LESSON PLAN

Lesson Plan 2: (Circle or underline one domain area: Fluency, Vocabulary

Development, or Comprehension)

Grade: 5 Lesson Topic: Comprehension; Character Development

Candidate’s Name: __Berlynn Moser__________________
(For example, if you choose comprehension, your topic for the lesson can be about finding the main idea
and details).
1. Introduction: (Identify Grade Level K12 Academic Content Standard(s), rationale, focus
learner, create bridges from past learning, behavior expectations, Target 1 and 2 introduced)
CA Academic Standard Rationale:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2 The standards align with California state

Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from
details in the text, including how characters in a story
or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in
a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.3
standards and assist students in their
comprehension of the text. Students will
identify how characters develop, compare
and contrast characters, and identify how
characters respond to challenges. Identifying
and investigating these components are key
strategies for comprehension.

Compare and contrast two or more characters,

settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on
specific details in the text (e.g., how characters
interact).

Prior Learning: It is important that students have foundational

Students were introduced to the definition of character
development. We used a sample story to investigate
character traits and compared characters in the form
of discussions.
Students complete Venn diagrams, comparing and
contrasting characters or events, as part of their daily
homework assignments.
knowledge to build upon. This will allow
students to bridge concepts and draw
connections. Introducing vocabulary and
Venn diagrams prior to the lessons will permit
the teacher to successfully move into the
lesson and introduce/discuss concepts that
will aid in the student’s comprehension of the
text.

Focus Learner/Behavioral Expectations

Students are expected to participate in all group and
partner discussion. Students are expected to use
respectful language and include appropriate
vocabulary. Students will use their “I agree, I
disagree” sentence frames to respond to their
neighbor, and further provide support for their opinion.
Students will restate the question when providing their
opinion and will cite relevant information in their
response. This group of students has a history of
being very social and engaging. The majority of
Student participation is the key in this lesson
for analyzing character development. It is
important that students form their own opinion
and support it with details from the text. They
should be able to listen to their peers and
respectfully provide a response.
A review of rules and expectations reminds
students of what the classroom environment
and atmosphere should look and feel like.
students are at or above grade level, so we anticipate
having high-level discussions.

Prior to the lesson the teacher will review student

expectations and classroom rules.

Introduction Target Student #1:

Target student one is a male who speaks two
languages and performs at an above average
academic level. He is a GATE student and he has
parents who seem to push the value education; his
father being a graduate student. He has a high
interest in reading and writing and is very social and
cooperative.
Introduction Target Student #2:
Target student two is a female with a learning
disability, low language skills, and a diagnosis of
cerebral palsy. Her reading performance, including
comprehension is at a second-grade level. However,
her oral comprehension is appropriate for her grade
level. She is often absent due to illness however her
parents are highly involved and have placed her in
after school tutoring. Student is highly interested in
books and reading. She is passive and only has a
limited number of close friends. This student has a
full-time aid.
Target student one should be encouraged to
expand on his answers and make inferences.
Being a GATE student, he will be expected to
provide detailed responses and engage in
academic discussions with the teacher and
his peers. There is a lot of social work in this
lesson so it is expected that target student
one will enjoy the content.
Target student two will need additional help
when completing the individual and guided
components of the lesson. Her learning
disability combined with her reading
comprehension level will bring concerns that
she may struggle if she is not provided with
additional help. She will be paired with
someone she is comfortable with to
encourage her participation in discussions.
She does well with oral comprehension, so it
is anticipated that she does well with much of
the content of this lesson.

Since student number two has a physical

disability and a learning disability, it is
important that we follow all additional
stipulations, recommendations, and
accommodations set in the IEP.

2. Learner Outcome(s)/Objective(s): (What will students learn from this lesson? How will you
measure the on-going learning? (Formative assessments as you go along). How will you measure
mastery of the outcome? (Comes at the end of the lesson with your summative assessment for
the purposes of evaluation.
Objectives with learner outcome Rationale:
expectations: Understanding how characters in the story
-We will identify how characters in the story develop develop and respond to challenges will guide
and compare them to other characters in the story. the students in comprehending the intended
-We will identify how characters responds to the message of the text. Comparing and
challenges they face. contrasting characters allows students to
further investigate character trait.
Formative Assessments: Additionally, the objectives align with
The teacher will assess student learning and California state standards.
frequently check for understanding throughout all
portions of the lesson. Students will be provided with It is important that teachers observe their
additional help where recognized and will be students so they may identify where
encouraged to improve using positive reinforcements. additional instruction or guidance is needed.
Assessment for Mastery: Teachers can use this informal assessment
to modify instruction or provide additional
Students will demonstrate their mastery of the supports.
objective by completing an assessment, comprised of
short answer questions, detailing character
development, comparisons and character responses
from the last ten pages of chapter ten (titled Potatoes).
The first ten pages of the chapter will be analyzed and
explored as a class, and the final ten pages will be
used for students to demonstrate mastery of the
lesson. Assessments will be modified based on
student ability. Students will demonstrate mastery by
completing the assessment with 80% accuracy.
The assessment will be tiered to meet the
abilities of all students in the class. Due to
modifications, all students will be expected to
achieve a score of 80% or higher.
Target student 1 will be expected to cite and
support his information in MLA format.
Target student 2 will be permitted to have
questions read to her by her aid, her
questions will be simplified, and she may
refer to her aid for an explanation of the
meaning of each question.

3. Pre-assessment Activity or pretest is required. The time limit is about five minutes for this. The
pretest provides the teacher with information about the students’ knowledge of the topic and
allows for more efficient and effective planning and learning.(Determine students’ abilities to
achieve the Learner Outcome and prescribe instruction accordingly. Considerations: linguistic
background, academic language abilities, content knowledge, cultural and health considerations,
interests and aspirations, physical development, social development, emotional development.)
Considerations: (Listed in the scenario that you Rationale:
choose – copy and paste on the left column. On the
right column, provide a detailed rationale):
Suburban school district Research has shown that socioeconomic
Middle- and upper-income neighborhood- status can impact many areas of student
3% on free and reduced lunch program performance. It is important to know the
Diversity: 0% African American; 34% Asian; 5% Filipino; 5% background each student is coming from
Hispanic: 53% White; 3% Multiple; 9% Special Ed with IEPs; so that we may accommodate students in
9% ELL; Low income: 2% their areas of need.

Class Information
Grade: Fifth grade- Time of year: last
quarter year
Total number of students: 31 Gender: 15 females, 16 males

1. Linguistic Background
Primary home languages: 9% ELL, Primary home languages: ELL instruction includes many
English or Chinese- Mandarin modifications that accommodate for
2. Academic Language Abilities, Content Knowledge and English language learners. Teachers must
Skills be aware of EL students in their classroom
Assessment tests taken; MAP testing so considerations to lesson planning can
5% reading text at below grade level be applied.
75% reading at grade level
20% reading above grade level Teachers must know the average levels
their students perform at so that instruction
3. Physical, Social, Emotional can be tailored to meet the needs of the
Students very active and social. 50% involved in after school students.
program of daycare

4. Socioeconomic Considerations
2 students on free and reduced lunch program. Parents work Having knowledge of our students’ state of
in professional or trade occupations. Many stay at home moms being outside of just academics is
with very active PTA. important knowledge for teachers to have.

5. Cultural Considerations -class

Ethnic diversity: 0% African American; 34% Asian; 5% Filipino;
5% Hispanic: 54% White; 3% mixed; 2 students in Special Ed
with IEPs
6. Health Considerations & Attendance.
1 child with mild cerebral palsy; 2 with severe allergies/asthma.
Good attendance by students
7. Interests, Motivations, & Extra Curricular
Developmentally appropriate interests. High motivation to read.
It is important that teachers remain
culturally responsive and culturally aware.
This provides teachers with the advantage
of incorporating various inclusion methods
and allows the teacher to remain sensitive
to all student backgrounds.

Teachers should be aware of their

student’s interests and use their interests
to ignite student engagement.

Pretest (Activity):
For the pretest, students will be required to write a paragraph
explaining what character development is. Additionally, they
must provide an explanation for what it means to compare, and
what it means to contrast. The teacher will monitor students as
they write and call on three non-volunteers to read their
answers. Student responses will be collected.
The assessment will allow the teacher to
gauge whether students are prepared to
move into today’s lesson, or whether she
needs to go back and review character
development prior to continuing with the
lesson.
Having students read aloud their
responses serves as a review for students
who were having difficulty answering the
questions.

4. Differentiation, Adaptation & Accommodation Strategies: (Based on the pre-assessments,

modify Learning Activities based on learner characteristics to meet the needs of ELL & special
needs students, highly achieving students and low achieving students)
Rationale:
Modifications for all ELL:
The teacher will provide printed visuals that help ELL students:
students understand the text. Visuals will include
pictures of the following: EL students will be provided the opportunity
-vineyards to relate words to their visual counterparts.
-wagons Imagery and hand gestures help students
-yarn dolls associate meaning with vocabulary.
-porcelain dolls Simplifying terms and relating them to
-fiesta something students are knowledgeable about
-arbors allows students to bridge concepts and better
-temporary citizen documents understand the intended message.

The teacher will use hand gestures, point to objects in

the room when providing explanations, and
simplify/relate terms to others to aid in student
understanding.
Modifications for Target Student #1
Target student one will be asked to cite his information
in MLA format. His responses will be required to be in
the R.A.C.E format (restate, answer, cite, explain),
something we use as part of our AVID program.
Target student one will be required to use academic
vocabulary during discussion and when responding to
his peers.
Target students 1 & 2:
Target student one performs at an advanced
level and is recognized as a GATE student.
In order for him to be afforded an equal
education he needs to be appropriately
challenged. Therefore, his responses should
be at a college prep level and must be
sourced.
Modifications for Target Student #2:
Target student 2 will be permitted to have questions
read to her by her aid. Her questions will be simplified,
and she may refer to her aid for an explanation of the
meaning of each question. When completing her Venn
diagram, target student two can refer to previous
diagrams we completed in class and ask for
clarification from her aid.
Modifications for High Achieving Students:
Like target student 1, high achieving students will be
asked to cite their information in MLA format. Their
responses will be required to be in the R.A.C.E format
(restate, answer, cite, explain), something we use as
part of our AVID program. High achieving students will
be required to use academic vocabulary during
discussion and when responding to their peers.
Low Achieving Students
Low achieving students will work with the teacher, in a
small group, during the independent portion of the
assignment. They can refer their questions to the
teacher. The teacher will provide clarification and
explanations when requested, or when she observes
that her assistance is needed.
Target student two has a learning disability
and struggles with comprehension when it is
not oral. Therefore, she will be afforded the
opportunity to ask her aid for clarification and
additional help. The response questions and
instructions can all be read to the student, by
her aid.
High achieving students:
High achieving students will be appropriately
challenged to ensure they are being held to
the same high expectations as their peers.
To provide them with an equal education,
their requirements should be tailored to their
skills, abilities, and academic performance.
Low Achieving students:
Independent groups provide students with a
focused instruction and allows the teacher to
most accurately observe and check for
understanding; providing additional
assistance where needed. This setting is
often more comfortable for students to ask
their questions.

5. Resources: (Identify materials needed for this lesson accounting for varying degrees of skill
level)
Preassessment: Rationale:
Preassessment paragraph The assessment paragraph allows the
lined paper teacher to formally acknowledge that her
Explicit: students have the necessary foundation to
Esperanza Rising textbook continue with the new content of the lesson.
Document camera to display notes
white board markers These tools are necessary to introduce the
Pictures of vocabulary terms lesson to the students. Pictures need to be
-vineyards pre-printed or saved in a file on the computer
-wagons to provide visual representations of
-yarn dolls vocabulary for students.
-porcelain dolls
-fiesta
-arbors
-temporary citizen documents

Guided and independent Practice:
Numerous copies of Esperanza Rising
pos-it’s to flag information (student supply)
White board markers for the Venn diagram
White paper for students
Graph for challenges and responses
Students each need their own copy of the
text and a handful of slim post-it’s so they
may flag pertinent information.
The teacher needs markers so she may draw
the Venn diagram on the board and begin
filling it out with the students.

6. Learning Activities: Explicit Teacher Instruction - (Explain, Model, Demonstrate, Check for
Understanding)
 Rationale: (For each component on the left
INTRODUCTION:
column)
Good morning class, today we will continue reading
Esperanza Rising, only our focus is going to be on
character development; something we began to learn It is important to introduce the lesson to the
about in previous lessons. We are going to be using students, so they have a clear understanding
our evidence flags (post-its) today, creating Venn of their expectations. Students seem to
diagrams and t charts, and as usual discussing the perform well when they are aware of the
first ten pages of the chapter so that you may use sequence of events.
what you learn to complete the final ten pages, and
the activity, independently.

INSTRUCTION:

Step 1: Explain ( What is it? Define and explain

what the skill you are developing so that students
start to conceptualize what you will be teaching
them):

*teacher reads the objective

Now please read the objective out loud together Reading the objective introduces the
*Students read the objective students to what the expected outcome of
Are there any words in our objectives that you are not the lesson is. It is important they understand
familiar with? the purpose of the lesson and that they are
*Teacher provides clarification if needed able to relate what they are doing back to the
Good, I’m glad to see everyone remembers the objective.
vocabulary. Now, in your own words, please describe
to your neighbor what it is we will be doing today.
*Students pair-share using “I agree/ I disagree”
sentence frames. Teacher walks around to check for
understanding. The teacher will call on non-volunteers
to answer the question.
Great explanation! Just as we have used our evidence The teacher will introduce the concepts of
flags in the past, we will be using them today to focus today, relating them to previously completed
on how the characters in the story develop. We will be activities. This will allow students to bridge
reading the first ten pages of the chapter, stopping concepts. It activates their prior knowledge,
after each paragraph to pair-share and discuss what so they know they already have the
the main idea of the paragraph was. Esperanza’s foundational skills required for the lesson.
character develops a lot in this chapter, so each time
we notice a change in her or the other characters we
will be flagging that information. This is helpful when
we need to refer to the information later when we are
creating our Venn diagram, our T chart, and you are
The teacher will front load the assignment to
filling out your text-dependent questions for the daily
clarify any vocabulary words she expects
comprehension quiz.
student to struggle with. This requires
Before we officially begin, I do want to front load our
planning on the teacher’s part but allows her
lesson with some pictures that explain some
to focus on the intended message of the
vocabulary that I expect some of you may have trouble
lesson, rather than have to redirect to explain
interpreting the meaning. Please focus in on the smart
vocabulary terms.
board and we will go over and discuss these terms.
*Teacher shows class the pictures. The class
discusses each picture. The teacher checks for
understanding and provides clarification where
needed.
I am going to read out loud to you and when I come
across important information I will stop, think about it,
flag it, and possibly fill in one of my charts. As you can
see, I have drawn two graphs on the whiteboard. One
is a Venn diagram. We will be using the Venn diagram
to compare two characters: Esperanza and Isabel
Next to that is our T chart. On top of the right side we
have the word “challenges” and on the left side we can
see the word “responses”. Because this is a lot of
information to gather, we will stop at the end of each
paragraph and discuss any character developments,
character traits for the Venn diagram, and any new
challenges that Esperanza faces. I will introduce these
questions to you, to share with your partner, one at a
time.
Step 2: Model:
The teacher will model her expectations for
*teacher will read the first paragraph and say out loud
the students so they have a clear
“did the character develop at all? Yes, therefore I will
understanding of what they will be expected
flag that information. Did I learn of any new character
to do.
traits for Esperanza? Yes, therefore I will fill in my
Venn diagram with the new information. Did the text
address any new challenges for Esperanza? No, so at
this time I don’t need to add anything to my T chart.”

Step 3: Demonstrate:
Demonstrating expectations for the students
*teacher will fill in the Venn diagram with the
allows for clarification of expectations. This is
appropriate information from the paragraph. She will
a form of differentiating instruction, where
discuss with the students why she put the information
students are not only able to hear their
in the diagram and talk to them about how detailed it
expectations, but they are able to visualize
needs to be. The teacher will flag the information
them and are introduced to them in a hands-
pertaining to character development, traits, and
on manner.
challenges.

Check for Understanding:

The teacher must constantly check for
Please discuss with your neighbor why I flagged the
understanding so that clarification can be
information I did.
provided, and instruction can be
*Teacher will walk around and listen/engage in student
reviewed/redirected if needed.
discussion.
*Teacher will call on two non-volunteers to share

7. Learning Activities: Guided Practice/ Collaborative Practice (Check for understanding and
provide feedback and re-teaching) (10 minutes) Please don’t forget the Target students.
Activity: Provide a transition. Rationale:
Directions to students:

Great discussions! Now we will be completing the

The teacher should provide a transition
remainder of the pages together. We will be stopping after
to the next activity so that students are
each paragraph and discussing the paragraph. We will flag
able to relate what they have learned to
important information and fill in the graph or chart with
what they are now expected to
relevant details. The teacher will guide the students in their
complete. This allows activities to
discussion by asking the following questions:
operate more smoothly.
-Did any character development occur?
-Did we learn about any new character traits?
-Did Esperanza face any new challenges?
-Can we identify how Esperanza responded to the
challenge?
Check for Understanding:
*Teacher will walk around and listen/engage in student
discussion.
*Teacher will call on two non-volunteers to share
The teacher must constantly check for
understanding so that clarification can
be provided, and instruction can be
reviewed/redirected if needed.

8. Independent Practice: (Provide practice that supports the learning outcome. Note:
Independent activities are assigned assuming that students understand the concept well enough
to work on their own.) (15 minutes)Please don’t forget the target students.
Activity: Provide a transition. Rationale:
Directions to students:
You guys did awesome discussing the questions with
The teacher should acknowledge to students
your neighbor. Now it is time for you demonstrate your
that even though she is in a small group, she
knowledge by completing the Venn diagram, T chart,
will be observing student progress and will be
and flagging of the text in an independent manner. If
available for help if she is needed.
you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask
for help.

Guided Group:
Working in a small group allows the teacher
*Teacher will pull back a select group of students and
to focus in on students who are academically
continue helping students identify pertinent information
struggling. More personal attention can help
from the text, in the same manner as the guided
struggling students achieve progress.
practice was complete.

Independent practice completed in form of

centers:
Centers are fun and engaging way for
Once students have completed their independent
students to learn. It breaks away from
practice, they will now be rotating in centers to discuss
traditional teaching where students are
with the group the information they found. Students
expected to remain in their seats all day.
should add evidence flags and fill in the diagram and
Students enjoy the engagement and being
chart with any information they missed but their group
able to work with their peer.
identified.
*Students will be split into three groups and will rotate
centers every five minutes. The centers will be as
follows
Centers are each focuses on a different
1.Evidence flags (students will discuss what they
portion of the assignment. This provides
flagged and why)
structure and guidance for the students.
2. Venn diagram (students will discuss what
information they included in their Venn diagram. They
will work together to fill out the middle of the Venn
diagram, noting how the characters are similar)
3. Students will discuss the information they included
in their T charts. (they will add any information they
neglected to include but their group did)

Check for Understanding:

*Teacher will walk around and listen/engage in student
The teacher must constantly check for
discussion.
understanding so that clarification can be
*Teacher will finish the independent component of the
provided, and instruction can be
lesson by calling on volunteers to assist her in filling
reviewed/redirected if needed.
out her charts on the board.
9. Assessment and Evaluation: (Describe how you will assess and/or evaluate the students’
learning. Describe differentiating assessment strategies you will use for ELL, special needs
students, highly achieving students and low achieving students.)
Formative: Rationale:
*teacher will assess student progress by monitoring Monitoring students allows the teacher to
students during the lesson introduction, guided understand what areas students need
practice, pair-sharing, independent practice, small additional help in so they may demonstrate
groups, and centers. mastery on the final assessment.
*teacher will provide feedback, redirection,
clarification, and praise students explicitly.

SummativeFinal assessment in order to evaluate

the learning per your objective(s) and to check for
Mastery)
Students will be given a final assessment with text-
dependent questions. There will be six questions on
the summative test. Questions include two about
specific ways characters developed, two requiring
students to compare characters, and two questions
asking students to identify a challenge a character
faced and detail how they responded to the challenge.
The final assessment allows the teacher to
recognize where additional help is needed
and provides her with an understanding of
whether mastery has been achieved. It will
allow her to gauge whether a select group of
students need to be reintroduced to the topic
and be provided with additional material, or if
the class as a whole needs review.

Differentiating:
Students who are high achieving will be required to Differentiating instruction is important for
write their response using MLA format, citing their student success. It ensures that learning is
information and providing explicit detail from the text. accessible to all students.
Student questions will vary in academic vocabulary,
based on ability. Students who struggle with decoding
words will work at the back table with the teacher,
where they can request the questions be read to them,
if needed.

ELL students and Target 1 # 2 students:
The teacher will explain the questions to EL students
and will point to and refer to the coordinating graph
that relates to each question.
Target student one will be asked to cite his information
in MLA format. His responses will be required to be in
the R.A.C.E format (restate, answer, cite, explain),
something we use as part of our AVID program.
Relating the test questions to their
coordinating graph and charts provides EL
students with clarification on what is being
asked of them. They are able to relate the
questions to the activities and have a better
opportunity to succeed.
Target student one has been afforded
modifications that meet his academic needs.

Target student 2 will be permitted to have questions Target student two performs best with oral
read to her by her aid. Her questions will be simplified, comprehension. She has a learning disability
and she may refer to her aid for an explanation of the and therefore is allowed to refer her
meaning of each question. questions to her aid.

Special needs students:

Special needs students will be provided with any
accommodations listed in their IEP.
High Achieving Students:
High achieving students will be asked to cite their
information in MLA format. Their responses will be
required to be in the R.A.C.E format (restate, answer,
cite, explain), something we use as part of our AVID
Special needs students will have an IEP that
includes modifications that are necessary for
teachers to accommodate.
Modifying the assessment for high and low
student ensures students have equal access
program. to a quality education.
Low Achieving Students:
Low achieving can refer their questions to the teacher.
The teacher will provide clarification and explanations
when requested, or when she observes that her
assistance is needed.

10. Closure: (Describe how students will reflect on what they have learned . Check the rubric!)
Check the rubric for the specific requirements for this Rationale:
step!
The teacher will close the assignment by asking Students summarizing the chapter ties into
students to summarize the chapter with their neighbor. their comprehension, where they are able to
Students will be prompted to discuss why it is demonstrate their knowledge of the main
important to flag information in the text. events from the chapter.
We will review the charts we completed, and students
will be prompted to make a prediction about what will Students are introduced to the next chapter
happen next in the text. when they are asked to make a prediction.
This encourages student engagement and
allows students to get excited about what
they will read and learn about next.