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Amanda Caffey Subject: Reading

2/26/14 Grade: 4



I. Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to read a passage accurately and use strategies to correctly answer
reading comprehension questions from the passage Inventor at Play to demonstrate their
understanding of the text.

Students will be able to answer comprehension questions that compare/contrast two
reading passages about the same topic.

II. Standards:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining
what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.4.4a Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

III. Anticipatory Set:

With a small group of students, we will talk about how they have been practicing reading
different passages and answering questions about the stories and texts they read. Each of
the two students will then be given an Ipad, where we will use the Reading
Comprehension App for 4
th
grade to practice responding to comprehension questions
using technology. Boys if you would please click on the passage called The History of
Video Games. I will read the passage aloud and I would like you to follow along. After I
read, we are going to answer only the first 3 questions about the passage to practice
answering questions. The teacher along with the students will read and discuss 3
questions together.
Tell the students that you will be teaching them different strategies to use when reading
passages and comprehending answers to questions. Boys today we will be using our
passage Inventor at Play from the other day, and the passage Invention Number Three to
practice answering comprehension questions.


IV. Procedures:

Procedures: Explicit Strategy Instruction

1. With a small group of students, we will talk about how they are practicing reading different
passages and answering questions about the stories and texts they read. Each of the two students
will then be given an Ipad, where we will use the Reading Comprehension App for 4th grade to
practice responding to comprehension questions using technology. The teacher will model how
to use the application and what he/she would like the students to do with the application. The
teacher will do an example question to model. Boys if you would please click on the passage
called The History of Video Games. I will read the passage aloud and I would like you to follow
along. After I read, we are going to answer only the first 3 questions about the passage to
practice answering questions. The teacher along with the students will read and discuss 3
questions together.

2. Tell the students that you will be teaching them different strategies to use when reading
passages and comprehending answers to questions. Boys today we will be using our passage
Inventor at Play from the other day, and the passage Invention Number Three to practice
answering comprehension questions.

3. Ask the students to turn to the passage Inventor at Play. Explain to the students that when they
are answering comprehension questions, there are many strategies they can use. First, explain to
them that they can read the questions before reading the passage so they know what to look for.
After you read the questions and as you read, you can take notes in the margins or underline key
points that you remember seeing in the questions. Also remind the students that underneath
each question it will help to write which paragraph they found their answer under so that they
can reference back to it if they become confused. Remember to always pay attention to the
details in the story as well! (Introduction of Strategy) *Display positive reading behaviors*

4. The teacher will model for the students how to use some of the strategies provided by reading
the first paragraph of the story and showing how he/she would use a strategy (Modeling)
*Display positive reading behaviors*

5. Have the students read the story independently. Remind them that as they are reading you will
be looking to see if they are using any of the strategies talked about when reading and answering
the comprehension questions.

6. When the students are finished reading, answer the first question together. "Now boys, who
lets read this question and look back at the strategies we used while reading to help us find the
answer." (Guided Practice). When this question is answered, have the students continue to
answer the questions from the passage independently. (Independent Practice). Ask them to stop
when they get to question 22. When you get to questions 22, stop so that we can go over your
answers. Questions 22-25 are different types of questions that we will talk about after we check
the answers from questions 15-21.

7. When you are finished discussing the answers for the first set of questions, explain to students
that sometimes there are questions that ask to compare answers to both passages. (Introduction of
Strategy). Show the students the chart with words that mean compare and words that mean
contrast, and that they may see some of these terms in the questions. (Modeling). Remember
when we also read the story Invention Number Three the other day? The next 4 questions ask
you to look at information from both passages. Make sure to remember main ideas from each
passage and look back to each passage as you answer these questions. *Display positive reading
behaviors*

8. Do question 22 with the students as an example (Guided Practice). Then, the students will
independently complete questions 23-25, and the teacher will discuss the answers with them
when they are finished (Independent Practice).

Literacy Elements addressed: Concepts of Print, Vocabulary, Comprehension, Critical Thinking,
Motivation.

V. Differentiation:

For students who work at a slower pace, give them extra time to complete the actual
reading of the passage or answering the questions. The teacher can also do more than one
of the questions along with the students before having them work on the questions
independently.
For students who may work at a faster pace, have them go back and check their work
over. Tell them to reread each question and the answer they chose to make sure that it is
the answer they think is correct. The teacher can also have the student go back to the
story they were reading on the Ipad and continue to practice answering more questions,
since only the first three were answered in the beginning of the lesson.

My approaches and methods met the student's reading needs because the main goal here
was to implement and use strategies that would better help the students understand the
information in practice reading passages for the PSSA's. Reading comprehension is a
large portion of the PSSA testing and this is definitely a need that these two students
required in order to be better prepared for the upcoming PSSA testing.
The environment of the school is in a suburban setting. My lesson attended to this
because I gave them sample passages that they were already familiar with and that were
briefly looked at in a previous class period. I also gave the students a story about video
games to try and appeal to their interests. Many children nowadays grow up playing
video games and using various technology devices, so I felt that this topic could be
appropriate for these students to practice their reading comprehension skills.
The two students who participated in this small group lesson with me have different
learning styles. One student tends to either complete his work at a quick pace, but has a
hard time getting the correct answers or truly understanding what they read, or becoming
very off task and taking a while to complete the work, but getting most answers
correct. The other student takes a long time to complete a task, and gets some answers
correct while others are incorrect. My lesson adapted to both of their learning needs
because I gave ample opportunities for extra time to complete the task, while also
providing extra work that could be done to practice the concept if the given work was
finished with time remaining.


VI. Closure:

To conclude the lesson, review with the students what different strategies they should use
when reading passages and answering questions that go along with the passage. With
teacher-guided assistance, compose a reminder checklist that students can study and look
back to when reading passages. Explain to the students that they will not be able to have
the physical checklist with them when they take an assessment, but that if they look over
it enough they can create a mental checklist in their minds to remember what they
should do.

VII. Assessment of Students (Formative/Summative):

As a formative assessment, I will be looking to see that the students are trying to elicit the
strategies for answering reading comprehension questions as we practice together and
when they are practicing independently. I will also take into account what they answer
during our discussions as a formative assessment.
As a summative assessment, I will analyze the answers that they chose and see where
they improved or still had difficulty. I will also use the ideas for what they should write in
their checklist as a way of summative assessment.
I will know if the lesson should be adjusted if they are unsure of what strategies and
reminders they should write on their checklists, and by seeing how well they scored with
answering the questions from the passages.

VII. Materials:

Reading passages (Inventor at Play & Invention Number Three)
Comprehension questions
Ipad (Reading Comprehension 4
th
grade app)
Paper (for checklist)
Compare/Contrast Word Chart
Pencils


IX. Reflection on Planning:

This lesson involves a lot of practice in responding to reading comprehension questions
for the upcoming PSSA assessment. I was thrilled to be able to find a reading
comprehension application for the Ipad that allows the students to use technology and
interact with the Ipads themselves. I feel that with a lot of practice and review of how to
answer these types of questions, the students will be able to excel on the PSSAs. I also
believe that my lesson is beneficial for a small group of students because it allows more
teacher-to-student help and interaction as there is a smaller student-to-teacher ratio, and it
also may help the students to hear the concepts explained from different sources. I think
that the students will enjoy the lesson and that it will benefit them greatly in their practice
for the PSSAs.


Reflection on Instruction:




Citation of Childrens Literature:

DuPrau, J. (2006-2007). Invention Number Three. Grade 4 Reading Item Sampler.

Hudson, S. The History of Video Games. Reading Comprehension 4
th
Grade Application.

Richards, C. (2006-2007). Inventor at Play. Grade 4 Reading Item Sampler.

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