Student Teaching edTPA Lesson Plan

Central Focus: Students work together to identify the main idea

Subject: English Language Arts
and supporting details and explain the connection.

Essential Standard/Common Core Objective:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.2
Date submitted: March 23, 2017 Date taught: March 23,
Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key
2017
details and explain how they support the main idea.

Daily Lesson Objective:

Students will follow along with the Main Idea- Practice Along! worksheet and will independently create Main Idea Ice
Cream Cones by analyzing supporting details (scoops of ice-cream) and matching it to the correct cone. Students will
meet todays objective by earning at least 14 out of 20 points (as described in assessment methods).

21st Century Skills:

Make Judgments and Decisions
Effectively analyze and evaluate
Interpret information and draw conclusions
based on the best analysis
Reflect critically on learning experiences
and processes
Use Systems Thinking
Analyze how parts of a whole interact with
each other to produce overall outcomes in
complex systems
Reason Effectively
Use various types of reasoning (inductive,
deductive, etc.) as appropriate to the
situation
Academic Language Demand (Language Function and
Vocabulary):
Define- Students will be asked to define the following: main idea,
supporting details, and topic
Compare- Students will compare main idea and supporting details
to a cone and ice-cream scoops. Students will also compare main
idea versus topic.
Apply- Students will apply knowledge to build their Main Idea
Cones
Main idea- The most important point the author is trying to make.
Supporting details- Statements that help explain or prove the
authors point
Topic- General Subject

Prior Knowledge:
The students will have a basic understanding of main idea and supporting details. This lesson will build upon the students
prior knowledge.

Activity Description of Activities and Setting Time

1. Focus and Review
The teacher will ask students to reflect on what they discussed in class
pertaining main idea and have students discuss what they can remember. Do
you remember what a main idea is and what strategies we can use to figure
out the main idea? Today I am going to show you a strategy that you will
use today that will help you use context from the story to find word meaning.

Today Im going to share with you the scoop on main idea! We are going to
2. Statement of Objective
practice finding main ideas by using supporting details. Authors use
for Student
supporting detains to aid the main idea.
 The teacher will present The Scoop on Main Idea PowerPoint. Today Im
here with you to share the scoop on Main Idea! First, all pieces of writing
contain a main idea. So, what is a main idea? Allow students time to
respondThe main idea is the most important point the author is trying to
make. Authors use supporting details to aid the main idea. What are
supporting details? Allow students time to respondSupporting details are
statements that help explain or prove the authors point. Think of an ice-cream
cone! Want to make an ice-cream cone? The first item you need is a cone,
think of the main idea as the cone. The cone/main idea is the most important
part! Think of the supporting details as the ice cream scoops. Each supporting
detail helps make your main idea cone that much better! Each supporting
detail helps explain or prove the main idea. Just like making an ice-cream
conemain idea is usually first, and the supporting details follow. Not always
though! Sometimes the main idea can be found in the conclusion and
3. Teacher Input sometimes its not in the passage at all! Its up to us to figure out what the
main idea is by using supporting details. Be careful though! What happens
when an ice-cream cone isnt made carefully and scoops arent lined up? Say
together: Your ice cream falls apart! If supporting details do not relate to the
main idea, they just confuse the reader. What happens when a person tries to
put too many scoops on their ice-cream cone? Say together: Your ice cream
falls apart! Too many supporting details confuse the reader from finding the
main idea. Lets review what we have learned so far! What is the definition of
main idea? Students should say: The main idea is the most important point
the author is trying to make What are supporting details and how do they
relate to the man idea? Students should say: Supporting details are
statements that help explain or prove the authors point Great! Warning!
Main idea is not the same as topic! Topic= General Subject. Main idea= Most
Important Point (MIP)demonstrate examples of topic vs. main idea.

Lets practice! The teacher will handout the Main Idea PowerPoint
Companion Worksheet for students to practice along during the PowerPoint.
As a class, we will read a few passages presented on the smartboard (also on
the Main Idea- Practice Along! students will have). Teacher will either read
the passage on the smart board or call on some students that volunteer to read
the passage. After reading the teacher will ask students to circle the answer
choice they think the main idea is on their worksheet. After students have
4. Guided Practice
answered the question we will discuss as a class what we think the right
answer is and why. Now, students are instructed to identify three supporting
details on their worksheets by underliningand writing them out in the space
provided, time permitting we will discuss as a class the three supporting
details and why. If students underlined the wrong supporting details teacher
will explain why it isnt one. This guided practice will be repeated three more
times, one time for each passage in the PowerPoint (4).

5. Independent Practice
Now that we have practiced finding the main idea in passages, I want you to
practice finding the main idea individually. For independent practice,
students will be completing Main Idea Cones. Students will be handed a set of
papers including: cones, ice-cream scoops, and the title box. Teacher will
explain the directions to the students and leave the directions up on the board
for students to refer to as they complete the activity. Students will be asked to:
1. Cut out all the piecescones, ice-cream scoops, and the title box.
2. Read the sentence on the cone. Determine its main idea.
 3. Find 3 detail ice cream scoops that support that main idea sentence.
4. Place in a pile on the side of your desk.
5. Repeat steps 2-3 until you have 6 cone/ice-cream scoop piles on your
desk.
6. While you are waiting for your piles to be checked, color all the
pieces.
7. Get a large piece of construction paper.
8. Glue the title box to the top of the page.
9. Place your piles of cones and scoops on the paper so all cones will fit
on the sheet
10. Glue each cone and its 3 matching details to the sheet as shown here.

Formative: Informal assessment producers conducted through discussions and participation.

The Main Idea PowerPoint Companion worksheet will not be graded; this is to assess
which students understood it and which did not, so I can later assist those students who
need the extra help in finding the main idea.

Summative: 20-point rubric on Main Idea Cones.

6. Assessment Methods of 1 point for each correct supporting detail that match the main idea sentence (18
all objectives/skills: total)
1 point for neatness
1 point for coloring

Students must earn 14 out of the 20 points for a 70% accuracy in order to meet todays
daily lesson objective.

Now that the lesson and assessment is over with the teacher will ask students
what they learned in class today and ask the students what they thought about
7. Closure
the strategy and if they thought that the strategy was helpful.

8. Assessment Results of
all objectives/skills: To be determined

Targeted Students Modifications/Accommodations Student/Small Group Modifications/Accommodations

Students that are hard of hearing and visually impaired
will be seated at the front of the classroom so they can
have a closer view and have a closer range of sound.
Struggling students will be permitted to make 3 out of
the 6 cones or work with a partner to find all 6 cones
and their matching ice-cream scoops.
Gifted learners could be given extra practice with main
ideas that are harder to figure out.
If students are having a hard time during the guided practice the
teacher can add more examples for practice. If multiple
students are having a hard time learning the teacher may need
to revisit the teacher input section and find another way to
teach the strategy.
The teacher can have a small group instruction before the
assessment if he/she sees only a few students are struggling. If
more than seven students are struggling, the teacher can
conduct a mini lesson.

If the students are still struggling allow them to take the

assessment but use it to see where students are getting confused
and revisit the way the lesson was taught and conduct small
groups depending on the level each student is on with
understanding the strategy.
Materials/Technology:
Smart Board
Computer
The Scoop on Main Idea PowerPoint
Main Idea PowerPoint Companion / Main Idea- Practice Along Worksheet
Main Idea Cones
Construction Paper
Glue sticks
Crayons/ Colored Pencils
Reflection on lesson:

In planning my lesson, I asked the teacher if there was anything she wanted me to focus on, she let me

know that I can teach my lesson on what I wanted but that she had been talking about main idea in ELA. Taking

this into consideration, I choose to do my lesson on main idea. Before beginning the lesson, I asked the students

to reflect on what they discussed in classes prior to the one I was teaching that day and I asked them to discuss

with a partner what they can remember. I then asked the students to share with me what they knew about main

idea. Surprisingly, the students told me off the bat that they knew main idea is what the passage is about, that

main idea is different than the topic, and that to find the main idea you have to find three supporting details. The

students had a good concept of the topic, so I explained to them that we will be reviewing everything they have

been learning and learn even more. I started my PowerPoint presentation to the class. The students were on the

carpet in front of the smartboard and I handed them all a Main Idea PowerPoint Companion / Main Idea-

Practice Along Worksheet. The students did not have to do anything with the worksheets until the Lets

Practice phase of my PowerPoint. I included four passages in my PowerPoint and asked the students to help

me find the main idea of these passages and three supporting details/evidences. The reason I gave them the

worksheet was so that they could all follow along as I read the passages and read along with me. It seemed like

it was easier for the students to find supporting details by having the passages in front of them. I asked the

students who volunteered to read a few sentences from the passages so that various students had the opportunity

to read and participate. After we read the passage together as a class, I asked the students to give me one

supporting detail. I continued this process until I had three supporting details from each passage and until we

had read all four passages as a class. The students did a great job of following along and writing down
everything on their Main Idea PowerPoint Companion / Main Idea- Practice Along Worksheet. I did not take

this worksheet up because we worked on it together as a class.

After my PowerPoint presentation, the students had to go to lunch and we did not get to finish up the

Main Idea Cones activity until they got back from lunch. When the students got back from lunch I explained

what they had to do for their Main Idea Cones. I left the directions on the board after going over them with the

class and answering any questions they had about the activity. It took the students a long time to cut out the

cones and ice-cream scoops and most of the students did not get the opportunity to begin sorting the ice-cream

scoops (supporting details) to the cones (main idea) until the next day. The following day, the students begin

sorting their ice-cream scoops to the correct cones. I walked around to help the students who needed help but

around 90% of them did a very good job and matched all the scoops to the correct cones without any help from

myself or the cooperating teacher. After the students had correctly matched the scoops to the ice-cream cones I

let them color their ice-cream and glue it on a piece of construction paper.

My lesson seemed to be engaging for the students and they seemed to grasp the concept well. I wasnt

interrupted during the lesson and the students were very engaged and all participated. I think a reason why the

students were so engaged is because I had spent a lot of time with them before teaching my lesson and a lot of

students wanted me to teach their class for a day and had become attached to me, this was an advantage for me

because it allowed me to capture their attention. Seeing as this was somewhat of a review for the students, they

all appeared to know what they were doing. I loved teaching this class and felt a lot more comfortable than

other subjects because it was the second lesson I had taught and I personally love ELA. I was very surprised by

how natural and easy it was for me to teach the class. I had a lot of fun and so did the students. We had fun

while also learning a lot.

CT signature: ________________________ Date: ______ US signature: ____________________________Date: ______