LESSON PLAN

Name: Ashley Mustaki

WGU Task Objective Number:
Competency 602.8.7: Vocabulary
The graduate designs and presents instruction that focuses on
vocabulary in isolation and in context, based on a correct understanding of the relationship between
vocabulary and reading comprehension.
Competency 602.8.8: Narrative Text Analysis The graduate analyzes genres, bias,
stereotyping, and grade-level appropriateness in texts and designs instruction that will help
students analyze texts.
Competency 602.8.9: Childrens Literature The graduate evaluates, selects, and
incorporates childrens literature across curriculum areas for a variety of instructional
purposes.
Competency 602.8.10: Reading Comprehension The graduate applies knowledge and
skills that promote reading comprehension and teaches comprehension skills.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Lesson Title & Subject(s): Language Arts Critical Reading

Topic or Unit of Study: Language Arts
Grade/Level: 5th
Instructional Setting:
(e.g., group size, learning context, location [classroom, field trip to zoo, etc.], seating arrangement,
bulletin board displays)
The instruction takes place in a typical fifth grade inclusion classroom. The classroom has 19
students of mixed ability. The classroom has student work hung throughout as well as several anchor
posters for the units the students are on. There a books lining the shelf alongside one wall of the
room. There are anchor charts on process writing, discovering the main idea, visualizing and genres
of literature. There are also anchor charts for the other subjects taught in the room such as science
and social studies.
STANDARDS AND OBJECTIVES

Your State Core Curriculum/Student Achievement Standard(s):

To view standards: Go to TaskStream Standards Manager under Programs & Resources. Then go to
Browse Standards (Standards Wizard). Select your state. Select standard(s).
VA York County SOL
5.5 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, narrative nonfiction, and
poetry.
e) Describe how an authors choice of vocabulary contributes to the authors style.

f) Identify and ask questions that clarify various points of view.

g) Identify main idea.
h) Summarize supporting details from text.
i) Draw conclusions and make inferences from text.
l) Use reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor comprehension.
5.5 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, narrative nonfiction, and
poetry.
l) Use reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor comprehension.

Lesson Goals:
(A statement describing the overall purpose of the lesson; what the students are expected to know or
do at the end of the lesson)
The student will understand how to apply critical reading strategies to uncover persuasive writing.

Lesson Objective(s):
(Your objective(s) should align with the knowledge and skills taught as well as with the assessment
chosen for this task. All learning objectives must include a Specific Behavior, Condition, and
Measurable Criteria)
After a lesson in critical reading, the student will be able to identify an author's purpose and identify
words that signal opinions. The students will be expected to complete a worksheet with at least 80%
accuracy.
MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

Instructional Materials:
Materials needed for the lesson (e.g., textbook, construction paper, scissors, PowerPoint, guided note
templates)
-Copies of article They're Back! and Why We Should Bring the Passenger Pigeon Back from
Extinction

Resources:
Supplementary information and/or places where you found information for the lesson
They're Back:

Waslh, B. (2013, May 3). They're Back! TIME for Kids. Retrieved from
http://www.timeforkids.com/news/theyre-back/91016/91126
Why we should bring passenger pigeons back from extinction. (2013, May 3). Retrieved from
http://www.timeforkids.com/files/media/130503TG5.1.pdf

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN
Sequence of Instructional Procedures/Activities/Events (provide description and
indicate approximate time for each):
1. Identification of Student Prerequisite Skills Needed for Lesson:

(e.g., anticipatory set, schema, purpose of lesson for students, connections to previous
learning, definitions of terms reviewed)
Time: 5 minutes
The students will be told that we are going to use the skill of critical reading to analyze two
articles about similar topics.
Can anyone give me a fantastic fifth grade definition of critical reading?
-Answer should be similar to: critical reading is evaluating the way the author has written the
text and considering how the writing affects how we feel about the topic.
The teacher will say that in order to read critically, we must reall understand the text in order to
go beyond the literal meaning of the text. Once we understand the text, we can dig deeper and
evaluate the writing better.
Both of the articles we read are about similar topics, but the authors take opposing stances.
First we will read the text as is, then we will dig deeper into the article to identify the way the
author uses words to try to sway our opinion of the topic.
There are three skills we need to go over and refresh our minds of before we begin critical
reading.
First is the main idea. What is the main idea?
-Answer is: what the text is mainly about.
What do I mean when I say the author's purpose for writing? What does purpose mean?
-Answer is: the reason the author wrote the text.
Finally, what would persuasive language mean? Why would an author use persuasive
language in a text?
-Answer is: persuasive language is emotionally charged words that are used to sway the
reader.

2. Presentation of New Information or Modeling:

(e.g., term definitions, concepts, processes and/or approaches)
Time: 5 minutes
The teacher will hand out the printed copies of each of the articles to the group of students.
The teacher will read the article titled They're Back! and the article Why We Should Bring
Passenger Pigeons Back from Extinction.
The teacher will model how first she will try to think of the main idea of the passage, since she
firsts needs to understand what the passage is about.
Some questions she may ask herself are: what was the article about? What was the title?
Once she has the main idea, she will identify the author's purpose for writing the article.
Some questions she may ask herself are: why did the author write the article? How did the
author feel about the topic?
Once she has identified the purpose, she will try to look for details like words and phrases that
support that purpose.
Some questions she may ask herself are: what words did the author use to support his or her
purpose for writing? How did he or she convey his or her opinion about the topic?

3. Guided Practice:
(e.g., teacher directed, scaffolding, check for student understanding including any questions
to ask or anticipate from students)
Time: 7 minutes
The teacher and the students will work together to analyze the article Why We Should Bring
Passenger Pigeons Back from Extinction.
The teacher will use the projector to project the article on the projection screen.
As the students and teacher analyze the article together, the teacher will make marks on the
projected article and will reread portions of the text.
The teacher will ask the students to think of the main idea.
-Answer should be: bringing passenger pigeons back from extinction.
The teacher will ask the students to think of what the author's purpose of writing the article
might have been.
-Answer should be: to persuade the reader to agree that bringing the passenger pigeon back
from extinction would be beneficial to the environment.
The teacher will ask the students to look at their copy of the article and pick out some words
that support the author's purpose. The students will be reminded to look at words that are
emotinally charged, exaggerative or even quotes that support the author's stance on the
subject.
-Answers of words from the article would be that author uses the words cool and amazing to
describe what it would be like to bring the passenger pigeon back.
-Answers of exaggerative/emotionally charged words in the article will be major role and vital
role.
-The students should also point out that the author only used statements of how the pigeons
help the environment and never stated how they became extinct.

4. Independent Student Practice:

(e.g., teacher monitored, check for student understanding including any questions to ask or
anticipate from students)
Time: 10 minutes
The students will now work in pairs to analyze the article They're Back! using the same
process that was used in guided practice. The students will use the worksheet in order to
critically read this text.
Acceptable answers will be as followed:
-Main idea: Although scientists are able to bring back the wooly mammoth, they should not.
-Author's purpose: To persuade the reader that bringing back the woolly mammoth would not
be good for the environment.
-Emotionally charged/persuasive words: obligation, huge hole, conservation

5. Culminating or Closing Procedure/Activity/Event:

(e.g., review terms, concepts, and/or learning process; establish connections to the next
lesson; check for student understanding including any questions to ask or anticipate from
students)
Time: 5 minutes
The students will be asked to think back about when they first read the article and how they felt
about the topic. Did they agree with the author? Was it because of the way the author used
words to shape how they felt abou the topic?
The students will be asked how we can use the skill of identifying the author's purpose and the
author's choice of words when reading articles in the future?
-Answers could be:
-to take a step back and think about how we feel about the topic disreguarding the words
that the authors uses
-to analyze the words the author uses to recognize when he/she is trying to sway our
opinion of a topic
-to analyze the words the author uses to judge how he/she feels about the topic

Pedagogical Strategy (or Strategies):

(e.g., direct instruction, cooperative learning groups, partner work)
Modeling Direct Instruction
Guided Practice Cooperative learning
Independent practice Cooperative learning in pairs

Differentiated Instruction:
Describe accommodations for such groups as English Language Learners, hearing impaired, learning
disabled, physically disabled, and/or gifted/accelerated learners.
Students with a learning/reading disability will be paired with a student who is more proficient in
reading to analyze the article.

Student Assessment/Rubrics:
Describe how you will know if students have met the objective(s) for this lesson (include pre- and
post-assessment plansformal and/or informal, summative and/or formative, etc.).
The students will be given the worksheet that is attached. The students will be expected to answer
the questions with at least 80% accuracy.