LESSON PLAN FOR THANKSGIVING ACTIVITY

Stage 1 Desired Results

Content Standard(s): (Module 2)
Grade Level - PreK- 1st
Identify the central ideas and themes of a short story on Thanksgiving, summarize those ideas
and discuss how it applies to their knowledge.
Key vocabulary to define Thanksgiving, Holiday, Importance, Ideas, Concepts of and
Tradition.
Key objectives Discussion of written material (who, what, where, when and why). Short
written (one or two sentences) and or graphic illustration of material.
Unpacked Standard(s): (Module 2)
Essential Questions: (Module 2)
Recognize the key components to the story.
Compare what you already know
Engage in discussion of the story
about Thanksgiving to what you
Identify the common ideas and details from the
learned today.
What determined your illustration or
story.
Interpret those ideas and details into discussion.
written choice (design)?
Write or draw their interpretation of the discussion What take- a ways were created for
and ideas from the reading.
your knowledge of Thanksgiving?

Students will set their own personal goals by (Module 3)

Identifying main components of the story
Creating and designing an illustration and or descriptive sentences on fall foods
Mentorship of other students who may need assistance
Meeting requirements of the assignment within time constraints by staying on task
Progress on students personalized goals will be monitored by... (Module 5)
Utilization of a checklist. Students will be given the tasks that need to be accomplished,
once a section of the lesson is complete, they will check off what they accomplished and
review what still needs to be completed
Non-reading students will do a check with older peer or teacher on tasks completed and
still pending.
Rules and Procedures (Module 5)
Come ready to listen and learn
Respect others thoughts, words and opinions.
Use your words and your manners
Ask for help
Stage 2 Assessment Evidence Directly Aligned to Content Standard

LESSON PLAN FOR THANKSGIVING ACTIVITY

Pre-Assessment, including analysis of the pre-assessment results. (Module 3)
http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/spaul/guided-reading
This Pre-Assessment was administered to 5 children ages 4-7 in an afterschool program. A
minimal point was given to each to show differentiation in the bar graph as shown, 3-point scale:
1= needs improvement, 2 = just right, 3 = excellent
The kids attention and behavior was great. They enjoyed the project even though they were all
at different comprehension levels and word fluency levels. They flourished in assisting their
peers in completing the requirements of the project.
Self-Monitoring

Behavior

Fluency

Comprehension

Phonics
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

LESSON PLAN FOR THANKSGIVING ACTIVITY

Performance Task(s) or Assignment Description(s): (Module 3)
Students were given a pre-assessment on reading comprehension in areas of; phonics,
comprehension, fluency, behavior and self-monitoring in an after school program. They were
read a book on food for fall holidays and given the task of describing or illustrating their favorite
holiday food. Focused on creativity and discussion of the food, descriptive words, colors,
feelings, smells and textures. Performance tasks were rated utilizing the below rubric.
Rubric: (Module 3)
Teacher Name: Lisa

Student Name:

________________________________________

CATEGORY
Identifies
important
information

4
Student lists
all the main
points of the
article without
having the
article in front
of him/her.

3
The student
lists all the
main points,
but uses the
article for
reference.

Identifies
details

Student recalls
several details
for each main
point without
referring to
the article.

Relates
Graphics to
Text

Student
accurately
explains how
each
graphic/diagra
m is related to
the text, and
accurately
determines
whether each
graphic/diagra
m agrees with
the
information in

Student recalls
several details
for each main
point, but
needs to refer
to the article,
occasionally.
Student
accurately
explains how
each
graphic/diagra
m is related to
the text.

2
The student
lists all but
one of the
main points,
using the
article for
reference.
S/he does not
highlight any
unimportant
points.
Student is able
to locate most
of the details
when looking
at the article.

1
The student
cannot
important
information
with accuracy.

Student
accurately
explains how
some of the
diagrams are
related to the
text.

Student has
difficulty
relating
graphics and
diagrams to
the text.

Student
cannot locate
details with
accuracy.

LESSON PLAN FOR THANKSGIVING ACTIVITY

the text.

Summarizatio
n

Student uses
only 1-3
sentences to
describe
clearly what
the article is
about.

Student uses
several
sentences to
accurately
describe what
the article is
about.

Student
summarizes
most of the
article
accurately, but
has some
slight
misunderstand
ing.

Student has
great difficulty
summarizing
the article.

Personal Learning Goals were determined verbally by each student. Since the class size was
small, the three oldest kids (two at 7 years, one at 6 years) worked with the younger. The goals
for the older children were to identify the main points of the story (why they chose the foods) and
the people and places involved. For the younger children, learning depended more on
understanding of the sight words, relevance of the food to the holiday and the colors and textures.
No specific outline was made, nor was any written responses to the personal learning goals
identified. Instruction was given to the older children the importance of mentorship and effort in
assisting others. Effort was tracked utilizing high fives and hugs. Each child was personally
recognized by displaying their finished products, explaining their choices for writing and
illustration and receiving applause for a job well done.
Self or Peer Assessments (Module 5)
I handed an assessment I found on the web (link
below) that allowed both reading and visual only
learners to provide an assessment of their
understanding and completion of the lesson.

Formative Assessments, Summative

Assessments, etc. (Module 3)
I utilized a simple pre-assessment I
found on the web in order to find a
starting point to what my lesson would
look like. I determined based on that
http://www.whilehewasnapping.com/2015/04/7-freepre-assessment that my biggest struggle
assessment-resources-for-pre-k-to-1st-grade/
may be the comprehension of the words
from the younger students. I was able
any questions or misunderstandings were discussed
to shift the thought process toward
with the student and the result was always left on a
mentorship and collaboration of
positive note, with the student coming up with any
younger children with older children,
suggestions on what they would like to learn and grow
providing a collaborative work group
on for the next lesson.
that provided avenues to display effort
4

LESSON PLAN FOR THANKSGIVING ACTIVITY

(not letting your peers down),
achievement (end result) and
personalized recognition of each
individuals different finished product.
Graph of this is displayed in Stage 2
above. Students were provided with the
tools and assistance to produce a
partnership with their peers in this
project. The analysis shows that the
kids had a great time (all received 3s
for their behavior). They were engaged
for the entire project, respectful and
proud of their finished products. I
believe that students will experience
success through these touchstones
because expectations were clear, results
were immediate and feedback was
positive.
Stage 3 Learning Plan Directly Aligned to contact Standard AND Assessments
Learning Activities: (Module 4)
Utilizing (parts of) think pair share, I would break the kids up into two groups, those
who were writing and those who were drawing, and asked them to describe what they
were doing to their peers. The peers let them know if they were doing a good job and or
help them to progress in their chosen projects (i.e.: color to use, texture to use, grammar
or spelling, etc.)
Increase student knowledge and engagement by offering different mediums of supplies
(markers, crayons, construction paper, glue, stencils, natural leaves, acorns, flowers,
insects etc.) to create 1 of 3 choices; Write/illustrate a scene from the story or lesson that
grabbed their attention Use pictures to describe interactions related to the assignment
Use materials to create a collage of colors, textures, words, etc. that explain what you
learned from the assignment.
Action verbs (Remember, Analyze, Understand & Create) guides the lesson into specific
components; significant learning goals (end result), engagement with the learning goals
(student interaction), Information in the learning goals (what they take-away). The realworld relevance is the interaction with their peers; conversations on the topic
Thanksgiving and its components in the lesson, how this lesson and conversation has
changed or enhanced their knowledge, what norms varied in the forms of different
background, beliefs and imagination. The hope is that by completing the components of
this project the students will engage different backgrounds, norms, feelings etc. and come
away with more knowledge and information on different cultures, histories and
expression mediums.
5

LESSON PLAN FOR THANKSGIVING ACTIVITY

Various opportunities to engage with the students in positive ways; thank them for
mentoring and providing feedback, ask them how they are doing (what they like and do
not like of the assignment), provide moments where they can be the teacher (educate me
on what they have learned), engage with them when they are up and also when down to
ensure that overall goals are being met and knowledge base is expanding.

Stage 4 Feedback Strategies, including Timeliness (Module 5)

Utilized stations that each had different components that needed to be added to the final project.
For this lesson, the final project was a Thinking Bird the body of the turkey with 5 paper
feathers that were to be decorated or utilized to express the items at each station. Each station
was 10 minutes, students were in teams of 2 (1 younger and 1 older) to help each other to
complete the station within the time frame, as a helper or mentor to get them to commit to a
design or picture to put on a feather. By utilizing this method, the students received immediate
feedback from their partnered peer, assistance with creativity or design if they became stumped
on a station and also allowed them to monitor each others progress within the time allotted.
Development of Deeper Knowledge & Use of Time (Module6)
Every 15 minutes:
Provide the children an
opportunity to change
stations or types of
materials they use.
Encourage them to
continue the project by
asking thoughtful
questions and providing
positive suggestions.
Take an opportunity to
model the behavior or
action that they kids
should be taking if they
appear to be off task,
having difficulty or are
uninterested in the
process or task.

Six Essential Cs:

1. Curiosity Asking what the
student wants to learn/
accomplish.
2. Connection What do they
already know from familial
experience and past experiences?
How does this new knowledge
change or adapt to the previous
knowledge they already had?
3. Coherence Does the book,
activity and conversation make
sense to the student? What other
ways of communicating can this
topic be taught/learned (colors,
movies, sights and smells?)
4. Concentration Allow
enough time for child to absorb
the task or lesson.
5. Coaching provide positive
feedback, ensure rules are being
followed and tasks are being
accomplished on time.
6. Context bridge the gap
between previous knowledge,
new knowledge and concepts that
were taught or discussed. Model

Time:
Accomplishing the 6 Cs on this
lesson should take approximately
30-45 minutes. The onset of the
lesson will use about 10 minutes
to discuss what we have already
learned, what the expectations are
for the lesson and break into
groups. The remainder of the
time will be in small groups and
stations. Teacher will check in
with each group every 5-15
minutes to ensure they are on
task, goals are being
accomplished and there are no
questions. Teacher will ensure
that modeling and mentorship
continue throughout the process
and re affirm goals and checklists
if a group appears off task.

LESSON PLAN FOR THANKSGIVING ACTIVITY

the lesson by showing how
traditions can be adapted and
changed while still preserving
history and learning.