Lesson Plan 2: Reading FocusCaroline Lindvall

Context:Course Name: Language Arts 7, Standard LevelGrade Level: 7Length of Lesson: 70 minutesClassroom description: 21 students, 1 identified as gifted, 1 ELL at a WIDA level 5 in reading but 4 in other language categories (i.e. writing, listening, speaking)4. Current Unit: We have been working on a thematic unit about family. We are currently reading The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. We have been reading this together and talking about different forms of writing. We have discussed verse as a form; since it is used in this book.Lesson Plan Date: This lesson will appear towards the end of the unit on the book. The class has almost finished the book and they have about 20 pages to go. Since the book has an emotional ending, this lesson will be focused on making informed inferences to help ensure that they are still understanding the book. They will have practiced some during-reading strategies already, and today will focus on a new one.

SOLs:7.5 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of fictional text, narrative nonfiction, and poetry.e) Make, confirm, and revise predictions. f) Use prior and background knowledge as a context for new learning. g) Make inferences and draw conclusions based on the text.

Common Core Standards:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.10By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

Objectives/UKDs:

Understand:1. Students will understand that their inferences and predictions affect how they feel when a

book ends. 2. Students will understand that confronting how they feel during a book’s specific parts is

an important reading strategy.

Know:[1.] Students will know that a double-entry journal has two sides: the left-side is for taking

notes and quotations directly from the book; the second is for taking notes on how they feel during that passage.particular note taking strategies, such as a double-entry journal.

1.[2.] Students will know that through writing notes, inferences and predictions can be changed or made.

2.[3.] Students will know that comprehension of a book can be shown through different mediums such as writing or art.

Do: [1.] Students will be able to use note-taking as way to explain their thoughts on a text. create

a double-entry journal based on what we read in class today. 1.[2.] Students will be able to make predictions based on what they have read.2.[3.] Students will be able to draw a scene from the novel they are reading based on their

comprehension of it.

Assessments:Diagnostic: Students will demonstrate what they already know by…Sketch to Stretch:

They will do drawings at the beginning of class. I want to see how their comprehension skills are going, so I will give them the “Sketch to Stretch” assignment at the beginning of class. This is just a quick assessment to see if they are keeping up with the readings and to make sure they can explain their drawn scene to me. If they can recall a scene and draw it, this shows me quickly that they are comprehending aspects of the story. I will also ask them as I go around what they got out of this scene and why they chose to draw this picture based on what they have read. As I circle the room, I will make sure that they are on track and don’t feel lost. I will collect these pictures so I can see where they are on their comprehension of the text. On this worksheet, there is also a space for students to rate the book (1-10). They must give a brief reason why (in 1-2 sentences) they have rated the book this way. I am not expecting an essay here, but I want to gauge their thoughts on the book. If a student doesn’t like a piece, it may be because they don’t understand it. I will use this to see if anyone ranked it a “1” or “2” and ask them about it next class. (SOL7.5f, CCSS7.10, K3, D3)

Formative: Students will show their progress towards today’s objectives by…Two Formal Formative Assessments:

1. Double-Entry Log This will be the main formative assessment that I will use to gauge students’ ability to

comprehend and to make inferences. I have taken this out of Kylene Beers’ strategies to use during reading. After we finish reading together, students will go back to parts in the book that they have marked while we were reading. Although my first goal is that the students ultimately comprehend what is going on in the text, I want them to use their inferencing skills in this log as well. Although they can write whatever they please in these journals, I will instruct them that I’d love to see some predictions. They will write these passages down on the left side of their paper. On the right, they will write down their thoughts about these passages and if they can make any predictions based on the passage. I will check to make sure that everyone is on the right track, but they will keep these until the next class. They will keep them over the weekend while they finish the book. I will collect it the next time we meet. Although this will be a completion grade, I will be giving students feedback by way of comments. I will take the time to have a conversation on their papers so that they can read my comments about how their teacher responded to their observations. For my ELL student, he knows that he is allowed to write in his native language as long as he fits English words into it as well. I am fine if he

writes half and half since this is mostly a tool for him. (SOL7.5e, SOL7.5g, CCSS7.10, U1, U2, K1, K2, D1, D2)

2. Exit Ticket: Students will create an exit ticket as a team of three. From their Double-entry logs, they

will look to see similarities and commonalities in their predictions. As they work as a group, they will come to an agreement and write their one main prediction on the exit ticket. They will then give their reasoning in a quick and concise few sentences. The prediction and the reasoning will be given as a group. They can work together on both parts to come to a conclusion. This will be my way to check that they were on track today and that they worked together to make a prediction. For these exit tickets, I will be checking for completion. I do want to make sure they are not missing the mark all together. (SOL7.5e, SOL7.5g, CCSS7.10, U1, U2, K1, K2, D1, D2)

Summative: Students will ultimately be assessed (in a future class)… Performance Assessment: writing and presenting a narrative in verse:Ultimately, I would like the class to write a short verse poem about a memorable story that happened in their lives. I will also give them the idea of doing a story that involves their family in some way, since this was the theme of the unit. I will draw connections to The Crossover and make sure they are looking to the book for ideas and examples of techniques to use for this verse narrative. They will receive this assessment after we have discussed the end of the book as a whole class. They will know by now that verse poetry can be a way to express yourself, along with other mediums (like the art we did in “Sketch to Stretch”). I will make sure they know that they can be exactly like Josh (the main character in The Crossover). Since it is a performance assessment, they will also have to read their poem aloud to the class. They will practice saying it to emphasize certain words and make certain words impactful. I will have a rubric with different expectations on it. The expectations include: poem has 14 lines, performed entirely, and their listening skills when they are in the audience. (SOL7.5f, U2, K3)

Content you covered vs. skills you taught / receptive vs. productive Want lesson to be what it is actually about – have to be about inferencing

Materials:The Crossover by Kwame AlexanderHandout #1 for Hook (Appendix A)Exit Ticket (Appendix B)The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (Appendix C)

Instructional Steps (Procedures)

Beginning Room Arrangement:At the beginning, I will have the class set up in a circle. I will tell them to choose their own seats. This will be based on who their friends are and where they choose to normally go. They will still have their desks in front of them, but they will just be in a circle.

I. Welcome/greeting/announcements (5 minutes) I will be standing by the door with a basketball (this is what I have been doing since we started reading The Crossover). I will greet the students one by one as they come in. I will remind them to check out the board to see if there is a Do Now like normal. The Do Now is on the board and it reads, “Write down your homework, which is ‘finish The Crossover and your Double-Entry Journal, tell someone about how you liked it, and have a good weekend! ” The Do Now also instructs to “Fetch your book from your locker if you need it.” Once the bell rings, I will greet the group as a whole.

Hello, my friends! How is everyone doing today? [Allow a bit of time for murmers] Is everyone ready to finish The Crossover? I can’t believe we are almost done! If I could read this book forever, I would. I hope you all feel the same. We are going to be working very closely with the book today, so if you need to run to your locker to get it, now would be the time just like it says on the Do Now. You won’t need them yet, but I’d like you to go get them so I don’t have you all running around later. [Allow a bit of time for students to shuffle around and make sure they have their books. If someone says they forgot theirs, tell them they will be working with a friend today] If you have your book, turn to the person next to you. Ask them, “How are you? Are you feeling awake and ready to talk about books?” [Allow time for giggling and talking] Okay, okay, let’s get back together. I hope everyone is doing okay. We are going to get started!

II. Hook/bridge/opening to lesson (15 minutes)Okay, I’d like you to all pull out your copies of The Crossover. Hopefully you all got through your designated pages last night. As we are nearing the end, I want to hear about what you all think of the book in general so far. On this handout I am giving you, I’d like you to rank this book 1-10. You can be as brutally honest as you want. I didn’t write this book; my feelings won’t be hurt if you didn’t like it. Then, as you can see here (point out part on the worksheet), you will write a brief reasoning for your rating. I’m not looking for a well-thought out essay here, I just want one to two sentences. After you’ve decided your ranking, I want to see your art skills. Under this part of the worksheet (again, point this out), dDraw a certain part of the book that has stuck out to you. It can be anything ranging from one line about fried chicken to one of the basketball games Josh and JB played in. I’m only giving you about 10 minutes for this assignment. The reason you don’t have much time is because I want to know the part that stuck out to you most! I am not looking for the next Monet or Picasso. This is not art class, I won’t judge you for your art. I don’t care about beautiful or amazing art – I care about details! I want to see you all shine in here with details…stick figures or anything, I’m fine with that! I just want to see your understanding of the details in the book. Here’s the handout. [Pass out the handout] If you have questions, please ask. I’ve put some markers on every other desk, so please share with your neighbors. Ok, GO! [Potential questions could include: “Miss Lindvall, what do I draw? I am stuck!” I would reply to this one by asking if they have flipped through their copy of the book. If they say yes, I may ask, “Who is your favorite character so far?” When they tell me, I will ask why this is. I’ll ask, “Was there a certain action s/he did that made her/him memorable to you? What was it?”] [I will walk around and asked why they picked this certain scene. I will choose one or two people who seemed quite passionate about their scene and were able to explain it clearly to me and ask them to share with the class when we come back together. I will also collect this assignment since it is my diagnostic assessment. I will be able to get a clearer

picture of what my students are comprehending from this book.] It will shape my instruction today because I want to discuss pieces of the book that they might be grasping onto in their picture.

III. Instructional Steps (50 minutes)

Step 1: Explain the hook and how it relates to today’s lesson (5 minutes)

Let’s get back together. I really do have some modern day Picassos in this class..I am proud of each and every one of you!. I have walked around and seen many of your pictures. X, will you share your piece with the class? [X shares picture and explains scene. Students nod along as they remember that scene from the book]. Isn’t that interesting that that stuck out to you. Why did it stick out to you, X? [If student doesn’t answer this fully or freezes, I can prod him with a few questions, like, “Did you think it was important to the plot and how so?” or “Do you think this will come back later on in the story, X?”] Thank you so much for sharing, X.

The reason I do this, team, is so that you can see how important your thinking is to the process of reading a book.

Step 2: Explain how to do Double-Entry Journals and model for the students (10 minutes)

Today during our reading, I want you to actively take notes on quotes parts of the book that stick out to you. I want you to write some quotes from the book. Now, when I say quotes, I don’t mean only things surrounded by quotation marks. I mean any words from the book. When you write it down, you must put it in quotation marks. Remember that from our MLA lesson at the beginning of the year? That’s what I mean when I say quotes. We will read a few pages together, and then you will go back and look at those for clues as to what might be coming next in the book. I want you to think about the part we read aloud: is there a reason this might be important later on in the book? After we read these together, we will be creating Double-Entry Journals. Let me show you what a Double-Entry Journal is. Could everyone pull out a sheet of paper? [Allow time for ruffling, getting out paper] Okay, now fold your paper hot-dog style. So, in the left column, we are going to write “What’s in the Book.” [I am doing all of this first, and then showing them mine so that they can write the same] Then, in the right column, we are going to write “What’s in my mind.” [Allow time for writing] While we are reading and you all are taking active notes (like I know you do well!), have this in the back of your head. We will come back to this after we read together. You will pick out quotations that really stand out to you and can help you make predictions about the ending. I will show you all how to do this as we read the first few paragraphs together. If you have any ideas about what could happen based on something Josh says, then write that. Here, I’ll model an example for you.

I love the quote on page 158. “JB replies, kissing Mom, dapping Dad, and not once looking at me.” I will write that on the left-side of my notes. Then on the right side, I write what I think about it and any predictions I can make about the text. I am going to write about how sad it is that JB won’t talk to Josh. What’s a prediction I could make about this? [Allow time for answers. Possible answers: JB won’t talk to Josh anymore; Josh and JB will make up; Dad and Mom will make JB talk to Josh] Awesome predictions, guys. And that’s the thing about predictions – they are right until proven wrong by the book. By the way everyone, I use predictions and inferences quite interchangeably. To me, they mean the same type of thing: you are making educated guesses on the text. Kind of like what word in science? [Wait for someone to say “hypothesis!” If they don’t say it after a few seconds, I will say it just to keep the class

moving]. So right now, all of your predictions are just as good as the book’s ending. Any questions about how to do your Double-Entry Journals? Let’s get to reading!

Step 3: Guided Reading (10 minutes)Okay, everyone. Let’s start with where we left off on page 179 to the section called “Text Messages from Mom, Part One.” [Allow time for flipping. We will read together, switching off between students by popcorn reading. I am included in the popcorn reading, so they can pick on me to read a section as well. We will get as far as time allowsI will read this out loud, pausing when I think something may be important. I will say a line such as “Yes, Dad’s okay. I think.” After I read this line, I will model inferencing. I will say, “Hmm…I wonder if we are supposed to read into this. Is Josh’s dad actually okay? This could be something I would write in my double-entry journal!”.] You know what, pretend the board is my journal. [Draw two columns]. Okay, I’m going to write that line. Now, let’s think…what could I guess about this? Their dad might be sick. Terminally ill maybe? [Write this in the column]. Just a reminder, be sure to mark up the book if you find a quotation you really like! [If students ask how many passages to mark, reply that I definitely want no less than three. They can do as many as they want, but the minimum is three].

Step 4: Students reflect and complete the Double-Entry Journal (20 minutes)

How’s everyone feeling about the book? I can see some of you exploding with anticipation. Let’s start those Double-Entry Journals! I will be walking around to see if you all have any questions. You may do any of the parts that we have read up until this point, but please be sure to include at least one two bits that we read together today. You will be turning these in at the end of class.You will be turning these in next class after you’ve read the ending. You won’t finish today because I’d like to see if you gain any more perspective as you finish the book. Keep adding tonight as you read the rest! I’d love to see your predictions and any other thoughts you have as you finish this book. [Students might ask if it is for a grade. I will answer that it is. I won’t be grading on accuracy of predictions. I will be grading mostly on completion and I will be gauging their ability to comprehend and predict].

[During this time, students should be silently working on their double-entry journals. They should be actively flipping through their books to find passages that they really like, but honing in on the passage we read together today. I will walk around to ensure that they are doing this correctly. This will also be a time I can remind them how to cite page numbers based on MLA format that they learned at the end of 6 th

grade and that we reviewed went over again at the beginning of 7th grade.]

Just a reminder class, you have about 10 more minutes to work on your journals! We are going to come together at the end of class to talk about our predictions.

[Keep walking around and checking in on everyone. Ensure that they have made some valuable predictions by prodding them: “Why do you think he wrote that?” “Why do you think he spaced it that way? Do you think he’s trying to get some sort of point across?” “Is this phrase a hint at something that is to come?” “What do you think of ___?”]

Great work, everyone! I am proud of your progress on taking notes and making predictions. Now, let’s get into groups of 3. Everyone is here today, so we have 7 groups of 3! [Group them by the people they are sitting next to. This saves time and they can easily turn to face each other.]

Step 5: Students reflect in small groups (5 minutes)

Within your groups, talk about any similarities you might have had. See if you can make one prediction as a group. We are doing something unique today: a group exit ticket. Write your three names on this slip of paper I am handing out. [Hand out the “Exit Ticket” as you give instructions]. Then, as a group, pick one prediction that you all think is quite likely to happen. Write it on the piece of paper, and then just give me one to two sentences why you think that. Turn it in to me as you leave, please. [If students ask why we are doing it in groups, respond that it is like a book club: you talk with others about how you think the book will turn out. Remind them that it is a lot like a T.V. show they may watch. Before a new episode, they might make guesses with their friends about what will happen. Explain that this is exactly what they are doing]. [Students may ask for clarification about how many predictions to make. Remind them that it is one per group. Then remind them that they must write a few sentences on why they have made this prediction as a group].

IV. ClosingOkay, everyone! That’s a wrap! Be sure to finish The Crossover by Monday’s class. If you finish it before someone else does, no spoilers! We don’t want to know what happens yet…we are still guessing! Please email me over the weekend if you have any questions or want to talk about the book at all. Have a great weekend, my people!

Attention to Individual Student Needs:

The main way I have tried to incorporate all of my students’ needs is through the different activities. We have a lot of things going on in the classroom today. What was more important to me than getting through a huge chunk of reading was that the class was able to make predictions on what may happen towards the end of the book. The first way I tried to differentiate was through having art/drawing be a part of the lesson today. When I let the students draw however they see fit, whether it be stick figures or graffiti art on paper, they feel more freedom. They realize that Language Arts has more to it than just writing and reading all the time. Although they were talking about a book they were assigned to, they were doing something that may be considered interesting to them.

I will not make the ELL student read during popcorn reading unless we get to one of the short pages in The Crossover.For the ELL student, I will go over to him during the times when I am not speaking and ask if he is understanding the task. I will show him mine my example of a double-entry journal again and make sure he understands the task in front of him. I will point to the text with him and go over specific words that may be strange to him. Since I have read this book before, I might think about words that are very vernacular that he might not understand. I will also let him know that he can use his native language for parts of his journal. I am okay with it being mixed between English and his native language.

Part of the reason I have included “Sketch to Stretch” was for the gifted student. He excels at art and he is constantly doodling on his papers. I will check on him often to make sure he is still working and isn’t bored or finished. I will tell him that a Double-Entry journal can have many entries. There can never be too many!

Technology Use:I used the ELMO projector to model my Double-Entry Journal for the students.

How this lesson incorporates specific insights from course readings:I drew two different things from Beers’ When Kids Can’t Read: What Teachers Can Do. I took my main during-reading strategy that I used in this lesson straight out of her book. The Double-Entry Journal was introduced by her on page 127. I liked this activity because she says there is a double purpose. She writes, “Double-entry journals combine both techniques, giving students a powerful way to take notes and respond at the same time” (127). Since they will be reading these new sections for the first time in class, I don’t want them to lose that comprehension. They will be able to write quotations that could be used in an essay later while simultaneously taking notes. The other technique of Beers’ that I used was her Sketch to Stretch. Although she uses this as a post-reading strategy, I decided to adapt it a bit and use it as my warm-up to get students back to thinking about the book. She writes that “students work independently or with a partner to create symbolic sketches of their interpretations of the text” (172). I used this to get the students excited about The Crossover.

Appendix A: Hook Handout

Name: ________

What do you think?!

Rate The Crossover on a scale of 1-10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best: ____Why I gave it this rating (1-2 sentences):

Pick a scene, a line, or a part from the book that particularly stuck out to you. Draw how you picture that part below:

Appendix B: Exit Ticket

Names: ____________________________

Group Exit Ticket:

Our Prediction:

Why we think this may happen:

Appendix C: The Crossover by Kwame Alexander