Common Core Learning Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy

Reading Standards for Literature K-5 (Grade 4) Key Ideas and Details

1. Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

Craft and Structure 4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology (e.g., Herculean).

Reading Standards for Informational Text K-5 (Grade 4) Key Ideas and Details

1. Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. 2. Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text. 3. Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.

Craft and Structure 4. Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area. 5. Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7. Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.

Writing Standards K-5 (Grade 4) Text Types and Purposes

2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

a. Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic. c. Link ideas within categories of information using words and phrases (e.g., another, for example, also, because). d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.

3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

a. Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.

Lesson Plan: Life Cycle of A Frog

Name: Daniel Bod Cooperating Teacher: Mrs. Schwartz Date: March 12th, 2013 Grade: Four School: Powells Lane Elementary School Subject: English Language Arts Objective of Lesson: Students will be able to use a note-taking graphic organizer to better comprehend the non-fiction book read to them, and they will also learn new vocabulary words. Materials: SMARTBoard, life cycle of a frog animation video, "Word Sort" words, From Tadpole To Frog by Wendy Pfeffer, note-taking graphic organizer, multiple choice quiz, “KWL” chart, and vocabulary list, and pencil.

Lesson Development Motivation: The teacher splits the room into two sides, one for tadpoles, and one for frogs. The students are each given one term that refers to either a: tadpole, frog, or both. With their preconceived ideas, the students are asked to go to the side of the room which best describes the term handed to them. Some students will be asked why they chose to stand on the side of the room selected. Procedure: The "Word Sort" exercise is performed. After the "Word Sort," students are shown an animation of the frog cycle (http://FrogVideo.MrBod.net). Following the "Word Sort" exercise and the video, the teacher reads and shows From Tadpole To Frog by Wendy Pfeffer to the students. While the book is being read to the class, the students will take notes for each, different stage of a frog’s life cycle in a graphic organizer. After the book is read to the class, there will be a class discussion to review the facts from the non-fiction book. Because many of the students in this class speak English as a second language, the graphic organizer will also have illustrations of the three main stages of a frog’s life cycle. Students will be given a “KWL” worksheet to write down facts they know, facts they want to know, and facts that they want to learn based on the facts from the book. Following the reading of the book, the graphic organizer will be collected by the teacher to be reviewed while the students are completing the multiple choice question worksheet. The multiple choice question worksheet will be collected from the students to assess their comprehension of the reading. Conclusion: Students will be asked if they know what “non-fiction” means. In addition, the teacher will review with the students the multiple steps of a frog’s life cycle based on the activities performed in the classroom. Extension: A list of vocabulary words and definitions from the book will be distributed to the students to review at home. They will be asked to remember the definitions of these words.

Lesson Plan: Life Cycle of A Frog

Name: Daniel Bod Cooperating Teacher: Mrs. Schwartz Date: March 13th, 2013 Grade: Four School: Powells Lane Elementary School Subject: English Language Arts Objective of Lesson: Students will be able to gain greater comprehension of the non-fiction book read to them through group discussions with their peers, and they will also be able to apply their new knowledge in the form of a foldable book. Materials: SMARTBoard, word matching worksheet, “Save The Last Word For Me” worksheet, foldable book paper, sheet with frog life cycle components, scissors, glue sticks, fill-in-the-blank worksheet, and pencil.

Lesson Development

Motivation: Students will be shown a completed, functional, foldable book to demonstrate what is expected from their foldable books. There will also be a brief discussion about the components of a foldable book, along with instructions for making one. Procedure: Students will be handed a word matching worksheet. The students will be asked to match words with their picture counterparts. (Due to the make-up of the students in this classroom, completing a worksheet where students match a vocabulary word to a picture will be very beneficial.) Students are organized into small groups consisting of three or four children. Each student will take the notes from their “KWL” graphic organizer, and they will discuss their graphic organizers with their fellow group members. In the form of a “Save The Last Word For Me” exercise.

1. For this group activity, a student will be chosen to begin the discussion. The student will introduce something that he/she knew before the reading of the book to the rest of the group. The other students will write down this information in their “KWL” charts.

2. After that, the student that began the discussion will tell about one thing that he/she learned from the non-fiction book. The other students will write down this information in their “KWL” charts.

3. Then, the initial student will discuss something that the/she still wants to know. This might be a fact that he/she would like to know, the definition of a word, or something that he/she didn’t understand. Other members of the group may respond to the inquiry, answer the question, or provide their own definitions for vocabulary words. The conversation may take many different directions.

4. After all of the students in the group have offered their thoughts and responses, the student who introduced the topic has the “last word” and may offer an opinion or summarize the discussion.

5. Then, the next student in the group will offer another topic from his/her own personal chart/notes, and the discussion will begin again.

6. Students will be asked to complete their graphic organizers (consisting of the stages of a tadpole’s metamorphosis to frog) in case there is additional information that can be added

Students will be given a blank piece of paper that will be made into foldable book along with a sheet containing illustrations of components of a frog’s life cycle. Each student will be asked to first

fold the blank piece of paper in half (width-wise), and then they will be shown how to fold the paper into thirds (length-wise). They will be shown the proper way to cut the top portion of the paper into thirds. Each student will be asked to cut out the illustrations from the sheet of paper. (In this class environment, the students will be given three frog life cycle components to cut out. In a more mainstreamed classroom, students will be given five components of a frog’s life cycle to cut out.) The students will be asked to use a glue stick to paste the components of a frog’s life cycle in the correct order within the foldable book, and beneath each picture, the students will be asked to scribe the description of each phase of the life cycle. The foldable book will be collected by the teacher for an evaluative assessment. Conclusion: A blank “KWL” chart will be displayed on the SMARTBoard, and a few students will be asked to write text in the various columns of the chart. A brief discussion will take place after each entry is added. Extension: For further practice with the vocabulary words from the non-fiction reading, students will be given a fill-in-the-blank worksheet to complete for homework.

Lesson Plan: Life Cycle of A Frog

Name: Daniel Bod Cooperating Teacher: Mrs. Schwartz Date: March 14th, 2013 Grade: Four School: Powells Lane Elementary School Subject: English Language Arts Objective of Lesson: Students will be able to complete a vocabulary worksheet, and they will use their new knowledge from the non-fiction book for a creative writing exercise. Students will also become more comfortable with the spelling of the new vocabulary words. Materials: SMARTBoard, vocabulary worksheet, creative writing worksheet, word search worksheet, and pencil.

Lesson Development

Motivation: The word “Tadpole” will be posted on the wall of one side of the classroom, and the word “Frog” will be posted on the wall of the opposite side of the classroom. Students will be asked, once again, to organize themselves in the classroom in the section of the classroom that most corresponds to the word they were given at the beginning of the lesson. A chart will be presented on the SMARTBoard with three columns (one for tadpoles, one for frogs, and one for both). A classroom discussion will take place to talk about any students that have switched their side of the classroom from the initial lesson, and why they’ve decided to change sides. The three-columned chart on the SMARTBoard will be filled with corresponding vocabulary words during this activity. Procedure: Students will be given a vocabulary worksheet. The definitions will be listed on the worksheet, and the students need to enter the corresponding vocabulary word adjacent to its definition. There will also be a word bank of vocabulary words on the bottom of the worksheet. This worksheet will be graded. The students will then be given a sheet for their creative writing. They will be told, “Imagine that you are an old frog. I want you to write a story about what it was like to be an egg, a tadpole, and a frog. What happened in each part of your life?” Students need to write about at least two actions they performed during each stage. Furthermore, they need to give a semi-detailed description of what it was like to be in each stage (physical characteristics, surroundings, etc.) This will also be collected and evaluated. The teacher will assess the students by reading their journals to make sure they addressed each stage in the life cycle, provided actions performed during each stage, and that they showed a basic understanding of each stage of the life cycle. The teacher will assess the student’s organization, neatness, handwriting, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation. For any student that has completed his/her creative writing assignment, a word search will be given to them to work on while the other students are working on their non-fiction stories. The purpose of the word search is to help the students to better recognize the vocabulary words and how they are spelled. This activity is especially important for a classroom with many students whose first language is not English. Conclusion: One or two of the students’ creative writings can be read to the rest of the class. Also, the teacher can teach students songs having frogs as a theme. They can encourage students to write

their own songs about frogs. Some children may want to teach their songs to the class. The purpose of the music activity is to provide children who find music a helpful way of learning with the opportunity to use it as a way of learning and knowing more about this theme. It also helps with students becoming more familiar and comfortable with the terms they have been taught. Extension: Due to the fact that none of the students will be finished with the provided word search, they are to take it home to work on for homework.

Theorist Correlation

I believe that the theories of Lev Vygotsky are displayed throughout this lesson with regard to his

theory on the Zone of Proximal Development, as well as his theories on scaffolding. At first, students are

asked to independently decide what side of the room to stand on, with regard to the word they were

provided. After this task has been completed, some students are asked to expand on their beliefs in a

classroom setting. This first part of the lesson tests students’ initial knowledge.

After this part of the lesson has been completed, the students are then placed into small groups,

where they read the book and write in their journals anything that they thought was important, anything

that they didn’t understand, unfamiliar vocabulary, etc. At this point, the students work together as

skilled helpers, in their groups. They read what they have written in their journals to one another, and

together, they expand on their findings, questions, etc. This is where Vygotsky’s theories of learning from

social interaction comes in to play. This part of the lesson allows students to learn from their peers. This

part of the lesson is designed for the students to help each other out with any of the questions they have

written down in their journals and have read to each other. After the group discusses what that

particular student has written, the initial student gets the last word and can expand on what he/she has

just learned. The next student reads their journal, and the other students then help that student, and so

on.

At this point, the students are given the word search and this word search is designed to

reinforce the students’ familiarity of the words involved, and how they are grouped. Following the word

search, the students are given an assignment to write creatively, as if they were an egg just about to

hatch into a tadpole, and the life cycle that follows. This assignment is designed to display what

students have learned from the book, reading, group meeting, word search, and subsequent "Word Sort".

The teacher does an assessment of what the student has learned via the creative writing assignment and

final "Word Sort". The students start the lesson with preconceived ideas. Through group work with their

peers, the students will display new knowledge obtained via working with their peers. This displays the

scaffolding of learning that has occurred with the students, and it is another example of how Vygotsky’s

theories are evident in this lesson.