Teacher Education Lesson Plan Template

Teacher: Natalie King

Date: April 14th, 2016

Title of Lesson: Getting the Main Idea

Cooperating Teacher: Dr. Martinez

Core Components
Subject, Content Area, or Topic
4th Grade Language Arts Main Ideas of Nonfiction Texts
Student Population

There are 24 students 14 girls and 10 boys.

Learning Objectives
The student will be able to read and summarize a nonfiction text.
The student will be able to record the main idea of a nonfiction text after reading.
Virginia Essential Knowledge and Skills
4.6 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts.
a) Use text structures, such as type, headings, and graphics, to predict and categorize information in
both print and digital texts
c) Explain the authors purpose
d) Identify the main idea
e) Summarize supporting details.
f) Draw conclusions and make simple inferences using textual information as support
k) Use reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor comprehension.
VDOE Technology Standards
8VAC20-25-30
A. Instructional personnel shall be able to demonstrate effective use of a computer
software
English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)
Virginia uses the WIDA standards kindergarten through twelfth grade
Materials/Resources
Five to seven short nonfiction texts attached below (Education C. f., 2014)
Five to seven sheets on manila paper
A pencil or marker for each group
Tape
Computer or document camera
Safety (if applicable)
As the children move around the classroom they will be reminded to walk, not run, and to push in their
chairs. They will also be reminded to respect each others desks as they move around the classroom and to
not touch anything that is not theirs.

McDonalds Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.

Time
(min.)
1
minute

Process Components
*Anticipatory Set
The teacher will remind students of the difference between fiction and nonfiction texts,
specially what makes a nonfiction text different.
The teacher will then ask them what they should do when given a passage to read answer should be identify the main idea.

*State the Objectives (grade-level terms)

30
I can identify the main idea in a nonfiction text.
seconds

2
minutes

3
minutes

1
minute

5
minutes

*Instructional Input or Procedure

The teacher will introduce and explain the process of finding the main idea of a
nonfiction passage to the students. The teacher will tell the students that the first step to
finding the main idea to a passage is looking at the text features, such as the title, any
headings, and any pictures. The teacher will then tell the students the next step is to
read through the passage, focusing on the first few paragraphs. During this step the
teacher will remind the students to use reading strategies such as using their prior
knowledge of a topic, making/revising predictions, and visualizing in order to fully
understand the text so that they are able to come with the best main idea. The last step
the teacher will tell the students is to summarize what they have read in their heads and
come up with 1-2 sentences to describe what the passage was about. The teacher will
tell the students that the 1-2 sentences they create is the main idea of the passage. The
teacher will check for understanding and then tell the students they are going to
practice these skills as a class and in groups.
*Modeling
The teacher will display one of the nonfiction texts on the computer by using the
document camera. If the document camera does not work, the teacher can have a
larger print version ready to go and tape it to the whiteboard. The teacher will explain to
the class that she will read the text aloud, using good reading strategies, and will be
looking for the main idea of the text. As the teacher reads she will make sure to read
with proper tone and to think aloud strategically pausing and commenting on what
she believes the main idea is. After the teacher is finished reading she will think aloud
as she write the main idea of the text on the bottom of the sheet of paper. The teacher
will then use a small piece of tape and hide her answer, telling the students this is what
they must do before each rotation.
*Check for Understanding
The teacher will ask students to repeat definition of a main idea (the idea or concept
of the entire text) and share some strategies for finding the main idea. The teacher will
then ask students if they have any questions about what they are going to be doing with
their group during the activity. The teacher will clarify those questions if necessary.
*Guided Practice
The teacher will tell the class that they will be working with the four people they sit with
for the activity they are about to complete, making a total of six groups of four. Each
group will be instructed to clear off their desks except for a pencil. The teacher will then
give each group a sheet of manila paper and one of the short nonfiction texts. The
teacher will then tell the students to read the passage as a group and then discuss and
agree upon what the main idea might be. They will then write their groups answer on

McDonalds Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.

the bottom of the paper and tape it shut and wait for further instructions to rotate. As the
students work and discuss in their groups, the teacher will walk around the room and
put 6 pieces of tape on each groups desk. The teacher will also be monitoring the
students discussion to make sure they are correctly reading and identifying the main
idea of the text, offering input as needed to get students on the right track. After 5
minutes the teacher will gather the students attention and instruct them to move in a
clockwise motion to the next group and repeat the same process.

20
minutes

10
minutes

3
minutes

*Independent Practice
The teacher will instruct the students to rotate clockwise through the remaining 5
groups, gathering their attention after every 4 minutes. Extra time can be given if it
looks like the groups need more time to discuss and decide on an answer. At each
group the students will read the passage and discuss it within the group, deciding on
the main idea of the passage. The students will also use the tape and cover up their
answers before rotating. The teacher will continue to monitor the groups as the work,
but will not offer any input as in the modeling stage. After all six rotations the teacher
will gather the students attention and tell them that they are going to share their
answers with the class.
Assessment
The teacher will review the main idea responses out loud - going over each one,
affirming or correcting the choices, and explaining how or why the groups/teacher came
to that conclusion.
*Closure
The students will be asked to complete an exit ticket, summarizing and reflection upon
the activity they just completed. The students will be asked to write about the strategies
they used to find the main idea of the passages and what they believe they need to
practice in order to get better at this skill.

Differentiation Strategies (enrichment, accommodations, remediation, or by learning style).

If needed arrange groups by academic ability rather than by the seating chart that way the students
who are stronger readers can help those students who are not and those who are better
writers can help those who are not.
If students need help reading the text larger print versions can be made or an audio version can be
created. Individual attention can also be given to the student; specifically helping the
student read the passage.
Classroom Management Issues (optional)
The regular owl clip behavior chart will still be in effect during this lesson; students understand that
if they misbehave they will have to move their owl accordingly.
Specific attention will be given when the students are moving tables after each reading insuring
they are walking and not touching anything they arent supposed to.
Lesson Critique. To be completed following the lesson. Did your students meet the objective(s)? What part
of the lesson would you change? Why?

Overall I think that our lesson went well. I feel that by the end of the presentation that our
objectives were met and that all of the other students understood what this lesson was aiming to
do. If I could change things about this lesson I would first make sure that we selected the shorter
passage to read aloud with the class. I ended up choosing a longer one and ended up deciding not
to read the whole thing. I understand that this choice was made based upon time so I would have
more time for the actual group activity, but at the same time I wish I would have been able to read

McDonalds Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.

the whole passage. That would be been a more accurate portrayal of modeling and whenever I get
the chance to redo the lesson I will definitely keep this is mind. Another thing I might change is
making sure to clearly state that the main idea should be written in a complete sentence, because I
noticed one group not doing that and with younger children, as this is meant for, this would be
important to recite to the class.
As I was walking around the classroom during the group portion of this lesson I did notice a
few questions/concerns from the groups. One student made comment that the papers and
passages should be passed around and that the students should stay in their seats. I think for the
classroom setting that we were in last night that would have been the best option since the seats
arent set up in the best way to really move around. In a traditional classroom, however, I think it
important to get kids up and moving whenever possible so that they arent getting bored. I definitely
do appreciate this comment though and will jot it down in the Differentiation Strategies section of
this lesson. The other question/concern I heard was that some people did not understand why we
had the students fold the manila paper up and tape it. I wish we would have more explicitly stated
the reasoning behind that, I think we took for granted the thought process behind wanting to cover
up your answers. The next time this lesson is presented I want to begin the lesson by describing
the fact that the students will be in groups and really stress that during the modeling phase so that
when I then transition them to group work there is much less confusion.

*Denotes Madeline Hunter lesson plan elements.

Intern Signature

Cooperating Teacher Signature

Date

McDonalds Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.

The Football Team

A team is a group of people with a common goal. A schools football team has two goals.
One goal is to win. That is what the team wants to do. The other goal is to build character.
Character is what a person values, how a person relates to others. That is why schools have
football teams. They want to help students build good values.
There are many character traits that a football player can develop. One is leadership.
The quarterback of the team is a leader. The quarterback makes choiceswhich play to make,
who will get the ball. The quarterback has a big job. The quarterback has to inspire the players to
work together. If they are losing, the quarterback has to work even harder, to give the players hope
they still can win.
There is another leader, too. The leader of the defensive group. When the defensive group
is playing, that means the team may lose points. So the leader has to keep the team members
working together to stop that.
Each team member builds character. They learn to cooperate. They learn to make good
decisions. They work hard. They practice every day. They learn to follow the rules. If a team
member does not follow the rules, the entire team suffers.
Each team member has a position. Each position is part of winning. No one player has the
ability to win the game for the team. Only if the team works together does a team win.
People often say, There is no I in TEAM.
Whether the team wins or loses, at the end of the game they congratulate the other team.
That is called sportsmanship. While they fight to win during the game, it is just a game. They
cannot be angry with the other team. If they are, theyll hear from their coach.
The coach makes sure the team reaches the schools goal. The coach cares about the
whole team. The coach gives each player advice. When the team wins, everyone celebrates.
And the coach is glad. But after the season is over, the coach is still happy. The coach gets to see
the players as they go to school every day. The character they have built is part of their success in
school, too.
Some coaches say that if you go into a classroom at their school youll be able to tell the
players. It is not that they are bigger than the other students. It is the ones who are helping other
students work. Teamwork is part of their lives.

McDonalds Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.

Egypt
Egypt is a country in Africa. It is at the north part of the continent. The north side of
Egypt borders the Mediterranean. East of it is the Red Sea, Sudan to the south and Libya
to the west. Other countries are on its other sides. It is in a very special location. It is a
place that is close to Asia.
The capital of Egypt is Cairo. That is a really great city. It has been an important city
for a long time. It is the largest city in Africa. If you visit that city, you will find a very modern
place. You will see many cars. You will see many businesses, schools, and homes.
About 82 million people live in Egypt. They have a rich history. Long ago,
Egyptians made this the greatest place in the world. They built pyramids. These very smart
people invented ways to farm.
Long ago, Egyptians were wonderful leaders. They built great buildings. They set up
schools. They invented a special way of writing. That was called hieroglyphics.
They looked like pictures instead of alphabet letters.
You will still see hieroglyphics in Egypt today. But they are not used to read and
write. They are a part of history. Egypt has a long history. It has been a leader for a long
time. If you read Egypts history, you will know how great this country has been.
Today most Egyptians live near the banks of the Nile River. This is where the only
good land to farm is. Its a great place to live. There are other parts that are difficult to
livethey are deserts. So not many people live there.
About half of Egypt's residents live in cities. Those big cities are in the area of the
Nile River. If you go to Cairo, the biggest city, you will find millions of people.
Egypt has had some problems. There have been wars. There have been problems
of poverty. Poor people in the cities need jobs. They need homes. Egypt is working to
solve those problems.
Egypt is making its schools better. The school leaders are making plans to help
students learn more. They are planning ways to help parents help their children learn
more, too.
Egypt is a great country. It has a wonderful history. It will have a great future
because people are working hard. They are working together to get more jobs and homes.

McDonalds Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.

Space Food
You really know how important a clean kitchen is if you live in the same small place
for weeks. Everyone needs to have a clean kitchen so they are healthy. A dirty kitchen can
make people sick. Astronauts are people who travel on space ships. They need to have a
very clean home. They travel far from Earth. We need clean kitchens everywhere on earth
and in space.
Astronauts have to solve two problems: how to get food and how to keep their
spaceship clean. They need to solve them in order to stay alive. They are in a spaceship
far from Earth, and they need to take care of everything themselves. They need to be sure
they have what they need to live there, because the astronauts may be in space for weeks.
Here is how they solved the food problem. At first, the astronauts took tubes of food
with them into space. They would squeeze a tube and eat semi-liquid food. It did not taste
great, but since they did not need to take dishes or silverware with them, they had no
dishes to wash.
Todays spaceships have a bigger menu. Astronauts can eat from bowls. In fact,
they take cereal and other standard foods with them. The foods are packaged in special
containers to keep them fresh. They use knives, forks, and spoons. One unusual item on
their table is a pair of scissors. They use the scissors to open the food packages. They can
eat right from the package.
They have a kitchen on the spaceship. Its oven can heat food to 170 degrees.
The kitchen has water and sets of meals that come on trays. The astronauts choose their
menu before they go into space. They take a lot of food with them. The astronauts keep
bread and fresh fruits and vegetables in a special food locker. Most flights take tortillas.
They package the tortillas in an oxygen-free wrap so they stay safe.
How do they keep the kitchen clean? They do not have to worry about mice or other
rodents. They make sure that there are no rodents before the ship leaves. But sometimes
mice travel on the ship. Those mice are part of experiments. They live in cages.
How do astronauts keep their trays clean? That is another health problem the astronauts
solve. They need to stay healthy in space. To carry a lot of water to wash trays would be a
lot of extra weight. They pack wet wipes in plastic bags. They use them to clean trays. So,
their kitchen is clean and they stay healthy.

McDonalds Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.

PENGUINS
The penguin is a bird, but it does not fly. Penguins are not like other birds. They are
unique birds, and although they do have feathers, even their feathers are unusual. Other
birds have rows of feathers that grow in a specific pattern. A penguins feathers grow all
over, like hair on a mammal. You will not see penguins in the air, and you will not see them
in trees. You will see them in the water; in fact you will see them below the surface of the
water if you have an underwater video camera.
The penguin is an ocean bird, living in and near the ocean. The penguin spends
much time in the ocean; so much of its life is unknown. People only get to know penguins
well when they are on land, and the penguin can be at sea for months at a time.
While the penguin is not a great flier as the eagle is, the penguin can out-swim most
birds and probably out-swims some other aquatic animals. The penguin has thick strong
wings and flippers instead of feet that it uses to push through the water. When the penguin
is on land, it walks along slowly, and this limited mobility may be one reason the penguin
spends more time in the water. The penguins food source is in the water, the fish it
catches. They have soli bones, while other birds have bones that are not solid.

McDonalds Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.

Learning about the Solar System

When scientists looked at the stars long ago, they saw patterns. They did not
understand everything about what they saw. So they kept looking to learn more. That is
what scientists do. They ask questions and look for information to answer their questions.
They are like explorers. They do not travel far the way explorers do. But they do make a
kind of journey. They want to learn more. They go from what they know to what they
discover.
Scientists have learned about our planet. It is very big. It is very diverse. There are
places that are hot. There are places that are freezing. There are mountains and plains.
There are hills and valleys. There are deep oceans. There are great rivers and waterfalls.
There are rainforests. There are deserts. Those are all parts of our planet. There is much
more to learn about what is here on Earth. A scientist dedicates much time to learning. The
scientist works hard. The scientist helps us all find out more about our world.
Our planet is in a galaxy called the Milky Way. The sun is a big star in our part of
this giant galaxy. Our galaxy holds millions of other stars. The sun is very important to our
planet. The sun gives us light during the day. It gives us heat, too. Two other planets are
closer to the sun than Earth: Mercury and Venus. Scientists figured out how the Earth
changes. Earth orbits the sun once each year. It travels once around the sun every 365
days. The other eight planets in our solar system also orbit around the sun. All travel in a
pattern called an ellipse, which is a kind of oval. So at times Earth is farther from the sun.
Scientists figured out that made it cooler on Earth then. But they also figured out
that it is the tilt of the Earths axis, however, that has the greatest effect on temperatures.
Scientists are still learning about our galaxy. There is much to discover. Today astronauts
travel into space. They are explorers. It is dangerous to travel in space, but they are
dauntless. They bravely travel thousands of miles to learn.

McDonalds Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.

The Working Tools of Insects

Insects are wonderful. You need to look closely to learn about them. If you watch
them, you will learn a lot. I wonder if you know that the smallest insects you see about you,
all have tools that were given to them with which they do their work. There is a little fly
called a sawfly, because it has a saw to work with. It is really a much nicer saw than you
could make, if you were ever so bold.
The fly uses it to make places where the eggs will be safe. What is even stranger is
that it has a sort of homemade glue that fastens them where they are laid. Some insects
have cutting instruments that work just as your scissors do. The poppy-bee is one of them,
whose work is wonderful. This bee has a boring tool, too. Its nest is usually made in old
wood. This borer cleans out the nest to make it ready for use. When all is ready the insect
cuts out pieces of leaves to line the nest and to make the cells. These linings are cut out in
the shape of the nest. You would be surprised to see the care taken to have every piece of
leaf cut so that it is just the right size, so that it will fit just perfectly.
When they are fitted, the pieces are nicely fastened together and put into the nest.
Other animals have tools, too. For example, birds have bills or beaks. They use them to
get food. A woodpecker uses its bill to drill into trees. And then the woodpecker gets food.
The woodpecker eats insects. So one of the other tools insects need is a way to escape.
Some fly, some crawl. Theyre all part of nature.

McDonalds Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.

Breaking the Food Chain

A food chain is a link between plants and animals. It starts with a plant. The next
part of the link is a plant eater. When the prairie plants were uprooted, the animals that
depended on them lost their food source. So while the farmers produced more food for
people, they broke the animals food chain. For example, if a bird needs seeds to eat and
the plant is gone, that bird will not be able to survive. And the animals that ate that bird
wont have any food, either.
A food chain is part of a bigger system called a food web. That web links the living
things in an environment. The herbivores in that system depend on the plants. If the plants
are removed, the herbivores cannot survive. Herbivores in Chicago include rabbits,
squirrels, and many insects. Long ago, they used to include bison and deer. Today you will
find some deer in some parts of this area, but you wont find them in the city.
When herbivores lose their food, they die out. Then the carnivores, the animals that
eat other animals, lose their food, too. Wolves used to depend on the deer for their food.
Without deer, the wolves lost their food. Foxes died out, too. They had hunted birds, even
catching ducks when they were on the side of ponds. Remove just one kind of plant from
an environment and you disrupt a food chain. Plow up the land and you destroy the whole
system.
What happened in Chicago? People moved in. They built homes. They built streets.
They took away land from nature. Look at this timeline and youll see how more and more
people moved here. We dont have the numbers for the bison or deer. But we know that
today there are no bison in Chicago, you will only find them at the zoo.
1880 The population of the city is 503,185; farms continue to expand
1890 The population of the city is 1,099,850
1900 The population is 1,698,676
1910 Factories expand in the city; population is 2,185,283
1920 The citys population has grown to 2,701,705
1930 The citys population is 3,376,438

McDonalds Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.

References
Education, C. f. (2014). One-Page Nonfiction Readings: Grade 4. ( Polk Bros. Foundation Center
for Urban Education) Retrieved March 23, 2016, from Teacher.Depaul:
http://teacher.depaul.edu/Reading_NONFICTION_Grade4.html
Education, V. D. (2012). English Sample Lesson Plans. Retrieved November 2015, from Virginia
Department of Education.

McDonalds Draft (2010). Modified by Kreassig and Gould (2014) for use with student teachers.