Small Reading Group Lessons

Addressing Comprehension
(Lessons One and Two)

Name: Lindsay Ptasienski

Date: November 16, 2010

Grade Level/Subject: 6th Grade/Language Arts

Context: The students in this class are in 6th grade—11 and 12 years old. Most of the students in this class are reading
somewhere between a 4-6 grade reading level. Since I am teaching in a 6th grade social studies class at Edison Middle
school, we are completing the reading group assignment in their Flex period, which is their study hall. We will be using
their typical classroom. There are 15 students in the classroom of all different racial, socio-economic, cultural
backgrounds. There are dialect speakers in the classroom, which is why I chose the Langston Hughes story, but there are
not any ELLs.

Definition and Purpose: Much like my individual child report, many of the students in this class need help with their
reading comprehension. This lesson is similar to my previous lessons for my individual child, but more in depth for the
students. They will be practicing the skills of making predictions, reading, asking questions, rereading, answering
questions, summarizing, and developing themes.

Short Story Being Used: Thank You Ma’m By: Langston Hughes

Hughes, Langston. "Thank You Ma'm." 1958. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. <http://staff.esuhsd.org/danielle/English
%20Department%20LVillage/RT/Short%20Stories/Thank%20Yo u,%20Ma%27am.pdf>.

Prerequisite Knowledge: The student will know what it means to predict, to question, to clarify, and to write a
summary. The student will need to know how to write about reading.

Approximate Time: 80 minutes (two 40 minute class periods)

Content Goals:

- Students will be able to make predictions about the story based upon the title and the first three sentences of the
story.
- Students will be able to underline words that they do not understand as we read the story together.
- Students will ask questions about the story when we are through reading.
- Students will be able to relate the story to current events, and answer “what if...” questions
- Students will explore the definition of integrity through a class discussion and provide positive and negative
examples from the story and their own experiences.

Illinois Learning Standards:

1.B.2a Establish purposes for reading; survey materials; ask questions; make predictions; connect, clarify and extend
ideas.
1.B.3a Preview reading materials, make predictions and relate reading to information from other sources.
1.B.3d Read age-appropriate material with fluency and accuracy.
1.C.3a Use information to form, explain and support questions and predictions.

Materials/Resources/Technology:
Smart Board
“Yes Ma’am” By Langston Hughes
Writing Utensil
“Predictions” Worksheet

Implementation:

We will begin the class by defining the word “integrity.” The students will talk about the definition as a class, and we will
form a list of words we would use to define it, and share stories of moments defined by integrity. I will then read the first
three lines of the story to the kids, and they will make their own personal predictions of what they believe will happen in
the story. They will use their “Predictions” graphic organizer to predict three things that will happen in the short story.
Once they have finished making their predictions, I will read the story aloud to the students, without them having the story
in front of them. The will then each ask 3-5 questions to clarify what happened in the story.

Time
Opening of lesson: (Objectives, hook, behavior expectations)

At the beginning of the class, I will ask the students for their eyes facing front, and their
mouths closed. I will then state that in order for us to complete this activity in a fun way,
then I expect respectful participation from the entire class, which means raised hands and
a mature participation in the game. State that they have a choice: they can either
participate in the group discussion, or they can complete the activity individually. If they
prove to be listening and participating, then they can do the group activity.

After the establishment of expectations, I will begin the discussion about integrity. What
is integrity? Integrity is doing what you know is right even when no one is looking.
Have you ever done what was right when you didn’t have anyone watching you? Have
you ever done what was wrong when no one was looking just because you knew you
could get away with it? When you do something like that, who are you cheating?
Yourself, others or both? I would argue that in some instances you are cheating both
yourself and others. The story that we are going to read today is called Thank you Ma’m
by Langston Hughes, and this is a story that has the theme of integrity running
throughout.

Procedures: Include critical thinking questions and accommodations for individual needs

Day 1

I will then ask the students to listen to just the first three sentences of the story. After I read them
to the students, I will pass out the “predictions” worksheet. I will remind the students to keep in
mind the theme of integrity.

I will ask the students what predictions are, and I will define that predictions are things that we
guess or infer about a story based on the little information that we have. I will explain that it is
important to make predictions when reading because it keeps us engaged in the plot of the story
and helps us to better understand what will happen. I will instruct the students to make three
detailed predictions about directions that they think the story could go. What will happen next in
the story? How do they think it will end? What happens in the middle?
After the students have taken about 5 minutes to make their personal predictions, we will share
our predictions with the class, and I will record them on the Smart Board to look at after we have
read the story together. After the predictions are put on the board, I will pass out a “Questions”
worksheet for them to fill out as I read. I will then quiet the students, and read aloud to them the
entire short story, stopping to define vocabulary that may be difficult for them.

Difficult Vocabulary

- willow-wild
- half-nelson
- kitchenette-furnished room
- roomers
- whereupon
- pocketbook
- icebox
- barren

As I read, they will be required to write down any questions that they have about the story.

After the story is read, we will refer back to the predictions that we made on the Smart Board.
Those that were incorrect, I will have the students come up and cross off, and those that were
correct or on the right track, we will circle. I will have them do the same on their predictions
worksheet.

Day 2

After making predictions, reading aloud to the students, and asking questions, the students will
now get a copy of the short story to read for themselves. They will reread the story quietly if
they need to remind themselves of what happened in the story. We will then work as a class to
discuss a summary of the story. I will ask the students to take out their question worksheets, and
I will allow the students to ask their questions as a class, and we can do our best to answer them
together. This will be in the form of a classroom discussion—the students will answer one
another’s questions, and if they need help, I will help them.

I will then pass out the “Answers” worksheet, and the students will answer the questions that they
had by doing back and rereading the text. They will record their answers briefly on their
worksheet. Once they have all of their questions answered, I will ask the students to help me
form a summary of I will then pass out the “Answers” worksheet, and the students will answer
the questions that they had by doing back and rereading the text. They will record their answers
briefly on their worksheet.

Once they have all of their questions answered, I will ask the students to help me form a
summary of Thank You Ma’m. We will record on the board the most important parts of the story,
and we will put them together to make a 3-4 sentence summary of the whole story. The students
will record this on their “Summary” worksheet as I write it on the Smart Board.

Summary/Closing:

The teacher will then close the lesson by telling the students that they will be thinking about the
themes of the story next week. Remind them that it has to do with integrity, and that will come
up again next week when we wrap up the lesson. Thank them and encourage them for their
participation and working together to get a better understanding of the story. Explain that
activities like this will eventually help them to comprehend the story later.

Student Assessment:

Students will be assessed by in-class participation and completion of worksheets in class.