WHOLE GROUP LESSON PLAN - Phase 1 Template

Teacher: Diller Subject: Reading Date: 2/16/17

Materials Needed:
Each reader has a bag of leveled books matching their reading level. Contents include:
narrative strong character text in addition to a mix of informational, favorites, and high
interest.
Post-its
notebooks
Pencils/pens
Chart paper
Teachers conferring notes (clipboard/binder/tablet)
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate Dicamillo
Standard:
Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their
actions contribute to the sequence of events. (CCSS: RL.3.3)

Learning Target:
I can describe characters by using text evidence to
Direct Instruction ES-.59 identify or infer character traits, motivations, and feelings.

Proficient Exemplar:
Write the proficient
exemplar and highlight
the success criterion
that makes it proficient.
CC
Opal has changed since the beginning
of the story. At first she was sad and
lonely. Now she is happy and outgoing.
She learned that you can make friends
with anybody if you try hard enough.

Hook - Activating
Prior Knowledge
Engage - How will you
activate students prior they looked a little more grown-up. These are all changes we
knowledge and
experience to help them
relate to today's lesson?
LESSON PROCEDURES
Total Lesson Time: - 55 minutes
T: Readers, you might have noticed when you came back to
school last month, that some of your friends had changed.
Maybe they were taller, or had longer or shorter hair. Maybe
can see on the outside, right? We can see these changes by
just looking at each other

Plan for anticipated
student responses to
each question that is
posed to students.
Time: - 5 minutes
T: And then, just maybe you noticed that a friend or someone
you knew was a little more talkative, more friendly and
outgoing or maybe you noticed that a friend was more quiet
and shy than you remember. These changes are insidewe
cant see them by just looking at someone; we have to spend
 time with the person to see and hear these changes by
noticing the way someone behaves.

T: We are always changing. People do not stay the same. We

change on the outside-like long hair to short hair and we
change on the inside like from shy to outgoing.

T: Our characters change in these ways too. And it is our job

to notice the changes.

T: Today I want to teach you that readers expect characters

to change or grow and they learn from their experiences.
Model & Shared
Direct Instruction
I can describe characters by using text evidence to
ES-.59 identify or infer character traits, motivations, and feelings.
(I Do & We Do)
Unwrap Learning Target by:
What will you explain, Whole class reads learning target together, using hand
model or demonstrate? motions
Plan for anticipated Review vocabulary
student responses To describe means to tell about something. What we
to each question are describing is our characters, or the people who we
that is posed to
read about in our books. We are going to use text
students.
How will the evidence by explicitly referring back to our books to
modeling or shared describe our characters traits (who they are),
practice link to the motivations (why they do or say something) and
learning target? feelings (emotions such as happy, sad, angry, or
worried).
Time: - 10 minutes
T: Readers, it might have been a surprise to us to see how
Amanda Wilkinson changed in Because of Winn-Dixie and
Otis, too. But really, as we read our character books we have
to expect that characters are going to change and grow. Or
in other words we can count on them to change and grow
on the outside and inside just like us.

T: In chapter 20 we read about Opal having this grand idea

to have a party. And I think for a minutewaitthis is a big
change in Opal. In the beginning of the story Opal was sad
and lonely and she really only made friends with adultsshe
wasnt open to making friends with the kids because she
thought they wouldnt like hershe was uncomfortable
around some people. But now, shes inviting everyone to her
party. Adult friends and kid friends. This is such a change in
Opal. She hasnt really grown on the outsidebut shes
grown on the inside. This change in her helps me see that she
is able to find happiness in many different people and she
doesnt seem as sad as she was at the start.
 T: Are you thinking like I am thinkingand seeing how first
Opal was one way - lonely and sad - and now she is a
different way- happy and outgoing.

T: Now I have to think about what she has learnedthat has

created this changehmm we usually change because we
have learned something about ourselves or about lifeI think
she has learned that all kinds of people will be your friend, if
you let them. And I also think shes learned that life can get
better from one day to the next. These might be two things
shes learning as I think about her changes.

Guided Practice
(You Do together) T: Now I want you to think about another character from the
story and imagine how theyve changed. Otis? Gloria Dump?
How will students apply Amanda Wilkinson? The Preacher? Who has changed? How
their do you know?
new learning (learning
target/sc) with support?
T: Turn and talk to your partner about your thoughts
How will this
practice link to the
learning target? Listen in and coach as needed
How will support be Share what you heard readers saying about the changes in
released to secondary characters.
students? Provide passage from text for visual support in explicitly
Plan for anticipated referring back to the text.
student responses
to each question
ASR:
that is posed to
students. Otis is open to making friends now
Plan for overall Amanda has become less pinch-faced now that
student someone knows the story of her brother
misconceptions. The preacher has changed because hes now more
involved with Opal and her life
Time: - 5 minutes
T: Now think about what these characters have learned
because of their changes. Turn and talk.

Listen in and coach as needed

Share exemplar thinking overheard between partners.

Independent T: Readers, we are changing all the time, inside and outside.
Practice Its these inside changes that usually teach us the most about
(You Do alone) ourselves or about life.

How will students apply T: In our reading, we want to pay attention to the way our
their new learning characters change and then stop long enough to think
(learning target/sc)
about what the character has learned from this change.
independently?
 How will this
practice link to the T: You can use you post-it notes to write CC or character
learning target? change if you notice that your character has changed. It
How will support be
usually happens close to the end of the book, just like in
released to
students? Because of Winn-Dixie. We are noticing these important
changes in chapter 20 and 21 and there are only 5 chapters
Time: - 30 minutes left to read.

T: If I see that you are nearing the end of your book, I will
certainly ask about what you have noticed about your
character-especially whether they have changed and what
they possibly have learned.
Summary
How will you use 1-3 I can describe characters by using text evidence to
samples of student work identify or infer character traits, motivations, and feelings.
to summarize the
learning (learning Add teaching point to anchor chart
target/sc)?
T: Thinking about our learning target, what kind of work did
How will you check we do today? If we could change our learning target, what
that the students
would we add to make it fit todays lesson? Turn and talk to
have
understood/learned your partner about what youre thinking.
the learning target?
ASR:
Time: - 5 minutes We had to infer how our characters have changed.
The book doesnt tell us exactly how they changed,
we had to figure it out ourselves from reading
If there was something we could add, it would be
inferring character traits and how they might change
at the end of a story
At first we said Opal was sad and lonely but now were
changing those traits to happy and friendly