CarlsonLG1


 * This lesson plan has been modified from the website http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=874 It is a lesson plan to teach about story structure.*

Understanding Story Structure Grade 2 Length of lesson: 2 days

GOAL In written narratives, students organize and relate a story line/ plot/ series of events by...

OBJECTIVE Students will demonstrate an understanding of creating a clear, understandable story line with a beginning, middle, and end when given a structure. Students will demonstrate a positive attitude toward reading.

PREASSESSMENT In order to see what students already know about the structure of a story i will have the students write their own story and see if they include all of the parts of a story. Another assessment I could do would be to read a story to the children and see if they can point out the different components of a story.

MATERIALS
 * 3 fairy tale books (The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Humpty Dumpty)
 * Chart Paper for reading questions
 * Beginning, Middle, and End chart for each student [|Chart]

INTRODUCTION To start the lesson I will activate the children's prior knowledge by talking about fairy tales. I will ask the students how fairy tales usually begin and how they end. I will also ask them what happens in the middle. I will introduce the children to the pre-reading questions (Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?) and the beginning, middle, and end chart. I will also give the students the affective assessment to see how the students feel about reading.



LESSON DEVELOPMENT I will read the first fairy tale book aloud to the students. I will tell them to pay close attention to what happens in the beginning, middle, and end of the story. I will stop occasionally to ask the students some of the reading questions and to add to the chart as we go along. After the story has been read aloud I will go over the chart that the class has put together. I will then have some sentences already printed to have the children sequence. This will show that the students can put the events into the order they occured. I will then read another fairy tale aloud to the class and have them do the same thing. This will reinforce the concept of beginning, middle, and end.

CLOSURE To end the lesson I will go around the room and ask each the children what the concepts of a story structure are. I will ask them to tell me what a plot is, what is the beginning, middle, and end, and what the characters are.

ASSESSMENT To assess the students I will have them pick out their own fairy tale book and have them fill out their own beginning, middle, and end chart. They will also have to answer the questions of who, what, when, where, why, and how. I will assess the students by using a rubric of how well they answered the questions and filled in the chart.

Story Structure Rubric GREAT JOB!!! NEEDS MORE WORK! Beginning, Middle, End Chart
 * ALMOST THERE! ||
 * * Chart filled in completely
 * 3 examples for each part of the story ||
 * Missing one part of the chart
 * 2 examples for each part of the story ||
 * Didn’t do the chart
 * One or fewer examples ||
 * Writing Questions ||
 * All questions answered
 * Used complete sentences
 * Used examples from the story ||
 * Missing a question
 * List of the answers
 * Few examples from the story ||
 * A lot of questions not answered
 * No examples from the story ||
 * No examples from the story ||

LEARNER FACTORS To accomodate the students who may have trouble reading the story on their own, I will have them read a story with a partner but have them each fill out their own charts and questions. Since I am testing their story structure skills it is more important for them to understand the concept of story structure for this lesson. Reading development is another lesson.

ENVIRONMENT While I am reading the story to the students they will be sitting on the carpet as a class. When they are filling out their own charts the students will be at their desks. The students have to be careful as they are moving around the classroom.

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Lesson: Excellent activation of prior knowledge about fairy tales. You have included an appropriate mix of guided and independent practice, which will help you ensure that they understand what they are supposed to do, and will also give them the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding. They will also provide a concrete product for you to assess. I worry a little about your proposed closure activity, since it relies on the ability to make it around to each student individually. Would there be a way to do this with the whole class? Lastly, where would you go next with this? I think to really meet the goal, students would need to produce their own stories with appropriate sequencing. This is more challenging with younger grades, but I think it would be an entirely appropriate activity. It would also be a nice performance assessment for this goal, which would provide a finished product for a portfolio. Great job! (Dr. Adamy)**
 * 3/2/07 - Kelly: Good pre-assessment. Either activity would give you information you need about their understanding of sequencing in a story. Be sure that in either activity they are crystal clear about what you are asking them to do (validity issue), and that they each produce something written for you to assess.