Minnesota State University, Mankato

EEC Lesson Plan Explanations

(Subject to Change)
Name
Date(s)
taught
Lesson Title

Tasha Johnson and Leah Rhode

Wednesday 2/10/16

Grade level(s)
Course/Subject

Introducing Mystery Genre

Observed Lesson

5th (5-2 & 5-3)

Reading- Mini Lesson
X yes, by

LeeAnn Lechtenberg

Central FOCUS:
Comprehension

Strategy for Student Learning:

Make Connections: Readers connect the topic or information to what they already know about
themselves, about other text, and about the world.

Content Standard(s)

RL.5.1: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when
drawing inferences from the text.

Skills (what do students

need to do to be successful
with the strategy? A skill is
automatic.
Content Learning
Objective(s)
Number the objectives

Strategies to be used
(research based)

Identify details and examples in the text

Use the author's name or expression when quoting from the text
Cite specific examples and details to support inferences
Cite what the author said that led to the conclusion

Students will be able to quote accurately from the text Mystery of the Missing Raffle Ticket when drawing
inferences and will be able to draw conclusions based on their inferences.

Text to Text
Text to Self
Text to World
Prompting questions
This reminds me of a time when I...
I know about this topic because I...
While I'm reading, I try to figure out...

EEC Department

Minnesota State University, Mankato

EEC Lesson Plan Explanations
(Subject to Change)
ACADEMIC LANGUAGE
Function: Infer: make
inferences; predict
implications;
hypothesize
Academic Language
(Specific ways that academic language
(vocabulary, functions,
discourse, syntax) is used by students to
participate in learning tasks through
reading, writing, listening, and/or speaking to
demonstrate their disciplinary
understanding.)

Reading- Students will

silently read to
themselves. Students will
follow along and read
aloud when prompted
Writing- Students will write
down one inference that
they made from the
Mystery of the Missing
Raffle Ticket passage
Listening- Students will
listen as the vocabulary
terms are front loaded to
them, during explicit
instruction, whole group
discussion, partner
discussion.
Speaking- Students will
participate by responding
to their peers during
partner discussion and
responding to whole group
discussion

Infer: students are inferring evidence from the text

in order to draw conclusions

Academic language demands

Language Supports:

Academic Vocabulary
Mystery- something that is difficult to
understand or explain
Inference- a conclusion made based off of
evidence and reasoning
Textual evidence- evidence from the text that
supports specific ideas
Conclude- arrive at a judgement or opinion by
reasoning
Genre- type of something

Front load- Vocabulary words will be defined and discussed

need to know and understand the term inference. The stud
Activate prior knowledge: students will be asked what they
prior knowledge

Vocabulary
Raffle- a drawing/contest where prizes are
received
Redeem- to turn in and receive something in
exchange
Center-ice seats- seats that are very close to the
ice rink during a hockey game

Discourse: Students will engage in discussion

about the evidence and conclusions drawn from
the text.

EEC Department

Minnesota State University, Mankato

EEC Lesson Plan Explanations
(Subject to Change)

MONITORING STUDENT LEARNING

Type of
Description of Assessment
Assessment
Feedback you will give to students
(Informal or
Please number each assessment
Formal)
Before

informal

Differentiation Accommodation - Modification

Before beginning the lesson, students will

be asked to share their prior knowledge of
the mystery genre. Their responses will help
us know how much students already know
and what they need to be taught.

During

Observe which students do or do not

actively contribute to the discussion of the
mystery genre. The students who do not
contribute may not have as much
experience with the genre and may need
additional support throughout the week.

After

Student will be asked to write down one

inference they made while reading the text
which they will turn in as an exit card.

informal

formal

KNOWLEDGE OF STUDENTS TO INFORM TEACHING

Student Information

5-2 and 5-3

3 students (5-3) and 4 students (5-2) will need to
be grouped to read the story aloud together with
3

Students who have difficulties expressing their ideas through

writing will be allowed to share their inference verbally,
either to a teacher or by recording it on the iPad

How will you use this information in this lesson?

Accommodations
Students who have difficulty expressing their ideas in written
form will be allowed to orally state their Exit Card. These
students will be allowed to record their responses on the iPad,

EEC Department

Minnesota State University, Mankato

EEC Lesson Plan Explanations
(Subject to Change)

support from a teacher. These students are below

grade level in reading and receive ELL and SPED
services. These students have good comprehension
when the story is read aloud and the text is
discussed briefly after each paragraph
The class as a whole works well in a cooperative
learning environment and bounce ides off of one
another
The class likes to read independently or in pairs
and then come together to discuss main idea and
concepts
A few students are reserved during whole group
discussion, but express their thoughts openly
during partner sharing

Modifications
Students who need support in reading at grade level texts will
be grouped and read the story aloud together with support
from either Tasha or Leah.

SUPPORTING STUDENT LEARNING

Management and Safety
No safety issues to consider. We will need to keep an eye on students who are sometimes off task to
Issues to Consider
make sure that they are focused and on task. To do this we will make sure all students are sitting on the
carpet where they can see they board and we will move students if they are not. Students who are
grouped together for reading the passage aloud will need to be encouraged to try their best and to stay
on task.
Materials/Resources
Needed

Teacher Materials:
BML Manual
Mystery Poster 1&2
Exit Card Slips

Human Resources Utilized

Tasha, Leah

Co-teaching

Strategy:

One Teach, One Assist

Station Teaching

Students Materials:
Text for Close Reading Book (pg.99)
Pencil
Exit Card Slip

One Teach, One Observe

x Parallel Teaching

Alternative Teaching

EEC Department

Minnesota State University, Mankato

EEC Lesson Plan Explanations
(Subject to Change)

Roles and Responsibilities

X Team Teaching
Teacher A:
Tasha Johnson
Roles will be switched for each lesson;

Teacher B:

5-2: Introduce mystery, discuss specific mystery

features in the text

5-2: Opening, closing, reading of mystery

poster

Leah Rhode

5-3:Opening, closing, reading of mystery poster

5-3:Introduce mystery, discuss specific mystery
features in the text
LEARNING TASK IMPLEMENTATION
LAUNCH - engage learners, set purpose, activate prior knowledge, pre-assess, feedback etc. (Use these as your headings)
Pacing
Lesson
Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks
Notes
Segments
Have anchor
Ask students to come up and sit on the carpet
chart ready by
7 mins
Opening
o Make sure students are sitting where they can see the white board and not behind
board
desks
Activate prior
knowledge

Ask students to think silently to themselves about what a Mystery is

o Once students have an idea have them show they are ready to discuss by making
the connection symbol above their head
o Remind students that its okay if they dont know or remember what a Mystery is,
explain that we will be discussing Mysteries over the next few days which will help
them solidify their understanding of the genre
o Inform students that a Mystery is a story that sometimes can be difficult to explain
or understand at first.
Discuss types of Mystery Books and Shows
o Scooby Doo
o The Boxcar Children series
o A-Z Mysteries
Ask students to share mysteries that they have read or seen before
o Allow students to think-pair-share with elbow partner

EEC Department

Tasha

Minnesota State University, Mankato

EEC Lesson Plan Explanations
(Subject to Change)
o

Pull together to discuss

"This week were are going to focus on the genre Mystery. Raise your hand if you can
remind me what genre means?"
o Allow students to respond
o Inform students that a genre is a type of something. Mystery is a type of story,
another example would be fantasy.
"Lets connect what we are learning this week about the genre Mystery to what we learned
last week about making inferences."
"Remind me again what inference means?"
o Allow students to respond
o Inform students that an inference is a conclusion that is made based off of
evidence and reasoning
"I'm thinking about what we learned last week... I remember that we learned that readers
make inferences as they read. That we can locate key pieces of evidence from the text
and think about or infer what that evidence means."
"We also learned that some texts require us to draw conclusions by using the evidence in
the text and our own experience. We will use those strategies this week as we read and
analyze mysteries."
"Today, we'll discuss what we already know about the genre Mystery and identify features
of the genre you already know."
Clip Mystery Anchor Chart on white board.
Read each of the following questions on the anchor chart
o What is a mystery?
o What is the purpose of mysteries?
o How do you read a mystery?
o Who invented mysteries?
o
Encourage volunteers to share their ideas and discuss each question as a whole group
6

EEC Department

Minnesota State University, Mankato

EEC Lesson Plan Explanations
(Subject to Change)
o

Based on students' prior knowledge, provide additional genre background

information as needed to fill in the answers to each question.

Once discussion of the questions in complete move into instruction of mystery text
features

INSTRUCTION/APPLICATION - procedures to acquire new knowledge and/or skills and apply or use them in a meaningful way,
instructional strategies, assessment, active engagement, practice, feedback, differentiation, etc.
Pacing
Lesson
Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks
Notes
Segments
10 mins

Introduce
mystery

"A fiction genre that many people enjoy is mysteries. As with any genre, all mysteries have
certain features, or characteristics, that stay the same from story to story. Think about
what you already know about the mystery genre as we work together to identify these
features"
Ask volunteers to name features of mysteries. As necessary, prompt students with the
following questions:

Practice
7

Why is the main character in a mystery some kind of detective?

Do all mysteries take place in the present?
Who tells the story?
What kind of mind does the detective usually have? What skills does he or she use
to solve the crime?
How does the author keep the reader's attention throughout the mystery? Why do
you want to finish reading the story?

Read aloud and discuss the 8 features of a mystery text as a whole class
EEC Department

Leah

Minnesota State University, Mankato

EEC Lesson Plan Explanations
(Subject to Change)
Tasha

Once finished with discussion about the features move on to the reading passage on page
99 of the close reading book titled, Mystery of the Missing Raffle Ticket
Leah

Discussion

Place the Mystery reading passage on the white board and have students open their
books to page 99.

Before students read the story independently, frontload them with what might be unfamiliar
vocabulary.

Raffle- a drawing/contest where prizes are received

Redeem- to turn in and receive something in exchange
Center-ice seats- seats that are very close to the ice rink during a hockey game

"Now that we discussed some vocabulary our task is to read the short mystery called
Mystery of the Missing Raffle Ticket. As you read, I want you to pay attention to how the
writer of this mystery uses the features of the genre to tell a story."

What features do you notice?

EEC Department

Minnesota State University, Mankato

EEC Lesson Plan Explanations
(Subject to Change)

What was the mystery?

How was it solved?
What are some inferences that could be made about the passage?

Once students have finished reading have them turn their books over and look for a
partner that is also done reading to quietly discuss with.

Students should be answering the 4 questions listed above

Once all of the students are done reading pull the class back together as a whole and play
the talking interactive whiteboard version

Ask students to listen carefully to identify the key ideas and details in the mystery.
What are they hearing that they might not have seen/read before?

Have students discuss the text as whole class

Ask students to volunteer to share a verbal summary of the text with the class
Ask students to point out specific genre features they noted in Mystery of the
Missing Raffle Ticket. -Students should be able to reference specific places in the
text where they found the features
What are some inferences that you could make about the passage?

Once students have discussed move into closing and present them with the exit slip.

EEC Department

Minnesota State University, Mankato

EEC Lesson Plan Explanations
(Subject to Change)
"We had a great discussion about the passage and made good inferences based off of the
information from the text. I would like you to write down ONE inference that you made
about the passage. I would like you to quote evidence from the text that helped you create
your inference. I would like 2 sentences, one for your inference and the other that quotes
your evidence. Once you are done place it on the front table. Good work today 5th graders"

CLOSURE - student reflection on learning, assessment, feedback etc.

Pacing
Lesson
Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks
Segments
1 min

Closing

Notes

"Today, we discussed the key features of mysteries and the important ideas and details in
Mystery of the Missing Raffle Ticket. We also made inferences about the passage and
provided evidence to support our conclusions.Tomorrow, we'll read and analyze another
mystery, and then we'll compare and contrast the mysteries to deepen our understanding
of the genre."

"We had a great discussion about the passage and made good inferences based off of the
information from the text. I would like you to write down ONE inference that you made
about the passage. I would like you to quote evidence from the text that helped you create
your inference. I would like 2 sentences, one for your inference and the other that quotes
your evidence. Once you are done place it on the front table. Good work today 5th graders"

10

EEC Department

Tasha

Minnesota State University, Mankato

EEC Lesson Plan Explanations
(Subject to Change)

REFLECTION:
After every lesson, take time to reflect on your teaching practice and student learning. Use specific examples of students work,
actions, or quotes to support your claims. Use your data evidence to back up your reflection/thoughts. Not subjective. Possible
questions you might use to guide your reflection:
1. What was working? What was not working? For whom? Why?
2. What missed opportunities for student learning are you aware of that happened?
3. If you could do it over, what might you have done to take advantage of missed opportunities to improve the learning of students
with diverse needs?
4. In your own classroom what would you teach next to build on this lesson?
5. How will your assessments guide your instruction in subsequent lessons?

LESSON PLANNING CHECKLIST:

As you plan, use this checklist to guide your thinking.
Does the plan explain the logical, sequential steps you will follow as you teach?
Does the plan logically lay out what you will say and do?
Does the plan logically lay out what other people will say and do?
Does the plan logically lay out what the students will be doing?
How will you differentiate for different levels of ability and/or different levels of content knowledge? How will you use different
strategies for learning and/or cultural and language differences? How will you enable equitable learning opportunities for all
students?
Did you include specific questions you will ask to invite, guide, and develop students thinking throughout the lesson?
What instructional strategies will you use?
What examples will you use?
What learning activities will you use?
What are the procedural directions for the students to follow?
What tasks will you use? Are the tasks connected to the standards or guiding questions?
Do your tasks build on prior knowledge? Does the plan express definitions, concepts, or ideas that students need
before beginning the task?
What technology or materials will you be using and how will you use them?
Have you included how you will set expectations for student behavior before and during the lesson (picking up materials;
collaborative work time; listening behaviors, moving from one place to the next, etc.)?
How will you ensure that students remain engaged? What will you do/say if a student finishes early?
If students work in groups, have you included how you will group them and why that approach is appropriate to their learning
needs?

11

EEC Department

Minnesota State University, Mankato

EEC Lesson Plan Explanations
(Subject to Change)
Have you specified how you will ensure students understand the academic language needed to succeed during this lesson?
What content-specific vocabulary will you introduce and how will you introduce it?
Do you plan for guided work so that students must use the ideas/skills they learn?
Do you plan for students to independently work with or apply the ideas/skills?
How will you collect evidence of students thinking and learning (formative assessments) during the lesson? What will you
see and hear?
How will you provide feedback to the students?
What are your time estimates?

LEARNING TASK IMPLEMENTATION WORD BANK

Use this word bank to help guide your thinking as you plan the learning task implementation. Select the segment titles, which are
appropriate for the content and nature of the lesson you are planning.
Activate Prior Knowledge
During ____
Formative Assessment
Procedural Directions
Activity
Elaboration
Guided Practice
Purpose
After _____
Engagement
Guiding Questions
Questions for Discussion
Anticipatory Set
Evaluation
Hook
Scaffolding Questions
Before___
Example
Independent Practice
Strategies used
Classroom Management
Explanation
Modeling what type?
Student Reflection
Demonstration
Explicit Instruction
Motivation
Summative Assessment
Description of the
Exploration
Pre-Assess
Think Aloud
Problem/Task
Differentiation
Extension
Presentation
Transition
Discussion
Feedback
ZPD

ACADEMIC LANGUAGE GLOSSARY

Academic Language: Oral and written language used for academic purposes. Academic language is the means by which students develop and express
content understandings. Academic language represents the language of the discipline that students need to learn and use to participate and engage in
meaningful ways in the content area. There are language demands that teachers need to consider as they plan to support student learning of content.
Language Demands: Specific ways that academic language (vocabulary, functions, discourse, syntax) is used by students to participate in learning tasks
through reading, writing, listening, and/or speaking to demonstrate their disciplinary understanding. These language demands include vocabulary,
language functions, syntax, and discourse.
vocabulary: Includes words and phrases that are used within disciplines including: (1) words and phrases with subject-specific meanings that differ
from meanings used in everyday life (e.g., table); (2) general academic vocabulary used across disciplines (e.g., compare, analyze, evaluate); and
(3) subject-specific words defined for use in the discipline
language functions: The content and language focus of the learning task represented by the active verbs within the learning outcomes.

12

EEC Department

Minnesota State University, Mankato

EEC Lesson Plan Explanations
(Subject to Change)
syntax: The set of conventions for organizing symbols, words, and phrases together into structures (e.g., sentences, graphs, tables).
discourse: Discourse includes the structures of written and oral language, as well as how members of the discipline talk, write, and participate in
knowledge construction. Discipline-specific discourse has distinctive features or ways of structuring oral or written language (text structures) that
provide useful ways for the content to be communicated.
Language Supports: Strategies that are used to build students academic language within a learning task. Strategies involve both modeling the
appropriate language for the students to use in a learning task as well as opportunities for guided practice and independent practice. Strategies include
think pair share, choral response, word walls, modeling, graphic organizers, and so on.
Research Based Practices:
1.
2.
3.

13

EEC Department