Mini-Lesson Plan for _Esperanza Rising_
Teacher Candidate(s):
Arielle Lee, Brenna Wilkes, Brianna Teesateskie, Karina Jackson, Lauren Alexander
Date: 10/14/2020
Student(s): Jayla, Will, Carlos, Mina, Emily
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
What is the Essential Question
for this lesson? (Consider the
standards-based question the
students should be able to
answer at the end of the
lesson.)
What are the objectives for
this lesson? (Consider the
concepts, skills, and strategies
students should master.)
What standards are
emphasized in this lesson?
ACTIVATING
STRATEGY:
What strategy will you use to
activate your lesson, link to
prior knowledge, and promote
knowledge of key vocabulary
words?
(Examples: KWL, a word map,
a word splash, etc.)
TEACHING
STRATEGIES:
What instructional strategies
will you use in your lesson?
(Examples: graphic organizer,
guided practice, summarizing,
collaborative pairs, etc.).
Grade Level: 3rd
Essential Question:
How can I effectively describe in depth specific events from the story
Esperanza Rising?
Objective(s):
Students will describe in depth events using specific details from the book
Esperanza Rising.
Standard(s):
ELAGSE4RL3:
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing
on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions) .
Book Trailer (Five Words – Three Words):
● The teacher will ask students to watch the book trailer. After students
have watched the book trailer, students will be asked to write down
five words that come to their minds regarding the events within the
book trailer. After students have been given time to write their words,
they will be asked to share three words they chose and explain why
they chose them.
○ Questions to ask: What do you think it means when we talk
about an event?
1.) Event Puzzle Diagram: As a class, the students will complete a puzzle
diagram that represents a timeline of the story. (This is an activity that
will be done with the teacher.)
a.) Questions to ask:
b.) Provide students with a copy of the puzzle paper and use a
chart paper to demonstrate the I do-We do Model.
I Do: Modeling
1. Teacher Dialogue: Have you ever played with a puzzle before?
a. Possible Answers: Yes, no, maybe. (Explain what a puzzle looks
like and what it is, if needed.)
2. Teacher Dialogue: Can you see how this puzzle is connected to each
other? Just like with events in a story, they fit together to make the
book more interesting.

SUMMARIZING
STRATEGIES:
How will students summarize
what they are learning during
the lesson and at the end?
(Examples: Ticket out the Door,
3-2-1, journal entry, etc.)
Answer the Essential Question.
REFLECTION
What is your analysis of the
lesson? How well did the
student grasp concepts in this
lesson? Will you use a re-
3. Pull out a pre-made puzzle on a chart paper. Start off with the first
event of the story. Ask the students to come up with details that are
related to this first major event.
We Do: Guided Practice
1. For the next puzzle piece, have the students come up with the next
major event. Give them 5-7 minutes to brainstorm. Have the students
talk to their peers if needed.
2. After the time is up, call on a couple of students to see what the next
major event could be for the puzzle piece #2. Ask more students to
provide more smaller details to support the main event.
a. Encourage the students to draw/color the puzzle piece to
represent the event puzzle piece.
You Do: Independent Practice
1. There should be blank puzzle pieces left for the students to complete.
Allow the students to work independently on the rest of the puzzle
pieces for at least 30-45 minutes. After this time is up, pair the
students up and have the students talk about what events they
decided to choose.
Follow-Up:
1. If there is enough time, bring the class together in a large group
setting. Ask if there are any students who would like to volunteer to
share their event puzzle to the class.
2. As a study tool, the students can cut up the puzzle pieces at
home/school and practice learning how to identify the main events of
a story in its correct order by using the puzzle pieces.
Example of the Puzzle in Appendix below.
Summarizing Strategy: Journal Entry
To summarize their learning, students will write a journal entry. They will
describe in detail their favorite event from the book. Students will be expected
to write at least 3 to 5 sentences to summarize their learning. If students are
struggling, the teacher can provide sentence stems such as:
→ One specific event from the story was
→ The event from the book …
Example of journal entry is in the Appendix below.
(I think . . . because . . .)
Reflection (After reading peer comments):
We had a lot of difficulty with the lesson because there was confusion with whether or
not the students read the book prior to implementing the lesson. There was also a lot of
confusion about using the right strategy to match the essential question. After looking at
a few of the comments from the peer review, we decided to look at the lesson again to
 teaching strategy after this see what needed to be changed.
lesson?
Post-Reflection (After AVATAR Implementation):

References

Monuz Ryan, Pam. (2000). Esperanza Rising. New York, NY Scholastic Inc.

Lewis, Thompson, Laurel School District, & Cape Henlopen School District. Quick
Summarizing Strategies to Use in the Classroom. Retrieved from:
https://www.readingrockets.org/content/pdfs/summarizing_Strategies.pdf

Montero, Mary. (Sept 22). The Great Big Collection of Ideas for Teaching: Story Elements.
Retrieved from: https://teachingwithamountainview.com/teaching-story-elements-wonder-
freebie/
 Appendix: Mini-Lesson Resources and Artifacts

Example of Story Element Puzzle:

Summarizing Strategy: