All About Snakes Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan

All About Snakes

Mike Labagh

Subject:

Fountas and Pinnell Reading Series

Topic:

Cloze Procedures

Objectives:

·         Given vocabulary, the students will participate and practice new vocabulary words in the story by giving an example of each word in a sentence of their own.

·         Given a text, the students will complete a picture walk and make oral predictions about what may happen in the text or what the text is mainly about.

·         Given the text, the students will complete a read aloud of the text in small groups.

·         Given a printable worksheet, the students will know and be able to utilize Cloze practices.

·         Given a text, the students will know and be able to read it while participating in a running record assessment.

Methods:

·         Direct instruction – small group

·         Modeling

·         Guided practice

·         Application

·         Assessment

Materials:

·         Fountas and Pinnell – All About Snakes – non-fiction text – Book 30 – level C

·         Snakes DVD

·         Real Snakeskin

·         Vocabulary Handout

·         Printables

·         Smart Board

·         Fountas and Pinnell Word Bags and Journals

·         Pens and Pencils

Motivation:

Teacher will say, “Today we will learn about snakes! We’ll learn about what they can do and what some of them look like. First, we’ll touch a real snake skin. Then we’ll read a story about snakes. Finally, we’ll practice cloze practices involving snakes and then we’ll watch a quick DVD about snakes. I’m so excited!”

Activities:

After the students feel the real snake skin they will…

·         The teacher will introduce the book; All About Snakes after the students have made predictions from the a picture that they complete.

·         The students will practice the vocabulary in the text.

·         The students will complete a read aloud of the text.

·         The students will utilize cloze practices.

·         The students will complete related activities.

·         The students will complete a running record of All About Snakes.

Practice Activity:

After the students read the story, All About Snakes, they will practice using cloze practices by completing a cloze practice sheet based from the story they read. They will be able to use their books. The teacher will guide as the students complete this exercise and remind the students of their vocabulary when the lesson started. The students will be prompted to look at pictures, eliminate words that do not make sense, and read the entire sentence before they make their selection. For students that are not struggling with this, the students can complete this exercise without using their text.

Independent Activity:

The students will complete a cloze exercise on seasonal clothing and washing clothes. While there are not pictures for this exercise, they can be added if a teacher feels the need to help the students connect to the seasons of the year. I’m attempting this lesson without doing so. Before I send my students to their seats to complete this assignment, I will review orally what people wear during summer, winter, how we wash clothing, and what we do when we buy clothing. I do not want prior knowledge to hinder this exercise. If students struggle with reading this activity on their own, it can be read orally. It is a grade 1 cloze practice.

Evaluation:

·         Participation

·         Completed extension exercises and activities

·         Completed Cloze Practice Independent Activity

Closure:

The teacher will ask the students what the purpose of the lesson was. Was it to learn about snakes or was it to learn about Cloze practices, or did we happen to learn about both while we participated in Cloze practices? The students will answer what they learn about both snakes and Cloze practices. The teacher will ask each student to cite an oral example from the lesson.

Assessment:

Assessments are on-going. The students will work on Cloze Practices throughout fifth grade as this type of assessment appears on the district mandated Connecticut Mastery Test. Assessments will increase in difficulty as they students read on higher levels throughout their educational careers.