Lesson 1 (Story Maps)

Visual Agenda

    This was the first lesson that was taught, where students were introduced to story maps.  The lesson started with a short introduction and reading survey, where students shared their opinion of books.  We reviewed the agenda so students had an idea of what we will be doing for today's lesson.  

    After reviewing the visual agenda, we went through the vocabulary.  The vocabulary consisted of the story elements that will be important for the story map activity (setting, characters, problem, outcome, and theme).  All of the terms were covered and revealed as we transitioned between words.  All students were given an opportunity to reveal a word.  The term and definition was read aloud by the teacher, which were then repeated chorally with the students.  

Vocabulary with Visuals

    Once having an idea of what the elements mean, we went over an example story map.  The example story map was based off of the Three Little Pigs, where the element was visible and the answers were covered.  Using the vocabulary chart as a reference, I repeated the element and meaning, and revealed setting and characters (I do).  For the rest of the elements, students were asked what they think each answer may be before revealing each (We do).  

    Once students had an grasp with an example of a story map, I gave students a summary on the author we will be focusing on (Janell Cannon).  This helped to give me an idea of how familiar students are with the author and if they read the book already. We started the read aloud Crickwing by Janell Cannon, with short questions placed throughout to assess comprehension and identification of elements.  These included questions such as 'Based on the animals we've seen, where do we think the setting is' and 'How is Crickwing treating the Leafcutter Ants' and 'How has he changed?'.  

Example Story Map for
  Three Little Pigs

    After reading the story, I asked students how comfortable they felt with each element (thumbs up, sideways, or down) to figure out where they may need supports/clarification.  Students were comfortable with all elements but sequence of events and theme.  (These were both elements that I planned to make cards of as extra supports).  Once students individually filled out setting, characters, and problem, I gave them four cards to sort with their shoulder partner, organizing it by order of events.  After organizing them, they copied each event on their story map.  Students continued working through outcome individually.  Once students came to theme, they referenced the example of the Three Little Pigs, and verbally stated some to me before writing it down.  Once students were done, I had a few minutes left and gave them example themes to order by best fit for the story (two that could work, one that wouldn't work).  Working with their peer, they were all able to accurately identify what theme would best fit.

Sequencing Events Cards

All students were able to meet the following objective, "Following the read-aloud of Crickwing, all students will individually complete a story map, correctly identifying at least 5 out of 6 story elements (including characters, setting, key events, problem, resolution, and theme) by the end of the lesson.". They also met the objective, "During a teacher-led dialogic reading session of “Crickwing”, all students will verbally explain key story elements (such as character, main events, and problem/outcome) by responding directly to teacher prompts with at least 75% accuracy across 3 out of 4 prompts." This was evident with the use of the summative assessment of the individual story maps and the informal assessment of monitoring discussion during read alouds. There was one student that exceeded the lesson, moving onto the extended activity, filling out the story map in sentence format with the use of sentence starters.    

 

   While the timing of the activities mostly worked out for the early finisher and the rest of the group, I could have brought a secondary activity that is more creative for them. The early finisher had a few extra minutes after completing extended activity before the lesson was over. I can bring some sort of wind down activity for them.

    After this lesson, I learned the importance of graphic organizers and use of manipulative pieces being integrated. Rather than having a conversation for each step, students were engaged when organizing element cards and enjoyed being able to move around each to mirror the plot. Seeing this made me realize that I want to provide opportunities for hands on learning as much as possible.

Completed Story Map for 'Crickwing'