Running Head: SHELTON MINILESSONS ON OTTO FOR PRESIDENT 1
Shelton Mini Lessons on Otto Runs for President
Teresa L. Shelton
Missouri Southern State University
SHELTON MINILESSON ON OTTO FOR PRESIDENT 2
Minilesson-Phonics
Name: Teresa Shelton
Grade Level: Third
Content: Communication Arts
Lesson: R-controlled vowels
Content Objective:
After the teacher models and demonstrates through guided practice, students will be able to identify r controlled vowel patterns in words and be able to sort words with ar or er in print or orally.
GLE:
R1C03
Apply decoding strategies too independently “problem-solve” unknown words when reading when needed.
Modifications:
ESL learners: As the teacher I will have to get to know my students and their native language well to help them with phonics. Depending on their skills in their own language both written form and orally will affect their ability to learn the phonics for English. Extra time to learn the phonics rules would be given. Also, I would use pictures, written words and spoken language to get ideas across for the same rule or word. I would use the format See, say, spell for the students to reinforce all three areas of learning the language. I would speak clearly, write clearly and repeat the sounds and rules often so they can follow along.
Materials/Media/Resource:
Wells, R. (2008). Otto runs for president. New York, NY, Scholastic Press
Dry erase boards
Dry erase markers
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Large tablet or writing paper
Marker for large paper
Highlighter tape
Colored index cards
Online Videos:
The bossy r:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1bpT3YNN50
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=bossy+r+videos&mid=901CA3FA8CEFC8A81AAD901CA3FA8CEFC8A81AAD&view=detail&FORM=VIRE7
http://pbskids.org/lions/videos/
Anticipatory Set:
Remember yesterday when we read our new book for the week and how we listened for the /r/ sound and looked for the bossy r in our text. Well, wasn’t that bossy r in our story a lot yesterday? Today, we are going to look at our book and find some of the bossy r’s and sort them on our bossy r word wall under the ar or er.
Instructional Input:
Today, we are going to look at all the different ways r can be bossy to our vowels a and e. R can change a vowel from sounding like itself to sounding like /r/. For example if you take the word bark (show the word but don’t say it yet) what vowel comes before the bossy r. Yes, it is a. What two sounds do we know the a can make? It makes long and short a sounds. However, when the r is after it what sound does it make? It says the /r/ sound. Sound the word out /b/ ar/k =bark (say the word bark teacher only)
When we look at the er in words we have to know the rule about the bossy r. The r changes the e from sounding like the long and short e to sounding like a /r/. When we look at the word mother in the book (just write it on a colored index card for the word wall and put it on our large tablet) what letter do we see being bossed around by the r? That’s right! It’s the e. Now, listen as I sound it out. /m/o/th/er/ The er sounds like /r/ when we say mother.
Modeling/Demonstrating:
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When I read a book I notice lots of words have “r” after a vowel. I know that the bossy “r” changes the sound of my vowel to either say “r” or make the /r/ sound. I’m going to look at my book find more words that have a bossy “r” in them. On the first page of the book I see the word Barkadelphia does that have a bossy r in it? Well, let’s look. I see an r in the word. Before the letter r I see an “a”. Looks like a bossy r to me. Now, I know the rule is that bossy r makes the vowel sound like the “r” so now I’m going to sound it out. Alright, I want you to watch as I write the letters on the paper and I say them to hear what the bossy “r” sounds like. /B/ar/k/a/d/e/l/ph/ia (I write the word on a colored index card and place on bossy r word wall)
On the last page of our book we have the word watermelon (show the last page of book). (On large tablet write watermelon but don’t say till sounding it out) Now, first I look to see do I have a bossy r. I sure do so I know that when I sound it out it is /w/a/t/er/m/e/l/o/n. The er sounds like the “r” sound and I can say the word by following my bossy r rules. The word is watermelon. Now, write the word on index card and place on bossy r word wall.
Bossy R makes vowels (a,e,I,o,u) sound like r when it comes right after them in a word
Ar Er Ir Or Ur
Barkadelphia
watermelon
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Guided Practice:
Now, we are going to find bossy words together and put them on our bossy r word wall. Let’s turn to the first page of our book. We will put it here on our easel. I want all of you to look at the words. Do any of them follow our bossy r rule? Don’t say a word. I want you to take your dry erase marker and write the word down on your dry erase board. It looks like everyone has found a word. So turn your boards so I can see what everyone wrote down. Good job. (Call on someone here who has right answer) what word did you write down can you stand beside me with your erase board? You wrote Kibbler down. (I say the letters not the word) Why? Does everyone see the er at the end of the word. Very good! Let’s sound it out and see if it works. /k/i/b/bl/er/ Does it sound like a “r” or an “e”. That’s right a “r”. Now, I’m going to write the word on an index card and (child standing there can put it on our word wall)
Were there any other words that follow the bossy r rule on the first page that you found? If you have a different word on your erase board give me a thumbs up. Ok (call on child who has a different word to come up to the easel with me) Show everyone your word. I will write it on the tablet by the book. The word is wonder. Let’s look at the word does it have an ar or er in it? Yes, it does. Let’s mark the sounds in the word. /w/o/n/d/er/ Does that sound like “r” when we say it? Yes, it does. (Go through the sounds and then pronounce the word.). Students say the word with me what do you hear at the end? The “r” sound is correct. Write the word on the index card and have that student place it on the bossy r word wall.
Bossy R makes vowels (a,e,I,o,u) sound like r when it comes right after them in a word
Ar Er Ir Or Ur
Barkadelphia
watermelon
Kibbler
wonder
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Checking for Understanding:
As we work at the book easel looking for bossy r words I will look quickly look at everyone’s board when they show them. If anyone has written down a word that isn’t a bossy r word I will have sticky notes at easel so I can write names down quickly. During the guided practice of sounding out words and pronouncing words I will be listening for any problems of making correct sound or saying words correctly. If some are having trouble with either section we will do more words in the book as a whole group for additional practice and review the rules of the sound r makes.
Independent Practice:
You seem to understand the bossy r rule very well. I think it’s time for you to try finding bossy r words on your own. Now, when you are at the reading station you are going to be doing more of what we did here as a group but now just with your partner. When you are at the reading center I want you to work in groups of two to complete this section. You get to have the book and take it to the reading table. Next, I want you to find 15 bossy r words in the story. Write the words you find down on the worksheet. Each of you must do your own worksheet and write the words down on it to turn in but you can have the same words on both your papers. I want each of you to practice finding, speaking, spelling, and writing bossy r words. Just as we broke the word down into sounds at the big tablet I want you to do that with each word on your worksheet. We have done this with all of our other rules so I know you can do it with this one too
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Bossy R words=R comes after a vowel and makes the vowel sound like /r/
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Closure:
Yesterday, we read Otto Runs for President and today we began understanding some of the words in the book that have a special rule called the bossy r rule. We worked on the bossy ar and er words. We now know that when we see a word that has a “r” after a vowel that the “r” bosses the vowel around and makes it sound like the “r”. Tomorrow we will look at our book and see if we find any words that follow the bossy r having “i” or “o” or “u” in them.
Evaluation/Assessment:
The students will be graded on their worksheet. It will have to be completed with 15 words. It will have to be bossy r words. The words will have to be broken down by sounds next to the word they wrote. The students will also be evaluated during independent reading with one student being called up to share their worksheet answers with me. I will have them sound three or four of their words out and pronounce the word. I will then give them a word they did not have written down to see if they can use their rule on their own without any help to sound out the word and pronounce it using the bossy r rule.
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Rubric for worksheet on Bossy R words
Criteria 1 2 3
Had 15 words
Had few words written down
Had at least half written down but not 15
Had 15 words written down
Wrote each word down by phonic sounds
Had less than half of words in phonic sound pattern
Had at least half but did not complete all 15
Had all 15 completed
Used ar & er only words
Used words without the ar & er pattern
Over half used ar & er but there were non ar & er words
All words followed the ar & er pattern
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Minilesson-Vocabulary
Name: Teresa Shelton
Grade Level: Third
Content: Communication Arts
Lesson: Understanding of vocabulary words through context
Objectives: After the teacher models how to infer vocabulary in context the students will be able to make context inferences to vocabulary words in text. When words are missing from a text, students will be able to use context clues to define an appropriate word for the sentence.
GLE:
R1E03
Develop vocabulary through text, using
a. Root words, b. synonyms and antonyms, c. context clues, d. glossary, e. dictionary, with assistance
Modifications: Words may need to adjust depending on how long the ESL student has been in the United States. The book context is about voting in an American school. Background knowledge may need to be addressed to help students to be better able to infer.
Materials/Media/Resources
Wells, R. (2008). Otto runs for president. New York, NY, Scholastic Press
Let’s figure it out game
Computer
Smart board
Writing paper
Pencils
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Independent reading material
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/laintroductiontousingcontextclues35-htm/
Anticipatory Set:
Today we are going to play a game and try to figure out missing words from my sentences I found in our story. You will have to think hard to figure out these words but I know you can do it.
Step by step directions for the let’s figure it out game
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Instructional Input:
Today we are going look at certain words and try to figure out what they mean in a sentence. We will do this by reading the sentence to determine the meaning of the word. This is called using context clues. I have chosen vocabulary words and sentences from our book Otto Runs for President.
Modeling/Demonstrating
Now we are going to play a game called let’s figure it out today. I will put a sentence up on the smart board. Notice how one word is covered up. Well, I’m going to read the sentence and when I come to the covered word I will say blank. I read the sentence.
Miss Kibbler counted the BALLOTS. (The word ballots is hidden)(I read the sentence using the word blank at ballots)
Now, I have to think about what would make sense in that sentence. I know that my story is about a school election. I wonder would students make sense. Maybe it’s votes. It could be ballots, maybe. Let’s read it and see if these choices make sense.
(I would now show the sentence and the word uncovered.) Let’s see what kind of words you come up with as we play this game.
Guided Practice:
The guided practice would be the let’s figure it game.
Checking for Understanding:
I will watch and listen closely to the different answers I am getting for each sentence. I will be sure to try to call on every student at least once but I will be watching for them raising their hands and saying words. If the words being said make no sense at all from the sentence clue. We will discuss as a whole class what we are looking for to help determine the meaning of a word.
Independent Practice:
Well, you all seem to be getting the hang of context clues today. We are going to start our independent reading and today I want you to get a piece of paper and pencil out along with your independent book. I want you to find 10 words in your book that you think would make good vocabulary words. Also, I want you write down the sentence the word was in. Next, try to figure out what the word means and write the meaning down. Just use the sentences in
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your book. On the smart board is the rubric I will be using to grade your papers. (Put rubric up on smart board and leave it up during independent reading.)
Closure:
Today we started working on understanding the meaning of words in sentences. We figured out the meaning of a word by reading the sentence the word was in. This is called using context clues. This will be very helpful for us as continue to read many more exciting fiction and non-fiction books this year.
Evaluation/Assessment:
Students will turn in their papers at the end of independent reading. The papers will be graded on the rubric that was on the smart board as they worked.
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Rubric
Criteria 1 2 3
Number of vocabulary words
Less than 5 words
Only 5 to 8
9 or 10 words are written down
Sentences from book written down
Less than 5 sentences written down
Only 5 to 8 sentences written down
9 to 10 sentences are written down
Meaning of vocabulary word written down
Less than 5 meanings are written down.
Only 5 to 8 meanings written down
9 or tens meanings are written down.
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Minilesson-Comprehension-Readers factors
Name: Teresa Shelton
Grade Level: third
Content: Communication Arts
Lesson: Predict with evidence
Content Objectives(s):
After teacher models predicting with text students will be able to predict story themes and outcomes with evidence they acquire through background knowledge and analyzing book content.
GLE:
R1F03
Apply pre-reading strategies to aid comprehension: a. access prior knowledge, b. preview, c. predict with evidence, and d. set a purpose for reading
Modifications:
Background knowledge with be different for ESL learners. Their past experiences may make certain themes difficult to understand. If difficult to understand the story concept due to lack of past experience I will talk to my students about what they are custom to having in their everyday life. I will try to find books dealing with those experiences and integrate them into comprehension lessons.
Materials/Media/Resources
Wells, R. (2008). Otto runs for president. New York, NY, Scholastic Press
Large easel paper
Markers
Worksheets
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Pencils
Crayons
Anticipatory Set:
Have you ever read a book and guessed the ending? (Allow for answers)
Have you ever watched a movie and knew what would happen next? (Allow for answers)
If you have then you have made a prediction.
Instructional input:
How did you do it? Well that is exactly what we are going to learn today. How we make predictions about the books we read.
Story clues + our own experiences =allow for predictions
When we look at the cover of our book we look at the title of the book and at the picture. We then take all the information we already know from our own experiences in life and put them all together to make a prediction on what the book is about. We can do while we are reading, also. We read pages or a chapter and predict what will happen next. We make our predictions by what we already know and what the text or pictures give us hints about.
Modeling/Demonstrating
I pick up our book Otto Runs for President and I read the title out loud. Next, I will mention items I see on the front cover. I will write the items down on the chart paper as I go. I see dogs, the word vote, and the title. Just by looking at the cover I predict this book is about dogs voting and one dog named Otto is going to run for president of the dogs. This is my prediction because my background knowledge of knowing what a dog is and knowing the title is important. It allows me to look at the book cover and know everything on the cover is probable in the book. However, I won’t know if my prediction is correct without reading the book.
Guided Practice:
Let’s look at the first page of the book. We’re not going to read the text yet. Looking at the pictures and using everything you know can you make a prediction what is happening on the page. (Let students look at picture and then call on several students) I’m going to write down
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Our predictions as go through the book so we can see how we well we predicted when we are finished. (Ask students why they give each prediction) (If struggling with ideas then I will turn and look at book carefully) When I look at this page I notice a dog holding a book so I think they are at school. Does anyone else notice anything that makes them think of something they could be doing in this book?
Checking for Understanding:
During the anticipatory set I would be listening to answers to see if any of the students think they have already made prediction. During guided practice the students will be making predictions about the text in front of them. If they are slow in responding or are giving answers that have nothing to do with the text then I will go back to instructional input and explain and model the concept again.
Independent Practice:
At reading time one of the stations will be on predicting using the class book. Students can work with their partner. They will get one worksheet paper out for each student. They will write their name on the paper and what page they are looking at. Without turning to the next page they are to predict what will happen. They will write their predictions down on the top of worksheet. They will then draw a picture of what they think they would see on the next page. They will turn their work in at the station mailbox.
Closure:
Now that we know predicting is using what we already know in life and what we see and read in books. This information helps us find evidence in covers and stories to make predictions or guesses as to what will happen next. We will continue to use this strategy with other books in class. I would like to challenge everyone to try to make a prediction about a book they are reading independently or a movie you watch in the next couple of days. I’ll be asking how those predictions worked out so be prepared to share.
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Name ______________________
Pick one page out of book. Look at the pictures and text on that page. Make a prediction what will happen on the next page.
Draw a picture of your prediction
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Minilesson-Comprehention text factors
Name: Teresa Shelton
Grade Level: Third
Content: Communication Arts
Lesson: Recognize the text features of fiction
Objectives: After the teachers modeling and guided practice students will be able identify the text factors of a fictional text.
GLE:
R2A03
Use grade level text to b. locate and recognize the text features of fiction, poetry and drama.
Modifications:
ELS will need visual examples of all the different types of text that is being taught. Since the concept is abstract and not something we use daily conversations it may be more difficult to get the concept across. Spending time showing the examples and verbally explaining repeatedly may be needed.
Material/Media/Resources
Wells, R. (2008). Otto runs for president. New York, NY, Scholastic Press
Smart board
Pencils
Paper
Classroom library
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Anticipatory Set:
Thumbs up if you have heard of the words fiction and non-fiction? Where did you hear them? Did they explain what a fiction story is? Well today we are going to learn if our book is fiction or not and why.
Instructional Input:
Today we are going to look at what makes a story fiction instead of non-fiction. In fiction books the author makes up the story often completely made up in the author’s imagination. A non-fiction book is about facts. In fiction books the author doesn’t have to do any research about his topic because he can make everything up. In a non-fiction book, however, an author must do research to prove his facts. In a fiction book characters can do things that they could never do in real life. An example of this would be animals talking.
Modeling/Demonstrating
When I pick a book up out of our library the first thing I do is read the title. Next, I’m going to look at the cover picture. If I see an elephant tap dancing can I predict this book is fiction or non-fiction? (let students think for a moment. As hands go up call on someone to answer.) Yes, I can predict this is a fiction book because I know elephants don’t naturally tap dance.
Guided Practice:
Let’s look at our story for this week Otto Runs for President. Looking at the cover what do you see that might give you some idea about whether our story is fiction or non-fiction? (Let students answer) Correct! The pictures of the dogs on posters that say vote gives us some information. It’s not completely clear so let’s turn to the story itself. Let me read the first page to you all as look closely at the page. (Read the first page) What on this page tells whether this story is fiction or non-fiction? I see many hands. There must be several things. Let’s write them down on the smart board. (Call on different students for three or four ideas) (I will write down each idea on the board as they say them.) So is this story fiction or non-fiction? Yes it is fiction. Could we make this story non-fiction? What would we have to do? (Let students give ideas) Actually you could if you made the dogs human and you were documenting a school election in a real school. If I did that my story would now be non-fiction because it would deal with people and facts.
Checking for Understanding:
I have pulled a tub of books from our classroom library and you are going to help me decide if the books are fiction or non-fiction. I am going to put all the fiction books in the green tub and all the non-fiction in the yellow tub. The first book is (hold the book up and read the title and show the students the cover) (say the book out loud) Raise your hand if you have an idea. If not we will read the first page to see if that helps us. (If the students are able to easily identify all the books in the box then I would move on to independent practice. If they are
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Struggling with the concept then we would go back to Otto Runs for President and a non-fiction book and start the process over.
Independent Practice:
During independent reading time 3 to 4 students will go to classroom library at a time to find two fiction and two non-fiction books. They will bring the books back to their desk and on a sheet of paper write the title of the book and whether it is fiction or non-fiction. They will tell me in their own words why they think it is fiction or non-fiction. They will spend the rest of independent reading time reading one of the books they chose.
Closure:
Now it’s very important to remember what the difference is between fiction and non-fiction books. We now know that non-fiction is based on facts and that fiction is made up from an author’s imagination. So in the future if I have you write a report on animals and I want the information from a book will you choose a fiction or non-fiction book? (Call on someone to answer) Good job!
Evaluation/Assessment:
In this lesson the students will simply be evaluated by them actually finding the correct books. I will look over papers to check for accuracy. If there are several students than I will review before we move on to the different types of fiction and non-fiction stories. This lesson is the beginning of the section so I want a clear understanding but I rather they read a fiction and non-fiction book than spend a great deal of time on a worksheet.
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Reflection on Minilessons
This was a difficult experience. The first lesson was difficult in the beginning because I was trying to figure out where to start. I needed direction. It seemed very overwhelming. The only thing I liked about it was that it was phonics. There was a lot of information on how to teach phonic lessons. It was a lesson that there were several videos that fit right into the lesson plan naturally. It didn’t look like I was just adding material to be adding for quantity over quality.
The second lesson was on vocabulary and it seemed straight forward and I was able to complete it quicker than the first lesson. I had a hard time finding internet resources that could be used due to the fact I wanted to have my mini lesson based around my book. Many of the resources were also based on books. The other books however, didn’t fit into the direction I would want to take the lesson. This lesson would be an excellent way to introduce a social studies unit on elections. The vocabulary words would help students understand real elections better. The lesson on context clues teaches students a concept that some are already using and that the others need to learn to help with everyday life.
The third and fourth lesson plans I found confusing. I read the text again on comprehension and readers and text factors but it didn’t make it clear on what exactly you were suppose to be teaching in mini lessons. I had people texting me questions about it as they were confused also. After reading the text and internet sites I was than able to decide on lessons.
I went with a lesson on teaching what fiction and non-fiction are due to the fact I want to use this story book to introduce a social studies unit. The story would explain the election process and what can happen during an election. The story is an obvious fiction piece with dogs going to school and talking. We all can relate by third grade that dogs don’t talk; wear human clothes, or go to school even my ESL students. During the mini lesson I present other books that are strictly non-fiction about elections from our classroom library. I liked this story because it was very clear what it was. I would then have some in our guided practice that might be a little trickier to make the students have to rely more on background knowledge to decide if fiction or non-fiction.
I’m still somewhat unclear what the difference is between a mini lesson and a regular lesson plan. Some of my mini lessons seemed very long. When I was reading online about mini lessons they varied from ten minutes to twenty minutes. In the book it seemed some were much longer than that. It doesn’t help that the last three actual classrooms I’ve been in the teachers don’t have very many formal long lesson plans to share. I’m looking for examples of using the mini lesson in the regular lesson but I don’t see how it incorporates with time issues in the real school.
I do see the value in writing lesson plans. I think they give the new teacher direction. Many interruptions happen every day in the classroom so having a plan would keep you on task better. However, as each teacher teaches the same material somewhat differently. I also believe that lesson plans should be more flexible in the format for which they are written. I understand the concept of beginning, middle and end but how you create those three areas should be left more to each individual teacher. I think the lesson should improve the teaching process and not be a tedious job. The lesson should be made for the individual teacher’s personality but easy to follow by a substitute teacher.
Shelton Mini Lessons on Otto Runs for President
Teresa L. Shelton
Missouri Southern State University
SHELTON MINILESSON ON OTTO FOR PRESIDENT 2
Minilesson-Phonics
Name: Teresa Shelton
Grade Level: Third
Content: Communication Arts
Lesson: R-controlled vowels
Content Objective:
After the teacher models and demonstrates through guided practice, students will be able to identify r controlled vowel patterns in words and be able to sort words with ar or er in print or orally.
GLE:
R1C03
Apply decoding strategies too independently “problem-solve” unknown words when reading when needed.
Modifications:
ESL learners: As the teacher I will have to get to know my students and their native language well to help them with phonics. Depending on their skills in their own language both written form and orally will affect their ability to learn the phonics for English. Extra time to learn the phonics rules would be given. Also, I would use pictures, written words and spoken language to get ideas across for the same rule or word. I would use the format See, say, spell for the students to reinforce all three areas of learning the language. I would speak clearly, write clearly and repeat the sounds and rules often so they can follow along.
Materials/Media/Resource:
Wells, R. (2008). Otto runs for president. New York, NY, Scholastic Press
Dry erase boards
Dry erase markers
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Large tablet or writing paper
Marker for large paper
Highlighter tape
Colored index cards
Online Videos:
The bossy r:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1bpT3YNN50
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=bossy+r+videos&mid=901CA3FA8CEFC8A81AAD901CA3FA8CEFC8A81AAD&view=detail&FORM=VIRE7
http://pbskids.org/lions/videos/
Anticipatory Set:
Remember yesterday when we read our new book for the week and how we listened for the /r/ sound and looked for the bossy r in our text. Well, wasn’t that bossy r in our story a lot yesterday? Today, we are going to look at our book and find some of the bossy r’s and sort them on our bossy r word wall under the ar or er.
Instructional Input:
Today, we are going to look at all the different ways r can be bossy to our vowels a and e. R can change a vowel from sounding like itself to sounding like /r/. For example if you take the word bark (show the word but don’t say it yet) what vowel comes before the bossy r. Yes, it is a. What two sounds do we know the a can make? It makes long and short a sounds. However, when the r is after it what sound does it make? It says the /r/ sound. Sound the word out /b/ ar/k =bark (say the word bark teacher only)
When we look at the er in words we have to know the rule about the bossy r. The r changes the e from sounding like the long and short e to sounding like a /r/. When we look at the word mother in the book (just write it on a colored index card for the word wall and put it on our large tablet) what letter do we see being bossed around by the r? That’s right! It’s the e. Now, listen as I sound it out. /m/o/th/er/ The er sounds like /r/ when we say mother.
Modeling/Demonstrating:
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When I read a book I notice lots of words have “r” after a vowel. I know that the bossy “r” changes the sound of my vowel to either say “r” or make the /r/ sound. I’m going to look at my book find more words that have a bossy “r” in them. On the first page of the book I see the word Barkadelphia does that have a bossy r in it? Well, let’s look. I see an r in the word. Before the letter r I see an “a”. Looks like a bossy r to me. Now, I know the rule is that bossy r makes the vowel sound like the “r” so now I’m going to sound it out. Alright, I want you to watch as I write the letters on the paper and I say them to hear what the bossy “r” sounds like. /B/ar/k/a/d/e/l/ph/ia (I write the word on a colored index card and place on bossy r word wall)
On the last page of our book we have the word watermelon (show the last page of book). (On large tablet write watermelon but don’t say till sounding it out) Now, first I look to see do I have a bossy r. I sure do so I know that when I sound it out it is /w/a/t/er/m/e/l/o/n. The er sounds like the “r” sound and I can say the word by following my bossy r rules. The word is watermelon. Now, write the word on index card and place on bossy r word wall.
Bossy R makes vowels (a,e,I,o,u) sound like r when it comes right after them in a word
Ar Er Ir Or Ur
Barkadelphia
watermelon
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Guided Practice:
Now, we are going to find bossy words together and put them on our bossy r word wall. Let’s turn to the first page of our book. We will put it here on our easel. I want all of you to look at the words. Do any of them follow our bossy r rule? Don’t say a word. I want you to take your dry erase marker and write the word down on your dry erase board. It looks like everyone has found a word. So turn your boards so I can see what everyone wrote down. Good job. (Call on someone here who has right answer) what word did you write down can you stand beside me with your erase board? You wrote Kibbler down. (I say the letters not the word) Why? Does everyone see the er at the end of the word. Very good! Let’s sound it out and see if it works. /k/i/b/bl/er/ Does it sound like a “r” or an “e”. That’s right a “r”. Now, I’m going to write the word on an index card and (child standing there can put it on our word wall)
Were there any other words that follow the bossy r rule on the first page that you found? If you have a different word on your erase board give me a thumbs up. Ok (call on child who has a different word to come up to the easel with me) Show everyone your word. I will write it on the tablet by the book. The word is wonder. Let’s look at the word does it have an ar or er in it? Yes, it does. Let’s mark the sounds in the word. /w/o/n/d/er/ Does that sound like “r” when we say it? Yes, it does. (Go through the sounds and then pronounce the word.). Students say the word with me what do you hear at the end? The “r” sound is correct. Write the word on the index card and have that student place it on the bossy r word wall.
Bossy R makes vowels (a,e,I,o,u) sound like r when it comes right after them in a word
Ar Er Ir Or Ur
Barkadelphia
watermelon
Kibbler
wonder
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Checking for Understanding:
As we work at the book easel looking for bossy r words I will look quickly look at everyone’s board when they show them. If anyone has written down a word that isn’t a bossy r word I will have sticky notes at easel so I can write names down quickly. During the guided practice of sounding out words and pronouncing words I will be listening for any problems of making correct sound or saying words correctly. If some are having trouble with either section we will do more words in the book as a whole group for additional practice and review the rules of the sound r makes.
Independent Practice:
You seem to understand the bossy r rule very well. I think it’s time for you to try finding bossy r words on your own. Now, when you are at the reading station you are going to be doing more of what we did here as a group but now just with your partner. When you are at the reading center I want you to work in groups of two to complete this section. You get to have the book and take it to the reading table. Next, I want you to find 15 bossy r words in the story. Write the words you find down on the worksheet. Each of you must do your own worksheet and write the words down on it to turn in but you can have the same words on both your papers. I want each of you to practice finding, speaking, spelling, and writing bossy r words. Just as we broke the word down into sounds at the big tablet I want you to do that with each word on your worksheet. We have done this with all of our other rules so I know you can do it with this one too
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Bossy R words=R comes after a vowel and makes the vowel sound like /r/
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Closure:
Yesterday, we read Otto Runs for President and today we began understanding some of the words in the book that have a special rule called the bossy r rule. We worked on the bossy ar and er words. We now know that when we see a word that has a “r” after a vowel that the “r” bosses the vowel around and makes it sound like the “r”. Tomorrow we will look at our book and see if we find any words that follow the bossy r having “i” or “o” or “u” in them.
Evaluation/Assessment:
The students will be graded on their worksheet. It will have to be completed with 15 words. It will have to be bossy r words. The words will have to be broken down by sounds next to the word they wrote. The students will also be evaluated during independent reading with one student being called up to share their worksheet answers with me. I will have them sound three or four of their words out and pronounce the word. I will then give them a word they did not have written down to see if they can use their rule on their own without any help to sound out the word and pronounce it using the bossy r rule.
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Rubric for worksheet on Bossy R words
Criteria 1 2 3
Had 15 words
Had few words written down
Had at least half written down but not 15
Had 15 words written down
Wrote each word down by phonic sounds
Had less than half of words in phonic sound pattern
Had at least half but did not complete all 15
Had all 15 completed
Used ar & er only words
Used words without the ar & er pattern
Over half used ar & er but there were non ar & er words
All words followed the ar & er pattern
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Minilesson-Vocabulary
Name: Teresa Shelton
Grade Level: Third
Content: Communication Arts
Lesson: Understanding of vocabulary words through context
Objectives: After the teacher models how to infer vocabulary in context the students will be able to make context inferences to vocabulary words in text. When words are missing from a text, students will be able to use context clues to define an appropriate word for the sentence.
GLE:
R1E03
Develop vocabulary through text, using
a. Root words, b. synonyms and antonyms, c. context clues, d. glossary, e. dictionary, with assistance
Modifications: Words may need to adjust depending on how long the ESL student has been in the United States. The book context is about voting in an American school. Background knowledge may need to be addressed to help students to be better able to infer.
Materials/Media/Resources
Wells, R. (2008). Otto runs for president. New York, NY, Scholastic Press
Let’s figure it out game
Computer
Smart board
Writing paper
Pencils
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Independent reading material
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/laintroductiontousingcontextclues35-htm/
Anticipatory Set:
Today we are going to play a game and try to figure out missing words from my sentences I found in our story. You will have to think hard to figure out these words but I know you can do it.
Step by step directions for the let’s figure it out game
- The teacher will tell the students that they are going to play a game called “Figure It Out”
- Using the smart board, the teacher will display the following sentences, one at a time, with the word in all caps covered up:
- “Tiffany will win!” shouted all the POPULAR kids.
- “Charles is the CAPTAIN of all the teams!
- PREFERRED seating in the cafeteria! Vote Tiffany!
- Charles’s dad beefed up their CAMPAIGN.
- Post-it notes APPEARED on all the lockers.
- Charles’s dad HOSTED a Whoppo Burger pep rally.
- The teacher will read the sentence aloud, saying “blank” when he/she comes to the covered word.
- The teacher will have the students think about the sentence they are reading and decide what word will go best in the blank.
- The teacher will call on students to share the word they came up with the class.
- The teacher will reveal the covered word with the students.
- The teacher will ask the students how they came up with the answers they came up with.
- Once the class has completed all of the sentences, the teacher will reveal that they used context clues to find the answers to the blanks.
- The teacher will define context clues as “words or sentences around unknown words that help us decide what the unknown word means.”
- The student will brainstorm times when they would need to use context clues.
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Instructional Input:
Today we are going look at certain words and try to figure out what they mean in a sentence. We will do this by reading the sentence to determine the meaning of the word. This is called using context clues. I have chosen vocabulary words and sentences from our book Otto Runs for President.
Modeling/Demonstrating
Now we are going to play a game called let’s figure it out today. I will put a sentence up on the smart board. Notice how one word is covered up. Well, I’m going to read the sentence and when I come to the covered word I will say blank. I read the sentence.
Miss Kibbler counted the BALLOTS. (The word ballots is hidden)(I read the sentence using the word blank at ballots)
Now, I have to think about what would make sense in that sentence. I know that my story is about a school election. I wonder would students make sense. Maybe it’s votes. It could be ballots, maybe. Let’s read it and see if these choices make sense.
(I would now show the sentence and the word uncovered.) Let’s see what kind of words you come up with as we play this game.
Guided Practice:
The guided practice would be the let’s figure it game.
Checking for Understanding:
I will watch and listen closely to the different answers I am getting for each sentence. I will be sure to try to call on every student at least once but I will be watching for them raising their hands and saying words. If the words being said make no sense at all from the sentence clue. We will discuss as a whole class what we are looking for to help determine the meaning of a word.
Independent Practice:
Well, you all seem to be getting the hang of context clues today. We are going to start our independent reading and today I want you to get a piece of paper and pencil out along with your independent book. I want you to find 10 words in your book that you think would make good vocabulary words. Also, I want you write down the sentence the word was in. Next, try to figure out what the word means and write the meaning down. Just use the sentences in
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your book. On the smart board is the rubric I will be using to grade your papers. (Put rubric up on smart board and leave it up during independent reading.)
Closure:
Today we started working on understanding the meaning of words in sentences. We figured out the meaning of a word by reading the sentence the word was in. This is called using context clues. This will be very helpful for us as continue to read many more exciting fiction and non-fiction books this year.
Evaluation/Assessment:
Students will turn in their papers at the end of independent reading. The papers will be graded on the rubric that was on the smart board as they worked.
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Rubric
Criteria 1 2 3
Number of vocabulary words
Less than 5 words
Only 5 to 8
9 or 10 words are written down
Sentences from book written down
Less than 5 sentences written down
Only 5 to 8 sentences written down
9 to 10 sentences are written down
Meaning of vocabulary word written down
Less than 5 meanings are written down.
Only 5 to 8 meanings written down
9 or tens meanings are written down.
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Minilesson-Comprehension-Readers factors
Name: Teresa Shelton
Grade Level: third
Content: Communication Arts
Lesson: Predict with evidence
Content Objectives(s):
After teacher models predicting with text students will be able to predict story themes and outcomes with evidence they acquire through background knowledge and analyzing book content.
GLE:
R1F03
Apply pre-reading strategies to aid comprehension: a. access prior knowledge, b. preview, c. predict with evidence, and d. set a purpose for reading
Modifications:
Background knowledge with be different for ESL learners. Their past experiences may make certain themes difficult to understand. If difficult to understand the story concept due to lack of past experience I will talk to my students about what they are custom to having in their everyday life. I will try to find books dealing with those experiences and integrate them into comprehension lessons.
Materials/Media/Resources
Wells, R. (2008). Otto runs for president. New York, NY, Scholastic Press
Large easel paper
Markers
Worksheets
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Pencils
Crayons
Anticipatory Set:
Have you ever read a book and guessed the ending? (Allow for answers)
Have you ever watched a movie and knew what would happen next? (Allow for answers)
If you have then you have made a prediction.
Instructional input:
How did you do it? Well that is exactly what we are going to learn today. How we make predictions about the books we read.
Story clues + our own experiences =allow for predictions
When we look at the cover of our book we look at the title of the book and at the picture. We then take all the information we already know from our own experiences in life and put them all together to make a prediction on what the book is about. We can do while we are reading, also. We read pages or a chapter and predict what will happen next. We make our predictions by what we already know and what the text or pictures give us hints about.
Modeling/Demonstrating
I pick up our book Otto Runs for President and I read the title out loud. Next, I will mention items I see on the front cover. I will write the items down on the chart paper as I go. I see dogs, the word vote, and the title. Just by looking at the cover I predict this book is about dogs voting and one dog named Otto is going to run for president of the dogs. This is my prediction because my background knowledge of knowing what a dog is and knowing the title is important. It allows me to look at the book cover and know everything on the cover is probable in the book. However, I won’t know if my prediction is correct without reading the book.
Guided Practice:
Let’s look at the first page of the book. We’re not going to read the text yet. Looking at the pictures and using everything you know can you make a prediction what is happening on the page. (Let students look at picture and then call on several students) I’m going to write down
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Our predictions as go through the book so we can see how we well we predicted when we are finished. (Ask students why they give each prediction) (If struggling with ideas then I will turn and look at book carefully) When I look at this page I notice a dog holding a book so I think they are at school. Does anyone else notice anything that makes them think of something they could be doing in this book?
Checking for Understanding:
During the anticipatory set I would be listening to answers to see if any of the students think they have already made prediction. During guided practice the students will be making predictions about the text in front of them. If they are slow in responding or are giving answers that have nothing to do with the text then I will go back to instructional input and explain and model the concept again.
Independent Practice:
At reading time one of the stations will be on predicting using the class book. Students can work with their partner. They will get one worksheet paper out for each student. They will write their name on the paper and what page they are looking at. Without turning to the next page they are to predict what will happen. They will write their predictions down on the top of worksheet. They will then draw a picture of what they think they would see on the next page. They will turn their work in at the station mailbox.
Closure:
Now that we know predicting is using what we already know in life and what we see and read in books. This information helps us find evidence in covers and stories to make predictions or guesses as to what will happen next. We will continue to use this strategy with other books in class. I would like to challenge everyone to try to make a prediction about a book they are reading independently or a movie you watch in the next couple of days. I’ll be asking how those predictions worked out so be prepared to share.
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Name ______________________
Pick one page out of book. Look at the pictures and text on that page. Make a prediction what will happen on the next page.
Draw a picture of your prediction
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Minilesson-Comprehention text factors
Name: Teresa Shelton
Grade Level: Third
Content: Communication Arts
Lesson: Recognize the text features of fiction
Objectives: After the teachers modeling and guided practice students will be able identify the text factors of a fictional text.
GLE:
R2A03
Use grade level text to b. locate and recognize the text features of fiction, poetry and drama.
Modifications:
ELS will need visual examples of all the different types of text that is being taught. Since the concept is abstract and not something we use daily conversations it may be more difficult to get the concept across. Spending time showing the examples and verbally explaining repeatedly may be needed.
Material/Media/Resources
Wells, R. (2008). Otto runs for president. New York, NY, Scholastic Press
Smart board
Pencils
Paper
Classroom library
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Anticipatory Set:
Thumbs up if you have heard of the words fiction and non-fiction? Where did you hear them? Did they explain what a fiction story is? Well today we are going to learn if our book is fiction or not and why.
Instructional Input:
Today we are going to look at what makes a story fiction instead of non-fiction. In fiction books the author makes up the story often completely made up in the author’s imagination. A non-fiction book is about facts. In fiction books the author doesn’t have to do any research about his topic because he can make everything up. In a non-fiction book, however, an author must do research to prove his facts. In a fiction book characters can do things that they could never do in real life. An example of this would be animals talking.
Modeling/Demonstrating
When I pick a book up out of our library the first thing I do is read the title. Next, I’m going to look at the cover picture. If I see an elephant tap dancing can I predict this book is fiction or non-fiction? (let students think for a moment. As hands go up call on someone to answer.) Yes, I can predict this is a fiction book because I know elephants don’t naturally tap dance.
Guided Practice:
Let’s look at our story for this week Otto Runs for President. Looking at the cover what do you see that might give you some idea about whether our story is fiction or non-fiction? (Let students answer) Correct! The pictures of the dogs on posters that say vote gives us some information. It’s not completely clear so let’s turn to the story itself. Let me read the first page to you all as look closely at the page. (Read the first page) What on this page tells whether this story is fiction or non-fiction? I see many hands. There must be several things. Let’s write them down on the smart board. (Call on different students for three or four ideas) (I will write down each idea on the board as they say them.) So is this story fiction or non-fiction? Yes it is fiction. Could we make this story non-fiction? What would we have to do? (Let students give ideas) Actually you could if you made the dogs human and you were documenting a school election in a real school. If I did that my story would now be non-fiction because it would deal with people and facts.
Checking for Understanding:
I have pulled a tub of books from our classroom library and you are going to help me decide if the books are fiction or non-fiction. I am going to put all the fiction books in the green tub and all the non-fiction in the yellow tub. The first book is (hold the book up and read the title and show the students the cover) (say the book out loud) Raise your hand if you have an idea. If not we will read the first page to see if that helps us. (If the students are able to easily identify all the books in the box then I would move on to independent practice. If they are
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Struggling with the concept then we would go back to Otto Runs for President and a non-fiction book and start the process over.
Independent Practice:
During independent reading time 3 to 4 students will go to classroom library at a time to find two fiction and two non-fiction books. They will bring the books back to their desk and on a sheet of paper write the title of the book and whether it is fiction or non-fiction. They will tell me in their own words why they think it is fiction or non-fiction. They will spend the rest of independent reading time reading one of the books they chose.
Closure:
Now it’s very important to remember what the difference is between fiction and non-fiction books. We now know that non-fiction is based on facts and that fiction is made up from an author’s imagination. So in the future if I have you write a report on animals and I want the information from a book will you choose a fiction or non-fiction book? (Call on someone to answer) Good job!
Evaluation/Assessment:
In this lesson the students will simply be evaluated by them actually finding the correct books. I will look over papers to check for accuracy. If there are several students than I will review before we move on to the different types of fiction and non-fiction stories. This lesson is the beginning of the section so I want a clear understanding but I rather they read a fiction and non-fiction book than spend a great deal of time on a worksheet.
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Reflection on Minilessons
This was a difficult experience. The first lesson was difficult in the beginning because I was trying to figure out where to start. I needed direction. It seemed very overwhelming. The only thing I liked about it was that it was phonics. There was a lot of information on how to teach phonic lessons. It was a lesson that there were several videos that fit right into the lesson plan naturally. It didn’t look like I was just adding material to be adding for quantity over quality.
The second lesson was on vocabulary and it seemed straight forward and I was able to complete it quicker than the first lesson. I had a hard time finding internet resources that could be used due to the fact I wanted to have my mini lesson based around my book. Many of the resources were also based on books. The other books however, didn’t fit into the direction I would want to take the lesson. This lesson would be an excellent way to introduce a social studies unit on elections. The vocabulary words would help students understand real elections better. The lesson on context clues teaches students a concept that some are already using and that the others need to learn to help with everyday life.
The third and fourth lesson plans I found confusing. I read the text again on comprehension and readers and text factors but it didn’t make it clear on what exactly you were suppose to be teaching in mini lessons. I had people texting me questions about it as they were confused also. After reading the text and internet sites I was than able to decide on lessons.
I went with a lesson on teaching what fiction and non-fiction are due to the fact I want to use this story book to introduce a social studies unit. The story would explain the election process and what can happen during an election. The story is an obvious fiction piece with dogs going to school and talking. We all can relate by third grade that dogs don’t talk; wear human clothes, or go to school even my ESL students. During the mini lesson I present other books that are strictly non-fiction about elections from our classroom library. I liked this story because it was very clear what it was. I would then have some in our guided practice that might be a little trickier to make the students have to rely more on background knowledge to decide if fiction or non-fiction.
I’m still somewhat unclear what the difference is between a mini lesson and a regular lesson plan. Some of my mini lessons seemed very long. When I was reading online about mini lessons they varied from ten minutes to twenty minutes. In the book it seemed some were much longer than that. It doesn’t help that the last three actual classrooms I’ve been in the teachers don’t have very many formal long lesson plans to share. I’m looking for examples of using the mini lesson in the regular lesson but I don’t see how it incorporates with time issues in the real school.
I do see the value in writing lesson plans. I think they give the new teacher direction. Many interruptions happen every day in the classroom so having a plan would keep you on task better. However, as each teacher teaches the same material somewhat differently. I also believe that lesson plans should be more flexible in the format for which they are written. I understand the concept of beginning, middle and end but how you create those three areas should be left more to each individual teacher. I think the lesson should improve the teaching process and not be a tedious job. The lesson should be made for the individual teacher’s personality but easy to follow by a substitute teacher.