Gradual

Release of Responsibility
Model of Instruction
Name: Mia Angelis
Grade: 2nd
Standards:
Reading: Literature Standard 7
Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of
its characters, setting, or plot.

Writing Standard 8
Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

Objectives: Students will make predictions based on the text and their prior knowledge about what will happen
next.

Materials: Smart board, prediction sentence frame worksheets, prediction video
(https://jr.brainpop.com/readingandwriting/comprehension/makepredictions/), and prediction website with
artwork https://www.onceuponapicture.co.uk/the-collections/the-prediction-collection/

Essential Questions: What is a prediction? A statement about what will or what might happen in the future
How do we make predictions? We make predictions based on text, pictures, scenarios, and our prior knowledge—
with those tools we predict what will happen next.

(A prediction is a smart guess about what will happen next using clues in the text and pictures.)

Vocabulary: Prediction, background knowledge, supporting details

Adaptations for Students with Special Needs/
Adaptations for EL: Further scaffolding with prediction sentence frame structures, additional one-on-one support
during Phase II, if necessary.


DAP: Begin with assessment of prior knowledge, new understandings are built on prior knowledge, students
express their understanding through multiple methods; concepts are taught using multiple techniques.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TEACHER RESPONSIBILITIES OF

STUDENTS
Phase I: 1. assess prior knowledge, engage with the concepts
Exploration and Explanation through, discussion, video,
Concept Development Have student read the student objective. I read it, texts
student reads it, they say it to their partners.
“ I will make predictions based on the text, pictures
and my prior knowledge about what will happen
next.”


“What do we know about predicting? Have we heard
the word predicting before? What does it mean? Turn
and talk with your partner.”
(Allow for adequate response time) –
Yes, predicting means to make a statement about
what will or what might happen in the future based
off of the text, picture or our prior knowledge.
Write ideas on board.

2. interactively engage students in an exploration of
concepts, strategies, vocabulary, etc.
Today I am going to show us some pictures and read
from our story “The Toll Bridge Troll.” During these
activities our goal is to think about predicting in our
heads.

I predict that ___ will happen because?
I think _____ because of _____.
^ Remind the students of the sentence frame
structure and write it on the board for them too.

Let’s look at some of the pictures on the board
together.

Pull up the picture of the “Alarm Call” on the board.


3. interactively model, demonstrate, discuss new
concepts, strategies, key vocabulary

Looking at the picture “Alarm Call” on the board I am
going to walk through the prediction process out
loud.

“I predict that the kitten is going to wake up because
the monster is going to step on her.
I think this is going to happen because the monster
has his foot up in the air, he looks like he is ready to
step on her!” (Act this out)

(Note to self for next lesson: Try to avoid having the
kids say ‘think’ have them say ‘predict.’)

What do you predict the kitten is dreaming about?
What makes you predict this?

What do you predict will happen when the kitten
wakes up?

After doing the photo predictions,
Say:
“With your partner sitting next to you, I want you to
tell them what a prediction is and one sentence frame
we can use. Think of the way I stated my questions I
predict _____ because____. This makes me predict
that ______ will happen because _____.”

Gives students about two minutes to discuss. Circle
the room and listen—ensure there is no confusion
before continuing on to the book.

“Today we are going to finish reading “The Toll Bridge
Troll” during the reading I am going to stop us
periodically for us to make predictions.
Before I begin, can someone raise their hand and tell
us what they said or their partner said about what a
prediction is? – Do we agree? (Clear up any
confusion)” (Tip: Restate the students answer so that
the WHOLE class can hear.)

 Pick up from where we left off on “The Toll Bridge
Troll.” Remind students about what we had read. Ask
a student first if they can summarize the story to the
class—The boy needed to go to school but in order to
go to school he had to pay the Toll Bridge Troll one
cent. He knew he couldn’t pay him that everyday so
he told him riddles instead saying, if I get it right I get
to cross for free…
Prompt students with the first prediction of the
story… “What do we predict is going to happen…?”

With their carpet partners, have the students work
together to make predictions on what is going to
happen. Ask for students to share their predictions or
their partner’s predictions.

Remind students throughout that there is no right or
wrong answer, but when we use the pictures, text,
and our background knowledge we can make
educated guesses or PREDICTIONS.

Finish off the story asking predictions about what the
troll smells like, what is going to happen, be creative
and let the kids be creative too…

Once the story is finished transition to Phase II with
directions below.

Transition to Phase II: 1. review Phase I concepts interactively engage in review and in
Review “Today we learned how to take our background understanding of directions
Phase II Expectations knowledge, words in a book, and pictures on a page for Phase II work
to generate predictions of what would happen next,
or why that happened, what is smelt like, felt like…
etc. “

2. explain directions for Phase II exercise—no new
concepts are introduced in the transition
“Now when we go back to our seats we are going to
work on a short story about a prediction of what will
happen now that the story has ended. We will use
our prediction sentence frame structure… I predict
that ______ will happen because____.
It is very important for us to explain why (because)
we are making our predictions.

Make sure to start the students on the doc-
cam/board with the proper sentence structures
before releasing them to begin writing.
QUALITATIVE SHIFT IN RESPONSIBILITY--THE TEACHER WILL NO LONGER BE TEACHING THE WHOLE CLASS AS ONE
UNIT. EVERY STUDENT NOW TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR CARRYING OUT THE CONCEPT, STRATEGY, SKILL, ETC.
Phase II: 1. provide an exercise that requires students to 1. engage with Phase II
Guided Practice practice applying the new concepts developed in exercise as independently
One-on-One Differentiation Phase I (the directions for this exercise should have as possible
Formative Assessment been explained in the transition to Phase II). 2. request further
Plans for early finishers Once students go back to their seats, provide them scaffolding—as needed
Closure with writing paper so they can write and illustrate
what they think will happen next in “The Toll Bridge
Troll.”
 2. release responsibility to each student or group to
carry out the new concepts, strategies, skills, etc.
Start the students off on the board by writing
“I predict that the Troll and Trigg are going to become
best friends, because…”
Ask for students to generate ideas with their
partners. Ask for thumbs up/down for understanding,
if there is confusion explain again, if not allow them
to come and get a piece of paper to begin writing.

Allow the students to talk with their elbow partners
quietly about their predictions.

3. scaffold in individual and group zpds--as needed
Walk around during the writing and get a feel for how
students are doing.
4. if feedback indicates class-wide confusion, back
up to Phase I and work with the whole class to
further clarify concepts
If confusion arises go back to Phase I, and do a think
through on how I make a prediction and do another
sentence starter for writing the story. Remind
students that they can make predictions based on the
text, the pictures, and their background knowledge.
5. at the close of Phase II, interactively review key
points
Today we learned about predictions, interactively
thinking about what will come next in a story, or what
a picture is showing us. Now it’s your turn to put your
 prediction skills to work at home.

Transition to Phase III: 1. review concepts taught in Phase I 1. engage in review

Review and Phase III Today we learned how to take our background 2. volunteer to
Expectations knowledge, words in a book, and pictures on a page demonstrate Phase III
to generate predictions of what would happen next, expectations
or why that happened, what is smelt like, felt like…
etc. We used sentence frame structures like… (ASK
FOR CLASS TO PARTICPATE AND STATE THEM)
I predict_____ because_____
Ask the students why we use because.
2. explain directions for Phase III exercise—no new
concepts are introduced in the transition
Now it’s your turn to put these wonderful prediction
skills to the test. When you get home, I want you to
make a prediction about something. – Maybe write a
prediction about what we are going to do in class
tomorrow, what you are going to have for dinner, or a
prediction about your favorite show. You will write it,
in the correct sentence frame structure, and bring it
back tomorrow.

QUALITATIVE SHIFT IN RESPONSIBILITY—STUDENTS WILL NEXT WORK AS INDEPENDENTLY AS APPROPRIATE
Phase III: 1. release responsibility to each student to carry independently complete
Independent Practice out/apply the new concepts, strategies, skills, etc. Phase III exercises
Summative Assessment independently
Students will go home and make a prediction about
something (here are some options to give the class)
what we are going to do in class tomorrow, what you
are going to have for dinner, or a prediction about
your favorite show. Ensure that the students use the
proper sentence frame structure.
2. scaffold if necessary
Do a thumbs up/down for understanding of the task
that they have been asked to complete, scaffold
based on such answers.

3. explain how you will formally assess student work
Students work will be assessed on using the proper
sentence frame structure and providing supporting
details (BECAUSE) to go along with their prediction.








Unobserved reflection:

Wow, this lesson was a blast, and went really well despite a few unforeseen circumstances, but that’s teaching.
So I began teaching this lesson with just my class, but ended up having another class come join mine. They came in after
we had explicitly defined and taught what a prediction is, so I quickly backed up and asked some of my students to catch
our new students up. They did wonderfully and I filled in the blanks. The overall lesson went better than I ever could’ve
played out in my head, and I did tweak my lesson plan here to add some ideas for my next lesson plan so that I don’t
forget and so that I'm more thorough.
Lesson strengths… the lesson went well as a whole and I really loved how into the predictions the students got, even the
ones who weren’t mine and hadn’t heard the book before. I think the lesson provided a lot of opportunities to respond
and enabled students to think in a way they don’t usually get to think in. I really enjoyed teaching it. The read aloud itself
was my biggest strength and I think I can approve upon the writing Phase II for next time.
What I want to improve on for next time… I want to have more partner sharing, I wrote it multiple times in my lesson plan,
but I didn’t use it nearly as much as I wanted to. I had the vision in my mind that the students would be sitting on the
carpet in front of me and they would turn and share their ideas with their friends that way, but we couldn’t do it like that
because of the other class; instead they did it at their desks. I think I felt a little forgetful once the other class joined us
because I didn’t do the partner talks as much as I wrote and I'm a little bummed with myself, but I made alterations so my
next lesson will certainly have those in it. Improvement goal… something that I have made a goal to improve upon for the
future and my next lesson plan is orchestrated responses. I had a ton of sharing, questions, checking for understanding,
responses (and adequate response time), but sometimes I would ask something and then students would blurt out, when I
wanted students to raise their hand or vise-versa. I want to be better about, “with a raise of our hand, who thinks they
know what is going to happen next…” etc. This is something that takes time, but I'm looking forward to working on it.
Strategies… my strategies I used were varied, especially my ones for understanding. I had whole group response, thumb
up/down for understanding, sharing with partners and me listening in, and individual responses—all different, but they all
targeted different learners. For the next lesson I look forward to teaching at the carpet because with read alouds I like the
close feel that we can give students by being near each other, interacting with partners, and being enthralled in a story.
Since I had to read at the doc-cam due to all the kiddos I didn’t get up and move around the room and listen to
conversations during the read aloud like I would’ve liked. If we were at the carpet I would’ve been able to do that, so that
will be something I am going to implement the next time.
Student learning… watching students learn has got to be the most rewarding part of this whole thing, at the beginning
when I first introduced predicting I could feel the confusion and sense the uncertainty, but by the end of the lesson I had
students begging to share their predictions with me—and that’s just what we did. I think this lesson will benefit from
being taught again, because next time the students will have even better understanding and be more inclined to show off
their prediction skills. I have a student, Bruce, who doesn’t usually speak up but he did multiple times during this lesson
and really showed his understanding of what was being taught—magical.