UNLV/Department of Teaching & Learning

Elementary Lesson Plan Template

UNLV Student:
Lesson Plan Title:
Date:
Grade Level:

Noelle Wasiak
Love That Dog novel
study (Day 1)
2/8/16
4th

PSMT Name:
Lesson Plan Topic:

Ivana Khoury
Whole group reading

Estimated Time:
School Site:

1 hour
Griffith

1. State Standard(s):
-CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when
drawing inferences from the text.
-CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
-CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in
the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).
-CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.5
Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements
of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions,
dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.
2. Teaching Model(s): Direct
3. Objective(s): Students will be able to summarize pages 1-5 of Love That Dog based on details
from the novel, and explain what Jack understands about poetry based on details from Love That
Dog.
4. Materials and Technology Resources:
-Copies of the student packet for this unit
-blank paper for the anchor chart
-copies of the novel Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
-I notice/I wonder chart
-1 copy of any 4th grade level novel written in prose
- One poster for teachers anchor chart
5. Instructional Procedures:
a. Motivation/Engagement:

-Go over CHAMPS and review objectives with students. Have a discussion about
the words summarize details, explain, and understand. Make sure students really know
what they mean before going on.
-Make an anchor chart titled Things Close Readers Do with your students. You
will make a big one on poster paper and they will make a small one for their notes. Start
it off with a few ideas of your own then have students share their ideas and add on as
needed.
b .Developmental Activities or Learning Experiences:
-Students will begin by taking a book walk. They will preview the book, Love
That Dog, with their table groups and then fill out their I notice/I wonder chart. They
should write about the novel as a whole and about the poetry aspect of the book. Next,
have students share some of their thoughts aloud and when poetry comes up mention the
last unit they did on poetry to open a new discussion and deepen their thinking.
-Bring out a prose novel and put it under the elmo. Ask students How is the text
Love That Dog different than a regular (prose) novel? Show a few pages of the prose
novel and have students share their thoughts with a partner and then whole group. Check
that students notice the following:
~Love That Dog is written in stanzas.
~Each stanza is broken apart by big spaces
~There are no sentences or paragraphs.
-Teacher will now read pages 1-5 of Love That Dog aloud to students. Then ask
students, What do we know so far? Students are to answer whole group.
-Review what it means to paraphrase and quote text, so that students can complete
their summary chart. Allow students to work on their summary charts with a partner, and then
review answers whole group and allow students to add or revise what they have.
-Ask students What is Jacks attitude towards poetry? How did summarizing this
text help you understand it? Students share answers whole group.
-Next ask students Thinking about Blue Car, Blue Car, what do you notice about
poetry now? What do you still wonder about poetry? Students will add their thoughts to their I
notice/I wonder chart.
c. Closure:
-Round robin: How do you feel about poetry? Is it similar to how Jack feels or
differently?
-Review objectives. Ask students if they think we met them today.
d. Extension: If time permits, students can read the poem Red Wheelbarrow in the back of
the book to compare this poem to the poem that Jack (main character) read.
6. Accommodations, Modifications and Differentiations for Diverse Learners: Group A (low
students) will receive more guided practice during the I notice/I wonder chart and with the
summary chart. This will be more teacher lead then done independently.
7. Assessment and Evaluation of Learning:

a. Formative: I will check their understanding during whole group and small group
discussions.
b. Summative: The summary page of their packet will be assessed for accuracy. Students
should have short summary statements as well as specific details from the text and page
numbers.
8. Homework Assignment: N/A
9. Reflection:
a. Strengths: This lesson was a great introduction to the unit that the students will be
working on this week and next. They just finished a unit that taught them all the different
types of poems. I think that really helped them in this particular lesson. Even the lowest
group was able to come up with and share some pretty insightful ideas throughout the
lesson. I was also very pleased with how much each group was able to contribute to our
Things Close Readers Do anchor chart. The students really seemed to be able to
connect all of the dots during this lesson.
b. Concerns: My lowest group had a hard time summarizing. A large chunk of them have
a habit of retelling instead of summarizing. They include way too many details and cant
seem to narrow it down to the main idea of what they read. This is a skill that needs to be
worked on, and I am hoping this unit helps them out with that because it requires them to
summarize what they read every day.
c. Insights: I need to watch my time while teaching a lesson. I tend to over plan. I always
think that we will be able to get through more than we actually do. This is also helping
me realize that it is less about the quantity of a lesson, and more about the quality.
Sometimes spending more time on one area can be beneficial. The students are able to
dig deeper into a subject rather than skim through it quickly!