Grade: 9

Common Core Objective: Reading: Literature Standard 1

Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis (theme/concept) of what the text says
explicitly as well as inference drawn from the text.

Personal Objectives: Students will be able to determine the main idea of a story and be able to support it
with evidence from the story. I CAN find the main idea of a story by using evidence I find from the text
(pictures).

Essential Question: How can the details from the story help create a main idea?

Materials:
Fossil by Bill Thomson
Clay
Plaster of Paris
Beach ball with questions
Graphic organizer with questions about EQ and I CAN

Key Vocabulary:
Main idea
Supporting detail
Detail
Evidence

Phase I: Exploration and Exploration

Before the lesson begins:
As we are introducing the topic and the book we are reading, Fossil by Bill Thomson, we will
have them make a fossil out of clay and plaster
Assess what students know about fossils so they arent confused about the plot of the story
o What is a fossil and what is inside of them?
We will discuss the I CAN statement and pose the essential question that we want them to think
about throughout the lesson.
During the lesson:
Read Fossils to them
o Each page have them tell what is going on on that specific page since the book has no
words
o Prompt with questions about the boys expressions and what the pictures tell you
o Pose questions about what each of the characters might be thinking, if this is realistic,
what they think will happen on the next page by making inferences, what they think is
going to happen at the end.
When the book is over, have students review what the book was about (plot) based on what they
observed in the pictures.
Transition to Phase II:
We will explain that the next activity will be for them to answer questions about the book so that
they can identify what helps them get to a conclusion of what the main idea of the book was
Explain that it will be similar to last week as they will catch the ball and answer what plot
question their thumb is on.
o Demonstrate so they have a visual of the directions
 The goal of this activity is to find key details that they think will support a possible main idea that
they will come up with as a group
o We will remind them of what the definition of a main idea is.
Phase II: Guided Practice/Differentiation
Beach ball activity where they toss the ball and whatever question it lands on they will have to
answer about developing the main idea
o Questions such as:
Was this real life or in the boys imagination?
What did the boy discover in the rocks?
What happened when the flying dinosaur came to life?
How did he get the dinosaur to disappear?
Where did his dog land when the dinosaur dropped him?
What was the first fossil that came to life?
What happened when the rocks opened?
How did the boy open the first rock?
What fossil did the boy forget to make disappear?
How did the boy open the second fossil?
Why did the boy decide to make the fossils disappear?
Was the boy scared of the dinosaur?
Was it bad about having the fossils come to life?
Should fossils stay fossils or should they come back to life?
What did the boys imagination help him learn?
After the students answer all the questions, we will have them discuss and decide on 3 of theses
questions/answers that help them decide on a main idea of the story
o Ties in previous knowledge from past weeks and using key details and evidence from the
story to support main idea.
Transition to Phase III:
We will explain that their next task is to write down these thoughts (main idea and 3 supporting
details)
o If we are running short on time, we will forgo this part and just have them fill out the self
assessment with the I CAN statement and the answer to the essential question
We will tell them that after that is finished they will answer a couple more questions about the I
CAN statement and the essential question that we asked at the beginning of the class.
Phase III: Independent Practice/Assessment
Give them the main idea graphic organizer to fill out with their decided main idea and the
supporting details from the ball questions that helped them decide on it.
Have them fill out assessment we create about the I CAN statement, essential question, and
finding the main idea

Accommodations and Modifications:

The lesson is already EL friendly because it requires them to do more thinking and speaking. This will
challenge them since they do not always like to speak out, but have the skills to do so. They will need to
analyze the story via pictures to create their own meaning of the story.
LESSON 5
NAME: _________________________________ DATE:_________________________

Do you feel as if you can find the main idea of a story by using evidence you find
from the text (pictures)? If yes, what helped you do this?

How can the details from the story help create a main idea?

How did you find the main idea using the questions from the ball?