Teacher: Ms. Yolanda Destura Subject: English Lesson Topic: Writing a Thank You Letter (Thank You Mr.

Falker) Common Core Standard(s): Reading Standards for Literature 4.RL.2. Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text. 4.RL.3. Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a characters thoughts, words, or actions). Reading Standards: Foundational Skills 4.RF.4. Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension. 4.RF.4.a. Read on-level text with purpose and understanding. Writing Standards 4.0 Produce clear and coherent writing (including multiple-paragraph texts) in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience; Language Standard Vocabulary Acquisition and Use 4.L.4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 4 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. Information Literacy Standards 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The student who is information literate uses information accurately and creatively. Uses prewriting techniques to extract and organize relevant information Composes and revises drafts Communicates and synthesizes ideas in logical and creative or novel ways Grade Level: 4

Lesson Objective(s): Students will Develop specific strategies for reading comprehension following a teacher model of thinking aloud and asking questions; Demonstrate comprehension by discussing their reactions to a story, identifying with characters in a story, and relating events in a story to their own lives; Learn about character development and themes using charts created by the class; and Develop oral language skills as they participate in discussions about a story. Vocabulary: Dummy, toad, wobbly, slick, torture,

Instructional Strategies: 1: CONNECTING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE Guide Questions: Have you ever really wanted to learn to do something? How did you do it? Was it easy or difficult? If it was difficult, how did you feel? Were you able to do it? Who helped you? 2. MAKING PREDICTIONS Show the book to the students and ask the students to predict what will happen in the story based on the illustrations 3. ENVISIONING CHARACTER CHANGE a. Ask them to think of one or two words that describe Trisha at various stages throughout the story. Examples include: At the beginning of the story: hopeful, eager, excited At the middle of the story: sad, insecure, a failure, no confidence At the end of the story: happy, confident, proud, intelligent b. Tell students that they have been studying character development. Tell them that good readers do this to help them understand the text better. c. Display the chart in your classroom and have students use it independently as they read additional books. You might also give students sticky notes and their own copies of the chart to record their responses as they listen to a story or read it on their own

Instructional Strategies: 4.MAKING THEMATIC CONNECTIONS Challenge students to make thematic connections by identifying the supporting evidence from the text for this theme. Record their responses on the Life Lesson Chart. Help students extend the thematic connections to their own lives by responding to the following questions: Do a "picture walk" through the book. At each illustration, ask students to summarize what is happening on the page. Tell students that there are two important themes in this story. Ask students what the themes are. If they cannot do so, identify the themes for students. Read and review the chart together. This helps students review and consolidate the information, encouraging them to reflect as they read. ASSESSMENTS: 5.REFLECTIONS Have students write on their journals the response to the following questions: Who are the important people in your life? How do the important people in your life make you feel? How do they do that? 6.WRITING A THANK YOU LETTER Discuss the parts of the letter Show examples of a Thank You Letter and ask students to identify the parts of the letter. Ask students to write a Thank You Letter to a person, could be a teacher that helped them in difficult time. Ask students to share to the class their Thank You Letter.

Materials: Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco Chart paper and colored markers Student response journals (optional) Sticky notes