Diagnostic Lesson Plan

Date: July 14, 2017

Session #: 4
Teacher: Stephanie
Student: MZ

Reflection on Previous Session:

Today we used the English/Spanish dictionaries to help her with the strategy for
predicting or guessing unknown words. This resource proved to be tougher than anticipated
because the English/Spanish had only content words. The word that she did not know was
enough, so it was difficult to look up in the content dictionaries and then it ended up not being
in it. However, we used the laptops to find the meaning of the word. I think that the
dictionary.com website was still too challenging for her so I will need to find some online picture
dictionaries that are accessible and might even have Spanish.
I did show her Google Translate, which she liked and used throughout our session. When
we completed our word sort, she was not familiar with some of the pictures in the sort. However,
she knew the words in Spanish, so she used Google Translate to look up the words. I did have
her glue the sort into her writing notebook and encouraged her to write the English words
alongside the pictures she did not know, such as sheep and horn. She even wrote the words in
English and in Spanish.
The SH and the CH sounds did seem challenging to her, which seemed accurate based on
her assessment. When I said the word, she knew which digraph it was, but when she said the
word it was harder for her to hear which sound it was. I wonder if this is a dialectical. During this
next session, we will continue working on this by playing a game, so it might help to reinforce
the differences between these two digraphs.
I did ask her if she had any homework or work from any of her other classes that she
either needed help with or needed to work on but she said she was all set and had no questions. I
will keep checking in with her to see if anything else comes up.
When we read, Ghosts, today she did have very good comprehension! After reading, she
did go through the book with me and did a retell of what happened. She was able to retell the
main ideas of what was happening very well. Going through the pages together after she read
was a helpful strategy because it did clarify some misunderstandings with some of the
vocabulary. The sister in the book is sick, so she is getting treatment. Some of the vocabulary
words related to this were difficult for her to read and understand. We talked through it and
clarified any misunderstanding but I reinforced to her that she can use the computer, the
dictionaries, and the prediction strategy that we covered today in order to help her to learn the
new and/or understand the words.
We did start the concept mapping activity, but we were only able to complete the map of
the school. Tomorrow, we will read the book and make a map about one of the people she chose.
This has been carried over from the previous lesson plan. She said she really liked this strategy
and it was a lot of fun to make the map. I reinforced to her that she can use this strategy in any
subject. We talked about what subjects she could use this strategy for. She said that in science
she learned about plants and in English she learned about sentences this year, so we talked about
how we would make a concept map for these classes to organize what she learned and to show
what she knows about a topic.
Materials: writing notebook, blank paper, markers/crayons, pens/pencils, Ghosts book by Raina
Telgemeier, notecard that says, Questions start with: who, what, where, when, why, or how
with some question prompts, post-its, Shopping game, KWL chart (prewritten in notebook),
Rad American Women A-Z book.

Diagnostic Strategies and Rationales:

Assessment/Activity: Ice Breaker Activity Name Acrostic Poem
Estimated Time: 15 minutes
Procedure: Tell MZ that we will be writing creating a type of poem about ourselves.
Model first writing my own name along the left side of my paper, with the letters going
up and down, not left to right across the page. Explain that we are going to try to think of
words or pictures that mean something to us, are special to us, or describe us. Using a
think aloud strategy, model thinking of a word or picture that starts with the first letter of
my name (S) and writing/drawing it next to that letter. Then model thinking of a word or
picture that starts with the second letter of my name (T) and writing/drawing it next to
that letter. Explain that we will try to come up with a word or picture for each letter in our
name. Explain that if we have trouble coming up with a word/picture for a certain letter
that it is all right because we can ask each other or use a dictionary or a computer to help
us brainstorm. Once we are both finished with our acrostic poems, we will share a few of
the things we included or (if comfortable) all of the acrostic poem.
Rationale: In our previous sessions, MZ and I worked on getting to know each other to
build a trusting, working relationship with one another. I want to continue developing this
trust and comfort throughout our sessions together. Deliberately focusing on group-
building helps create the trust essential for active collaborative learning (Denton &
Kriete, 2000, p. 4). Additionally, it will allow me to see what are some of MZs other
interests. I can select instructional materials based on her responses. Furthermore, it will
allow me to see other what are some other areas of vocabulary that she has strengths or
areas of need in. Knowing where her strengths and areas of need are in vocabulary will
allow me to plan for future sessions.

Assessment/Activity: Concept Mapping - Writing

Estimated Time: 45 minutes.
Procedure: Review the concept of a map and show her the map that we worked on about
school from yesterdays session. Introduce the new book, Rad American Women A-Z, by
reading the back of the book together. Refer back to previous days lesson about how the
blurb, of the back of the book, tells more about what the story will be about. Have MZ
preview the book by looking through the pages. Have MZ select a woman she would like
to read more about. Once she has chosen a person, have her read about that person. As
she reads, have her write down any words that she does not know, with a prediction.
Afterwards, check for understanding with the unknown vocabulary and for
comprehension by orally asking who, what, where, when, why questions. Once we have
checked for understanding, have her begin creating a concept map about the person she
chose. As she works, check for understanding and help her with any misunderstandings
from the text.
 Rationale: I chose to make a concept map about school because it was something that I
knew she had a lot of background knowledge about. Concept mapping is a writing about
reading strategy that assists students in creating a graphic organizer that serves to transfer
text into visual representations (Fisher, 2007, p. 10). This type of graphic organizer
facilitates active readers because students reread text passages in order to clarify their
understanding (Fisher, 2007, p.10). This is a strategy that MZ can apply to any content
area reading. I chose this particular book to read because it has many different women in
one book. Additionally, MZ is able to select the women she is interested in reading about,
which creates an environment of choice and engagement. This book might be of
particular interest to her because in her interest surveys, she said that her favorite subject
in school is history.

Assessment/Activity: Independent Reading - Ghosts

Estimated Time: 45 minutes
Procedure: To begin, I will name my teaching point, Ask Questions to Engage with the
Text (Serravallo, 2015, p. 59). Explain, While reading, readers often turn to a new page
and have a new idea or a question. In a fiction book, you might think, why did the
character do that? or what might come next? Readers do this to help them push
themselves to understand more about what and why something is happening in the book.
Lets go back to a part in the book that we read yesterday to help us practice this strategy.
On page 22 and 23 of our book, Ghosts, we see a big picture of what the girls are looking
at: the ocean. Cat says, WOA! Lets think to ourselves, what might Cat be thinking?
What might Cat be feeling? What might her sister be thinking/feeling? This picture takes
up the whole page! Why do you think the author did this? Pause to talk about these
questions together to check in for understanding. Say, Yesterday we stopped on this
page. Lets ask ourselves, what might come next? Then say, Today as you read, you
will stop to ask questions about the text. Questions start with: who; what; where; when;
why; or how. Show her the notecard on which this is written. On the notecard there are
also example questions that say different questions (see appendix for picture). Say, This
notecard can help you as you work today to create questions about the text. On these
post-its, write questions as you read and post them in your book. Later, we will go back
to try to answer some of these questions. Have MZ read from page 24 49. As she
reads, ensure she is stopping to post questions in her book. Once she is finished, have her
select two or three questions from her book and post them in her notebook. Then have her
write what she thinks the answer might be next to the post its. Afterwards, use what she
wrote to engage in conversation to check for comprehension of the story and use of the
strategy. This will be an informal check in and completed verbally.
Rationale: I chose this strategy, Ask Questions to Engage with the Text because it
stimulates spontaneous reaction to the text, which is a reading comprehension strategy
used to support and develop comprehension (Scanlon, Anderson, & Sweeney, 2017, p.
290). Additionally, she is asked to create questions and answer them, which will help her
to work on asking/answering implicit questions. During her diagnostic testing, she
struggled with the implicit questions, more than the explicit questions. This scaffolded
activity will provide her with an opportunity to work on implicit questioning. A think
aloud make this strategy observable and reproducible (Fisher, 2007, p. 120). I am
having her write on post-its while she reads because they will serve as reminders of what
 she was thinking when she goes back to the text later (Scanlon, Anderson, & Sweeney,
2017, p. 291). Additionally, comprehension can be supported through writing (Scanlon,
Anderson, & Sweeney, 2017, p. 291). In order to keep her engagement, I am having her
write about reading because I know she prefers writing over reading. Additionally, I am
using choice as an element of engagement by having her choose her two or three best
questions to respond to so that she builds confidence in herself.

Assessment/Activity: Word Work Shopping Game

Estimated Time: 20 minutes
Procedure: Introduce the game, Shopping (Helman, Bear, Templeton, Invernizzi, &
Johnston, 2012). Step 1: Shuffle the cue cards and turn them face down in a stack. 2.
Each player turns over a card and moves her playing piece to the next picture on the
board that corresponds to the beginning digraph on the cue card. 3. The winner is the first
to arrive at the destination. Afterwards, I will ask her to write in her notebook the
following words, which will be used as a check in. I will be checking for accurate
digraphs, not necessarily the spelling on the entire word.
Words: ship, chewed, (both taken from the Elementary Spelling Inventory assessment),
sheep, shoe, cherries, cheese (taken from yesterdays word sort), check, and shark (taken
from todays game)
Rationale: I chose to this game for our session because of her Elementary Spelling
Inventory. She did not master the SH and CH digraphs on this assessment. This game
builds on the same digraphs that we worked on yesterday. This game will help her to hear
the differences between these two digraphs and match the SH and CH digraph to pictures.
This game has the letters of the digraphs as well as pictures. This will encourage her to
attune to the sounds she hears as the words are said. I also chose this sort because there
are pictures. This will help her to develop her English vocabulary. The check-in will help
me to see how she is understanding the digraphs and if she needs additional practice or
support in these two digraphs.

Assessment/Activity: Writing about Reading KWL Chart

Estimated Time: 40 minutes
Procedure: Explain that today we will be using a graphic organizer to help us write
about our reading. Explain that a graphic organizer is a way to take notes and organize
our thinking. Show her the KWL chart in her notebook and explain what each of the three
columns mean: what do I know; what do I want to know; and what I have learned (Fisher,
2007, p. 47). Say that today she will be using her book, Rad American Women A-Z, to
write about her reading. Yesterday, she chose two people that she would want to read
more about. Have her choose one of the women that she would like to read more about
for this activity. First, explain that when she uses a KWL chart, she writes before and
after she reads. Explain that she will fill in the first column with things she knows about
the woman. Reinforce that it is all right to not know anything yet, because we have not
read it. However, if she already knows a fact about her, then she can fill it in. Then have
her fill in the second column with things she would like to know about the woman. Have
her read the story about the woman. Afterwards, engage in questions with MZ about the
woman by asking her who, what, where, when, and why questions. If time permits, have
her choose one paragraph to read out loud to practice fluency. Coach her through any
 words she might get stuck on or might have misunderstood. Afterwards, check in about
what this paragraph said by asking her to retell it. Once finished, have her fill in the third
column of the chart with facts that she learned. Allow her to use the look back strategy, if
needed. Encourage her to try to answer some of the questions that were in the second
column. If time permits, have her write below her KWL chart some additional questions
she would like to know about this woman.
Rationale: I chose this strategy because it is a notetaking strategy she can use in any
academic setting. Additionally, it aligns with the strategy we used early during this
session, questioning/answering. When she fills in the third column, she is answering
some of the questions she asked herself prior to reading. When readers frequently
generate questions they would like to ask the characters or author, they are likely to read
upcoming text with an eye toward answering those questions (Scanlon, Anderson, &
Sweeney, 2017, p. 287). Additionally, she will need to revisit the text after reading to be
able to fill in the third column and answer some of the questions in the second column,
which will help to clarify her understanding of the text (Scanlon, Anderson, & Sweeney,
2017, p. 287).

References:
Denton, P., & Kriete, R. (2000). The first six weeks of school. Greenfield, MA: Northeast
Foundation for Children.
Fisher, D. (2007). 50 content area strategies for adolescent literacy. Upper Saddle River:
Merrill-Pearson.
Helman, L., Bear, D. R., Templeton, S., Invernizzi, M., & Johnston, F. R. (2012). Words their
way with English learners: word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling. Boston:
Pearson Education.
Scanlon, D. M., Anderson, K. L., & Sweeney, J. M. (2017). Early intervention for reading
difficulties: the interactive strategies approach. New York: Guilford Press.
Schatz, K., & Stahl, M. K. (2015). Rad American women A-Z. San Francisco, CA: City Lights
Books.
Serravallo, J. (2015). The reading strategies book: your everything guide to developing skilled
readers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Telgemeier, R. (2016). Ghosts. New York: Graphix.

Appendices:
Shopping Game
Questions Notecard (image attached below)