Audrey Nord, EDU 320

Early Childhood, 4-18-16

Topic:
A 2nd grade English lesson centered on a Big Book by Audrey Nord and titled, Antonys
Picky Picnic.
Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.A
Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate
understanding of key details in a text.

1. Objective:
The students will be able to recall and create a list of which foods Antony did or did not
like to eat.
The students will be able to compare and contrast the different foods and the
characteristics each possesses.
The students will be able to analyze the various foods, their characteristics, word
structure, and other such aspects in order to draw logical conclusions.
2. Motivation: Students should have some prior experience is completing word puzzles, as
well as comparing and contrasting two or more items. These previous skills will provide a
foundation for the students to grow their logical reasoning skills and comparison skills.
Further, the students should be familiar with finding/counting syllables as well as other
basic word mechanics. Students will be encouraged to be creative and consider all of the
possibilities as they puzzle out the books challenge.
3. Instructional materials:
- Big Book: Antonys Picky Picnic
- Corresponding Big Book activity sheets (30)
- Pencils

4. Procedures:
- Students will be called up to the Big Book station in a random order by rows.
- Students will engage in active listening as main body of the text is read aloud by the
teacher. (7 minutes)
- Students will take turns reading the conversations and comments between the characters
Antony and Antoinette.
- As the story is being read, the students will record Antonys opinion of each food that is
found in the basket.
- When the story is finished the students will be allowed to explore and reread sections of
the story for themselves. (10 minutes)
- As the students go back through the story they will look for connecting clues to begin
solving the challenge presented by the book.
- Also, the students will collaborate with one another to generate common characteristics
of the foods.
- The students will present their findings and the reasoning behind their answers. (3
minutes)
- Students will then be allowed to explore the book for pleasures sake, before the next
group is called up. (5 minutes)
- As one group of students sits down the next comes up and the process is repeated.
- In closing the students will have the opportunity to share their findings and reasoning
with the entire class if they so choose.
5. Academic vocabulary:
Syllables, characteristics, compare, contrast, similarities, differences
6. Assessment and Evaluation:
Informal assessment will be taken through teacher notes of the students collaborative
conversation as they try to solve the puzzle and their use of logical thinking skills and
vocabulary terms.
Formal assessment will be taken through the activity sheet on which each student records
their reasoning process and final answers.
7. Value Added:
Universal Design for Learning:
- For a student with a visual impairment the big book will be held closer to the
student to aid in the reading. Also an enlarged print copy of the characters
dialogue will be provided for the student to read from.

For a student with a hearing impairment a recorded version of the read aloud will

be provided, along with a listening device and earphones.

For a student with ADHD a manipulative, such as a stress ball, will be provided
for the student to manipulate as he concentrates.

8. Reflection:
The lesson with my crafted big book when very well. It was rewarding to see the
second grade students so engaging in the book itself and in solving the books puzzle.
The lesson was taught using rotating groups of four to five students at a time and this
methodology for presenting the book proved to be extremely effective. It gave the
students an opportunity to experience and interact with the book much more than they
would have been able to if the whole class participated all at once. It also made managing
the students much easier for myself, as well as allowing me a chance to guide and prompt
them in a more direct setting. All of the groups were very attentive, I think because the
students were all curious about this mysterious huge book that I had brought into class.
The first group picked up on the challenge within the book and they knew to look for the
characteristics of the food that Antony liked to eat. They discovered the answers for
themselves with only minimal prompting from myself. In fact they even found an
additional common characteristic that I had overlooked. However, the second group was
confused by what they were looking for and thought they were finding Antonys two
favorite foods, rather than finding the foods characteristics. I had to use much more
guidance with this group, but towards the end it finally clicked for them and they
discovered the answers as well. The comprehension of the third and fourth group varied
with some of the students understanding what their task was, while others would not.
When I would give as short introduction to the book and explain the challenge before
actually beginning the story the students were able to understand what was expected of
them better. For a future lessons I would be sure to always give an introduction and
explanation before beginning the story. This confusion could easily be avoided when
presented to a slightly higher grade classroom. An additional resource that could build up
student involvement in the books puzzle would be markers that represent each food that
Antony tries. Each student would be given their own set of markers, then as the story is
being read they could keep track of what foods Antony does or does not like. This would

help the students as they use critical analyzing skills to solve the puzzle, because it would
give them a visual and physical representation for them to manipulate.