Primary Subject and

Grade Level

Reading, 5th Grade, February 3rd 2016

Interdisciplinary
Connections

Social Studies and Science: by using Nonfiction news articles,

students can also be informed of current events in pop culture,
science, politics, and/or history
Writing: Students can use quotations to prove their point, a skill
that has been worked on throughout the year

Lesson Duration

1 hour

Relevance/Rationale

This lesson is important because students will be able to nonfiction

articles that they read. This will help students comprehend. This is
an important skill that is used daily through reading newspapers
and online articles.

Outcomes/Objective
s

Students will be able to identify what text structure is being

used in a nonfiction piece of literature.
Students will be able to summarize a nonfiction article using
the structure of the text as a resource.

Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.5
Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology,
comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas,
concepts, or information in two or more texts.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.2
Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they
are supported by key details; summarize the text.

Use of Formative
Assessment to
Inform Planning

The students have been learning a structure a day for the past few
days, though the first three were a week before (and snow days
and assemblies interrupted the flow of the unit as well). The
students have done well in the lessons in the past, but I anticipate
some difficulty because of the distance in time between lessons.
Data that you have collected from listening into their
conversations about text structure?
Post-its that show difficulty with main idea (I have them and
will share with you)

Class Information

24 children. Fairly equal amount of girls to boys. Generally, the

population in this classroom is close to grade level standards set
by the district. A few students are at a lower reading level (3rd or
4th grade level). Students are already paired with someone who is
in a similar reading level (known as Reading Partners.
Basic skills class

Overview

Technologies and
Other
Materials/Resources

Grouping Strategy
Academic
Vocabulary

Students will practice summarizing an article by using the structure

of a text. So, students will be able to comprehend the main
message of an article easily and efficiently. Students will already
know the five text structures (listed in Academic Vocabulary).

26 copies of historical article

Chart (already made)
document camera
computer
pen/marker
Post-its: have extras on hand.

Students have already been grouped by the teacher. They are

paired with someone who has a similar reading level.

Lesson Procedures

504s
Children with anxiety
Difficulty with comprehending and inferring overall

Description- article that describes something

Sequence and Order- article that shows something in order
(an event, for example)
Compare and Contrast- article compares and contrasts two
separate things
Cause and Effect- shows an event that causes an event to
happen
Problem and Solution- highlights a problem and shows a
solution.
Students will be called to sit at the carpet, facing the rocking
chair.
The chart that has been worked on throughout the week will
be displayed on the chart paper.
Good morning Readers! Weve been learning a lot about
text structures recently. In fact, over the past week weve
learned five new ones. Turn and talk about your favorite text
structure.
Pause and listen for a few minutes, circulating and talking
with the students.
I was listening in to your conversations and I realized
something-- weve mastered these text structures, havent
we? But what are we learning this for? Well, if you guys
think back to the beginning of last week, this is important
because
Flip to chart with why its important.
.they help us figure out the meaning of the text. This

becomes even more important when we start summarizing

these texts. Summarizing is easier when we are aware of
the author's purpose. So lets look at the document camera
and see what I mean.
Students then turn and face the board. Teacher moves to
desk to bring the following article up to the screen using the
document camera:
o Alligators and crocodiles, along with their relatives
the caimans and the gavials, are very much alike.
These crocodilians are reptiles with long snouts, long
tails, four short legs, tough skin, and sharp teeth.
There are some differences, however. Gavials have
the longest snout and the most teeth. Some people
say that alligators and crocodiles differ in the shape
of their snouts and the positioning of their teeth.
Zookeepers say that crocodiles move faster than
alligators and have nastier dispositions.
Start reading the article aloud. Stop at ... very much alike.
Hmmm, well I see that the alligators and crocodiles are
similar to their relatives the caimans and the gavials. This
means this article is probably about alligators and
crocodiles. Maybe its descriptive? I should keep reading to
find out.
Continue reading aloud. Stop at differences, however.
You know what, I think our guess was wrong, this seems
like its definitely a compare and contrast.
Read until the end.
So, we know that this article is using a compare and
contrast text structure. Now that I know that, I can
summarize this article and say that it is comparing and
contrasting alligators and crocodiles. I know this because
the article says similar and different.
Write this on a Post-It, set up like so:
Type: Compare/Contrast
-similar
-differences
Summary:

Turn to face the class. This is good to know, because

readers see how knowing the text structure can help us

summarize the text.

Therefore, I can summarize the text, too!
Add the summary to the Post-It:
Type: Compare/Contrast
-similar
-differences
Summary:
Crocodiles and Alligators are different in some ways but similar

Differentiation

Assessment Criteria
For Success

in others. They both have snouts but are different shapes.

Now were going to practice. With your reading partners,
you are going to read this article and identify the type of
reading structure together. Then, Id like you to summarize
the article on the post-it as well, just as I did up here. When
youre done, post your thinking on the board. Once youre
done, you can go back to your seat for independent
reading. Please remember to think about where you sit and
be sure its the best place for you to get work done.
Conduct conferences with students. At the wrap-up share,
tell students what youve noticed about their reading that
day. It doesnt necessarily have to be related to the minilesson. You could comment on how a student was using
the same strategy in their independent reading or comment
on what you noticed about the post-its if you want to talk
about the teaching point.
At end: bring students back to their seats
CLOSURE
Point out a good thing that students did during the
independent workshop. Ask class Do we feel we have a
better understanding on summarizing texts? Thumbs up if
we feel good about this strategy! Quickly assess before
continuing. Great, now take out your Chromebooks for the
read aloud.
Use preferential seating for students who have difficulty
concentrating.
While circulating, spend extra time with students who may
have difficulties.
At the end of the mini lesson, students will place a post-it
with their chosen structure and summary on the chart paper.

I will be able to assess their understanding by seeing if they

chose the correct text structure and if their summary makes
sense. Students will be instructed to put their names on the
post it.
Anticipated
Difficulties

Confusion between Problem/Solution and Cause/Effect

Also, confusion between description and all of them. I tell
the students to rule out every other structure before
deciding that a text is description. I will model that this
week.

Reflections

1. In general, how successful was the lesson? Did the

students learn what you intended for them to learn? How do
you know?
Overall, I feel the lesson was pretty successful. The kids were
attentive and interested, and displayed their best behavior. I know
that the students understood the lesson because they all were
successful in their completion of the exit ticket. The students were
all able to identify the text structure and summarize the article
using the structure.
2. If you have samples of student work, what do they reveal
about the students levels of engagement and
understanding? Do they suggest modifications in how you
might teach this lesson in the future?
The samples show that the students understand what signal words
are what each signal word means for the overall text structure.
This didnt necessarily surprise me, as weve spent the past five
days working on this. The samples also show, though, that the
relatively new concept of summarizing using the text structure also
stuck with them. This lesson will probably be taught similarly in the
future, though I could maybe add more difficulty (and maybe even
choice) by using different articles. One additional thing I will make
more clear if I teach this in the future is that a summary is not
simply just stating the text structure in a sentence. Details are
needed, so this should be stressed when teaching this lesson.
3. Comment on your classroom procedures, student conduct,
and your use of physical space. To what extent did these
contribute to student learning?
I feel that I used the physical space best I could, though I am
definitely interested in learning how I could be using it more. The

students were extremely well behaved during the lesson, which is

normal for this time of the day. The students were also extremely
attentive and interested in the lesson, which I think could be
attributed to the fact that I was teaching it (as this was the first time
I taught them Reading). The students are already well versed in
the classroom procedures, so they were able to know that they
needed to sit with their reading partners for the lesson. Still, I
reminded them as they made their way to the carpet to ensure
there would be no disruption during the lesson.
4. Did you depart from your plan? If so, how and why?
I did, slightly. I wanted to have the students do as much as
possible, so I had a student model where to put their post it by
placing my sample on the chart paper. Otherwise, I think, I stared
true to the lesson plan.
5. Comment on different aspects of your instructional delivery
(e.g., activities, grouping of students, materials, and
resources). To what extent were they effective?
The students were grouped in reading partners already (which are
based upon their reading level). This was effective because
students were then able to talk with someone who had the same
relative understandings about texts in general. I think the activities
were effective and relevant as well, especially since this class is
focused on the importance of jotting notes down on Post-Its. I think
using Post-Its as much as possible in Reading is a great idea,
because it reinforces the importance of note taking.
6. If you had an opportunity to teach this lesson again to the
same group of students, what would you do differently?
I would probably stress that a summary is not a simple restating of
the text structure. Most students understood this but two did not
(something that will be addressed in a future conference).

Link to Article for

Class

http://mhschool.com/lead_21/grade4/ccslh_g4_ri_2_2c_l4.html