little more engaging is if I were to have the students stand
up and act like whipping trees with me rather than just standing in the front of the room
and doing so alone. I think that it would’ve provided a moment for the students to get up
and move and hold their interest in what I had to say longer.
● What can I do to support students who struggle with organizing their ideas?
○ I think that there are two things that I could have done as I previously mentioned above. I
should’ve thought about the students that I know struggle and I should have created a
modified version of the final writing paper. I think that if I would have given them the
opportunity to fill in blanks to create full sentences rather than expect them to curate
them entirely on their own, they would have better been able to focus on the task of
organizing their ideas and writing about them in the correct sections. I also believe that I
should have pulled them into a small group situation as I do know that they tend to fare
better when they are talking out their ideas rather than just expected to put them directly
onto paper.

VI. Resources

Silvano, W., & Harper, L. (2010). Turkey Trouble. Scholastic.