Reading, Speaking, and Listening: Close Read-aloud, Session 2 and Interactive Experience with Temperature | EL Education Curriculum

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Reading, Speaking, and Listening: Close Read-aloud, Session 2 and Interactive Experience with Temperature

In this Lesson

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • RI.K.1: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  • RI.K.2: With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
  • RI.K.4: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
  • SL.K.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
  • SL.K.5: Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.

Daily Learning Targets

  •  I can ask and answer questions about weather using Weather Words and What They Mean. (RI.K.1, RI.K.2, RI.K.4)
  •  I can use words and pictures to describe what I observe about temperature. (SL.K.5)

Ongoing Assessment

  • During the close read-aloud in Work Time A, use the Reading Informational Text Checklist to track students' progress toward RI.K.1, RI.K.2, and RI.K.4 (see Assessment Overview and Resources).
  • During Work Time B, circulate and observe as students briefly discuss with a partner and then draw and label what they observed about temperature. Consider using the Speaking and Listening Checklist to document progress toward SL.K.1 and SL.K.5 (see Assessment Overview and Resources).

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Song and Movement: "What Makes Weather?" Song (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Close Read-aloud, Session 2: Weather Words and What They Mean, Pages 16-30, 1-5 (10 minutes)

B. Engaging the Scientist: Interactive Experience with Temperature, Part I (30 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Interactive Writing: Class Weather Journal (10 minutes)

B. Structured Discussion: Reflecting on Responsibility (5 minutes)

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

  • Nurturing an inquiry-rich classroom environment begins with asking questions and cultivating curiosity. This lesson invites students to ask questions and wonder about weather as they continue to closely read an informational text and engage in an interactive experience with temperature.
  • This lesson includes the second in a series of six close read-aloud sessions. As noted previously, close read-alouds are meant to support a deep understanding of a worthy text, support students' mastery of the CCSS reading informational or literature standards, and engage students with discussion, movement, and dramatic expression. Monitor both students' understanding and their engagement; adjust the practice as necessary to support each. (RI.K.1, RI.K.2, RI.K.4)
  • During Work Time B, students engage in an observation activity with thermometers and temperature. Providing engaging and interactive experiences coupled with opportunities to speak, draw, and write about those experiences honors young learners' natural curiosity while building their language skills.
  • During Work Time B, students draw and label what they observe about temperature. These drawings are intended to be a quick sketch to support students in building increased knowledge of weather-related concepts. (SL.K.5)

How this lesson builds on previous work:

  • In Lesson 2, students listened to the first half of the text Weather Words and What They Mean read aloud. Now in Lesson 3 (which includes Session 2 of this close read-aloud), students listen to the second half of the text read aloud. Continue to reinforce the value of revisiting this rich and complex text many times to think about the important concepts and learn complex weather vocabulary.
  • Continue to reinforce the routines of interactive writing and responsibility reflection that were established in Lessons 1-2.

Areas in which students may need additional support:

  • During Closing A, students engage in the interactive writing instructional practice as part of the class weather journal routine. In Part 3 of the class weather journal, students will share the pen with the teacher as they complete the sentence using one of six predetermined weather words to describe the day's weather. When determining for which parts of words they will share the pen, consider your students' letter-sound relationship knowledge.

Down the road:

  • In Lesson 4, students will revisit their experience with thermometers and temperature, adding to their drawings and writing. They will then use these drawings to engage in a structured discussion about what they observed about temperature.
  • In Closing B, students continue thinking about the habit of character of responsibility and reflect on their progress toward showing responsibility. Throughout the unit, guide students toward more specific responses (e.g., "I showed responsibility by carefully observing the thermometer during the interactive experience").

In Advance

  • Set up a document camera to display the "What Makes Weather?" song and other documents throughout the lesson (optional).
  • Prepare Weather Word Wall cards for temperature and thermometer. Write or type the word on a card and create or find a visual to accompany it.
  • Preview the Close Read-aloud Guide: Weather Words and What They Mean to familiarize yourself with what will be required of students. Remember that the close read-aloud guide is divided into sessions. Complete only Session 2 in this lesson; students will complete the remaining sessions in Lessons 4-7.
  • Prepare a cup of ice water, cup of hot water, and thermometer for the interactive experience in Work Time B.
  • Distribute student materials for Work Time B (pencils, Meteorologist's notebooks) at students' seats in the whole group area. This helps to ensure a smooth transition for Work Time.
  • Prepare the class weather journal template by writing it on chart paper. Review the interactive writing process from Lesson 2 and follow it during Closing A.
  • Post: Learning targets, "What Makes Weather?" song, class weather journal template, Conversation Partners chart, and applicable anchor charts (see materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

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

  • If students were recorded singing "What Makes Weather?" in previous lessons, consider playing this recording to remind students of the song.
  • Record the whole group singing the second and third verses of the "What Makes Weather?" song and post it on a teacher web page or on a portfolio app like Seesaw for students to listen to at home with families. Most devices (cellphones, tablets, laptop computers) come equipped with free video and audio recording apps or software.
  • If students were recorded completing the class weather journal in Lessons 1 or 2, consider replaying this recording to remind students of the process.
  • Students use drawing apps or software, such as Kids Doodle plug-in for Google or app for Apple products, to draw their response in their Meteorologist's notebook.
  • Record students as they Think-Pair-Share in Closing and Assessment B to listen to later to discuss strengths and what they could improve on or to use as models for the group. 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 K.1.A.1, K.1.B.5, and K.I.B.6

Important points in the lesson itself:

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with opportunities to participate in a concrete experience that supports academic knowledge.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to listen to Weather Words and What They Mean without stopping, especially if they do not understand some of the language used in the text. Encourage students to use the pictures to help them understand what is happening in the story. Tell them that if they do not understand everything right now, it is okay. Remind students that they will read everything again during the unit.

Levels of support:

For lighter support:

  • If students received heavier support during Lesson 2, encourage them to try the task independently during this lesson. Provide support accordingly once they have grappled with the task.

For heavier support:

  • During Work Time B, as students draw and label their observations, give struggling writers index cards with illustrations for key words. They can use the index cards as guides for writing labels.
  • During Work Time B, distribute a partially filled-in copy of the Meteorologist's notebook Temperature page. This will provide students with prompting for the information they should draw while reducing the volume of work required. (Example: Draw the thermometer in both hot and cold water and prompt students to fill in the red line where they observed it during the experiment.)

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): In this lesson, students are introduced to the concept of temperature through an experiment with a thermometer. This experiment includes several opportunities to allow students to gain information through tactile experiences. Throughout the experiment, you can invite students to hold the thermometer, feel the cup of ice water, and feel the cup of hot water.
  • Multiple Means of Action & Expression (MMAE): Before the close read-aloud, support students in organizing information they have learned about weather by reviewing their initial questions and asking them if any have been answered. You can then invite students to share new questions about weather that might be answered by the second half of the book.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): During the Closing, students explain how they showed responsibility throughout the lesson. Help them see the relevance of responsibility by encouraging them to share examples of how taking responsibility helps the class reach its goals.

Vocabulary

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

New:

  • temperature, thermometer (L)

Review:

  • component, weather (L)

Materials

  • "What Makes Weather?" song (from Lesson 2; one to display)
  • Weather Word Wall cards (new; teacher-created; two)
  • Weather Word Wall (begun in Lesson 1; added to during the Opening; see Teaching Notes)
  • Close Read-aloud Guide: Weather Words and What They Mean (from Lesson 2; Session 2; for teacher reference)
  • Weather Words and What They Mean (one to display; for teacher read-aloud)
  • Reading Informational Text Checklist (for teacher reference; see Assessment Overview and Resources)
  • Thermometer (one for teacher modeling)
  • Cup of ice water (one for teacher modeling)
  • Meteorologist's notebook (from Lesson 2; one per student)
    • Temperature page (page 2 of Meteorologist's notebook)
  • Pencils (one per student)
  • Cup of hot water (one for teacher modeling)
  • Class weather journal template (blank; from Lesson 1; one to display)
  • Responsibility anchor chart (begun in Lesson 2)
  • Think-Pair-Share anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Conversation Partners chart (from Module 1)

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. Song and Movement: "What Makes Weather?" Song (5 minutes)

  • Gather whole group.
  • Remind students that in the previous lesson, they began learning a new song about the four components of weather. Today they will learn two new verses that are about two of those components.
  • Briefly review the definition of component with students (a part of something).
  • Using a document camera, direct students' attention to the "What Makes Weather?" song and invite students to join you to sing the first verse.
  • Tell students that now you will model singing the next two verses of the song. The second verse is about temperature, and the third verse is about moisture.
  • Show students the Weather Word Wall card for temperature and follow the same process established in Lesson 1: provide its definition, clap out its syllables, use it in a sentence, and place the Word Wall card and picture on the Weather Word Wall.
  • Invite students to follow along as you track the print and sing the second and third verses of the song.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"What are some hand gestures and actions that might help us remember these verses about temperature and moisture?" (gesturing for a sunrise, pointing up for high temperature and down for low temperature, gesturing for rain trickling down, or making our hands in the shape of fluffy clouds)

  • Invite students to join you in singing the first three verses of the song and use the chosen hand gestures and actions.
  • Repeat two or three times or as time permits.
  • Explain that as students continue reading Weather Words and What They Mean, they will learn more about temperature and moisture.
  • For ELLs: Before singing verses 2 and 3 of the "What Makes Weather?" song, create a supportive learning environment by reminding students that there might be words in the song they do not know yet. Example: "Remember yesterday we talked about how this song includes some words that you will know and some you might not know yet? If you don't know or remember what some of the weather words in the song mean, what can you do?" (look at the Weather Word Wall, listen for clues in the song) (MME)
  • For ELLs: Identify students who might be mouthing the words or not singing while the class sings chorally. If students seem to be avoiding singing, encourage them to sing without pressuring them. If students are comfortable, invite them to sing "duets" with more confident students so they can more easily hear themselves as they practice.

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Close Read-aloud Session 2: Weather Words and What They Mean, Pages 16-30, 1-5 (10 minutes)

  • Refocus whole group.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and read the first one aloud:
    • "I can ask and answer questions about weather using Weather Words and What They Mean."
  • Briefly review the definition of weather with students. (Weather concerns such things as temperature, rain, snow, sun, and other factors; the conditions outside.)
  • Guide students through the close read-aloud for Weather Words and What They Mean using the Close Read-aloud Guide: Weather Words and What They Mean (Session 2; for teacher reference). Consider using the Reading Informational Text Checklist during the close read-aloud (see Assessment Overview and Resources).
  • Before the close read-aloud, support students in organizing information by reviewing their questions from yesterday. Ask if any of their initial questions have been answered. Invite students to share new questions about weather that might be answered by the second half of the book. (MMAE)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with reading: During the close read-aloud, display the text on a document camera or display an enlarged copy of the text to help direct students to the appropriate sentences on each page. (MMR)

B. Engaging the Scientist: Interactive Experience with Temperature, Part I (30 minutes)

  • Share with students that now they are going to explore more closely one of the four components that make up weather.
  • Briefly review the definition of temperature with students (the degree of heat or cold in an object or an environment).
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and read the second one aloud:
    • "I can use words and pictures to describe what I observe about temperature."
  • Invite students to turn and talk with an elbow partner:

"Have you ever experienced a really hot day or a day when the temperature was high? What did it look and feel like?" (Responses will vary, but may include: The sun was high in the sky, the sun was shining brightly, I was sweaty, etc.)

  • Show students the thermometer and ask:

"Do you know what this is and what it does?"

  • Explain that a thermometer is a tool for measuring temperature.
  • Remind students that temperature describes whether something is hot, cold, or somewhere in between.
  • Ask:

"What is the translation of hot and cold in our home languages?" (moto and baridi in Swahili) Call on student volunteers to share. Ask other students to choose one translation in a home language other than their own to quietly repeat. Invite students to say their chosen translation out loud when you give the signal. Chorally repeat the translations and the word in English. Invite self- and peer correction of the pronunciation of the translations and the English.

  • Tell students that today they will see how a thermometer works and what happens to it when the temperature changes.
  • Show students the cup of ice water and tell them you are going to put the thermometer in the cup of water and you want them to observe what happens to the red part of the thermometer.
  • Place the thermometer in the cup of ice water and circulate around so that students can observe the thermometer.
  • Invite students to turn and talk with an elbow partner:

"What did you notice about the thermometer in the ice water cup? What did you observe about temperature?" (The red part of the thermometer went down; the temperature went down.)

  • Circulate and listen as students discuss, supporting and prompting them by displaying the thermometer and cup of ice water.
  • Inform students that now they will have a chance to make a quick drawing about what they just observed and discussed about temperature.
  • Point out the Meteorologist's notebooks and pencils already at students' tables. Invite them to take their notebook and turn to the Temperature page.
  • Focus students' attention to the top of the Temperature page and read aloud the directions:
  1. Think about what you noticed and observed about the thermometer and the temperature of the water in the cup.
  2. Draw a picture showing what you observed.
  3. Add labels to your picture.
  • Invite students to begin drawing and labeling. Circulate to support students as necessary by displaying the thermometer and water cups. Prompt them to use the Weather Word Wall to support their labeling.
  • Allow students 5-7 minutes of drawing and labeling time and then refocus whole group.
  • Show students the cup of hot water and ask:

"What do you think will happen to the thermometer when I put it in this cup of hot water?" (The red part will go higher, to the top of the thermometer.)

  • Select volunteers to share out.
  • Place the thermometer in the cup of hot water and circulate so students can observe the thermometer.
  • Invite students to turn and talk with an elbow partner:

"What did you notice about the thermometer in the cup of hot water? What did you observe about temperature?" (The red part of the thermometer went up; the temperature was higher.)

  • Circulate and listen as students discuss, supporting and prompting them by displaying the thermometer and cup of ice water.
  • Tell students that now they can add what they just observed and discussed to their quick drawings.
  • Remind students of the directions at the top of the Temperature page in their Meteorologist's notebook.
  • Invite students to begin drawing and labeling, circulating to support them as necessary by displaying the thermometer and water cups. Prompt students to use the Weather Word Wall to support their labeling.
  • Tell students to close their Meteorologist's notebooks. Collect them.
  • Inform students that they will be able to add more details to their drawings in the next lesson, and that they will use their drawings to have a discussion about temperature with their classmates.
  • Before the close read-aloud, support students in organizing information by reviewing their questions from yesterday. Ask if any of their initial questions have been answered. Invite students to share new questions about weather that might be answered by the second half of the book. (MMAE)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with reading: During the close read-aloud, display the text on a document camera or display an enlarged copy of the text to help direct students to the appropriate sentences on each page. (MMR)
  • For ELLs: During the experiments, offer alternatives to visual information by allowing individual students to hold the thermometer, feel the cup of ice water, and feel the cup of hot water. (MMR)
  • As students work on their Temperature page, provide visual access to the thermometer by placing it on a document camera. This will help students draw the shape and details of thermometer from observation. (MMR)
  • For ELLs: Draw and display a large thermometer. While conducting the experiment, invite an ELL to use a red marker to draw how the line looks when putting the thermometer in cold and hot water. This offers an alternative activity to engage the experience, practice for writing in the Meteorologist's notebook, and another source of visual information for the class.
  • For ELLs: For students who may need heavier support writing labels, ask them to dictate their work while circulating. Write labels under their drawings with a highlighter. Encourage students to trace the highlighter in pencil or pen. (Example: "I'm going to write hot with this highlighter. I'm looking at the Weather Word Wall to help me remember how to spell it. H-O-T. Now you can trace it with a pencil. I bet you can do it by yourself next time!")

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Interactive Writing: Class Weather Journal (10 minutes)

  • Gather whole group.
  • Offer specific, positive feedback on students' drawing and writing. (Example: "I noticed that everyone really thought about what they observed about temperature as they drew and labeled.")
  • Display the class weather journal template. Remind students that because they are becoming weather experts, they are reporting on the weather, just like meteorologists do.
  • Follow the Interactive Writing: Class Weather Journal instructional practice from Lesson 2 to complete Parts 1, 2, and 3 of the class weather journal template.
  • For ELLs: When guiding students to complete the third sentence in the class weather journal, activate background knowledge by prompting students to help clarify vocabulary. (Example: "Remember yesterday we talked about warm and hot? Who can help us remember the difference between these two words?") (MMR)

B. Structured Discussion: Reflecting on Responsibility (5 minutes)

  • Direct students' attention to the Responsibility anchor chart and it read aloud.
  • Briefly review the definition of responsibility (to take ownership of my work, my actions and my space).
  • Tell students they are now going to use the Think-Pair-Share protocol to explain how they showed responsibility during the interactive experience today. Remind them that they used this protocol in Module 1 and review as necessary using the Think-Pair-Share anchor chart. (Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.)
  • Post the following sentence stem:
    •  "I showed responsibility in my ______ by ________."
  • Referring to the Conversation Partners chart, invite students to partner up and sit facing one another. Make sure students know which partner is A and which is B.
  • Invite students to Think-Pair-Share:

"How did you show responsibility during the interactive experience today?" (Responses will vary.)

  • As students talk, circulate and listen in. Take note of the ideas students are sharing and target a few students to share out with the whole group.
  • Invite the targeted students to share out.
  • Offer students specific, positive feedback on showing responsibility. (Example: "I noticed that everyone showed responsibility by taking care of the materials during the interactive experience today.")
  • Inform students that in the next lesson, they will continue closely reading Weather Words and What They Mean and get a chance to add to their drawings about temperature.
  • After the Think-Pair-Share, optimize relevance. Ask:

"How does showing responsibility help us do our work in kindergarten?" (MME)

  • For ELLs: Consider pairing students with a partner who has more advanced or native language proficiency. The partner with greater language proficiency can serve as a model in the pair, initiating discussions and providing implicit sentence frames, for example.
  • For ELLs: Point out that show and responsibility are words we hear a lot together. (Example: "Remember, when we show responsibility, it means we are behaving or acting with responsibility.") Prompt students to practice using the phrase "show responsibility" briefly before sharing with their partners. Ask:

"When do you act in a responsible way? When do you show responsibility?" (I show responsibility when I _________.)

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