EDPG #8- Instructional Strategies

The competent, caring, professional educator uses a variety of instructional strategies to

encourage learners to develop a usable understanding of content areas and their connections, and
to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
Rationale Statement for EDPG #8
For EDPG #8, I chose a lesson plan created for my course Science of Reading to teach analyzing
an informational text. Multiple instructional strategies are used in this plan to reinforce a step-by
-step process to teach students how to extract text evidence from nonfiction passages. As an
educator, it is vital that I use a structured approach when teaching students how to break down
information in texts in order to increase comprehension and apply the knowledge learned in other
ways. This lesson plan reflects my ability to use multiple instructional strategies with an
informational text to help students pull specific and detailed information from text.

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

Education Department
Lesson/Activity Plan Template
Teacher Candidate_Angie Hudgens_________________________________________________
Name of Lesson__ Directed Discussion Using QtA_____________________________________
Subject_Language Arts__________ ________________________Grade_______8___________

Rationale for Lesson:

Using the Questioning the Author strategy, students will increase their understanding of text
ideas.
Learning Outcomes:
Students will:

Focus on text content through teacher-directed discussion

Engage in discussions to grapple with text meaning
Recognize the intentions, biases, and fallibility of authors
Recognize that poor comprehension may be due to poorly written text

Related Foundations/Indiana Academic Standard:

8.RN.2.1: Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what a text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
8.RN.2.2: Analyze the development of a central idea over the course of a text, including its
relationship to supporting ideas; provide a detailed, objective summary of the text.
Materials Needed:
Graphic organizer
San Francisco, the City by the Bay by Elaine Mao. Text pulled from:
http://www.readworks.org/passages/san-francisco-city-bay

Lesson/Activity Presentation:
Anticipatory set: Students will learn how to understand text ideas by questioning the
author. This will benefit students by reinforcing reading comprehension by questioning the text
and making predictions.
Teaching procedures:

Write questions used during QtA on the board

o What do you think the author wants us to know?
o Does the author explain this clearly?
o What did the author tell us?
o Why this information important?
Teacher will read first segment of text
o (Initiating query) What do you think the author wants us to know?
Students will answer
That the Pacific Ocean plays an important part in the history of
California
All of Californias largest cities are near the ocean
San Francisco owes much of its development to San Francisco bay.
o (Marking) San Francisco has become one of the largest cities in the United States
due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean and is an important maritime commerce
center.
o (Follow-up query) Does the author explain this clearly?
Students will answer yes or no. If no, further discussion will occur with:
Annotating
Modeling
Turning back to students
Turning back to text
Follow-up query (if needed)
Teacher will read the next segment of text
o (Initiating query) What has the author just told us?
Students will answer
Geographical location of San Francisco
Description of the area
o May use map or photos to help with comprehension here
o (Turning back to text) What famous bridge is located in San Francisco bay?
Students will answer
Golden gate bridge
o (Turning back to student) How do we know?
Students will answer with information from text
Teacher will read the next segment of text
o (Initiating query) With all that, what do you think the author wanted us to know?

Students will answer

San Francisco was hard to find
It was hard to enter by ship
o (Revoicing) So the bay was difficult to find. (Turning back to student) Why?
Fog
Entrance to bay is narrow
o (Turning back to text) So the explorers that traveled up and down the coastal
regions missed San Francisco because of the fog and narrow entrance to the bay.
Teacher reads next segment of text
o (Initiating query) What is the important message in this section?
Students will answer
San Francisco grew in population significantly during the
California gold rush
Became an official port entry for foreign ships
Prime location for access to the gold country
o (Turning back to text) Did the population grow slow and steady, or fast and
furious?
Students will answer (turning back to text)
Fast and furious within a year
o (Follow up query) Who flocked to the state?
Students will answer (turning back to text)
Miners
Businessmen
Farmers
o (Modeling) As a I reader, I can picture a busy port city full of businessmen, ships,
and people bustling about.
Teacher reads next segment of text
o (Initiating query) San Francisco is no longer the largest city in California, but is it
still popular?
Students will answer (turning back to text)
Large urban population
Industry and historical significance
Pop culture significance
o (Follow up query) Why is this information important?
Students will answer (turning back to student)
Teacher reads final segment of text
o (Initiating query) With all that, what do you think the author wanted us to know?
Students will answer (turning back to student)
Historical relevance of San Francisco
Importance of San Francisco
o (Follow up query) What is the author trying to tell us about San Francisco?
Students will answer (turning back to student)

Development is influenced by location on the bay

Guided & independent practice: Peer group practice with additional informational texts
and discussion. Students will complete graphic organizers with detailed information about the
passage.
Closure:

Exit pass
o Why did explorers miss San Francisco bay?
o What made San Franciscos population grow rapidly?
Review the process of questioning the author and how it helps us how to interpret texts.
Restate how we used the text to find answers to our questions.
Summarize the findings and if this was an informative text.

Differentiated Instruction: Story on overhead, discussion questions written on board at times,

modeling, think aloud, graphic organizer.
Multicultural emphasis (if appropriate): n/a
Technology (if appropriate): Overhead projector/document camera
Reflection on lesson: This lesson could become bogged down in discussion if care is not taken
to keep on track. By using this instructional strategy, students were able to recall text evidence
and had increased comprehension. Using graphic organizers reinforced ideas learned from the
text, and the exit pass measured comprehension in a quick way. This method would be great to
use when reading any informational text.