Lesson Plan

Subject & Topic: Reading 5-3-3 Talk with an Astronaut

Page: 242

James R. Wallbaum
Date: 3/19/14
Time Required: 40 mins

Standards:
CCSS Informational Text 8: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence
to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence
support which points.
CCSS Informational Text 1: Quote accurately from a text when explaining
what a text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS Language 4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and
multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 5 reading and content,
choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
Learning Objectives:

The students will demonstrate an ability to identify evidence that an

author has a specific purpose for writing the text.
The students will demonstrate their ability to monitor and clarify by
answering questions that will require them to self-check their
understanding.

Assessment:
Comprehension Check questions (p. 242c)
Students will answer Think Critically Questions 3 and 4 on page 246 in their
book, dealing with the skill Authors Purpose, and the strategy Monitor and
Clarify.
Worksheet (p. 270)
Adaptations and Accommodations:
I will give some students the scaffolding they need to successfully complete
the thinking critical questions.
Resources:
Reading Street Textbook, Projector, Teachers Manual, YouTube Video
Academic Language:
Major, Extraterrestrial, Weightlessness

Statement of Objective or Purpose:

Today we will continue to read the selection Talk With an Astronaut. We will
use the comprehension skill Authors Purpose, and the comprehension
strategy Monitor and Clarify to deep our understanding of the text.
Sequence of Activities:

Anticipatory Set: Youtube Video: First Space Walk (Eugene Fournier)

Ask questions to do a Comprehension Check:
o Why do you think this interview includes photographs? (Genre,
Analysis)
o What is the interviewers purpose in asking about Ochoas astronaut
training? How well do you feel this purpose is achieved? (Authors
purpose, Evaluation)
o Why do you think Ochoa was disappointed that her father didnt speak
Spanish at home? (Monitor and clarify, Synthesis)
o Use context clues to figure out the meaning of the word major in this
sentence from page 237: In college, I changed my major five times.
(Multiple-meaning words, Synthesis)
o After reading the first half of the selection, what can you conclude are
important qualities for astronauts to have? (Connect text to self)
Read pages 242-243. Ask the questions on page 244. Have the students
evaluate whether these were good questions. If students have difficulty
evaluating the questions, then model how to identify the authors
purpose: To figure out why the author asked about eating and sleeping, I
will see what we found out about Ochoa and living in space. What did we
learn? How do these details help the reader? Do you think these were
good questions? Why or why not?
Ask the following question to use the comprehension strategy Monitor and
Clarify: If, as you are reading the second answer, you do not understand
what IMAX refers to, what can you do? Possible answers: reread to make
sure I understand, or look for context clues and see the word film, to
know that IMAX is a type of film.
Read pages 244 and 245. In order to use the comprehension strategy
Monitor and Clarify, indentify information on page 245 that you did not
understand, and make a list of questions. Then reread to clarify your
understanding.
In order to use the comprehension skill Authors Purpose, ask students
Why was this interview written? Possible responses: To inform readers
about Ellen Ochoa and what her life is like. Ask follow-up questions: Why
else might someone write a story about space? Give examples.
Have students turn to page 246. Assign half the students the Think
Critically question #3, and assign the other half of the students the Think
Critically question #4. Give them five minutes to work on the question
individually, then pair people who worked on question 3 with people who

worked on question 4 to share their questions and answers with each

other.
Assign students worksheet page 270 to practice Authors Purpose.

Questions to ask:

See highlighted questions, above.

Conclusion and Summary:

Today we continued reading the selection Talk With an Astronaut, and
practiced Authors purpose and Monitor and Clarify.
Self Evaluation and Reflection:
I was very pleased with the student participation in this lesson. Students
gave thoughtful responses to the questions they were given. Sometimes the
answers lacked accuracy, but they supported their answer with evidence,
which I was encouraged by. Specifically, on the Authors Purpose worksheet,
students may have misidentified the Authors Purpose, but they use good
reasoning to find their answer. I am hoping that finding the Authors Purpose
and Monitoring and Clarifying content will lead to greater comprehension on
the post-assessment.