Lesson title: Grasping main ideas - Topic sentences (non fiction) Grade/age level: 5th grade Date (intended

teaching date): 11/25/13

Learning Objective(s)
What do you want students to know, understand, or be able to do as a result of this lesson?

Students should understand how to introduce a new topic in separate body paragraphs, with a general statement about what will be included in the following paragraph. Evidence will be shown in the editing of their ecosystem papers, in each of the body paragraphs, as well as in their input when I model how to write topic sentences I will look for a sentence that introduces to the reader the information to be presented in the paragraph Ex: (For a body paragraph about plants and their adaptations) There are many different plants in the desert ecosystem and the way each survives is unique. Students are currently working on their ecosystem description essay and/or their ecosystem animal research essay. They are at the point where they are typing it up and finishing up their initial draft. I think this is a good place to go over topic sentences and lead them into a time of editing and revision. Many students have been struggling with topic sentences, omitting it completely and going straight into the facts.

Evidence for assessment

Where will you look (product, performance, documentation you create, etc.) for signs of student learning? What will you look for? What are your criteria? (examples of statements or actions that would show the particular kinds of understandings, learnings, &/or skills you are after?)

Rationale
Why are you teaching this lesson? What connections does it have to standards? Does it connect to students interests, strengths, and needs?

Prerequisite Knowledge Students should have been introduced to

What prior knowledge are the idea of topic sentences as 5th graders. you counting on? Will this be Students should also be able to categorize a problem for any of your students and if so, what will information into separate body you do?

paragraphs, in order to understand that a topic sentence introduces a new topic from the one preceding it.

Learning Experience

Assessment

In each section below, What will you look/listen to/for? specify the sequence of instructional activities. Consider how you will manage materials, bodies, and time. Use small boxes to indicate time.

Starting It

How will you invite students work into the learning experience?

I will tell students that we are going to Students to be at the rug, with required on improving out writing. Good material. writers look over their work and look for ways they can improve their writing and make it more presentable to the reader. It is important to keep track of time and Students will bring to the rug their animal consistently "take the temperature" of the research notes that are already class throughout a lesson. Lessons need to be adjustable. For example, if I had a categorized.
whole group activity planned but I see students getting restless, I'm going to shorten the time at the rug or do a turn and talk instead.

Doing It
Outline your sequence of instructional moves including participation structures, materials, intellectual resources, and time allotted. Is there a product or performance you will be expecting students to create?

I will begin with a model text of The Students should be following along as we Weird and Wonderful Octopus by Anna read through the non-fiction text. Text Gratz. We will do a close-reading of the should have each topic sentence body paragraphs and how the first underlined with notes on the side. sentence of each paragraph is Students should pick up on different representative of the information to follow. Students will identify these topic information presented in each paragraph. sentences by underlining it and making a Student should be able to generate topic note on the side about what they think the sentences that are specific to the paragraph will be about based on reading information presented in the paragraph just the first sentence. only. Any new information should be a I will discuss how students have already different paragraph with a different topic done the hard part of categorizing their sentence. research in the notes that they did in their ecosystem groups. Students will take this out and look at it as reference. Then, students will observe a sample ecosystem essay (either one I write or student example). We will look closely at the body paragraphs. What is the purpose of this paragraph? Is the first sentence representative of the information in the paragraph? Imagine the reader does not know anything about your animals adaptations. What is a topic sentence about your animal and its adaptation that you would use to introduce to your reader? OR students will use their categorized

notes and in pairs, come up with a topic sentence for each category. We will do a short share-out.
I usually like to have another option set out just in case the original plan does not work, whether it's a material issue, or students are becoming disengaged, etc.

Finishing It
How will you bring students to closure with this learning experience and connect it to future learning?

Students will go back to their writing and revise their topic sentences. How to revise will be modeled.

Accessibility

Students who have not taken good notes

What accessibility and might struggle with categorizing. For this participation challenges have you taken into account and portion, students will work in pairs so how have you addressed that everyone has some material to work them? (material and human with. resources, sequence of instruction)

An improvement for accessibility would be to think more deeply about students with IEPs, different learning styles, and differentiated instruction

Materials Needed

Copies of The Weird and Wonderful Octopus, pencil, animal research notes, ecosystem description and animal research essay prompts, overhead projector

Even materials are planned with students in mind. In other words, I've learned from experience that highlighters are a huge distraction for my students. Therefore, I have then use pencil instead.