A+3.3+LP+Deconstruction+Graphic+Organizer

 Lesson Plan Deconstruction Collaboration: Susan Norman and Mandy Dempsey Instructional Level: Emerging: Grades K-1 Lesson: Questioning pp. 66-68

Susan Norman Mandy Dempsey


 * Lesson Plan Deconstruction – A. 3.3**


 * Planning **

· Reading Comprehension Strategy Questioning pgs. 66-68

v Which AASL indicators align with this reading comprehension strategy ? Note both the number and the actual language of the indicator. 1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for learning. 1.1.3 Develop and refine a range of questions to frame the search for new understanding. 3.1.5 Connect learning to community issues. 2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real-world situations, and further investigations. 2.1.5 Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and solve problems. 3.1.2 Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners. 3.2.2 Show social responsibility by participating actively with others in learning situations and by contributing questions and ideas during group discussions.

Some of these standards are not closely aligned with the reading comprehension strategy. (Those that aren't can be indicated below.)

· Reading Development Level

Emerging: Grades K-1

· Instructional Strategies Cues and questions, categorizing, and comparing

Review these strategies on page 13 in CS4TRC.

v Which of these research-based instructional strategies have you used in your teaching? Name them. I have used all the strategies listed in Figure 2.2: identifying similarities and differences; summarizing and note taking; nonlinguistic representation; cooperative learning; setting objectives and providing feedback; questions, cues, and advance organizers. In my teaching I have used identifying similarities and differences, summarizing and note taking, nonlinguistic representation (if this means having students illustrate their meanings rather than write), cooperative learning, and questions, cues, and advanced organizers. Which of these instructional strategies do you need to learn? Name them and describe them. I have used them all. I am a little confused about the use of the term "setting objectives and providing feedback" as an instructional strategy. It may just be a matter of semantics, but I've always thought of "setting objectives" as a part of lesson design, and not an instructional strategy. The setting of objectives is what determines the entire lesson, but I've never thought of it as a strategy. I need to learn about setting objectives and providing feedback. To me, setting objectives is something the teacher does to help design the lesson plan components. I suppose a lesson can be taught in which the teacher guides students in setting their own objectives for learning and providing feedback on what they actually learned.

"Setting goals and objectives" are part of lesson design, but when students use these, they are part of the implementation. In other words, students conducting an inquiry can set personal learning goals for their process. This keeps them focused, develops their metacognitive abilitities because they can articulate what they want to learn and how they will go about it, and is related to the self-assessment strategies in AASL's standards. For clarification on the strategies, I recommend that you read Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock's book //Classroom Instruction that Works//. · Lesson Length

v What are your questions about the lesson length? You must have at least one. ​ The time allotment for this lesson is one session. Even with 2 teachers (the classroom teacher and librarian), I think it may be too much to fit into just one session. Should the suggested lesson time be longer? My question is what constitutes "one session?" Some schools have block scheduling with 90 minute classes while others have class lengths of 45 minutes to 60 minutes. To make sure the lesson can be completed in one session, would it be appropriate/effective to break the lesson into two sessions: first session completing the motivation section, Egypt pathfinder, posters, etc. and vocabulary development and second session completing the presentation and extension?

For me, the session length is dependent on students' attention span and engagement and scheduling issues. In my libraries, a session equals a class period (50 minutes to an hour). Ideally, you would allow a bit more time just in case students were too engaged to stop! I have taught this lesson in one 50-minute session (with 2nd-grade students) and two sessions (with first-graders). In both cases, we only used the Egypt Pathfinder for the extension. Instead, we had books for browsing in the week before the lesson began. Time always depends on the sophistication of the learners, the time of day, and the alignment of the planets. In previous years, our school librarian had a fixed schedule. The way it worked was that every class had a lesson every other week. On the weeks without the lessons, the students just had 15 minutes to check out books. But this year, because our school now has grown to have so many classes, the librarian had to change the schedule so that only K-2 have lessons every other week. Grades 3-5 only have a 15 minute set time for book check-out each week. However, she does have slots in her schedule now that are open--for the specific purpose of allowing the upper grades to request time for certain lessons. So, because of a large population, our librarian has actually moved to a more flexible schedule (albeit, in a limited way). When I begin my job as a school librarian, the way I plan to get out of the "fixed schedule library box" is to present ALA's recommendation to my principal and explain to her its benefits. If I am allowed to implement a flexible schedule, I will work hard to make sure teachers are utilizing the library to its fullest potential, in order to justify this flexible schedule. I will train my teachers in how this flexible schedule can and should be utilized, so that they don't feel like they are missing out in any way--because if I do things the right way, the teachers should feel just the opposite--and see me as a true instructional partner--and not someone/something entirely separate from the classroom. In terms of this collaborative lesson on questioning, or any other collaborative lesson, the teacher and I would prepare and schedule times in advance so the library and librarian (me) would be available to complete the lesson. My strategy for getting out of the fixed schedule library box would be to address teacher input/questions/concerns before the school year begins during staff development so teachers would have an understanding about flexible scheduling and the benefits for flexible scheduling. For those teachers who need time each week such as reading classes and ESL classes, I would accommodate their fixed check out/in times while still providing access to the library for the other classes who might need my services at the same time. Flexible scheduling demands however that the librarian have at least one responsible helper who could check the books in/out while I am engaged with the other classes.
 * Note: ** If you have worked within the constraints of a fixed schedule in which students come to the library just one time per week, there are many options for increasing the amount of time you spend with students. School librarians must think about the fact that NO other teachers in their buildings introduce and teach a concept on Tuesday morning at 10:00 and NEVER mention it again until the next Tuesday morning at 10:00. This is simply not an effective instructional practice. What are your strategies for getting out of the fixed schedule library box?

These are excellent strategies to help decision-makers and colleagues understand the benefits to students and teachers of a flexible schedule and appropriate staffing. Most likely, you will have to "show" them first if they have not personally experienced the benefits. That is where you skills as an instructional partner will be vital.

· Purpose

v How is the purpose of the lesson connected—or not connected—to your idea of the type of instruction that “should” take place in the school library? The lesson is connected in that I believe that the librarian should back-up/reinforce what we teach in the classroom. As a classroom teacher--and I taught students as young as those in kindergarten, I taught (and still teach) students how to formulate questions. What a boon it would be to the students' ability to master this concept if the librarian is reinforcing it in the library. I believe one of the most important jobs of a school librarian is promoting and developing reading skills that will help students become lifelong readers. This lesson on questioning, goes hand-in-hand with my expectations of what "should" take place in the school library. Teaching students how to think and get involved with text will help them develop and improve their reading comprehension. By teaching collaboratively with the classroom teacher, the librarian is reinforcing classroom instruction and expanding students' learning beyond the classroom.

Thoughtful responses. If we think about reading and information seeking as interrelated processes, there is very little if anything that we do in schools that is not appropriate for a classroom-library collaborative lesson.

· Objectives

Review Bloom’s Taxonomy: []

v List at least one verb that is used to name what students will do for every objective in this lesson; list the corresponding level on Bloom’s. Use this chart.


 * Objective || || Verb || || Level on Bloom’s ||

Objective 2 || || Pose Compare || || Synthesis Analysis || What about the student-friendly objectives?
 * Objective 1

· Resources, Materials, and Equipment Children’s Literature: __The Day of Ahmed's Secret__ by Florence Parry Heide and Judith Heide Gilliland, illustrated by Ted Lewin (need 2 copies) Website: Egypt Pathfinder: [] Graphic Organizers: Questioning Category Matrix, Venn Diagram, Question Evaluation Graphic Organizer Materials: photographs of modern-day Cairo, Egypt; rose water Equipment: data projector or interactive whiteboard

v Which are the different formats or genres used to support learners? This is a work of fiction; however, it gives the reader much of the same information that a nonfiction book could; while the reader follows the boy Ahmed as he tells about his day, the reader learns about life in Egypt. With the rich illustrations, and the tantalizing text, the younger reader will stay engaged, waiting to find out what Ahmed's secret is that he plans on telling his family, all the while learning about life as a child in Egypt. This would be a great opportunity to show these younger students the difference in genres. The teacher could show a nonfiction text about Egypt, compare it with __The Day of Ahmed's Secret__, and talk to the students about author's purpose, and elicit from students their thoughts about why the authors chose to present their book with an Egyptian setting as a fictional narrative, as opposed to a nonfiction informational text. Along with the fiction book used in this lesson, the lesson also calls for a digital format in the form of an Egypt pathfinder and visual aid pictures and posters, along with nonfiction books depicting images of modern-day Cairo.

Excellent analysis. As school librarians, suggesting resources is a critical part of what we bring to the collaboration table. Always query yourself about your resources. Are they student-centered? Are they the best choices to reach the learning outcomes? v Which technology tools are used? If technology is not used in this lesson, do you think there are appropriate tools to help students meet the lesson objectives? Name those tools and how you would use them. Technology is used in this lesson, an Egypt pathfinder, [], to help motivate students' learning and help students build background knowledge before engaging in the book, The Day of Ahmed's Secret. The use of the white interactive board (or SMART board) is a wonderful utilization of technology for this lesson. Also, the sites and artwork on the Egypt pathfinder link is a fun way of pulling technology seamlessly into this lesson. , []

Do we always need to integrate technology tools for student use into a lesson? The pathfinder could be a very passive experience for students in the lesson as written. In the extension, it could be used interactively. Remember: this book was written in 2006 before many of the Web 2.0 tools we have used in our class were available. Are there any that would be appropriate for this lesson?

· Collaboration

v How does this lesson maximize the benefits of two (or more) educators coteaching? Be specific. Having two coteachers instructing this lesson provides students with a more advantageous teacher to student ratio; coteaching allows students to see two different adults modeling questions and how these teachers arrive at different questions as well. Having two educators coteach allows each student to have more of an opportunity to share their thoughts and questions for the lesson. Also, the educators will have a better grasp of how well each student is doing with their ability to pose/generate quality questions, since each teacher will have less students to focus on at a time; the students will get more individual attention (due to the smaller groupings) and may be able to have more guidance in posing higher quality questions.

Brava for sharing both educator and student benefits. · Assessment

v Are there multiple methods/tools for assessing student outcomes? If there’s one, name it. If there are multiple, name them. The method of assessment that I see is teacher observation: The teachers are able to observe both the questions that the students are able to come up with, along with the ability to find the similarities and differences between the two groups' questions on the Venn diagram. The teachers can also observe how well each student is able to name the question that best allowed him/her to understand the story--to really be able to understand the level of each student's metacognition ability. Student outcomes are assessed in this lesson by teacher observation through out the lesson and in the closure procedure. Teachers can also assess students' mastery of the objectives by checking the students' answers on their Question Evaluation Graphic Organizer.

Educators must set expectations for the completion of a graphic organizer.

v Are there opportunities for learners to self assess? (AASL Strand #4: Self-Assessment Strategies) What are they? Yes, students self assess their progress through the Question Evaluation Graphic Organizer. Students are asked to think about the questions they have asked and determine which question helped them most in understanding the story. 4.4.1 Identify own areas of interest (guides students' questions); 4.4.2 Recognize the limits of own personal knowledge (students understand what they don't know so they ask questions about their reading). Yes, the students are able to use the Question Evaluation Graphic Organizer (Web supplement 5C) to self-assess: they have to write the question that they created that best helped them to understand the shared reading text, __The Day of Ahmed's Secret__. Also, the teachers are able to model the metacognitive processes of posing questions about the reading (before, during, after), and how a reader is constantly evaluating their comprehension to see if they've received the information they need to answer their questions (and employ fix up strategies if they haven't found the answer).

Students can self-assess the completeness of their work and reflect on whether or not it was easy or difficult for them to accomplish the learning tasks. In this lesson, they can assess the group Venn diagram as a class (via comparison between the questions raised by each group) and as you note, assess their own graphic organizers.

· Standards Reading and/or writing Listening and speaking Other content areas Information literacy Educational technology

v What content-area standards are integrated into this lesson? List them. Use specific standards from state standards in Texas or the state you and your partner have negotiated.

I am assuming these are TEKS. Be sure to clearly identify them as such on your own lesson plan for A.4.3 (that will be especially important to your co-teachers and your administrator). __First Grade: English Language Arts and Reading__ 1 (F) identify the information that different parts of a book provide (e.g., title, author, illustrator, table of contents). 4 (B) ask relevant questions, seek clarification, and locate facts and details about stories and other texts; and (C) establish purpose for reading selected texts and monitor comprehension, making corrections and adjustments when that understanding breaks down (e.g., identifying clues, using background knowledge, generating questions, re-reading a portion aloud). 9(B) describe characters in a story and the reasons for their actions and feelings. (11) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Sensory Language. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about how an author's sensory language creates imagery in literary text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to recognize sensory details in literary text. (13) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Culture and History. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about the author's purpose in cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. Students are expected to identify the topic and explain the author's purpose in writing about the text. 19 (C) write brief comments on literary or informational texts. __First Grade~Social Studies__ 5 (B) locate places of significance on maps and globes such as the local community, Texas, and the United States. 6 (C) identify and describe the human characteristics of places such as types of houses and ways of earning a living. 12 (C) identify ordinary people who exemplify good citizenship and exhibit a love of individualism and inventiveness. 15 (A) describe various beliefs, customs, and traditions of families and explain their importance; and

§110.2. English Language Arts and Reading, Kindergarten. (1) Listening/speaking/purposes. The student listens attentively and engages actively in a variety of oral language experiences. The student is expected to: (A) determine the purpose(s) for listening such as to get information, to solve problems, and to enjoy and appreciate

(3) Listening/speaking/audiences/oral grammar. The student speaks appropriately to different audiences for different purposes and occasions. The student is expected to: (C) ask and answer relevant questions and make contributions in small or large group discussions (B) use vocabulary to describe clearly ideas, feelings, and experiences (4) Listening/speaking/communication. The student communicates clearly by putting thoughts and feelings into spoken words. The student is expected to:

(8) Reading/vocabulary development. The student develops an extensive vocabulary. The student is expected to: (A) discuss meanings of words and develop vocabulary through meaningful/concrete experiences (K-2); (B) develop vocabulary by listening to and discussing both familiar and conceptually challenging selections read aloud

(12) Reading/inquiry/research. The student generates questions and conducts research about topics introduced through selections read aloud and from a variety of other sources. The student is expected to: (A) identify relevant questions for inquiry such as "Why did knights wear armor?" (K-3); (B) use pictures, print, and people to gather information and answer questions

Which of the TEKS does this lesson actually ASSESS? All of these objectives/indicators work to a greater or lesser extent. When you design your own lesson, you will want to select three or four that you will actually **assess**. Note: These lesson plans were published before AASL’s Standards for the 21st Century Learner were available.

v Which AASL indicators align with this lesson? Give both the number and the description for each.

1.1.9 Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding. 2.1.5 Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and solve problems. 2.3.1 Connect understanding to the real world. 3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess. 3.2.3 Demonstrate teamwork by working productively with others. 4.1.1 Read, view, and listen for pleasure and personal growth. 4.1.2 Read widely and fluently to make connections with self, the world, and previous reading. 1.1.1 Follow an inquiry-based process in seeking knowledge in curricular subjects, and make the real-world connection for using this process in own life. 1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning. 1.1.3 Develop and refine a range of questions to frame the search for new understanding. 1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format in order to make inferences and gather meaning. 1.2.1 Display initiative and engagement by posing questions and investigating the answers beyond the collection of superficial facts. Implementation **

· Process Motivation

Motivation is also known as “anticipatory set” in the Madeline Hunter, EEI lesson plan design. Will this invitation to learn be effective in capturing students’ interest? Why or why not? Yes, I feel the rose water activity will definitely motivate the students by capturing their interest; it's a unique activity, that will pique the students' interest about what they will be reading and learning about. And, it's just plain fun! And delicious! Although a number of kids didn't like the taste, that was our experience! Food and drink work! v What are your ideas to increase student buy-in to this lesson? Give at least one. ​ I believe a virtual field trip to Cairo or video about Egypt would help students buy-in/get interested in this lesson. Another fun thing would be to have a message written in English on the board (such as "Today you are going to learn so much), and under it, to have the same message written in the Arabic language. The teacher could say the message in Arabic, and have the students try and guess what language he/she is speaking.

Hurray for the ideas to include Arabic language in the anticipatory set. Again, do the anticipatory set in advance of the strategy lesson. If I were re-writing this book, I would include your suggestion and mine!

Student-friendly Objectives

v Are these objectives at the instructional level of the targeted students? Give an example. This lesson is geared toward the emerging reader in grades k-1; children at this age are known for their inquisitive minds. Having students form questions before,during, and after reading is at the instructional level of k-1. Yes, in that it is very visual for these young learners, and the use of a narrative to teach about another country makes the information well within the grasp of the K-1 student. v  Are there terms in these objectives that may need to be taught to students? Give an example. The word compare may need to be taught to students as well as the context of "most important question." In addition to the word "compare" that my partner cites above as needing explanation, I I also think that the word "vocabulary" should be explained. I also agree that "most important question" really needs a lot of explanation for these students. This type of evaluation is difficult for those at the intermediate grade levels, so there truly needs to be a great deal of direct instruction on how to determine this point Good. Educators need to ensure that student know all the terms even in student-friendly objective. Of course with repeated use through co-teaching and collaboration, students will comprehend more terms. The best way I know to "teach" terms like the most important question" is through repeated modeling and examples. Presentation

v Describe the modeling aspect of this lesson. The teacher begins the lesson by asking questions about the rose water and explaining that when we ask questions, we use what we know about a certain subject to think about similarities and differences. The teachers model asking questions as they introduce the book to the class, based on the jacket cover and writing these questions and the students questions on the class-sized Questioning Matrix. Teachers again model asking questions through the bookwalk and think aloud. During the bookwalk, the teacher models asking questions based on the book jacket. After this modeling, the teacher invites the students to ask questions.Also, during the bookwalk, the teacher is using think-aloud to show her thoughts and again, how and why she/ he generates questions. Also, during the lesson, the teacher creates a safe environment by using think-pair-share, to give students further modeling by their peers. This part also gives the teacher the chance to monitor how the students are doing with correctly coming up with questions, and to redirect when necessary.

Presentation

v How are the benefits of two or more educators maximized in the presentation component? The students have a much better chance at participating and discussing their thoughts and questions about their book since they are split up among either the librarian or the classroom teacher. Also, the students' opportunities to do "think-pair-share" with a partner also allows them to express themselves, thus maiximizing their participation, to keep them from being passive or unengaged during the lesson. Because two educators are presenting the lesson to small groups instead of whole class, the educators are better able to engage students one-on-one and in small groups. Students have more opportunity for their questions and ideas to be heard in the small group thus encouraging and promoting active participation. Teacher and librarian are better able to monitor individual student's prgress in asking before, during, and after questions. The educators are better able to provide additional modeling where appropriate.

Student Practice Procedures

v Are the directions clear? Give an example. Yes, the directions are clear and the lesson involves a great deal of teacher modeling and whole-group participation before students are asked to work with their partners in think-pair-share and asking questions. I think the directions are remarkably clear. I particularly like teh way that the lesson has the components broken down before they are stated in more detail during the "presentation" part of the lesson plan. This allows for much greater clarity for us, the readers, For example, "collaboration" is specifically addressed on p. 66 to show that "collaboration" is a part of the lesson. Then, during the "presentation" section of the lesson, this collaboration is elaborated on so that the reader of the lesson knows e//xactly// how the lesson designer means this to look.

In the "olden" days, we referred to this as "task analysis." Posting the student practice procedures is critical for students who need to see as well as hear directions and so that educators can simply point to steps in the procedures in order to review them.

Guided Practice

v How are the benefits of two or more educators maximized in the guided practice component? By having two educators leading guided practice, the teacher and librarian have better opportunities to monitor and assess each child's progress in their group. In addition, utilizing small group instruction allows the educators more opportunities for one-on-one interaction with the students and more opportunities to provide more modeling well needed. During the guided practice component, the teacher needs to be able to monitor how well the students are able to generate questions. If needed, the teacher needs to provide additional modeling. To be able to carry this out effectively, the teacher needs to have as few students as possible. The ability to only have half the students (since the class is divided between the librarian and the classroom teacher) allows for this interaction between the instructors and students, and allows for the instructors to authentically observe how the progress of the students with regard to posing questions.

Yes!

Closure

v Are students active in the closure component? What are students doing for closure? Students are actively engaged in the closure component by asking questions about the book after the reading. After the after reading questions are recorded, the students identify which questions have been answered by the text, which remain unanswered, and the students must agree on one "final burning question." The two groups are then brought together to complete a Venn diagram depicting the similarities and differences in each groups' questions. Students then complete the Question Evaluation Graphic Organizer. Yes, the students are active. They are engaging in "think-pair-share" to pose "after" questions, and are then sharing their questions with their instructor and with their other classmates in their group. Also, they are able to join the rest of their classmates who, up until now, have been in a separate group. With younger students, this kind of movement is so important to keeping them engaged and alert. Plus, they are being asked to evaluate their questions to determine which question was the most important in increasing their comprehension of the narrative. This takes a lot of focus and engagement, and ensures that the students are not allowed to "drift off" as the lesson winds up. ​

Yes again!

Reflection

v How is the reflection component related to the learning objectives? The reflection questions reinforce the concepts of the learning objectives by asking questions. Through the questioning in the reflection, students can reflect and make the connection between asking questions and learning-the whole point of the lesson. In the reflection, it reinforces the entire metacognitive process, by asking questions //about// the questioning the students engaged in during the lesson. For instance, one of the reflection questions is: //Did we all ask the same questions?.// This reflective question is directly related to this lesson objective: //Compare questions asked by two groups.//

·  Extensions v What are your other ideas for extensions to this lesson? Describe at least one. ​ One idea would be to have books, similar in format to __The Day of Ahmed's Secret,__ about other countries; the teacher could have the questioning category matrix (Web Supplement 5A) made up on a large piece of butcher paper for each book provided. During their spare time, the students can write their questions on the chart with markers (either directly on the chart or on large stickies--since students write large at this level). Since there are many different levels of students (academically--with regard to their ability to write), some students may need to teacher to scribe questions the students dictate. This could be ongoing, throughout the year, with different books, to keep the skill of generating questions in the forefront at all times. Another extension activity appropriate for this age level would be having students work in pairs or small groups to generate questions about picture books by looking at just the book jacket. After questions have been recorded, students choose which picture book they would like to read based on the questions generated about each book. Brava for your extension ideas. Using the same graphic organizers for other learning engagements is very wise. When students are familiar with recording tools, they can focus totally on the learning objectives. This is another advantage of classroom-library collaboration. These graphic organizers can and will be used in both the classroom and library on different occasions. Questioning is such a critical strategy. Students simply cannot practice if often enough

P.S. Never let a published lesson plan compromise your creativity. You and your collaborator will know the abilities and interests of your students and should adapt all lessons to the students in your care. By having two educators presenting the lesson in two different groups, students are more actively engaged by having more opportunities to share their questions with the group and the teacher or librarian can monitor students' progress in asking questions.
 * Remember: ** Extensions are further invitations to classroom-library collaboration. They are worth thinking about during the planning stage!