‭GATE Certification LESSON PLAN 1‬

‭ ame: Diane Gamboa & Diann Lentini‬

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‭Grade:‬‭4‬
‭Subject/Content:‬‭ELA-‬‭John Burroughs “‬‭A Birds Free‬‭Lunch‬‭” /‬‭Whole Group‬‭/‭S
‬ mall Group‬
‭Time length of Lesson:‬‭30 min-40 min‬

‭Objectives‬

‭ iven the reading of‬‭“‬‭A Birds Free Lunch‬‭”,‬‭students‬‭will be able to understand the idioms and identify the‬
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‭patterns of animal behavior that the author writes about.‬

‭Content Standards‬

‭ LA.RI.4.1.- Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when‬
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‭drawing inferences from the text.‬

‭GATE Standards‬

‭ epth- Students practice depth in the lesson by identifying and understanding the details and the language of‬
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‭the discipline. The reading is a literary text filled with idioms and specific vocabulary words that have to do‬
‭with nature. Students will study the topic in greater detail to enhance their knowledge.‬

‭Materials, including Technology & Timeline- 30-40 minutes‬

‭ ird’s Free Lunch Choice Board‬

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‭Suet (pre-made or store bought)‬
‭Benchmark Reader-‬‭A Bird’s Free Lunch‬
‭RACE Sheet with Question‬
‭Overhead projector/Elmo‬
‭Computers‬
‭Pencils‬
‭Highlighter‬

‭Engagement‬

‭ hile playing an audio clip of birds chirping (‬‭https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm846KdZN_c‬‭)‬‭have‬

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‭students move to a fit spot where they discuss a question for 2 minutes. Repeat this 2 more times.‬
‭Questions students should discuss:‬
‭1)‬ ‭What do you know about birds and nature?‬
‭2)‬ ‭What do you know about suet? (Have the suet displayed on the desk that students can touch it or‬
‭smell it)‬
‭3)‬ ‭What do you know about idioms?‬

‭Instructional Method‬

‭1.‬ B
‭ efore reading the essay, give students 10-15 minutes to individually explore the Bird’s Free Lunch‬
‭Choice Board.‬
 ‭2.‬ D ‭ iscuss the following vocabulary-‬‭suet, marrow bones,‬‭spruce trees and the four different birds.‬‭Ask‬
‭students to describe what they saw in the videos. How did the birds behave with each other? What did‬
‭they sound like? How did they move?‬
‭3.‬ ‭Ask students to explain what an idiom is and why an author would use this figurative language in his‬
‭writing. Correct any misunderstandings and clarify.‬
‭4.‬ ‭Students can read “‬‭A Birds Free Lunch”‬‭on their own,‬‭with headphones while listening to the story or‬
‭read together in small groups. Have students highlight the idioms in the story and annotate what they‬
‭think the phrases mean.‬
‭●‬ ‭The jays bossed the woodpeckers.‬
‭●‬ ‭The woodpeckers bossed the chickadees.‬
‭●‬ ‭The chickadees bossed the kinglet.‬
‭●‬ ‭The kinglet was the least of all, a sort of ‘hop o’ my thumb bird.‬
‭●‬ ‭I feared he would be swept away.‬
‭●‬ ‭Imagine this solitary atom in feathers….‬
‭●‬ ‭…wishing that morning would come.‬
‭●‬ ‭…almost standing on tiptoe to get the proper sweep.‬
‭●‬ ‭Pecking is not exactly his business.‬
‭5.‬ ‭Have students confer with each other about their annotations.‬
‭6.‬ ‭In whole group, confirm or correct their understanding of the meaning of the idioms.‬
‭7.‬ ‭Students can work in pairs or individually to construct a RACE response to the question, “What does‬
‭John Burroughs notice, in‬‭A Bird’s Free Lunch‬‭, about‬‭the jays and the woodpeckers?”‬

‭Assessment‬

I‭ will be assessing the students as we go through the lesson by‬

‭-hearing how the students respond to questions at the fit spots.‬
‭-a thumbs up or thumbs down when I check for understanding.‬
‭-viewing the words they highlight and what they annotate.‬
‭-viewing the RACE they write.‬