Tori Klier

Mrs Hickman 2nd grade at Clymore Elementary School

Approved TBD
Taught: March 13th 11:00-11:30 and 12:30-1:15

A. TITLE/TYPE OF LESSON
Connections is the Name of the Game/ Comprehension Reading Lesson Plan

B. CONTEXT OF LESSON
What pre-assessment did you do that tells you the students’ readiness, interests,
and/or learning preferences?
While I have been working in Mrs. Hickman’s second grade classroom, the
students have been working on connections from text to text, text to self, and text to the
world. I believe they understand the importance of recognizing connections, but I also
know how critical it is for students to always form connections between what we are
learning and their personal lives. Due to this, I have chosen to complete my
comprehension lesson plan on forming connections. On Valentine’s Day, a student chose
to give everyone a bracelet with a Valentine’s Day note on each. The students loved the
bracelets and would meet and compare with other students what the words were that they
got on their bracelet. I think by asking the students to form connections between the two
books, the world, and themselves and creating the bracelets, the students will be engaged
in the lesson as it appeals to their readiness level and their interests.
Why is this an appropriate activity for these students at this time?
This activity is appropriate for the students at this time because the students
understand the importance of making connections between books, themselves, and the
world, and have had practice making such connections. The students will also just be
beginning their social studies lesson regarding China so this lesson is a great introduction
to Asian culture, including Chinese culture, as well. The students will be introduced to
how they themselves and our culture are similar to Asian cultures and then through other
lessons about Asian culture, will come to find how each culture is unique.
How does this lesson fit in the curriculum sequence?
This lesson fits into the curriculum sequence as the children are just starting to
learn about Asian culture and beginning with a read aloud, in which students think about
connections they have to Asian cultures, will engage the students and prepare them to
learn further about Asian culture. Students already know about different connections they
can make when reading, and this lesson with give them a chance to demonstrate their
ability to form connections based on a book.
How does this lesson fit with what you know about child development?
This lesson fits with what I know about child development since I know
engagement is critical for students to fully absorb a lesson. One of the main ways to
engage students is through helping them to see connections between the topic being
taught and their lives. This makes the learning relevant and shows the students that they
may use the knowledge in the future making the lesson valuable and meaningful to the
students. By helping the students to form connections between the two books, the world,
and themselves, they are seeing how they are connected to many different people all over
the world and are thus developing their sense of self and world awareness as well.

C. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Understand – what are the broad Know – what are the facts, rules, Do – what are the specific
generalizations the students specific data the students will thinking behaviors students will
should begin to develop? (These gain through this lesson? (These be able to do through this lesson?
are typically difficult to assess in “knows” must be assessed in (These will also be assessed in
one lesson.) your lesson.) your lesson.)
Tori Klier
Mrs Hickman 2nd grade at Clymore Elementary School
Approved TBD
Taught: March 13th 11:00-11:30 and 12:30-1:15

-Students will learn the
importance of creating
connections to fictional texts.
- Students will develop
comprehension skills that
allow them to understand the
reading.
-Students will see how
everyone connects to events
differently based on prior
experiences.
-Students will know the three
types of connections between
texts (to self, texts, and
world).
- Students will be able to
answer questions about the
text regarding inferencing,
predicting, and connecting.
-Students will see that all
names have meaning.
-Students will notice
differences and similarities
between two cultures.
-Students will be able to give
examples of different types of
connections to texts.
-Students will engage in
critical thinking to answer
questions throughout the text
in order to form connections.
- Students will think about
connections and be able to
describe their thought process
for forming connections.

D. ASSESSING LEARNING
What will your students do and say, specifically, that indicate every student has achieved
your objectives? Remember – every objective must be assessed for every student!
Students will answer questions and make inferences throughout the stories that
will be prompted by the teacher. Students will also write three different connections they
found while listening to the stories, one connection to themselves, one connection to the
world, and one connection between the two texts. I will then read these connections to
make sure that they have thought critically before I put the connections on the chain to
physically show the connections.

E. RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING (and NATIONAL

STANDARDS if required)
2.8 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional
texts.
a) Make and confirm predictions.
b) Relate previous experiences to the main idea.
c) Ask and answer questions about what is read.
e) Describe characters, setting, and important events in fiction and poetry.
f) Identify the problem and solution.
g) Identify the main idea
i) Draw conclusions based on the text
2.1 The student will explain how the contributions of ancient China
and Egypt have influenced the present world in terms of architecture,
inventions, the calendar, and written language.

F. MATERIALS NEEDED
List all materials that will be needed to teach this lesson.
- Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
- The Name Jar by Xangsook Choi
- Three ribbons of paper per student (63)
- Pencils
- Markers
Tori Klier
Mrs Hickman 2nd grade at Clymore Elementary School
Approved TBD
Taught: March 13th 11:00-11:30 and 12:30-1:15

- Computers to share with partners

- Tape or staples
- Drawing or picture of the world/ globe
- Name meaning website: http://www.names.org/
-

Who will be responsible for securing each item?

I will secure all the items. I have the books presently and the paper, markers,
computers, tape, and staples should be in the classroom already.

G. PROCEDURE
(Include a DETAILED description of each step. Write what you will SAY and DO.)
 Preparation of the learning environment (if required)
1) I will cut the strips of paper prior to the lesson so that
each student has 3 strips.
2) I will get some computers a head of time and keep them
in the back of the room, so that all the students can share
and have access to one.
3) I will either draw or stick a picture of the world up on
the board.
 Engage -Introduction of the lesson
4) I will begin the lesson by asking the students if they
have ever heard of the play Romeo and Juliet. I will wait
for their response and then say the quote “A rose by any
other name would smell just as sweet”.
5) I would then ask the students what they think that
quote means? I would then explain to them that it is
asking if we called a rose something else wouldn’t it still
smell the same, essentially it would still be a rose. Like
if we called chocolate a brown bar would the chocolate
still taste the same even though it has a different name?
6) I would then tell the students that names are important
because they help people know exactly who or what you
are referring to. When you say someone’s name you
know who I am talking about.
7) I will then say that because we all have names that are
important, when we read these books about names, we
will be making lots of connections and ask the students
to remind me about the kinds of connections they have
been talking about recently.
 Implementation of the lesson (specific procedures and directions for teacher and
students)
8) I will then introduce the story “Tikki Tikki Tembo”
by Arlene Mosel and ask if anyone has read it before.
9) I will ask the students to think about different
connections while I read and to keep them in their minds
or write a little note to themselves to help them
remember.
Tori Klier
Mrs Hickman 2nd grade at Clymore Elementary School
Approved TBD
Taught: March 13th 11:00-11:30 and 12:30-1:15

10) As I read, I will stop on a view pages to make sure

the students are paying attention.
11) On page one I will as the students who is the oldest
child in their family? The middle child? The youngest
child?
12) On page two, I will ask: “What do you think the
boys will do since their mother warned them about the
well?”
13) On page 4, I will ask the students if their parents or
guardians have any nicknames for them.
14) On page 9, I will ask the students what they think is
going to happen since the two boys are playing at the
well again.
15) On page 11, I will ask the students what nickname
was used.
16) On page 13, I will ask the students to take a deep
breath with me and say the very long name together with
Chang.
17) On the last page, I will ask students why the Chinese
now give students short names.
18) At this point, I will ask the students to get up and
stretch a little bit , I will ask them what kinds of
connections the students made while we read.
19) I will then ask the students to return to their seats
and take one strip of paper from their desk and tell them
we are going to concentrate on making connections to
ourselves and the book.
20) I will then tell the students that on strip on one side
they can write the connection between the book and
themselves.
21) I will then pair up the students based on where they
are sitting and while I do so have a student hand out a
computer to each group.
22) I will then instruct that one student from each group
will log on and go to the website www.names.org/
23) While students are logging on, I will tell the students
that we are going to take turns and look up what our
names mean.
24) After students look up what their names mean, they
will write their name and its meaning on the other side
of their third strip of paper.
25) I will then go around to the students who are
finished, which they will signal by raising their hand
with their bracelet in it, and I will staple their bracelets
together so they can wear it and show their connection to
self.
Tori Klier
Mrs Hickman 2nd grade at Clymore Elementary School
Approved TBD
Taught: March 13th 11:00-11:30 and 12:30-1:15

26) I will ask a student to collect the laptops and put them on the
back table until I can return them to their main community spot
at the end of the day.

Break for Lunch---

27) After the students get settled down after lunch, I will
tell the students that we are now going to read a story
called “The Name Jar” and this story is about names
from Korea.
28) I will then ask students to remind me what country
Tikki Tikki Tembo was about.
29) I will then begin to read “The Name Jar” and on
page 2, I will ask the students how many of them have
moved to a new place before. How did you feel? Like
Unhei?
30) On page 3, I will ask the students to say Unhei’s
name with me. I will also ask the students how Unhei
might feel? How would you guys feel if someone
pronounced your name wrong over and over again?
31) On page 4, I will tell students that some Koreans and
other people from Asian countries will come to America
and choose an American name so that everyone can
pronounce it, help them learn about American culture,
and make things slightly easier.
32) On page 6, I will ask all the students if they think
saying her name is too hard. Then the whole class will
say it together.
33) On page 9, I will ask the students if they think it
made Unhei feel good to have someone learn her name
correctly.
34) On page 11, I will tell the children that she will have
the longest name like Tikki Tikki Tembo.
35) On page 12, I will ask the students if Joey seems
like he is a good friend.
36) On page 13, I will ask the students if their parents all
picked their names.
37) On page 14, I will ask the students why they think
Joey was at the store
38) On page 15, I will ask the students what they think
was written on the piece of paper.
39) On page 18, the last page, I will ask the students if
they think that is a good name for Joey.
40) I will then ask the students if they liked the books I
read and if so which book they liked the more.
Tori Klier
Mrs Hickman 2nd grade at Clymore Elementary School
Approved TBD
Taught: March 13th 11:00-11:30 and 12:30-1:15

41) I will then ask students if they saw a lot of

connections when we were reading the two books.
42) Students will then break up into their reading groups
and rotate as always, and when they come to my station,
they will complete an activity in which they will connect
“Tikki Tikki Tembo” and “The Name Jar”.
43) I will then explain the activity. Students will come to
my table and have two strips of paper there.
44) On one strip of paper they will write a fact or idea
that connects the two stories together.
45) On a second strip, the students will write one
connection between either book and the world that they
made.
46) We will then take these strips and combine them to
make a paper chain and connect the books that will be on
the ledge of the board at the front of the classroom and
the picture of the world on the board. This will show
students the physical connection between the books and
the world.
 Closure
47) I will then ask the students if they think all around
the world names are important.
48) I will then ask the students about what kind of
connections they made and ask them to explain their
thinking, until it is time to rotate groups.
 Clean-up (if required)
49) I will leave the connection display up until the end of the day
so that students may see their work and remember that
connections are important.

H. DIFFERENTIATION
Describe how you have planned to meet the needs of all students in your classroom with
varied learning styles and abilities, English language proficiency, health, physical ability,
etc. How will you extend and enrich the learning of students who finish early? How will
you support the learning of children struggling with your objectives?

The main differentiation I will have to complete with this lesson is for disruptive
behaviors, and motivating students to write. For the disruptive behaviors, I will walk
around the classroom to ensure that every student is on task while writing down their
connections and looking up their names, and will offer my help if it seems that some
students are becoming distracted or not understanding the directions or how to make a
connection. For students who finish early, I will ask them to help those around them as
well as offer the opportunity for the students and ask them to help me pass out the laptop
computers. I could also ask them to explain their thinking or their connection to me one-
on-one when they finish early until others begin to finish. This will help me to check for
understanding as well. I think for disruptive behaviors in the class, I will try to keep the
students focused and listening to the stories by asking many questions. If I see that the
students are losing interest or starting to get restless I can ask for a pause in the reading
Tori Klier
Mrs Hickman 2nd grade at Clymore Elementary School
Approved TBD
Taught: March 13th 11:00-11:30 and 12:30-1:15

and have everyone do an energizer such as the deflated balloon, or a step process dance
(like the banana song, but could do kimchi since that would relate to “The Name Jar”)
that should help to keep the students all engaged, but if they begin to have trouble, I can
always ask for their assistance passing out papers, finding pictures etc. To help with
students who are having trouble reaching my objectives, I can ask students who finish
early maybe to help them or have the finished students build the chain while I go and
help those students one-on-one come up with connections by asking them to think of an
event from the story and asking them what it reminds them of.

I. WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL YOU DO
ABOUT IT?
Think about this! It may help you avoid an embarrassing situation.

I could forget the books, in which case I will find read aloud videos of the stories on
YouTube to show the class. :

Tikki Tikki Tembo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4ggOymf0AA

The Name Jar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGjd_T9oOfA

Students could lose interest in the readings in which case I can ask for “guest stars” to
read a page or two to the class which will give students a chance to read out loud to the
class and the change in speakers should help students refocus.

Students could forget about the first story while we are reading the second story and then
not be able to make connections between the two. If this occurs I will do a picture walk
with the students to remind them of the story and if they are still struggling, I can ask the
students to tell me what happened first, then next and have the students create a verbal
story map.
Tori Klier
Mrs Hickman 2nd grade at Clymore Elementary School
Approved TBD
Taught: March 13th 11:00-11:30 and 12:30-1:15

Lesson Implementation Reflection

As soon as possible after teaching your lesson, think about the experience. Use the
questions/prompts below to guide your thinking. Be thorough in your reflection and use specific
examples to support your insights.

I. How did your actual teaching of the lesson differ from your plans? Describe the changes and
explain why you made them.
My actual teaching of the lesson differed from my plans by the students talking
so much that we did not have enough time to complete the paper chains that would
connect the two books together. We only had time to talk about worldly connections and
make the paper chains connecting the books to the world. I was required to stop many
times when the students got too chatty, blurted out a comment, questioned what was
occurring in the story along with other inquiries, were misbehaving with other students,
and many other things. When discussing worldly connections to our two stories, I pulled
down the classroom map to show to the students how close Korea and China are together
and how far away from the United States they are. I also showed the students where
Greece was on the map in relation to the other three countries since we had just finished a
lesson on Ancient Greece on Monday. The students then questioned why the countries
were different colors, and I explained that the different colors show that each country is
unique and a definite area of a country. This quick social studies lesson about maps was
not included in my original lesson, but was necessary as students asked the questions and
needed to have their curiosity satisfied. While this inclusion of the map was not included
in my lesson plans, it was beneficial for the students to see geographically where each
story was taking place as they did not know where neither China nor Korea was located.
Showing how close Korea and China were together helped the students understand why
the two cultures seemed similar in the stories, because the two cultures could influence
each other based on proximity.

II. Based on the assessment you created, what can you conclude about your impact on student
learning? Did they learn? Who learned? What did they learn? What evidence can you offer
that your conclusions are valid?
Based on the assessment of seeing students write their connections on the strips
of paper and the discussion at the end of each book, students were able to see connections
between themselves, the stories, and the world. By asking questions throughout the
stories, students showed their capability at predicting a series of events, interpreting text,
and making connections as well. When I asked them a question such as what do you
believe will happen next? , or what is kimchi? , or how do you think this character felt? ,
the students responded and often began discussing each other’s answers. I did not want to
discourage the conversations because they were productive discussions that helped
everyone see new points of view as well as allowed students the opportunity to explain
their answers. The students learned about Chinese and Korean traditions, the types of
connections one can make, and created personal examples of those connections. The
students also learned that all names have meaning and our names come from a variety of
different places and cultures. The students really enjoyed making the bracelets with their
name and its meaning on them as well as displaying their connection to both a book
taking place in China and a book taking inspiration from Korean culture. One student in
particular really enjoyed the lesson that he told me that he felt he stretched his hands “all
Tori Klier
Mrs Hickman 2nd grade at Clymore Elementary School
Approved TBD
Taught: March 13th 11:00-11:30 and 12:30-1:15

the way across the world today and touched hands with Tikki Tikki Tembo and Unhei”
who were both characters from the books we read.

III. Describe at least one way you could incorporate developmentally appropriate practice in a
better or more thorough way if you were to teach this lesson again.
One way I would incorporate more developmentally appropriate practices would
be with the names.org website. A lot of the students began to concentrate on the
advertisements on the website and thus became distracted. This led to students not using
their time affectively to look up the meaning of their names. Some advertisements had to
do with medical advice, such as losing weight, and offended some students. In the future,
to make this lesson and activity more developmentally appropriate for the students, I will
get a better advertisement blocker, so the students will concentrate only on their name. If
this advertisement blocker does not solve the problem, I will find another website for the
students to use to look up each of their names with less uncomfortable advertisements.

IV. Based on the assessment data you collected, what would you do/teach next if you were the
classroom teacher?
If I were to teach this lesson again, I would definitely incorporate the map more
and possibly pin the origins of students’ names on the map. This would help students to
see that their names come from a variety of places and also give them additional
connections to other places in the world. I would also have all the students formally share
their name meaning as well rather than just telling their neighbor and members of their
groups. The students did really enjoy this lesson, but I feel I could make the connection
between China and Korea an all-day theme in which we learn more about their cultures
and compare and contrast the two. I could have students try kimchi or seaweed which
were mentioned in “The Name Jar”, or rice cakes as mentioned in “Tikki Tikki Tembo”,
and say we are working to make new connections to the books and cultures. To
incorporate a writing lesson, I could have the students use their strips as pre-writing
material and ask the students to write three sentences about how the two books were
connected, and how they connected to our knowledge of the world and to themselves
personally. I could then use “Tikki Tikki Tembo” as an example for a science lesson
about cause and effect, “if you play near a dangerous old well, you may fall in”, and
possibly link that to another text such as the “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” book
collection. In regards to this individual lesson however, I would make sure I have the
advertisement blockers on for the website to avoid discomfort for my students. I would
also make sure to allow more time for this lesson especially the second half of the lesson
that occurred after lunch because that part of the lesson contained the most discussion as
students were forming connections between the two books, the world, and themselves
rather than just one book, the world, and themselves as in the first part. This extra time
would allow for more productive discussions and deeper learning for the students.

V. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced
about young children as learners?
One thing I had reinforced about young children as learners while planning and
teaching this lesson, was that students learn best when they are interested and have
connections to the material. The students are able to see clearly how the material fits into
their lives and mind web, how it is relevant to them, and how will help them in the future.
I also saw that students were learning a great deal from just discussing their connections
Tori Klier
Mrs Hickman 2nd grade at Clymore Elementary School
Approved TBD
Taught: March 13th 11:00-11:30 and 12:30-1:15

and ideas with their peers. Working with peers, especially discussing ideas with them,
helps the students develop good social skills such as decorum when participating in
discussion, taking turns, valuing someone else’s’ opinion, working as a team toward a
common goal or understanding, and having to organize and effectively convey their ideas
to others. While discussing with peers of varying academic level and ability, the students
are sometimes challenged to work and think higher and thus expand their zone of
proximal development.

VI. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced
about teaching?
What this lesson has reinforced about teaching for me is that it is very difficult to
determine your pacing. Students are wild cards and sometimes they want to discuss on
thing rather than another, they are extra chatty, or extra tired, etc. It is up to the teacher to
read her students and try to teach a lesson the best she or her can in a way that will
capture the students’ attention and allow the students to gain as much from the lesson as
possible. The teacher cannot force the students to learn and lesson plans do not always go
according to plan, but if a teacher is willing to be patient and let the students feel in
charge of their learning and addresses their discussions and questions, the students will
learn, be more engaged, and continue to learn.

VII. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced
about yourself?
As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, I learned that I am really tolerant
of student discussion, and do not mind if a lesson goes a little longer than expected as
long as the students are engaged and willing to learn and participate. Every minute is an
opportunity to learn and as long as the students are continuing to learn I am not the type
of person who will stress out over an activity taking longer than it should. I do realize
how precious instruction time is, and if I see students wasting time, I have noticed that
this will annoy me and I will become upset with the students because I know they are all
capable of the work being asked of them and will benefit from the work if they can get
started. Time is a valuable thing in the classroom, but time limits should not limit student
learning.