Comprehension Weekly Lesson Plans

Name: Lakin Simmons Student Grade Level: 5th grade

Through the Qualitative Reading Inventory, it was clear that though the student did know how to answer some comprehension questions, she struggled as the level
got closer to 5th grade. To help her better adjust to her grade level, I put together an array of activities with a non-fiction text to see which strategy works best not
only for her, but for students similar to her reading level. She also struggled with some main idea questions in the QRI, which was why I decided to include
summarizing and brainstorming main ideas.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Topic: Comprehending
nonfiction texts
VA SOL Standard 5.6: The
student will read and
demonstrate comprehension of
nonfiction texts.
b) Use prior knowledge and
build additional background
knowledge as context for
new learning.
k) Identify new information
gained from reading.
Topic: Comprehending
nonfiction texts
VA SOL Standard 5.6: The
student will read and
demonstrate comprehension of
nonfiction texts.
b) Use prior knowledge and
build additional background
knowledge as context for
new learning.
k) Identify new information
gained from reading.
Topic: Comprehending
nonfiction texts
VA SOL Standard 5.6: The
student will read and
demonstrate comprehension of
nonfiction texts.
b) Use prior knowledge and
build additional background
knowledge as context for
new learning.
k) Identify new information
gained from reading.
Topic: Comprehending
nonfiction texts
VA SOL Standard 5.6: The
student will read and
demonstrate comprehension of
nonfiction texts.
b) Use prior knowledge and
build additional background
knowledge as context for
new learning.
k) Identify new information
gained from reading.
Topic: Comprehending
nonfiction texts
Standards:
VA SOL Standard 5.6: The
student will read and
demonstrate comprehension of
nonfiction texts.
b) Use prior knowledge and
build additional background
knowledge as context for
new learning.
k) Identify new information
gained from reading.

Objectives:
Understand-- The students will
understand how to better
comprehend non-fiction texts.
KnowStudents will know how
to gather information from a
nonfiction text and truly
comprehend the text using
discussion and community in
the classroom.
Dothe students will have
discussion with other
classmates and the class to
better comprehend the
nonfiction text.
Objectives: Understand-- The
students will understand how to
better comprehend non-fiction
texts.
KnowStudents will know how
to gather information from a
nonfiction text and truly
comprehend the text using
discussion and community in the
classroom.
Dothe students will have
discussion with other classmates
and the class to better
comprehend the nonfiction text.
Objectives: Understand-- The
students will understand how to
better comprehend non-fiction
texts.
KnowStudents will know how
to gather information from a
nonfiction text and truly
comprehend the text using
discussion and community in
the classroom.
Dothe students will have
discussion with other
classmates and practice
comprehension strategies to
better comprehend the
nonfiction text.
Objectives: Understand-- The
students will understand how to
better comprehend non-fiction
texts.
KnowStudents will know how
to gather information from a
nonfiction text and truly
comprehend the text using
discussion and community in the
classroom.
Dothe students will have
discussion with other classmates
and practice comprehension
strategies to better comprehend
the nonfiction text.
Objectives: Understand-- The
students will understand how to
better comprehend non-fiction
texts.
KnowStudents will know how
to gather information from a
nonfiction text and truly
comprehend the text using
discussion and comprehension
strategies in the classroom.
Dothe students will have
discussion with other
classmates and practice
comprehension strategies to
better understand the text.
 Materials:
Bats! Strange and Wonderful-
Laurence Pringle
Activity: First, I will read the first
part of the book to the students.
We will then discuss many
questions about the book as a
whole group.
According to the text, at what
time of the day are bats active?
What environments do bats
usually live in?
What is echolocation?
What facts stood out to you?
Are there any other facts that
we did not talk about that you
know about bats?
Have you seen bats in real life
before? If so, where and when?
Assessment: As an exit ticket to
each group memberList two
facts that we read that were
most interesting to you.
Technology Integration: the students will use an app on the iPads that will help them to retell their stories using technology.
Materials:
Bats! Strange and Wonderful-
Laurence Pringle
Paper/pencil/colored pencils
Activity: First, I will ask the
students to compose a list of
interesting facts they learned
yesterday, which will be written
on the white board.
Once this list is composed, we
will begin to read where we left
off. The students will be told
that if they find more interesting
facts as were reading, they
should raise their hand, where
we will then write them down.
Once the book reading for the
day is finished, I will ask one
student to summarize what we
read.
Assessment: Once this is
completed, I will ask the
students to draw a picture of
where they think bats live, what
their food sources look like, and
how they connect to bats (if
they have seen them before).
Materials:
Bats! Strange and Wonderful-
Laurence Pringle
Paper/Pencil
Activity: First, we will read the
last section of the book. After,
we will discuss cause/effect
relationships, by figuring out
why we think bats use
echolocation as a whole group.
Assessment: I will ask each
student to write down a
cause/effect relationship on a
piece of paper, and share once
everyone is finished.
Materials:
Bats! Strange and Wonderful-
Laurence Pringle
Paper/Pencil
Whiteboard/Marker
Activity: The students will be
asked to brainstorm a list of
what they think are the most
important ideas of the text.
After some answers are given,
they will write a summary of the
whole book, specifically
highlighting each day. After this,
the students will get together
with a partner, where they will
both read aloud their
summaries to one another, and
write down how their
summaries differ.
Assessment: The students will
turn in their summaries, where I
will read and see what they
remember and find important in
the text.
Materials: Bats! Strange and
Wonderful
Laurence Pringle
IPads (4)
Activity: The students will work
with a partner to retell the story
using a voice recorder app,
where they will show pictures
and narrate. Each group will be
responsible for one part of the
story that we read on Monday,
Tuesday, or Wednesday. The
students will have the whole
small group time to work on
this.
Assessment: The students will
share their retelling stories with
the group (if there is time). If
not, I will listen to each groups
story, collecting information as
to whether theyve
comprehended the story or not.
Reflection:

This lesson was conducted during an afternoon for about thirty minutes with a lower reading level group. The student I did the Qualitative Reading Inventory on
is in this group, and these students tend to be on the same reading level. I have worked with this group almost every day in practicum, and have come to learn
their strengths and weaknesses collectively, as well as what they excel in. Overall, the whole group does well with grammar, and word study is done at a
separate time of the day, so I decided to focus my efforts on comprehension. This lesson was adapted by the reading specialist, where she read separate books
throughout the week (along with the one I read) to work on comprehension. Through discussion we both see improvements in some of the students
comprehension skills through discussion and conferencing with students.

Overall, the lesson went extremely well. I first read the book (part one), where I stopped frequently throughout the text, to ask questions and see if
students had questions. At the end of the reading, I asked the comprehension questions, Have any of you seen bats before? If so, where and when? This
question sparked lots of discussion (which I expected since bats are common in this area), and the students all had a story or location to share where they had
seen bats in their own lives. This immediately showed the importance of connections for students when working through comprehension. When students are
able to relate to a subject on a personal level, they are more apt to remember the lesson or subject, which was evident here. I then asked questions like, What
environments do bats usually live in? and what is echolocation? These were important questions to ask because they highlighted the main ideas of the
reading, while integrating science into the literacy instruction. I valued this part of the lesson the most, because it showed integration and how though it seems
to be a hard part of teaching, it can end up being easier than it seems. It also helped to grab the attention of my students who are more STEM minded, which is
sometimes hard to do in literacy instruction. Because this is a chatty group, they had lots of good responses, and seemed to understand the scientific element of
the book. The last question I asked was Were there any facts about bats that you know that werent described in the book? This also sparked more
conversation, as it gave students an opportunity to talk about what they already knew about bats. This portion of the lesson took up the most time, as it ended
up taking about 15 minutes of a 30-minute lesson. This left only a few minutes for the students to complete their exit ticket, which could have used at least five
minutes to complete. If I was to redo this lesson, I would probably have to omit a few discussion questions to give more time to the exit ticket. If it was my own
classroom though, I would reserve more time for reading groups as a whole, so that more can be done during these periods.