1

Lesson Title: Studying and Measuring the Effects of Earthquakes

Name Date Grade /Age Number Length

3/13/19 Grade 3/Ages 8 20 students Whole Class

and 9 Literacy Lesson:
Emily Balter 30-45 minutes

Context
Describe the student population of the school/class/group in terms of linguistic background,
language proficiency, gender, race, ethnicity, and other relevant aspects.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education profile of

the Donald McKay K-8 School in East Boston, 88.9 percent of students are Latino, 60.5 percent
are classified as English Language Learners, and 62.2 percent are from families of low-income
(2018). I am in a Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) third grade co-taught classroom of twenty
students. All students speak Spanish as their home language, with exception to one student who
speaks Portuguese. Students are from multiple countries including Columbia, El Salvador, Chile,
and Brazil. The majority of students in my classroom are between WIDA English Language
Proficiency levels two and three. Four students are newcomers and classified as WIDA level
ones.

Describe the context of the lesson, i.e. previous and subsequent lessons and units.
This lesson is part of the literacy unit theme on how natural disasters impact the lives of people.
Students have learned about hurricanes and tornadoes, and are now currently studying
earthquakes. Each week during this unit focuses on a different natural disaster, and after each
mini lesson, students have the opportunity to engage in guided reading, writing, math, and
STEAM (science, technology, art, and math) center activities. Each center activity is connected
to the topic of the week, and through these centers, students extend their knowledge on natural
disasters. During the mini lessons, students learn new vocabulary and engage in an interactive
read aloud. The teachers incorporate both fiction and non-fiction texts into the unit. In prior
weeks, the focus literacy standard was main idea and details, and this current week focuses on
cause and effect. The most recent real aloud was Planet Earth/ Inside Out by Gail Gibbons.
 2

Rationale
Why did you choose this content/language foci? Why is it important? How does it relate to
students’ or community’s needs and assets, the program’s/school’s mission? What research
supports your choice of content/language foci?

In this lesson, I teach students about the harmful effect of earthquakes and how scientists study
these effects through two chapters in the non-fiction picture text, Earthquakes, by Ker Than.
Chapter 1 “Shakes and Shocks” describes the destructive effects of the 1906 earthquake in San
Francisco Bay, and chapter 4, “Studying Quakes” discusses the ways scientists measure
earthquakes. I decided to pair these two chapters together because students are studying cause
and effect this week, and chapter 4 helps students understand how these effects are measured.
Additionally, during the STEAM center on this day, students are making their own
seismographs, and reading about this measurement device will allow them to build their
background knowledge on seismographs.
Through reading these two chapters as a whole class interactive read aloud, students will develop
academic language, and extend their knowledge of earthquakes. In reference to Giroir et al., by
teaching tier II and tier III vocabulary in a meaningful context, students learn both the meaning
and form of a word. The visual text features also help students make meaning of new vocabulary.
Additionally, during an interactive read aloud, students have opportunities engage in discussion
and practice using new vocabulary in sentences (Giroir, et al., 2015). The vocabulary I will teach
in my lesson will help my students comprehend the effects of earthquakes and how the effects of
earthquakes are measured.
I will teach two of my tier III vocabulary words, ‘geologist’ and ‘magnitude’ by introducing the
Spanish cognates of these words. In reference to Hernández et al., integrating Spanish-English
cognates into a literacy lesson allows Spanish-speaking students to use their incredible linguistic
knowledge in acquiring new academic vocabulary (2016). By teaching Spanish-English
cognates, my students can apply their own linguistic resources to make connections to the
vocabulary they are learning and deepen their understanding of the content (Hernández, et al.,
2016).
In this lesson, I will differentiate instruction so that all students can meet the same objectives
(Ford). For my students who are WIDA level ones, I will ensure they have the visual support
they need to understand and access new vocabulary terms. They will also have guided sentence
frames to use when responding to questions about the text.

Standards
List the standards your lesson targets (e.g., MA Curriculum Framework, WIDA, etc.) and
explain how your activities address them. Two examples are provided.
Standard Activity

English language learners communicate for At the beginning of the lesson, students will
social and instructional purposes within the discuss the information they have already
school setting (WIDA ELD Standard 1). learned about earthquakes.

English language learners communicate
information, ideas and concepts necessary for
academic success in the content area of
language arts (WIDA ELD Standard 2)
Use a known root word as a clue to the
meaning of an unknown word with the same
root (e.g., company, companion). (MA
Curriculum Frameworks L.3.4.c)
Use sentence-level context as a clue to the
meaning of a word or phrase (MA Curriculum
Frameworks ELA L.3.4.a).
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate
understanding of a text, referring explicitly to
the text as the basis for the answers. (MA
Curriculum Frameworks ELA RL.3.1)
Use information gained from illustrations (e.g.,
maps, photographs) and the words, numbers,
and symbols in a text to demonstrate
understanding of the text (e.g., where, when,
why, and how key events occur). (MA
Curriculum Frameworks RI.3.7)
I feel connected to other people and know how
to talk, work and play with others even when
we are different or when we disagree (Social
Justice Standards DI.3-5.9).
Objectives
Content Objectives
 Students will be able to identify the meaning of new vocabulary words using morphology
or context clues.
3
While reading chapter 1, students will discuss
the effects of earthquakes and how earthquakes
impact the lives of people.
In the text, the root word “collapse” is used
with two different inflectional morphemes,
‘ing’ and ‘ed’. Students will use their
knowledge of the root word to identify the
meaning of “collapsing” and “collapsed”.
Students will determine the meanings of words
such as ‘geologists’ ‘seismologists’, and
‘magnitude’ using context clues from the text.
When responding to questions about the effects
of earthquakes and how scientists measure
these natural disasters, students will use the
text and new vocabulary to support their ideas.
During the read aloud, students will use text
features (photographs, maps, and diagrams) to
determine the meaning of new vocabulary
words and enhance their understanding of
earthquakes.
During whole class discussions and turn and
talks, students need to respect each other’s
ideas.
 4

 Students will be able to explain the effects of earthquakes and how scientists measure
these natural disasters using evidence and key vocabulary terms from the text.

 Students will be able to use text features and additional photographs to determine the
meaning of new vocabulary terms and extend their knowledge of the text.

Language Objectives

● Students will be able to orally explain the meaning of ‘collapsing’ and ‘collapsed’, and
“ruptured” using their knowledge of root words.

● Students will be able to explain the meanings of vocabulary words including

‘seismologist’, and ‘magnitude’ using context clues.

● Students will be able to explain the meaning of vocabulary words using text features and
additional photographs.

● Students will be able to orally explain the effects of earthquakes and how scientists
measure these natural disasters using the sentence frames, ‘one effect of earthquakes is
______’ and ‘scientists study earthquakes by ________.’

Social Justice Objectives

● Students will be able to respect and thoughtfully listen to each other’s ideas.

Materials
List all materials needed in each lesson. Give bibliographic information on books, films,
kits, etc., to be used during the lesson.

● The text, Earthquakes by Ker Than

● Vocabulary picture cards with definitions: collapse, geologist, rupture, seismic waves,
seismologist, seismograph, magnitude
● Photographs of the destruction from the 1906 Earthquake in San Francisco
● Sentence frames: one effect of earthquakes is ______’ and ‘________study earthquakes
by _________
● Anchor chart or whiteboard
● Visuals to represent the information on the anchor chart
● Map of the U.S.
● Two smaller whiteboard
Procedure (The How)
The procedure is the set of instructional steps that constitute the heart of the lesson and contains
three parts: Opening, Development, and Closing (described below). All activities need to be
differentiated to address the needs and assets of your diverse group of learners, e.g. you need to
plan for students of various proficiency levels. Number each step of the procedure and explain
exactly what you plan to do and how long it will take. Provide enough detail to allow someone
 5

else to teach from your plan. Each step should be a few sentences in length. The number of steps
in a lesson plan will vary from lesson to lesson.

Opening (5) minutes)

To capture the interest and attention of your learners, open your lesson with a motivational
activity. Relate the lesson to previous lessons/learning; review material previously taught.
It is also important to tell the pupils the goals and rationale of this lesson.

1. To begin the teacher will show students images illustrating the effects of the 1906
earthquake in San Francisco. She will ask students, what do you see in these
photographs? Students will turn and talk and then share their ideas. The teacher will then
ask, which natural disaster do you think caused this damage and why? She will tell
students, these photographs are from an earthquake that happened in San Francisco
many years ago, and today we are going to be learning more about the effects of this
earthquake and how scientists study these effects. She will show students a map of the
United States to show students where San Francisco is located. The teacher will ask
students to recall the information that they have already learned about earthquakes.

2. The teacher will introduce the text, Earthquakes. She will show students the front and
back cover of the text, and will ask, is this book fiction or non-fiction and how do you
know? She will also ask students, in non-fiction texts, what helps us understand the new
information? Students should know that there are text features in non-fiction texts. She
will ask students, what do you see on the front cover? Students will share their ideas.

3. The teacher will introduce the objectives of the lesson:

a. I can explain the effects of earthquakes using new vocabulary words
b. I can explain how scientists measure these effects using new vocabulary words

Development (20 minutes)

This section should include a series of activities that will foster learning - new content, concepts
and/or skills. Present these steps in a logical order, one activity flowing into and building upon
another. When you design these steps, consider three basic questions: "What new content,
concepts and/or skills do I want to teach the pupils? What inquiry-based/process-oriented
activities can I devise to help pupils arrive at the new learning independently? What
examples/explanations can I give to extend their new learning?" Activities should move from
simple to complex, concrete to abstract. Key questions to be used during various activities should
be included. It is through these activities that the goals and objectives will be accomplished.

1. Before beginning to read chapter 1, the teacher will read the chapter name, “Shakes and
Shocks” and will ask, what are shakes? She will remind students to think about what they
already know about earthquakes and what happens to the ground when there is an
earthquake. After students respond, the teacher will demonstrate the word ‘shake’. She
will then ask students about the word ‘shock’ using the visual on the page to help them.
After students respond, the teacher will explain that ‘shocks’ are when disasters suddenly
happen, like earthquakes. The teacher will ask students, looking at the photograph, what
 6

could this chapter be about? Students will respond using the sentence frame, ‘I
predict_______.’ The teacher will tell students to think about the effects of earthquakes
as they are reading.

2. The teacher will read page 7. Although the words ‘crumple’, ‘topple’, and ‘hurl’ are not
focus vocabulary, the teacher will briefly demonstrate these words. The teacher will write
the word ‘collapsing’ on the whiteboard. She will underline the two parts of this word
and will ask students, what word do you see in this word? After students respond, she
will post the vocabulary card ‘collapse’ on the board with the definition covered. She will
ask students to use the visuals and the text to identify the meaning of this word. After
students respond, the teacher will share the definition, ‘to fall down’. She will explain
that ‘ing’ is the present progressive form of the verb.

3. The teacher will read page 8 and will relate the information back to the visuals from the
introduction. She will explain the map and the intensity scale. She will emphasize that
although the San Francisco earthquake only lasted 45 seconds, it still caused severe
damage and there was even shaking in other states. The teacher will read page 9 and will
briefly explain, “rippled like a stormy sea”, ‘blaze, and ‘dynamite’. She will write down
the word ‘collapsed’ on the whiteboard, and will ask, which vocabulary word do you see
in this word? She will explain that ‘ed’ is the past tense of ‘collapse.’ The teacher will
also write the word ‘ruptured’ on the board and will underline the root and morpheme.
She will ask students to identify the word they see. After student respond, she will post
the vocabulary card word ‘rupture’ on the board. Students will use visuals to identify the
meaning and the teacher will then present the definition, ‘to break’. The teacher will
finish the chapter and will post the vocabulary card ‘geologist’ on the board and will also
write the Spanish cognate, “geólogo’ underneath. She will explain that a geologist is a
“scientist who who studies the structure of the earth” (glossary). Students will use context
clues or the Spanish cognate to determine the meaning.

4. Before reading chapter 4, students will discuss the effects of earthquakes using key
vocabulary terms. Students will turn and talk and then share as a whole class. The teacher
will write down students’ ideas on an anchor chart. Students will use the sentence frame,
‘one effect of earthquakes is_______.’ The teacher will visually show how earthquakes
cause these effects.

5. The teacher will read the title of chapter 4, “Studying Quakes”, and will ask students to
predict what they think the chapter is about. After reading page 33, she will post the
vocabulary card seismic waves’ and will explain that seismic waves are “waves of energy
that travel through the earth and make the ground shake” (glossary). After reading page
34, the teacher will explain the diagram.

6. After reading page 35, the teacher will post the vocabulary card, ‘seismologist’ on the
board, and will ask students, who are seismologists and what do they study? Students
need to use the information from the text. She will then post the vocabulary card,
‘seismograph’ and will ask, what is a seismograph? The teacher will explain the
photograph of the seismograph. From the text, students should know that seismograph is
 7

a “device that records movements of the ground” (p. 35).

● The teacher will read page 36 and will post the vocabulary card ‘magnitude’ on the board
with the Spanish cognate ‘magnitud’, and will ask students to identify the meaning of the
word using the text. She will ask, how is the magnitude of an earthquake measured?
After reading page 37, teacher will further explain the Richter scale. To help students
understand this scale, she will ask, if an earthquake has a magnitude of 2, do you think
the effects were small or large? And if an earthquake has a magnitude of 9, do you think
the effects were small or large? She will also ask, what magnitude do you think the
earthquake in San Francisco was? She will draw students’ attention back to the
photographs from earlier in the lesson. To close the chapter, the teacher will ask students,
how are the effects of earthquakes measured? Students will use the sentence frame,
‘________study earthquakes by ________ to respond. Students who are WIDA level
ones will use a more guided sentence frame,’ ______study earthquakes by using a _____
to measure the ______.’

Closing (8 minutes)

The closing includes the concluding activity and a recapitulation of the lesson's objectives and
student learning.

1. To conclude, students will participate in a short game. Students will be divided into
two teams and they will each have whiteboards. I will ask students four questions
about the effects of earthquakes and how they are measured. Students need to answer
these questions using a key vocabulary word in a complete sentence. If students are
correctly able to use a vocabulary word in a sentence, their team earns a point.

2. The teacher will ask, what did we learn today? She will review the objectives of the
lesson so students know the learning goals they accomplished.

Assessment
Describe how you will determine which pupils have met the lesson goals/objectives. What
evidence will you examine while the lesson is in progress to establish which pupils are
learning? In other words, describe formative and summative assessment tools.

 During the read aloud, the teacher will assess students’ ability to use morphemes and
context clues to determine the meaning of new vocabulary words

 During the read aloud, the teacher will assess students’ ability to explain the effects of
earthquakes and how scientists measure these natural disasters using evidence and key
vocabulary terms from the text.

 During the read aloud, the teacher will assess students’ ability to use text features and
additional photographs to determine the meaning of new vocabulary terms and extend
their knowledge of the text.
 8

Extension
Within the lesson: Extensions are creative activities designed to extend student learning but
are not part of the original lesson. These are activities that pupils can complete in activity
centers, the library, or at home.

 In the STEAM center, students will be creating their own seismographs

 This week, students will continue to be studying cause and effect in literacy centers.

Beyond the lesson: Explain what you plan for the next lesson; explain the focus of the new
learning that will take place.

 For the next lesson, students will be beginning the text, I survived the San Francisco
Earthquake, 1906, by Lauren Tarshis a realistic fiction chapter book. In this book,
students will be learning more about how an earthquake can drastically impact the lives
of people.

References

Ford, K. (n.d.). Differentiated instruction for English Language Learners. !Colorin

Colorado! Retrieved from http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/differentiated-
instruction-english-language-learners

Giroir, S, Grimaldo, L.R., Vaughn, S, & Roberts, G (2015). Interactive Read-Alouds For
English Learners in the Elementary Grades. The Reading Teacher, 68 (8), 639-
648.

Hernández, A.C, Montelongo, J.A, & Herter, R.J. Using Spanish-English Cognates in
Childrens Choices Picture Books to Develop Latino English Learners’ Linguistic
Knowledge (2016). The Reading Teacher, 70 (2), 223-239.

Massachusetts Department of Secondary and Elementary Education. Massachusetts

Curriculum Frameworks English Language Arts and Literacy. Retrieved from
http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/search/SubjectSearch.aspx#high

Massachusetts Department of Secondary and Elementary Education. School and District

Profiles: Donald McKay. Retrieved from
http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/general/general.aspx?topNavID=1&leftNavId=100&
orgcode=00350080&orgtypecode=6
 9

Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards. Retrieved from:

https://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/201706/TT_Social_Justice_Standards
%20_0.pdf

WIDA. English language development standards. Retrieved from

https://wida.wisc.edu/teach/standards/eld