Nicole Meyer

ELD 308

Lesson Plan #2: Reading Mini-Lesson

Grade: 4
Time: 15 Minutes
Standards: RI 3) Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientiIic,
or technical text, including what happened and why, based on speciIic inIormation in the
text.
RI 5) Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison,
cause/eIIect, problem/solution) oI events, ideas, concepts, or inIormation in a text or part
oI a text.
RI 8) Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular
points in a text.

Objective: Students will be able to put important events in sequential order.

Materials:
O Hernan Cortes by Trish Kline
O hart paper
O Marker

Lesson Sequence:
1. Lesson Introduction:
O oys and girls, remember when we read the book Hernan
Cortes by Trish Kline? As you know, Hernan ortes was a
Iamous explorer and so many events happened in his liIe that
sometimes it can be hard to keep track oI what happened and
when.
2. Objective/Purpose:
O So today we are going to be revisiting the book, Hernan
Cortes, only this time when we read, I want you to think about
what happens during the beginning, middle and end oI the
book. AIter we Iinish reading, we`re going to try to retell the
story to help strengthen our sequencing skills.
O It`s important to know how to sequence and retell stories so
you can understand the inIormation as it is being presented to
recall it at a later time.
3. Teach and Model:
O I will reread the story to the students, pausing Irequently to
retell the students what I`ve just read so they can experience a
retelling oI the events.
O AIter reading the Iirst two pages I will stop and retell what I`ve
just read.
O kay so we`ve just read a lot oI inIormation about Hernan
ortes, but the inIormation I want to retain are the key events
that took place in his liIe. As I was reading, I was thinking
about the inIormation being provided and I was siIting through
it in my head to pick out the most important Iacts. So what I
determined to be the main events was that Hernan ortes was
born in Spain and eventually sailed to the New World to Iind
gold and riches.
O Note that as I`m retelling you the story, I`m using his name so
you as the listener know whom I`m talking about. This is
important when retelling any story so the listener understands
whom you`re talking about as it pertains to the story.
O Along the way, when stopping at certain points during the
story, ask the students to help you eliminate certain inIormation
that is not considered a main event.
O kay so we just read a bunch oI inIormation about Hernan
ortes, we learned that ortes had light skin and a beard. Is
this inIormation really relevant to the story? No, how ortes
looks is not a main event that took place. We also read that
The Aztec leader, Montezuma believed ortes was their god
and that ortes`s soldiers walked throughout the city killing
Aztecs and taking gold. This inIormation seems important but
how can we summarize all this inIormation into one event?
Yes, we could say that the Aztec leader Montezuma believed
ortes was a god so he gave him gold.
O Repeat this step throughout the story, retelling important events
to the students so they Iully understand how to retell a story.
4. Guided Practice:
O ontinue reading through the book.
O So we just read a lot oI inIormation, what key points can we
pull Irom these two pages? That`s interesting, why do you
think that`s a major event?
O ood does anyone else think they have an idea oI another
important event? ood job! So how can we decide what`s
important and what`s not important in a text?
O all on Iew children and help scaIIold them in their answer iI
needed.
5. Independent Practice:
O I would like you all to go back to your seats and I will be
coming around with a worksheet on Hernan ortes. What I
want you to do independently is read the passage about Hernan
ortes and then on the back; Iill out the Iirst section that says,
Arrange in hronological rder`. We will regroup aIter a Iew
minutes to go over the answers and I will be walking around to
answer any questions you may have.
6. losure:
O kay now that we`ve all read the passage, who thinks they
know what event came Iirst? ood, what evidence Irom the
reading made you decide on that event? ood job, see how he
or she used words and phrases Irom the text as clues to
determine what event came Iirst?
O ontinue to review all the events in order based on the reading.
Ask the students Ior evidence so I can understand what clues
Irom the text they used to help them determine the order.
O I will know the lesson was successIul when the students can
help me recall the sequential order oI events Irom the reading
during the guided reading exercise. I will also know the lesson
was successIul iI the students can read the passage given to
them during independent reading and recall the sequence oI
events by giving me evidence to support their reasoning.