Instructor: Victoria Rivera

Lesson Title: Pumpkin Life Cycle

2015
Curriculum Area: English Language Arts
minutes

Grade Level: 3-4

Date: October 19,
Estimated Time: 40

Standards Connection:
11.) Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain
how they support the main idea. [RI.3.2]
Learning Objective: When writing a sentence, students will be able to
identify the main idea of a text and one supporting detail with 100%
accuracy.
IEP Goals
Student S will read closely to determine with that text says explicitly and to
make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence by looking back
through the text when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from
the text with 90% accuracy (CCR anchor standard 1 Key Ideas & Details).
Student R will answer questions and retell stories that he has read and heard
to demonstrate understanding with 80% accuracy.
Student Sc will know and apply 2nd grade level phonics and word analysis in
decoding words with 100% accuracy and read with sufficient accuracy and
fluency to support comprehension with 100% accuracy.
Student J will read with purpose and understanding through participation in
an evidence-based reading intervention program to increase his reading
comprehension to a grade 2nd-3rd grade complexity band score 90%
proficiency on progress monitoring.
Student B will decode one-syllable words with long and short vowels in
isolation and in texts with 80% accuracy.
Student A will read books and passages with fluency to comprehend third
grade level materials with 90% accuracy of words.
Kid Friendly Objective: Today we are going to be reading a story about
pumpkins! After we read the story, we are going to identify the main idea
and the details that support the main idea!

Evaluation of Learning Objective: The teacher will provide the students

with an assessment at the end of the lesson. The students will be asked to
write one sentence that includes the main idea of the text as well as one
supporting detail. If the student correctly identifies the main idea and one
supporting detail, they will be considered proficient.
Engagement:
Ok class, lets get ready for todays lesson! I would like you all to take a
moment and say hi to Mrs. Caldwell in the back of the room. She is going to
be joining us today for a bit! Everybody say hi! The teacher will allow the
students to take a moment to say hi. During todays lesson, I would like you
all to listen and pay attention to when I am talking and to when others are
talking. I know that I am not your teacher but you still need to treat me with
the same respect that you treat Ms. Vaughn or Ms. Cranford. As you can tell,
I have brought in a pumpkin for todays lesson. What season do we usually
associate pumpkins with? The teacher will allow students to respond. Thats
right! Fall! What other kinds of things can we associate with fall? Can
anybody come up with some ideas? The teacher will allow time for student
response and will write them on them whiteboard behind her. I like the ideas
that you guys are coming up with! As you can see, there are lots of different
things that remind us of fall. A pumpkin is an item that reminds me of fall!
Today, we are going to be reading a book about the life cycle of a pumpkin!
Design for Learning:
I.

Teaching: Before we read the book, we are going to talk about what
main idea is and what the supporting details in a story would be.
Has anybody heard the term main idea before? Students will raise
their hand if they have heard the term main idea. I am glad to see
that some of you already know what main idea is! Would anybody
like to share their thoughts about what they think main idea is
before we begin talking about it? The teacher will give time for
students to share what they think main idea is. I enjoyed hearing
your answers! The teacher will then get up and put up an anchor
chart on the white board for all the students to see. What are your
first impressions about looking at this chart? Were your ideas right?
Lets find out! The teacher will use her finger to guide the students
through the anchor chart. Good readers can identify main idea. The
main idea is what the text, or story, is mostly about! Now, when we
are reading a text, there are several different clues or hints that the

story is trying to give you in order to help you determine the main
idea of the text. As a reader, you can look at what the text is mostly
about. You can look at titles and headings that are placed
throughout the text. You can look at pictures in the text. Sometimes
the main idea of the text is stated in the first or last sentence. You
can also look for clue words that are used repeatedly throughout
the text. You can use all of these things to help you determine what
the main idea of a story is! What clues you may use may be
different than the clues that your neighbor will use to determine the
main idea. Now that we have a better understanding of what main
idea is, lets talk about details in a story that help to support the
main idea. Imagine that I am holding an ice cream cone in my hand.
Think of the ice cream cone as the main idea of the story, it is the
base. Each scoop of ice cream that you put onto the cone is a detail
that will help to support the main idea. For example, we can say
that our main idea of a story is bugs! In this situation the cone
would be bugs. Now, what are some things that describe bugs?
What are some supporting details that could be used to describe
bugs? The teacher will allow students to respond. Great! Each of
these details that you just said will be added as an extra scoop on
the ice cream cone! If you add all of these together, you will get an
entire story! Now I am going to give your guys the opportunity to
determine what the main idea of a story is and what details help
support the main idea. The teacher will then pass out a book to
each child. Lets look at the title of this book. Can anyone tell me
what the title is? The teacher will call on a student that has their
hand raised. The student will respond. Very good. The title of our
story is From Seed to Pumpkin. Does anyone have any ideas
about what the main idea of this story will be by looking at the title
or the pictures of this book? The teacher will allow the students to
make inferences about what they believe the main idea will be
about. I like how you guys made inferences by looking at the
pictures and the title of the book! Lets start reading the book and
figure out if your predictions were right! We are going to do a choral
reading of this book, which means that we are all going to read this
book together, at the same time. Lets start with the title of the
book and then we will move unto the story. The teacher will then
finish reading the book with the students. Asking comprehensive
questions along the way to check for student understanding. The
teacher will also ask predictive questions about what the students

II.

III.

think will happen next in the story. The teacher will discuss the book
once they have finished reading it. Ok class, what did you think of
the book? Did you enjoy reading it? Why did you enjoy reading it or
why did you not enjoy reading it? The teacher will give time for
student response. Once the students have responded, the teacher
will hand out the graphic organizer. We are going to fill out the first
part of this graphic organizer together and then I am going to let
you try it on your own. Before we start, I would like for you all to
write your name and the date. The teacher will give time for
students to write their name and the date. As you can see in the
middle of the graphic organizer, I have put a bigger circle with the
words main idea in it. WE are going to write the main idea of our
story here. Brainstorm some things that you believe we could put as
the main idea of the story and I will write them on the board. The
teacher will allow time for the students to think and the teacher will
write their ideas on the board. I like how closely you were all paying
attention to the text! Great job everybody! The teacher will have
the students pick which main idea listed on the board fits the best
with the text. The teacher will have the students write it down on
the graphic organizer.
Opportunity for Practice: Now that we have determined the main
idea of the story together, I would like for you guys to determine
what details that were mentioned in the story help to support the
main idea! Feel free to look back in the book if you need to! If you
guys need help or have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask
me! I am here to help you! After we have finished, we will go over
what we wrote and share it with the group! The teacher will give
individual help to students as needed. She will keep the anchor
chart up on the board for students to refer back to. The teacher will
review what the students thought the supporting details were when
all the students are done.
Assessment: After the students have finished the practice portion of
the lesson, the teacher will move into the assessment portion of the
lesson. Ok friends, now that you have been given the chance to
work on your own and explore deeper into the book, I would like for
you all to write one sentence that describes this book. In your
sentence, you will need to include the main idea and one
supporting detail from the text. You will need to use correct
capitalization and punctuation in your sentence! If you guys have
any questions at all, please do not hesitate to ask me! When you

IV.

are done, please hand them back to me. You may get on Bookflix
once you are done. The teacher will then hand the assessment to
the students and they can start when they receive their
assessment.
Closure: We will not have time to do this today, but tomorrow we
are going to cut open the pumpkin and feel around on the inside of
it! It will be lots of fun for you to see the inside of a pumpkin and
what it feels like.

Differentiation Strategies:
Accommodations: Throughout the duration of the lesson, the teacher will use
an anchor chart for the student to refer back to when they need help. The
teacher will use small group instruction to help focus on each students
individual needs. The teacher will use positive reinforcement with each of the
students. The teacher will provide the students with a graphic organizer to
help organize their thoughts about the story.
Materials and Resources:

From Seed to Pumpkin

Anchor chart
Graphic organizer
Pencils
Whiteboard
Expo markers
Pumpkin
Assessment worksheet

Reflection:

Name______________________

Date______________

Directions: Write one sentence that describes the main idea of the
text as well as one supporting detail. Remember to use
capitalization and punctuation when needed.

Name______________
_________

Date______________________________________
Supporting Detail

Supporting Detail

Detail

Main Idea

Supporting Detail
Detail

Supporting Detail