Benedetto   1  

Theresa Benedetto
EDR 320-02
28 March 2017

Literacy Strategy Lesson Plan

Strategy: Buzz About Books 2.2 p. 69

(teaching reading engagement: focus, stamina, and building a reading life)

Common Core State Standard:

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).

Anticipatory Set: TV book talks was prior instruction that built up to this lesson. Students
created commercials to display their SSR book to their peers. Begin by showing a movie trailer
for a current movie your audience is interested in:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6DOpfJzmo0. Then read the movie description. Review the
importance of persuasive language that is used when convincing someone to buy into an idea,
product, movie, or book. Have the students think of techniques they used in their persuasive
writing.

Involvement Strategy: Students will be asked to offer peer feedback to their work before
completing their buzz page. They will then present their final buzz page to their peers in a pass-
around activity in small groups.

Description of procedures for the strategy:

(Teacher Modeling)
•   Text: Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes
•   In a mini-lesson format, begin by using a book that would interest your grade level and
one that they are most likely unfamiliar with. Display your thinking while completing a
buzz page for the text. Be sure to incorporate your thinking on choosing persuasive
language while completing each portion of the buzz page (rating, location of text, genre,
and sneak peek).
•   Have the text with you during this modeling
•   Explain where buzz pages will be displayed in the classroom (near or in the classroom
library)
(Guided Practice)
•   Text: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
•   For guided practice, use the classroom read aloud text so that each student is familiar
with the text
•   As a class complete the step by step buzz page
o   Have each student show their rating for the book with a silent finger rating (5
fingers for a 5-star rating)
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o   Gauge students’ knowledge on genre – offer support and review

o   Have students turn and talk to a partner on what they would write for their sneak
peek
o   Engage in group discussion on sneak peeks. As the teacher, write down the big
ideas before working as a class to complete the sneak peek portion. Focus on
main characters, plot, problems, and solutions while using persuasive language
and questioning

(Independent Practice)
•   The students will now work independently to complete a buzz page for a book they have
recently completed or are close to completing. Before they can begin, remind the student to
think of their audience (their 4th grade peers) when suggesting what book to buzz about. The

Assess the students’ understanding of the strategy: The assessment should be informal
and formative. Have the students present their buzz page to small groups. Walk around, join in
on groups, and actively listen for persuasive language, active thinking, and interest level of the
students. When all steps have been completed, collect the buzz pages and display them in a
binder located in the classroom library.
*note: include blank buzz sheets so students can continue to recommend books!

Children’s Text Information:

1.   Lowry, L. (1998). Number the stars. New York, N.Y: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for
Young Readers.
2.   Rhodes, J.P. (2016). Towers falling (first ed). New York;Boston: Little, Brown and
Company.

References:
1.   Serravallo, J. (2015). The reading strategies book (p.69). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Two other strategies to use with this text:

Choose Like Books for Best Fit (2.15)

This strategy helps students find similar literature, themes, and genres that will interest
them if they enjoyed a certain book. Students are introduced to online resources that can help
them find best fit books such as Amazon, Goodreads, and BiblioNasium. The students can create
posters of these similar and best fit books to display in the classroom library to gauge the interest
of their peers. This strategy would reinforce recommendations and drive further instruction.
During modeling, a teacher could type in their modeling text into these online resources to show
students how they could find best fit books.

Choose Books with Your Identity in Mind (2.16)

This strategy is great for students to have the chance to reflect on themselves as readers.
This would be wonderful to do after completing interest surveys. “Choose Books with Your
Identity in Mind” encourages students to not view their reading identity as a leveled number but
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as a way to describe their reading interests. Students would be able to further build classroom
community by seeing what types of readers their classmates are. This would be a reflective
strategy to utilize during reading conferences. Also, this strategy would help students know what
to look for when they are searching through the buzz pages in the classroom library. During
modeling for Buzz About Books, a teacher could describe their reading identity prior to
completing the buzz page.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Benedetto   4  

We are
Buzzing About
Books!
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____________________________ is buzzing about this book!!

 

 
 
 
Title: ____________________________________________________________

Author: _________________________________

Genre: __________________________________

Where did I get the book?

______________________________________________________

A sneak peek into this book:

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

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