Lesson Plan Template (Teacher Facilitated

Literacy)
HEADING:
Students Name: Alexandra Gentilesco Date: 4/3/2017
Subject Area(s): English Language Arts Grade Level: 2nd
Grade
Concept/Topic: Characters and Settings Time: 60 minute group
lesson, then
continued practice in writers
workshop
CONTEXT:

Composition of Classroom:
In this second grade class, there are twenty-three students. The class is
mainly composed of Latino and African-American students. There is one ESL student
in the class whose native language is Spanish. There are several students in the
class who often need extra support in order to stay on task. The students enjoy
sharing their own perspectives and observations. Several students are below grade
level in reading and writing skills.
DESIRED RESULTS:
Big Ideas/Key Concepts:

a. Big Ideas: Reading comprehension (in regards to the visual arts), Narrative
writing
b. Key Concepts: There are distinct characters and a setting in a piece of art or a
storybook. In a piece of art, the setting and characters can communicate a
story to you.
c. Teacher Knowledge:
1. Can describe characters and setting to students.
2. Can name artist (Vincent Van Gogh) and title (Cafe Terrace
at Night) of painting.
Objectives:
Students will be able to:
1. Identify the characters and setting (time, place) in a painting (Caf Terrace at
Night by Vincent Van Gogh).
2. Write a paragraph about the painting presenting a hypothetical background
story based on the characters and setting.
3. Write a narrative about a story from their life.
Students have worked on classifying elements of a story into four categories:
characters, setting, problem, and solution. This lesson is intended to further their
understanding of characters and setting as it applies to the visual arts.
Curriculum Standards:
(www.pdesas.org)
Standard - CC.1.4.2.M: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or
events.
Standard - CC.1.4.2.N: Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or
characters.

EVIDENCE:
During the lesson, I will monitor progress by the students accuracy in
identifying characters and the setting. Students participation in the
discussion of the painting is essential to this lesson. When students do
independent practice with writing, I will walk around and ask questions about
their writing in order to help them organize their thoughts on paper. I will
know students have met the first objective if they are able to identify 2
characters (can be woman in green dress, man at table, etc.) and the
setting (time, place). After the lesson, I will collect their writing; if students
are able to incorporate the characters and setting identified into a paragraph
(4-5 sentences) they will have met the second objective. The story must be
relevant to their observations of the characters and setting. For example, the
setting is nighttime, so the students paragraphs should take place at night.
LEARNING PLAN:
Rationale:
I know that the students have knowledge of characters and settings, but I
want to give them the opportunity to apply and further that knowledge
(Coherence and Continuity). This will show them what characters and the
setting can tell you about a story (Deep Content Understanding). Before we
go into the discussion of the painting, students will have time to talk to a
partner about their own observations and feelings about the painting (Active
Learning). When they write their stories about the painting, they will need to
note key details and speculate on what could happen or what might have
already happened (Critical and Creative Thinking). Students will use their
understanding of characters and settings to write a second narrative story of
their own (Real World Connections).
Differentiation: The painting will give learners a visual representation of the
use of characters and settings; this can help solidify the concept for the
whole class, but will be especially helpful for visual learners and ESL
students. I will provide graphic organizers so that students can collect their
thoughts before writing the paragraph. As students share out their
observations of the characters and setting, I will write them on chart paper in
front of the class so that all students, especially the ESL student, can follow
along.
Materials and Technology:
Teacher: Projector to display painting, Chart paper, Markers.
Students: Pencil, Notebook.
Step-By-Step Procedure:
1. Launch:
a. Hook/Lead-in (5 minutes): The painting should be projected on the
whiteboard or smartboard in front of the class. Students will be
instructed to bring their notebooks and pencils to the carpet in front of

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 the board to observe the painting. They will be instructed to pay
attention to the details of the painting, then record any
observations/things that stand out to them in their notebook.

b. Activate Prior Knowledge (5 minutes): I will tell students that we

will learn about characters and settings in paintings, and will be able to
write our own stories with a focus on those two elements. As the
students have worked with identifying characters and settings in
storybooks, they have prior knowledge of the topic. We will review the
definitions of each, as well as the characters and settings of stories we
have read in the past.

2. Instruction (30 minutes):

a. Explicit Instruction or Worked Example (10 minutes):
i. The question will be Who is in this picture, where are they, and
why are they there?
ii. I will ask students to think, then write down their observations in
regards to this question. Afterwards, I will have them turn and
talk with a partner, then share out their answers.
b. Modeling (10 minutes): As we identify the characters and setting, I
will write student responses on the board in a manner which organizes
the connections students are making. For example, if a student
identifies that a woman in a green dress is walking in the town at night,
I would write woman in green dress walking nighttime town in a
who - what when - where structure.
c. Guided Practice (10 minutes): Together, we will use a character
identified, the actions, and the setting to create a story. We will
brainstorm ideas for the story together and I will use the students
ideas to write a short paragraph about the characters. I will ask them
questions such as Where do you think the woman is going? Is she
meeting somebody? What is she feeling? Why is she walking at night?
which will get them thinking about the story behind a character and
the many ideas they can produce from just one element of the
painting. The students will get a chance to brainstorm and share out
ideas they can use in their independent writing.

3. Independent Practice (20 minutes): After the guided practice, I will

instruct students to choose at least one character and write a story about
them. This can be anything from a backstory to the future of the character.
What is essential is that the story uses the details identified in their notebook
accurately in the story. I will walk around during this writing and ask students
questions about their stories in order to keep them on track. This will be
collected at the end of the lesson.

4. Application: In the next class session, we will do a writers workshop where

students will write and illustrate their own narrative story, focusing especially
on characters and setting. This project will continue over the course of one
week and will be published at the end.

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 5. Closure: Assessment of understanding will be done when the teacher
collects students notebooks to review their writing and observations.

EVALUATION:
I will evaluate students learning based on their participation in the
discussion, their observations recorded in their notebooks, the
paragraph written in their independent practice, and their narrative
stories.

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