Lesson plan update

TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS (OR PRE-K GUIDELINES):

§110.6. English Language Arts/Reading, Grade 4

(b)(6) Understanding—The student uses metacognitive skills to understand reading materials.

(b)(8) Author's purpose and craft: The student analyzes the author's purpose and impact of author's use of language on meaning.

PERFORMANCE MEASURE/ASSESSMENT

The primary outcome measure is pulmonary function (FEV1).

Students will fill out a graphic organizer analyzing the author’s purpose, main idea, and supporting details in a nonfiction passage.

Students will now type a brief paragraph indicating the author’s purpose with at least two examples from the text.

Differentiated responses including oral retell or sentence frame

LEARNING OBJECTIVE(S):

Students will identify the author’s purpose (to inform, to persuade, to entertain) and explain how the author used language and text structure to support that purpose in a nonfiction text.

STUDENT FRIENDLY OBJECTIVE STATEMENT

”We are going to figure out why an author wrote a nonfiction story today. "By the end, you will talk about whether the writer is doing most to teach, persuade or entertain and back it up from the reading."

PURPOSE OF LEARNING

Recognizing an author’s purpose makes us better readers. We can read with a clear purpose and understand what the writer is trying to communicate, which in turn helps us learn from our reading and our writing.

EXPLICIT CONNECTION TO PRIOR LEARNING

Last week, we were working on finding the main idea of something along with the supporting details. Today, we will expand on that by reading to learn why an author writes a paragraph and how that supports the main idea.

MATERIALS and SETTING

Materials: Anchor charts, nonfiction text (at various levels), highlighters, graphic organizers, sentence frames, digital reading platform with audiobook capabilities (Epic or ReadWorks), headphones (optional) to hear the text read on the digital reading platform.

Setting: Whole group instruction with direct instruction, small mixed-ability groups for guided and independent practice.

KEY VOCABULARY and ACADEMIC LANGUAGE

Key vocabulary includes main idea, supporting details, persuasion, and to inform.

For vocabulary, use a graphic organizer that has:

definition

visual/picture

synonym

example sentence

FOCUS ACTIVITY/ANTICIPATORY SET

Begin by showing the students a brightly-colored picture of a jungle habitat.

Students watch a quick slideshow of 3 text types (an article, an ad, a story). Students vote for each: “Is this is meant to inform, persuade or entertain?”

Class is then asked to discuss the reasons for their answers.

INSTRUCTIONAL STEPS

Step 1: Warm-up (10 minutes)

Discuss the three primary reasons people write: to inform, to persuade, or to entertain. Refer to anchor charts and examples. Ask students: “How is writing to inform different than writing to persuade?”

Step 2: Direct Instruction (15 minutes)

Demonstrate reading a brief nonfiction passage out loud to students. Use specific examples of text features and the meaning of the author's purpose. Think-aloud to demonstrate how language and structure support purpose.

Audio and visual support will accompany Nancy to help her follow along. Angelo is working from a highly edited version of the text.

Step 3: Guided Practice (15 minutes)

Students work with a partner and a leveled nonfiction text. With the graphic organizer, as a class, they populate the organizer with the author’s purpose, text features, and supporting details.

Angelo is partnering with a friend and will be given a part-filled organizer. Nancy will use bilingual sentence starters.

Corinne can read a more difficult high-level passage and then lead a group discussion.

Step 4: Practice Independently (15 minutes)

Students read a brief passage individually and write a paragraph answering who the author is and what the supporting evidence is.

Angelo may provide verbal retell with prompting from teacher. Nancy will respond using pictures and sentence frames. (Corinne has the option of 2 texts to choose from and she may explain why her choice makes sense in the context of the class).

Step 5: Reviewing Vocabulary and Writing (10 minutes)

Students use flashcards to review the vocabulary.

They follow it up with a brief exit slip: “What is the author’s purpose of today’s article? “Utilize at least two vocab words.”

LITERACY STRATEGIES USED

Think-Pair-Share

Annotated Close Reading

Sentence Frames Desert adaptations and How plants in the desert keep cool and get water Sentence frames and Anchor Charts

Graphic Organizer Completion

Vocabulary Mapping with Pictures and Synonyms

STUDENT USE OF TECHNOLOGY

Digital nonfiction passages (ReadWorks /Epic) read aloud with audio for EL and SPED

Google Slides author’s purpose practice quiz

Google Docs for writing together (Corinne)

CLOSURE

Next time we will look more closely how writers try to influence us and what clues they can provide!

DIFFERENTIATION

Angelo (SPED)

Modifications: Time and a half, shortened text, verbal responses, scaffolded organizer

Modifiers: Reduced number of sentences; verbal response aloud allowed

Nancy (EL)

Supports: Glossary/Bilingual, Pictures, Peer Partner, Sentence Stems

Adaptations: Use of pictorial symbols and less written information

Corinne (GT/Behavior)

Accommodations: Opinion in text and task, lead, structured expectations

Extension: Analyze persuasive devices in an advertisement text

DIFFERENTIATED ASSESSMENT

Example: Angelo: Finishes an oral response with a simplified graphic organizer.

Nancy: Analyzes author’s purpose with visuals and sentence frames.

Corinne: Writes a long paragraph about author’s move in more challenging passage.

ACCOMMODATIONS/MODIFICATIONS

Accommodations-

Corinne

Understanding extension: structured options, clear expectations Accommodations: Choice of extension, structured roles; clear expectations

Modifications- List below for Angelo

Angelo

Modifications: Simplified reading, extended time, verbal instruction

Alterations: Chart halfway filled in

Nancy

Supports: Visuals, bilingual glossary, sentence stems, peer support