Topic / Subject / Text
Franklin Goes to School by Paulette BourgeoisCENTRAL IDEAS
Content: People may have similar feelings about new experiences.
Reading: Rereading (by the teacher), helps students develop a
deeper understanding of the text.
Writing: To share evidence that supports a focus through a
written response to text.
Focusing Question
How are Franklin’s feelings a lot like many children’s feelings on the first day of school?
Focus (answer to focusing question)
Franklin’s feelings are a lot like many children’s feelings on the first day of school because he feels both happy and sad.
Building Content Knowledge, Understanding of Writer’s Craft
• picture walk
• vocabulary- double-checked, clutched, aboard, doodle, sorted, turquoise
• Listen to first reading by teacher.
• Teacher reads the story asking the students to keep the focus in mind.
• Ask basic comprehension questions.
• Using multiple copies of books, students will work in partners to place yellow or blue Post-It notes on the sections of the text or illustrations that provide evidence of the focus.
Yellow Post-Its will be placed on the evidence that shows that the main character was happy and blue notes will be used to mark evidence that shows that he felt sad.
• oral processing- share evidence with a partner and then with the whole class
• public notes- record examples of evidence shared by the students using simple illustrations (drawn by the teacher) or copies of illustrations from the book and written text of student responses. The public notes will be written on two separate charts. Yellow chart paper will be used to record evidence of happy feelings and blue paper for sad feelings.
Structures
• Introduce an enlarged Painted Essay chart.
• Provide a teacher written model of a piece of evidence.
• graphic organizer-to record examples of evidence found within the text or the illustrations using words, simple drawings or copies of the illustrations
• template or writing booklet
Writing / Revising
• Students will refer to their graphic organizer and public notes to help them complete one section at a time (“writing in chunks”) on the writing template.
• Students will proofread their writing with the teacher and/or a partner after each section has been completed.
• The teacher will help the student to make any necessary revisions. She will also be using formative assessment regarding her writing instruction.
Lesson Sequence
The lesson sequence will take place over the course of three or four days.
1. Hold up the book and ask students to make predictions about the story.
2. Do a picture walk together.
3. Introduce vocabulary words through teacher-created sentences or through the Frayer model.
4. The teacher reads the story through the first time for enjoyment.
5. The teacher rereads the story asking basic comprehension questions.
Ex: What were some of the reasons that Franklin was
nervous on the first day of school?
Why did Franklin stay in his seat when his friends went to the learning centers?
How did Mr. Owl, Franklin’s very “wise teacher,” help him?
6. The teacher gives the focus question and the answer to the question. She then asks students to listen to the story again keeping the focus in mind. Encourage students to think aloud. Ask them to say to themselves, “When I finish listening to this story, I will tell how Franklin’s feelings are both happy and sad.”
7. Students will work in partners to place yellow or blue Post-It
notes on the sections of the text or illustrations
that support the focus.
8. Ask students to orally share examples of evidence. Develop public notes and simple illustrations or have copies of the illustrations from the book available to place next to the students’ responses.
Example: Franklin was happy when the teacher told him that
he was a very good artist. Teacher draws a picture of a
happy face and some colored pencils.
9. Students will be given a grade-appropriate graphic organizer and asked to record their evidence using words or drawings depending on the grade level.
10. Students will be given a grade-appropriate template with anintroduction written by the teacher. They will refer to the public notes (which have been folded in half so that the drawings are visible and the text is covered) and to their graphic organizer. Kindergarten or first grade students may show evidence of the focus by drawing pictures and labeling them or by writing simple sentences using inventive spelling.
They will write and illustrate one example of evidence per page in a teacher-created booklet. Second grade students will complete a template since the lesson will be done early on in the school year.
11. Students will share in partners and/or the whole group when finished.
Assessment
Teacher assessment will be ongoing throughout the lesson sequence. Assessment will be “formative” because as the teacher guides the students through the lessons, he/she will learn a great deal about their understanding of the text and their ability to communicate their understanding orally and in writing. This also will also allow the teacher many opportunities to see which parts of the lesson sequence were effective and which parts may need revising. In addition, opportunities to note individual student strengths and weaknesses will provide the teacher with valuable information about next steps for instruction in planning future lessons.
Next Steps: Gradual Release of Responsibility
Develop a focus question based on another Franklin story and teach the lesson in a similar manner using a graphic organizer and a writing template. Encourage the students to use their first response to text piece as a reference model. Work in partners to complete the graphic organizer and template with the teacher giving help as needed. As the year progresses, gradually encourage the students to work more independently on other pieces, but remain available to provide support.
Hi Patt,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea for a book, one that children can relate to personally, those jitters we all feel on the first day of school. I think that personal connection will help children to be able to respond in a more meaningful way.
In your focus question, you ask how Franklin's feelings are a lot like many children's feelings. When reading your plan, I'm not clear how you are asking children to answer that within the body of the response. Or are they responding to that in the conclusion?
Your use of color coded sticky notes, color coding your public notes, and also using illustrations is very supportive for a wide range of learners. I thought the sequence of your plan was also very well layed out. Multiple readings and oral responses moving from literal to more interpretive is a great way to scaffold the kind of thinking that you want children to do in responding to text.
In your gradual release of responsibility, you plan for children, working with partners, to take over generating their own graphic organizers. This is not an aspect of the work that I have asked children to take on. I hadn't thought of it! I think it's a great idea. I will be curious to know how it goes. Thanks!
Patt, I loved the idea of using a" beginning of the year" book to help kids deal with all their emotions. I wonder if a good follow-up would be another book, not a Franklin one, about other school adjustments, since for many kids going to school is such a big step.
ReplyDeleteYour central idea and focus seem really appropriate. I like your repeated readings for just enjoyment, then comprehension and finally the big idea. Younger kids never seem to get tired of hearing the same book again if we change the focus each time and they are finally able to reach into the depth of the book.
I liked your idea of teaming and marking the evidence in the text with different color post-its. This is so simple and yet so concrete for kids. The public notes which followed and are also color-coded just seemed to flow from that. The painted essay should easily follow this.
Your models and student/teacher revising opportunities seem
appropriate at this grade level. I wonder if a teacher generated rubric for assessment would help you streamline this process and give you some evidence for parent teacher conferences/report cards or however you need to convey progress at this level.
Great job! Now I want to use this plan in the first few days of school.