Literacy Strategy Lesson Plan

Name of Strategy: Thought Bubble

Common Core State Standard:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.7 Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its
characters, setting, or events.
Anticipatory Set:
Engage students in this lesson by first referencing pages of Dont Let Pigeon Drive the
Bus! which should have already been read in class during read aloud, so the students are
familiar with the text. Mo Willems uses the craft of thought bubbles to illustrate his
thinking through his characters. Thinking of how an author creates a story, a thought
bubble is actually the authors thoughts about the characters thinking in the story. To
highlight this craft, facilitate discussion with the students, discussing what the thought
bubble is and why Mo Willems uses it. Guiding questions and prompts for the discussion
are as follows:
o First, flip to a page where a thought bubble is used. Point to it and ask
Why does Mo Willems use thought bubbles in his stories? If students
say to tell what the character is thinking, explain that thought
bubbles are actually used to tell what the author is thinking about
their characters. Relate this to their experiences at writers workshop:
when the students create their own stories and make thought bubbles,
they are actually writing down their thoughts about their characters
thinking. This is a relatable connection for them to make.
o Whose thoughts are being told using the thought bubble on this page? If
students say Pigeon, then explain that the thought bubble is actually
showing us the thoughts of Mo Willems since he wrote the story. He is
telling us what he thinks about his characters thinking. Make sure
this point is understood by students.
Then, share with the class the large thought bubble made, discussing what it would be
used for and why it is so large. Guiding questions are as follows:
o Why is this thought bubble so large? This emphasizes the importance
of thinking while we are reading. As we are reading, we should always
be questioning, inferring, making connections, making predictions,
etc.
o Any ideas what this thought bubble would be used for? Explain that it
is used to help think about thinking while reading. It is used to make
predictions, ask questions, make connections, or write down any

comments that come to mind while reading. This can be done using
pictures or words. Then, after the story is finished the reader can go
back and think about the thoughts written down, analyzing the story.
Comprehension is made easier by using metacognition.
o Thinking about our thinking is called Metacognition. Have the class
say that word together out loud and reiterate what it is and its
importance.
o Wiggle your thumbs if you use metacognition (or say think while you
read) while you read and didnt even realize it! This is checking for
student understanding.
o Why is Metacognition important? Explain that it is important to help
us become better readers because we learn to understand the story
better (comprehension).
Procedure for the Strategy:
Gather students on the floor for whole group instruction. Once gathered, perform the
anticipatory set.
After the anticipatory set is complete, display and explain the Metacognition Thinking
Stems poster created prior to the lesson beginning. This is a poster that displays prompts
students can use to think about their thinking while reading, such as Im thinking, Im
noticing, Im wondering, Im seeing, etc. At the bottom of the poster there is a reference
to what metacognition is: Thinking about your thinking.
Once the Metacognition Thinking Stems poster is explained, perform a guided model of
how to use a thought bubble. This modeling is described in detail below under the
modeling section.
After the modeling is complete, facilitate a brief discussion that talks about what was
happening during the modeling (i.e. what the metacognition thinker was doing). The
questions for this discussion are listed under the modeling section of this lesson plan.
Once the discussion is complete, hand out one individual thought bubble to each student
that was created prior to the teaching of this lesson. Explain, as handing out, that this is
going to be used to practice thinking about your thinking as a story is read out loud. Have
students go get a clipboard and pencil (gives them an opportunity to get up and move),
then come back to the circle.
When students have all their materials, read the story My Friend is Sad out loud so that
students can practice using metacognition on their thought bubbles. Remind them,
quickly, of the Metacognition Thinking Stems poster to help guide their thinking.
Previously sticky note stopping points where students will have time to document
their thoughts. This is essential because it gives all students time to write or draw about
their thinking.
Procedures for read aloud while students document their thoughts:

o Explain to students that we are going to be stopping at certain points, as a class,

so we can work on the strategy together to understand it.
o Make sure to stop at sticky note stopping points and allow students to quick write
or draw their thoughts thus far.
o While reading (not at stopping points), have students sit on their clipboards and
pencils so there are no distractions in their hands and they are focused on the
story.
o When stopped at stopping points, monitor that students understand the task by
glancing at their work as they document their thoughts.
o When story is completed, engage in closure activity.
Closure:
o Discussion:
What kinds of thoughts did you notice you were making?
How does thinking about your thoughts help you to understand the story
better?
o Share student work:
Share two student (or more depending on time) thought bubbles. Note to
the class how thoughts are different amongst the two, showing how we
can all have different thoughts about the same story!
Modeling:
To increase understanding of this strategy, modeling will be done between two adults. (If
using two adults for modeling is not an option, use yourself (teacher) and one of the
higher readers in your class that would be effective modeling in front of the class). One
adult will read a story out loud to the class while the other adult is holding the thought
bubble and sharing their thinking out loud about the story as it is being read. The reader
will stop periodically throughout the story to allow the metacognition thinker the
opportunity to share their thoughts about their thinking up to that point. This will be
guided as follows:
o Person A (reader) will read the story Good Boy, Fergus! out loud to the class.
o Person B (metacognition thinker) will hold the thought bubble around face as
Person A reads.
o Person B interjects thoughts about the story that Person A is reading as an idea
comes to mind. Interject with predictions, connections, inferences, comments,
questions, etc. If the text sparks an idea or thought, share it.
After the modeling is completed for the students, conduct a brief discussion that draws
their attention to what the metacognition thinker (Person B) did during the demonstration.
Discussion questions are as follows:
o What did you notice that the metacognition thinker (Person B) was doing while
the story was being read? Sharing thoughts (predictions, connections,

inferences, questions) about what was being read. Note that this is
metacognition!
o Do you notice that you do this as a reader while reading too? Have students
wiggle thumbs to answer this. Make sure to comment If you dont think you
are doing this, its okay because we are going to practice it so that you can
use it as a tool to become an even better reader!
Assessing the Students Understanding of the Strategy:
Informal Assessment: Students will be assessed informally throughout discussions and
guided practice. During discussions students will be asked to give informal cues such as
wiggle your nose or give two thumbs up when given a question to answer. This will
provide an idea if students understand the metacognition thought bubble or not. It is
noted in the modeling and procedure sections where these informal assessments should
be given.
Formal Assessment: Students will be assessed formally by making their own thought
bubble while listening to the story My Friend is Sad. This thought bubble will document
their thoughts about the story, thus representing their metacognition. Using this as a
guideline, it can be assessed whether the students have a grasp on the strategy, or whether
more guided practice and instruction is needed.
Childrens Text Information:
Anticipatory Set: Dont Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
o Author: Mo Willems
o Publication Date: April 1, 2003
o Publisher: Hyperion Press
o ISBN Number: 978-0786819881
Modeling: Good Boy, Fergus!
o Author: David Shannon
o Publication Date: February 1, 2006
o Publisher: The Blue Sky Press
o ISBN Number: 978-0439490276
Guided Practice: My Friend is Sad
o Author: Mo Willems
o Publication Date: March 13, 2007
o Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
o ISBN Number: 978-1423102977
References:

Two Other Strategies From Your Text: My Friend is Sad