Lesson Foundations

Pre-assessment (including cognitive and noncognitive measures):

For the pre-assessment, the teacher will hold a discussion about competition, family, siblings, sibling relationships, the things that brothers and sisters do together, and the different ups and downs that siblings encounter. I will also introduce the reading strategies, such as critical thinking and authors perspective.
Curricular Focus, Theme, or Subject Area: Reading

The focus for this lesson is competition, family relationships, being able to deal with the good and the bad parts of being a sibling, and understanding how to think critically about why authors select the characters they do for their stories.
State/District Standards:

The following content standards are from the Georgia Department of Education (Georgia Department of Education, 2002). listen attentively to ask and respond appropriately to questions compare and contrast content within and between stories and between stories and personal experiences make predictions using prior knowledge recognize plot, setting, and character within texts, and compare and contrast these elements among texts communicate effectively when relating experiences and retelling stories read, heard, or viewed identify the main idea and supporting details of literary and informational text read or heard ask and answer questions about essential narrative elements (e.g., beginning-middle-end, setting, characters, problems, events, and resolution) of a read-aloud or independently read text

Learning Objectives:

The students will be able to identify the authors purpose for writing a story. The students will be able to access prior knowledge to write a response from their experiences and the experiences of the characters described in the story.
Adaptations for ELLs, Students with Special Needs, and/or Struggling Readers:

In order to adapt the lesson for English Language Learners, Students with Disabilities, and struggling readers, the teacher will break the book up into smaller segments. The teacher will have the strategies, characters, and necessary vocabulary words and pictures posted on our ACTIVboard for the students to refer to when needed. The teacher will also encourage the English Language Learners to explain their connections and experiences out loud to a partner before they are expected to write their thoughts down on paper.
Perspective(s) addressed in this lesson (Interactive, Critical, and/or Response):

The perspectives addressed in this lesson are the critical perspective and the response perspective.
Texts:

The text that will be used throughout the lesson is My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco (Polacco, 1998).
Other Materials/Technology/Equipment/Resources:

The teacher will need access to an ACTIVboard, laptop, large chart paper, and markers. The students will need response journals and pencils.
Grouping structures (one-on-one, small group, whole class):

This lesson will be completed whole group. In some portions of the lesson, the students will work in collaborative partners.

Lesson Sequence
Learning Activities
Introduction/Anticipatory Set

Assessment Opportunities The students will do a think-pair share to share their thinking, and then they will record their schema on sibling rivalry on a sticky note. This will serve as a pre-assessment of the childrens current understanding and misconceptions about competition, sibling rivalry, and sibling relationships. The class will come together to discuss their thoughts and put their sticky notes up on our schema

The teacher will introduce the lesson by having the students create a schema chart asking the students what they know about sibling rivalry, competition, and sibling relationships so far. The students will do a think-pair-share to share their thinking out loud, and then they will write down their thinking on a sticky note to add to the schema chart. Next, the teacher will hold a discussion on competition, sibling rivalry, and the ups and downs of having siblings. The teacher will ask different questions to get the students thinking critically, such as does anyone

have a sibling; has anyone ever been irritated with their sibling; has anyone ever tried to compete with their sibling; and, has anyone been grateful to have a sibling? Why? The teachers will encourage the students to explain their thinking. This will help access any prior knowledge on the subject of sibling relationships before transitioning into the story. Once the class has discussed competition, sibling relationships, and sibling rivalry, the teacher will introduce the strategies of critical thinking and authors perspective. The teacher will then describe what they are and how they are used. These strategies will be written on the ACTIVboard for reference while the book is read aloud and for the ending discussion.
Building/Applying Knowledge and Skills

chart.

The classroom discussion will help the teacher to informally assess the students prior knowledge on the subject of sibling rivalry and on the new reading strategies being introduced.

Before the teacher reads the story, the teacher will point out important vocabulary words that will appear in the text, such as freckles, jeered, blackberries, sneered, cooed, rhubarb, puckers, stitches, and blushing. The teacher will encourage the students to think about why the author wrote this story and why she chose the characters she did. Throughout the story, the teacher will ask questions to probe the students critical thinking skills. Some question topics will include competition, kinship, and emotions. The teacher will also point out specific scenes that are of importance. After reading the story, the teacher will hold a brief discussion with the students about the storys plot and occurrences, as well as Patricia Polaccos reason for writing this story. The notes written on the ACTIVboard will be referenced if needed. Synthesis/Closure As a closing activity to this lesson, the teacher will have the students write two double-entry journal entries. Both entries will be quotes that the teacher selects from the text that the

The teacher will assess the students critical thinking skills as she asks questions at the beginning of the story, throughout the reading of the story, and at the end of the story.

At the end of the story, the teacher will assess the students knowledge of the authors perspective.

The teacher will assess the students responses.

students will respond to.

Extension/Enrichment/Transfer of Generalization of Knowledge:

As an extension on this lesson, the teacher will have the students write or draw about an experience they have had with a sibling. If students do not have siblings, then they can interview their parents for a sibling story they are willing to share. The students can illustrate their stories, and then the teacher can compile the completed work into a class book for the students to read.

The knowledge gained in this lesson will be beneficial to the students in the real world. The students will be able to access the schema of this story whenever they begin to compete or fight with their siblings, friends, or other students. The reading strategies introduced will also benefit the students in school and in their lives.