Direct Instruction Lesson Plan Template

Grade Level/Subject:
Central Focus:
th
4 Grade/ Reading
Summarizing Nonfiction Text
Essential Standard/Common Core Objective:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.2

Date submitted: 3/21

Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported
Date taught: 3/22
by key details; summarize the text

Daily Lesson Objective: Students will be able to identify main ideas and details in a nonfiction text and write a
paragraph summary including 5/6 (83% accuracy) items on a given checklist.
21st Century Skills: The students will
Academic Language Demand (Language Function and
be able to collaborate and communicate Vocabulary):
ideas to their classmates (Creativity and Nonfiction, summary, details, paragraph, main idea
Innovation). Students will be able to
communicate their thought and answers
through writing and speaking
(Communication).
Prior Knowledge: Students should be able to determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and
explain how they support the main idea prior to the lesson (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.2). Students should
have the knowledge to be able to form a paragraph and pull details from the text that they think is important.

Activity

1. Focus and Review

2. Statement of
Objective
for Student
3. Teacher Input

Description of Activities and Setting

The students will all gather at the front of the classroom for a group
discussion. The teacher will activate prior knowledge by asking the
students discussion questions such as What is nonfiction and how is it
different from fiction? and What is a summary? Students will turn
and talk to a partner, then come back together and discuss their thoughts
with the whole class.
Today we will be learning how to summarize nonfiction text. We will
discuss and write a summary as a class on a nonfiction text, and then
you will have the opportunity to partner read an article and individually
write a summary.
The teacher will introduce summarizing nonfiction text by going over
the details that need to be included when summarizing (what the main
idea is, four important details about the main idea, and a strong ending
sentence). The teacher will write on the board the list of things that
need to be included for all students to see when discussing. The teacher
will go over different ways to start each sentence and provide examples
for the students (Another important fact is I found out that It was

Time

5 mins

5 mins

4. Guided Practice

5. Independent
Practice

6. Assessment Methods
of
all objectives/skills:

7. Closure

so interesting to learn etc.) After discussion of how students will

summarize a text, the teacher will complete a summary to model for
students how to do the upcoming assignment.
The teacher will read the title of the article and ask students to pay
attention to details and keep in mind facts that they would like to
include in our class summary. The teacher will read aloud the article to
students. After the completion of the reading, the teacher will ask
students what was interesting about the article and get them thinking
15 mins
about what they want to include in the summary. As a class, the teacher
will fill in the list of things to incorporate in a summary on the board
with facts that the students want to include. The teacher will model
exactly what the students are expected to do for individual practice.
The students will return to their desks and be given an article to read.
With a partner, the students will buddy read aloud. Once the students
have completed the reading, they will raise their hand and be given a
summarizing nonfiction checklist. The checklist is a guideline for
students to make sure they include everything that is expected of them
when writing a summary. The students, individually, will write a
25 mins
paragraph summary on the article they just read on a piece of paper or
in their reading notebooks. Students are to work individually and write
their own summary, but can quietly collaborate with the students at
their tables. Once the students feel as if they have completed their
summary and have checked off everything on the checklist, they may
raise their hand and have the teacher check their work.
For the assessment, students will be given a checklist of things to complete when
writing a summary. Students will have read an article about reconstruction after the
Civil War and are expected to individually complete a summary of the nonfiction
text. Given a checklist, students must be able to include 5/6 (83% accuracy) of the
items on the checklist to meet the objective.
Once the students have completed their summaries, the students will
gather at the front of the class. The teacher will facilitate discussion
about the assignment with appropriate questions about the topic.
10 mins
Students will then have the opportunity to share their work with the
class.

8. Assessment Results
of
all objectives/skills:
Targeted Students
Modifications/Accommodations:

Student/Small Group Modifications/Accommodations:

Students who are unable to find a partner or have
difficulty working with others, will be assigned a partner
by the teacher or will receive teacher assistance

throughout the lesson.

Students who have difficulty visually or with auditory wil

be placed in the front of the classroom during large group
discussion as well as during partner work.
Students who complete the assignment faster than others,
may get their work checked by the teacher and then draw
a picture to go along with their summary.
Materials/Technology:
Article for guided practice and independent practice
White Board and Markers
Pre-made checklist
Paper/ reading notebook
References: http://www.ducksters.com/history/civil_war/reconstruction.php
http://www.ducksters.com/biography/uspresidents/abrahamlincoln.php
Anchor Chart on Nonfiction Summary

Article for Guided Practice

Abraham Lincoln

What is Abraham Lincoln most known for?

Lincoln is most famous for leading the country during the American Civil War. His leadership in
the North helped the country to remain strong and defeat the South keeping the country united.
He also pushed for the freedom of all slaves throughout the nation.
Growing Up
Abraham Lincoln came from humble beginnings. He was born in a single-room log cabin in
Hardin County, Kentucky. His parents were Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln. His father lost
everything when Abraham was young and they had to move to Perry County, Indiana where they
struggled to get by. When he was just nine years old, his mother died and his sister Sarah took
care of him until his father remarried.
Abraham had very little formal education, but had a strong interest in books and learning. Most
of what he learned was self-educated and from books he borrowed. His family later moved to
Illinois where Lincoln would set out on his own.
As a young man, Lincoln worked a variety of jobs including shopkeeper, surveyor, and
postmaster. For a time, he even split firewood with an axe for a living. He soon moved into
politics and won a seat in the Illinois Legislature when he was 25.
Before He Became President
Lincoln served on the Illinois State Legislature for several terms. During that time he studied the
law and began to work as a lawyer. He ran for the U.S. Congress in 1845. He won the election
and served as a congressman for one term. After serving as congressman he continued to work as
a lawyer. Later, Lincoln ran for the U.S. Senate, he did not win but he did gain national
recognition for his arguments against slavery during the debates.
In 1860, Lincoln ran for President of the United States. He was a member of the fairly new
Republican party which strongly opposed allowing any of the southern states to secede (leave the
country). The republicans were also against slavery. They said they would allow for slavery to
continue in the southern states, but that it would not be allowed to spread to new U.S. states or
territories.
Abraham Lincoln Presidency
Lincoln won the 1860 election and was inaugurated as president in March of 1861. The southern
states did not want Lincoln to be president. They did not agree with his policies. Before he was
officially in office, they began to secede (leave the country). The first state to leave was South

Carolina, but soon six more states followed and together they formed a new country called
theConfederacy. This all happened after Lincoln won the election, but before he took the oath of
office.
The Civil War
The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 at Fort Sumter in South Carolina just a month after
Lincoln took office. Lincoln was determined to maintain the "Union" of the states. He called for
an army from the northern states to defeat the south. What followed was a bloody war that lasted
four years and cost the lives of 600,000 Americans. Lincoln faced all sorts of opposition during
the war, but managed to hold the country together.
The Emancipation Proclamation
On January 1, 1863 Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. This was an order that freed
the slaves in the Confederate States. Although not all the slaves were immediately set free, it
paved the way for the 13th Amendment which would free all slaves in the United States a few
years later.
Gettysburg Address
Today, Lincoln is often remembered for a short speech he gave at Gettysburg on November 1,
1863. It's called the Gettysburg Address. It was only a few minutes long, but is considered one of
the great speeches in American history.
The Civil War Ends
The Civil War finally ended on April 9, 1865 when General Robert E. Lee surrendered at the
Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Lincoln wanted the country to heal, forgive, and rebuild.
He wanted to be generous to the southern states in helping them during the reconstruction.
Unfortunately, he would not live to see the country rebuild.
How did he die?
President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at the Ford
Theatre in Washington D.C. He died the next day on April 15, 1865.
Fun Facts about Abraham Lincoln

Honest Abe was the tallest president at 6 feet 4 inches tall.

He set up a national banking system while he was president. He also established the
Department of Agriculture.

He was known as a gifted storyteller and liked to tell jokes.

On the day he was shot, Lincoln told his bodyguard that he had dreamt he would be
assassinated.

He was the first president who had a full beard.

He often stored things like letters and documents in his tall stove-piped hat.

Article for Independent Practice

Civil War Reconstruction

Much of the Southern United States was destroyed during the Civil war. Farms and plantations were
burned down and their crops destroyed. Also, many people had Confederate money, which was now
worthless and the local governments were in disarray. The South needed to be rebuilt.
The rebuilding of the South after the Civil War is called the Reconstruction. The Reconstruction lasted
from 1865 to 1877. The purpose of the Reconstruction was to help the South become a part of the Union
again. Federal troops occupied much of the South during the Reconstruction to insure that laws were
followed and that another uprising did not occur.

A street in Charleston, SC after the war

To Punish the South or Not
Many people wanted the South to be punished for trying to leave the Union. Other people, however,
wanted to forgive the South and let the healing of the nation begin.
Lincoln's Plan for Reconstruction
Abraham Lincoln wanted to be lenient to the South and make it easy for southern states to rejoin the
Union. He said that any southerner who took an oath to the Union would be given a pardon. He also said
that if 10% of the voters in a state supported the Union, then a state could be readmitted. Under Lincoln's
plan, any state that was readmitted must make slavery illegal as part of their constitution.
President Johnson

President Lincoln was assassinated at the end of the Civil War, however, and never had the chance to
implement his Reconstruction plan. When Andrew Johnson became president, he was from the South and
wanted to be even more lenient to the Confederate States than Lincoln. Congress, however, disagreed and
began to pass harsher laws for the Southern states.
Black Codes
In an effort to get around laws passed by Congress, many southern states began to pass Black Codes.
These were laws that prevented African American people from voting, going to school, owning land, and
even getting jobs. These laws caused a lot of conflict between the North and the South as they tried to
reunite after the Civil War.
New Amendments to the Constitution
To help with the Reconstruction and to protect the rights of all people, three amendments were added to
the US Constitution:

13th Amendment - Outlawed slavery

14th Amendment - Said that black people were citizens of the United States and that all people
were protected equally by the law.

15th Amendment - Gave all people the right to vote regardless of race.

Rejoining the Union

New governments were formed in the South starting in 1865. The first state to be readmitted to the Union
was Tennessee in 1866. The last state was Georgia in 1870. As part of being readmitted to the Union,
states had to ratify the new amendments to the Constitution.
Help from the Union
The Union did a lot to help the South during the Reconstruction. They rebuilt roads, got farms running
again, and built schools for poor and African American children. Eventually the economy in the South
began to recover.
Carpetbaggers
Some northerners moved to the South during the Reconstruction to try and make money off of the
rebuilding. They were often called carpetbaggers because they sometimes carried their belongings in
luggage called carpetbags. The Southerners didn't like that the Northerners were moving in and trying to
get rich off of their troubles.
The End of the Reconstruction

The Reconstruction officially ended under the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877. He removed
the federal troops from the South and the state governments took over. Unfortunately, many of the
changes to equal rights were immediately reversed.
Interesting Facts about the Reconstruction

White Southerners who joined the Republican Party and helped with the Reconstruction were
called scalawags.

The Reconstruction Act of 1867 divided the South into five military districts ran by the army.

President Andrew Johnson granted pardons to many Confederate leaders. He also vetoed a
number of Reconstruction laws passed by Congress. He vetoed so many laws his nickname
became the "Veto President".

In order to fight against the Black Codes, the federal government set up Freedman's Bureaus to
help black people and to set up schools that black children could attend.
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CHECKLIST
Nonfiction Summary

Statement of main idea

Important detail #1

Important detail #2

Important detail #3

Important detail #4

Strong ending sentence