The Lesson Plan

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Lesson 20 – Little Rabbit’s Tale
10:25am – 11:05am
Ms. Ashlee Gallaher Grade 1

 CC.1.1.1.C: Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds

(phonemes).
 CC.1.1.1.E: Read with accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
I:  CC.1.3.1.A: Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of
PA State Standard(s) their central message or lesson.
 CC.1.3.1.B: Ask and answer questions about key details.
 CC.1.3.1.F: Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or
appeal to the senses.
II: Prerequisites Students should know:
 Little Rabbit’s Tale
 Vocabulary/HFWs
III:
 Students will learn to build comprehension using partner talk. Commented [AG1]: Domain 3c – Engaging Students in
Instructional
 Students will continue to be exposed to a wide range of literature. Learning
Objective(s) Grouping of Students (see also first bullet in before)
Before:
 Ensure each student is seated next to a partner, adjust as needed (fill ins for absent
students, extra student per row to partner with extra in following row). Commented [AG2]: Domain 3c – Engaging Students in
 Remind students of this week’s story, Little Rabbit’s Tale. Learning
 Explain to students that they will be discussion with a partner their answers to Grouping of Students
questions that I will ask during the story.
 Tell students that these questions may not have one right answer and that they
will be able to add to the question to tell why they chose their answer. Commented [AG3]: Domain 3a – Communicating with
 Have students open their books and echo read the story, following the during steps Students
of the lesson. Expectations of learning
Directions for activites
During:
 Read pages 146 & 147. Stop here and ask the students:
o “How does little rabbit feel after something hits him on the head? How can
you tell?” Commented [AG4]: Domain 3b – Using Questioning and
IV: Instructional o Allow students a minute to think. After students think, have them partner Discussion Techniques
Procedures talk, give the students 2 minutes to talk about their answer. Quality of questions/prompts
Repeated at each bullet in during.
(B,D,A)  Read pages 148 & 149. Stop here and ask the students:
o “Do you think Goose feels the same as rabbit? How can you tell?” Commented [AG5]: Domain 3b – Using Questioning and
o Allow students a minute to think. Repeat the above pattern. Discussion Techniques
Discussion techniques
 Read pages 150 & 151. Stop here and ask the students: Student participation
o “What happens each time a new character is told the sky is falling? Think Repeated at each bullet in during.
about how each character feels.” Domain 3c – Engaging Students in Learning
o Repeat above sequence. Structure and pacing
 Read pages 152 & 153. Stop here and ask the students:
o “Where do you think turtle lives? How can you tell?” If students need an
idea, either ask what habitat the turtle lives in, or give them options.
o Repeat sequence.
 Read pages 154 & 155. Stop here and ask the students:
o “How do you think mother will feel when rabbit and his friends tell her the
sky is falling?”
o Repeat sequence.
  Finish reading the rest of the story. Ask the following:
o “How do you think rabbit feels when he finds out the sky isn’t falling?”
o Have students discuss this with partner.
After:
 Have students pull out their writing journals.
 Give students the following prompt:
o If you were little rabbit and you woke up to think the sky was falling, how
would you feel and who would you tell first?
o You may also give the students a writing prompt: I would feel _____ if I
thought the sky was falling because…
 Allow students a few moments to write, after reminding them that sentences
begin with capitals and end with punctuation. Also remind them to make use of
the word wall words.
 Collect the journals and evaluate.
 Teacher Manual
V:  Student Textbooks
Materials & Equipment  Pencils
 Writing Journals Commented [AG6]: Domain 3c – Engaging Students in
VI:  Listen as students discuss with their partners. Give suggestions if needed. Learning
Instructional materials and resources
Assessment/Evaluation  Evaluate journal entries for both understanding and writing.
 Hand-over-hand for students that struggle with writing. Commented [AG7]: Domain 3d – Using Assessment in
VII: Instruction
 Give students the option to draw a picture if acceptable.
Differentiation
 Pair higher level students with lower level students to partner talk.
VIII:
 None needed.
Technology
IX:  Ask: Are students engaged in their learning?
Self-Assessment  Look over the journal for comprehension and higher-level thinking. Commented [AG8]: Domain 3d – Using Assessment in
Instruction

Reflection

The above lesson plan was developed after having meetings with both my mentor teacher and university

supervisor. The suggestion was to use a Depth of Knowledge Observation Chart to improve questioning to have Commented [AG9]: Domain 3b – Using Questioning and
Discussion Techniques
the students reach a higher level of thinking. The goal was to use questioning to have students use the level four

extended thinking. These questions involve asking how students feel, think, believe, as well as making

predictions and drawing relationships. I used the advice from those meetings to create a lesson plan on a

folktale lesson with the Journey’s curriculum.

The students did very well with this lesson. The students echo read, to the extent of mocking the inflection that I

put into telling the story. As the lesson plan lays out, after reading two pages, there would be a pause for the

students to answer the proposed questions. I gave the students think time before requesting that they turn and

talk with their partner. I gave enough time so that both students get time to talk. During this talk time, I walked
around and listened to conversations. I was amazed at some of the words the students used: terrified, Commented [AG10]: Domain 3d – Using Assessment in
Instruction
embarrassed, disappointed.

During this specific lesson, there was one student that was upset and cried throughout the lesson. Despite this, Commented [AG11]: Domain 3e – Demonstrating
Flexibility and Responsiveness
he participated when asked and the other students continued to work through his verbal cries. Planned ignoring

was utilized a lot. Once the students realized that neither teacher was going to feed into his cries, they also

modeled this. The students were still very supportive to their peer – offering words of encouragement or

rubbing his back as they walked by – but understood that more than these subtle gestures may be more of a

trigger. With this observation, I feel confident in saying that this classroom is a great community of learners and

a great support system to each other.

When looking a deeper into Danielson’s (2014) Framework, Domain 3 – Instruction, there are five components.

They are communicating with students, using questioning and discussion techniques, engaging students in

learning, using assessment in instruction, and demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness. I feel this lesson

plan shows clearly that there is direct communication with the students. The students demonstrated by

successful discussion that the expectations were clear. I followed the lesson plan directly for most of the lesson,

but I also found another place to stop and allow the children to think and added a question about how the friends

of little rabbit might have felt when they missed their activities because they thought the sky was falling. The

students responded very well. After the students partner talked, I had one group answer the question aloud. I

used prompts with the partners were talking and pointed out that I liked key words. These prompts and words of

encouragement really sparked the engagement when the partners answered. They did not hesitate to share their Commented [AG12]: Domain 3d – Using Assessment in
Instruction
‘big’ words and thoughts/feelings. Feedback to Students

The assessment used in this lesson plan consisted of observation and listening during the partner talk, as well as

evaluation of the writing for understanding. The journal writing at the end of the lesson plan helped to step back

and read if the students were connecting to the reading by relating their feelings and the character feelings.

Overall, the students did very well with relaying their thoughts and feelings. However, more work is needed on

the handwriting aspect of journaling. The students need more consistent practice with capitalization,
punctuation, neatness, and use of word wall words. All of which are now on a rubric that was created for future

journal uses and will be explored with students in an upcoming lesson.

Overall this lesson was a great opportunity for both the students and I to really see what they were capable with

when relating to a text. The students were able to articulate their thoughts and feelings, as well as connections to

characters and the story, clearly and without reservation or fear of answering aloud. Despite some challenges, I

feel the students will be able to better perform on their unit assessment at the end of the week in the

comprehension section. We were able to dissect the parts of the story, label the characters, plot, settings, etc.

without asking these direct questions, but by having the students use higher-level thinking and discussion.