T&L Instructional Plan Template

8/15/2014
(edTPA Aligned)
Overview
The information included in this document is to support faculty in teaching about and supporting students with
the T&L (and edTPA) Instructional Plan. While there are many variations of lesson plans, this format meets
departmental requirements and is aligned with the 2014 edTPA as well.

Background Information (When doing the actual edTPA, leave out identifiers)
Teacher Candidate: Alyssa Pierce
Cooperating Teacher:
School District:
University Supervisor:
Unit/Subject: Reading/English Language Arts
Instructional Plan Title/Focus: Writing a Summary

Date:
Grade:4th
School:

Section 1: Planning for Instruction and Assessment

a. Instructional Plan Purpose:
The purpose of this lesson is to help students develop the skills to write a summary by focusing
on the main idea and supporting details from a text.
b. Alignment to State Learning Standards:
CCSS.ELA.4.RI.2 Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key
details; summarize the text.
ELP Standard 4-5.1 An ELL can determine the main idea or theme, and retell a few key details,
retell familiar stories from read-alouds, simple written texts, and oral presentations.
c. Content Objectives:
SWBAT determine the main idea of a text by using key details from the text.
Language Objectives:
SWBAT state the main idea of a text by listening to a read-aloud.
d. Previous Learning Experiences:
Prior to this lesson students have had multiple experiences writing summaries. They have written them
on their own using shorter articles as well as the same format as this worksheet but with a different
article.
e. Planning for Student Learning Needs (accommodations, student experiences, prior learning and
experiences):
One student in my class struggles with reading and being able to identify pieces of the text, for him I
would highlight, before the lesson, the different points that we would be talking about. I would also only
highlight pieces of the text that would be written down at a later point in the lesson. I would also have all
students label the paragraphs in numerical order to help students find which paragraphs are being
addressed easier. I would do this for all students because while it helps my students that struggle with
reading, it is also good for all students to be able to use. For a student that has difficulty with
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penmanship, I would have him use a separate piece of paper with numbers to write down his answers so
he has more space to write as well as a top and bottom line to write in between.
f. Assessment Strategies (Informal and formal)
Content/Language Objectives
SWBAT determine the main idea of a text
by using key details from the text.

Assessment Strategies
Formative: Following the read-aloud, I will ask if
students think they know what the main idea was from
the story. They will be asked to give thumbs up or in the
middle, depending on how they feel about where they are
relative to the learning target. This will be used to
determine if students are ready to move on or not to the
next task. Students responses would be recorded on a
checklist. Following this, I will ask one or two students
to explain the main idea using evidence from the text.
Such as, How does the article support the main idea?.
Summative: Students will fill in the worksheet titled
Writing a Summary on their own. The worksheet has a
spot for them to write down the main idea. This will
show if they are able to use parts of the text directly to
come up with the main idea.

SWBAT state the main idea of a text by

listening to a read-aloud.

Formative: Following the read-aloud, I will ask if

students think they know what the main idea was from
the story. They will be asked to give thumbs up or in the
middle, depending on how they feel about where they are
relative to the learning target. This will be used to
determine if students are ready to move on or not to the
next task. Students responses would be recorded on a
checklist.
Summative: On a worksheet, students will be asked to
write down the main idea of the story. Students answers
will be graded on completeness and how well their main
idea relates to the story.

g. Student Voice

K-12 students will be able to:

1. Explain student learning targets

and what is required to meet
them (including why they are
important to learn).

Student-based evidence to be
collected (things produced by
students: journals, exit slips, selfassessments, work samples,
projects, papers, etc.)
Journal

Description of how students

will reflect on their learning.

Prior to the lesson, students

will be given the learning
targets on a sheet of paper.
They will be asked to glue
them in their journal.
Students will be asked to
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2. Monitor their own learning

progress toward the learning
targets using the tools provided
(checklists, rubrics, etc.).

Worksheet

3. Explain how to access

resources and additional
support when needed (and
how/why those resources will
help them).

Worksheet

share their understanding of

the learning target to a
partner and why they need to
know it. They will then write
it down in their journal.
Students will be asked to put
a star or a checkmark on
their papers to signal how
they feel about their ability
to work toward the learning
target of writing a summary.
A star means they feel good
about it and are confident in
their abilities to the point
where they could teach it to
someone else, a check means
that they feel okay about it
and can complete it with
guidance.
On their worksheet, students
will be asked to write down
a place or a person they can
use as a resource to help
them achieve the learning
target. They will be given
examples, such as those who
gave themselves a star.
Students will be able to look
at their reading journal or
their homework. Also,
students could ask either
teacher or a classmate that
understands the learning
target. If students struggle
with writing, this can be
communicated verbally.

Grouping of Students for Instruction

During the lesson, students will work individually, as a whole class, and in pairs. While students are
working in pairs, they will be divided into groups based off of who they are sitting next to in order to
make the group work more efficient. During this time, they will share their ideas about what they think
the main idea and supporting details could be. When students are working individually, they will think
of their own ideas to show their own understanding of the concept. During whole class instruction and
discussion, students will be sharing what they talked about while in pairs and working individually. The
purpose of this is that students will be able to learn from one another and hear different ideas.

Section 2: Instruction and Engaging Students in Learning

1. Introduction:
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To introduce the lesson, students will be reminded that they have been working on writing summaries
over the last two and a half weeks and that there are different parts that they need to include. Students
will be told that they will have a main idea, which is the point the author wants you to take away from
the text, and the supporting details which will all come directly from the text. While going over this, I
will project images of local volcanoes as well as some volcanoes from different parts of the world. We
will briefly talk about if they look familiar to students and relate it to the volcano mentioned in the
article. The article is on volcanoes; this will not be the first time the students see the article so they will
be familiar with the content.
2. Learning Activities:
1. To introduce the activity, students will first be reminded that they have previously read the article on
multiple occasions and that they are expected to follow along while the story is read aloud to them
on the computer. Students will be instructed on what that looks like; they can use their finger, pencil,
or keep their eyes on their article the entire time. As an incentive, students will be told that if they
follow along the entire time, they can earn a ticket.
2. While students are listening to the story, the teacher will walk around the classroom making sure
students are at the right spot in the story. At this time, the technology will also be set up to prepare
for the start of the lesson.
3. Once the article is finished, students will be asked to write their name on their paper. At this time,
students will be introduced to writing a summary. It will be said that they have been writing
numerous summaries over the last couple of weeks. At this time, they will be asked to come up with
what comes first in a summary. Their answer will hopefully be the main idea. Next, they will be
asked to look at question one on their worksheet. It says begin with a topic sentence that tells what
the article is mainly about. The teacher will read this aloud as well as the start of the sentence on the
paper. Previously in the week, students worked on a different worksheet that focused on text
structure, which asked them to come up with the main idea. Students will be reminded of this and
then asked if they remember where they found the main idea. Students will be asked to raise their
hand if they know where to look and open up to where it was in the text. The teacher will then ask
one student to read it out loud and then write it down on a blank worksheet under the document
camera. At this time the question will be asked, what was the overall point of the article or what did
the author want you to know?
4. Once students complete number one, they will be asked to go on to the next question and try to find
an answer on their own by looking in the text. Students will be asked to explain, using details from
the text, what happened and where did it happen. After about a minute, students will be asked to
share what they found with the person across from them. To guide students who may not have found
it, the section and paragraph where the information is found will be shared. Following this, students
will be brought back to whole class discussion to try and answer the question. Students will first be
asked what section they found the information in, and then to read the sentence that they found to
answer the question. The answer will then be written on the worksheet under the document camera
for all students to see.
5. For the third question on the worksheet, students will be asked to find and underline two details that
from the text that explain how the eruption affected the island of Sumbawa. The specific question
that will be asked is what were the effects of the eruption on the island of Sumbawa?. After
everyone has had some time to look, they will again be asked to share what they found with the
person across from them while the teacher walks around the room listening to the discussions.
Students will be asked to share what they found with the rest of the class. More than two details will
be shared aloud because there are quite a few listed in the article. Two will be written for students to
see on the document camera but they will be encouraged to write any two from the story that they
found.
6. For the next question, the same process will be repeated. Students will be asked to look and then
some students will share what they find and go over what the supporting detail is as a class.
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Specifically, students will be asked how long did the eruption effect the weather around the world?
and how did the eruption effect different groups of people from around the world?. It will be
written for the whole class to see on the document camera. On this question, it will be emphasized
that they are looking for specific examples of what happened to the weather around the world the
next year and not what happened on the island to help distinguish the difference.
7. The fifth question will be done as a class because it asks students to look at a new part of the article
and focus on a new idea. As students finish writing down their answer to number four, they will be
asked to look for the answer to number five. As more students move on, the section where they can
find the answer will be shared along with the paragraph. One student will be asked to read the
sentence that holds the information to the rest of class. Then the detail from the story will be written
on the worksheet under the document camera.
8. The last question, students will be completely responsible for finding and filling out on their own. At
this time, students will also be asked to put a star if they feel like they could have completed the
summary on their own and a checkmark if the feel that they needed the help to complete the
summary. Students will also be asked to write down a resource they could use if they have questions,
and if necessary, use that resource to finish the worksheet.
9. The end of the lesson will consist of a short discussion going over the three objectives of the lesson.
This will be done by asking questions and referencing the completed worksheet.

10. Closure:
To bring the lesson to a close, the class will go over the different parts of a summary. Students will be
asked to share what they think they are. The points that will be emphasized will be the main idea,
supporting details, and pulling the supporting details directly from the text. Some questions that can be
asked at this time are: what is the purpose of the main idea and what is the purpose of the supporting
details and where are they found. To connect this lesson back to students lives, we will talk about the
importance of the skill and how they will use it later on.
11. Independent Practice:
Students will continue their learning in their homework by writing a summary that goes with the
paragraph they are supposed to read for that night. Students are also supposed to share their homework
with their family and get a signature every night. An alternative could be for students to find their own
article or story that is meaningful for them and summarize it. This could be beneficial for students
because they can choose something that is important to them to share and write about.
12. Instructional Materials, Resources, and Technology
Worksheet, pencil, document camera, projector, Smart Board, StoryWorks article, computer, and access
to the Internet for the read aloud.
13. Acknowledgements:
Instructional plan adapted by Alyssa Pierce from StoryWorks by Scholastic.