T&L Instructional Plan Template

8/15/2014
(edTPA Aligned)
Overview
The information included in this document is to support faculty in teaching about and supporting students with
the T&L (and edTPA) Instructional Plan. While there are many variations of lesson plans, this format meets
departmental requirements and is aligned with the 2014 edTPA as well.

Background Information (When doing the actual edTPA, leave out identifiers)
Teacher Candidate: Emily Schmid
Cooperating Teacher: Melissa Alexander
School District: Evergreen School District
University Supervisor: Steve Kramer
Unit/Subject:Reading
Instructional Plan Title/Focus: Character Traits

Date:10/26/14
Grade:4th
School: Pioneer Elementary

Section 1: Planning for Instruction and Assessment

a. Instructional Plan Purpose: The purpose of this activity is for students to become familiar with to be
able to identify different traits from various characters using evidence from the story and explain how
this helps the reader to understand the story.
b. Alignment to State Learning Standards:
RL.4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when
drawling inferences from the text.
RL.4.3: Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawling on specific details
in text.
ELP Standard 4.5.1 Use a developing set of strategies to determine the main idea or theme and retell a
few key details, and retell familiar stories from read aloud, simple written text, and oral presentations.
ELP Standard 4.5.2 Use a developing set of strategies to participate in short conversations and
discussions, participate in short written exchanges, respond to others comments, add some comments of
his or her own, and ask and answer question about familiar topics or texts.
c. Content Objectives:
SWBAT: Understand what an internal and external character traits are.
SWBAT: Identify character traits using evidence from a story.
d. Language Objectives:
SWBAT: Explain the difference between internal and external character traits by speaking.
SWBAT: Read and write internal and external character traits and evidence from their RTS books.

e. Previous Learning Experiences:

Students have been learning reading strategies such as visualizing, inferring, making connections, and
asking questions. Part of these learning strategies have included talking about the theme. They have also
been working a lot with using evidence from the text to support their answers to various types of
questions.
f. Planning for Student Learning Needs (accommodations, student experiences, prior learning and
experiences):
I have three students with IEPs in my classroom that will need accommodations. Student one was
specifically placed with a carpet partner in order to help him stay on task. They are also assigned a seat
closer to me while I teach the lesson. The second student has hearing aids to help them hear better I wear
a microphone specifically aligned with his hearing aids and stay in close proximity while teaching. The
third student uses a keyboard to make note taking easier. Other students also have particular learning
needs. For the class as a whole I set this lesson up to provide lots of support for students who need it.
Students are in purposeful partners to help guide their learning and I will model what I want the students
to do during the lesson first. Also I incorporated individual practice into read to self-time to provide
extra time to those who need it.

f. Assessment Strategies (Informal and formal)

Content/Language Objectives
SWBAT: Understand what an internal and
external character traits are.

Assessment Strategies
Formative: I will informally assess this during our class
discussion on what a character trait is and the two
different types. I will also ask the students to participate
in partner talk about what a character trait is and will be
listening in and asking students questions about what
they have learned form our discussion. I will call on
students to ask them questions about what they have
learned form our discussion. Before moving on with the
lesson I will ask student to give me a thumbs up, thumbs
down, or thumbs sideways to see how they feel about
reaching the learning target.
Summative: Students will turn in a worksheet which will
ask them to identify one internal and one external
character trait from a fiction book they are reading.
Along with identifying the trait they will be asked to
provide evidence to explain how they know. If they
identified these traits correctly I will be able to assess
how well they understand what a character trait is.

SWBAT: Identify character traits using

evidence from a story.

Formative: I will informally assess students during our

class activity and discussion. As I read A Bad Case of the
Stripes out loud students will write down internal and
external traits of the main character in the book on sticky
notes. I will be able to assess students by looking around
to see what students have written down. I will also assess
this while filling out our character traits poster as a class;
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during this time students will participate in partner and

whole class discussion. I will be listening in on partner
talk and be asking them as a class to identify internal and
external character traits. I will call on students and on top
of asking what the character trait is I will put a big
emphasis on why they think this and where in the story
let them know.
Summative: Students will turn in traits they have
identified from the characters in their read to self books. I
will grade their work based on whether they identified an
internal and external trait, used evidence to show why
they inferred this, and if they showed me a page number
where they found their information.
SWBAT: Explain the difference between
internal and external character traits by
speaking.

SWBAT: Read and write internal and

external character traits and evidence from
their RTS books.

Formative: I will informally assess this during our class

discussion on what a character trait is and the two
different types. I will also ask the students to participate
in partner talk about what a character trait is and will be
listening in to these conversations. I will call on students
to ask them questions about what they have learned form
our discussion. Before moving on with the lesson I will
ask student to give me a thumbs up, thumbs down, or
thumbs sideways to see how they feel about reaching the
learning target.

Summative: I will assess this by asking each pair of

partners to share what they learned about character traits.
I will ask guiding questions to pairs such as What is an
internal character trait? and What is one difference
between an internal and external character trait?
Formative: I will informally assess this by walking
around and observing how students are doing identifying
internal and external character traits on their own from
their RTS books. From my observations I can see if I
need to give more instructions to the whole class or give
extra help to certain individuals. While walking around I
will look for raised hand of those who are completed. If
their work is correct I will give that student a check, this
means they have now become a master and they can now
help their peers at their table group who need help
identifying internal and external character traits from
their read to self books. Every student will have the
opportunity to become a master on his or her paper so
that every student can feel equal (it will be required
before they can move on).
Summative: Students will complete and turn in their
character traits worksheets. I will grade their work based
on whether they identified an internal and external trait,
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used evidence to show why they inferred this, and if they

showed me a page number where they found their
information.
(Add rows as needed)
g. Student Voice

K-12 students will be able to:

1. Explain student learning targets

and what is required to meet
them (including why they are
important to learn).

2. Monitor their own learning

progress toward the learning
targets using the tools provided
(checklists, rubrics, etc.).

3. Explain how to access

resources and additional
support when needed (and
how/why those resources will
help them).

Student-based evidence to be
collected (things produced by
students: journals, exit slips, selfassessments, work samples,
projects, papers, etc.)
As a class we will discuss the
learning targets located on the
board and why it is important to
know what character traits and
while identifying them is
important for their further reading
success. This will be building on
other reading strategies. Students
will write down these content
learning targets in their reading
journal before we start our
discussion. All their work and
notes from the class discussion
will be on the same page so they
can refer back to the targets.

The students will self grade their

work based on a checklist before
asking me to check it. The
checklist will include an example
of one internal and one external
character trait, one piece of
evidence for each, and a page
number where they found this
information for each. Once they
have completed the worksheet and
double checked on their checklist
the students will raise their hand
for me to check their work.
I will provide the students with an
informational page about internal
and external character traits for
additional support. This
informational sheet will contain
the definition of each term along

Description of how students

will reflect on their learning.

Students will reflect on what

a character trait is first with
their carpet partner. They
will discuss the questions
What is a character trait?
and What is the difference
between an internal
character trait and an
external character trait?
This will be done during the
lecture. After the lecture
students will reflect with the
same partner by talking
about what traits they each
found for the character
Camilla in the story A Bad
Case of the Stripes.
Students will reflect on what
they are learning by selfchecking and making sure
they have produced their
best work before having the
teacher check it.

Students will have this paper

as a reminder of that they
learned and to refer to while
working on completing
assignments. The students
can reflect on their learning
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with pictures and examples. This

sheet of paper will also contain
websites the students can visit.

even more through further

practice on the websites
provided.

Grouping of Students for Instruction

Students will be working with their previously assigned carpet partner for this activity. Each set of partners is
assigned to be either a 1 or a 2. The 1 and 2 numbers are assigned in order for me to tell which partner to talk
when or do what. This is set in place in order to make sure each partner participates equally.

Section 2: Instruction and Engaging Students in Learning

1. Introduction:
Ask the students what they know about character traits. The students will talk to their partner about what
they think it might be and then I will take volunteers to share out. After the students have had time to
discuss their ideas with their partner I will have a few students share out about their ideas. Once we have
defined what a character trait is I will ask the students to discuss what they think the difference between
an internal and external character trait is using their prior knowledge. Students will then share out and be
asked to elaborate on their contributions, if possible, saying anything they might know about the words
internal and external, For example, breaking down the words and focusing on in and ex. After we have
reached a consensus as a class the I will write our definitions on our character trait poster and the
students will copy them into their reading journals along with a picture to represent each one.
2. Learning Activities:
Describe what the teacher will do and say and students will do during the lesson. Write it as a procedural
set of steps. As a part of this process include:
1) Give each student two different colored sticky notes and have them write internal on one and
external on the other.
2) Explain to the students that we will be reading the book A Bad Case of the Stripes as a class and
that I expect them to come up with two internal and two external traits of the character Camilla
as I read. Along with a trait I will ask them to also write a brief example of evidence that proves
this.
3) Next I will explain that as I am reading there will be a list of character traits displayed on the
overhead. This list is meant to help give students ideas of traits they could use.
4) After reading the first page I will stop and identify that Camilla feels worried and that this is an
internal character trait. I will tell them my evidence for this is that she says there were so many
people to impress and she could not find an outfit to wear on her first day of school. I will also
define an external character trait that she has black hair. I will say my evidence comes from the
picture.
5) While reading the rest of the story I will stop periodically and ask the students if they can think
of any external or internal traits of the character Camilla and will give them time to write them
down on their sticky notes. I will ask questions like have you ever been to the doctor?, How
did you feel when you were being poked and prodded?, and How do you think she feels being
teased? Each of these questions taps into the students prior knowledge and could give them
ideas about character traits they could use to define Camilla.
6) After reading the book we will come together as a class and I will ask the students to help me fill
out a character traits poster of Camillas external and internal traits. The poster will contain a
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picture of a girl. We will first take volunteers to tell us external character traits. These traits will
be written on the outside of the girl on the poster. Each time a student gives a response they will
be asked what their evidence was. Next, I will take volunteers to share some internal traits of
Camilla. These will be written on the inside of the girl drawn on the poster and in a different
color then the external traits. Each time a student gives me a trait they will be asked for evidence
that proves their answer.
7) At this point in the lesson we will recap on the book. One of the main reading targets the last
couple weeks has been identifying theme in books. Before moving on to working independently
we will discuss the theme of A Bad Case of the Stripes. The main idea to be pulled out here is
that it is important to be yourself no matter what other people might think. Some questions I will
ask to lead this discussion are what did Camilla learn by the end of the book? Why do you
think people treated her that way? and was it okay for them to tease her about the way she
looked? The goal of this discussion is to bring light to the fact that everyone is different and that
to be good classmates we need to embrace everyones differences.
8) After we have filled out the character traits poster and had a discussion about theme the students
will be asked to work independently using a fiction read to self book to identify one internal
character trait, one external character trait, provide evidence from the story for each, and include
a page number that indicates where they found the trait. After they complete a checklist to reflect
on their work they will raise they hand for the teacher to check their work. This will be graded
based on completeness and correctness.
9) If the students finish early they will continue reading their RTS book. If a student has received a
check on their paper they will also be allowed to help peers at their table group if needed. I
incorporated the individual activity into RTS time so each student could finish at their own pace
and still have an activity to focus on the entire time.
o Connections between students own lives, experiences, cultures, interests and the content.
The book A Bad Case of the Stripes is an easy book for all students to be able to make some sort
of cultural connection to. Students can relate to many of the situations Camilla is put into and
relate those to their own experiences. In this book the main character Camilla gets sick with
something called the stripes. All students can relate to being sick at one point in their life. The
book also takes place in many different settings that the students could be aware of for example
at school, the doctors office, and at Camillas house. I made connections to their life and prior
experiences by asking them if they have ever been sick? or If they have ever been to the
doctors? and how being at the doctors made them feel? Another subject that comes up in the
book is teasing. This was a great place to ask the students if they have ever been made fun of for
being different. The students will also be using their read to self-books, which can speak to a
variety of different cultures.
o Questions teacher candidate will ask during the lesson that drive thinking and learning and
engagement (5 or more questions)
o What is a character trait?
o What is the difference between and internal and external character trait?
o What are some positive and negative character traits?
o What clues form the text can indicate what a characters traits are?
o Why is it important for a reader to be able to identify characters traits?
o How does identifying character traits help the reader understand what is going on in the
story?
Throughout the lesson we will be having discussions that involve these questions as a whole class
and in partners. Questions 1-3 will be brought up in the introduction to the activity. The students will
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discuss these with their partners and we will address them as a whole class. The other questions will
be addressed in the I do you help part of the lesson where I will be reading a the book A bad Case
of the Stripes and asking for the students to help me identify traits of the main character and back
that trait up with evidence. The questions will continue to be reinforced as students are asked to find
more character traits on their own.
o Active learning over passive learning
During most of my lesson the students are being active learners. In the introduction students are
asked to call upon their prior knowledge and work together as a class to define internal and external
character traits with only guidance from me as the teacher. Throughout the lesson I gave visuals for
the students to look at including a picture definition of terms, a picture of our main character Camilla
for the class to fill in, and visuals from the picture book A Bad Case of the Stripes. Also the students
are busy with a task throughout the entire lesson. While I read a bad case of the stripes students will
write down character traits they noticed. Then in independent work time they will find and record
traits from their read to self-books. Students will also participated in partner talk often. They will do
this during the introduction, body and conclusion of the lesson. This will be shown before whole
class discussions when they will be asked to share what they had found or learned. Also once they
have received a check on their paper the students are encouraged to maintain engaged with their
peers by offering help and guidance if needed. Lastly, I used hand signals for students to
communicate multiple things. In the introduction students will put a thumbs up if they understood
the terms, thumbs sideways if they were almost there, and a thumbs down if they needed more
practice. During the conclusion students will display numbers on their fingers up to three to show me
they could think of three things we have learned today. I will look for all students to display a three
before having anyone shares out. These hand signals are not only cues to me by are ways for
students to reflect on their own learning.
o Multiple means of access to the content for the K-12 students
The students will have multiple ways to access and learn the material including
Discussion
Lecture
Writing
Visual examples
Verbal examples
Partner sharing
Whole group sharing
o Multiple means of expression of learning by the K-12 students
The students will have multiple ways of expression during this lesson. These include
Raising hand asking questions
Raising hand answering questions
Participating in partner and whole class discussions
Write in journals
Write on sticky notes
Fill out worksheet
Reflect

o How the teacher candidate will assess the learning of the students (from table above)
The students will be assessed in formative and summative ways many times throughout the lesson
based on each individual content and language learning objective. I will informally assess them for
both content learning objectives during our class discussion and activity by observing, listening to
partner talk, listening to questions and answers, looking at students work, and asking the students to
reflect on their own learning. I will also informally assess each objective by grading and collecting
their character trait worksheet at the end of read to self time. I will grade their work based on
whether they identified an internal and external trait, used evidence to show why they inferred this,
and if they showed me a page number where they found their information. This worksheet will
formatively assess both content objectives and one language objective. The other language objective
involves speaking. To assess this I will ask students questions directly and they will reply verbally.
3. Closure:
After filling RTS time I will ask the students to return to the carpet to reflect one their learning.
First as a closure I will ask students what this story was about and how identifying character traits
helped them to understand it. For future lessons students will be reminded of the importance of
identifying character traits and that it can help the reader to better understand the story. This will also tie
into our next lesson on theme and allow for a very brief introduction. I will ask students how this story
has related to other stories we have read in class so far.
First, I will ask the students to think of three things they learned today from our lesson. The
students will hold up one finger if they think of one thing, two once they think of two, and three when
they have all three. Once every student is holding up a three this will indicate to me that they are ready
to share with a partner. After they share the three things they learned with their carpet partner I will ask
for volunteers to share what they have learned to the class as a whole. If the students need any
clarifications on key concepts I will review them at this time. Some questions I will ask are What was
our lesson about today? and What are three things you each learned about character traits? Other
questions might be needed to get the students to go deeper into their thinking if they give a short answer
such as What does the word internal mean when we are talking about character traits?
Along with reflecting on what we learned I will ask students to reflect on how they learned. This
relates to student voice and having the students communicate the development and maintenance of the
learning community. Students will reflect why keeping a positive learning community is important to
support learning by reviewing and telling their carpet partner why being a star student and maintaining
the work time expectations is important. After discussing I will ask them to write down three things they
personally did to add to the learning community or things they need to work on to help to better
maintain a positive learning environment.
4. Independent Practice:
Students will be asked to come up with one external and one internal trait of themselves. They will need
to write out the specific trait and two to three sentences to describe why and how they possess this trait
chose to use a similar format to the worksheet we did in class so the students can easily know what is
expected of them. There will also be a parent signature line in the hope is that parents will be involved in
the process and gain an idea of what their student is learning in school. Parents can also help their child
come up with a trait that could be common or unique to their familys culture. The following Friday in
class students will be asked to share one of their traits with the class. I thought this would be a great
activity because while reading A Bad Case of the Stripes we had a class conversation about how
everyone looks and feels different and how it is important to be yourself and be accepting of others. It
will also add to the classroom community by bring each students individual culture into the classroom to
be shared with their peers, showing that we are all different and practicing accepting others for who they
are.
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5.

Instructional Materials, Resources, and Technology

Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon
Character trait list
Overhead/projector
Sticky notes
Character trait worksheet
Each student will need a read to self book
Easel
Various colored markers
Reading journal

6. Acknowledgements:
This instructional plan was adapted from the blog primary paradise.
http://www.myprimaryparadise.com/2013/09/29/character-traits-part-2/

Name_______________________

Book
Title___________________________________________________________________________________
External Character Trait__________________________________________
Evidence
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________
Pg. #_______________

Internal Character Trait__________________________________________

Evidence
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________
Pg. #_______________
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Name______________________________

Personal External Character Trait__________________________________________

Explain why you think you possess this trait and how you show it?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________

Personal Internal Character Trait__________________________________________

Explain why you think you possess this trait and how you show it?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________

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Internal and External Character Traits

External Character Trait: Traits you can SEE on the OUTSIDE

Internal Character Traits: Made up of thoughts, feelings, actions, and dialogue. Found on the
INSIDE of a character.

Additional Practice Websites:

Toon University: A reading comprehension games thats a brainteaser - See more at:
http://www.readers.com/resources/education/kids-online-reading-games/#sthash.rWrvxIlw.dpuf
My Hero: My Hero program is an opportunity for students to read and write about heroes. - See more at:
http://www.readers.com/resources/education/kids-online-reading-games/#sthash.rWrvxIlw.dpuf
Reading Activities: Choose from over 1,125 reading games. - See more at:
http://www.readers.com/resources/education/kids-online-reading-games/#sthash.rWrvxIlw.dpuf

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Student Checklist
I have...
____ External character trait
____ Evidence of external character trait from my book
____ Page number I found external character trait and evidence on
____ Internal character trait
____ Evidence of internal character trait from my book
____ Page number I found external character trait on

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