5/16/2016
USF Lesson Plan Google Forms
https://docs.google.com/a/dons.usfca.edu/forms/d/1jB1jVCeit96QINPx7KkWQUQr5jA7AesLmfX0EY0Ud60/viewanalytics 1/5
Subject: Listening, Reading and Writing
Topic or Unit of Study: Language Arts
Close Reading of the Poem "The Star"
Grade/Level: K,1,2
Objective
Use details in text to answer questions.
Summary
The teacher will introduce the poem with an interpretive and entertaining reading. Then
the teacher will introduce audio and video recordings to prompt students to answer
questions from details in the poem.
Learning Context
Students already have complete phonemic awareness and can decode most of the
words in this poem. As yet, they have little or no experience with close reading.
Teaching Strategies
Modeling and Guided Practice
Time Allotment
45 minutes
Sample Student Products
Illustrated in Direct Instruction Video
Author's Comments & Reflections
The poem "The Star" has captured the imagination of children since it was written by
Jane Taylor in 1806. The teacher's interpretive and entertaining reading of the poem, or
the students own choral reading, will engage students. Then the recorded slide and
video presentations guide students in the hunt for textual clues to answer questions
about the poem. Students or student teams that have access to devices that play
videos can use the video presentation to answer questions at their own pace.
Anticipatory Set
Relate the poem to student's experience by asking three questions: 1) what does a star
look like? 2) could they use stars to guide their travel at night? 3) what happens to stars
during the day? Jane Taylor provides her answer to these questions in her poem, "The
Star." We are going to look for clues in her poem that tell us who she is talking to.
Modeling
This lesson will employ four types of modeling: 1) disposition, 2) task and performance,
3) metacognitive and 4) studentcentered.
The teacher's skillful interpretive reading of the poem will encourage the children to have
a cheerful disposition when they read. Students will experience that poems can be fun
to read and easy to understand. The slides in the video with words underlined in the poem
model the task, though these slides may simply be reinforcing if students first underline the
words on their own, providing student centered modeling for other students. The lesson,
especially the anticipatory set, models the metacognitive thinking that relates descriptive
narration and poems to practical problems and scientific concepts.
Guided Practice
After an interpretative reading of the poem, check that students know the less common
words. Ask them if there are any words they don't understand and, if there are, ask other
students to define those words. If not, ask students to raise their hands if they can
describe twinkling or a spark. From the students with raised hands select one to
describe twinkling and another to describe a spark. Next play the direct instruction video
to the entire class and have several students answer the question that points to various
clues that identify who the speaker in the poem is talking to: When your friend is
speaking to someone else, how do you identify who, or what, they are speaking to?
Answer: names, pronouns, topics etc.
Ensure that, when prompted by the video, students underline the words
(names, pronouns, topics etc.) that provide clues as to who the speaker is talking to.
Then have the students reread the poem and ask themselves "How do these clues help me
answer the question?" Finally ask them to write down the answer to the question at the top
of the page above the poem. The answer is that the speaker is talking to the little star.
Independent Practice
After students finish the guided practice, instruct them to answer one or more questions
related to the anticipatory set. These questions are
1) What did the star look like to the speaker?
2) Who used the star to see the "way to go"?
3) What does the star do when the sun is in the sky? When the sun is gone?
Closure
The teacher will ask students to state the words that provided the clearest clues that the
poet was talking to the little star. These words are the pronouns you and yours. In the
poem, you stands in for the little star and your indicates that you, the star, owned the
little light. The star appears to be a little light in the sky. The teacher will note that the
North Star has guided travelers, like those mentioned in the poem, since long before the
time of cell phones, GPS (Ground Positioning Systems) and the students' grandparents.
The teacher will also mention that the sun is a star that is so close and bright that it
masks the other stars. It does not twinkle because it is so bright. Finally, poems and
movies like Pinochio show that people throughout the ages have wished upon stars. Will
the students wish upon a star tonight?
FollowUp
For immediate followup, the teacher will answer any of the independent guidance
questions students found difficult to answer. Then play Walt Disney's Wish Upon a Star
video from the movie Pinochio
[http://video.disney.com/watch/whenyouwishuponastarbymeaghanmartin4bb39e83840e2a8833003b15].
Then followup with four additional lessons using "The Star" from LearnZillion. These lessons include: 1. Notice
the describing words in a poem 2. Understand a poem's meaning by envisioning 3. Notice and describe
repetition in a poem 4. Determine a narrator's feelings by noticing word choice.
Instructional Materials
Poem text and Direct Instruction Video
Resources
Student
1. Large print text on one page of the first two stanzas of "The Star."
2. Moderately sized print on tow pages of all stanzas of "The Star."
3. Direct instruction video posing the question "Who is the Speaker Talking to?"
4. Preferably, at least every other student will have a device capable of playing the direct
instruction video distributed by the teacher.
Teacher
From LearnZillion [https://learnzillion.com/resources/72338]
1. Lesson Plan: Answer a question about a poem by looking for details in the text.
2. Direct instruction video posing the question "Who is the Speaker Talking to?"
[https://learnzillion.com/lesson_plans/5016answeraquestionaboutapoembylookingfordetailsinthetext]
3. Guided notes that accompany the video
[https://learnzillion.com/resources/12253]
4. Slide presentation as an alternative to video direct instruction [https://learnzillion.com/resources/10873]
5. Text of "The Star" [https://learnzillion.com/resources/13804]
6. Read Aloud Video [https://learnzillion.com/resources/9894]
7. Video of "Wish Upon a Star" from Walt Disney's Pinochio
[http://video.disney.com/watch/whenyouwishuponastarbymeaghanmartin4bb39e83840e2a8833003b15]
8. Video projector with screen all students can see. Less desirably, at least one cell phone for every two students.
9. "About Close Reading" as posted on LearnZillion on My 16, 2016 [https://learnzillion.com/resources/17016]
Standards
Common Core Anchor Standards 1 and 10: These standards require students to read
closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it;
cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn
from the text and to read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts
independently and proficiently. In tandem, these standards ask teachers to equip
students to independently use comprehension skills while reading texts closely along an
increasing ladder of text complexity. [Paraphrased from "About Close Reading" as
posted on LearnZillion].
Assessment Plan
Student teams prepare a concept map.
Assessment/Rubrics
Completeness and organization of the concept map
1) Beginning two linked relationships;
2) Intermediate four linked relationships;
3) Qualified multilevel relationships;
4) Exceptional includes relationships with world outside of poem
USF Lesson Plan Google Forms
https://docs.google.com/a/dons.usfca.edu/forms/d/1jB1jVCeit96QINPx7KkWQUQr5jA7AesLmfX0EY0Ud60/viewanalytics 1/5
Subject: Listening, Reading and Writing
Topic or Unit of Study: Language Arts
Close Reading of the Poem "The Star"
Grade/Level: K,1,2
Objective
Use details in text to answer questions.
Summary
The teacher will introduce the poem with an interpretive and entertaining reading. Then
the teacher will introduce audio and video recordings to prompt students to answer
questions from details in the poem.
Learning Context
Students already have complete phonemic awareness and can decode most of the
words in this poem. As yet, they have little or no experience with close reading.
Teaching Strategies
Modeling and Guided Practice
Time Allotment
45 minutes
Sample Student Products
Illustrated in Direct Instruction Video
Author's Comments & Reflections
The poem "The Star" has captured the imagination of children since it was written by
Jane Taylor in 1806. The teacher's interpretive and entertaining reading of the poem, or
the students own choral reading, will engage students. Then the recorded slide and
video presentations guide students in the hunt for textual clues to answer questions
about the poem. Students or student teams that have access to devices that play
videos can use the video presentation to answer questions at their own pace.
Anticipatory Set
Relate the poem to student's experience by asking three questions: 1) what does a star
look like? 2) could they use stars to guide their travel at night? 3) what happens to stars
during the day? Jane Taylor provides her answer to these questions in her poem, "The
Star." We are going to look for clues in her poem that tell us who she is talking to.
Modeling
This lesson will employ four types of modeling: 1) disposition, 2) task and performance,
3) metacognitive and 4) studentcentered.
The teacher's skillful interpretive reading of the poem will encourage the children to have
a cheerful disposition when they read. Students will experience that poems can be fun
to read and easy to understand. The slides in the video with words underlined in the poem
model the task, though these slides may simply be reinforcing if students first underline the
words on their own, providing student centered modeling for other students. The lesson,
especially the anticipatory set, models the metacognitive thinking that relates descriptive
narration and poems to practical problems and scientific concepts.
Guided Practice
After an interpretative reading of the poem, check that students know the less common
words. Ask them if there are any words they don't understand and, if there are, ask other
students to define those words. If not, ask students to raise their hands if they can
describe twinkling or a spark. From the students with raised hands select one to
describe twinkling and another to describe a spark. Next play the direct instruction video
to the entire class and have several students answer the question that points to various
clues that identify who the speaker in the poem is talking to: When your friend is
speaking to someone else, how do you identify who, or what, they are speaking to?
Answer: names, pronouns, topics etc.
Ensure that, when prompted by the video, students underline the words
(names, pronouns, topics etc.) that provide clues as to who the speaker is talking to.
Then have the students reread the poem and ask themselves "How do these clues help me
answer the question?" Finally ask them to write down the answer to the question at the top
of the page above the poem. The answer is that the speaker is talking to the little star.
Independent Practice
After students finish the guided practice, instruct them to answer one or more questions
related to the anticipatory set. These questions are
1) What did the star look like to the speaker?
2) Who used the star to see the "way to go"?
3) What does the star do when the sun is in the sky? When the sun is gone?
Closure
The teacher will ask students to state the words that provided the clearest clues that the
poet was talking to the little star. These words are the pronouns you and yours. In the
poem, you stands in for the little star and your indicates that you, the star, owned the
little light. The star appears to be a little light in the sky. The teacher will note that the
North Star has guided travelers, like those mentioned in the poem, since long before the
time of cell phones, GPS (Ground Positioning Systems) and the students' grandparents.
The teacher will also mention that the sun is a star that is so close and bright that it
masks the other stars. It does not twinkle because it is so bright. Finally, poems and
movies like Pinochio show that people throughout the ages have wished upon stars. Will
the students wish upon a star tonight?
FollowUp
For immediate followup, the teacher will answer any of the independent guidance
questions students found difficult to answer. Then play Walt Disney's Wish Upon a Star
video from the movie Pinochio
[http://video.disney.com/watch/whenyouwishuponastarbymeaghanmartin4bb39e83840e2a8833003b15].
Then followup with four additional lessons using "The Star" from LearnZillion. These lessons include: 1. Notice
the describing words in a poem 2. Understand a poem's meaning by envisioning 3. Notice and describe
repetition in a poem 4. Determine a narrator's feelings by noticing word choice.
Instructional Materials
Poem text and Direct Instruction Video
Resources
Student
1. Large print text on one page of the first two stanzas of "The Star."
2. Moderately sized print on tow pages of all stanzas of "The Star."
3. Direct instruction video posing the question "Who is the Speaker Talking to?"
4. Preferably, at least every other student will have a device capable of playing the direct
instruction video distributed by the teacher.
Teacher
From LearnZillion [https://learnzillion.com/resources/72338]
1. Lesson Plan: Answer a question about a poem by looking for details in the text.
2. Direct instruction video posing the question "Who is the Speaker Talking to?"
[https://learnzillion.com/lesson_plans/5016answeraquestionaboutapoembylookingfordetailsinthetext]
3. Guided notes that accompany the video
[https://learnzillion.com/resources/12253]
4. Slide presentation as an alternative to video direct instruction [https://learnzillion.com/resources/10873]
5. Text of "The Star" [https://learnzillion.com/resources/13804]
6. Read Aloud Video [https://learnzillion.com/resources/9894]
7. Video of "Wish Upon a Star" from Walt Disney's Pinochio
[http://video.disney.com/watch/whenyouwishuponastarbymeaghanmartin4bb39e83840e2a8833003b15]
8. Video projector with screen all students can see. Less desirably, at least one cell phone for every two students.
9. "About Close Reading" as posted on LearnZillion on My 16, 2016 [https://learnzillion.com/resources/17016]
Standards
Common Core Anchor Standards 1 and 10: These standards require students to read
closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it;
cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn
from the text and to read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts
independently and proficiently. In tandem, these standards ask teachers to equip
students to independently use comprehension skills while reading texts closely along an
increasing ladder of text complexity. [Paraphrased from "About Close Reading" as
posted on LearnZillion].
Assessment Plan
Student teams prepare a concept map.
Assessment/Rubrics
Completeness and organization of the concept map
1) Beginning two linked relationships;
2) Intermediate four linked relationships;
3) Qualified multilevel relationships;
4) Exceptional includes relationships with world outside of poem