Dakota State University

College of Education
LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Name: Bri Veldkamp

Grade Level: 4th
School: Terry Redlin
Date: 11/15
Time: 2pm

Reflection from prior lesson: The past few weeks we have been drafting fiction during
writing time. Yesterday we read the first two chapters of Morning on the Lake. In this
lesson we discussed what happened in the book and the setting of the book. These
students have been doing well identifying setting, but have been lacking the inclusion
of details without prompting. I am hoping that they will continue to grow this skill by
today. These details would include the sensory details that the author uses to
describe the setting of the book.

Lesson Goal(s) / Standards:

4.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
4.W.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as
needed by planning, drafting, revising, and editing.

Lesson Objectives:
Hear, discuss, and draft fiction
Explore how setting is developed in stories

Materials Needed:
Morning on the Lake
Writing Notebooks
Notes about fiction
Student handbooks
Contextual Factors/ Learner Characteristics:
Terry Redlin is a low-income school. I am teaching in a 4th grade classroom with 26
students. Every one of these students qualify for free or reduced lunch. This class is a
very diverse group of students. I have 10 EL students in my classroom this year and 3
students with IEPs. Writing takes place right at the end of the day, after lunch recess.
This means that students tend to either be tired and ready to go home. I have found
that these students enjoy writing, but tend to easily zone out during some stories that
do not interest them. so I try to make read aloud as interesting as I can for them.

A. The Lesson

1. Introduction (2 minutes)
● getting attention
○ 402 over the past few weeks we have been discussing fictional texts. We
have been discussing what makes them fictional texts, and the setting.
Yesterday we read the first two chapters of this book and thought about
how to describe settings using sensory details. We will be continuing to
read and discuss a portion of this text to identify the sensory details that
the author uses to describe setting.
● relating to past experience and/or knowledge
○ Before we get started, I want to go over our notes about fiction and talk
about the writing that we have already practiced.
● creating a need to know
○ It is important to understand characteristics of fiction so that we can
become better writers and be aware of the sensory details that we use in
our own stories.
● sharing objective, in general terms
○ I can discuss 1-2 things about how the author uses sensory details to
describe the setting in this story to a partner.
○ I can write 1-2 paragraphs of my own fictional writing using sensory details.

2. Content Delivery (20 minutes)

● I want you to close your eyes and imagine as I read two passages from the story.
● Read 3rd and 4th paragraphs from page 4
 ● Read 1st paragraph from page 10
● Ask students to open their handbooks to page 12, where the same passages are
located for the students to discuss.
● Ask a partners to read the passages together and underline words or phrases that
helped them imagine this place.
● Allow several minutes for them to underline and discuss and then signal for their
attention.
● “What words or phrases did you underline? How do those help you imagine this
place?”

3. Closure (2 min)
● When the author fully describes the setting in a story using sensory details, it
helps the reader imagine and understand where the story takes place. Continue
to think about those details as you continue your own stories today.

B. Assessments Used
Student Workbook
Writing Notebook
Peer Conversations

C. Differentiated Instruction
While students are discussing, talk with EL or struggling students to understand their
thinking. If they cannot seem to explain, I will give them response choices, or use a
sentence frame to get their ideas flowing.

D. Resources
Being a Writer Teaching Manual
Morning on the Lake