Direct Instruction Lesson Plan Template

Grade Level/Subject: 5th

Central Focus: To identify text features online that relate
Grade/Reading
to the students research paper. Students will also be able
to interpret what the text feature means and how it will
make their research paper stronger.
Essential Standard/Common Core Objective:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.9
Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in
order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational
texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical
texts, at the high end of the grades 4-5 text complexity band
independently and proficiently.

Date submitted: April 15th,

2016
Date taught: March 24th, 2016

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.9
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support
analysis, reflection, and research.
Daily Lesson Objective:
Performance: After the lesson, students will be able to find text features to support their
research topic. In addition, students will practice interpreting what their text feature shows and
then students will decide if the chart, graph, etc. answers one of their thick questions.
Conditions: Students will have access to their chrome books and their graphic organizer that
has their thick questions on it.
Criteria: By the end of the lesson, (within 25 minutes), students must have found a minimum of
one text feature to support their research. On a sticky note, students are to provide a brief
summary of what their text feature shows and explain how the information will be helpful for
their paper.
21st Century Skills:
Academic Language Demand (Language Function and
Information, Media, and Technology Vocabulary):
Skills
-text feature
Critical thinking
Prior Knowledge: Students have been working on their research paper. Students have
previously learned how to find reliable sources, how to summarize text, and how to develop
thick questions. Students have previously been given a graphic organizer to organize all of
their research. The graphic organizer has three columns (1 column for each thick question
students have developed) and then several rows (so students can have several resources to
support each thick question).
Activity
1. Focus
and Review

Description of Activities and Setting

Over the past few days, we have been working together
as a class to gather information for our research papers.

Time
5 min

2.
Statement
of Objective
for Student
3. Teacher
Input

We started by talking about reliable sources, how to

summarize those sources, and then moved on to
developing thick questions to make our paper stronger.
Today, we will be looking at how to use, read, and interpret
text features into our research papers.
Good readers of non-fiction use information from maps,
charts, graphs, diagrams, and other text features to
support their research.
T: So as you guys know, my research paper is about
Abraham Lincoln and his view on slavery. While doing my
research, I found this website:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/12/10/opinion/20
101210_Disunion_SlaveryMap.html?_r=2&
*The teacher should pull up this website on the smart
board for students to see
T: This map shows the percentage of slaves in the country
by county. Apparently, Lincoln spent a lot of time looking
at this map. I can use this map to understand more about
slavery during the time of Lincoln.
*Using the mouse hover over the picture of the camera
above the word note and click on the photo (right side of
map above legend). There will be an explanation of the
map. Read the explanation out loud to the students.
T: This is interesting. The darker the shading, the greater
the slave population. This map is a good resource as it is
showing me where the slaves lived during Lincolns time.
The article that goes along with the map explains:
*Read the 6th paragraph- halfway down to students:Only
this one (meaning this MAP) allowed Lincoln to focus on
the Confederacys greatest asset: its labor system.
T: The Confederacy is the South; the labor system is slaves.
Lincoln was noticing that the South wanted to leave the
union not because of STATES RIGHTS but because of
SLAVERY -- they wanted to keep slavery as a cheap source
of labor - to work on the plantations, etc. So I can learn
that this map helped Lincoln to visualize/to literally see
how the problem of slavery was the real issue. I CAN use
this information to answer one of my questions. I can write
a fact down on my research grid under: What was Lincolns
Views During The Civil War. Under my thick question, I
would write I realized that South wanted to secede

2 min
15 min

because they wanted to use slaves as cheap labor.

T: It is important for me to know that I can gather
information from MAPS and other text features.
4. Guided
Practice

T: Lets look at another one! This time, I want you guys to

decide if you think this graph will be a good resource for
my paper. I am trying to get an understanding of the
number of slaves during the time of Lincoln. So this graph
shows the slave population.
The teacher should pull up the graph on the smart board.

Ask the students the following questions:

What does this graph show us? The graph compares the
growing US black population to the number of free slaves
from 1820 to 1860. Has the number of slaves increased or
decreased over time? Increased. How has the number of
free black population changed over the years? It has
decreased.
T: From the graph, I am able to see that the number of
slaves has increased from about 1.5 million to 4.5 million
since Lincoln was born in 1820 to when he was first elected
in 1860. The number of free blacks has also decreased
from 13% to 11%.
T: So who thinks that this graph would be useful for my
paper? Encourage students to raise their hand if they say
yes and explain why they think so. Then ask students who
think this resource is not a good resource to raise their
hand and explain why.
T: I have learned a lot about Lincoln from this graph.
Lincoln lived in a time period where slavery always existed
and therefore this probably shaped his views. This graph

10 min

did give me important information about the time period

when Lincoln lived, but since this graph does not
specifically answer one of my thick questions on Lincolns
views of slavery, I would not use this graph for my research
paper.

5.
Independent
Practice

6.
Assessment
Methods of
all
objectives/s
kills:

7. Closure

Students are to go back to their seats and continue their

research for their paper. By the end of the lesson, students
are to have found at least one text feature to use in their
paper. On a sticky note, students will write:
25 min
1). Explain the text feature you found.
2). How will this help make your paper stronger?
Students will turn in their sticky note to the teacher for the
assessment grade.
Students who have found at least one text feature (graph, map, picture, etc.) to
support their research and have explained in depth how it will strengthen their
paper will have met the objective.

So the important things to remember from todays lesson is that:

1. As you do your research, you must pay attention to graphs,
charts, maps, and diagrams. These text features provide you
2 min
with a good source of information.
2. Research takes lots of time and requires lots of hard work.
Sometime you may find really good information and resources,
however they may not relate to your topic in the best way.
Out of the 26 students, all students turned in a sticky note with at least one
text feature listed, a description of the text feature found, and an explanation
of how the text feature will further support their paper. Therefore, all of the
class met the objective for the lesson.

8.
Assessment
Results of
all
objectives/s
kills:
Targeted Students
Modifications/Accommodations:
During the lesson, students will come to
the carpet so that they can see the
smartboard. During independent
practice, I will be walking around making
sure students are on task and finding
text features. In addition, I will check in
with the ELL and the special needs
students after the lesson to see if they
need any help.

Student/Small Group
Modifications/Accommodations: During the
independent practice, I will walk around to make
sure that all students are researching their topic.
Students who finish the lesson early, will continue
finding sources for their research paper.

Materials/Technology:
(Include any instructional materials (e.g., worksheets, assessments PowerPoint/Smart Board slides, etc.) needed to implement the lesson at
the end of the lesson plan.)

-sticky notes
-smart board
-graphic organizers (students already have this)
-http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/12/10/opinion/20101210_Disunion_SlaveryMap.html?
_r=2&
*website for teacher input
-graph for guided practice
References:
Reflection on lesson:
Overall, I thought that this lesson went really well. The clinical teacher that I worked with
gave me her lesson to teach (attached below). I did make a few minor changes, but kept some
of the specifics that she included in her lesson. Text features are a huge part of a research
paper so that students can support their reasonings. I think that students had a better
understanding of text features after this lesson. In the future, if I was to make up my own
lesson, I think that I would split the class up into groups and give each group a different type of
text feature. Students would work together to interpret the data and then figure out how it
would be useful in a paper. However, the teacher asked me to teach the lesson that she gave
me because it went along with what they were learning.