Direct Instruction Lesson Plan Template

Grade Level/Subject: Grade 4 Reading

Central Focus: Context Clues

Essential Standard/Common Core Objective:

RI 4. 4 Determine the meaning of general academic and
Date submitted: 10/28/15
domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a
Date taught: 10/28/15
grade 4 topic or subject area.
Daily Lesson Objective: I can determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a
text.

Performance: SWABAT determine the meaning of unknown words from the article Bats.
Conditions: SWABAT work independently during the Guided Practice and in pairs during the
Independent Practice.
Criteria: SWABAT find at least 3 unknown words from the article Bats and figure out their
definitions. SW write down the words and definitions on the back of the article. Students will
share and compare their definitions during the Independent Practice to correct and perfect their
3 definitions and add more words.
21st Century Skills:
Academic Language Demand
Collaborate: SW work in pairs during the lesson (see Independent (Language Function and
Practice) to share and compare their definitions.
Vocabulary):
Problem Solving: SW find tricky words and use context clues to
Determine the definitions of
find the definitions of those words to have a better
unknown words by using
understanding of the informational text article.
context clues from the text.
Prior Knowledge: Informational Text Features, such as diagrams, bolded and underlined words,
subtitles, and pictures.
At least 2 strategies to finding out unknown words, such as reading on, using pictures, or using
parts of the unknown word to figure out its meaning.

Activity

1. Focus and Review

2. Statement of
Objective
for Student
3. Teacher Input

Description of Activities and Setting

We have been working a lot with informational text.
Yesterday, you have been working with an informational
article about salt water. We were reading and pulling out
tricky words out of the text and using different context clues
to find their meanings.
Today we will be reading another informational article about
bats and use context clues to find the meaning of tricky
words.
TW pass out the Bats informational article to the students,
use the Smartboard to show the copy of the article, and ask
them to quickly scan the article for the informational text
features that they found in the text, such as underlined and
bolded words as well as diagrams.

Time

10

4. Guided Practice

5. Independent
Practice

SW share some of the features they found.

TW read the article out loud while the students follow along.
As I was reading this article I came across one tricky word in
the first part. I wonder what the word wingspan means. Let
me write it down here and leave a space for my definition.
Watch me as I find the meaning of wingspan by using
context clues in the text. First, I will go back to the paragraph
where I first see the word wingspan and read it again.
TW read the paragraph with the tricky word.
I am reading here that it says that bats come in different
sizes and then I see the word wingspan in the next sentence.
So this must mean that wingspan has to do with the size of
the bat. Now I am going to look at the word wingspan and try
to break it apart into parts to see if that can help me figure
out what it means. Wing-span. So this word maybe means
that the bats are measured by their wings. Let me look at the
diagram located on the side to make sure I am correct. The
diagram shows that the wingspan of the bat measures its
length from the edge of one wing to the edge of the other
wing. Therefore, I was correct.
Now that I have shown you how to use context clues to figure
out a tricky word, you now have a chance to try this as well.
You will read the article the second time to yourselves and
circle the words in the article that you find tricky and write
them down on the back of the article. Make sure to leave a
space for definitions. Then you will use context clues to
determine the meaning of at least 3 of those tricky words and
write them down on the back of the paper.
SW read the article a second time, circle tricky words, and use
context clues to figure out their meaning.
I have been walking around and saw some great strategies
some of you were using. What words did you find tricky?
TW write down the tricky words on the anchor chart.
Would anyone like to share how they used context clues to
find the meaning of a tricky word?
TW ask two students to share their strategies and definitions
and add them to the anchor chart.
Now you will read the article a third time with the partner
you were with yesterday. You will read out loud, taking turns to
read a paragraph at a time. Next, you will share and compare
the definitions you have written for the tricky words. Once you
are finished, you will turn in the article into the blue bucket.
SW work in pairs to read the article a third time, share and
compare their definitions, and turn it in.

10

10

6. Assessment
Methods of
all
objectives/skills:

See Independent Practice. The students will turn in their definitions for
tricky words.

Today we have been working on determining the meaning of

unknown words with the use of context clues. You have been
7. Closure
using strategies such as reading on, using diagrams and
5
pictures, and using parts of a word to determine its meaning.
Does anyone have any questions?
8. Assessment
A little over half the students have mastered the skill of using context
Results of
clues to find the meaning of unknown words. The students who did not
all
master the skill will meet with me separately to practice the skill again.
objectives/skills:
The other five students are beginner English Language Learner.
Targeted Students
Student/Small Group
Modifications/Accommodations:
Modifications/Accommodations:
ELL: These students will be able to work
Students who are struggling will be pulled out
with partners who share their language. The after the lesson to get additional assistance and
article used also has a very detailed
review of the concept.
diagram with all parts labeled. This will
assist the students in understanding the
content of the article.
Materials/Technology: Class set of the Informational Article Bats, Smartboard
References: N/A

Reflection on lesson: Overall, the lesson went very well. The behavior of the students was
exceptional. They were great listeners and readers. Modeling the skill is really important for the
students because many are visual and English Language Learners. Almost all students know how
to use at least one strategy from the text as a result of this lesson. I would definitely change the
pace of my reading for the ELL students to follow along better. I would also give early finishers
another quick task to keep them engaged.