Direct Instruction Lesson Plan Template

Grade Level/Subject: 3rd grade

Central Focus: Learning how to write an opinion piece
based on a topic or mentor text
Essential Standard/Common Core Objective:
Date submitted:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1- Write an opinion piece on topics
Date taught:
or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.
Daily Lesson Objective: Given explicit instruction and after read a mentor text, students will be
able to independently write an opinion piece of a job they think is important and include at least
three reasons why that job is important.
21st Century Skills:
Academic Language Demand (Language Function and
Critical thinking; life and career
Vocabulary):
skills
Job, career, occupation, salary, doctor, lawyer, opinion,
sentences, teacher, athlete, chef, scientist, veterinarian,
defense attorney, author, engineer
Prior Knowledge: Students will have to know about different careers and what you do when you
have those careers.
Activity

1. Focus and Review

2. Statement of
Objective
for Student
3. Teacher Input

Description of Activities and Setting

The teacher will begin this lesson by giving students all a
sticky note. On the sticky note, students have to write what
they think is an opinion on the front and an example of an
opinion on the back. After students complete the sticky note,
they stick it on the Smartboard and sit on the carpet. While
students are finishing their sticky notes, the teacher will look
at them to make sure students have the right idea. After all of
the students are finished, the teacher will have students share
some of their definitions and examples. The teacher will
review what an opinion is and an example of writing an
opinion.
Today you are going to learn how to write about different jobs
and why they are important. We call this kind of writing,
opinion writing.
The teacher will have students remain sitting on the carpet in
front of the Smartboard. The teacher will ask students if they
know what a career is. The teacher will have students turn
and talk to discuss what a career is. After students talk to a
partner, they will then share what they think a career is. After
the discussion, the teacher will read aloud the book When I
Grow Up by Al Yankovic (http://viewpure.com/P3GViCamOxk?
start=0&end=0 ). Throughout the book, the teacher will stop
and ask questions to check for understanding. After reading
the book, the teacher will ask about different careers that
were talked about in the book and careers that were not

Time

10
minutes

Less
than 5
minutes
20
minutes

talked about in the book. The teacher will tell the students
that they are going to write about a career they want to be
when they grow and why they think it is important. The
teacher will show a video to students that show other
students talking about careers they want and why they are
important ( http://viewpure.com/J-4krY1GNDE?
start=0&end=0 ). The teacher will make sure that to tell
students to make sure they are paying attention because it is
an example of what the assignment is. After the video the
teacher will pick a career that was talked about in the video
and write about why that career is important to her. The
paragraph should be at least four sentences, one to state
what career is important and three more for supporting
opinions and reasons to why you think that career is
important. The teacher does this to model yo the students
how to write an opinion piece.

4. Guided Practice

5. Independent
Practice

6. Assessment
Methods of
all
objectives/skills:

After the video, the teacher and students will discuss what
they watched in the video. The teacher will then tell students
that they are going to practice writing an opinion piece. The
teacher will pick a career not discussed in the video and have
the students help write the opinion piece. The teacher will
write on chart paper the career that she wants to be and three
of the reasons that the students give her. The teacher will
explain how the reasons are opinions that support why that
career is important.

15
minutes

After writing an opinion piece together, the teacher will

explain to students that they are going to write their own
opinion pieces. Students get to pick a career and write three
reasons why they think that career is important. Students will
15
work on this assignment independently. Students will write
minutes
their opinion pieces on the online module for convenience of
editing and grading. Every student has a Chromebook and has
access to this module. The video will also be on the module in
case students want to go back and watch the video again.
Formative Assessment: During the independent and guided practice,
the teacher will get to assess students by asking them questions. The
teacher will ask students questions to assess their understanding of
what an opinion piece is how to write it supporting the topic.
Summative Assessment: The teacher will collect (online) the
students online career module to assess their understanding of how to
write an opinion piece. Students will have all different answers about the

career and reasons, but they must show an understanding of how to

write an opinion piece by using supporting reasons. This assignment is
graded out of four points. Students will receive one point for stating a
career they think is important and will get a point for each one of the
three reasons provided for why that career is important.
To close, students will turn and talk with a neighbor about
what career they chose and some of the reasons that they
5
7. Closure
chose that career. If there is any extra time, students will be
minutes
able to draw a picture for the career that they chose.
8. Assessment
For the Career Opinion Text:
Results of
16/23 students received 4/4 points on the summative assessment, 5/23
all
students received a 3/4 points on the summative assessment, and 2/23
objectives/skills:
students received a 2/4 points on the summative assessment.
Targeted Students
Student/Small Group
Modifications/Accommodations:
Modifications/Accommodations:
For students who may have a hearing
When students have to turn and talk, they will be
disability or loss, the read aloud of When I
partnered with the same student they have been
Grow Up will be displayed virtually on the
for a couple of weeks. This prevents long
Smartboard and will have the text along the
transition times and is helpful because students
bottom of the screen. This allows students to
are comfortable with each other. If students do
be able to follow along while the book is
not end up working well together then they will
being read. This is also beneficial for students have to work with a new partner or will have to
who struggle with reading because the book
work alone for that part of the lesson. Each
displays the text and it is being read aloud.
student will have a Chromebook so they will not
Students are easily able to follow along and
have to share with another student.
are not being forced to read the book on their
own. If a student struggles with using the
Chromebook, the teacher can assist with any
technological issues that arise. If a student is
clearly struggling with writing an opinion
piece on their own, they may work with a
partner to complete the assignment. If
students are unable to cooperate and focus
during the guided practice or independent
practice, the teacher can use proximity
control or have students move their seats if
they are off task. If students finish the
assignment early, they will be able to
continue a previous writing assignment that
the teacher assigned them or would be able
to draw a picture of the career they picked

Materials/Technology:
(Include any instructional materials (e.g., worksheets, assessments PowerPoint/Smart Board
slides, etc.) needed to implement the lesson at the end of the lesson plan.)
Smartboard
When I Grow Up by Al Yankovic
Example video about importance of careers (http://viewpure.com/J-4krY1GNDE?
start=0&end=0 )
Chromebook (each student has one already)
Internet (students must be able to access their canvas page
References: n/a
Reflection on lesson:
Attached

Lesson Reflection
During the IMB two-week clinical experience, I learned more than I ever
thought I would. I especially learned a great deal during this part of my experience.
This lesson was unique because my teacher told me what she wanted me to do.
While preparing for my clinical, I assumed I was going to able to teach a lesson on
comprehension or vocabulary. I was not able to teach a lesson that I thought I was
going to be able to because of the timing of the IMB two-week experience and what
the students were already learning about in the class. The IMB weeks happened to
fall right before the students Spring Break and the teacher did not want me
teaching anything brand new to the students. This was a little frustrating at first,
but I learned how to be open-minded and flexible when it comes to planning. It is
important to take what you are given and to make the most out of it. This applies to
many aspects of teaching and it is one of the greatest lessons I took away from this
experience.

This was probably one of the hardest lessons for me to plan and teach for,
but it ended up being probably my favorite lesson that I taught. It was hard for me
to plan and teach because I have never taught writing before. I was nervous and
unsure of how to incorporate into the lesson plan model and to accommodate all of
my students needs. I learned that you could plan ahead as much as you deem
necessary but sometimes there is always something that will happen. For example,
when starting the read aloud of When I Grow Up on the Smartboard, it froze and
took a couple of minutes to fix itself. During this time, I improvised and asked
students more questions. I learned that it is extremely important to have a backup
plan in case technology fails. A backup plan for this lesson would be to actually have
a hard copy of the book and read it to students using the actual book instead of the
Smartboard.
Another thing I liked about this lesson was that I was able to teach it two
times. I taught it the first time to the classroom of my cooperating teacher and the
second time I taught it to the classroom next store. My cooperating teacher shared
my idea with her colleague and she asked me to teach the lesson to her class as
well. I thought the first lesson went well, but I found some areas of improvement
including more developed questions about the book, specific timing and directions
of the assignment, and how to introduce the example to students. I was able to
reflect on my first lesson and improve it when I taught it the second time. While
teaching, I felt more comfortable teaching the second lesson because I was more
familiar with what I was doing and had clear expectations in my mind of what I
wanted the students to gain from this lesson. This was a unique opportunity for me
and I am so grateful that I was given the chance to teach my lesson twice. It
allowed me to reflect deeply on the first lesson and make improvements for the

second lesson. This is an important skill to develop as a teacher because it is critical

that you are always improving your lessons to cater to the needs of your students. If
you are not learning and growing as teacher, then you will not be serving your
students to the best of your ability.
I also was reaffirmed at how important classroom management was through
teaching this lesson. It is important that students respect you as well as you
respecting them. When you respect a student and treat them like a real person,
they are more cooperative and willing to learn in the safe classroom environment
that is provided. I did not struggle with classroom management on my first lesson
but I struggled with it a little bit in my second lesson. Some of the students were
talkative and disruptive. This was a little frustrating to me, but it was something I
had to patiently work through. I learned that not every aspect of every lesson is
going to go as planned, but it is important to remain calm and teach to the best of
your ability. One thing that helped me in my lesson was using strategies like turn
and talk, the sticky notes, and the read aloud to keep students engaged. If I had to
teach these lessons again, I would have a clear definition of what a career is and
incorporate more vocabulary words into the lesson. I would also tell students their
directions before they go back to their seats so that they are actually paying
attention. This was a mistake I made in the first lesson by letting students go to
their desks then giving them instructions. It is easier to tell students instructions
while you have their full attention. Another little thing I would do would be to check
for understanding so that the students know what is expected of them through this
assignment.
Overall my experience with this lesson and my two-week IMB period was
amazing. I really enjoyed working and growing with the students through these

couple of weeks. One thing I learned was that I really enjoy teaching writing to
students. It was fun for me to grade this assignment because every student had
unique answers. This assignment allowed students to be creative and express
themselves, which I truly enjoyed.