Mini Lesson Plan 4

Jenna Graziadei
Teacher ____________________________ 1
Grade Level ________

I. Instructional Objective: Through the use of an interactive activity, this student will...

A. Exhibit stronger skills in comprehension through asking and answering why questions
to further understand the text.
B. Show skills in carefully reading through a level C book during which pauses between the
pages are emphasized as a time to discuss meaning and use resources to enhance ones
comprehension.
C. Display further development of grasping this question-answer strategy, and evidence of
this progress should be observed in the summarizing conversations.

II. Instructional Procedures:

1. Prior to the lesson, the materials required for the activity will be organized to ensure that
there are no delays with the lesson.
2. A small group of students will sit with the teacher at a table in the back of the classroom that
should allow for quiet and focus that will be conducive to learning.
3. The teacher will explain to the students that they are going to work on reading carefully to
understand what the text says.
4. The teacher will have the students read the title out loud in unison. The teacher will prompt
the students to begin thinking about what the story could be about and use background
knowledge to establish text-to-world connections. The teacher will model a few why
questions and ask the students to respond based on the title and cover illustrations. The
students will be guided to create their own why questions.
5. Since the students have read through this text several times on other occasions, the teacher
tells the students that it will be read together as choral reading entails.
6. Each page will be read following the same process. The teacher and students will discuss
what they notice and wonder with why questions within a scaffolded approach. The text,
illustrations, and what they know based on previous experiences will help find the answers to
those questions, as well as formulate an understanding and make text-to-world connections
7. Once all pages have been complete following this process, the activity worksheet will be
provided to the students. The teacher will explain that they are going to review the book
together again.
8. The teacher will ask the students what they think the main idea, or topic of the text was. They
will be asked why they selected their responses. The students will be guided to put their
responses in the topic box on the worksheet.
9. The first balloon on the worksheet will say why is... that will require that the students create
and write their own why question that could enhance the readers comprehension. This is a
question that would be based on the text in the present tense, within which the answer could
 be found. One student will pose their question to another student who must use the available
resources to find the answer. This will closely touch upon the details of the text.
10. The second balloon on the worksheet will say why will... that will require that the students
create and write their own why question that could enhance the readers comprehension.
This is a question that would be based on the text in the future tense, within which the answer
could be found. One student will pose their question to another student who must use the
available resources to find the answer. This will closely touch upon the details of the text.
11. The third balloon on the worksheet will say why would... that will require that the students
create and write their own who question that could enhance the readers comprehension.
This is a question that would be based on the text, but would require that the student uses
prior knowledge to make connections to the text. One student will pose their question to
another student who must use the available resources to find the answer. This will closely
touch upon the details of the text.
12. The fourth balloon on the worksheet will say I asked questions because... that will require
that the students think deeply about how the questioning process helped them understand the
text. A discussion will take place before the responses are written. Once the discussion has
sufficiently addressed the idea, the students will be guided to write this on the balloon.
13. The fifth balloon on the worksheet will say I asked ______ questions and found my answers
in (1)_______, (2)_______, and (3)________ that will require that the students reflect on the
process that was used in the mini-lesson to exhibit that the strategy is becoming gradually
grasped and can be used in future reading experiences.
14. To summarize, the teacher will guide the students to look at their activity sheets as a whole
and review what they learned from the book. The teacher will model and help the students
replicate an I learned... statement when referencing their notes on the worksheet. The
repetition between the mid-text conversations, post-text discussions, and final summary are
intended to emphasize these comprehension-based ideas.
15. The teacher will take anecdotal notes during all points of the mini-lesson to track
comprehension progress.
16. The teacher will collect the worksheets for assessment purposes given that they are accurate
understandings of the understandings of these students after reading the book. The level of
prompting and other guidance techniques that are tracked in the anecdotal notes will be taken
into consideration when analyzing the students progress.

III. Materials and Equipment:

A. A book from the students book boxes will be used to differentiate this mini-lesson for the
needs of the students who will all be reading within the A-C range based on the Fountas
and Pinnell system.
B. An activity worksheet will be provided that includes spaces for the books topic and other
details that are to be discussed. This will be collected at the end of the mini-lesson, but
returned for additional opportunities during which the students review this same book.
 C. A record sheet will be used by the teacher to track prompting and guidance that is used to
lead the students to a deeper understanding of the text, as well as other important notes
that will be necessary to analyze the childs thought processes and progress.

IV. Assessment/Evaluation:

A. Anecdotal Notes- The teacher will record the students efforts and progress throughout
the mini-lesson to track his understanding and development of comprehension-based
skills. The record will allow for analyses and conclusions during a period of reflection
that will guide how future interventions are approached. The notes will be reflected on
and scored based on the rubric designed specifically for this mini-lesson. These scores
will be tracked on the checklist.
B. Activity Worksheet- The student worksheets will be analyzed for progress and
development given that they represent the students reflections of the text following
detailed conversations. This will be analyzed on a comprehension-based skill checklist.
The skills on the checklist will then be scored based on the rubric designed specifically
for this mini-lesson.

V. Differentiation:

The student of focus being worked with is not only a struggling reader, but exhibits various
characteristics in the educational setting that impact his academic progress. He will be going
through the identification process in the near future should his parents provide consent. Thus,
this mini-lesson is an opportunity for individualized instruction that is ideal for this students
situation. The intervention approaches will be directed towards his unique needs. A book will be
used that is at the reading level the classroom teacher has determined to be appropriate based on
results from the first Fountas and Pinnell benchmark assessment of the school year.

VI. Technology:

Technological resources are not required for this mini-lesson. The comprehension skills that are
to be worked on could be practiced in future opportunities through the use of their Raz-Kids
accounts.

VII. Self-Assessment:

A. The anecdotal record sheet will be analyzed by the teacher to assess whether the
anecdotal notes show any patterns of progress or challenges. These reflections will guide
the following interventions by means of how they are approached pertaining to whether
or not techniques utilized were successful, and if the lesson should be repeated or it can
advance towards the next level.
B. The checklist with symbol and numerical grades will allow the teacher to analyze the
progress of the student since the initial assessment and intervention. This would be a
 reflection in reference to the individualized learning trajectory that was designed based
on assessment results.
C. The teacher will analyze the students worksheets to reflect on whether or not the mini-
lessons instructional and activity approaches were successful, and whether or not the
student displayed progress in skills associated with the lessons objective. This will
impact future interventions.