Lesson Plan Megan Jones

Goals / Objectives
SWBAT identify the main idea and details of a text and how the details contribute to
the main idea. Commented [NL1]: Write a version of the learning
objectives for the students. It would be helpful to split
this into two sentences.
Standards (and Assessment Anchors, if applicable)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.2

Materials and preparation

Materials:
1. Informational text Chicago Then and Now
http://teacher.depaul.edu/Documents/ChicagochangesSupportthemainideainanonf
ictiontext3rdgrade.pdf
2. Paper
3. Tree diagram a tree drawn on poster board with apples to add to the tree in
order to represent the analogy to main ideas and details
Apples to put on the tree
4. Writing utensils
Preparation:
Print out informational text
Create large tree for classroom collaboration along with smaller trees for students
to use
Classroom arrangement and management issues
1. Students will be outside of the classroom, in the Pod. At first students will sit at Commented [NL2]: If this space might be noisy, prepare
the tables for the mini lesson, and then spread out on the floor and/or multiple yourself and your students for the potential noise.

tables in order to work in groups. After group work, students will come back to the
table in order to discuss their posters.
2. Materials will be given out to students after the mini lesson is taught and groups
are picked in order to avoid distraction.
3. Students may be distracted as they will be out in the hallway instead of inside for
normal instruction, especially if they are with their friends. I will address this by
letting them know that I can pick other students for the project and that they wont
be able to do the fun part of the activity if theyre being chatty. If they are talking too
much, we can take a minute for a break and a breather before starting again.

Plan
Hook - 10 minutes
Someone explain to me what an apple tree looks like what are the parts of
it?
o (Roots, branches, apples growing from the branches)
The apples add to tree, you can have the apple without the tree and the tree
without the apple but together they create a full picture, a full fruit tree.
Show a model of an apple tree with the words main idea in the trunk and
details on each of the apples that are growing from it.
 o Relate to text details grow from the main ideas of a text they add
more color and life to the story.
Explain that we are going to use the idea of the apple tree in our main idea
and detail project.
Read the title of the text Chicago Then and Now
o Ask students to make predictions about what the main idea may be Commented [NL3]: This would be a good opportunity to
o As a group, we will read the informational text Chicago Then and plan in advance higher-order thinking skills (HOTS)
questions. Also, connect this book with their prior
Now. Then, they will decide on the main idea of the text, which they knowledge about Chicago or how cities change.
will write in the trunk of the tree. Next, they will find 3-4 details that
support the main idea of the text and write them in the apples that go
on the tree.
Have a student repeat the project back to me and to the class to ensure
understanding and appropriate dictation of instructions. Commented [NL4]: These instructions and the say-back
The Body of the Lesson - 25-30 minutes should go after the read aloud. Model for the students
what the need to do by doing an example with the group.
I will read the informational texts to the students as everyone is still in their
original seats. As youre giving instructions, discuss why its important
to be able to identify the main idea and supporting
Students will work in groups of two or three in order to make an apple tree details.
diagram to represent the main ideas and details of the text. I will walk
around the room and listen in to conversations, checking students Great job with including the say-back to confirm that
everyone understands the instructions.
understanding of the main idea of the text and the supporting details.
o I can probe students and ask them to explain how the details they Commented [NL5]: Set students up for this collaboration.
If they dont usually collaborate in groups of 2-3, youll
found support the main idea need to explicitly teach how they should collaborate.
After all students are done or close to done their tree, we will rejoin as a Commented [NL6]: Do a midpoint check-in. If at least
group and have the 3 or 4 groups of students present their trees. I will two students are having trouble with identifying details,
encourage students to ask questions and give compliments to the other pause the group to review the concept of details and
perhaps do another example.
group.
After everyone is finished, we will make a class tree that has one main idea
and details from the students work. This will solidify the most appropriate
answers from the text and allow for dispute among the students.
I will first look for the main idea of the text and see which students can
correctly identify the idea that Chicago is a city that is growing in population.
I will ask if any students stated the main idea differently and then probe the
class by checking to see if these ideas are still the same, despite their
wording.
Students can then add details to the tree, potentially one detail from each
group since the text is rather short.
Closure - 5 minutes
Not sure if it is appropriate to close after coming together for a full group activity, Commented [NL7]: There should always be a closing.
potential restate the analogy with the tree and the apples and how well the students You could, for example, have the students do an exit
ticket.
did connecting the main ideas of the text to the details.
Assessment of the goals/objectives listed above
I will assess students by observation, asking them questions about the main
ideas and details.
 o For this reason Im not sure if it would be more effective to have
students work on the trees by themselves in order to have a more
accurate gauge of their understanding. Commented [NL8]: If you were the everyday classroom
If so, I could use the written work in order to assess their teacher, you would be able to assess a mix of individual
and collaborative work. For this lesson, decide if its
knowledge on the content. important at this point for you to have individual or
o Class discussion and debate between students will offer another collaborative work to assess.
means of assessment as students that truly understand the connection
between main idea and details will be able to argue for which details
are the most important in supporting the main idea.
With a small group, it will be easy for me to go around and ask every student
about their understanding of the text.
As students debate and decide on the key details of the text, I can assess their
knowledge based on the comments that they give to the group.
With the tree diagram, despite being a graphic organizer, it is a concrete
piece of student work that applies to the topic.
o The benefit is that students will most likely not correctly identify the
details of the text if they cant pick out the main idea
This goes along with the idea that the details support and
relate to the main idea of a text
Anticipating students responses and your possible responses
Management issues
Students are usually well behaved and just need a minute to recollect
themselves before starting fresh. If the situation escalated, I could move their
progress card down a level, which means they have to work harder to have a
blue card and win prizes in class.
Response to content of the lesson
I think students will pretty easily identify the main idea of the text. Students
will be working with the main ideas in class so I think that just a little
reminder of the concept would be all they really need. I chose a text that is on
reading level and not too difficult.
Depending on the students, some may finish early. In this case I would urge
them to find the main idea of each paragraph and see how those ideas
compare to the overarching main idea of the text and the details they found
support that idea.

Accommodations
Accommodations for students who may find the material too challenging
Have students go through each paragraph and describe what the purpose is
is it explaining an idea, stating a fact, and then build from that.
o Possibly introduce the idea that each paragraph also has a main idea.
I think that a few of the students would be able to understand topic
sentences and how they compare to the main idea of a text.
Accommodations for students who may need greater challenge and/or finish early? Commented [NL9]: Good ideas for accommodations.
Consider how you can differentiate the texts in advance
Have students underline important information from the text and classify the to meet the varying needs of the students.
information
o Which statements refer to the whole text, a part of the text?
o Have students cross out sentences that dont seem important to the
whole of the text.