Peck Reading Lesson Plan #1

Reading Lesson Plan #1

Rationale: The two focus students have trouble focusing while reading texts and when texts are being read aloud which hinders their comprehension. From my experience in the classroom, I’ve seen that these two students are usually not actively engaging with the text (looking around the room, not following along with the text) and have trouble answering questions about passages because of it.  By providing the students with a technique that keeps them engaged with the text, they can improve their comprehension skills.

Objective: Using visual imagery and visualization as a means of improving engagement, and comprehension techniques.

Materials: Paper, Crayons, Pencils, Reading Passage.

Introduction: (2-3 minutes) 
- I will ask the students if they sometimes have a hard time following along when they are reading. I will give examples asking if they catch themselves reading and not knowing what they are reading about at the end of reading a whole page.
- I will express how one way of making sure this doesn’t happen is creating an image in your head of what is going on. I will express how this is something that helps me stay on track and understand more about the text and creates meaning beyond the words on the page.
- I will tell them we are going to try this out today.

During the Lesson: (15 minutes)

- I will teach the students the strategy involved with visualizing and visual imagery by having the students create illustrations of a strong visual provoking passage.
- I will tell the students I am going to read them a passage from the book Brian’s Hunt by Gary Paulsen.
- I will ask the students to close their eyes while I am reading the passage
  The passage follows:

“He paused in his thinking and let the outside world come to his open mind. East edge of a small lake, midday, there would be small fish in the reeds and lily pads, sunfish and bluegills, good eating fish, and he’d have to catch some for his one hot meal a day. Sun high overhead, warm on his back but not hot the way it had been earlier in the week; no, hot but not muggy. The summer was drying out, getting ready for fall. Loon cry off to the left, not distress, not a baby lost to pike or musky; the babies would be big enough now to evade danger on their own, almost ready to fly, and would not have to ride on their mother’s backs for safety as they did when they were first hatched out.
                He was close in on the lily pads and something moved suddenly in the brush just up the bank, rustling through the thick, green foliage, and though it sounded big and made a lot of noise he knew it was probably a squirrel or even a mouse.”

- I will then tell the students to open their eyes, and give them copies of the passage themselves to re read. After they read the text again, they will told to draw the image that they saw in their head
- They will be given 5-10 minutes to get their drawings down on paper

Discussion/Closure: (4-5 minutes)
- The students will then be asked to show me and each other their pictures. They will compare their drawings to each other and I will ask them about their pictures, such things as “How did you know to draw a forest area?” “Where did you get this idea from.. “ etc.
- The main point of the discussion will be to show the students that as a reader, your engagement and interaction with the text is what creates these pictures and meaning.
- I will also ask the students if they feel like they could use this more often and if it was helpful.

Ongoing Assessment:
- The visual picture the student's create should show me what meaning or ideas they are getting/creating from the text

Adaptations: Depending on the reading levels of the focus students, this lesson could be done all orally for struggling students. It becomes beneficial also for students who may struggle with writing, and can still show meaning through pictures. Different leveled passages would also be a helpful adaptation, with more challenging passages for higher level learners.