Lesson Plan: Dissecting the Story

1. Lesson Plan: Dissecting the Story Jasmine Esposito Gina St. Louis Latesha Campbell

2. Target Audience • Second grade class • Minimum of first grade level in reading and writing. • Duration of lesson • 1 week • 30 minutes a day

3. Learning Environment/Lesson Preparation • Age appropriate books • Students will be divided into cluster groups • Access to a whiteboard • Worksheets designed to reflect the lesson (see slide 12) • Computers to accommodate each group

4. Instructional Goals Students will be able to: • Indicate the beginning, middle, and end of a story • Identify the main point of a story • Define vocabulary words • Read a story individually and be able to discuss as a group • Use the internet to discover definitions of new vocabulary words • Learn to analyze and use critical thinking skills by assessing, formulating opinions and sharing their thoughts with others on what they read

5. Lesson Summary • The purpose of this lesson is to promote reading comprehension and to analytical skills.  After this lesson, students should be able to break down books as they are reading them and be able to identify the beginning, middle, end and main point of the story. Students will also learn new vocabulary words, and learn how to use a search engine/kid-friendly dictionary to find their meanings.   • The teacher will first choose a story to display on the whiteboard and read through together.  Then, we will discuss components of the story-the beginning, middle, end, main point.  The teacher will then give students 3 ebook choices to read: “The Snowy Day,” “Madeline” or “Little Dog Lost.”  They will be displayed on the whiteboard, and we will go through each story together.   • The students will then break up into groups according to which book they are most interested in, read it and go over the story together. Students will be given a worksheet they will fill out. Students will then use a kid-friendly online dictionary of their choosing, such as Yahoo! Kids Dictionary (they will be instructed to type the words “online kid-friendly dictionary” into a search engine) to discover the meaning of their vocabulary words.  We will also discuss the words in class after worksheets are done.   • The students will then collectively create their own story on Zopler, a collaborative story-telling website.  Each student will be required to contribute at least 3 lines each to the story, and try to include a new vocabulary word they learned if they’re feeling bold.  Students will be given time in class to contribute, and can also do so at home.  We will then dissect our own classroom story using the same identifiers we learned in class.

6. Plan/Schedule of Activities

7. Technology Standards Standard 1: Creativity and Innovation: Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. • apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes. • create original works as a means of personal or group expression. • use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues. • identify trends and forecast possibilities. Standard 4: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making : Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. • identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation • plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project. • collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions. • use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions.

8. Technology Standards Standard 6: Technology Operations and Concepts: Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. • understand and use technology systems. • select and use applications effectively and productively. • troubleshoot systems and applications. • transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.

9. Materials Needed • Zopler.com • WeGiveBooks.org • Computers • Online kid-friendly dictionary • Pencil/ paper • Worksheets • Whiteboard

10. Assessment/Accommodations • Assessment • Students’ understanding will be assessed through worksheets and finished product of a collaborative story. • Accommodations • Audio books • More advanced reading material option for higher level readers • Notecards or flashcards could be distributed for the vocabulary words • A physical dictionary instead of an online dictionary

11. Justification of Technology • The technology used in this lesson plan makes books more accessible to children-they literally have thousands of books at their fingertips, and they are free. • Students search for vocabulary definitions while enhancing their learning by teaching them how to research and find answers for themselves. • Students will learn how to discover information using a search engine.   • Using Zopler allows students to work collaboratively on one project simultaneously, which would be nearly impossible if technology were not utilized.  

12. Sample Worksheet Book Title:_______________________________________________Book Author:_____________________________________________A. Main Idea: _______________________________________________________________________________ B.  Beginning: _______________________________________________________________________________C.  Middle: _______________________________________________________________________________D.  End: _______________________________________________________________________________Vocabulary words:1)______________________2)______________________3)______________________F.  What did you like most about this book? _______________________________________________________________________________G.  What did you like least about this book?_______________________________________________________________________________