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UNT Lesson Plan Template (Madeline Hunter)

Observation 2

Pre-service Teacher: Grade(s): School/Mentor Teacher (if applicable):

Sarah McMillon 4th Grade University of North Texas // Donald Elementary

Mentor Teacher: Janet Dever

Subject area(s): Unit Topic/Theme: Lesson Title:

Reading Sensory Language Reading Using Your Five Senses

Relevant TEKS: Relevant ELPS: Relevant TX CCRS:

4.8 Reading/Comprehension C.01.C - The student is II.A.1. Use effective reading strategies to
of Literary Text/Sensory expected to: use determine a written work’s purpose and intended
Language. Students strategic learning audience.
understand, make inferences techniques such as II.A.10. Identify and analyze how an author’s use
and draw conclusions about concept mapping, of language appeals to the senses, creates
how an author’s sensory drawing, memorizing, imagery, and suggests mood.
language creates imagery in comparing, contrasting, III.B2. Participate actively and effectively in group
literary text and provide and reviewing to acquire discussions.
evidence from text to support basic and grade-level IV.B.1. Listen critically and respond appropriately
their answers. vocabulary. to presentations.
IV.B.3. Listen actively and effectively in group
Figure 19 discussions.
Reading/Comprehension
Skills. Students use a flexible
range of metacognitive
reading skills in both assigned
and independent reading to
understand an author’s
message. Students will
continue to apply earlier
standards with greater depth
tin increasingly more complex
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text as they become self-

directed, critical readers.
(D) make inferences about
text and use textual evidence
to support understanding.
Lesson Objective(s)/Performance Outcomes
 The student will be able to identify the type(s) of sensory language used in a given book (describing
and giving proof from the book).
 The student will be able to share a quote describing the type(s) of sensory language used in their book
with the class.
 The students will be able to hear a quote from other books using sensory language and determine
what type(s) are used.
 The student will be able to fill out a chart about sensory language (this includes: circling what sensory
language(s) were used in their pre-determined section of their book, quote(s) from the book that
backs up the sensory language(s) determined, and words proving their sensory language(s)).
 The student will be able to answer a reflection question writing three to four sentences.

By the end of the lesson, students will have an understanding of sensory language and how it can be used to
enhance a story or make it better (reflection question).

Assessment (Description/Criteria)
As students are sharing their quote with the type(s) of sensory language used in their book with the teacher
and class, the teacher will make note of each group’s response. They will also make note of which students
are responding to the other groups with the type(s) of sensory language, (while giving out tickets) and if their
responses are correct with the quote(s) given. Along with this, the teacher will look at each student’s chart on
Google Classroom to check their understanding on the topic.

Materials and Resources

 Student iPads - Google Classroom (students can share if someone does not have their iPad)
 Pencils
 Sensory language chart
 Sensory Language Posters (put onto google classroom)
 Tickets
8 Sensory language books (not all will be used):
1. Bunny Cakes (A Max & Ruby Picture Book) - By: Rosemary Wells
2. Night In The Country - Story By: Cynthia Rylant, Pictures By: Mary Szilagyi
3. Hello Ocean - By: Pam Munoz Ryan, Illustrated By: Mark Astrella
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4. Comes A Wind - By: Linda Arms White, Pictures By: Tom Curry
5. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble - By: William Steig
6. I Need My Monster - Written By: Amanda Noll, Illustrated By: Howard McWilliam
7. I Stink! - By: Kate and Jim Mullan
8. Pie in the Sky - By: Lois Ehlert

Management of the Instructional Environment

When the teacher is working with the students on an example of the activity, they will be standing at the front
of the room when reading while students are sitting at their tables. After the teacher reads, they will show the
section of the book they are focusing on under the projector for students to see. The teacher will then go back
to the front of the room to talk about the section of the book and determine with the class the sensory
language(s) used.
When students are working with their groups to read, figure out what type(s) of sensory languages are used in
their book, filling out their charts, and answering the reflection question, they will be sitting at their table with
their group. Students will remain at their tables for the closure activity.

Technology Integration
 Students will use their iPads to open a document titled “Sensory Language Posters.” This document
contains three posters. Students will be able to refer to this document as a tool as they are
understanding and determining each sensory language with their groups.
 When students have finished their sensory language chart and reflection, they will take a picture and
upload it to the designated area in google classroom. By doing this, the teacher will be able to view
each students work and see who did and didn’t turn it in.

Diversity and Equity (Accommodations, Modifications, Adaptations)

Oral Administration (OA) – If needed, students can have their section of their book read to them out loud by
the teacher.
Dictionary – Students will have access to a dictionary if needed.

Activities/Procedures (Madeline Hunter)

Anticipatory Set
To introduce the lesson, the teacher will ask the students questions about sensory language. Today we are
going to do a lesson on sensory language. What do you think sensory language is? What are your five sense?
When reading, do any of your five senses come to mind? When we read, we use all of our senses. As a reader,
you can see things in your imagination in order to fully connect with the text you are reading. You can
sometimes feel as though you are able to almost taste, smell, and feel the physical sensations you would
actually have in you were in that situation. As you are reading, make an effort to imagine the situation about
what you are reading, so that you can better understand and infer things that the author has not directly said
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in the text. Pay close attention to specific language an author uses to help the reader infer why things happen,
why characters behave the way they do, and how characters are feeling.
Get your iPads out and open the document titled “Sensory Language Posters” in google classroom. Can I have
a volunteer read what the sensory details poster (1st document) says for Sight? (this will continue with each of
the 5 senses) Can I have a volunteer read the sensory language poster? (2nd document) You will also see a
document that gives you words you can look for when finding sensory language(s) while reading (3rd
document).

Input/Modeling/Guided Practice
The teacher will go through an example with the class as a whole of what they will be doing before they work
with their groups. First, the teacher will read a specific page or pages in Night In The Country By: Cynthia
Rylant. The class will then work with the teacher to figure out what type(s) of sensory language is used in that
section of the book. After, the teacher will work through the sensory language chart for this book with the
students (the chart will have students circle the type of sensory language(s) used within the quote(s) from the
book. Along with this, students will prove their sensory language(s) with descriptive words from their
quote(s), and answer a reflection question writing 3 to 4 sentences). For example in Night In The Country,
students can prove the quote “Outside, the dog’s chain clinks as he gets up for a drink of water. Far over the
hill you hear someone open and close a creaking screen door. You wonder who is up so late.” With words like
‘clinks’ and ‘creaking.’ By doing this, it will not only help students understand how to determine what kind of
sensory language(s) are used when reading a book, but it will also give them the expectations for the activity
before they work on it with their group.

Independent Practice
Students will read the selected page(s) out of the book that is on their table with their group members. After
they have read, they will work with their group to fill out their sensory language chart (this is the same chart
students worked through with the teacher for the example). Once students have finished working on the
chart with their group, they will work on the reflection independently. As students are working, the teacher
will be walking around asking students questions, clarifying any misunderstandings they have, and
encouraging them to think about the sensory language(s) that are used in their specific book and how. When
students have finished their chart, they will take a picture of their work and upload it to the designated area in
google classroom.

Extension Activity: Students who finish their charts early can work on a reflection extension activity. For this
additional reflection, students will write 4 to 5 sentences answering the prompt: Write a paragraph about a
rainy day using sensory language.

Higher Order Thinking Questions:

 Why do authors use sensory language in their writing?
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 How could you use sensory language to enhance your writing?

Closure
When students have finished with the above activities, the teacher will ask the students each higher order
thinking question. The teacher will give directions for the next activity while informing students about a
reward they will receive as they respond and engage with each group. My students who are actively engaging
and responding to each group will receive a ticket. When you get your ticket, you will write your name on the
back. You can then choose to either keep your ticket, or put it in my bucket for a drawing. If you decide to do
this, you will give me your ticket as you rotate. At the end of the day, I will draw three students from each
rotation as my lucky winners to pick a special coupon from the basket tomorrow. I will let you know who my
winners are for this rotation tomorrow at the beginning of class. This is a great way to get students motivated
to participate in the lesson. After the teacher tells students about their tickets and the drawing, the teacher
will begin the closure activity by calling on each group to share with the class their chosen quote from their
book to prove the sensory language(s). After the quote is shared, students will volunteer to guess what kind of
sensory language(s) are used based on the quote given. This activity will be repeated with each group. As each
group shares their quote, I will remind students to use their imagination and senses as they listen to each
groups quote and determine what type(s) of sensory language are used. By doing this, it will help students
understand each sensory language as they analyze and understand how they are used in a variety of books.

Reflections and Documentation/Evidence of Lesson Effectiveness

Be sure that this is specific.
What happened during the lesson? (Brief summary --- help the reader know how you were able to follow
your lesson plan.)

The day before my lesson I went through and practiced teaching. While practicing, my mentor and I decided
to make some changes after seeing how things were going. First, I made sure students were added to my
google classroom prior to coming to class (I gave my class code to each of the homeroom teachers). By doing
this, I was able to save some time at the beginning of my lesson and see if any students were not able to get
in. Second, I made sure to project the posters that students were looking at on their iPads on the board. By
doing this, the students could not only see the posters in the front of the room, but I could also point things
out in front of the class. A third change I made was to have students watch a video of the book for the
introductory activity as a whole group before focusing on the two pages in the book. Additionally, students
were to write notes of the sensory languages and descriptive supporting words they heard as the video was
playing. Once this was completed, each student in each group was to share with their table two things they
wrote. By doing this, it let students hear all of the sensory languages used in their book as a whole before we
focused on two specific pages. As a class after the students watched the video of the book and wrote their
notes, we looked at the two selected pages and filled out the chart (this is the same chart students will be
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working on with their groups; giving them an example of what to do). The chart was both projected at the
front of the room and available on the student’s iPads for them to view individually.
Throughout the rest of the lesson only small changes were made. For example when students were working
with their groups to look at their book and fill out their chart, they were to look at and skim through their
book as a whole before they focused on the marked section in their book. By doing this, students were able to
understand what the story was about, while also being able to see how sensory language was used in the
entire book. For the closure activity, each group had one volunteer to bring their book up to the projector to
read their quote. By doing this, students were able to refer back to the quote that was read while determining
the sensory language used with supporting words. In the end, students still received a ticket after sharing and
got to choose whether or not they wanted to keep their ticket, or put it in the drawing for the chance to win a
special coupon the next day.

What parts of the lesson led to engagement and student learning?

Overall, each component of the lesson led to some kind of engagement and student learning. The first part of
the lesson that led to this took place as students answered the introductory questions. These questions
introduced the lesson to students while getting them to think about sensory language and their senses. The
second part of the lesson that led to engagement and student learning happened as students volunteered and
took turns reading each document on google slides. This introduced sensory language to students as it helped
them understand what sensory language means while giving them examples. The third part of the lesson that
led to these took place as students watched/listened to a video of the book Night In The Country By: Cynthia
Rylant. Along with this, engagement and student learning took place as each student took note of the sensory
language and descriptive words they heard throughout the book as it was read. Students were also engaged in
the lesson as they worked with their group to read through their book and fill out their sensory language
chart/answer the reflection question/share what they wrote with their group members. The final part of the
lesson that led to engagement and student learning took place as each group shared a quote from their book
with the class. Along with this, these took place as students volunteered to share what sensory language they
think was used, while backing it up with descriptive word(s) from the quote. Students were also engaged and
learning as they answered the higher order thinking questions.

In thinking about your first two responses --- So What does it mean about your planning? So What does it
mean about student learning? So What does it mean about your learning to teach?

Overall this lesson ran more smoothly and went better than my first lesson. When planning, I made sure to
make time for each activity within the lesson while making sure each component led to student engagement.
In the end, this helped with behavior management and transitioning throughout the lesson. By making sure
each part of my lesson led to engagement and student learning, it helped students understand my topic in a
variety of fun and enjoyable ways. This includes having students answer engaging questions, getting the
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chance to read out loud to the class, work with their group members, write, use technology, get the
opportunity to receive tickets and put them in a special drawing, etc. From my first observation to my second,
my learning to teach has grown in many ways. I know more about structuring and planning lessons along with
being more confident when teaching. Additionally, I have learned how to get my students attention while
using my “teacher voice.” I have seen myself grow in many ways as I am continuing to teach and apply
feedback. In the end, students learned and gained understanding of sensory language and how they can use
their five senses and imagination as they read.

Now What did you learn from teaching this lesson that can apply to other lessons? How will you apply what
you learned from teaching this lesson to your teaching of future lessons?

What I learned from teaching this lesson that can apply to other lessons is how to make sure my planning
leads to student engagement and learning throughout the whole lesson; making sure that students are
continuously engaged not just during parts (this went better during this observation than it did during the
first). I will apply what I learned from teaching this lesson to my teaching of future lessons as I am growing and
having a better understanding of how to structure and plan lessons. It is important to incorporate a variety of
ways for students to participate and learn the topic throughout a lesson. As I have taught more and more I am
becoming more comfortable. Along with this, I am getting better at transitioning, handling behaviors, and
getting the students attention.
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Name: ________________________________ # ________

Sensory Language Chart

Type(s) of Sensory Quote(s) from the book Word(s) proving the

Language used (circle) sensory language
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Reflection

How did the sensory language used in your book enhance or make the story better?

Write 3-4 sentences

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