Mini Lesson Plan

Name

David Boulton

Lesson Topic/Title:

Main topic and key details: Pandas

Subject

ELA

AZCCR Standard

Measurable
Objective

Date

Grade Level

9/4/15

2nd

Anchor Standard 2 for informational text: "Identify the main topic of a multiparagraph text as well as the
focus of specific paragraphs within the text."

Students will be able to identify at least four details from a given informational text that support
the understanding of the main topic of that text.

Anticipatory Set (1-2 mins)

Describe how you will engage students and connect to their background knowledge.
Show students the cover of the Pandas from the Amazing Animals series (Bodden, 2013) and ask students what the main topic of book is
(pandas). Then open book to random pages, pretending to read pandas only from each selected page. Note that pandas is the main topic,
but a main topic needs supporting detail in order to be interesting/useful/informative.
<Bodden, V. (2013). Amazing animals: Pandas. Makato, MN: Creative Paperbacks>

Teaching Input / Modeling (1-3 mins)

(Describe how the strategy/concept/skill will be introduced/modeled)
Introduce a blank jigsaw puzzle chart for main topics, adapted from K-2 Chart Sense (Linder, 2014, p.45). Write main topics and need details, leaving the puzzle pieces blank for
now. Ask students to buddy-buzz a partner about what details they would expect to learn about pandas from reading this text. Brainstorm suggestions. Guide discussion to narrow
detail categories down to fit roughly the four areas on Linder's chart what does it look like? Where is it located? Why is it an important topic? What does it do?
<Linder, R. (2014). K-2 Chart sense: Common sense charts to teach k-2 informational text and literature. Atlanta, GA: The Literacy Initiative>

Active Involvement (5-8 mins)

(Describe what students will do in a short practice session to demonstrate understanding)
Complete chart with four essential detail questions and explain that we will be partner-reading the text to add details (answers to these
questions) to our main topic (pandas).
Provide students with post-it notes and ask them to begin reading (page by page, pages 4-11), making notes of any details they encounter that
provide details to address the four questions.

Closure (1-2 mins)

(Describe how you will provide an opportunity for students to share work, ideas, review, etc. Describe your formative assessment tool
or strategy)
Partners place post-its and read their identified details to the class. Conclude that the main topic in this case pandas is like a jigsaw puzzle
of pieces of information known as details.
Assess through informal observation of partner discussion and contributions/establish the number of key details identified by each pair.
Practice active listening and appropriate responding to others' suggestions.

Connections
(to Common Core Guidebook, Daily 5, Math Daily 3, data, etc.)

Linder: uses anchor charts in an interactive collaborative way as described by Linder, create with students, promoting a
sense of ownership, etc (Linder, 2013, p.13); also, (per Linder, 2013, p.19) uses techniques for first use of a reusable chart
including chart outline and use of post-its for the specific case.
Daily 5: partner reading technique, active listening expectations to mirror Daily 5 expectations.