Lesson Plan for Maria

Name: Ashley Henderson

Grade: 11th Grade
Area of Reading: Decoding with a sprinkling of Fluency and Comprehension
Lesson Title: Embedded Phonics
Essential Questions (What question(s) will students grapple with as they learn through this
lesson?):

What part of this word do I recognize?

Do I know any other words that have this beginning sound?
Do I know any other words that have this ending sound?
How can the storys pictures help me understand unknown words?
If I read a sounded out word in context, will it make more sense?

Primary Content Objectives:

Students will know (facts/information):

Each letter has its own sound.

Many words share common word parts.
These familiar word parts make the same sounds in different words.

Students will understand (big ideas):

Use the context and structure of a sentence, paragraph, or reading selection to help
determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word.
Use a variety of strategies and word recognition skills to support comprehension.

Students will be able to do (skills and behaviors):

Use context as a clue to clarify the meaning of unfamiliar words or phrases.

Develop vocabulary by listening to and reading a variety of texts
Use word-solving skills to review unknown words in a passage.

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Related state or national standards (Examples include State Standards of Learning, Common
Core State Standards, Next Generation Science Standards or National Curriculum Standards for
Social Studies):
(Note: Maria is below grade level and the graded word list revealed that her instructional level
for fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension is between the fifth and sixth grades. For this
reason, her curriculum is not entirely aligned with the eleventh grade. She will be working
toward these SOLs and that is the ultimate goal, so they are listed below. At the same time, some
of the skills mentioned in the SOLs apply to students at all levels and those SOLs will be aligned
with her instruction, as such they are highlighted. The other SOL skills will develop as a result
of these highlighted skills)

SOLs
o 11.3: The student will apply knowledge of word origins, derivations, and figurative
language to extend vocabulary development in authentic texts.
a. Use structural analysis of roots, affixes, synonyms, antonyms, and cognates to
understand complex words.
b. Use context, structure, and connotations to determine meanings of words and
phrases.
c. Discriminate between connotative and denotative meanings and interpret the
connotation.
d. Identify the meaning of common idioms.
e. Identify literary and classical allusions and figurative language in text.
f. Extend general and specialized vocabulary through speaking, reading, and
writing.
g. Use knowledge of the evolution, diversity, and effects of language to
comprehend and elaborate the meaning of texts.

Materials and Resources (List here all materials that you will need in order to successfully
teach this lesson. Include technology and website links, texts, graphic organizers, student
handouts, physical manipulatives, etc.):

Variety of Books at the Fifth through Eleventh grade levels (will only need 5th and/or 6th
grade level books for this lesson)

Lesson Procedures:
1. Introduction and goal orientation: Despite the fact that she is in eleventh grade, Maria is
only reading words at a fifth or sixth grade level. For this reason, our instruction will focus
on decoding, so that Maria can break apart the unfamiliar words she comes across when
reading. At the same time, it is important that Maria has many opportunities to practice
reading so that she can gain fluency as well. We will be implementing an embedded phonics
instruction practice with Maria so that she is able to practice word-solving skills while
reading. The practice of embedded phonics allows students to participate in normal read
aloud activities, which are improved when the teacher helps the student predict the identity of
unknown words.

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2. Connecting to prior knowledge and experiences (Questions or activities that help students
make links): Today, we are going to read [Name of Grade Level Book]. I want you to do
your best. If you dont know a word, use your finger to sound out the word. Look at the
pictures [if present] to help you with figuring out the unknown word. When we see a word
we dont know we can use our word-solving skills to help us figure out these unknown
words. A lot of words have similar word parts that we are familiar with. When you see a
word that you dont know and there are no pictures to look at for context, we can look for
these familiar word parts to help us decipher these new words. What are some examples of
some sounds and word parts that we know (maybe some beginning and ending sounds)?
[Possible Answers: -ing, -tion, -ed, be-, de-, -ly]. Even if we do not see a familiar part in the
unknown word, we know the sounds of all the letters. We can use our knowledge of these
sounds to identify the beginning and ending sounds. We can then ask ourselves, Do we
know another word that starts with those letters? Then we can try rereading the word after
using all of our word-solving skills to check the word in context. We are going to be
practicing these skills every day during our reading time.
3. Tasks and activities (What challenging tasks and activities will students engage in as they
construct knowledge, learn new skills or behaviors and develop understandings?): Each day,
we will start by rereading one to three books on our independent level. Next, we will read a
book (that has been previously read) for the teacher to complete a running record. This
running record will be used to determine whether Maria should stay on the same level, move
up a level, or move down a level. The new level (or old level if she did not move levels) will
be used to determine the next book that is read. Before reading the book, it is important to
set up Maria for success. Do this by identifying the book to Maria and allowing her to
browse the book. Pointing out the pictures and ask what do you think is going to happen in
this story. Lets make a prediction. This will help to ensure that she is prepared to read this
book and will be successful. After she reviews this book, she will read it using her wordstrategy skills. This book will enter her rereading book rotation that occurs at the beginning
of each session.
4. Closure (How will you wrap up the lesson and reinforce key ideas? Closure may include
some form of assessment or exit slip): It will be helpful to have Maria move toward a goal
such as a chapter book that she can read one chapter at a time. This will allow her to work
toward a specific goal and show her that reading can be interesting and fun it will be
important to pick a book that will be entertaining and easy for her to read. This will ensure
that Maria is able to complete the book without feeling defeated.
Matching Instruction to Student Needs (How did you select this lesson for the specific student.
Be sure to address any accommodations you would make for the student.): I chose this particular
model because Maria is in the eleventh grade and needs practices that she can implement while
reading, but mainly she just needs practice to help her gain fluency. It will be important to stress
pacing when reading so that she does not skip over words and pays careful attention to the
provided passages. This particular model, embedded phonics, from Fountas and Pinnel (1996)
ensures that a teacher is present to help Maria when she needs it, but focuses more on providing
positive support for Maria to work through the reading on her own. Another method that may be
beneficial as an add-on for the first reading of the book would be an auditory copy of the book.
With and auditory version, Maria will be able to hear the words that she struggles with and will

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have experience hearing all of the unfamiliar words when it is her turn to read on her own.
Additionally, an auditory version of the book would give Maria an example of a fluent reading.
Evaluation (How will you determine whether children have met objectives/goals of the activity?
How will you identify students for the next tier of instruction?): The running records taken every
day will be used to determine if Maria needs to be moved to the next tier of instruction. Instead
of moving Maria immediately to the next tier, it may be beneficial to add in an auditory version
of books to help Maria with independent reading and gaining experience with the book and any
new words. These running records will also be used to determine if Maria is improving and is
reaching the objective of moving up at least one grade level every 6 months. This is shown with
consistent success at a grade level book.