FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY

College of Education
Teaching and Learning Department
Lesson Plan Format
Teacher: Ms. Ariana Alvarado
Subject/Topic: English Language Arts
Grade Level: 3rd

Date: 11/03/2015
Length of Lesson: 1 hour 45 minutes

I.

Subject Matter Content: I intend to teach my students how to create their own story,
constructing sentences, making sure sentences are fluent, correct grammar, spelling, and
using their imagination. Students will also be introduced to new vocabulary, resolving
problems and solutions.

II.

Instructional Objective(s)/Outcomes:
Smart goal: By the end of this lesson, 100% of my students will complete a tri-fold flip
book of three problems with their corresponding solutions to understand the problem and
solution concept and how to find it in the story Strega Nonas Magic Lesson by Tomie
dePaola.
o Students will identify the problem and solution in the book Strega Nonas Magic
Lesson.
o Students will work in collaborative groups of 3-4 to identify the theme of a
book.
o Students will be able to create a flip book of three problem and solutions.
o Students will construct at least two pages to their Pancakes for Breakfast story
with fluent sentences, correct spelling, and proper grammar.
LAFS.3.RI.1.1 - Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a
text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers
LAFS.3.RI.1.2 - Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and
explain how they support the main idea.
LAFS.3.RI.1.3 - Describe the relationship between a series of historical events,
scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using
language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
LAFS.3.W.1.3 - Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or
events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event
sequences.

III.

Instructional Procedures:
A. Lesson Initiating Activity: (about 15-20 minutes)
Before class begins, the teacher should login to the computer and open a saved file
of the Strega Nonas Magic Lesson read-aloud video from YouTube. The screen
should be pulled down and the overhead should be turned on and switched to a
black screen so students are not distracted when they enter the classroom. To initiate
the lesson for the day, students will be instructed to sit at the reading carpet table by

table based on which table is quiet and ready first (example: table 1, then table 2,
etc.). Students will sit boy girl boy girl order and the carpet will have different color
squares so each student will sit at their own square. Once students are seated, the
teacher will present a physical copy of the read-aloud of book Strega Nonas Magic
Lesson. The teacher should question the class any inferences they can make based
on prior knowledge of Strega Nona books and the cover page. Then the teacher may
begin the video read-aloud of the book. The teacher should pause the video to
interact the students with the literature such as asking inference questions, or asking
the students what they think new vocabulary words may mean. They will also note
new Italian words to add to the class Italian Dictionary poster.
B. Core Activities: (60 minutes)
Directed: This activity should take about 30 minutes. As a class each student will
create a flip-book based on problems and solutions. Each student will receive a
sheet of blank copy paper, fold it vertically in a hotdog style length, and finally
divide then cut the top half in three sections. The teacher will display the book
under the document camera on the projector for the students to follow along and
have as a source to look back to. Students will recall problems that occurred in the
book and what the solution turned out to be. Each student will have the main
problem and solution on at least one of their flaps, which would be the plot of the
story. Each student must draw a picture that corresponds to each problem such as a
scene from the book. Using the bin of materials provided to each table the students
will color in their sketches. Upon completion each student should have three
problems and their corresponding solutions in their flip books.
Guided Practice: Students will break into their literature circles for 30 minutes.
They will have selected a book to read together from Tomie dePaola. Each group
will each read the book together with their group. Once they have read the book
they will have to figure out the theme, plot, and summarize the book in their own
words. They will jot down their notes in their literature journals. They have to date
their entries and every student must participate in writing and sharing their ideas or
thoughts. I the teacher will walk around and make sure students are on task, answer
any questions, and provide feedback.
B. Closure Activity: (independent activity for 30 minutes)
Students will continue to work on their stories that they are creating based on the
picture book Pancakes for Breakfast. They were to start this the day before so they
should have some pages completed. Students may need help with how to form a
proper clause, punctuation, and spelling. The most important part of completing
their stories is the writing so students should have their stories put together before
they move on to coloring. Students may have questions or may be easily distracted
so it is important to walk around and supervise. This is the time when the teacher
will encourage and motivate all students to explore.
Student Questions:
Read-Aloud: What do you think is going to happen next? What do you think Big
Anthony is going to do? Would you have done what Big Anthony did to get magic
lessons? Do you think Strega Nona may have known it was Big Anthony the whole
time?
Core Activity: What was the first problem that occurred in the book? What was the
main problem in the story? Were there any other minor problems that happened in the
story? What were their solutions? How did they solve the problem? Were there any

characters with small problems of their own that you can think of? What did they do to
try to solve their issue?
ESOL/ESE Strategies:
A. English learners
Students will sit in the first two rows on the reading carpet so they dont feel
distant and are not too far from the book and teacher.
The class will be provided with at least 3 bilingual dictionaries so students
may use the dictionary to translate words for assignments and classwork.
Students may build their own translated vocabulary sheet of commonly used
English words, or words they are having trouble remembering so they can use
as well.
Instruction should be simplified in easy and understandable terms as well as
demonstrating or giving examples of what is asked of them to do so they can
visually understand how to do the assignment.
When creating their storybook, students may work with a study buddy who
also speaks their language and may help them translate.
B. ESE learners
During read-aloud (video), the teacher will highlight or elaborate on important
details and the main idea from the story for students who have a hard time
finding main idea.
Each table will be provided with a physical copy of the book for students who
are visual learners or visually impaired so they can freely turn through the
pages as they would like when working on the flip-book.
The book Strega Nonas Magic Lesson will also be provided as a book on tape
for students who are blind, visually impaired, or have difficulty reading.
Students who have a difficult time writing may use a writing processor such
as Microsoft word to type their stories.
If the class is provided with an iPad, or voice recorder, students who may be
blind may write a story about pancakes for breakfast by sharing their story
orally with a voice recording application or braille.
C. Gifted/Talented learners
Gifted and talented learners will be encouraged to challenge their writing
skills by coming up with a higher level story, using high level vocabulary or
even adding pages of their own.
Gifted students may be paired with other gifted students during literature
circle.
The selection of books provided for the gifted students should be at a higher
yet reasonable Lexile level to encourage higher level thinking.
Seating will be flexible during creative thinking activities so students may
work in an environment comfortable to them.
Classroom Management:
The classroom rules will be legible and visible all around the room. There will be

IV.

V.

a big poster with the classroom rules that the students have established at the
beginning of the school year in large font at the front of the classroom.
During read-aloud, students have assigned blocks of seating on the carpet and
should be in boy girl order, so no two boys or two girls should be sitting next to
each other. The carpet squares are large enough that each student has sufficient
personal space. There should be no talking, playing around, or disruptions unless
they are questions on topic or are answering a question. After the read-aloud,
students will be dismissed to their seats row by row.
Once students are seated, the teacher will designate the people in their assigned
literature circles and their designated area. Literature circles rotate areas such as
one group will be in the library, another to the horseshoe table, another at the
center table, and another on the reading carpet. Students are to talk in inside
voices and remain on topic. The teacher should monitor students by walking
around to make sure they are focused on the task.
Students who need to use the bathroom may do so when they need to. The only
time a student may need to ask permission is when the teacher is instructing such
as read-aloud and they do so by raising their hand and symbolizing the letter R
in sign language.
During the closure activity, there should be minimal talking and the voice levels
should be at a 2. Students should be working individually unless they have a peer
buddy which will be the students who are ELL and ESE.

Materials and Equipment:

Teacher:
Book Strega Nonas Magic Lesson
Attendance sheet/list of students
List of Literature circle groups and their corresponding area
5 copies of the story to provide to each table for the flip-book activity
4 sets of 5 literature circle books
Students:
Pencils
Each table should have a supply bucket with scissors, pens, and colored pencils
A blank sheet of copy paper for each student
Their writing journal for literature circles
Dictionaries
Computers
Assessment/Evaluation:
My assessment of the students will be their final project and presentation of their story
book. As a final presentation, each student should be able to identify their central theme,
problem, and solution of their story. Students should identify who their main characters
are, where their story is taking place and other key details throughout their story.
Students will also be evaluated on their literature circle journals. Each student should
have an entry each day they have literature circles. Their entries should have the title of
the book they read, author, main idea, problem/solution, and any questions they thought
of throughout the reading. The students flip-books will also be evaluated based on
completion and participation. Each student should have three problems and their
solutions and the main problem of the story should be included in each. Students will

also be evaluated on the concept of problem solution by being asked if their own picture
books have a problem and solution. There will be no test or assessment for this lesson.
For learners who have difficulty presenting or verbal communication may write a
reflection of their storybook including their responses to the requirements of what
would have been presented.
VI.

Follow-up Activities:
A possible follow-up activity may be a reflection activity, text to self in a graphic
organizer form. Students will reflect on problems they have had in their lives and what
happened or what they did to resolve their problem. Students may sketch images if they
have difficulty writing assignments. This follow-up activity will allow students to
connect the lesson learned in class and applying it to situations outside of the classroom
and also tying the lesson to real life situations. To encourage higher level thinking, the
problem and solutions will be tied to cause and effect. The graphic organizer would be
organized with two circles (two causes) pointing to (that lead) one large bubble (the
problem) with an arrow pointing to another large bubble (the solution) and two arrows
flowing downwards to another two circles (two effects of the solution). This activity
will allow students to expand their understanding of how causes, effect, problems, and
solutions relate. This activity would not be considered an assessment but rather a
reflection activity.

VII.

Self-Reflection:
To improve my lesson I think I need more interaction amongst students, maybe a
kinesthetic activity that allows them to move around and produce something as a group.
I think it would be beneficial to have diverse groups that the students can make on their
own with a little teacher involvement so that students may feel they have an input in
their learning. I want to encourage my ESE and ESOL students more and allow my
students to be welcoming and open to working collectively. I think I need improvement
in my differentiated instruction. I believe the read-aloud in the form of a video so
students can see and hear the book in a different way rather than me always reading
allows for some differentiated instruction because the book is presented on a different
platform. I may also need improvement on my accommodations when it comes to ESE
students as to allow them more creative room and meeting their needs.