Language Arts Lesson: Sequencing a Story: Beginning, Middle, and End
Objective: The students will be able to retell stories to include a beginning, middle, and end by listening to Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems, completing a graphic organizer using pictures to include the beginning, middle, and end of the story, and retelling the story to the teacher at 100% mastery. Standard: ELAKR6 The student gains meaning from orally presented text. The student. retells familiar events and stories to include beginning, middle, and end. Pre-assessment: Prior to teaching the lesson, the students will be pre-assessed on their knowledge of retelling stories to include a beginning, middle and end. The teacher will begin the pre-assessment by reading the story “Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type” to the students. After the reading is complete, the teacher will individually pre-assess the students on their ability to retell the story. The teacher will use a checklist (see Attachment A) to assess the students. The checklist will include whether or not the students retold the story in sequential order and whether or not the students included the beginning, middle, and end during their re-telling.Introduction: The teacher will begin the lesson by showing a video to the students. The video is a song from Sesame Street about stories having a beginning, middle and end. The teacher will explain to the students to pay close attention to the song and video because it tells them what they will be learning about today. The video can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnoJwfnzmqA. After the video is complete, the teacher will ask the students question from the video. The teacher will ask the students, “What does every story have” and “So, can we retell stories by telling the beginning, middle and end? The teacher will explain to the students that they will be learning all about the beginning, middle and end of stories today and how to retell them. Instruction/Modeling: The teacher will explain to the students that both stories and movies have a beginning, middle and an end. The teacher will hook to previous knowledge by asking the students if they have ever watched a movie. The teacher will explain to the students that movies have beginning, middles, and ends. The teacher will then ask the students if they have ever watched a movie and then told someone what happened in the movie. The teacher will explain to the students that this is what they will be learning today, only with stories instead of movies. The teacher will explain to the students that when they tell a story they also use a beginning, middle, and an end. The teacher will explain to the students that the beginning of a story is the first things that happen. The teacher will then explain that the middle is what happens between the beginning and end. The teacher will explain that lots of things happen in the middle, interesting and exciting things. The teacher will then say that the end is the last thing that happens. The teacher will display a graphic organizer with sections titled beginning, middle and end. The teacher will explain to the students that this is a graphic organizer and a graphic organizer is a way to organize information or put it in order. The teacher will then explain to the students that this graphic organizer is used to summarize a story by what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story. The teacher will explain to the students that she wants to know what happened at school yesterday and that she will write what they say on the graphic organizer. The teacher will write “Our School Day” on the top of the graphic organizer. The teacher will begin by asking the students, “What happened at the beginning of the day?” The teacher and the students will summarize the responses and the teacher will record them on the beginning section of the graphic organizer. The teacher will explain to the students that the first section of the graphic organizer is the beginning. The teacher will then ask the students, “What happened in the middle of the school day?” The teacher will explain to the students that sometimes more things happen at the middle of stories just like at the middle of the school day. In other words, the teacher will explain to the students that more things happen in the middle of stories than in the beginning or end. Then the teacher and the students will summarize the responses and the teacher will record them on the middle section of the graphic organizer. The teacher will also explain that the second section of the graphic organizer is for the middle of the story. Finally, the teacher will ask the students, “What happened at the end of the day?” and record the responses on the end section of the graphic organizer. The teacher will then explain to the students that the final section of the graphic organizer is for the events that occurred at the end of the story. The teacher will then read to the students what was written on the graphic organizer. The teacher will explain to the students that they just told a story using a beginning, middle and end. Guided Practice: Next, the teacher will explain to the students that she will now read them a story and then after she is finished reading, they will record the beginning, the middle, and the end of the story on the graphic organizer just like they did with the events of the school day. The teacher will read the story, “Caps for Sale” to the students. Before reading the teacher will define a cap as a type of hat, a peddler as someone who sells things, and wares as something that someone sells. The teacher will also point these words out to the students as she reads to ensure comprehension. When the teacher is finished reading, she will say to the students, “Let’s retell this story with a beginning, middle and end just like we did with the school day.” The teacher will erase the information on the graphic organizer and write “Caps for Sale” on the title line. The teacher will remind the students that the beginning of the story is the first things that happen in the story. The teacher will also explain to the students that the beginning of the story introduces the characters to the reading. The teacher will then remind the students that the middle is what happens between the beginning and end. The teacher will explain that lots of things happen in the middle, interesting and exciting things and if there is a problem, the problem is in the middle of the story. The teacher will then say that the end is the last thing that happens. The teacher will then ask the students, “What happened at the beginning of the story?” The teacher will prompt the students accordingly to ensure they are accurately retelling just the beginning of the story. The teacher will also explain to the students that the when someone is re-telling the beginning of the story it is important to introduce the characters in the story. The teacher will record the students’ responses on the beginning section of the graphic organizer. Next, the teacher will ask the students, “What happened in the middle of the story?” The teacher will record the student’s responses on the graphic organizer in the section titled middle. Finally, the teacher will ask the students, “What happened at the end of the story?” The teacher will then record the students’ responses on the graphic organizer in the section titled end. The teacher will then read what she has written on the graphic organizer. She will explain to the students that they just retold a story using a beginning, middle, and an end. The teacher will then show the students five pictures from the story. The teacher will explain what is happening in each picture and then ask the students where the pictures belong on the graphic organizer. The teacher will display each picture for the student, describe what is happening in the picture, and ask the students if the picture is from the beginning, middle, or end of the story. The teacher will then explain to the students that she will be reading another book and when she is done they will re-tell this story. She will also explain to the students that when they are done re-telling this story, they will be returning to their desks and completing their own graphic organizers using pictures to describe the beginning, middle and end of the story. The teacher will instruct the students to place close attention so they can re-tell the story by themselves. The teacher will then read the story, “Knuffle Bunny” to the students. When she is finished reading the story, she will fill in the graphic organizer with the students’ responses in the same manner as above. The teacher will remind the students of what a beginning, middle, and end of a story is. The teacher will then give the students the directions to complete independent practice and have the students return to their seats. Independent Practice: The teacher will then provide each student with a copy of the graphic organizer used during instruction and modeling. The teacher will also provide the students with three pictures from the story “Knuffle Bunny.” Each picture will represent the beginning, middle or end of the story. The teacher will instruct the students that they will be using the graphic organizer and the pictures to explain what happened in the beginning, middle, and end. The teacher will explain to the students that they will be using the pictures and putting them in order from beginning, middle and end, just like they did earlier on the large graphic organizer. The teacher will then hold up a larger copy of each picture the students will be using. One at a time, she will explain the pictures to the students. The teacher will then hold up a copy of the graphic organizer and remind the students that the first section is for the beginning, the second section is for the middle of the story and the third section is for the end of the story. The teacher will explain to the students to make sure they are putting the pictures in the right order to represent the beginning, middle and end of the story because they will be using their graphic organizers to re-tell the story to the teacher. The teacher will ask the students if they have any questions before they get started. The teacher will have the students complete their graphic organizer. The teacher will guide the students through graphic organizer by instructing the students to first write their name, then find the picture for the beginning and glue it on the graphic organizer, then complete the same for the middle and the end. Although the students will be guided through the use of the graphic organizer, the will independently select and glue their pictures. Assessment: The teacher will collect the students’ completed graphic organizers. The teacher will then call the students over to a table individually and have them re-tell the story using the graphic organizer to help them if needed. The teacher will listen to ensure the students are retelling the story using a beginning, middle and end and in the correct sequence. Closure: After all of the students have completed their graphic organizers, the teacher will gain the attention of the students. The teacher will then ask the students, “Can anyone tell me why it is important to have a beginning, middle and end to a story?” The teacher will also ask the students if it is okay to begin a story at the middle or the end. The teacher will close the lesson by explaining again to the students that it is important to be able to re-tell a story in the right order and to include a beginning, middle and an end.
Accommodations: Due to the classroom description, no specific accommodations were necessary for this lesson. However, the students were able to use pictures to sequence the story. Accommodations that could be made for this lesson include allowing students extra time to complete their graphic organizer or providing one on one instruction to the students in order to complete the graphic organizer. Also, the teacher could re-read the story to the students just before assessing the students on their ability to re-tell the story.
Adaptations: No specific adaptations were required for this lesson. However, adaptations could be made by allowing English Language Learners or students with learning disabilities to use the book to re-tell the events. The students could look through the book as they told what happened in each scene to the teacher.
Materials/Supplies: Pre-assessment checklist, “Click, Clack, Moo, Cows that Type”, large Write on/Wipe off Graphic Organizer, dry erase markers and an eraser, “Caps for Sale” by Esphyr Slobodkina, “Knuffle Bunny” by Mo Willems, copies of graphic organizer, pictures to represent the scenes in “Caps for Sale", pictures to represent the scenes in “Knuffle Bunny”, large pictures of the scenes in “Knuffle Bunny”and 14 sticks of glue.
Enrichment: For enrichment, the students, as a class, will create their own story with a beginning, middle and end. The students will decide the characters from a list of five choices and will decide the events on their own. The teacher will guide the students into creating their story and will record the story on a piece of large chart paper. Assessment Checklist:| Name | Is able to sort pictures of story into sequence. | Retells story in correct sequence. | Includes the beginning of the story in order. | Includes the middle of the story in order. | Includes the end of the story in order. | Comments |
Social Studies Lesson: The American Flag
Objective: The students will be able to identify the American Flag and be able to explain characteristics and the meaning of the flag by answering questions about the American flag from an evaluation checklist with 100% accuracy. The checklist will consist of the students knowing that the United States flag is a symbol of America, knowing the colors of the flag, knowing the shape of the flag, and how many stars and stripes are on the flag. Georgia Performance Standard: SSKHE2 The student will identify important American and explain their meaning. a. The national and state flags (United States and Georgia flags) Materials: American Flag, Picture of Golden Arches, F is for Flag by Wendy Lewison, Chart paper with song printed on it, copies of the American Flag coloring sheet, American flag stickers and pencils, evaluation checklist for pre and post assessment, tape recorder with song. Pre-Assessment: Prior to instruction, the students will be individually assessed on their knowledge of the American flag using the attached checklist (see Attachment A). The checklist will determine the students’ knowledge of the following aspects of the United States flag:1. Knowing what the American flag is a symbol of2. Colors of the flag3. Shape of the flag4. Number of stars and number of stripes on the flag Introduction: To gain the students’ attention, the teacher will begin the lesson by asking the students if they have ever played a guessing game before. The teacher will tell the students that they will be playing a guessing game with an object in the room. The teacher will give the students hints about the American flag until someone in the class correctly guesses the American flag. The teacher will ask the students to think about places in which they see the American flag and allow them to respond. The teacher will then give the students some examples of where the flag is displayed such as at schools, outside of people's homes, at places of business, on automobiles, and even on clothing. The teacher will explain to the students that when people hang the American flag it is a way of saying that they are proud to be an American citizen and live in the United States. The teacher will tell the students that the American flag is a symbol of American and the people who live in America. The teacher will explain to the students that a symbol is something that stands for something else. The teacher will hold up a picture of the Golden Arches and ask the students what they stand for. The teacher will tell the students that when people see the Golden Arches, they think of McDonalds and when people see the American flag, they think of America. The teacher will explain to the students that they will be learning about the American flag today. Instruction/Modeling: The teacher will read the book “F is for Flag” to the students. The book introduces the flag as a symbol of the United States. After the reading of the book is complete, the teacher will discuss some of the important points form the book with the students, the fact that the American flag is a symbol of America, the colors of the American flag, the shape of the American flag, and the number of stars and stripes on the American flag. The teacher will then explain to the students that they will learn a song about the American flag that will help them remember what they have learned about the flag. The teacher will display the song on a piece of chart paper. The teacher will tell the students they are to listen to the song and then they will be singing it. The teacher will play a recording of the song for the students while singing along. Then, the students and the teacher will then sing the song together while the teacher points to the words on the chart paper. The teacher will then have the boys sing the song and then have the girls sing the song and then once more the class will sing it together. The song will be:Our flag is red, white, & blue red, white & blue red, white & blueOur flag is red, white, & blue
in the U.S.A.Our flag has 50 stars,
50 stars, 50 stars,Our flag has 50 stars, in the U.S.A.Our flag has 13 stripes,
13 stripes, 13 stripes,
Our flag has 13 stripes,
in the U.S.A. The teacher will then instruct the students that they will soon be returning to their seats to begin coloring their American Flag coloring sheet. Before the students return to their seats, the teacher will remind the students to color their flag the correct color because the colors are important to the meaning of flag. The teacher will explain to the students that they are to color the areas that have the number 1 as red and the number 2 as blue. While the students are coloring their flags, the teacher will begin individually assessing the students using the evaluation checklist which will serve as the post test. Summary and Closure: The teacher will summarize the importance of the American flag as a symbol of the United States. The teacher will also summarize the characteristics of the flag from the evaluation checklist (the colors, shape, number of stars and stripes). The teacher will then give the students an American flag sticker and pencil to place on their shirts or folder to remind them of how much they learned about the American flag today. Post Assessment: The post test will be administered individually, via an evaluation checklist and will assess whether or nor the students have mastered the below concepts in relation the American flag:1. Knowing what the American flag is a symbol of2. Colors of the flag3. Shape of the flag4. Number of stars and number of stripes on the flagStudents will have mastered the objectives if they can successfully provide the above information to the teacher. Enrichment: For enrichment and to enhance the students understanding of flags, the students will create their own individual flags in their journal. They will draw and color their flags on the picture section of their journal and then they will write one sentence about their flag. Special Adaptations: For special adaptations, the American flag will be displayed in the room during the duration of the lesson. This will help all the students because they will be able to see the flag as they are learning about it. Other adaptations that many be needed may involve the teacher providing extra assistance or one-on-one instruction to students who may be struggling to grasp the concepts needed to master the objective. Assessment Checklist:
Name | Understands that the flag is a symbol of the United States. | Knows the colors of the United States Flag | Knows the shape of the United States Flag | Knows how many stars are on the United States Flag | Knows how many stripes are on the United States Flag | Comments |