TermIIIAssignment

Literacy

Studentteacher:
Location:
Grade:
Duration:

MelinaVarney
PennAlexanderSchool
Firstgrade
60minutes

CoreDecisionsofLessonDesign
What
Thefocusofthislessonwillbeonidentifyingkeydetailsinastory'stextandpictures,usingthe
story
DuckforTurkeyDay
byJacquelineJules,whichfitswiththeclass'sstudyofThanksgiving.
Additionally,studentswillcreatetheirowntextsandpicturesthatincorporatekeydetails
surroundingthethemeofThanksgivingtraditions.Asecondaryobjectiveisthatstudentswill
comparetheirtraditionstothoseoftheirclassmatesandThuyet'sinthestorytorealizethat
peoplecelebrateinmanydifferentwaysandeachtraditionisequallyvalid.Whilewriting,
studentswillfocusonincludingkeydetailsaboutwhattheirtraditionis,whoisinvolved,and/or
whereittakesplace.Studentswillhavetheopportunitytosharetheirpieceswiththegroupand
providefeedbackoneachother'swriting.

How
ThislessonwillbeginwithstudentssharingtheirownThanksgivingcelebrationstobuildinterest
andasawaytointroducethetermtradition.Then,Iwillreadaloudthetext
DuckforTurkeyDay
byJacquelineJules,askingstudentstopayparticularattentiontoThuyet'sfamilytradition.The
readaloudwillbepunctuatedbyquestionsthatfacilitatehigherorderthinkingskillssuchas,
"WhydoyouthinkThuyetwantstobuyherownturkey?"and"Howdoyouthinkherteacherwill
reacttoThuyet'sThanksgivingtradition?"Iwillalsohighlightkeydetailsbyaskingstudentsto
supporttheirclaimswiththetextorpictures.I'llthentalktostudentsabouthowtheauthorofthe
storyprovidedinformationaboutThuyet'sThanksgivingtradition,andhowstudentscandothe
samebywritingordrawingwhoisinvolved,wherethecelebrationoccurs,andwhattheydoto
celebrate.Studentswillhavetimetoworkindependentlyontheirpieces,duringwhichIwillwalk
aroundtoconferencewithindividualstudents.Finally,studentswillsharetheirwritingand
pictureswiththegroupinordertoevaluatetheirwritingfurther,sharetheirThanksgiving
tradition,andcelebratetheworkthey'vedone.

Why
DuringtheweeksleadinguptoThanksgiving,theclassspenttimestudyingtraditionalsymbols
ofThanksgivingandthehistoryofThanksgiving.StudentstalkedaboutthePilgrims,created
paperturkeys,andtastedfoodsthatwereeatenontheMayflower.However,therewasno
discussionofthediversewayspeoplemaycelebratetheholiday.Manyofmystudentsarefirst
generationAmericans,andmanyotherswerebornoutsideoftheUnitedStates.Iconsidered
thefactthatmanyofmystudentsmaynotcelebrateThanksgivingwithturkeysorpumpkinpie,
andothersmaynotcelebrateThanksgivingatall.WhenIfoundthetext
DuckforTurkeyDay,
I
decidedthiswouldbeawaytovalidatetheexperiencesofstudentswhodon'tcelebrateina
traditionalway,andprovidethosewhodocelebrateintraditionalwaysadifferentperspective
thatwasabsentintheclassroom.Furthermore,Ichosetomakethefocustraditionsingeneral,
notsimplyThanksgivingtraditions,sothatstudentswhodonotcelebrateThanksgivingwillbe
abletomakeanequalcontributiontothegroup.
Thelessonwillbecenteredonstudentssharingtheirexperiencesbecausetheywill
havejustreturnedfromThanksgivingbreakandwillprobablyhavealotofstoriestoshare.I
wanttoincorporatethisexcitementintoawritingassignmentsothatthey'llbeinterestedand
motivatedtocompletetheirwork.Themajorobjectiveofthelessonisthatstudentswillrecall
informationfromtheirownexperiencesandusekeydetailstowriteaboutandillustrateoneof
theirfamilytraditions.Equallyasimportantisthatstudentswillengageinaconversation
surroundingthetext
DuckforTurkeyDay
,answeringquestionsandformulatingtheirownideas
aboutthetext.ThisassignmentisalignedwiththeCommonCoreEnglishLanguageArtsFirst
GradeStandards
W.1.8Withguidanceandsupportfromadults,recallinformationfrom
experiencesorgatherinformationfromprovidedsourcestoansweraquestionandSL.1.1
Participateincollaborativeconversationswithdiversepartnersabout
grade1topicsandtexts
withpeersandadultsinsmallandlargergroups.
Thislessonisalsoconsistentwiththeworkstudentshavebeendoingintheirclassroom.
Theyhaveresponsejournalsinwhicheachweektheymakeapersonalconnectionwiththe
textstheyread.Theteacherasksthemtoreferbacktokeydetailsinthetextthatsupporttheir
answers.Additionally,studentsareresponsibleforbasicconventionsincludingpunctuationand
capitalization.

LessonPlan
Goals&Objectives
Content
Studentswillrecallinformationfromtheirownexperiencesandusekeydetailstowriteabout
andillustrateoneoftheirfamilytraditions.

Practice
Studentswillengageinaliterarydiscussionofatext,formulatingquestionsandcomments
whenappropriate.

KidFriendly
Studentswillusekeydetailsin
DuckforTurkeyDay
toidentifyTuyetsfamilysThanksgiving
tradition.Studentswillusekeydetailstowriteaboutandillustratetheirownfamilytradition.

Standards
ELACommonCoreStateStandards

W.1.8Withguidanceandsupportfromadults,recallinformationfromexperiencesorgather
informationfromprovidedsourcestoansweraquestion.

SL.1.1Participateincollaborativeconversationswithdiversepartnersabout
grade1topicsand
texts
withpeersandadultsinsmallandlargergroups.

MaterialsandPreparation
Instructorneeds
whiteboard,markers,anderaser
behavioranchorchart
copyof
DuckforTurkeyDay

Studentsneed
pencilsanderasers
crayons
blankstorypaper

ClassroomArrangementandManagementIssues
Location
Thislessonwilltakeplaceinasmallgrouplearningroom.Thereisonecirculartablewherethe
studentswillbeseatedthroughoutthelesson.Thereisalsoacountertoponwhichtoplacethe
whiteboardandanchorcharts.

Materials
Allmaterialswillbeplacedonthecounterbesidethewhiteboard.Materialswillbepassedout
byinstructorasneeded.

Classroommanagement
Idontforeseeanyclassroommanagementissues.Behaviorexpectationswillbeexplicitly
statedatthebeginningofthelessonandpresentedonananchorchartforcontinuedreference.

Plan
Task
(45mintotal)
StudentswillidentifyonefamilysThanksgivingtraditioninthetext
DuckforTurkeyDay.

Studentswillthenusethistextasamentortexttowriteaboutandillustratetheirownfamily
tradition.

Hook
(10min)
1. TalkaboutcelebratingThanksgiving
a. TellstudentshowIcelebrateThanksgiving
b. AskstudentswhattheydidonThanksgiving,whattheyate,etc.
c. IfstudentsdonotcelebrateThanksgiving,askthemwhattheydidonThursday
andiftheressomethingspecialtheydoonthatdayeachyear
2. Introducetermtradition
a. Writewordtraditiononboard,askstudentsiftheyknowwhatafamilytraditionis
b. Recordstudentthoughtsonboard
c. TellstudentsweregoingtoreadastoryaboutonefamilysThanksgiving
traditionin
DuckforTurkeyDay
andthenwriteaboutourownfamilytradition
3. Showstudentscoverof
DuckforTurkeyDay,
havestudentsmakeinferencesabout
whatthestorywillbeabout

Body
(30min)
1. Readaloud
DuckforTurkeyDay
2. Discussion(
HOTSevaluation
)
a. Returntodiscussionofwhatatraditionis,askWhatsTuyetsfamilystradition
onThanksgiving?
4

b. Presentdefinitionasawayofthinking,behaving,ordoingsomethingthathas
beenusedbyafamily
c. DiscusshowTuyetseemstofeelaboutthistraditionatthebeginningofthestory
andattheendofthestory
3. Drawandwriteaboutafamilytradition(
HOTSsynthesis
)
a. Lookatpage2021inthetexttogethertoidentifykeydetailsthattellthereader
whatTuyetsfamilytraditionis
b. Sharewithstudentsmywritingandillustrationdescribingoneofmyfamilys
Thanksgivingtraditions
c. Studentswilldrawapictureandthenwriteaboutoneoftheirfamilytraditions
(Thanksgivingrelated,oradifferenttraditionifstudentsfamiliesdonthavea
Thanksgivingrelatedone)
d. Studentscanwritemoreorlessdependingontheirabilitylevel.Forstudentswho
needmoresupport,Iwillhelpthemlabeltheirillustration.
e. Whilestudentsareworking,Illcheckinwiththemindividuallytoensurethey
understandthetaskandarerespondingtotheprompt
i.
IwillaskstudentsquestionssuchasWhatfamilytraditionareyou
writing/drawingabout?Didyouincludedetailsaboutwhenandwhere
thistraditiontakesplace?Willotherslookingattheillustrationhave
enoughinformationaboutyourfamilystradition?

Closure
(5min)
1. Studentssharetheirwork,otherstudentshaveopportunitytoaskquestionsorprovide
feedback

Assessment
Participationingroupdiscussion
Written&illustratedfamilytradition

Thediscussionfollowingthereadaloudwillbeausefulformativeassessmentthatgivesme
informationregardingthestudentsunderstandingofkeydetailsinthetext.Thediscussionwill
alsotellmewhetherornotstudentsunderstandtheconceptofafamilytradition.Whilestudents
arewriting,Iwillbeusingourconversationsasanotherformativeassessment.Iwillcheckin
witheachchildtogaugewhetherornottheyunderstandtheprompt,andusequestioningto
helpclarifytheirthinking.Finally,studentswrittenandillustratedfamilytraditionwillletmeknow
iftheyareabletousekeydetailsfrompersonalexperiencestorespondtoaprompt.

AnticipatingStudentResponsesandMyPossibleResponses

Managementissues
Thereshouldntbeanymanagementconcerns.Iwillestablishthenormsforthelessonthrough
ananchorchart,andreturntothechartasneeded.Therewillonlybefourstudentsinthegroup,
sotheywillallhavetheopportunitytosharetheirideas.Theonlypossibleconcernwouldbe
thatstudentsareexcitedtobeoutoftheirusualclassroomandwillbemoretalkativeorplayful
thanusual.Establishingnormsbeforestudentshavethechancetobecomesillywillhopefully
mitigateanyissues.Ifissuespersist,Iwillputconsequencesinplace,suchasmissingrecess
time.

Responsetocontent
Iexpectstudentswillbeabletoidentifykeydetailsinthetextthatprovideinformationabout
Tuyetsfamilytraditionandhowshefeelsaboutit.Ifstudentshavetrouble,Illaskthemmore
specificquestionssuchasWhatdoyouthinkshesfeelinginthispicturewithherheaddown,
lookingattheground?Whydoyouthinkshefeelsthatway?Ialsobelievestudentswill
understandtheconceptoffamilytraditionsafterreadingaboutTuyetsandhearingaboutmine
andtheirclassmates.

Studentsmayhaveahardtimeidentifyingtheirownfamilytraditions,inwhichcaseIwouldwork
withthosestudentsmoreclosely,askingquestionssuchasIstheresomethingspecialyoueat
everyyearorsomewherespecialyougo?Doyouspendtimewithcertainfamilymembers?to
helpthemidentifyatradition.Illalsoaskstudentstothinkbacktotheinformationtheyshared
withthegroupatthebeginningofthelessonaboutwhattheydidonThanksgiving.

Accommodations
Forstudentswhofindthematerialtoochallenging
Duringwholegroupinstruction,Illaskstudentswhoseemtohaveahardertimemorespecific
questionssuchasWhydoyouthinkTuyetsaysshesgoingtobuyherownturkey?While
studentsareworkingindependently,Illworkmorecloselywiththesestudentstohelpthem
identifytheirownfamilytradition.Studentwillalsobeabletolookbackthroughthetextifthey
needideasoramodel.Forstudentswhohaveahardtimewithwriting,Illencouragethemto
spendtimeaddingdetailstotheirpicturesandlabelstoimportantparts.Illalsoprovidealistof
theirwordwallwordsforstudentstoreferenceforspelling.

Forstudentswhoneedgreaterchallengeorfinishearly
Duringdiscussion,IllaskstudentsmoreopenendedquestionssuchasHowdoyouthink
TuyetfeelsaboutherfamilyeatingduckonThanksgiving?Whilestudentsareworking
independently,Illencouragestudentstowritemoredetailsintheirtext,andaskhowtheycan
addmoredetailstotheirpictures.

Prompt:

Write or draw a picture about a family tradition (something

special your family does every year) on Thanksgiving.
Remember to include key details about where and when this
tradition takes place and who is involved.