Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Grade Level: 4th Number of Students: 5 Instructional Location: Central Georgia Date: March 12th, 2019
Lesson Goals:
Central Focus of Lesson:
Students learn to determine the main idea of a text by identifying the passage’s topic and supporting details.
Standard(s) Addressed:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.2: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing
inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.8: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text.
Lesson Considerations
Materials: The Important Book read aloud (online), pencils, hand graphic organizers, nonfiction reading passages, ELA notebooks,
and whiteboard for taking notes
Prior Academic Learning and Prerequisite Skills: Students must be able to read fluently enough to be able to comprehend text.
Students must know how to paraphrase information from a given text. Students must know what nonfiction text is.
Misconceptions: Students mistakenly think a random detail from a text or the topic sentence is the main idea. The misconception
arises because students are only taught about the topic and the specific sub-category of the topic rather than being taught to think
about the point the author is trying to make about that sub-category. Students should be taught the topic and sub-category, but, more
importantly, they should be taught how to think about these in order to formulate a sentence stating the point the author is trying to
make with that paragraph (making an inference).
1
Pre-Assessment: Prior to this lesson, students were given a formal assessment in schoolcity to assess their ability to determine
main ideas and details from science and social studies nonfiction passages. Some of the questions involved student choice of
answer(s) given options, while others required students to summarize a text in their own words.
2
Evaluation Criteria:
Mastery: Topics are accurate and single word; topic sentences are accurate; supporting details accurate and paraphrased
Developing: Topics are somewhat accurate; some inaccuracies in topic sentences/supporting details AND/OR not paraphrased
Needs work: Topic is not identified accurately; inaccurate topic sentence; supporting details not paraphrased or not complete
Next Step: Now that students have learned about topic sentences, topics, and supporting details, they will be able to connect these
topics to determine the main idea of a text (with teacher support).
Extension: This lesson could be extended by asking students to complete the following activity: there are several sentences that could
go in one paragraph - one of them is the topic sentence and the rest are supporting details. They have to determine which one is the
topic sentence and why.
3
by topic sentence and supporting details. If students are successful with the provided tasks, then they may be asked to read a longer
passage as well.
Acknowledgements
Sources:The hand organizer idea (and template) and the topic sentence/supporting details sort were thanks to Kim Miller, from the A
Love of Teaching blog. The first passage for modeling/guided practice is about Elephants, and it came from education.com. The
team/independent practice paragraphs came from Minds in Bloom Main Idea Task Cards (Teachers Pay Teachers).
4
EdTPA Literacy Lesson #2: Finding the Main Idea
Grade Level: 4th Number of Students: 5 Instructional Location: Central Georgia Date: March 13th, 2019
Lesson Goals
Central Focus of Lesson: Students learn to determine the main idea of a text by using its topic and subcategory to state the idea
that the author is trying to convey in the passage.
Standard(s) Addressed:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.2: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing
inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.8: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text.
Lesson Considerations
Materials: hand graphic organizers (1 per student per passage), pencils, nonfiction reading passages, ELA notebooks, whiteboard
Prior Academic Learning and Prerequisite Skills: Students must be able to determine the topic and supporting details from a
given text. Students must know what nonfiction text is.
Misconceptions: Students mistakenly think a random detail from a text or the topic sentence is the main idea. The misconception
arises because students are only taught about the topic and the specific sub-category of the topic rather than being taught to think
about the point the author is trying to make about that sub-category. Students should be taught the topic and sub-category, but, more
importantly, they should be taught how to think about these in order to formulate a sentence stating the point the author is trying to
make with that paragraph (making an inference).
Pre-Assessment: Prior to this lesson, students were given a formal assessment in schoolcity to assess their ability to determine
main ideas and details from science and social studies nonfiction passages. Some of the questions involved student choice of
answer(s) given options, while others required students to summarize a text in their own words.
5
Lesson Plan Details:
Lesson Introduction - “Before”: Teacher will ask students to brainstorm what main idea means. Why are we always looking for the
main idea? Have students think, write down their thoughts, and share with a partner before discussing as a class (what the passage is
about, the point the author is trying to make, must be complete sentence). Instruct students: We can use the information we found
yesterday (topic and supporting details) to come up with the main idea of a nonfiction passage.
Learning Activities - “During”:
1. Ask students to guide you through finding the topic sentence and supporting details of a passage. Refer back to a passage read
together from the day before. Students should have the hand organizer in their ELA notebook.
2. Guide students through the following steps of finding the main idea: First, find the topic. Then, use the supporting details to come up
with a particular subcategory for those details. Define subcategory for the students (a specific part of the topic at large). Draw arrows
from the fingers on the hand organizer pointing to a single phrase, which is the subcategory.
3. Model for students: combine the topic and subcategory to write a sentence that explains the point the author is making in the
paragraph. This is the main idea. On the hand organizer, it will be written in the palm of the hand. Explain to students: it’s on the palm of
the hand because it is the basis for everything else in the paragraph. All the details fall under this main idea.
4. After modeling the example for the students, engage the students in guided practice. Go through another paragraph passage
together, and ask the students questions to have them actively participating in their learning. Ask: How do you determine the topic? The
subcategory? What is the author trying to say in this paragraph?
5. Students will then practice the skill in pairs/groups. Students are encouraged to ask each other questions before asking the teacher.
Students may moderate their own discussion as a whole group, with teacher as fill-in facilitator as needed.
Planned supports: hand organizer; specific notes about what each piece of the main idea will look like (i.e. the topic should be one word,
the subcategory should be a phrase about that topic).
Closure - “After”:
1. Students will share what their passage was about - its topic, subcategory, idea (point), and main idea. They should refer to their sticky
notes and/or graphic organizer. As students share, teacher will give specific feedback for encouragement and improvement.
2. Discuss with students once more the process of finding main idea. Why is finding the main idea important?
Assessment: Students will have completed hand organizers in their reading notebooks - some as guided practice with the teacher and
others as independent practice. Students will be assessed on how well they are able to follow the steps in determining the main idea in
their notebooks, as well as on how well they can explain the steps to others.
Evaluation Criteria: In their independent work, students are able to….
Mastery: Determine the topic, subcategory, and main idea of a text with ease. Can explain process to others.
Developing: Can determine some parts independently, but needs help with others. Explanation is attempted, but incomplete or unclear.
Needs work: Unable to determine the topic, subcategory, and main idea. Struggles with explaining the process.
6
Next Step: Students will learn to determine the main idea for passages that are longer than one paragraph, and to summarize these
texts using main ideas and details.
Extension: Given the topic, subcategory, and idea of a passage (unlabeled), ask students to determine which is which and explain why.
7
Requisite Skills: Students will develop the following skills during this learning segment: reading and comprehending text, making
inferences, and using text evidence (supporting details) to support topics and main ideas within composition of text.
Reading/Writing Connections: Students will learn to read a nonfiction text to determine its main idea. Writing down the topic,
supporting details, subcategory, and ideas allows students to visualize and utilize this step by step process. They can use these
strategies when working through standardized tests, as well as for better understanding of other texts they read in the future.
Acknowledgements/Sources: The method of teaching main idea was inspired by Gravity Goldberg and Renee Houser’s Blog: What
do I teach Readers Tomorrow? : specifically, the article entitled Why Students Struggle to Figure Out Main Ideas in Nonfiction Texts.
The hand organizer template and the guided passages came from the A Love of Teaching blog (Kim Miller), while the independent
practice came from The Owl Spot Main Idea Task Cards on Teachers Pay Teachers.
8
EdTPA Literacy Lesson #3: Summarizing a Text
Grade Level: 4th Number of Students: 5 Instructional Location: Central Georgia Date: March 18th, 2019
Lesson Goals
Central Focus of Lesson: Students learn to determine the main idea of a text by using its topic and subcategory to state the idea
that the author is trying to convey in the passage. Students will summarize a short passage by finding the main idea of each
paragraph/section.
Standard(s) Addressed:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.2: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing
inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.8: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text.
Lesson Considerations
Materials: hand graphic organizers (1 per student per passage), nonfiction reading passages, ELA notebooks, whiteboard
Prior Academic Learning and Prerequisite Skills: Students must be able to determine the main idea of a nonfiction paragraph.
Misconceptions: Students mistakenly think a random detail from a text or the topic sentence is the main idea. The misconception
arises because students are only taught about the topic and the specific sub-category of the topic rather than being taught to think
about the point the author is trying to make about that sub-category. Students should be taught the topic and sub-category, but, more
importantly, they should be taught how to think about these in order to formulate a sentence stating the point the author is trying to
make with that paragraph/section (making an inference).
9
Pre-Assessment: Prior to this lesson, students were given a formal assessment in schoolcity to assess their ability to determine
main ideas and details from science and social studies nonfiction passages. Some of the questions involved student choice of
answer(s) given options, while others required students to summarize a text in their own words.
10
Evaluation Criteria: In their independent work, students...
Mastery: Determines the main idea of paragraphs/texts with ease. Integrates these ideas into a summary. Can explain process to others.
Developing: Some attempts demonstrate ability to determine main ideas, while others do not. Does not integrate well into summary.
Explanation is attempted, but incomplete or unclear.
Needs work: Unable to determine the main idea in paragraphs/texts and/or copies directly from text. Struggles with explaining the process.
Next Step: Students will be able to summarize longer and more challenging passages.
Extension: Given the main ideas of the passage and the paragraphs/sections, students will be able to match the ideas to their specific
paragraphs or the entire passage.
Lesson Plan Appendix and Commentary Section
Evidence and Formative Assessment of Student Learning:
Assessment Strategy #1: Students will be able to determine the Alignment with Objectives:Students are proving that they can
main ideas of individual paragraphs/sections as well as entire determine the main ideas of paragraphs/sections and passages
passages (utilizing graphic organizers as supports). They will be based on the text they read, as aligned with the content
able to summarize the text using these main ideas. objective.
Evidence of Student Understanding: Students’ written notes
clearly demonstrate understanding of the various pieces that go
Assessment Strategy #2: into the determination of the main idea. Their summarizations
Students will be able to summarize the processes of finding main provide evidence of the depth of their understanding of the
idea and summarization through verbal articulation and in written processes of finding main idea and summarizing a text.
responses. Student Feedback: Students will receive oral feedback during
instruction, praising what they did correctly, noting what they
were missing, with specific ways on improvement, all given with
encouraging words. Written feedback will be given afterward.
11
Supporting Literacy Development
Essential Literacy Strategies: determining the main idea of a text; summarizing the text
Requisite Skills: Students will develop the following skills during this learning segment: reading and comprehending text, making
inferences, and using text evidence (supporting details) to support topics and main ideas.
Reading/Writing Connections: Students will learn to read a nonfiction text to determine its main idea and summarize it. Finding the
main idea of each paragraph/section will help them to find the main idea of the entire passage. They can use these strategies when
working through standardized tests, as well as for better understanding of other texts they read in the future.
Acknowledgements/Sources: The method of teaching main idea was inspired by Gravity Goldberg and Renee Houser’s Blog:
What do I teach Readers Tomorrow? : specifically, the article entitled Why Students Struggle to Figure Out Main Ideas in
Nonfiction Texts. The hand organizer template and the guided passages came from the A Love of Teaching blog (Kim Miller).
Selected passages came from education.com, Laura Davis on Teachers Pay Teachers, and Ferst Loves Fiction on Teachers Pay
Teachers.
12