Lesson Plan

James R. Wallbaum

Subject & Topic: Reading 5-3-4 Talk with an Astronaut

Page: none

Date: 3/20/14
Time Required: 40 mins

Standards:
CCSS Informational Text 8: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence
to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence
support which points.
CCSS Informational Text 1: Quote accurately from a text when explaining
what a text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS Language 4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and
multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 5 reading and content,
choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
Learning Objectives:

The students will demonstrate their ability to use the comprehension skill
Authors Purpose and the comprehension strategy Monitor and Clarify by
successfully completing the post-assessment.
The students will show their understanding of Authors Purpose by
creating their own interview with a specific purpose in mind.

Assessment:
Post-Assessment (p. 133-137 in teachers manual)
Interview Project
Adaptations and Accommodations:
Some students will be assigned a specific purpose that they should write their
interview with, in order to focus their attention on a specific task.
Resources:
Projector, Post-Assessment, Interview Project Assignment
Academic Language:
Accomplishments, Focus, Gravity, Monitors, Role, Specific
Statement of Objective or Purpose:
Today we will take our post-assessment, as well as introduce an assignment
youll have over the weekend.

Sequence of Activities:

Anticipatory Set: Ask the students if theyve ever seen someone get
interviewed on TV. Was the interview entertaining? Did the interview
inform you of something? What was the purpose of the interview? Have
students do a think-pair-share talking about interviews theyve seen.
Introduce Interview Project: In our story this week, Talk with an
Astronaut, Ellen Ochoa uses an interview format to inform her audience
what it is like to be an astronaut. Ellen Ochoas author purpose is to
inform her audience. Other author purpose categories are to entertain, to
persuade, or to express feelings or ideas. Your assignment will be to
create an interview in which you, as the author, have a specific purpose.
Hand out the Assignment description page, and walk through the
requirements.
The story Talk with an Astronaut, was a good example of an interview
with the authors purpose to inform. What kind of questions would you
ask if you wanted to write an interview with the purpose to entertain? Or
to persuade? Model the project.
Have students complete the post-assessment. As they finish, they should
begin to work on their Interview project.

Questions to ask:

See highlighted questions, above.

Conclusion and Summary:

Please use your time this weekend to interview a parent, sibling, or
classmate for a specific purpose. This assignment will be due on Monday.
Self Evaluation and Reflection:
The post-assessment did not go as well as I had hoped. There were a number
of students who improved marginally, but others scored the same as they did
the first time, or their score marginally decreased. I will also be interested to
see how the students do in creating an interview with a specific purpose.