Lesson+Plan


 * This lesson plan has been modified from the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (Pals) website. It can be found at the following website: http://pals.virginia.edu/Virginia/Activities/activity.cfm?type=edit&what=Activity&id=357&subcategoryID=13

Title:** Information Hunt 1. What is the title of the story? 2. Who is the author of the story? 3. What is the setting of the story? 4. Who are the characters in the story? 5. What are the characters going to find at the beginning of the story? 6. What do the children have to do to become Master Librarians? 7. Why do they want to become Master Librarians? 8. What was the answer to the riddle? 9. What is a plot in a story? 10. What are main ideas in a story? 11. What is a submarine? 12. Tell two facts about an octupus. 13. Tell two facts about a shark. The questions on the index cards cover all of the objectives effectively and are placed in the shoe box. I will explain to the class that they will be asked to "hunt" for information by finding the answer to the question asked on the their index card. I will also explain that the questions pertain to the plot, main ideas, and concepts of the story. They will be given enough time for everyone to come up with the answer to their question. I will instruct the students to begin reading the story silently. After everyone has finished reading I will have each student pick one index card from the show box. I will ask them to silently hunt for the information to answer the question. After every student has found their answer, one by one they will read their question aloud. They will then answer their question and explain where or how they came up with their answer. This way, for example, if there is a student who cannot identify who the characters are, they will be informed by their classmates where they can find this information.
 * Grade Level:** Third Grade
 * Approximate time to teach:** 45 minutes
 * Materials and Resources:** The book, //Dolphins at Daybreak,// by Mary Pope Osborne, Magic Tree House Books//;// index cards; a shoe box
 * Introduction:** To begin my lesson, I will ask the students questions in order to activate their prior knowledge. I will ask them if they know where they can locate a title of a story and the author in a book; I will also ask them if they know anything about things that are mentioned in the book such as facts about animals in the ocean. After this is accomplished I will explain to them that we will be focusing on main ideas, plot, and concepts, using the book Dolphins at Daybreak. I will give definitions of each of our focuses in order to ensure their comprehension of what the lesson is going to be about.
 * Lesson Development:** First, I will begin by informing the students that we will be doing an activity called information hunt. I will have prepared index cards with questions pertaining to the story. Some examples of the questions on the index cards are:

I will then explain to the students that they will be participating in Literature Circles. I will break them up into groups and each student will be assigned one of the following roles: Discussion Director, Literary Luminary, Word Wizzard, Connector, Summarizer, Illustrator, Investigator. I will explain what each role's responsibility is. I will ask them for homework that night, to take on their assigned role and bring in their findings and work to class the following day. The next day, I will ask each of the groups to get together and discuss and share what they found and did as their role within the group. The purpose for this activity is to generate group discussion pertaining to the text.

1.1-Students will be asked to read a story and then identify the title, author, and give a brief summary. 1.2-Students will be asked to make a list of the main ideas from the same story as assessment 1.1. 1.3-Students will be asked to write a journal entry connecting the story they read to prior knowledge or personal experiences.
 * Closure:** After my information hunt activity has been completed, I will review what has been learned. I will go over any areas of difficulty that the students might have had throughout the activity. For example, if a student was having trouble locating the author of the story. I will also ask the students questions such as, "Who can tell me what a plot is" or "Who can tell me what main ideas are" in order to reiterate the lesson being learned.
 * Assessment:**

Affective Assessment-Students will complete an inventory of attitudes about reading worksheet. Literature Circle Checklist-Students will be observed while actively participating in their Literature Circles.


 * Learner Factors:** If there are students who read slower than others, I will instruct the class that when they finish reading the story they should go back anfd start making a list of what they think are the main ideas. This way, while they are working on that, the students who haven't finished reading, have more time. For students who may be having trouble finding the answer to the question on their index card, I can pair them up with other students who have already found their answers. If there are a bunch of students having difficulty finding the answer I can also pair them up and together, they can assist eachother in finding the answer. This way, they will have a classmate to help them and will not feel pressured or embarassed when they are answering their question for the rest of the class.
 * Environment:** I have no issues of safety for my activity. I will only be moving students around if they are having trouble coming up with an answer to their question.

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