IRA Lesson Plan 1

SJU Lesson Plan Format:

Saint Josephs University
Pennsylvania Standards Aligned System
Lesson Plan Format
Candidates Name: Carly Calabrese Course Prefix/Number/Section: EDU 232: Reading
Literature I DO1 Date: April 3, 2017 Subject: Reading/English Language Arts Grade Level:
2nd Grade Duration: 30 minutes Lesson Topic: Interactive Read Aloud

1. Big Ideas & Essential Questions

Big Ideas:
Actively involving students in asking and answering question.
Engaging students in analytic talk by encouraging them to make predictions or referenced
connecting the characters to their own personal lives.
Essential Question:
How can students comprehend texts?

Resources: McGee, L. M. and J. A. Schickedanz (2007). "Repeated interactive read-alouds in

preschool and kindergarten." (p.742- 743).
2. Learner Outcomes (Instructional Objectives) (Use observable and measurable
terms.)
Comprehension: With help from their teacher SWBAT: a) make and change
predictions based on context clues and pre-reading strategies, b) think critically
while reading the text, and c) engage in analytic talk to connect the story to their
own experiences
3. Common Core State Standards (CCSS) or PA Core Standards
a. CC.1.2.A: Identify the main idea and retell key details of text
b. CC.1.3.1.C: Describe characters, setting, and major events in the story, using key
detail
c. CC.1.5.1.B: Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented
orally by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting
clarification if something is not understood.
4. Vocabulary
Based on an IRA: Theme, Prediction, Connection, Visualize
Based on the story: Appreciate, Scarcely, Dreadful, Miserably, Precious, Pleasant,
Jealous, and Humorous.
5. Materials/ Resources
Chrysanthemum By: Kevin Henkes
6. Instructional Procedures

Before Reading
 IRA Lesson Plan 2

1. Connecting Conversations (activating childrens prior knowledge), using Think-Pair-

Share Strategy
a. Students will be asked to think about the following question: Why is your name
special to you? The students will be instructed to first think about their name and
what makes it special, and then they will pair up with a partner to share their
ideas. After, their ideas will be discussed with the whole group if they chose to
do so.
b. By doing this Think-Pair-Share activity, I will hope to activate students prior
knowledge on why their name is special and what names really mean.
2. Bridging conversation: Ask yourself the question: What is the connection between what
my students and I just talked about and the book Im going to read to them?
a. This story is about a little girl who had a very unique name. She loved
everything about her name until she went to school and had a bad experience.
Throughout this story, try to remember what you like or dislike about your name
so that you can understand how the little girl feels throughout the story.
3. Vocabulary Set-Up: (discuss with students 2-3 key words essential to understanding the
story)
a. There are two words I want you to think about before we begin this book. The
first is the world jealous. There are characters in this story that are very jealous of
the little girls name and are not very nice to her. Think about how other people
can show they are jealous. The next word is dreadful. Dreadful is a word used to
describe something that is just awful and makes you very sad. In the story, the
little girl found school dreadful because she was being made fun of. Think about
these two words as we being to read the story.
4. Asking questions on the cover:
a. As a good reader, the first think I always do when I get ready to read a story is to
read the little and look at the illustration on the cover. Looking at the cover, so
many different questions run through my mind. I wonder why there is a flower on
the front cover? I wonder if this is the little girl sitting on the flower? Has anyone
ever heard of a Chrysanthemum? A Chrysanthemum is a type of flower. I wonder
if the little girl is named after a flower? How does the little girl look on the cover?
She has her head down; she looks a little sad. I wonder why she would be sad?
b. What do you think is going to happen in this story? What are some predictions
you have based on what we talk about? What do you see on the front cover? Does
anything surprise you or make you wonder?
c. Before you start to read, say, Asking these questions before we read really help
us to think about the book we are going to read and get excited about what is
going to happen.
 IRA Lesson Plan 3

During Reading:

p. 5 Making Connections:
Right now as a good reading, I am remembering when I was younger and my
parents used to call my name. Before I started school, I never knew anyone else
with the name Carly. I loved the way my name was written and I loved all of the
different nicknames that my family members had for me. I thought my name was
absolutely perfect, just like Chrysanthemum.
p. 8 Visualizing
As a good reader, right now I am using the authors words to make a picture of
what is happening in the story. I am seeing Chrysanthemum in the classroom
with her classmates making fun of her. She feels very sad. Chrysanthemum
loved her name, and now everyone is making fun of her. I am hearing the children
laughing, joking, and making fun of her. I am seeing Chrysanthemum with her
head down, looking very sad and upset. Painting a picture of the story in my head
helps me better understand the story.
p.13 Making inferences
Right now, as a reader, even though the author has not told us with words, we
can infer-we can figure out, what these characters are thinking and feeling. I
think about what has happened in the story as far, the words the author is using, as
well as the illustrations to think about how these characters are feeling, what they
might be thinking and wanting to do. What do you think will happen when
Chrysanthemum wake up the in the morning and goes to school? Will the children
make fun of her? I think Chrysanthemum will find the courage to stand up for
herself if people make fun of her name because her parents made her feel better
and told her that she is perfect just the way she is. This helps us better understand
the characters in the story.
p.17 Stopping and Restarting
As a good reader, it is important for me to stop every so often and remind myself
about everything that has happened so far in the story. It helps me remember
important information. Looking back at the story, we remember how in the
beginning on her first day of school Chrysanthemum went home to her parents
and cried about how she hated her name. Now that the second day of school is
over and Chrysanthemum and kids are still making fun of her, we can predict that
she will come home crying to her parents and they will try and comfort her again
by telling her her name is perfect just like she is.
p. 26 Predicting
As a good reader, I find myself thinking about what is going to happen next. I
think about everything that has happened so far in the story and I use this
information to help me predict what will happen next (Go back and using the
 IRA Lesson Plan 4

picture of the book, do a quick retell of the story.) From what we know so far,
what do you think is going to happen? How do you think the students are going to
react? I think that the students will learn to respect everyone for the names that
they had and in the end, Chrysanthemum will love her name and love going to
school. I predict that the story will end happily and Chrysanthemum will think
her name is absolutely perfect again.

Vocabulary Enhancers:

p. 3: Appreciate- When you appreciate something, that means you are thankful and glad for it.
I appreciate my name because it is special to me and my parents chose it to represent who I am.

p. 8: Scarcely- Her name scarcely fit on her name tag. Knowing that her name is very long, we
can infer that this word means that it barely fit on her name tag.

p. 8: Dreadful- Chrysanthemum was very upset, she felt dreadful. Dreadful is a feeling that
you have when you are very upset and hurt by others. When your day is ruined, you often feel
dreadful.

p. 11: Priceless- Chrysanthemums father describes her name as priceless. This means that her
name is so precious and special, that there is nothing that compares to it. Her name is rare,
special, and beautiful.

p. 17: Miserably- Chrysanthemum was miserable because she was being made fun of.
Miserable describes how someone feels when they are feeling awful and very sad.

p.18: Jealous- Chrysanthemums parents explained that the children at school are just jealous of
her name. Jealous means that someone wishes they had what someone else has, so they try and
make other people feel sad.

After Reading
Engage children in a closing conversation and ask comprehension as well as at least 3 higher
level thinking questions for analytic talk.
What happened in the story? Why was Chrysanthemum sad?
Why did Chrysanthemums classmates make fun of her?
If you were Chrysanthemum, how would you have felt? Why?
Have you ever had someone make fun of you? Have you ever made fun of
someone else? How did that make you feel?
Do you like this story? What did you like about the book?
What have you learned from this book?
 IRA Lesson Plan 5

What did Chrysanthemums parents tell her when she was upset?
How did Chrysanthemums teacher help her situation? Have you ever had a
teacher help you when other classmates were being mean?

Addressing Learners Diverse Needs/ Follow-up Activities

Children with special needs: For these students, I will pull them aside after the lesson is
over and go over the reading with them. I will ask them different questions to make sure
they are able to comprehend the text and I will reread parts of the book for them to help
them understand.
English language learners: For ELL students, I will pull them aside after the lesson where
I will have an activity for them where they put the events that happened in the story in
order with me. This will be a hands on activity to help them understand the main ideas of
the story and so I can make sure they understood the interactive read aloud. Then, they
will perform the same summative assessment
Advanced learners: For advanced learners, I will have them retell the story to me in their
own words so that I can see how they understood the story. Then I will ask them if they
were Chrysanthemum, would they have reacted different, so I can have them think deeply
about their own connections to the story.

Formative/ Summative Assessment

Formative: For formative assessment, I will be able to understand childrens
understanding during the after reading follow up questions. Most of these questions we
will discuss as a class, but for some of them, I will have students partake in a think-pair-
share, so I can walk around and listen to what each student is sharing because not all
students will want to share with the class. This way I will be able to check and make sure
the students are comprehending the story and engaging in analytic talk with their partner.
Summative: For summative assessment, I will have the students write a short story about
a time someone made fun of them in the classroom or what their name means to them.
They will have the choice to pick either one of these topics to write about. By reading
these stories children write, I will be able to tell if they understood the main theme and
idea of this story and see how they can make connections based on the story and their
own life.