Kaitlin Jenkins

ELD 308

October 15, 2014

Interactive Read Aloud Lesson Plan 2

Common Core State Standards: Reading and Writing Standards for Grade 4: Rl.4.3, Rl. 3.7,
Rl. 4.5, and W. 4.2
Objective: Students will apply the non-fiction text feature of problem and solution in Twentyone Elephants and Still Standing to create a writing piece.
Materials: Twenty-one Elephants and Still Standing by April Jones Prince, Writers Notebook,
and a pencil.
Lesson Sequence:

Before reading
Boys and girls can you please join me on the carpet for todays read aloud. Bring
your Writers Notebook and a pencil. Yesterday we were talking about nonfiction text features such as cause and effect and comparison. Today we will be
talking about another non-fiction text feature, problem and solution. In non-fiction
books sometimes the author explains a problem to us and a possible solution to
the problem. Be on the lookout for the problem and solution as I read. Before I
begin to read, let us take a moment to look at the title and cover of Twenty-one
Elephants and Still Standing. What do you think the title means? What do you
think is the possible problem in the story based on the cover? Why are there
elephants standing on a bridge? We will discuss these questions prior to reading
the book.

During reading
I will begin to read Twenty-one Elephants and Still Standing and stop on page 4.
Based on the picture of the bridge what do you suppose the problem in the story
may be? Students will share their responses about how the bridge is broken and
Brooklyn and New York City are separated.
I will continue to read and stop on page 7. Now that the cities have been
connected by a new bridge, why are the citizens worried? Turn and talk to a
partner about the problem with the new bridge. Also, talk about a possible
solution you would have to ease the citizens worry. Students will share their
responses with the whole group.
I will continue to read and stop on page 10. Do the citizens have a valid concern
of why the bridge may not be safe because other bridges have fallen down? Can
you think of other bridges that have fallen? We will discuss as a whole group their
thoughts and prior knowledge of bridges.
I will continue to read and stop on page 24. What was the solution to the
problem? Turn and talk to a partner. After a few minutes, What was the
solution? We will discuss how the elephants crossed the bridge to prove to the
citizens it was safe. P.T. Barnum took it upon himself to show the citizens that
the bridge was safe by having his elephants walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

After reading
Once I finish reading the book we will discuss how the structure of the text,
problem and solution, allowed us to recognize the problem in the story as well as

the solution. It is important to note a non-fiction text may have one or more
problems and solutions.

Assessment
I will assess students by having them create a writing piece in which they describe
a problem and propose a solution to the problem. Students can use the problem in
Twenty-one Elephants and Still Standing and create a new solution or come up
with their own problem and solution from ideas in their Writers Notebook.
Students can discuss their ideas with one another and then will independently
write in their Writers Notebooks. Think of how the author structured Twentyone Elephants and Still Standing when you are writing your problem and
solution.