Focused Read-aloud, Session 3: What Work Does Perseverance Help the Characters Do? | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G1:M1:U2:L9

Focused Read-aloud, Session 3: What Work Does Perseverance Help the Characters Do?

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • RL.1.1: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  • RL.1.3: Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
  • RL.1.4: Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
  • RL.1.7: Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
  • W.1.2: Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can identify a character's feelings using evidence from the illustrations and the text. (RL.1.1, RL.1.4)
  • I can describe an event by looking closely at the illustrations. (RL.1.3, RL.1.7)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Use the Reading Literature Checklist (RL.1.1, RL.1.3, and RL.1.7) to track students' progress toward both standards (see Assessment Overview and Resources for Module 1).
  • During Work Time B, students discuss a text-based question. For students still struggling with speaking and listening behaviors, prompt them to use the Classroom Discussion Norms anchor chart displayed in the room.
  • Work Time B requires students to answer a question using evidence from the text. Support students by offering picture support and reminding them to return to the text for answers. This skill will be necessary for students to complete the task independently in the unit assessment.

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Noticing and Wondering: The Little Red Pen, Pages 23-28 (10 minutes)

2. Work Time

B. Focused Read-aloud Session 3: The Little Red Pen, Pages 29-36 (20 minutes)

C. Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face: Doing Work with Habits of Character (10 minutes)

D. Independent Writing: What Work Does Perseverance Help the Characters Do? (15 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Reflecting on Learning (5 minutes)

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards: 

  • In Work Time A, students complete another focused read-aloud of The Little Red Pen. Over the next couple of lessons, students complete focused read-alouds, answering text-dependent questions on the text after hearing it read aloud. These questions are found directly in the body of the lesson; they have a skill-based focus for reading and include fewer questions per lesson than a close read-aloud.
  • As in Lessons 7-8, students are assessed on their progress toward RL.1.1 and RL.1.3 during the focused read-aloud using the Unit 2 Assessment RL.1.1/RL.1.3 Checklist (see Assessment Overview and Resources for Module 1).
  • During this lesson, students practice finding words that show a feeling by listening to a new section read aloud from The Little Red Pen. Students work as partners so they can build mastery before independent practice (RL.1.4).
  • The pages of The Little Red Pen are not numbered. For instructional purposes, the page that begins with "Let's get to work" should be considered page 1 and all pages thereafter numbered accordingly.

How this lesson builds on previous work:

  • In Lessons 1-6, students learned about habits of character. As in Lessons 7-8, students in this lesson use that knowledge to identify habits of character in The Little Red Pen, this time focused on pages 29-36, in which the characters carry out Highlighter's ideas on saving Little Red Pen from the pit. Focus students' attention on how the characters use perseverance to overcome issues with the plan.
  • In Lesson 8, the students and teacher participated in a shared writing experience to write a response to their reading. In this lesson, students complete a similar writing exercise, but they do so independently.
  • This lesson continues providing opportunities for students to use their speaking and listening behaviors while discussing habits of character in the book.
  • Continue to use Goal 1 Conversation Cues to promote productive and equitable conversation.

Areas in which students may need additional support:

  • In Work Time A, students work with partners to discuss their answers and may need help using the behaviors learned from the Classroom Discussion Norms anchor chart. Support students with using the nonverbal signals the class came up with for each behavior or model showing the behavior with his/her partner.
  • In Work Time B, students discuss the text-based prompt that will eventually become a writing task. Help students ground their answers in the text by offering picture supports and guiding their discussions back to the text.
  • In Work Time C, students write their answers independently. Support students through the writing process by talking them through their answers before they begin writing, repeating the question discussed with class, or referring them to resources around the room to help with the writing process.

Down the road:

  • This is the third of four lessons with opportunities to collect data on students' progress toward RL.1.1 and RL.1.3 during the focused read-alouds.
  • Lessons 7-10 repeat the same lesson steps, allowing students to move toward more independence.

In Advance

  • Set up a document camera to read The Little Red Pen and to show other documents throughout the lesson (optional).
  • Consider placing sticky notes throughout The Little Red Pen to mark stopping points for questions.
  • Prepare materials for students to work on the floor to complete their Session 3, Feeling Words: Student Response Sheets during Work Time A (i.e., pencils, clipboards, papers, etc.)
  • Pre-determine partnerships for Work Time A. 
  • Review the Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face protocol. (Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.)
  • Post: Learning targets, "Learning Target" song, Words that Show Feelings anchor chart, Classroom Discussion Norms anchor chart, Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face anchor chart 

Tech and Multimedia

Consider using an interactive whiteboard or document camera to display lesson materials.

  • Work Time A: If you recorded students singing the "Learning Target" song in Lesson 2, play this recording for them to join in with.
  • Work Time B: If you recorded students participating in the Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face protocol in Lesson 7, play this video for them to remind them of what to do.
  • Work Time C: Students complete The Little Red Pen Perseverance: Student Response Sheet using word processing software, for example a Google Doc.
  • Work Time C: Students use Speech to Text facilities activated on devices, or using an app or software like Dictation.io

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 1.I.B.6-8 and 1.I.C.10

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs through visual support for vocabulary, and through the opportunity to use oral language in a structured way.
  • ELLs may find it difficult to make the transition to writing independently from the spoken, conversational, and scaffolded ways in which they have been working. Inform students in the beginning of the lesson that they will be writing independently. Remind them of the shared writing completed in the previous lesson. While reading, think aloud and ask about how the characters are showing initiative.

Levels of support

For lighter support:

  • Encourage students to use Conversation Cues with other students to promote productive and equitable conversation and to enhance language development.

For heavier support:

  • There are several voices and perspectives in this text. Dialogue is indicated through speech bubbles and quotation marks. In many instances, the text does not explicitly state which character is speaking at any given time. Point to the character as each one is speaking. Check that students understand when each character is speaking so they can successfully achieve the learning targets.
  • During Work Time C, distribute a partially filled-in copy of the The Little Red Pen Perseverance: Student Response Sheet. This will provide students with prompting for their thinking, while relieving the volume of writing required.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): During the structured discussion, students are asked to make connections between the term perseverance and a character (Highlighter) in The Little Red Pen. To help activate background knowledge regarding the habits of character, guide students to use environmental resources (examples: Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart, Tools and Work Word Wall).
  • Multiple Means of Action & Expression (MMAE): During independent writing, students are expected to express ideas in writing. To help students express ideas in their writing, offer options for scaffolds (examples: dictation, sentence starters).
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): In response to the focused read-aloud, students work in pairs on Session 3, Feeling Words: Student Response Sheets. Provide differentiated mentors by pairing students whose reading skills are still developing (Student A) with students with stronger reading skills (Student B). Differentiate the degree of complexity by assigning Student B the task of circling the facial expression and Student A the task of circling the feeling word. Invite partners to check each other's work 

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T)

New:

  • evidence, identify (L)
  • panted, snapped (T)

Review:

  • describe

Materials

  • The Little Red Pen (book; one to display; for teacher read-aloud)
  • Document camera (optional)
  • "Learning Target" song (from Lesson 2; one to display)
  • Session 3, Feeling Words: Student Response Sheet (one per pair)
  • Session 3, Feeling Words: Sample Student Response Sheet (answers, for teacher reference)
  • Materials for response sheets (various; see Teaching Notes)
  • Words That Show Feelings anchor chart (begun in Lesson 7; added to in Work Time A; see supporting materials)
  • Unit 2 Assessment RL.1.1/RL.1.3 Checklist (see Assessment Overview and Resources for Module 1)
  • Classroom Discussion Norms anchor chart (begun in Unit 1)
  • The Little Red Pen Perseverance: Student Response Sheet (one per student and one to display)
  • The Little Red Pen Perseverance: Sample Student Response Sheet (answers, for teacher reference)
  • Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face anchor chart (begun in Lesson 7)

Materials from Previous Lessons

New Materials

Assessment

Each unit in the K-2 Language Arts Curriculum has one standards-based assessment built in. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Noticing and Wondering: The Little Red Pen, Pages 23-28 (10 minutes) 

  • Gather students together whole group and ask them to sit next to a partner.
  • Tell them they will warm up their brains by remembering what happened in The Little Red Pen. Invite students to silently think about the story as you display and slowly turn through the pictures on pages 23-28 using a document camera.
  • Invite students to turn and talk to their partner:

"What did you notice about the pages we read in the story yesterday?" (The characters weren't working together well; Highlighter had a lot of new ideas.)

  • Invite students to turn and talk to their partner:

"What are you wondering about the story or the characters?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Guide students to wonder about how the work will get done or how characters will use habits of character. 
  • For ELLs: As students share their observations and questions with a partner, vary methods for generating response by prompting individual students with sentence starters. Examples:
    • "When Highlighter suggested making a chain of paper clips, I noticed _____."
    • "Now that Ruler fell into The Pit, I wonder ______." (MMAE)

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Focused Read-aloud Session 3: The Little Red Pen, Pages 29-36 (20 minutes) 

  • Direct students' attention to the posted "Learning Target" song, and invite them to sing the song along with you.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets, and read the first one aloud:
    • "I can identify a character's feelings using evidence from the illustrations and the text."
  • Encourage students to whisper an important word from the learning target into their hand. (identify, feelings, evidence)
  • Circle these words on the posted learning target. Review as necessary.
  • Invite students to show a motion for identify (example: point to the palm of your hand as you might an image in a book).
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets, and read the second one aloud:
    • "I can describe an event by looking closely at the illustrations."
  • Remind students that identifying and describing are big jobs for students to do while the teacher reads the story. Have students pretend to open their eyes and ears to prepare to learn.
  • While still displaying The Little Red Pen, begin reading on page 29 and stop after '"Too heavy.' Scissors panted."
  • Tell students that there is a word in this sentence that shows you how Scissors is feeling.
  • Share with students that, as they did in the previous lesson, they will work today with a partner to identify the feeling and the word that shows the feeling. Move students into pre-determined partnerships.
  • Distribute Session 3, Feeling Words: Student Response Sheets and the materials for response sheets to each pair.
  • Reread the sentence on page 29 and ask students to circle the face that shows how Scissors is feeling on their Session 3, Feeling Words: Student Response Sheets. Call on a pair that circled a tired expression to share with the class the reason they circled that face. Refer to Session 3, Feeling Words: Sample Student Response Sheet (answers, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Encourage students to point to each word in the sentence on their response sheet as you reread it aloud.
  • Invite pairs to circle the word that shows the feeling tired. Call on a pair that circled the word panted to share with the class.
  • Focus students' attention on the Words That Show Feelings anchor chart. Write the word panted next to the tired face.
  • While still displaying the text, continue reading page 29 and stop after "'What? Me, a bridge?' Ruler snapped."
  • Tell students that there is a word in this sentence that shows you how Ruler is feeling. Invite students to make an expression that shows how Ruler is feeling. Call on one or two students making an angry expression to share out. If no students are showing an angry expression, tell students to watch your face as you reread the sentence with a lot of emotion.
  • Focus students' attention back on their Session 3, Feeling Words: Student Response Sheets. Reread the sentence and ask students to circle the face that shows how the Ruler is feeling.
  • Invite pairs to circle the word that shows the feeling angry. Call on a pair that circled the word scowled to share with the class. Emphasize that snapped means to say something quickly in an angry way.
  • Focus students' attention on the Words That Show Feelings anchor chart. Write the word snapped next to the angry face.
  • Collect students' response sheets and materials.
  • Draw students' attention back to the text and continuing reading aloud pages 29-32.
  • Stop reading after page 32. Invite students to turn and talk:

"Why do the characters need Yardstick to be a bridge?" (They need him to be a bridge so they can get to Tank's cage.)

  • Circulate as students share to collect information on the Unit 2 Assessment RL.1.1/RL.1.3 Checklist.
  • Refocus students whole group.
  • Draw students' attention back to the text and continuing reading aloud pages 33-36.
  • Stop reading after page 36 with the phrase "I can wake him up."
  • Invite students to turn and talk:

"Why was Chincheta smiling when she said she would wake Tank up?" (She was going to do something mean/mischievous. She had a plan to poke him, and she thought that was funny.)

  • Circulate as students share to collect information on the Unit 2 Assessment RL.1.1/RL.1.3 Checklist.
  • Follow up by asking students to turn and talk as time permits:

"How has Stapler has changed?" (He is nice now. He is helping. He is no longer fighting with the other characters.)

  • Circulate as students share to collect information on the Unit 2 Assessment RL.1.1/RL.1.3 Checklist.
  • Give students specific positive feedback on using evidence from the text. (Example: "I noticed Kayla using ideas from the beginning of the text and now to describe Stapler.")
  • As you split students into pairs for Session 3, Feeling Words: Student Response Sheets, provide differentiated mentors. You can do this by pairing students whose reading skills are still developing (Student A) with students with stronger reading skills (Student B). Differentiate the degree of complexity by assigning Student B the task of circling the facial expression and Student A the task of circling the feeling word. Invite the partners to check each other's work. (MMAE, MME)
  • For ELLs: Buy or ask for large paint chips from a local hardware or paint store, or print them online. Write the words identify, find, and recognize, each on a different shade of paint chip. Place them on the wall and discuss the shades of meaning in relation to the learning target.
  • For ELLs: If beginning and intermediate proficiency students have been strategically partnered throughout the unit, consider partnering them differently today. This will provide an opportunity to gently remove a scaffold in order to assess their progress. 

B. Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face: Doing Work with Habits of Character (10 minutes)

  • Draw students' attention to the Classroom Discussion Norms anchor chart and review as necessary. Remind the class to use the chart if they need help remembering how to speak with their teammates.
  • Tell students they are going to talk about how work is getting done in The Little Red Pen using the Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face protocol. Remind them that they used this protocol in Lesson 7. (Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.)
  • Using the document camera, display The Little Red Pen Perseverance: Student Response Sheet. Point to the picture on the sheet and tell students that they will be talking about the picture before they write their answers down. Sometimes writers need to talk about their ideas before they write them down.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face anchor chart and review as necessary.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"How will you calmly find your partner?" (I will look before I move; I will walk slowly.)

  • Tell students they are going to participate in three rounds of the protocol.
  • Begin the protocol and prompt students with one of the following questions during each of the rounds:

"How is Highlighter showing perseverance?" (The Highlighter kept going even when something got hard.)

"What work does perseverance help Highlighter do?" (Perseverance helped get Little Red Pen out of the trash.)

  • If productive, cue students to expand the conversation by giving an example:

"Can you give an example?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Encourage students to give a kind handshake to their partner before returning to their workspace
  • To help learners anticipate and prepare for sharing their thinking with a partner during the Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face protocol, provide all students with index cards that designate whether they are partner A or B. Each time students turn face-to-face, make it clear which partner (A or B) will share first. (MME)
  • For ELLs: As students share responses to the questions during the protocol, circulate among students and listen. To support individual students to make connections between the term perseverance and the Highlighter's character in The Little Red Pen, guide students to use environmental resources (examples: Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart, Tools and Work Word Wall). (MMR)
  • For ELLs: Clarify the prompt by pointing out that when somebody shows a habit of character, such as perseverance, it means they are using that habit of character. (Example: "If Highlighter shows perseverance, it means he is using that habit of character. He is persevering, or he keeps trying. So what did Highlighter do that tells us he was persevering?") 

C. Independent Writing: What Work Does Perseverance Help the Characters Do? (15 minutes) 

  • Congratulate students on identifying a habit of character in the book. Tell them they will be writing their ideas about perseverance.
  • Point to the sentences on the student response sheet. Remind students that writers need to include certain details in their writing to be clear, such as:
    • An introduction sentence
    • Some sentences about the facts in the text
    • A closing sentence
  • Remind students that they participated in shared writing to complete a response sheet together as a class in Lesson 8 on how Highlighter showed initiative.
  • Point out that, also similar to Lesson 8, the introduction sentence and the closing sentence are already written on the student response sheet, so they just need to focus on writing some facts about the text.
  • Transition students back to their workspace and distribute The Little Red Pen Perseverance: Student Response Sheets.
  • Tell students that now it is their turn to record their sentences on the lines provided on the student response sheet.
  • Reread the writing prompt and invite students to begin writing. Encourage them to do their best with inventive spelling and using the resources in the room to help complete their sentences.
  • Circulate to support students by rereading the question or by asking them to say their answer aloud to you before writing. Take note of exemplary work to share with the class in the Closing. Refer to The Little Red Pen Perseverance: Sample Student Response Sheet (answers, forteacher reference) as necessary.
  • To vary methods for fine motor response, offer options for writing tools (examples: fine-tipped markers, pencil grips, slant boards). (MMAE)
  • For ELLs: To help students express ideas in their writing, offer options for scaffolds (examples: dictation, sentence starters). Example sentence starters may include: "The Highlighter is showing perseverance by _______. I can tell because _______." (MMAE)
  • For ELLs: As students work independently, observe their success in using the resources in the room. If a student is struggling, direct his or her attention to a helpful chart. (Example: "If you don't remember the meaning of perseverance, where can you look?") 

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Reflecting on Learning (5 minutes) 

  • Ask students to bring their The Little Red Pen Perseverance: Student Response Sheets to the whole group meeting area and sit with a partner.
  • Invite students to turn and share their writing with their partner.
  • After 2 minutes, invite one or two students noted in Work Time C as having exemplary work to place their work on the document camera. Give specific positive feedback on each student's work (Example: "I noticed Joshua used details from the text to talk about Highlighter's perseverance," or "I see that Misha remembered the work Highlighter was trying to get done.")
  • Celebrate the hard work students have done to notice the habits of character in the book and how those habits are helping to get work done. Remind them that they will need their learning one more time when they finish the book in the next lesson!
  • For ELLs: Choose a student to share who has made progress after having struggled with the learning targets. Allow the student a chance to proudly demonstrate the progress he or she has made in front of the class.

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