LiteracyLessonPlan

Term3
GradeLevel:4thand6thGrade
NumberofStudents68
Time:45minutes
WHAT
:Wewouldliketoteachaboutsetting.Settingiswhenandwhereastorytakesplace.Students
willusetheirimaginationtohelpthembettervisualizesettingwhenreadingandwriting.Thiswillallow
themtobettercommunicatethesettingofastorywithelaboratedetailwithintheirwriting.
HOW
:
Hook:Presentagoodexampleofsetting.Havestudentsclosetheireyesandattempttohavethem
visualizeasettingusingelaboratedetail.
Definesetting
Whatstrategiescanweusetocreateagoodwrittensettingforastory?
Presentscaffoldstrategiesthatstudentscanuseinordertoenhancetheirwrittendescriptionsofa
storyssetting.Showexamplesofeachofthescaffoldingstrategiestothestudents
Usethe5senses
Thesoftfurranthroughmyfingers.
Ibreathedinthesavory
(Assessmentimbeddedinthisone)
Activity:Providestudentswithpicturesthat
WHY
:
Settingisthetimeandplacewhereasceneoccurs.Itcanhelpsetthemood,influencethewaycharacters
behave,affectthedialog,foreshadowevents,invokeanemotionalresponse,reflectthesocietyinwhich
thecharacterslive,andsometimesevenplaysapartinthestory.Itcanalsobeacriticalelementin
nonfictionasthesettingprovidestheframeworkforwhatisbeingdiscussed.
Tomakethesettingcomealive,itsimportanttoincludesignificantdetails.Thatdoesntmeandescribing
everythingthecharacterssee,orgivingacompletehistoryofwherethesceneoccurs.Givingenough
informationtohelpreadersvisualizethesettingisimportant,buttoomanyminordetailswillbogdown
thestoryratherthanmoveitforward.


LiteracyLessonPlan
Term3
GradeLevel:4thand6thGrade
NumberofStudents68
Time:45minutes
LessonPlan

Objective:Studentswillbeabletousetheirimaginationtohelpthembettervisualizesettingwhen
readingandwriting.Thiswillallowthemtobettercommunicatethesettingofastorywithelaborate
detailwithintheirwriting.

StudentFriendlyVersion:SWBATwillusetheirimaginationtobettercreateanddescribesetting.

Hook(10minutes):Wewillpresentagoodexampleofsettinginclass.Studentswillclosetheireyesand
attempttovisualizethesettingthatisbeingdescribedtothem.Theythenwilltrytoverballydescribeit
usingelaboratedetail.Questionswillbeaskedaboutwhatwasimagined,howitwasimagined,andwhy.
Thishookwilllaunchusintoanexplorationtodiscussourcentralliteraryquestion:Whatstrategiescan
weusetocreateagoodwrittensettingforastory?

Activity(25minutes)
Settingwillbedefinedtostudentsaswhenandwhereastorytakesplace.
Thesestrategiesareaimedatprovidingstudentswithscaffoldedsupporttobetteranswerthe
centralliteraryquestion.
Scaffold1:Forthefirststrategywewillpresentthefivessensesforstudents.weWewillthen
presentfivesexamplesentencesthatusethe5senses,oneexampleofeachsense,forthestudents
toidentifythesensethatisusedintheexample.
Example:AsIwalkedintheroom,thearomaofgingerbreadandpeppermintfilledmy
nostrils.
Question:Whatsenseisusedinthissentence.

Studentswillthenbreakoutintopairsoftwotoselectapicturewhichwillactasasettingthat
theymustdescribein5sentencesutilizingthestrategyabove.Studentswillberequiredtouseall
ofthefivesensesintheirparagraph.Whilestudentsarediscussingtheirthoughtsandwriting,we
willcirculatearoundtheclasstoseethetypesofthethoughtsanddescriptionsthatarebeing
communicated,andtoseewhatisbeingwrittendown.Thiswillalsobedonetoprovide
assistancetostudentswhoneedadditionalhelp.Thetypesofsettingsthatwillbedepictedinthe
picturesarelistedbelow.
Model:Teacherwillusethesettingofacornerstoretomodelthisscaffold.Aloudtheteacher
willaskhimself/herselfwhatsenses(sight,sound,smell,touchandtaste)theyexperiencewhile
atthecornerstore.Inotherwordstheyaskhim/herself:whatdoIsee,hear,smell,touchandtaste
whileatthecornerstore?Teacher,whilepointingatthepictureofacornerstore,say:

Hmmm,whenIamatthecornerstoreIusuallyhearpeopletalkinginspanish.IalsoseecandythatI
canbuyatthecounter.Ismellfreshlycutonionsthatpeopleeatonhoagies.Itouchthequartersand


LiteracyLessonPlan
Term3
GradeLevel:4thand6thGrade
NumberofStudents68
Time:45minutes
dollarbillsinmypocketasIpayforthechipsIpayforabagofhotcheetos.Okay.WhatnarrativecanI
writeusingthesesenses.Thenpresentsstudentswithanexemplaryexamplenarrative:

AsIenteredthecornerstoreIcheckedmypocketstoseeifIhadanymoney.Ifeltcrumpleddollarbills
brushinbetweenmyfingertips,asIcheckedmypocketsforcash.Mystomachgrumbled,asIthoughtof
howgoodalargehoagiewouldtaste,rightnow.AsIwalkedovertogrababagofhotcheetos,I
overheardtheloudvoiceofthecashierassheyelledtotheguyinthebackofthestore.Icouldseethat
theywereverybusyfromthelonglineofpeopleinfrontofthesandwichcounter.

Afterreadingtheexampletheteacherposesthisquestion:Wheredoweseethesensesight,sound,smell,
touchandtasteinthisshortsettingparagraph?

Afterstudentsrespondtheteacherwillgiveinstructionsfortheactivity.

Okay,nowwithapartneryouwilltrythesamething!Withapartneryouwillselectapicturefromthe
pileofpictureswehaveonthisdesk.Withapartnerthinkaboutthesensesyouusewhenyouareinthis
setting.Thenusethosesensestocreateanarrativeparagraphthatflows.Yourexitticketistohandinthis
descriptionofsetting.

Settings:
Beach
Hauntedhouse
WinterCabin
Concert
Rainforest
Basketballcourt
FootballField
Movietheater
Carnival/AmusementPark
Bus/Subway
InsidetheCornerStore
Arcade
BusyCityStreet
GroceryStore
MidpointCheck:Astheteachercirculatesseeifstudentscomprehendtheactivityandstrategy.Ifsome
studentsarefinishedearlyhavethempairupwithanotherpartnergrouptosharetheirsettingandprovide
eachgroupwithfeedback.Forstudentsthatarestrugglingprovideasheetofpaperwithsentencestarter.
Seesentencestartersbelow.


LiteracyLessonPlan
Term3
GradeLevel:4thand6thGrade
NumberofStudents68
Time:45minutes

Conclusion(15minutes)
Afterstudentsaredoneworkinginpairs,teacherswillhighlightafewthingstheysawbeingdone
well.Studentswillbeaskedwhyissettingimportant.
Teacherswilldescribetheimportanceofsetting
setthemood
createemotiveeffects
createacertainfeelingorscene
foreshadowing(explainwhatforeshadowingisifnecessary)

Studentswillthensharealoudtheirexamples.
Studentswillbeaskediftheyhaveanyresidualquestions.
Teacherswillthenaskedhowthislessonimprovedtheirunderstandingofsetting.
Collectexitticket.

Accommodations:
PotentialSentencestarters:
Taste:
The_____tasted_____.
The______meltedinmymouth.
Iclosedmyeyesandcouldalmosttaste____.
Icouldjustimaginethetasteof______.
Sight:
Ilookedcloselyat_______.
InthedistanceIspied_______.
Outofthecornerofmyeye______.
Icaughtglimpseof_______.
Touch:
Ifeltthe_______.
Inoticedthe______feelingofthe_____.
Iranmyhandalong______andrealized_____.
Hear:
Ifyoulistenedclosely_____.
Inthedistance,Iheard______.
Iheard______.
Smell:
Igotastrongwhiffof______.
Itookadeepbreathandsmelled_____.
Ilovethesmellof______.


LiteracyLessonPlan
Term3
GradeLevel:4thand6thGrade
NumberofStudents68
Time:45minutes

OtherStrategiesforFutureLessons:
Thesecondstrategywillbealistofdescriptivewordthatcanbeusedwhenwritingabouta
setting.
Question:Cansomeoneuseoneofthesewordstodescribesomethinginasetting?
ThethirdstrategywillbetheacronymSETTING,whichcanbeusedtorememberthevarious
aspectsofsetting.
acronymforsetting
SSceneofastory
EEnvironment
TTime
TTemperature
IInside
NNature
GGeographicLocation