Veronica Brown-Rios 1

Unit Overview

Background
Intended Class and Students:
This lesson is directed towards students at McKay K-8 School. The students
are in an ESL pullout class and are WIDA level 1 and 2. They are in grades
6-8. Most students in the class are native Spanish speakers from El
Salvador, Colombia, or Honduras. There is one student from Bangladesh.
Most of the 15 students are female, but there are 4 males.

Brief Description of the Unit:

This unit will encapsulate three different types of lessons: word abilities,
vocabulary, and comprehension strategies. The topic of the unit is
autobiographies. This is a mini-unit that will be within a larger unit. The
whole unit will require that the students read three autobiographies, co-
construct as a class an autobiography with me, and then construct their
own autobiography using vocabulary and strategies weve seen from the
autobiographies weve read throughout the larger unit. This mini-unit,
however, will consist of only three lessons, and will center around the first
autobiography we will read. For the word abilities lesson, it will use words
from the first autobiography to help me teach the simple past tense to my
students. The vocabulary lesson will also use vocabulary from the
autobiography. For the final lesson, comprehension strategies, the students
will read the autobiography as a way to learn the strategy.

In order to maintain cohesiveness the three separate lessons on the past

tense, vocabulary, and SQP2RS will all revolve around the same
autobiography. By the end of the unit, I will have liked the students to have
understand what the general structure of an autobiography looks like (the
next ones that they read will have a similar structure), what vocabulary an
autobiography uses (so they can use it when they eventually write their
own later on in the year), and that past tense is used most of the time
throughout the autobiography. In other words, I would like them to get the
sense of the genre of autobiographies. I will keep a running list of the
vocabulary words we use, common past tense words, and signaling words
on giant sticky notes throughout the unit so the students have them as a
reference later on.

Most importantly, because it is the beginning of the year and my students

are level 1s and 2s, I have picked fairly simple things to teach (especially
when it comes to word abilities and vocabulary). The main reason I have
chosen to do this is because the simple past tense, and the vocabulary
 Veronica Brown-Rios 2

words I chosen will be foundational to the rest of the English learning. It is

hard to have a real conversation without using the past tense in English.
This is one of the first things that should be taught, in my opinion. Also, I
believe the vocabulary words, and the unit of autobiographies are a good
thing to start out with in the beginning of the year because as all of my
students are immigrants, they will be asked over and over about why they
came to the country, and what their lives were like beforehand. Reading
about other peoples experiences, and learning vocabulary and grammar to
help them answer these questions will better help them to navigate and
answer these questions.

Length of the Unit:

The larger unit will span over multiple weeks. By the end of the unit, the
students will have read 3 autobiographies, co-constructed an
autobiography with me, and individually written their own autobiographies.
However, this mini unit, consisting of three lessons, will only last three
days. IT will center around the first autobiography we read, My
Autobiography by Charles Galvin. Each lesson will be approximately 55
minutes.

Stage 1: Desired Results of the Unit Lesson

CCSS or MA Curriculum Framework Standards:

WIDA English Language Development Standard 1: English language

learners communicate for Social and Instructional purposes within the
school setting (Social and Instructional language).

Word Abilities:

Conventions of Standard English:

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar
and usage when writing or speaking. (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.1)
Form and use the simple (e.g., I walked; I walk; I will walk) verb tenses.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.1.E)

ELD Standard 2: The Language of Language Arts

CONNECTION: Common Core State Language Standards, Conventions of
Standard English #12 (Grade 6): Demonstrate command of the
conventions of standard English
grammar when writing or speaking; Demonstrate command of the
conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling
when writing.
 Veronica Brown-Rios 3

Identify conventions and mechanics in peers writing (e.g., by highlighting)

using models and environmental print (writing level 1 entering)

Vocabulary:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.6.3
Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking,
reading, or listening.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.6.3.A
Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener interest, and
style.*
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.6.3.B
Maintain consistency in style and tone.*

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.6.4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words
and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing flexibly from
a range of strategies.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.6.4.A
Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a
words position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of
a word or phrase.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.6.4.C
Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries,
thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a
word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.

Comprehension Strategies:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as
well as inferences drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.2
Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through
particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal
opinions or judgments.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.3
Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced,
illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.5
 Veronica Brown-Rios 4

Analyze how a particular sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits into

the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the
ideas.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.6
Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it
is conveyed in the text.

Content Objectives of the Unit: Language Objectives of the

Students will know the key
components of an autobiography
(mostly past tense used, typical
vocabulary words used, the purpose
of an autobiography); i.e. the genre
of an autobiography.
Students will demonstrate their
knowledge of simple past tense
verbs through exercises in the
lesson.
Students will be able to demonstrate
their knowledge of the vocabulary
words learned in the lesson by doing their comprehension of the text
the exercises in the lesson.
Students will be able to use the
comprehension strategy SQP2RS.
Unit:
Students will be able to read and
conjugate verbs in the simple past
tense.
Students will be able to use simple
past tense verbs correctly in
speaking and writing
Students will be able to use the
vocabulary words learned in the unit
correctly in speaking and writing.
Students will be able to demonstrate
using the speaking, reading, and
writing strategies in SQP2RS.

Stage 2: Assessment Evidence

Forms of Assessment:

Word Abilities:
Worksheet circling the verb and changing into the simple past
Word sorts
Share alouds
Writing original sentences collecting notebooks

Vocabulary:
Observing the class and seeing who is on task when we are working
as a class
Calling on students
 Veronica Brown-Rios 5

The do now
Participation in the vocabulary game (closing activity)
For homework students will write two original sentences for each
vocabulary word or phrase we learned during class

Comprehension Strategies:
Seeing who is participating/paying attention while we are working as
a class making sure students are doing all parts of the SQP2RS
activity such as coming up with questions and predictions, sharing
with their partners, reading, etc.
Notebook check at the end of class
Calling on students

Stage 3: Learning Plan

Brief Description of Each Lesson:

Lesson 1:
In this lesson students will be learning about the simple past ed. To do
this, I will be using past tense words from a text we will be reading in the
third lesson (an autobiography by Charles Galvin). Throughout the lesson
there will be various explanations and activities to help them learn the
simple past.

Lesson 2:
In this lesson, students will be learning vocabulary words from the text we
will be reading in the next lesson (an autobiography by Charles Galvin).
There will be several explanations and activities to help them learn and
practice using these words. This will also help them better read the text
when they read it for the first time tomorrow.

Lesson 3:
In this lesson, students will be learning the comprehension strategy
SQP2RS. The text they will be using is an autobiography by Charles Galvin.
Because this is a strategy I will be teaching them, and it will take almost
the entire class, we will be doing much of the lesson together as a class.

Lesson 1
Stage 1: Desired Results of the Unit Lesson
Content Objectives of the Language Objectives of the
Lesson: Lesson:

Students will be able to sort Students will be able to recognize

sentences based on whether they that events being described using
 Veronica Brown-Rios 6

have occurred in the past or are
occurring in the present.
Students will be able to conjugate
simple present tense verbs into
simple past tense verbs.
the simple past have occurred in the
past by verbalizing this or writing it
down.
Students will be able to recognize
words signaling the past tense (i.e.
yesterday, last night, etc.).

Stage 2: Assessment Evidence to be Used during the Lesson

Forms of Assessment:

While the lesson is occurring I will periodically check for understanding by

asking questions. I will call on individually students, and I will also do
choral responses. As they are working on worksheets I will walk around to
make sure students have the correct understanding, are staying on task,
and to field any questions. If there are a lot of students having difficulty, I
will know to have them pause, and explain more, or try a different tactic. If
the majority understands, I will progress normally. At the end of class,
having the students share out loud the sentences they wrote will also be a
good assessment. I will also be collecting the sentences when they leave
and assessing them and giving them back the next day.

Worksheet circling the verb and changing into the simple past
Word sorts
Share alouds
Writing original sentences collecting notebooks

Stage 3: Learning Plan

Learning Activities:

Opening:
1. I will start by introducing the past tense. I will relate it back to a
previous lesson on talking about things we like to do (in the present).
I will say that now, we know how to talk about those things
happening in the present (use Spanish forms of these words to
reinforce what I mean/to make sure they understand), but we need to
change the words slightly to talk about these things in the past.
2. Have a student read the objectives for the day out loud. ~ 5
minutes

Development:
1. As a class, come up with a common list of verbs regarding things that
we like to do (i.e. listen to music, watch TV, etc.).
 Veronica Brown-Rios 7

2. Show them how to conjugate verbs in the simple past at the board.
3. Individually call on students to come up with a present tense sentence
to share with the class. I will write it on the board. Then I will ask the
class to talk me through how to change it into the past tense. I will then
come up with about five of my own sentences (in the present) and ask
them to individually change them into past tense on their own. I will
walk around during this portion and check in with students.
4. Give them cut out strips of paper with sentences on them. Some of
them will be in the past, and some of them will be in the present. Have
them make two piles differentiating between the past and the present.
5. Come together as a class and share which sentences go in which pile,
making a list up at the board. Maybe having a student, or having
multiple students coming up and writing. Make sure that each person
who contributes explains why they put each sentence in the pile they
decided on (they should say something along the lines of, the verb in
the sentence has ed on the end).
6. Have students write 5 original sentences in the simple past tense in
notebooks that I will collect at the end of class.
7. Have a couple of students share their sentences out loud. I will write
them on the board. I will ask the whole of the class if the sentence is
correct. If we agree that there is a mistake, we will correct it as a class,
and explain why its a mistake, and why we made the revisions we did.
8. Next, I will introduce signaling words. These are words that signal to
us that a sentence is most likely occurring in the past tense. I will
contrast them with words that signal present tense verbs such as,
always and everyday. These are words or phrases such as,
yesterday, last night, last week, days ago etc.
9. Students will do another word sort, still differentiating between
sentences occurring in the past vs. in the present. However, this time,
all the sentences occurring in the past will have the signaling words
we discussed in them. Students will do these in groups of 4 (the way
they are already configured). Then I will make a chart on the board
one side will be past tense, and the other will be present tense. I will
read each strip of paper out loud and cold call on students to tell me
which column it belongs in. The rest of the class will have to say
whether they agree or disagree and why. ~ 45 minutes

*at some point during the lesson (probably while students are doing
individual work or after the lesson if I am too busy helping students
during this time) I will make a list of permanent words to keep at the front
of the class on a giant sticky note that students can refer to. Some will be
common past tense words that students can later use in their
autobiographies, and some will be signaling words. I will also do this
vocabulary words in the nest lesson.
 Veronica Brown-Rios 8

Closing:
1. Summarize what we learned for the day as a group. Have students
chorally respond to whether an event staring with a word like
yesterday is talking about something happening in the present or the
past.
2. Have another student re-read the objective and have students respond
with a thumbs up or a thumbs down about whether or not they feel
like they have met the objective. ~ 5 minutes

Total time ~ 55 minutes

Supplementary Materials Used (attach in Appendix):

Galvin, Charles. (2009). My Autobiography. Retrieved from

http://www.idiom.com/~cxarli/english/bio.html.
Past Tense Word Sort
Signaling Words Word Sort
Giant sticky note paper and markers
White board and markers and eraser
Notebooks (for the students) and pencils

Lesson 2
Stage 1: Desired Results of the Unit Lesson
Content Objectives of the Language Objectives of the
Lesson: Lesson:

Students will be able to demonstrate Students will be able to apply their

their understanding of the
words/phrases: wind up, plan, event,
and celebrate by using them in
written contexts, as well as verbal
ones.
understanding of the vocabulary
word meanings to help me make
word arrays.
Students will be able to use other
words in lexical arrays*(recognize
and choose not the vocabulary
words), both in a verbal and written
context, in order to demonstrate
their understanding of the
words/phrases: wind up, plan, event,
and celebrate, and pass away

*Lexical arrays are gradients of

words, including the vocabulary
word being taught, to help the
students understand the vocabulary
word. For example, when teaching
 Veronica Brown-Rios 9

the phrase, wind up and the word,

plan, you would also teach them
in conjunction with the word,
choose. You would list them in
order (with the students help) from
least definitely to most definite,
showing that they are all related,
and modeling how they would each
be used in the same context but
showing a different meaning.
Stage 2: Assessment Evidence to be Used during the Lesson
Forms of Assessment:

Because much of the work in this lesson will be done as an entire class,
and because the class in only 15 students, it will be easy for me to see who
is getting it and who is not. I will call on students and at one point or
another they will all be required to participate. This will be a good gauge
for me to see who is understanding. Also, the do now and what theyve
written in their notebooks will be a good way for me to see this as well.
Also, because each of them will have at least one turn for the closing
activity, this will be a good way for me to see which pupils are learning. I
think the majority of the assessment will come after the lesson though,
when I have them write their own original sentences for homework, using
the vocabulary words we learned during the lesson.

Observing the class and seeing who is on task when we are working
as a class
Calling on students
The do now
Participation in the vocabulary game (closing activity)
For homework students will write two original sentences for each
vocabulary word or phrase we learned during class

Stage 3: Learning Plan

Learning Activities:

Opening:
1. To open, the students will start with a do now. The do now will be to
answer the fill out a small survey about themselves that I will create.
They will be filling in information such as their name, age, grade, where
they are from, number of brothers and sisters, how long they have lived
in the United States, etc. This do now will already be on the desks of the
students assigned seats as they walk in. The class consists of students
 Veronica Brown-Rios 10

who are WIDA levels 1 & 2. For the students who need the extra
scaffolding, their worksheets will have the questions in both English and
Spanish, with the English first. As this exercise is occurring, I will walk
around the room and make sure students are on task, answering any
questions, and clarifying parts that the students may be having trouble
with. ~ 10 minutes
2. The students sit in groups of four. When they are finished, I would like
them to share what they have with the other students in their groups,
taking turns. I would also like them to use sentence starters I will have
on a poster I made at the front of the classroom. Before the students
share with the others in their groups, I am going to model how to do this
with one of the students whom I will call up to the front. I will read what
I have filled out on my own worksheet, but I will use the sentence
starters to put them into complete sentences when sharing, because
this is what I will want my students to do. For example, on the
worksheet it will say, name: Miss. Rios. When I share with my partner
who is modeling with me, I will say, my name is Miss. Rios. As they are
sharing in their groups, I will walk around and listen/help/answer
questions. ~ 10 minutes
3. After this, I will explain why we did this exercise, connecting it to the
autobiography unit will are doing. I will explain what an autobiography
is. My hope is to be able to use some Spanish words such as,
autobiografa and informacin to help explain this concept. I will
explain that first, we will be reading several autobiographies, mostly of
immigrants (except for the first one), and then, we will be constructing
our own autobiographies about ourselves. I will also explain that we will
be using vocabulary words from and knowledge about how the
autobiographies we read are structured in order to help us write our
own later on. Then I will pass out Charles Galvins autobiography. ~ 5
minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

Development:
1. To start the lesson, I will read Charles Galvins autobiography out loud.
As I do this, I will walk around the room, and I will periodically stop and
check for understanding. I will ask questions such as, when was
Charles born? and where did he move to? and how many sisters
does Charles have? I will also use some Spanish words as supports,
especially when asking questions to students who are at a lower WIDA
level. ~ 10 minutes
2. As the vocabulary words come up as I am reading the story, I will stop
and explain them. To do this, for most of the words I will use something
called a lexical array. This involves using other vocabulary words that
are similar, in order to teach the one from the text. When we get to the
 Veronica Brown-Rios 11

phrase, wind up, I will try to explain this phrase in the context of
another two words, differentiating between the slight differences of the
three words, also using a little bit of Spanish when needed. I will use the
words plan (also in Charless autobiography) and choose to help
explain the concept of wind up. I will use the sentence from the
autobiography to help explain this as well because they are used in a
contrasting way. I will explain that the phrase wind up is used when
you did not actively make a thought out decision to do something it
just happened. Plan, is more definitive, but plans do not always go
through. I will give another example for this such as, I planned on
going to the party, but I wound up getting sick. Choose is when you
make an active decision to do something. I will give an example such
as, I chose to do my homework instead of watch TV. During this time, I
will use Spanish words such as definitivo and activo when explaining
this. I will also explain that words like planned and chose are just
the past tense of the vocabulary words I am teaching (they are past
tense in the text). After explaining the three words, I will have the
students create a lexical array with me. I will write all three words in a
random order on the board, and I want them, as a group, to agree and
tell me which order to put them in from least definitive to most
definitive. They should end up with wind up, then plan then
choose. I will repeat this process for most of the other vocabulary
words. For recognize and celebrate, I will do something similar. I will
say something like recognize is like when you get an A on a paper,
you show your parents, and they look at it and say, good job, but
nothing more. In order to demonstrate this concept, I will have a student
come and act this out at the front with me. When you celebrate, I will
have either the same student or a different student at out the same
scenario, but this time, I, the parent in the situation, will make a big
deal about the A and throw a party to celebrate. Then I have the
students tell me how to put the two words in order like last time. They
should end up with recognize and then celebrate. The next group of
words I will explain are recognize and celebrate (both of which are in
the text). I will explain that a tradition is something you only do once a
year. For example, in the United States, many people by a Christmas
tree every year as a tradition. Then, I will explain that an event is
something that only happens once, like a school dance it does not
necessarily happen every year. However it can. Event is more general
than tradition. Tradition happens every year, event does not necessarily.
I will then ask them for examples of events and traditions making a
chart on the board. After this, I will ask the students to tell me which
order to put the words into from least specific to more specific. They
should end up with event and then tradition. For the word pass
away, I will explain that this is an idiom/euphemism (I will not use
either of those words when explaining) for die. When explaining I will
say it is a nice way to say that someone died. I will use the Spanish
 Veronica Brown-Rios 12

word muri to explain this concept. During this time, students should
be taking notes in their notebooks of the examples I, as well as other
students give, and all the notes I am writing on the board. They should
know that I will be doing a weekly notebook check, and I will walk
around and be looking to make sure students are on task. ~ 20
minutes

*At some point during the lesson (either while students are doing
independent work, or after they leave if I need to help a lot of them during
that time) I will make a list of the vocabulary words on a giant stick note
and put it up at the front of the class for the students to refer to in the
future.
Total time ~ 55 minutes

Closing:
1. To close, I will play a little game with the students. Each group of 4
has 1 whiteboard at their desk. I will state a series of sentences, using a
________ where one of the vocabulary words they just learned should go.
As a group, they should work together to write the vocabulary word on
the board. They will have about 10 seconds to do this, then when the
timer goes off, each group has to hold up their board at the same time. I
will read them out loud and say whether they are correct or not, and try
to have another student explain why it is not, if it is not. Each person in
the group should write at least one time so they should rotate. For
example, I will say, I am going to _____ my 16th birthday this year by
throwing a big party. They should work together to come up with the
word celebrate, write it on the white board, and hold it up. ~ 5
minutes

Total time ~ 60 minutes

Supplementary Materials Used (attach in Appendix):

Galvin, Charles. (2009). My Autobiography. Retrieved from

http://www.idiom.com/~cxarli/english/bio.html.
Do Now Survey
Notebooks and pencils
White board and markers
Mini-white board and markers
Giant sticky notes and markers

Lesson 3
Stage 1: Desired Results of the Unit Lesson
Content Objectives of the Language Objectives of the
Lesson: Lesson:
 Veronica Brown-Rios 13

Students will learn how to use Students will be able to articulate

SQP2RS to assist in the reading and the texts main points verbally and
comprehension of an expository through writing.
text.

Students will be able to make

inferences (Predictions) about the
purpose of the text based on
Surveying the text using the
SQP2RS strategy.
Stage 2: Assessment Evidence to be Used during the Lesson
Forms of Assessment:

Because much of the lesson is working as a large group, I should be able to

see if students are meeting the objectives for the day. For the parts of the
lesson that students are working independently or in groups, I will walk
around and check in with students, making sure they are on task, and
understanding what is expected of them. I will also collect their notebooks
at the end of class. That way, I can get a clearer idea of who truly
comprehends the strategies, and who needs a little extra support. At the
end of the larger unit, students will also write their own autobiographies,
using the ones weve read as a model. This will also help me to assess
them.

Seeing who is participating/paying attention while we are working as

a class making sure students are doing all parts of the SQP2RS
activity such as coming up with questions and predictions, sharing
with their partners, reading, etc.
Notebook check at the end of class
Calling on students

Stage 3: Learning Plan

Learning Activities:

Opening:
1. First, I will start with a do-now to open the lesson. The do-now activity
will be to write original sentences using the vocabulary we learned
yesterday that was taken from Charles (the authors) autobiography. In
their journals I would like them to write original sentences using the
following words: wind up, plan, event, and celebrate, and pass away.
During this time I will walk around the room, making sure students are
on-task. I will also answer any questions and help students that need it.
 Veronica Brown-Rios 14

If there is a lot of confusion or misunderstanding, I will stop the class,

and we can work on the exercise together, as a group.

2. After students finish this activity, I would like them to share what they
wrote in their groups the students are already sitting in groups of 4.
When the students are finished sharing in their groups, I will have
everyone come together as a class, and pick a few students to share
what they wrote with everyone, having about 4 students come up to the
board at the front of the class and write one of their original sentences.
After they do this, I will read each sentence out loud, and ask the class if
the word is used correctly in the sentence, and if any corrections need
to be made. We will work on it together as a class, and I will emphasize
that if someone made a mistake that it is okay because we are all still
learning, and we are correcting each others work so that we can all be
better speakers and writers of English. Time ~ 15 minutes

Development:
1. For this portion of the lesson, I will be teaching the comprehension
strategy SQP2RS. I will start by introducing the autobiography again (I
introduced it a little bit yesterday when we learned some vocabulary
that was in the text). However, I will not do a thorough introduction
since part of SQP2RS is having students make inferences before reading
the text. I will, however, say that we are going to read Charles
autobiography again. Last class, I read it aloud to them. I will explain
that this time, they are going to be reading it on their own, but I will be
teaching them a strategy that will hopefully make understanding it
easier for them. I know that SQP2RS is supposed to be used with a text
that has never been read before, but considering the level of my
students, how long most have been in the country (many for just a few
months), and that it is in the beginning of the year, I think it is
appropriate to do it after I have read it to them just once. Also, because
they are only level 1s and 2s, they probably did not comprehend a
whole lot of it when I read it to them aloud yesterday. I also believe in
doing multiple reads of a text when students are at this level in order to
gain comprehension. It might be difficult at first, but I have high
expectations for every one of them. After we practice the strategy I will
be teaching (SQP2RS), we will come back together and go through it as
a class.

2. Then, I will start to explain the process of SQP2RS, going one step at a
time. The first step is to Survey. I am going to tell them that I would like
them to first, read the title, the first paragraph, and then look at the
picture. However, because the students are level 1s and 2s, I am going
to scaffold the lesson and first, have me read it aloud to them, with
them following along with their finger. First I will read the title out loud,
then the first paragraph, then I will have them look at the picture and to
 Veronica Brown-Rios 15

come up with things they notice about the picture. I will have them just
jot down bullet points about what they notice in the picture in their
notebooks. Then, instead of moving right along to the next step as you
normally would with SQP2RS, I am going to have them read along with
me this time, out loud as a class.

3. The next letting in SQP2RS stands for Question. I am going to ask them
to generate 3 questions that they think will be answered in the text.
Then, I am going to have them write their answers in their notebooks. I
will model how to do this by thinking aloud in front of the class, and
then writing an example question on the board. I will have them do this
independently, and as they are writing, I will walk around. Then, I would
like them to share with their partner that they are sitting across from
the 3 questions that they came up with.

4. The next letter in SQP2RS stands for Predict. I am going to have the
students predict what they think the authors purpose was in writing
their autobiography. In other words, what do they want their readers to
learn from what theyre written? Again, I will model thinking, and then
making a prediction in front of the class, and then write my example
prediction up on the board. I am going to have the students think of a
prediction and write in in their notebooks, and then go around and share
aloud in their groups. I will ask 1 person from each group to share what
someone else in their group has written.

5. The next letter in SQP2RS stands for Read. Originally, I learned that
students are supposed to take turns reading aloud each paragraph, and
articulate one main idea in that paragraph. However, because my
students are level 1s and 2s, Im not sure that they could all do this on
their own without guidance. So, we will read the whole text aloud as the
class. I will read the text out loud, having the students following along,
pointing to each word as I read clearly and slowly, while simultaneously
whisper-reading. We will stop at the end of each paragraph and I will call
on a different student to articulate the main idea of what we just read.
Then I will have another student rephrase what they just said. I will keep
track of all this by writing on the board. I will write a number for each
paragraph we read, and next to that number write the main idea. We
should be able to fit the main idea of the paragraph into a word or short
phrase. I would also like the students to number the paragraphs on their
own text, and write the main idea next to each paragraph as well.

6. The next letter in SQP2RS stands for Respond. After we finish reading
the text, I want us to go back and find answers to the questions we
picked at the beginning of the exercise. I will have students do this in
pairs. If this is too difficult to do in pairs, I will pick out a few questions
 Veronica Brown-Rios 16

that students shared in the beginning of class, and have us go back as a

group and try to find those answers. When we find them, I will write
them on the board, and the students will also write them in their
notebooks. Time ~ 35 minutes

Total time ~ 50 minutes

Closing:
1. The last letter in SQP2RS stands for Summarize. As a class, we are
going to come up with a few sentences that summarize the main
purpose of the text. We will use sentence starts such as, Charles wants
us to know The purpose of the text is to show which will be up at
the front. I would also like students to write this down in their
notebooks. We will come back to this part in a later lesson, and during
the 15-minute mini lesson, and spend more time on it. Time ~ 5
minutes

Total Time ~ 55 minutes

Supplementary Materials Used (attach in Appendix):

Galvin, Charles. (2009). My Autobiography. Retrieved from

http://www.idiom.com/~cxarli/english/bio.html.
Whiteboard and markers
Notebooks and pencils
Giant sticky notes with the sentence starters from the closing on them at
the front of the classroom
 Veronica Brown-Rios 17

Appendix

Past Tense Word Sort

I played soccer. I like to run.

I walked to school. I drink a lot of water.
I liked to sing. My brother cleans
the bathroom.
My sister listened to My sister plays with
music. her toys.
My mother cooked I go to sleep at 9pm.
dinner.
My father talked on My father helps me.
the phone.

Signaling Words Word Sort

 Veronica Brown-Rios 18

Yesterday, I listenedEveryday I walk to

to music. school.
Last night, I worked Every morning I
on my homework. sing.
Last week, I cleaned I always play with
my bedroom. my friends at
recess.
I played with my My sister goes
sister, yesterday. sleeps at 8pm every
night.
My mother washed I always wash my
the dishes last hands when I use
night. the bathroom.
My father helped Every day I brush
me rake the leaves my teeth.
last week.
 Veronica Brown-Rios 19

My Autobiography

By Charles Galvin

I was born in January of 1960

in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. I was adopted at birth by
Charles and Mary Galvin. I was named for my father
and my youngest sister is named for my mother. We lived in a suburban
neighborhood in the town of Chamblee, which has now been surrounded by
development. My parents adopted three more children (all girls!) before my
fathers job sent my family to the San Francisco Bay Area in June of 1967.

I grew up in Marin County, just north of the City, where I was active
in Boy Scouts. I graduated from Marin Catholic High School in 1977. I studied
at the University of California at Berkeley for three years (1977-1980), where I
planned to major in Computer Science, but wound up taking courses also in
Classics, Dutch and Astronomy. During this time I lived in the Rockridge
district in Oakland. I left the university in 1980 to take a year off and never
went back, much to my parents disappointment.

I went to work as a word processor for a temporary help service and

wound up doing that for several years. Eventually, I began working with
lawyers, and I have now worked in the legal field almost exclusively for nearly
20 years.

I came out as a gay man on May 27, 1982. This is an event I celebrate as a
kind of second birthday each year. I moved to San Francisco in the mid-
1980s, and shortly thereafter I had relationship with a man for one year. This
was my one, great, failed romance! I have remained a bachelor ever since. My
dad, my three younger sisters and their families (I have 5 nieces and 2
nephews at this writing) live in Sonoma County. My mother passed away in
1983.

Presently, I am a word processing operator for a small law firm, and spend
most of my free time involved with church, Esperanto, civil rights activism, or
spending time with friends and family, some of who have Web pages. I read a
 Veronica Brown-Rios 20

lot of science fiction and fantasy, and I love to travel whenever I have the time
and the money at the same moment.

http://www.idiom.com/~cxarli/index.html - picture
http://www.idiom.com/~cxarli/english/bio.html - autobiography

Lesson 2 Do Now
 Veronica Brown-Rios 21

Directions: Please answer the following questions.

When 10 minutes is up, take turns sharing your
answers with your group members.

Name: ____________________

Age: ____________

Grade: _________________

Home country: ______________________

How many brothers do you have? ______________

How many sisters do you have? ________________

How long have you lived in the United States: -

______________