Lesson+Plan+Deconstruction+Graphic+Organizer

= //Lesson Plan Deconstruction Graphic Organizer// =

Sheila DeLattre-Carter

 * Planning **

**·** **Reading Comprehension Strategy** -** Activating Background Knowledge Using Background Knowledge Advancing level for 2nd and 3rd graders Pages 31-33 **

v Which AASL indicators align with this reading comprehension strategy ? Note both the number and the actual language of the indicator. 1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning. 1.1.9 Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding. 1.4.2 use interaction with and feedback from teachers and peers to guide own inquiry process. 2.1.2 Organize knowledge so that it is useful. 2.3.1 Connect understanding to the real world. 3.1.3 Use writing and speaking skills to communicate new understandings effectively. 3.2.2 Show social responsibility by participating actively with others in learning situations and by contributing questions and ideas during group discussions. 4.1.5 Connect ideas to own interests and previous knowledge and experience. 1 3.4 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within the learning community. 2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real-world situations, and further investigations. 3.1.2 Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners. 3.1.5 Connect learning to community issues. 4.1.2 Read widely and fluently to make connections with self, the world, and previous reading. 4.4.2 Recognize the limits of own personal knowledge. Some of these standards are not closely aligned with the reading comprehension strategy. (Those that aren't can be indicated below.)

**·** **Reading Development Level** - **Advancing: Grades 2-3**

**·** **Instructional Strategies - Cues and Questions, Classifying, and Comparing **

v Which of these research-based instructional strategies have you used in your teaching? Name them. Identifying similarities and differences Summarizing and note taking Cooperative learning Setting objectives and providing feedback Questions, cues, and advance organizers Identifying similarities and differences Nonlinguistic representations Cooperative Learning Good self-assessment. It is interesting to note your overlap and your individual strengths or areas for growth. v Which of these instructional strategies do you need to learn? Name them and describe them. Nonlinguistic representation: I have to admit that I had never heard of this term before reading CS4TRC. I never thought about having my students draw pictures or create graphs as instructional strategies to aid in reading comprehension. Designing webs on Kidspiration would be the closest thing that I have taught that is related to nonlinguistic representation. Summarizing and Notetaking: I am learning how to use these strategies better. In summarizing, you tell what happens in the beginning, the middle and the end of the passage you are reading. Notetaking involves focusing on specific words or phrases from a passage and writing about them in your own words in order to show understanding of the text. Questions, Cues and Advance Organizers: I utilize a lot of questioning strategies in my lessons, but I do not currently use any advance organizers. I have large numbers of ELL kids in my classes and have not thought to try to teach the use of graphic organizers yet. These visual organizers are a goldmine of great ideas that I have not yet uncovered. Questioning is particularly important for resource-based lessons (research/inquiry). It is important to develop a range of strategies for engaging students in questioning. Notemaking is not easy to teach, but like questioning, you will need to develop a number of strategies. Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock's book has some specific ideas related to both of these strategies.
 * ·** **Lesson Length** - **For this advancing elementary level lesson: Three 45 minute sessions**

v What are your questions about the lesson length? You must have at least one. How do you determine the correct amount of time for a new lesson, one 45 minute session or two 45 minute sessions? What happens if you miscalculate a session and need more/less time than originally planned? Will a session that is less that 45 minutes be less effective on student performance? How do you integrate reteaching strategies into a regular lesson within a 45 minute session? How do you properly determine learner characteristics to effectively revise the length of a session? Must these sessions be in consecutive days or would an every other day schedule work (M -W-F)? Would the lesson still be effective if it was broken down into 5 30 minute sessions (same time every day for 5 consecutive days)?

For me, the session length is dependent on students' attention span and engagement and scheduling issues. In my libraries, a session equals a class period (50 minutes to an hour). Ideally, you would allow a bit more time just in case students were too engaged to stop! Shorter sessions may be just right for some students/classes. This is definitely something you will negotiate with your classroom colleague. Miscalculating the amount of time needed will happen when you first begin in your role as a school librarian. It is important to give yourself a bit of leeway. One of the benefits of co-teaching is that if there isn't time in the library schedule to complete a lesson, the classroom teacher can do so in her classroom, or using another space in the library while you work with a previously scheduled class. Consecutive days are best; that is what teachers do in classrooms, right?

As a future school librarian, my plan is to integrate both fixed and flexible scheduling. Teachers will be able to sign up for a standing library time that will ensure a library skill lesson and checkout time. This schedule will be emailed to teachers once a week and will show available times during the week and the entire month. Fridays will be designated for longer information literacy lessons and open checkout where teachers can send their students throughout the day to either take an AR test or checkout a book. Open gaps in the schedule during the week can be filled with information literacy lessons and open checkout times. A combination of fixed and flexible scheduling will ensure that each class receives regular library access time. In special circumstances, scheduled times can be rearranged to accommodate longer lessons. As you may have guessed, I am a proponent of totally flexible schedules. Here's why. Any time you have scheduled classes that means another teacher/class cannot work with you at the point of need (if it occurs during that time). With open access, students (even kinders) learn to return books when they have read them and get fresh books when they need/want them. This puts the responsibility on the learner to self-regulate (as she/he will do throughout life vis-a-vis literature and information needs). If you have worked in a fixed schedule with checkout offered only during scheduled times, you will most likely experience the phenomenon of many students not having their books to return on that day. What then? The bottom line: What is best for student learning? How can you and the library program make the greatest impact on student achievement?
 * Note:** If you have worked within the constraints of a fixed schedule in which students come to the library just one time per week, there are many options for increasing the amount of time you spend with students. School librarians must think about the fact that NO other teachers in their buildings introduce and teach a concept on Tuesday morning at 10:00 and NEVER mention it again until the next Tuesday morning at 10:00. This is simply not an effective instructional practice. What are your strategies for getting out of the fixed schedule library box?

**·** **Purpose - The purpose of this lesson is to use and to build background knowledge to make text-to-text connections between two books about characters that are learning to read and write. **

v How is the purpose of the lesson connected—or not connected—to your idea of the type of instruction that “should” take place in the school library? Collaboration between the teacher and the school librarian is a great thing for children to see. Students will receive more attention focused to their needs with two educators guiding them through a lesson and monitoring to ensure student success. Two heads are better than one. Collaboration allows for different ideas to come to surface, which benefits students. Individual student needs are met and catered to because of the unique capabilities of the teacher and the school librarian. Your run of the mill lessons will turn into fun enriching lessons that relate to real life. Information literacy skills are to be taught in the library, one of which is making connections to other people, texts, and to the world. When teaching a child how to make text-to-text connections, we are teaching them a lifelong skill that will enable them to use and evaluate information effectively. Thoughtful responses. If we think about reading and information seeking as interrelated processes, there is very little if anything that we do in schools that is not appropriate for a classroom-library collaborative lesson. ** · ** **Objectives - After reading //Amber on the Mountain// and //My Name is Yoon//, students will be able to 1. Categorize their ideas about characters' literary experiences using the five Ws and How. 2. Compare these two book characters' literacy experiences. 3. Make text-to-text connections as they respond to literature in writing and through drawing. **

Review Bloom’s Taxonomy: []

v List at least one verb that is used to name what students will do for every objective in this lesson; list the corresponding level on Bloom’s. Use this chart.

Using Background Knowledge Objectives and Student Friendly Objectives Advancing Level: Grades 2-3 Sessions: 3 Page 31-33 ** Excellent analysis. Even in strategy lessons such as this one, we should seek a balance between what we label lower-order and higher-order thinking.
 * Reading Comprehension Strategy
 * **Objective** || **Verb** || **Level on Bloom’s** ||
 * Objective 1 || Categorize || Analysis ||
 * Objective 2 || Compare || Analysis ||
 * Objective 2 || Compare || Evaluation ||
 * Objective 3 || Connect || Synthesis ||
 * **Day 1** ||  ||   ||
 * Objective 1 || Listen || Knowledge ||
 * Objective 2 || Categorize || Analysis ||
 * **Day 2** ||  ||   ||
 * Objective 1 || Categorize || Analysis ||
 * **Day 3** ||  ||   ||
 * Objective 1 || Compare || Analysis ||
 * Objective 2 || Write || Synthesis ||
 * Objective 3 || Illustrate || Application ||

**·** **Resources, Materials, and Equipment** Two picture books: // Amber on the Mountain // by Tony Johnston and illustrated by Robert Duncan // My Name Is Yoon // by Helen Recorvitz and illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska Five Ws and How (Use Think-Pair-Share and Think Alouds with this graphic organizer) Category Matrix Text-to-Text Connections Rubric Bulletin board paper or butcher paper for Category Matrix Washable markers in assorted colors Overhead Data projector Interactive whiteboard
 * Children’s Literature**
 * Graphic Organizers**
 * Materials**
 * Equipment**

v Which are the different formats or genres used to support learners? **Children's Literature** Two Picture books: //Amber on the Mountain// by Tony Johnston and illustrated by Robert Duncan //My Name Is Yoon// by Helen Recorvitz and illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska Five Ws and How (Use Think-Pair-Share and Think Alouds with this graphic organizer) Category Matrix Text-to-Text Connections Rubric The genre used for this lesson is fiction.
 * Graphic Organizers**

Could these lesson objectives be accomplished by comparing a fictional text with an information book? Two informational books?

v Which technology tools are used? If technology is not used in this lesson, do you think there are appropriate tools to help students meet the lesson objectives? Name those tools and how you would use them. The technology tools mentioned in this lesson are: overhead, data projector, and interactive whiteboard. I think you could have the kids create a PowerPoint presentation to summarize the comparisons, rather than write a paragraph. Although this lesson did not mention any specific web sites utilized for this lesson, the following sites can be considered:

//**ReadWriteThink**// [] ReadWriteThink offers a "Student Materials Index" which provides technology tool web sites that are appropriate for students in K-12. These child friendly web sites range in everything from note taking skills to Venn Diagrams for students to utilize successfully to meet their project needs.

//**Think-Pair-Share**// //Reading Rockets// web site: [] Although this link does not provide an interactive online tech tool for students, I felt it was appropriate to include this site for librarians and teachers to keep in mind while preparing collaboration lessons. //Reading Rockets// gives a thorough definition and sample lessons for educators to follow when trying to learn the Think-Pair-Share technique.

//**Think Alouds**// //AdLit.org// web site: [] //AdLit.org// is a sister site of Reading Rockets and gives a thorough description of Think Alouds for educators. Although this link does not provide an opportunity for online student interaction, educators will gain a better understanding of this technique to increase student achievement.

//**Webspiration**// [] This user friendly online interactive tech tool allows students to create a web as part of the brainstorming process during research projects or for lessons that require writing. It allows text and illustrations for students to better organize their ideas.

//**Wallwisher**// [] This fun tech tool allows students to generate and organize their ideas by typing information or including illustrations on sticky notes and attaching them to a wall. These sticky notes can be arranged and rearranged by students throughout the project. This type of brainstorming has been utilized by educators or members of the business world for years as an effective strategy for building background knowledge.

Appropriate possibilities – Remember to keep the learning objectives in mind. Do we always need to integrate technology tools for student use into a lesson? Note: This book was written in 2006 before many of the Web 2.0 tools we have used in our class were available.

**·** **Collaboration - While sharing one book, the educators model completing a category matrix, then divide the class in half. Each group compares the second text to the first after completing a category matrix about the new text. **

v How does this lesson maximize the benefits of two (or more) educators coteaching? Be specific. Before the lesson, the teacher and teacher-librarian can discuss specific background information on each student to ensure that needs are met. They can also generate a list of questions to ask during the questioning phase as a way to active prior knowledge. These two partners can also model how to listen for the five Ws and How during readings of the two picture books.

During the collaboration section of this lesson, one educator can read the picture book to the students, while the other models completing the category matrix for students. This method of collaboration allows students to get a first hand look at what is expected during a category matrix. The teacher and teacher-librarian can also model other methods such as Text-to-Text Connections, Think-Pair-Share, and Think Alouds.

In Day 2 of this lesson, I think it is exciting and memorable for students to see both the teacher and the teacher-librarian read and reread both picture books to the class and work together to fill in the category matrix. This perfectly demonstrates the collaborative process that students must follow during regular cooperative learning activities. If the educators are enthusiastic about what they are teaching, then the students will follow suit and demonstrate these techniques and feelings as well.

Much more is accomplished when educators collaborate. For instance, while one educator reads a picture book, the other can immediately and continuously record student input and ideas that are generated during the story. This provides immediate feedback for the class. Plus, ideas can be personalized as the scribe (educator) writes the students' names beside each contribution. This personalized technique really gets students motivated to participate.

For the presentation phase of this lesson (Day 3), collaboration continues as the teacher and teacher-librarian each take turns reading different categories from the category matrix. In order to help students make text-to-text connections, each educator can use a different color marker to circle similarities and differences between the characters. Each educator can also brainstorm different illustrations to match paragraphs created for this lesson. Educators can also demonstrate how to write a three to five sentence paragraph showing text-to-text connections.

During the guided practice phase of this lesson, both educators can conference with each student while supervising their text-to-text connections. This phase can move efficiently and effortlessly with two educators circulating from student to student. The wait time for individualized attention will be greatly reduced and students can successfully complete assignments in a reasonable amount of time.

There are several ways that this lesson maximizes the benefits of two (or more) educators coteaching. In a collaborative lesson, each educator can be doing different jobs that one teacher would have to do simultaneously if he/she were teaching alone. For example, in the presentation of the book, one teacher is reading the book and asking critical questions to engage the students and the other teacher is recording information. If this was presented by one teacher, he/she would have to do both. When sharing roles in the teaching process, each educator can focus more clearly on his/her job at hand.

Having more than one teacher present also gives the benefit of more than one person's ideas and ways to teach a lesson. On Day 2, when the classes split up to read the next story, one teacher could model again the think-alouds to a less developed group where one teacher may not have to and can work on extending the students' ideas more.

I also think that having more than one teacher makes it possible for different teaching strategies to be used. For example, on Day 3, when the educators are modeling the process of writing a paragraph, each could take a different approach. One teacher could give an oral example for those students who need to hear it; and one teacher could actually model a written paragraph for those visual learners. Some children would benefit from both. Having more than one teacher makes it much easier to accomodate students' varied learning styles.

Brava - and for including planning benefits. Even with published lesson plans, prior planning - although shorter - is needed.

**·** **Assessment**

v Are there multiple methods/tools for assessing student outcomes? If there’s one, name it. If there are multiple, name them. **Questioning** Educators can successfully assess student understanding by asking questions throughout the duration of the lesson. For instance, the questions created to activate prior knowledge will give the teacher and teacher-librarian feedback on how they should further pursue the lesson. Both educators can make accommodations or modifications to the lesson based on student input. The teacher and teacher-librarian can also make assessments based on how each student/group performed during the Five Ws and How strategy. Educators can make further assessments by viewing the chart with student names affixed to each contribution as a way to evaluate individual performance during the Five Ws and How. The educators can assess student contributions to the category matrix and how they related this information into their written paragraph and illustrated paragraph. The teacher and teacher-librarian can evaluate this method by looking for text-to-text connections in the written paragraph and illustrated paragraph. Assessment can be made by how the student effectively used the category matrix as a prewriting tool and how the student wrote their paragraph with text-to-text connections. Continuous assessment (individual student conferences) takes place throughout this writing segment to measure student ability and understanding. Further assessment can be measured by the student's ability to illustrate this paragraph. Assessment can made by how effectively the student illustrated their paragraph. Future assessments can be conducted on how well students perform these methods in future teacher or teacher-librarian created thematic text sets. This is a very important method for assessing each part of the lesson or the lesson as a whole. Reflection should be performed by both educators and students.
 * Five Ws and How**
 * Category Matrix**
 * Text-to-Text Connections**
 * Three to five sentence paragraph with text-to-text connections**
 * Illustrate the paragraph**
 * Evaluation based from thematic text sets**
 * Reflection**
 * The students' contributions to the category matrix (Day 2)
 * Teacher-observation of the think-pair-share actvity (Day 2)
 * Self and teacher evaluation of the students' written paragraph comparing the two characters' feelings and experiences using the rubric given (Day 3)

v Are there opportunities for learners to self assess? (AASL Strand #4: Self-Assessment Strategies) What are they? Students will use a rubric to self-assess text-to-text connections. This method of self-assessment can be modeled by the teacher and the teacher-librarian. Students can also self-assess during the reflection phase of the lesson. In addition to the rubric given to the students to self-assess their text-to-text connections in their written paragraph, I also think the students are given an opportunity to self-assess their ideas and opinions on Day 2. As a closure activity for that day, the children are encouraged to think-pair-share some connections between the characters' feelings and experiences. In so doing, they must reflect on (assess) what they know and understand about these characters. Excellent analysis. **·** **Standards** Reading and/or writing Listening and speaking Other content areas Information literacy Educational technology

v What content-area standards are integrated into this lesson? List them. Use specific standards from state standards in Texas or the state you and your partner have negotiated.

**English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 2** (b) Knowledge and skills. (1) Listening/speaking/purposes. The student listens attentively and engages actively is a variety of oral language experiences. The student is expected to: (A) determine the purpose(s) for listening such as to get information, to solve problems, and to enjoy and appreciate (K-3); (B) respond appropriately and courteously to directions and questions (K-3); (C) participate in rhymes, songs, conversations, and discussions (K-3); (D) listen critically to interpret and evaluate (K-3); (E) listen responsively to stories and other texts read aloud, including selections from classic and contemporary works (K-3); and (2) Listening/speaking/culture. The student listens and speaks to gain knowledge of his/her own culture, the culture of others, and the common elements of cultures. The student is expected to: (B) compare language and oral traditions (family stories) that reflect customs, regions, and cultures (K-3). (3) Listening/speaking/audiences/oral grammar. The student speaks appropriately to different audiences for different purposes and occasions. The student is expected to: (A) choose and adapt spoken language appropriate to the audience, purpose, and occasion, including use of appropriate volume and rate (K-3); (C) ask and answer relevant questions and make contributions in small or large group discussions (K-3); (4) Listening/speaking/communication. The student communicates clearly by putting thoughts and feelings into spoken words. The student is expected to: (A) use vocabulary to describe clearly ideas feelings, and experiences (K-3); (B) clarify and support spoken messages using appropriate props such as objects, pictures, or charts (K-3); and (7) Reading/variety of texts. The student reads widely for different purposes in varied sources. The student is expected to: (B) read from a variety of genres for pleasure and to acquire information from both print and electronic sources (2-3); and (C) read to accomplish various purposes, both assigned and self-selected (2-3). (9) Reading/comprehension. The student uses a variety of strategies to comprehend selections read aloud and selections read independently. The student is expected to: (A) use prior knowledge to anticipate meaning and make sense of texts (K-3); (B) establish purposes for reading and listening such as to be informed, to follow directions, and to be entertained (K-3); (D) monitor his/her own comprehension and act purposefully when comprehension breaks down such as rereading, searching for clues, and asking for help (1-3); (E) draw and discuss visual images based on text descriptions (1-3); (G) identify similarities and differences across texts such as in topics, characters, and problems (1-2); (H) produce summaries of text selections (2-3); and ( I) represent text information in different ways, including story maps, graphs, and charts (2-3). (10) Reading/literary response. The student responds to various texts. The student is expected to: (B) demonstrate understanding of informational text in various ways such as through writing, illustrating, developing demonstrations, and using availble technology (2-3); (C) support interpretations or conclusions with examples drawn from text (2-3); and (D) connect ideas and themes across texts (1-3). (11) Reading/text structures/literary concepts. The student analyzes the characteristics of various types of texts. The student is expected to: (F) understand and identify simple literary terms such as title, author, and illustrator across a variety of literary forms (texts) (2); (H) analyze characters, including their traits, relationships, and changes (1-3); and (I) identify the importance of the setting t a story's meaning (1-3); and (J) recognize the story problem(s) or plot (1-3). (12) Reading/Inquiry research. The student generates questions and conducts research using information from various sources. The student is expected to: (E) interpret and use graphic sources of information such as maps, charts, graphs, and diagrams (2-3) (G) demonstrate learning through productions and displays such as murals, written and oral reports, and dramatizations (2-3); and (H) draw conclusions from information gathered (K-3). (13) Reading/Culture. The student reads to increase knowledge of his/her own culture, the culture of others, and the common elements of culture. The student is expected to: (A) connect life experiences with the life experiences, language, customs, and culture of others (K-3); and (B) compare experiences of characters across cultures (K-3). (14) Writing/purposes. The student writes for a variety of audiences and purposes, and in various forms. The student is expected to: (A) write to record ideas and reflections (K-3). (17) Writing/grammar/usage. The student composes meaningful texts applying knowledge of grammar and usage. The student is expected to: (B) compose complete sentences in written texts and use the appropriate end punctuation (1-2); (C) compose sentences with interesting, elaborated subjects (2-3). (18) Writing/writing processes. The student selects and uses writing processes for self-initiated and assigned writing. The student is expected to: (A) generate ideas for writing by using prewriting techniques such as drawing and listing key thoughts (2-3). (19) Writing/evaluation. The student evaluates his/her own writing and the writing of others. The student is expected to: (A) identify the most effective features of a piece of writing using criteria generated by the teacher and class (1-3); (B) respond constructively to others' writing (1-3). (20) Writing/inquiry/research. The student uses writing as a tool for learning and research. The student is expected to: (B) record his/her own knowledge of a topic in various ways such as by drawing pictures, making lists, and showing connections among ideas (K-3). Which of the TEKS does this lesson actually ASSESS?

v Which AASL indicators align with this lesson? Give both the number and the description for each. **1 - Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge.** 1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning. 1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning. 1.1.9 Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding. 1.3.4 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within the learning community. 1.4.2 use interaction with and feedback from teachers and peers to guide own inquiry process. 2.1.2 Organize knowledge so that it is useful. 3.1.2 Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners. 3.1.3 Use writing and speaking skills to communicate new understandings effectively. 3.2.2 Show social responsibility by participating actively with others in learning situations and by contributing questions and ideas during group discussions. 4.1.3 Respond to literature and creative expressions of ideas in various formats and genres. 4.1.5 Connect ideas to own interests and previous knowledge and experience. 4.1.6 Organize personal knowledge in a way that can be called upon easily. 4.1.8 Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning.
 * 2 - Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge.**
 * 3 - Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society.**
 * 4 - Pursue personal and aesthetic growth.**

1.1.1 Follow an inquiry-based process in seeking knowledge in curricular subjects, and make the real-world connection for using this process in own life. 2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real-world situations, and further investigations. 2.1.6 Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings. 2.3.1 Connect understanding to the real world. 3.1.5 Connect learning to community issues. 3.3.4 Create products that apply to authentic, real-world contexts. 3.4.2 Assess the quality and effectiveness of the learning product. 4.1.2 Read widely and fluently to make connections with self, the world, and previous reading. 4.4.4 Interpret new information based on cultural and social context. All of these standards/indicators work to a greater or lesser extent. When you design your own lesson, you will want to select three or four that you will actually **assess**.

** Implementation **

**·** **Process Motivation**

Motivation is also known as “anticipatory set” in the Madeline Hunter, EEI lesson plan design. Will this invitation to learn be effective in capturing students’ interest? Why or why not? For this lesson, a variety of questions are asked to activate prior knowledge. Students will participate in think-pair-share as the teacher and teacher-librarian ask questions about when and how they first learned to read. To offer cues to the questions, the educators can also introduce the book //Amber on the Mountain// and have students predict through think-pair-share what the story will be about based on the title. This process of questioning and cueing is very motivating for students because they love to share and tell stories about themselves. Plus, it is something that is familiar to them because it relates to real life. Another unique aspect of this lesson is the collaboration between the teacher and teacher-librarian. The enthusiasm between these two educators will give students even more motivation to branch out and participate in this lesson. Students also enjoy receiving more attention, and two educators can cater to these needs. Anytime you give someone a chance to talk about him/herself and his/her experiences, you have clinched the undivided atttention of that person. We all like to talk about ourselves, not only because we can be egocentric at times, but also because that is a topic we know much about. Talking about personal experiences and feelings brings about an attitude of confidence in a child because he/she is an expert in this subject. The more confident a child feels, the more willing he/she is to participate in an authentic learning experience.

Agreed.

v What are your ideas to increase student buy-in to this lesson? Give at least one. Children love anything related to technology. For this lesson, students could create a graphic organizer using technology tools like //Kidspiration// or //Webspiration// to answer questions about how and when they learned to read. The "Student Materials Index" located in //ReadWriteThink// offers a variety of graphic organizer templates that are child friendly and free of charge. [] These are compelling options. You will also be able to go beyond published lesson plan ideas for motivation when you can focus that component of the lesson on actual students, their backgrounds and their interests. Sometimes the anticipatory set can be accomplished in the classroom if library time is short. As you know, it is important, however, to dedicate sufficient time to motivation.
 * //ReadWriteThink//**
 * Have students bring a favorite book from home and share with class when time permits.
 * Arrange a shared reading time with beginning readers.
 * Have students journal write about when they were first learning to read and write.
 * Arrange a shared writing project with emerging writers.

The following student-friendly objectives are listed throughout the lesson:
 * Student-friendly Objectives **
 * Listen for the Five Ws and How.
 * Categorize ideas.
 * Categorize ideas using the Five Ws and How.
 * Compare two book characters' experiences.
 * Write a paragraph with text-to-text connections.
 * Illustrate the paragraph.

v Are these objectives at the instructional level of the targeted students? Give an example. All the student-friendly objectives listed throughout this lesson are at an appropriate instructional level for second and third grade students. The two picture books selected for this lesson easily allow students of this age level to successfully compare and contrast what each character goes through in terms of learning how to read and adapting to new situations. Students will be successful at listening and identifying the Five Ws and How and brainstorming information for the category matrix. Plus, it was not too long ago that some students were just learning how to read, and some may still be struggling as readers. The uncertainties that both characters experience may be very real to most children of this age. Children will equally enjoy illustrating a paragraph as they love to draw and create pictures. Objectives such as listening and categorizing are activities with which they should be familiar. Some of the objectives may include terminology that is unfamilar to the students, but they are still written in such a way that instruction will not be hindered.

v Are there terms in these objectives that may need to be taught to students? Give an example. Students will need to be taught the concept of the Five Ws and How before this lesson to understand the questioning phase, and to listen for and identify these question types when hearing the stories read to them. A thorough explanation of the category matrix will also need to be taught beforehand. Children will be successful at organizing information from the stories if they understand the reason for this method. Good. Educators need to ensure that students know all the terms even in student-friendly objectives. (This can be especially important for ELLs and students with special needs.) Of course with repeated use through co-teaching and collaboration, students will comprehend more terms.
 * Five Ws and How
 * compare
 * text-to-text connections
 * illustrate
 * Presentation**

v Describe the modeling aspect of this lesson. The objectives of this lesson are to be able to identify the five Ws and How and to categorize the ideas on a matrix. On Day 1, one teacher reads the book while the other teacher models how to complete the matrix with appropriate information. Both of the teachers utilize think-alouds to show students the process they must go through to determine each component. After listening to student's responses, the teacher adds each to the matrix. On Day 2, the same process is repeated but with a different class grouping. Each teacher, having been assigned half of the students in the class, models the process again with a different text.

On the final day, after comparing the matrices of the two stories read, the teachers model finding similarities and differences between the two texts. Teachers may also model a well-constructed paragraph either by verbally giving them an example or by involving the students in a shared writing. Finally, teachers model brainstorming techniques to develop ideas for corresponding illustrations.

Because the teacher and teacher-librarian are both actively teaching this lesson, the students are offered an opportunity to view the process as it should actually happen. The educators can also successfully implement and allow student interaction and input throughout the lesson. For instance, the process can be perfectly modeled for the category matrix. While one educator reads the story, the other can demonstrate how to fill in the matrix with information obtained from the story. Students can immediately provide information to be filled into the matrix.

v How are the benefits of two or more educators maximized in the presentation component? With the collaboration of two or more educators, students will take part in a more fluid lesson and will witness first hand with how the process should be implemented when working with peers or individually. It allows for maximum student participation. Students can immediately see how their contributions benefit the lesson.


 * Two different roles can be fulfilled at the same time.
 * Two different people are present to give ideas, opinions, and feedback to the class.
 * The class size is smaller due to the division of the class.
 * Different ways of learning are accomodated (verbal paragraph vs. written model).
 * Different levels of achievement are accomodated (think-alouds taught once vs. think-alouds retaught).

Good.

**Student Participation Procedures or Students Practice Procedures**

v Are the directions clear? Give an example. The directions for **student participation procedures** are clear and concise. The directions can be reviewed and practiced beforehand so students can better understand and successfully utilize these methods.
 * Raise hand to pause the reading.
 * Identify the category and then share the idea.

The directions for **student practice procedures** are clear and concise.
 * Write a three to five sentence paragraph with one, two, three, or more text-to-text connections.
 * Conference with an adult to classmate
 * Raise hand to pause reading.
 * Identify the category and then share the idea.
 * Read through the matrices and the rubric.
 * Illustrate the paragraph.

Through guided practice, the educators can guarantee that each student is granted at least one opportunity to contribute to the category matrix. The educators can encourage student participation by writing their names next to the individual contributions. The completion of the category matrix can be accomplished while another educator reads to the story. This allows for fluid and productive movement throughout this process. **
 * Guided Practice**
 * How are the benefits of two or more educators maximized in the guided practice component?**


 * Smaller groups make it easier to ensure that each child participates.
 * More individualized feedback is guaranteed because of student conferences.

Student participation is sooooo important. Research does not consistently bear out the benefits of smaller class size, but anyone who has worked with a group of 15 students as compared with a group of 30 KNOWS the difference.


 * Closure**
 * Are the students active in the closure component? What are students doing for closure?**
 * Students are active during the closure component by participating in an Inside-Outside Circle. This method encourages and allows every student to move around and interact with others while sharing their paragraphs and illustrations of their text-to-text connections. **
 * In the Closure section of Day 1, students are reviewing the information recorded in the chart and discussing the assessment criteria.
 * In the Closure section of Day 2, students are asked to think-pair-share some connections that theyhave discovered between the character's feelings and experiences.
 * In the Closure section of Day 3, students are given a culminating activity in which they share their paragraphs and illustrations.

**Reflection** **v** How is the reflection component related to the learning objectives? The reflection component of this lesson is very important and necessary. This is an opportunity for the educators to evaluate if the students were successful in making text-to-text connections between the main characters of the two stories. During this component, the educators can list successes and improvements for future collaboration lessons.

One of the most important parts of the lesson is the reflection. How will we know whether the lesson was successful? Both teachers must evaluate the lesson by determining if the student objectives were met. If not, then changes need to be made before the lesson is presented again to make it more meaningful to students.

Yes, students and educators must reflect on their learning. This is a critical aspect of metacognition and learning how to learn, which is truly what we are teaching when we teach strategies.

v What are your other ideas for extensions to this lesson? Describe at least one. Once students have successfully utilized the teacher/librarian created text sets as part of this lesson extension, why not challenge students to regularly use graphic organizers and a category matrix to make text-to-text connections in their everyday reading. Work with other teachers that specialize in other subjects to integrate this within their assigned readings. The school librarian will be more than happy to accommodate. I think students would enjoy a spin-off activity from the motivation section of the lesson. Have students write a paragraph or more about their personal experience with learning to read/write and illustrate with a picture. Instruct them to exchange paragraphs with a partner and each read about their partner's experience. They can then complete category matrices about their experiences compared with their partner's. Wouldn't it be fun to exchange stories with your school librarian? Yes, using graphic organizers in multiple contexts is important. Students' familiarity with the g.o. can help them be successful.
 * Extensions**

This could be (digital) storytelling and might be an appropriate and effective use of technology tools. These are many possibilities for using students' stories...