Kelsey PayneKWL Lesson Plan

Go For the Gold!

Text: In my lesson, I am using an article from teachers.scholastic.com that
gives the history of the Olympic games in ancient Greece entitled The Origin
and History of the Olympic Games. It was published on
teacher.scholastic.com, but the text is originally from Grolier Onlines New
Book of Knowledge. I chose this article because it is for middle school
readers, and it gives a detailed but readable history of the Olympic games
including many aspects that coincide with what the students have been
learning in their ancient civilizations unit, such as gender roles and social
structure. The text has some challenging vocabulary, but there is a great
glossary provided that will help students with words they dont know. The
article reads well and is also very interesting. There are several welldescribed facts that students can summarize for their KWL charts.
KWL Rationale:
The KWL lesson strategy is an extremely effective model that encourages
students to expand their knowledge, as well as gaining a better
understanding as to what knowledge is. Through the know category,
students are encouraged to draw from prior knowledge, possibly that they
didnt even know they had. Through the want to know category, students
are drawn into the lesson by a personal interestsomething that they wish to
know, maybe something they are passionate about. And through the
learned category, students are able to explore the possibilities of new
knowledge. It is a simple lesson, but provides diversity of knowledge through
different avenues of learning.
Audience:
My class has twenty-five 6th grade students. Twenty of my students are
Caucasian, and one is Korean. There are 13 girls and 12 boys. None of the
students are special needs or require IEPs. Two students qualify for
educational support services. Three students qualify for the gifted
program. There are only a few struggling readers in the class, but all are
at or above grade-level. All students speak English as their first language.
I am assuming that my students will be able to read and comprehend the
text because it is written for middle school aged students, and there is a
vocabulary box that defines difficult words. My students have been
studying ancient civilizations, like Babylon and Mesopotamia, so I am
assuming they are familiar with the differences between ancient societies
and current societies. By the time I teach this lesson, they will have just
begun their concentrated study on ancient Greece, so I am assuming they
will have little prior knowledge about ancient Greece in particular, but will
know about ancient civilizations. I also assume that they have prior
knowledge about the Olympics, as they are a big part of our modern
society.
My class does not have any students who require accommodations,
although if there were, I think it would be easy to edit this lesson to best
fit a students needs. For a student who has ADHA, I would allow him/her
to do their work at the tall table at the back of the room so as to
accommodate for hyperactivity. For a student who is an English language

Kelsey PayneKWL Lesson Plan

learner, I would have him/her to work with a partner (a fellow student who
speaks fluent Spanish) to read the article and fill out his chart. For a
student who is mildly autistic, I would rearrange the lesson so that
students work in small groups to read the article and the students peers
could help him/her.

Length of Lesson: The lesson is expected to take 35 minutes. Orientation:

5 minutes, Complete the K column: 5 minutes, Skim the text: 3 minutes,
Complete the W column: 5 minutes, Read the text: 8 minutes, Complete the L
column: 5 minutes, Assessment: 6 minutes, and Transition: 1 minute.
Materials Needed:
I need:
ELMO projector
Projection screen
27 copies of the Scholastic article
(paragraphs numbered)
27 pre-made KWL charts
Computer

Students need:
Writing utensils

Common Core State Standards, English Language Arts:

1. RI.6.7 Integrate information presented in different media formats (e.g.
visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent
understanding of a topic or issue
2. RI.6.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
3. RI.6.2 Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through
particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal
opinions of judgments.
4. RI.6.6 Determine an authors point of view or purpose in a text and explain
how it is conveyed in the text.
Lesson Objectives:
1. The learner will make at least 3 connections between their own
experiences and a video and will share them orally with the class.
2. The learner will identify five pieces of textual evidence and record them as
newly learned information.
3. The learner will accurately summarize the central idea of the text in one
sentence.

Kelsey PayneKWL Lesson Plan

4. The learner will infer the purpose of the text based on the reading and
their newly gained knowledge by writing one sentence.
Assessment:
LO#1 will be assessed through observation and artifact. I will observe the
conversation as students discuss and comment on what they know about the
Olympics, based on the video we watched. Once I collect their KWL charts,
the artifact, I will be able to read the K column and further assess the
connections they made.
LO#2 will be assessed through artifact and conversation. I will collect their
charts and assess their L columns. I will also observe their conversation as
they talk about their thoughts on the text.
LO#3 will be assessed through artifact. I will read their summaries on the
back of their charts.
LO#4 will be assessed through artifact. I will read their purpose statements
on the back of their charts.

What is Happening in the Lesson

Classroom Management:
I will teach in a whole-class
setting. The students will be in
their normal seating
arrangements in desks facing
the front of the classroom.
I expect students to actively
participate in creating their
KWL chart and in reading the
article, and to read along as
others read the article aloud. I
will tell them that it is required
to read and/or respond to my
questions if called on. I will
enforce participation by
drawing sticks for readers and
sharers.
I will maintain the routine of
drawing popsicle sticks to
determine who will answer. I
will also use similar language
of encouragement as Mrs.
Sietsma.
I will manage time by
monitoring the clock as we go

What is Being Said in the Lesson

Okay class, youll be staying in your
seats for this lesson. We are going to
be making a KWL chart, which I will
explain to you, but Id like everyone
to get a change to read and share as
we go through the activity and the
article. Youll be doing some partner
reading as well, and Ill let you know
how much time you have for that so
try not to rush through your work or
reading. When you hear me raise my
voice, that means its my turn to talk.
Any questions before we get
started?

Kelsey PayneKWL Lesson Plan

along. I will be facilitating

throughout the whole lesson
and will give the students
warnings on time when they
are reading together. I will pass
out needed materials at the
beginning of the lesson.
I will speak loudly in order to
get the students attention.

Orientation (5 min)
First, we will watch a short,
entertaining video about the origin of
the Olympic games. The purpose of
this is to spark student interest and
to get them thinking about what they
already know about the Olympic
games. The purpose of the lesson is
to gain and analyze knowledge about
the history of the Olympics in ancient
Greece, and to be able to understand
a challenging text and draw
important information from it.

A complete and thorough script of

what you will say to your students.
Include expected student responses
(ESR).
Please label any and all questions
with a Blooms level by using
parenthesis (example).
Listen up, class! To start off our
social studies lesson today, we will
watch a short video.
Who has heard of the Olympic
games before? [remembering]
ESR: (hands raised)
Great, me too! I love watching the
Olympics on TV. Today were going to
read an article called Origin and
History of the Olympic Games. It will
go into a lot more detail than the
video about the Olympics. Can
anyone infer what we might learn
about in the article? [applying)
ESR: When the Olympics began?
(A few more responses, then I will
pass out the article and the KWL
charts)

#1. Post a KWL chart

I will have a 3-column KWL chart (a
colored piece of paper folded
vertically) that is identical to the
students charts. I will have it on the
teachers table underneath the ELMO
so the view will project onto the

Kelsey PayneKWL Lesson Plan

screen.
#2. Complete the K column (5
min)
I will ask the students to write at
least 3 detailed sentences in the K
column describing things they
already know about the Olympic
games. After everyone is finished, a
few students will share.

Alright students, open up the K

portion of your chart. Here were
going to write down everything we
already know about the Olympics. It
can be anything in the whole world
about the Olympics in ancient
Greece, or the Olympics in modern
times. I want you to write at least 3
detailed sentences. Once youre all
finished, we can share a few. Go
ahead and get started!
(students write, then a few share)

#3. Skim the text (3 min)

Here, I will have 5-6 students each
read the opening sentence of a
paragraph I have previously chosen,
so that students can gain a better
understanding of what the article
might tell them. This activity will get
the students thinking about what
they want to learn more about.

Now were going to read a few

sentences from the article to help you
guys get thinking about what you
want to know more about. Listen
carefully so you can remember what
you might want to know more about.
Ill draw popsicle sticks to see who
gets to read for us. Grace, will you
read the first sentence of the first
paragraph in a nice loud voice?
ESR: (student reads)
Thank you Grace. Okay Brady, how
about you read the first sentence of
the fourth paragraph for us.
ESR: (student reads)
(etc.)

#3. Complete the W column (5

min)
After skimming the article, students
will write at least 5 things in the W
column that they want to know more
about. After writing, a few students
will get to share.

Thank you to everyone who read.

Now Id like you to open up your W
column and write down at least 5
things that you want to know. This
can be anything you want to know
about the Olympics in ancient
Greece. After youre finished writing,
well do some sharing.
(students write, then a few share)

#4 Read the text (8 min)

Students are set up in desk pairs, so I

Kelsey PayneKWL Lesson Plan

will ask them to read the article with

their partner, circling words they
dont understand. I will walk around
the room and monitor students
progress, answering any questions.
#5 Complete the L column (5 min)
I will first ask the students if they
have any questions about what they
read or if they came across any
words that they do not know.

Alright class, lets come back

together and talk about what we
read. First of all, did anyone come
across any words they dont know?
Yes, Eric?
ESR: What does vast mean?
Good question. Vast means really
big or wide. In the article, its used to
describe a big, grassy area where
there were a lot of buildings.
Now before we start on our
Learned column, lets talk about a
few things. What did you think of the
information in the article?
[evaluating]
ESR: I thought the article was really
interesting.
Did you think it was a reliable
source? [analyzing]
ESR: I think so. But there were some
things the author didnt know.
Yeah, that happens often with
history that is as old as the
Olympics.
Okay, great conversation class. Now
Id like you to take the next 5-10
minutes to write down at least 5
things that you learned from the
article in your own words. Do not
copy sentences from the article. Once
you are finished, we can share a few.

Assessment (6 min)
After writing the L portion of their
chart, I will ask the students to turn
their charts over and write 1
sentence that summarize the article,
1 sentence that states what they
think was the authors purpose in

Alright everyone, now that youre

finished with your L column, I want
you to turn your chart over and label
1, 2 and 3. For number 1, please
write one sentence that summarizes
the article. For number 2, please
write one sentence that states what

Kelsey PayneKWL Lesson Plan

writing this article, and one sentence

describing their favorite/most
interesting thing they learned. Then I
will ask the students to share their
favorite/most interesting thing with
their neighbor.

you think the authors purpose in

writing this article is, and for number
3, write the most interesting thing or
your favorite thing you learned [Ill
write these instructions on the board
as I say them].
Okay now to wrap up our lesson,
take 1 minute, turn to your neighbor,
and share your favorite fact!

Transition (1 min)
The students will have break after my
lesson, so I will collect their charts
and send them to break.

Great job today class, thanks so

much for all your hard work. Its time
for break!