Focused Read Aloud and Retelling, Session 2: Sun and Moon | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G1:M2:U1:L11

Focused Read Aloud and Retelling, Session 2: Sun and Moon

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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.1.2: Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
  • RL.1.3: Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
  • RL.1.7: Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
  • W.1.8: With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
  • SL.1.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
  • SL.1.2: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
  • L.1.6: Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using frequently occurring conjunctions to signal simple relationships (e.g., because).

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can retell major events from Sun and Moon. (RL.1.1, RL.1.2, RL.1.3, RL.1.7, W.1.8, SL.1.2, L.1.6)
  • I can describe the central message of Sun and Moon.(RL.1.2, W.1.8, SL.1.1)

Ongoing Assessment

  • During Work Time A, B, and C, track students' progress towards the reading standards in this lesson using the Reading Literature Checklist.
  • During Work Time B, circulate and listen for students to use words and phrases acquired through the read-aloud during the Role-Play protocol. Note how students are interacting with one another using the Speaking and Listening Checklist (see Assessment Overview and Resources).
  • During Work Time C, circulate and observe students individually writing their Sun and Moon response sheets. At the end of the lesson, collect students' writing samples to check progress toward W.1.8.

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engaging the Learner: Moon Movement Routine (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Focused Read-aloud, Session 2: Sun and Moon (15 minutes)

B. Role-Play: Beginning, Middle, and End (15 minutes)

C. Independent Writing: Sun and Moon Response Sheet, Parts III and IV (20 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Reflecting on Learning (5 minutes)

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

  • This is the second of two lessons in which students engage in a focused read-aloud of Sun and Moon. Students use the text and illustrations to ask and answer questions about the characters, setting, and events in the story. They then complete Parts III and IV of their response sheet, dealing with the text's central lesson/message.
  • Nurturing an inquiry-rich classroom environment begins with asking and answering questions and cultivating curiosity. This lesson invites students to re-engage with the Unit 1 guiding question in order to uncover the author's purpose for writing Sun and Moon.

How this lesson builds on previous work:

  • Students completed Parts I and II of the response sheet in Lesson 10. In this lesson, they complete Parts III and IV.
  • Students complete the Story Elements board for Sun and Moon by adding key details from the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
  • In Lesson 9, students used sentence frames to describe the beginning, middle, and end of the story. In this lesson, students are introduced to a signal to use when they hear or see an important event from the beginning, middle, and end of the story. This practice promotes independence and moves students toward mastering the skill of identifying important events more fluidly while reading.
  • Students continue to use the Role-Play protocol to better understand the major events in Sun and Moon.
  • Students answer the Unit 1 guiding question in relation to Sun and Moon.
  • Continue to use Goal 1 and 2 Conversation Cues to promote productive and equitable conversation.

Areas in which students may need additional support:

  • Some students may need additional support with their oral language during the role-play. Look for opportunities to support students' oral language as they practice role-playing by providing sentence stems or mimed actions.
  • Support students in their transfer of their oral rehearsal into their writing before and during Work Time C by referring back to the Story Elements board.
  • This lesson introduces the writing about the central lesson/message in Part IV of the student response sheet. Students may need additional time to complete their writing. Consider your students' comfort and capabilities with independent writing and reallocate instructional time to provide more time for the assessment as necessary.

Down the road:

  • Students have worked with their partners for the Role-Play protocol for Lessons 8-11. In Lesson 12, students will have the opportunity to work in a triad with new partners.
  • Throughout this unit, students repeatedly return to texts to ask and answer questions about the characters, setting, events, and central message of the story. In Lessons 14-15, students will complete the Unit 1 Assessment by completing all parts of the response sheet for the text Kitten's First Full Moon

In Advance

  • Prepare:
    • Sun, Moon, and Stars Word Wall Card for the word darkness. Write or type the word on a card and create or find a visual to accompany each word.
    • Story Elements board icons for the beginning, middle, and end.
    • Parts III and IV of the Sun and Moon response sheet on clipboards for Work Time C.
  • Review the Role-Play protocol. (Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of this protocol.)
  • Post: Learning targets, Moon Movement chart, and applicable anchor charts (see materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

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

  • Create the Story Elements board in an online format--for example, a Google Doc--to display and for families to access at home to reinforce these skills.
  • Video record students as they engage in the Moon Movement routine Steps 1-6 to evaluate strengths and areas for improvement. Post it on a teacher webpage or on a portfolio app such as Seesaw for students to watch at home with families. Most devices (cellphones, tablets, laptop computers) come equipped with free video and audio recording apps or software.
  • Video record students as they role-play to watch with students to evaluate strengths and areas for improvement. Post it on a teacher webpage or on a portfolio app such as Seesaw for students to watch at home with families. Most devices (cellphones, tablets, laptop computers) come equipped with free video and audio recording apps or software.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards: 1.I.A.1, 1.I.B.5, 1.I.B.6, and 1.I.C.10

Important points in the lesson itself:

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs by providing opportunities to deepen comprehension and expand oral language by acting out events of the text Sun and Moon. Students will also have the opportunity to demonstrate understanding by writing in a structured organizer. 
  • ELLs may find it challenge to comprehend the question "Why do think the author wrote the book?" because it may seem abstract. Consider making this question more concrete by researching the author of Sun and Moon, Lindsey Yankey, and displaying a picture of her throughout the read-aloud. Discuss her inspirations for writing. Refer to her photograph each time the class thinks about her motivation for writing about the sun and the moon.

Levels of support

For lighter support:

  • During Work Time C, invite a student to model completing the first section of the graphic organizer for the class.
  • The supports in Lesson 10 and in this lesson are similar to the supports in Lessons 8-9 because the tasks mirror one another. Based on student performance in Lessons 8-9, consider releasing students from some of the supports to foster independence and to assess student progress.

For heavier support:

  • During Work Time C, complete the first section of the Sun and Moon response sheet, Part 3 with the class as a shared or interactive writing experience to prepare students to work on the remaining sections independently.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): In this lesson, students share ideas about the central message of Sun and Moon. Some students may need additional support with understanding and remembering these ideas. Offer alternatives to auditory information by writing students' ideas on chart paper and referring to them in future lessons.  
  • Multiple Means of Action & Expression (MMAE): In this lesson, students talk with a partner about why the author wrote Sun and Moon. Some students may need additional support with taking the perspective of the author. Provide alternatives for expression by inviting students to act out an interview with an author.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Students have had multiple opportunities to learn and practice the Moon Movement routine. Some students may benefit from opportunities to be seen as a peer model. Foster community by inviting a few students to help you demonstrate the steps of the Moon Movement routine.

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T); Vocabulary Used in Writing (W)

New:

  • darkness (T)

Review:

  • character, setting, moon, sun (L)

Materials

  • Moon Movement chart (from Lesson 2; one to display)
  • Story Elements board (begun in Lesson 10; added to during Work Time A)
  • Reading Literature Checklist (for teacher reference; see Assessment Overview and Resources)
  • Sun and Moon (one to display; for teacher read-aloud)
  • Sun, Moon, and Stars Word Wall card (new; teacher-created; one)
  • Sun, Moon, and Stars Word Wall (begun in Lesson 1; added to during Work Time A)
  • Story Elements Board Icons: Sun and Moon (from Lesson 10; three; added to Story Elements board during Work Time A)
  • Story Elements Board: Sun and Moon (from Lesson 10; answers, for teacher reference)
  • Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart (begun in Lesson 4)
  • Role-Play Protocol anchor chart (begun Lesson 4)
  • Speaking and Listening Checklist (for teacher reference; see Assessment Overview and Resources)
  • Sun and Moon response sheet (from Lesson 10; one per student and one to display)
  • Pencils (one per student)
  • Unit 1 Guiding Question anchor chart (begun in Lesson 2; added to during the Closing; see supporting 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. Engaging the Learner: Moon Movement Routine (5 minutes)

  • Direct students to stand in a circle around the whole group meeting area.
  • Focus students' attention on the Moon Movement chart and remind them that this is a set of movements and stretches that the dancer shared with Elvin.
  • Lead students through Steps 7-10 of the Moon Movement routine.
  • Repeat Steps 7-10 with students.
  • Invite students to complete Steps 1-10 of the Moon Movement routine with you. 
  • When engaging in the Sun Movement routine, foster community by inviting a few student volunteers to model Steps 1-10 for the class. (MME)

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Focused Read-aloud, Session 2: Sun and Moon (15 minutes)

  • Direct students' attention to the first posted learning target and read it aloud:
    • "I can retell major events from Sun and Moon."
  • Remind students that the "major events" of a story are the important things that happen in the beginning, middle, and end.
  • Invite students to take out their magic bows and take aim at the target.
  • Direct students' attention to the Story Elements board and ask:

"According to the learning targets, which part of the story elements will we be filling in today?" (beginning, middle, and end)

  • Direct students' attention to the second posted learning target and read it aloud:
    • "I can describe the central message of Sun and Moon."
  • Remind students that the central message of a story is the big idea or lesson it teaches the characters and readers.
  • Remind students of an example of the central message from a familiar story. (Example: "The central message from The Most Magnificent Thing is that if you work hard as an effective learner you can accomplish magnificent things!")
  • Tell students that as they listen to Sun and Moon today, they should pay close attention to the events and central message. As students engage with the text, use the Reading Literature Checklist to track their progress.
  • Display Sun and Moon.
  • Tell students that as in Lesson 10, they will use a signal. This time, they will use a signal when they see or hear an important event from the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Demonstrate the signal. (It should be different from that of the previous lesson to avoid confusion.)
  • Draw students' attention to the text and read pages 1-10 fluently and without interruption, paying attention to when students show the signal for an important event.
  • Pause after reading page 10 and tell students how impressed you were at how they used the signal. Ask:

"What did you hear that helped you understand the important events from the beginning of the story?" (Moon is bored with night and asks Sun to trade places, but Sun tells him that first Moon must spend an entire night looking closely at the world.)

"What did you see in the illustrations that helped you understand the beginning of the story?" (Moon looked sad; Moon talked to Sun.)

  • Show students the Sun, Moon, and Stars Word Wall card for darkness.
  • Invite students to turn and talk with an elbow partner:

"What is darkness?" (lack of light)

  • Invite students to cover their eyes to see darkness.
  • Place the Word Wall card for darkness on the Sun, Moon, and Stars Word Wall.
  • Place the Story Elements Board Icon: Sun and Moon for beginning on the Story Elements board. Refer to Story Elements Board: Sun and Moon (answers, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Draw students' attention back to the text and read aloud pages 11-28, slowly, fluently, with expression, and without interruption. Remind students to show the signal again when they hear an important event from the middle of the story.
  • Pause at page 28 and flip back through the previous illustrations.
  • Ask:

"What did you hear that helped you understand the important events from the middle of the story?" (Moon agreed to spend one more night in the sky looking closely at earth. Moon saw many beautiful things, such as foxes hunting, colorful cities, children's dreams, fireworks, etc.)

"What did you see in the illustrations that helped you understand the middle of the story?" (beautiful things such as fireworks, flowers, dreams, animals, etc.)

"Who can repeat what your classmate said?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Place the Story Elements board icon for middle on the Story Elements board.
  • Draw students' attention back to the text and read aloud the remainder of the book. Remind students to use the signal when they see and hear important events from the end of the story.
  • Ask:

"What did you hear and see that helped you understand the end of the story?" (Moon realized all the exciting and enjoyable things he could watch during the night and decided not to trade places with Sun.)

  • Place the Story Elements board icon for end on the Story Elements board.
  • Invite students to Think-Pair-Share with an elbow partner:

"Why did Moon change its mind? What was the central message or lesson that Moon learned?" (Moon realized that the world is beautiful no matter if it's day or night, and Moon learned to appreciate his place in the night sky.)

  • As students discuss, circulate and listen in. Take note of the ideas they are sharing and target a few students to share out with the whole group.
  • Cold call a few selected students to share out. 
  • Give students specific, positive feedback for collaborating to make sense of the central message in Sun and Moon. (Example: "Fabiana, you were thinking about how Moon's feelings changed during the book, and I heard Gina add on that he felt happy when he learned that night was beautiful too.")
  • As students share out ideas about the story's central message, offer alternatives to auditory information by writing students' ideas on chart paper or a white board. Save their ideas to refer to in future lessons. (MMR)
  • For ELLs: Mini Language Dive. Ask students about the meaning of the chunks from the text: "But now, Moon / wished for nothing more than to spend the rest of his nights / enjoying the exciting and wonderful things / that came to life in his moonlight." Write and display student responses next to the chunks. Examples:
      • "What does this sentence mean?" (Responses will vary.)
    • Point to and read aloud the chunk: "But now, Moon" and ask:
      • "What character is this sentence about?" (Moon)
    • Point to and read aloud the chunk: "wished for nothing more than to spend the rest of his nights" and ask:
      • "What did moon do?" (wished)
      • "What does it mean that moon wished for nothing more than to spend the rest of her nights?" (He didn't wish for anything else. He just wanted to spend time at night.)
      • "What is something that you wish for nothing more than?" (I wish for nothing more than ice cream; healthy food.)
    • Point to and read aloud the chunk: "enjoying the exciting and wonderful things" and ask:
      • "What does Moon want to do as he spends time in the night?" (enjoy wonderful things.)
    • Point to and read aloud the chunk: "that came to life in his moonlight." and ask:
      • "What else does the author tell us about these wonderful things Moon enjoys?" (they are alive in the nighttime. They move about at night.)
      • "Pretend you are foxes coming to life in the moonlight."
      • "Now what do you think this sentence means?" (The Moon wants to enjoy the nighttime and all of the creatures that live in the moonlight.)
      • "How did this sentence help you understand the central message of the story?" (It describes how Moon loves and appreciates the night and his place in the sky.)
  • Use the routine established in the first half of the module to review the first learning target and the Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart with students and guide them through the Role-Play protocol for the following pages of Sun and Moon. Review the Role-Play Protocol anchor chart as necessary (Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of this protocol) and track their progress with the Speaking and Listening Checklist for SL.1.1 and SL.1.2.
  1. Pages 3-10
  2. Pages 11-18
  3. Pages 29-30
  • Give students specific, positive feedback on their ability to role-play the key details of Sun and Moon. (Example: "Ben, I saw you use your facial expressions to show how amazed Moon was when he saw beautiful things at night.")

  • When giving directions for the Role-Play protocol, foster collaboration by guiding students in knowing when and how to ask a classmate for help. (Example: "When you are role-playing today, you might forget all the major events in the story. That is okay! First, try your best to look at the pages and remember what happened in the story. If you are still stuck, your partner can help you. What could you say to your partner if you forget something about the story?")  (MME)

C. Independent Writing: Sun and Moon Response Sheet, Parts III and IV (20 minutes)

  • Tell students that now they are going to write what they know about the major events and central message in Sun and Moon.
  • Display the Sun and Moon response sheet.
  • Distribute prepared clipboards and pencils.
  • Focus students on Part III and read the prompt aloud, allowing adequate think time:
    • "Use words and pictures to show what happened in the story."
  • Direct students' attention to the box labeled Beginning.
  • Invite students to whisper a response into their hands:

"What happened in the beginning of Sun and Moon?"

  • Tell students that they may begin writing their response in the Beginning box.
  • Repeat this process with the remaining two boxes, Middle and End.
  • Circulate to support students as they write. Encourage them to use classroom resources (Story Elements board, Word Walls, high-frequency word lists, and alphabet or letter sound combination charts). If students need additional support generating ideas, invite them to work in a small group with teacher support and refer to the Story Elements board from Work Time A.
  • Signal all students to stop working through the use of a designated sound.
  • Refocus whole group and focus students on Part IV. Read the prompt aloud, allowing adequate think time: 
    • "What does Moon learn at the end of Sun and Moon?"
  • Invite students to complete their written response.
  • Circulate to support students as they write. Encourage them to use classroom resources (Story Elements board, Word Walls, high-frequency word lists, and alphabet or letter sound combination charts).
  • When 2 minutes remain, provide students with a time reminder.
  • Signal all students to stop working through the use of a designated sound.
  • Collect students' response sheets.
  • When giving the 2-minute reminders for each section of writing, provide alternatives to auditory information and support self-regulation by using a visual timer. (MMR, MME)
  • For ELLs: Before completing Part 4 of the Sun and Moon Student Response Sheet, briefly review the Mini-Language Dive from Work Time A. Remind students that they discussed the central message of Sun and Moon. For heavier support, invite students to use the sentence frame: "Moon learned to enjoy ______ things that came to life in _____."
  • For ELLs: Prepare students for the task by displaying and reviewing a student's Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me Student Response Sheet completed in Lesson 9. Tell students they will now complete a similar activity, but this time they will think about the text Sun and Moon.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Reflecting on Learning (5 minutes)

  • Tell students they are now going to consider why the author may have written Sun and Moon.
  • Direct students' attention to the Unit 1 Guiding Question anchor chart and complete the first column with the book title.
  • Follow the same routine established in Lesson 9 to complete the three columns, culminating in a Think-Pair-Share for the third column:

"Why do you think the author wrote the book?" (Responses will vary, but may include: to imagine what the sun and moon might think about, and/or to describe the wonderful things that happen on earth at night.)

  • If productive, cue students to expand the conversation by saying more:

"Can you say more about that?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Cold call two or three students to share out their ideas.
  • As students share out, capture their responses on the anchor chart.
  • Reread the new information added to the anchor chart about Sun and Moon, reading from left to right across the chart.
  • As time permits, invite students to complete the Moon Movement routine to close out the lesson.
  • As students Think-Pair-Share, provide options for expression and communication by inviting them to act out an interview. Partner A can ask interview questions ("What inspired you to write this book?") and partner B can pretend to be the author. Then partner A and partner B can switch roles. (MMAE)
  • For ELLs: Review the learning targets introduced in Work Time A. Ask students to give specific examples of how they worked toward achieving them in this lesson. Invite students to rephrase the learning targets now that they have more experience recalling major events and describing the central message. (Example: I can describe how Lindsey Yankey wanted to tell us that exciting things happen under the moon.)

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