Artifact 1: Grade 5 Literacy Lesson The Hobbit

Lesson Plan
Medaille College
Avninder Gill
EDL 550
Elizabeth Bystrak
July 14, 2014

I.LESSON DATA
A.Teacher Candidates First and Last Name: Avninder Gill
B.Subject Content Area: ELA/Fiction
C.Grade Level: Grade 5
D.Unit Topic: Guided Reading of Fiction Text
E.Lesson Topic: Visualizing characters and settings in chapter 5 of The
Hobbit
F.Duration of Lesson: 20 min
G.Materials: Computer, projection screen, smart board, a copy of The
Hobbit for each student, white board markers, paper, pencils, erasers, pencil
crayons, highlighter pens.

II.INSTRUCTIONAL PROCESS
A.Standards:
Ontario Grade 5 Reading Standard: 1.8 Make judgements and draw
conclusions about the ideas and information in the texts and cite stated or
implied evidence from the text to support their views. (e.g., create a profile
of a character based on stated or implied information in the text)
NY State Standard RF.5.4a Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to
support comprehension. a) Read grade-level text with purpose and
understanding
B.Central Focus: The central focus of this lesson is for the students to be
able to read fiction books like The Hobbit, and have the ability to recognize
adjectives or descriptive words to help visualize characters and settings to
improve comprehension.
C.Objectives: Students will identify and share a minimum of 3 descriptive
words or phrases that describe a character and setting when reading the
Hobbit to help them visualize the text.
D.Assessment Plan: Students will participate in a guided practice and will
be observed during their portion of the reading and following along.
Students will create a T-chart with a minimum of 3 descriptive words for
character and setting in each column. The students will then use those

descriptive words to draw the character of Gollum in his cave. Students

will share their drawing with the class and identify a minimum of 3 words
they used in their drawing.

E.Opening/Anticipatory Set:

Separate the class into two equal teams. Its time to paly TABOO!
Explain the rules of the game.
Play a few rounds to get the class involved. Once the game is finished
ask the students to think about how this game can help with reading.
F.Main Body/Procedure:
Part 1

Explain to the class what an adjective or descriptive word is and how it

was used in the game of Taboo.
Teacher: on the board the teacher draws a T-chart. One column is for
character and the other is for the setting.
On the projection screen the teacher displays a picture of, superman
on a rooftop. The teacher asks the students to raise their hands and
identify words that describe the setting and the character. The teacher
will write down the students answers in the correct column.
Teacher: Reading is about reversing the process that we just used. We
read the words and then our brains use those descriptive words or
adjectives to create an image in our minds. This is why weve been
reading The Hobbit. It is a book designed to open our imagination and
transport us to a different world. It is also why people read for fun.
Nothing in the world is as creative as our imaginations.
Part 2

Get students to pull out their copies of The Hobbit and turn to pg.
53.
Recap the story where the class stopped reading.
Select the first student to start reading aloud. As a class each
student will take turns reading a portion of the text up until pg. 55
(students that are ELL or special needs will be assisted with the read
aloud and will be given a vocabulary list)
After the portion of the text has been read, get the students to pull
out a blank page of paper and tell them to create a T-chart like the
one on the board. One column for setting and one for character.
Tell students to go back through the pages that were just read and
to pull out words that describe Gollum and his environment and
write them down in the appropriate column in the T-chart. Remind

them that it must be neat and legible because they will be handing
in the T-chart at the end of the lesson.
Now that the students have compiled a list of descriptive words, tell
them to draw what they think Gollum and his environment looks like
based on the words they wrote down. Remind them once again that
they must be able to connect their drawing to the words they wrote
down.
Part 3

Once everyone is finished drawing, each student will share their

drawing with the class and point out which words helped them
visual the character and setting. All students will hand in their
drawing and T-chart at the end of the lesson.
G.Closure/Ending:

Review what adjectives are and check for understanding.

Remind students that they should use the descriptive words in a
book to create a movie in their minds.
Play a scene from the movie, The Hobbit to show the students
how this same text was interpreted by the director of the movie.

III.REFLECTION
I chose to teach a lesson on visualizing the text because it is an
important element in reading comprehension. The ability to visualize the
words and recognize descriptive phrases is how students remember, recall
and understand fiction texts. A book like The Hobbit is full of diverse
creatures and places with a lot of descriptive language that really helps open
up the imagination of the students. This is one of the most popular stories in
the world and I do not see any cultural problems associated with the text. I
will provide the students with all the materials needed for the task and the
lesson is designed to provide all the necessary information to complete the
work. If a situation does occur I will address it with the student at my desk.
The accommodations that I made for ELL or special needs students is
by having visuals and modeling the assignment at the beginning of the
lesson. I showed how a T-chart is made and I explained with the use of the
superman photo, how we were then going to look for words in the text and
then draw a picture based on those words. If there is vocabulary that is
unfamiliar with any student I would review that with them on a one on one
basis. I will observe and walk around the class and see how students are
progress with the task and assist any that may be having difficulty. If there is
a common word or phrase that most of the class is unsure about, I will take it
up during in the, check for understanding portion of the lesson.

A misconception the students might have about the lesson is that

reading is a passive experience. Students will understand that reading can
be an immersive experience and their minds can create brilliant images once
they have the ability to recognize descriptive vocabulary. The prerequisite
skill that is required from the students is the ability to follow along with the
read aloud until it is their turn to read. The second skills required is the
ability to read independently and located important vocabulary required for
the task. Finally students must have to ability to follow the teachers
instructions to complete the assignment.
Important academic language: Adjectives, descriptive, cave, mountain,
tunnel, telescope, pale, slimy, island, lake, dark, skinny, large.

Artifact 1 Rationale
The first artifact that I wanted to include in my portfolio as part of my pedagogical
evidence as an educator, is actually the first lesson plan that I ever wrote. A portfolio is about
showcasing the very best you have to offer when it comes to planning, instruction, assessment
and engagement. I am very proud of this lesson plan because it is not only relevant but engaging
and reinforced to me that I have the skills necessary to become a strong educator.

This lesson plan is a 40min literacy lesson on The Hobbit. This lesson focuses on
descriptive writing and how adjectives are used to help readers visualize the reading, to create a
mini movie in their heads. The Ontario and NYS Common Core Curriculum standards are
clearly written the in the lesson plan for easy reference. There was a conscious effort on my part
to incorporate a variety of mini activities and connecting visuals with words and vice versa. My
anticipatory set included a fun engagement activity that involved the game Taboo. Taboo is a
game that involves describing people, places and things using descriptive words. I thought it
was an excellent warm up activity and really got the class engage. After the game, I setup the
focus for the lesson and on the projector screen, displayed a picture of Superman. As a class we
made a T-chart, where one column we wrote descriptive words about the character and the other
column we wrote descriptive words for the setting. I made the students close their eyes and then
read those words to see if they could visualize the meanings of the words. For example could
they create a picture in their minds that represented a dark and stormy night. The lesson then
consisted of reading a passage of The Hobbit where it describe a meeting with a character named
Gollum and I had the class make a T-chart that they would have to hand in to me.

It is not often that a lesson plan goes according to plan, but this one did. The students
were engaged, the visuals of super heroes and popular movies really helped reinforce the
concepts. Vygotsky theory stated that through social interaction, learning occurs and that was the
basis for this lesson. Through a social game and pop culture references I wanted to teach
visualizing readings.