LESSON PLAN OUTLINE
JMU Elementary Education Program
Alexandra Tocman
Cybl Hiser, Cub Run Elementary School
November 10, 15, 17, 2016 at 2:20pm
October 12, 2016
Day 1:
A. TITLE/TYPE OF LESSON
Sequencing, Story Timeline Sort
B. CONTEXT OF LESSON
This lesson will take place during silent reading time. Because of this setting I will not be with any
particular reading group. This means that I will have readers from levels of pre-primer up to students
reading and comprehending at a fourth grade level. Since this is the case, I have chosen good read
aloud books that cater more towards the lower reading levels so that they can be sure to get something
out of these lessons as well. The students in this class have been practicing their reading and
comprehending skills now for a few weeks in their second grade reading groups. Because of this I
know that they are ready to learn about sequencing because it is all part of comprehension. I have
chosen stories to read and talk about that the students should be familiar with or at least interested in.
The students in this class could benefit from some hands on and interactive reading activities. The
reading instruction that they get daily is based off of textbooks and programs that have been put into
place by the school. Since this is what they usually get I think that they could really benefit from a
different kind of reading instruction. Because of the students personalities and interest in hands on
engagement, I have designed this activity the way I did. The second grade curriculum says that at this
time students should be using semantic and syntax clues while reading to do a variety of things, and
one of those things is recognizing story structure and sequence. Student should be able to read and
write simple sentences that tell a story, making this activity appropriate for these students. By doing
this activity first, I will be able to pre-assess and gauge how familiar and comfortable these students
are with the idea of sequencing. Based on how this first lesson goes will help me to determine how
many more class activities I should plan to do with these students, and to what degree of teacher lead
help I should be giving. After each day of sequencing lessons I will re-assess how they are doing in
order to continuously give them what they need the next day.
C. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Understand Know Do
Develop and demonstrate Use story structure, titles, Organize information using
comprehension skills by pictures, and diagrams to graphic organizers (story
reading or listening to a check for meaning. map and film strip
variety of fictional texts. template).
Explain how illustrations
Use information from the and images contribute to Use the framework of
story and their knowledge and clarify text. beginning, middle, and end
of syntax. to summarize and retell
story events.
Syntax knowledge is based Understand that they must
on familiar word order or attend to the details of the
grammar that helps readers text in order to
determine meaning. comprehend.
Listen and read text and Determine the main idea or
summarize or organize the theme of paragraphs or
ideas of that text into the stories.
correct order.
Begin to use knowledge of
transition words (first,
next, and soon), to
understand how
information is organized in
sequence.
Describe the structure of a
story (beginning introduces
the story ending concludes
the action)
D. ASSESSING LEARNING
My main form of assessment during this initial lesson will be monitoring as a teacher. I want to see
that students are able to read the stories and figure out what order the events belong in. I want to hear
things like This happens first because this probably comes next because this is how it ends
because etc. If I can hear these things I know that the students are reading, understanding, and
thinking about the text and why something may come first, second, third, etc. At the end of the lesson
I would like to see that all groups sequenced all of the stories correctly and are able to explain their
strategies for how they sequenced them. The more I have to help, or if I have to turn it into a whole
class activity because they are struggling so much, the more work and instruction I know they will
need on this topic. If this is the case I will want to/have to create more lessons and practice to give the
students so that they can master this strategy.
E. RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING (and NATIONAL STANDARDS if
required)
2.6 The student will use semantic clues and syntax to expand vocabulary when reading.
c) Use knowledge of story structure and sequence.
2.8 The students will read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts.
h) Summarize stories and events with beginning, middle, and end in the correct
sequence.
F. MATERIALS NEEDED
6 copies of Finding Dory story timeline sort (me)
6 copies of Frozen story timeline sort (me)
6 copies of Toy Story story timeline sort (me)
G. PROCEDURE
Preparation of the learning environment (if required)
o Type and cut out the 3 stories for the story timeline sorts
Engage -Introduction of the lesson
o Invite all students to come sit on the floor in the back of the room. Remind them to sit
appropriately on their butts, keep their hands to themselves, and no whispering.
o Introduce sequencing:
1. Things follow one another
2. Provide examples: at home- I eat dinner, wash up and brush my teeth, change
into pajamas, get into bed, and read a book until I fall asleep. The first thing I
did was eat dinner and the last thing I did was fall asleep.
3. Ask students if they have any examples of routines that they do?
o Words that indicate order or sequence:
Ask the students if they can think of any
First, then, next finally, second, third, last, etc.
Write beside me on white board for a reference for them
o Ask for questions or confusion
Implementation of the lesson (specific procedures and directions for teacher and
students)
o Tell the students they are going to be getting into groups to work on activity.
o Tell students when I call their names they need to get together and sit as a group in
front of me, as they get up hand each group an envelope with the stories inside, make
it clear that they shouldnt be opening or touching anything inside the envelope until I
say so!
o Group the students:
1. Emma, Ryan, Latayia, Jeb
2. Ahaan, Richy, Alexa, Chrstina
3. Ace, Gaby, Luke, Avery
4. Jaime, Abby, Abigail
5. Amelia, Lisandru, Abraham, Cayden
6. Wade, Azariah, Josh, Tristan
o Tell them for this activity they are to read whats in the envelopes and sort them into
the 3 different stories and they need to be in the correct order of title, beginning,
middle, and end.
o Pick on of the stories and model it, do it as a class. Then tell them to work on the
other 2 as a group. They can move and spread out if they want.
o As they are working on this walk around and make sure they are on the right track and
understanding what is happening. Ask questions or guide them if necessary.
Closure
o Have 3 different groups read the 3 different stories.
o Discuss how and why they ordered them the way they did and different strategies they
used.
o Discuss what was easy and challenging and if they need help or clarification.
Clean-up (if required)
o Pack all the stories back in the envelopes and collect them.
H. DIFFERENTIATION
My lesson begins with a discussion, which gives students who learn by listening time to take in the
information we are talking about as class. I will also write key words or phrases on the board that can
help serve as a reminder, especially to those who are more visual learners. The activity in my lesson is
hands on and interactive. This activity helps engage all of my students regardless of their needs and
abilities. I have given thought and premade the groups who are going to be working together. I did
this because I do have 4 students who are English language learners, so I was sure to split them up so
that I know they have the help and support of other students who are more comfortable with English. I
also tried to put a variety of reading levels in each group. I did this because this is an activity where
the group should be talking and working together. The weaker readers in the group will be able to
benefit from the help and support of the stronger readers. This grouping was also purposeful in the
way that I know who causes trouble when they are together and who would talk more than work, and I
made sure these students were separated. There are no health concerns or physical disabilities that I
needed to consider when designing this lesson. The idea of my mixed grouping is that students will
extend and support each other within the groups to make this experience more valuable. For groups
that may be struggling with this I will be sure to be circling the room offering support or extending
questions to those groups that are struggling or excelling during this activity. If I see that everyone is
having a really hard time with this I will end it as a group activity and have the students gather around
where they were before and finish it off as a whole class activity.
I. WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT IT?
Students could not want to talk or discuss different examples of sequencing that they go through in
their everyday lives. If this happens I will give a few more personal examples from my life and then
see if anyone wants to speak up. If this still doesnt help I can call on students. At this point I know
my students well enough that I know they are just not participating to be difficult, and I know which
students I can call on to help give me serious answer, so if necessary I can call on them. When I send
the students off to work on their own they could goof off and not actually do the work that I have
given them. If this happens I will warn them that if they dont quiet down and do the assignment that
was given to them they are all going to have to go back to their seats and do it silently on their own
and then write all of the stories out. Hopefully this will scare them enough to actually do what they
are supposed to be doing. The students could also become confused or frustrated when they start
working on the assignment. If I find this is the case for one group of students I will help them
specifically, if I find the whole class is having this problem I will bring them all together and we will
do all of them together as a class.
Story Timeline sorts-
Finding Dory
Dory is living happily in a reef with Nemo and Marlin.
Dory remembers she has a family and wants to go look for them.
Dory, Nemo, and Marlin travel across the Ocean to Californias Marine Life Institute.
Dory meets Hank the octopus, Baily the beluga whale, and Destiny a whale shark.
With the help of Dorys friends she is reunited with her mom and dad.
Frozen
Elsa learns of her powers and almost freezes Anna. So she locks herself in her room in her familys castle in the
Kingdom of Arendelle.
Elsa becomes the Queen of Arendelle after her parents tragic accident.
Anna falls in love with Prince Hans making Elsa react by accidently freezing the Kingdom of Arendelle. Elsa runs
away because of this.
Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf journey to find Elsa. They find her and try to bring her back to the Kingdom.
Prince Hans finally shows his evil side. Together Anna and her friends work to save the kingdom from him and from
forever winter.
Toy Story
A little boy name Andy loves to play in his room. His favorite toy is a doll named Woody.
When Andy isnt home all of his toys come to life.
Andy has a birthday party and gets a new toy named Buzz Lightyear. He quickly becomes Andys new favorite toy.
Woody becomes angry and tries to get rid of Buzz. Because of this both toys end up getting lost.
The toys are now out in the dangerous world and need to be careful as they try to dine their way back to Andy before
he moves.
Day 2:
BEFORE:
Have students sit on the floor around me in the back of the classroom
Remind students of the skill we are working on- sequencing
Ask them what they remember/know about sequencing
Tell them to pay attention to significant events from the beginning, middle,
and end of the story as I read
Read aloud to the class The Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen
Be actively reading- making comments, asking questions as I go
DURING:
Have students go back to their seats
Pass out worksheet- tell students on the worksheet they will see pictures from
the story I had just read with no words
DAY 2
There job with a partner (someone who is already at a desk in their table
formation) is to cut out the pictures and put them in order recalling the
events from the story
As they are doing this I will be walking around and monitoring and asking
questions or prompting them if they need help
AFTER:
Once it looks like all the pairs have finished I will bring everyone back
together
We will talk about the order of the pictures
We will summarize the main events and why they think they were important
or significant enough to be the main events included in the sequence
We will also talk about their strategies and how they went about ordering
them
Day 3:
BEFORE:
Have students sit on the floor around me in the back of the classroom
Remind students of the skill we are working on- sequencing
Ask them what they remember/know about sequencing
Tell them to pay attention to significant events from the beginning, middle,
and end of the story as I read
Read aloud to the class Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds
Be actively reading- making comments, asking questions as I go
DURING:
Have students go back to their seats
Pass out worksheet- tell students on the worksheet they will see 6 blank
spaces for them to draw pictures
DAY 3
Their job is to think about the book we have just read and draw 6 pictures, in
order, of what they think are the 6 most important parts of the story
As they are doing this I will be walking around and monitoring and asking
questions or prompting them if they need help
AFTER:
Once it looks like they are finishing up their drawings I will bring the class
back together
We will talk about what people drew as the first, second, third, etc. drawing
on their film strip worksheet
We will talk about why certain people drew certain things and why some
people may have different drawings and why this is still ok
We will also talk about their strategies and how they went about ordering the
events, drawing them, and picking what to put where
Reflection:
After your lessons, think about the growth youve seen in your students, what changes have you seen
as a result of multiple lessons on the same strategy?
As a result of multiple lessons on the same strategy I saw my students grow comfortable and confident with
sequencing. My first lesson was based off of stories that I had thought my students knew and were going to
be familiar with. Because of this I thought it would be easier for them to sequence the events, because it
wasnt stories that were fresh in their memory, but stories they had already known. This first lesson was
also purposely designed to have the students working in larger groups. This was to give them the chance to
get familiar with the concept of sequencing by being able to work with and use their peers. I feel like this
lesson went fairly well and the students knew and were able to sequence the events pretty easily for the
most part. My next lesson was based off of a picture book with a picture sort for the students to practice
sequencing the events they had just heard in the story. This next lesson was purposeful in a few ways to
help them grow increasingly comfortable with sequencing. This time, the students were only working with
one other person, not a group. This gave them the chance to still be able to collaborate but since it was
fewer people the individuals had to do more of the working and thinking. The pictures also came directly
from the book, which could have been helpful for students who are more visual learners. This gave them
the opportunity to, maybe not remember the exact way the story happened, but to know and see a pictures
and be able to relate it to an event from the story in that way. This is also why I didnt leave the actual
words from the story on the pictures. I wanted the students to be able to think about the story that was just
read to them and be able to explain what happened in the story in order by using the visuals as a tool to do
so. Since I saw that this lesson went smoothly I knew that the next day the students would be ready for my
final lesson. In this lesson they were read a story and then had to draw the events of the story in order
themselves. This was the final progression because they were finally practicing sequencing on their own
and they werent given much to work with. This meaning that the had no words or visuals, I had read them
the story and then they were sent on their own to recall and draw the events of the story. Most of the
students were able to do this. As you will see in pictures of work samples though, a lot of students didnt
get the chance to finish. I think that my students knew what to do and how to do, but since this task was
much more difficult and time consuming than the others, I just think they needed more time than I had
previously given them in my other lessons. I have never done something like this, when I had to plan
multiple lessons in the same area with a purposeful progression. By creating, implementing, and observing
these lessons I was able to see the growth when doing multiple lessons on a specific strategy. Giving
students multiple ways and opportunities to practice a skill, not just comprehension skills, is a huge way for
students to learn and become confortable and confident in different areas.
Compare this comprehension teaching experience to what you have done before and what you are
seeing in your practica placement.
Looking back on previous reading and comprehension teaching experiences I have had to do, I have never
done anything like this. I have planned a few read alouds with short activities after as well as some word
study lessons, but nothing else in regards to reading or writing. Like I mentioned above, I have also never
planned any sort of lessons where I was teaching one specific topic and looking for progression and growth
in that topic. Therefore, this experience was completely knew to me, but definitely beneficial. This
experience was helpful because I dont even see this sort of thing in my practicum placement. During
reading groups in my current placement I am always given my own assignment to do with each group in a
rotation. Because of this I dont see what my teacher is working on with students when they go to her
group, but I have never seen or implemented anything in reading class that really has a focus on a given
comprehension strategy for any amount of time. To me it seems to be a bunch of meaningless stories and
worksheets that the students have to complete while in class, generally tied to their spelling words during
that week, but that is the only connection I see.
Now that you have practiced and used the strategy with students, will you use the strategy in your
classroom? What will need to be in place (texts, materials, time, groupings) so you can teach this in
your classroom?
After practicing and using sequencing with my students in the classroom I would like to use it in my
classroom one day. In any placement I have seen, there has been a designated reading time for the whole
grade, where certain books and programs are being followed. Because of this there really isnt much time
for the teacher to do these kinds of lessons, like the ones I planned. But, on the flip side of that all of the
classrooms I have been in also have time for silent reading either at the beginning or end of the day. I think
this is a great time and place to squeeze in lessons like this. It is important for students to know and
understand all of the different kinds of comprehension strategies there are to make them better readers.
Because of this students dont need to be silent reading all the time, there can be days or weeks where
instead of taking that time to silent read, they are doing meaningful activities to practice their reading
comprehension skills. The materials and planning that I did for this set of lessons would be similar to what
I would need to do if I were to teach this in my own classroom. I would need stories that my students enjoy
and are familiar with, I would need good picture books, I would need fun and interactive ideas and
worksheets, I would need at least 20 minutes during the day, and I would most likely need to pre-plan
grouping. This would require some extra planning on my part but once I did it a few times I would have
those materials prepared and it wouldnt be too challenging to do it for years to come. I think this extra
time and energy is worth it though because this extra comprehension practice will translate back to when
they are in their readings groups as well as across all subjects.
What other strategies will you teach with this one to cover all the aspects (motivation and activation
of prior knowledge, monitoring and troubleshooting, integrating and using new knowledge) of
comprehension?
When teaching sequencing I do think other comprehension strategies could be included with it. We could
talk about finding the main idea and the supporting details in a story. Essentially sequencing is finding the
main events of a story and putting them in the order that they occurred, so these two ideas go hand in hand.
By bringing this idea up to the students when teaching lessons on sequencing they can also see and relate
the ideas of their sequence to what the main idea and supporting details are. Summarizing is also a
comprehension strategy that could easily be tied in with sequencing. In my lessons I stuck with sequencing
practice where the events were being represented in pictures, but I could have added on a lesson where the
students were read a story and then had to outline the order of events in words, summarizing the events as
they ordered them. By teaching all of these things together students will be self-monitoring as they are
reading or listening to stories in order to identify the main ideas and then be able to summarize them in
words or pictures. By being taught these strategies students should be able to activate their knowledge in
order to complete tasks on sequencing, summarizing, or finding the main idea.
