LESSON PLAN OUTLINE

JMU Elementary Education Program

The following information should be included in the header of the lesson plan:
• Bailey Dismore
• Tusing. Ashby Lee Elementary School
• 8:30-9:40, 10/17/2018
• 10/10/2018 x______________________
(Plan must be initialed and dated by the teacher when it is reviewed—at least one day in advance.)

(Include the title of each of the following sections in your written plan.)

A. Story Elements

B. CONTEXT OF LESSON
Students are ready for this lesson because they will have prior knowledge of the story
elements that include character, setting, problem, and solution. They also are aware that a
story presents the characters and setting in the beginning, the problem in the middle, and the
solution in the end.
The students will get an opportunity to think-pair-share with their table groups about story
elements. This will activate their prior knowledge about the topic and help them to raise
questions about what they know and what they do not know. The students then will sort the
story elements while the story in being read to them and the create a flipbook using those
elements.

C. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Understand – what are the broad Know – what are the facts, rules,
generalizations the students should specific data the students will gain
begin to develop? (These are through this lesson? (These
typically difficult to assess in one “knows” must be assessed in your
lesson.) lesson.)
Students will understand that there Students will know
are elements to a story that help • Character
the comprehend the story. • Setting
• Problem
• Solution
Students will know
• Character and setting are
introduced in the
beginning of a story
• Problem is introduced in
the middle of a story
• Solution is introduced in
the end of a story
Do – what are the specific
thinking behaviors students will be
able to do through this lesson?
(These will also be assessed in
your lesson.)
Students will be able to identify
the characters, setting, problem,
and solution in a story read aloud
to them.
Students will be able to produce
the character, setting, problem,
and solution using writing and
pictures in a flipbook.

D. ASSESSING LEARNING
I will check student sorts and mark on a sheet whether they were able to sort the story
elements correctly.
 I will walk around to see how students are doing producing the character, setting, solution,
and problem in their flipbooks and mark on a chart if they are able to.

E. RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING (and NATIONAL STANDARDS if

required)
2.8 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts
e) Describe characters, setting, and important events in fiction and poetry.
f) Identify the problem and solution.
F. MATERIALS NEEDED
List all materials that will be needed to teach this lesson.
Who will be responsible for securing each item?
• Paper folded and stapled into flip books – secured by CT
• Sorts – secured by CT
• Scissors, glue sticks, and writing utencils – secured in classroom
• Mouse and Lion book – secured by CT

G. PROCEDURE
• Preparation of the learning environment (if required)
• Flipbooks will be created before the lesson and stashed in a bin nearby.
• Sorts will be printed before the lesson.
• Engage -Introduction of the lesson
• Ask students about their prior knowledge about story elements.
o Think-Pair-Share: Ask students to turn and tell a neighbor (or two
depending on seating arrangements) what they know about parts of a
story.
▪ Give students a minute or two to talk with their neighbor about
what they know about story elements and walk around.
▪ *If students are not using the words setting, characters,
problem, solution, beginning, middle, and end, prompt them as
you walk around by saying, for example, “What can you find at
the beginning of a story, middle of a story, and end of a story?”
▪ Come back together by warning students they have 5 seconds to
finish us their thoughts and then count back from 5 so they
know it is time to be quiet.
▪ Ask students to share what they talked about. Ask specifically
about what a character, setting, problem and solution are. If
there are any misconceptions, have students who know the story
elements be the teacher and explain for other students.
• Implementation of the lesson (specific procedures and directions for teacher and
students)
• Students will start the lesson by sitting at their desks.
• First, tell students that you will be reading a story that has some characters, a
setting, a problem, and a solution.
• Hand out sorts and have students cut out the bottom pieces before starting the
story.
• Go over the different pictures in the sort by describing the pictures and asking
students to hold the different pieces up.
• Start reading the story Mouse and Lion.
o Say “Our title is Mouse and Lion. Just based on our title, can we
make any guess about who might be in this book?
 o Allow students to respond to this prompt by raising their hands.
▪ Call on students and when they respond about the characters,
say “Great guesses, lets find out in this story. As I read, I want
you to listen really closely and sort the characters, setting,
problem, and solution as they appear in the story. Do not glue
them down yet because I want your help sorting mine after the
story is done.” Have students clarify this instruction by asking
what is expected of them. For example: “I want one or two
friends to raise their hand and tell me what you will be doing
while I am reading the story.”
o Continue reading the story. When the story elements (setting,
characters, problem, and solution) are introduced in the story, pause
and look around the room to see if students are sorting the pictures.
If they are not, stop and ask a guiding question about what story
element was introduced and assist students where needed in sorting
it.
o Finish the story and ask students to talk to their neighbor about
where they put their pictures in the sort while you get your pre-cut
sort under the DocCam.
• Ask for students to raise their hands and tell you where you should sort your
pictures. Ask them why they sorted them the way they did.
o If students are unsure or all have a common misconception, stop to talk
about it and clear up confusion.
• Once all the students recognize and change mistakes in their sorts (if needed),
have them glue down the pictures accordingly.

• Closure
• Students will complete a foldable about the different story elements in the
Mouse and Lion.
• Hand out one foldable to each student and tell them not to write on it yet. Walk
around the room and explain how the foldables will be done while displaying
the example foldable.
o The foldables will have a flap for title, characters, settings, problem,
solution, and favorite part. Students will draw a picture and write a
sentence for each flap. For example, under the problem flap, students
could write “The lion got stuck in the net.” And draw a picture of a lion
in a net.
o Have students label the different flaps first.
▪ For each flap, ask students what sounds the hear in the word,
then write down the word on the board.
o Review the different parts of the story with the students.
o Let students do their work. Circulate the room and help students with
thinking about the parts of the story and creating their sentences. Give
students a time limit based on how much time is left in the literacy
block.
• Clean-up (if required)
• Have students clean up their spaces before the next block by asking them to
hand their sorts to me and to put their flipbooks in their take home folders.

H. DIFFERENTIATION
 ▪ For the student with limited use of his arms, I will precut the pictures from the sort for
him. This will ensure his pictures are neat so he can see exactly what they are. This
will also keep him on track in regards to timing so he doesn’t waste time cutting
instead of processing the information.
▪ For the student who speaks only Spanish, I will have students who speak Spanish sit
by him and help explain the parts of the story to him. I will also provide him a sort
with Spanish and English headings.
▪ I will target the students who struggle with the objectives (based on prior knowledge
and by how they initially do their sorts) by walking around the room and being
accessible to them while they do their flip books. I will explain it to them in a different
way and draw from familiar texts such as Goldilocks and The Billy Goats Gruff.
▪ For students that finish early, I will have them get their journals out and write about
the story. I will provide them with the idea of using words such as “first”, “next”, and
“last” in their writings.
▪ If students are unable to sort on their own, I will stop throughout the book and guide
the students in sorting.

I. WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL YOU DO
ABOUT IT?

1. Students may have to use the restroom during my lesson. They would hold up the sign
language “r” and wait for me to nod in their direction. This would be a minimal disruption,
however there is one student who typically spends fifteen minutes in the restroom. If I notice
she is gone for more then a few minutes, I would ask the CT to check up on her.
2. A student who only speaks Spanish may have a difficult time connecting to the lesson and
might try to disrupt his friends from the lesson out of boredom or frustration. If he becomes
disruptive, I would bring the book by him so he can see the illustrations of the book better. He
could also look at the book if needed after it is read aloud if he becomes disruptive.
3. Students might not take me as seriously as the teacher and try to disrupt the lesson or test
my limits. It is likely that students will have a difficult time coming back to the group after
talking with a neighbor. To regain focus, I would complement students who are being good
examples for others. I would also get their attention by doing “If you can hear me touch your
nose. If you can hear me touch your chin.” Usually by the second command, all the students
in this classroom are paying attention and are quiet.
 Student Assessment List *Names have been changed*

Character Setting Problem Solution Notes

Ocie

Elijah

Genesis

Miguel

Gracie

Cassidy

Oliver

Christopher

Ryan

Jace

Cristiano

Luke

Micah

Eli

Angelique

Alexia

Christian

Julianne
Mattie

Penelope

Marlon
Turn in:
Materials:
• Paper folded and stapled into flip books – secured by CT
• Sorts – secured by CT
• Scissors, glue sticks, and writing utensils – secured in classroom
• Mouse and Lion book – secured by CT

In planning this lesson, I prepared by asking the CT about the student’s prior knowledge with

story elements and used this information to guide my pre, during, and post activities for a comprehension

lesson on story elements. The pre-activity gave the students an opportunity to think-pair-share with their

table groups about story elements. This activated their prior knowledge about the topic and helped them

to raise questions about what they know and what they do not know. We all came together to talk as a

group about the story elements after they discussed with a friend.

The during activity involved the students doing a sort while I read a book aloud. The students

were engaged in listening to me read the story and completing their sorts. I stopped along the way in the

book to discuss the different story elements as they were introduced in the story. This kept the students

focused on when the next story element would be introduced.

The students created a flipbook for their post-reading activity. In this, they worked to create

sentences about the different story elements, as well as their favorite parts. Their knowledge about story

elements previously and the review on elements in this lesson helped them to solidify their knowledge.

The repeated practice of identifying the story elements in this one story was beneficial to them so they

could use those skills towards another story.

Overall, student response was very positive. Students were sleepy in the beginning, but after ten

jumping jacks, they perked up and were incredibly eager to answer questions. Every student was engaged

in discussing with their peers about the parts of a story they knew. Many students engaged by pointing

out characters, problems, solutions, and setting in other stories they have read.

When shifting to the sort and read aloud, many students followed along perfectly while we

identified story elements that were introduced along the way. A couple students were able to look at the

pictures and easily categorize them in the sort before the story even started. Students were asked to help
me with my sort and were also eager to show me how to identify the story elements. They even went as

far to bring up where in the story elements arrived.

The flipbook at the end was more challenging for them than the sort was. A couple students had

difficulty writing the headings of the tabs. For example, while labeling “Characters”, kept writing

“Mouse and Lion”. While this was true, she had difficulty labeling the headers. I could have done a more

explicit job at walking them through the task of labeling the flaps instead of just providing an example.

Next time, to support student learning, I would do the flipbook with them under the doc cam. I

would spell out the headers with them so they knew exactly what to write. The students did not yet have

the knowledge of what headers are, so this was challenging for them.

To incorporate this in my future classroom, I will need mostly informal data if I plan to do a

lesson like this again for comprehension. I will need to know their background and comfortability with

story elements in order to plan a beneficial lesson. I can do this by doing a turn-and-talk style assessment

where I go to each group and listen in. I can also ask students to raise their hands and tell me what they

know. I would eventually need some formal assessment, so I think a puppet show or skit to practice

presentation skills while demonstrating their comprehension of a text.

For this type of lesson, whole group worked very well. For other comprehension lessons, it would

be beneficial for students to work in groups reading books all at the same level. I would also like to

incorporate the same story for all the students, but give them different books for their reading levels.

I will implement a day of the week to work on comprehension skills so they get it every week and

can practice. If needed, I would give them more time per week, but without knowing the students and the

school, it is hard to pinpoint an exact schedule for comprehension. I will need books of all levels and

materials for students to work with. It would be a lot of fun to have matching felt storyboards and books

so students could reenact the story they read to peers or the whole class. I also would love a tape player

so students could listen to stories as they follow along in their own books.