Elementary Multiple Subject Lesson Plan Template

Name: Sierra Cochrane Date of Lesson: 11/17/2017

Curriculum Materials: Lesson plan, Chrysanthemum by Kevin Hankes Grade: Kindergarten
Draw & Write worksheet, pencils, crayons
Central Focus for Learning Segment: Kindness Whole class or small group: Whole Class
Lesson # in sequence: #2 Total lesson time: 45 Minutes

Lesson Agenda
Lesson title: Chrysanthemum Interactive Read Aloud

Standard: (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.10) Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
Learning Objective: Students will be able to answer comprehension questions with a focus on kindness with peers.

Language Objective: Students will be able to orally describe the answers to comprehension questions to peers with the use of
sentence starters.

Beginning the lesson-

1. “Yesterday we worked together to come up with a definition for kindness as a class, and today we are going to be reading a book
called Chrysanthemum, which is about a mouse who is having a hard time with her classmates that aren’t being kind.”
2. After talking about kindness with the class yesterday, including personal connections to kindness/feelings/conflicts, there was
consensus amongst the class that they wanted to read a story about kindness as a class. This is an extension of that conversation.
3. The author of Chrysanthemum is Kevin Hankes, which means he wrote the…what?”
4. Choral response from students: “words!” (If the class doesn’t all agree, you can remind them that the author writes the words and
the illustrator makes the pictures).
5. “Great job! This book is about a mouse whose name is Chrysanthemum, and in this story she starts to dislike her own name
because her classmates make fun of it, they aren’t practicing kindness.”
6. “Before we read our book, I want you to think about your name and what it means to you or what meaning it has. First we are
going to have some private think time, and then we will talk with our carpet buddies.” Wait 30 seconds, so that all students can
take time to think about their name.
7. “Okay, now I have a question that I want you to talk to your carpet buddy about: How do you feel about your name, and why?”
(Write the question on the big whiteboard behind you/in front of the class). “Before we start talking, I want to put some sentence
starters up on the board for you to use with your buddy.”
8. “If you love your name you will say: ‘I love my name because…’, and if you don’t really like your name you can say ‘I don’t really
like my name because…’, and if you have mixed feelings about your name you can say, ‘I like my name because… but I also don’t
like it sometimes because…” (Write all of the sentence starters on the board as you are saying them to the students).
9. “I will show you how to do this, with my own answer…” (model conversation using sentence starters).
10. “I love my name because my parents named me after my grandma, who I love very much! It makes me proud to know that we
share the same name.”
11. “Now it is your turn, when I say go, I want you to turn around and talk to your carpet buddy using these sentences starters. Make
sure that you both have time to talk before we start our book. Ready? …Go!”
12. Give students 2 minutes to talk with their partners, move around to listen to what the students have to say. Check to make sure
they are using the sentence starters, staying on task, and following the “partner talk protocol”.
13. “Okay, wrap up your conversations in 5…4…3…2…1. I heard some really great conversations. Now we are going to read about
Chrysanthemum and how she feels about her name.”

Academic language supports: Explicit instruction and modeling of how to use a “sentence starter”. This is something the students
have used in the past, but by talking about it, writing them down, and using them in an example from the teacher, the students will
understand that academic language more fully and be able to use it better.

Assessing for understanding: The best way to check for understanding in this beginning section is to focus more on the procedural
usage of the concepts rather than the content of their discussions. Formatively walk around and notice if students are using the
sentence starters accurately and if they are following “partner talk protocol” (take turns, don’t interrupt, respond to answers when
appropriate, and be supportive). The students will need to know how to talk with partners and use sentence starters as the main
content area of the lesson is implemented.

Adaptations for student support: Our class currently has no TAG students, 5 ELL students, and 6 students on an IEP for
communication/speech. This section is adapted to help all students because of the use of peer-to-peer interaction. All of the ELL
students have carpet buddies whose native language is English, so they can get peer help and modeling with their partner in the
conversations. Also, for all of our students who are on IEP’s, they are partnered with students who have strong communication and
speech skills. By talking with a partner who has those skills, and by simply spending time practicing communication, it helps their
speech develop more. The adaptations in this lesson are dependent upon the strategically planned assigned carpet spots that each
student has with consideration of who their partner would be during carpet buddy talks.

Middle of the lesson-

1. Start reading Chrysanthemum, (get ready to stop where your ‘stop notes’ are that were planned for this interactive real aloud).
2. Stop at the end of page 5, “Okay, I have a question about our book so far: How is chrysanthemum feeling about her name in the
beginning of this book? How do you know?”
3. “We are going to work on this first question together. We need to start our answer with: ’Chrysanthemum is feeling ____ about
her name. We know this because she…?” Write this sentence starter sequence on the whiteboard.
4. “Hmmm, when I think about how Chrysanthemum is feeling about her name, I think she is feeling good about her name in the
book right now, can you show me if you agree?” Look for physical sign of agreement (“same” in ASL). “Does anyone disagree?”
5. If a student does disagree, have them explain why, go back in the pages and look at her face to reinforce that she looks happy,
read parts of the pages to explain that she feels happy too.
6. “Great, now I want you all to think about how we know that Chrysanthemum feels good about her name. Think about what the
book said that makes you think she is happy about it. If you are still thinking please show me a closed fist and when you have an
idea put up one finger, if you have more than one idea put up another finger.”
7. Give the students about 30 seconds to come up with answers. Once you see that a majority of the class has an idea (or more),
bring the conversation back.
8. Cold call on a few kids that you think will have answers that you can use with the class, try to choose advanced students, ELL
students, and students with IEP’s, not just students that you know will be right.
9. “I see that you all have some ideas about how you know Chrysanthemum is feeling good about her name. Let’s start with ____.
What is your idea?”
10. “If you had the same idea as ____, you can show them that.” (Model sign of agreement ASL for ‘same’) Repeat the process of
calling on students and getting ideas about 4 times, make a list of their ideas on the board.
11. Possible responses from students: she loves it when her mom says it, she loves it when her dad says it, she likes the way it
sounds when she whispers it, she likes how it looks on an envelope, she likes how it looks when it’s written on her birthday cake,
she loves the way it looks when she writes it in crayon.
12. “Awesome ideas! Now, we are going to use these ideas to talk to our carpet buddies. Here is how it will look: Chrysanthemum is
feeling good about her name. I know this because she loves the way it looks when she writes it with crayon.” Point to the
sentence starter sequence as you talk, and when you get to the end point to an idea that is on the whiteboard list as the reason.
Model where they should be looking to formulate an answers based in text.
13. “Now it is your turn to tell your carpet buddy how you think Chrysanthemum feels about her name and how you know that. You
can use the answers from your classmates on the board, or your own ideas! When I say go, turn and talk. Ready? …Go!”
14. Give the students about 1 minute to share with one another. Formatively check that the students are using the sentences starters,
using ideas from the book as reasons, and using proper partner talk protocol.
15. “I heard some really great conversations. Let’s keep reading our book.” Continue reading on page 6.
16. On page 8 stop at the word “scarcely”, explain briefly that it means “barely”, also stop on page 8 on the word “dreadful”, explain
briefly that is means “horrible”. Example: “It scarcely fits on your name tag, said Rita, pointing. Scarcely is like saying barely, it
barely fits on your name tag.” (If this were a lesson focused on vocabulary or adjectives, we would spend more time looking at
these. But since this is on kindness, just briefly define them for the students. Adjectives could be a good lesson later.)
17. Keep reading text after stopping for vocabulary on page 8.
18. On page 10 stop at the word “miserably”, explain that it means “sadly”. Keep reading. Stop at the end of page 10.
19. “I have another question for you! How is Chrysanthemum feeling about her name now that she has been to school? Why?”
20. “We are going to talk to our carpet buddies about this question, your sentences should start with: After going to school
Chrysanthemum is feeling _____, because...” Write this sentence starter on the board.
21. “Let’s think about what our answers are going to be.” Wait about 30 seconds to let students think. “When I say go, I want you to
turn and talk to your carpet buddy about this question. Ready? ...Go!”
22. Give the students about 1 minute to share with one another. Formatively check that the students are using the sentences starters,
using ideas from the book as reasons, and using proper partner talk protocol.
23. Possible responses from students: bad, because her classmates were making fun of her name, bad, because people were
laughing at her, bad, because they were making fun of her, etc.
24. “I heard you all having some good conversation with interesting reasons. Before we keep reading, I want to have our first
‘kindness check’, we are going to do this a few times in the book. I want you to think about if the people are being kind or not to
Chrysanthemum. Were her peers being kind to Chrysanthemum at school? You can just say it out loud.”
25. Choral response from students: “No!”
26. “If her peers are being unkind to Chrysanthemum, how do you think that made her feel?” Give students 10 seconds of wait time.
27. Call on 1-2 kids with ideas, make sure to call on all students, including ELL students, and students with IEP’s.
28. “Let’s start with ____. What is your idea?” If you had the same idea as ____, you can show them that.” (Model sign of agreement
ASL for ‘same’). Repeat process if needed/wanted.
29. Possible responses from students: sad, mad, hurt, upset, etc. Continue reading on page 11.
30. On page 11 stop at the word “winsome”, explain that it means “cute”. Keep reading.
31. Stop at the end of page 15 for a kindness check. “Let’s have another kindness check, are the girls on the playground being kind to
Chrysanthemum?”
32. Choral response from students: “No!”
33. “The girls are being mean to Chrysanthemum, how do you think that will make her feel?” Give students 10 seconds of wait time.
34. Call on 1-2 kids with ideas, make sure to call on all students, including ELL students, and students with IEP’s.
35. “Let’s start with ____. What is your idea?” If you had the same idea as ____, you can show them that.” (Model sign of agreement
ASL for ‘same’). Repeat process if needed/wanted.
36. Possible responses from students: sad, mad, hurt, upset, etc. Continue reading on page 16.
37. On page 18 stop after the words “discontented” and “jaundice” explain that it means “unhappy”. Keep reading. Stop at the end of
page 18.
38. “Let’s have another kindness check, are her parents being kind to Chrysanthemum?”
39. Choral response from students: “Yes!”
40. “How do you think it makes Chrysanthemum feel when her parents are kind to her?” Give students 10 seconds of wait time.
41. Call on 1-2 kids with ideas, make sure to call on all students, including ELL students, and students with IEP’s.
42. “Let’s start with ____. What is your idea?” If you had the same idea as ____, you can show them that.” (Model sign of agreement
ASL for ‘same’). Repeat process if needed/wanted.
43. Possible responses from students: happy, loved, relaxed, better, etc. Continue reading on page 19.
44. Stop at the end of page 26. “Let’s have another kindness check, is Mrs. Twinkle being kind to Chrysanthemum?”
45. Choral response from students: “Yes!”
46. “How do you think it makes Chrysanthemum feels when Mrs. Twinkle is kind to her?” Give students 10 seconds of wait time.
47. Call on 1-2 kids with ideas, make sure to call on all students, including ELL students, and students with IEP’s.
48. “Let’s start with ____. What is your idea?” If you had the same idea as ____, you can show them that.” (Model sign of agreement
ASL for ‘same’). Repeat process if needed/wanted.
49. Possible responses from students: happy, loved, relaxed, better, etc. Continue reading on page 27.
50. Stop at the end of page 27. “I have one last question for you! How is Chrysanthemum feeling about her name now? How do you
know that?”
51. “We are going to talk to our carpet buddies about this, your sentences should start with: Now Chrysanthemum is feeling _____. I
know this because... Write this sentence starter on the board.
52. “Let’s think about what are answers are going to be.” Wait about 30 seconds to let students think. “When I say go, I want you to
turn and talk to your carpet buddy about this question. Ready? ...Go!”
53. Give the students about 1 minute to share with one another. Formatively check that the students are using the sentences starters,
using ideas from the book as reasons, and using proper partner talk protocol.
54. Possible responses from students: happy, because she blushed and looked happy, happy, because Mrs. Twinkle said her name is
perfect, happy, because Mrs. Twinkle is going to name her baby after her.
55. “I loved hearing those ideas, you all had such good answers. Let’s finish our book!”
56. Read the rest of the book.
57. “I love that story because it teaches us about kindness, and how harmful our words can be to people. We need to make sure that
we are kind to others.”

Academic language supports: Throughout the reading, there are some challenging descriptive words. By building in the stopping and
redefining by the teacher it helps students to understand the content of the text more clearly. The words that are defined are:
scarcely, miserably, winsome, discontented, and jaundice.

Assessing for understanding: Assessing for understanding during the middle portion of this section is done by observing and listening
to peer conversations. Because you aren’t having students share out ideas to the whole class after the first question, it is essential
that the teacher formatively assesses students ability to talk with peers respectfully, use sentence starters provided by the teacher,
and use reasoning based on evidence and examples from the text. Make sure that students are using the book to answer because that
is how you will know more about their comprehension skills.

Adaptations for student support: The adaptations in this lesson are to support ELL students, students with IEP’s, and all students. By
using peer-to-peer conversations, ELL students will be able to practice their language skills, and students with IEP’s (all for
communication/speech) will be able to practice their speech skills. Also, because of the pictures in this book, there is a visual aid for
all students to work with, which helps with a more equitable opportunity for participation. Lastly, the wait time that is given to
students before they share with peers helps all students to have time to formulate an answer, if we went straight into talking, the
student who made an idea the fastest might dominate the conversation.

End of the lesson-

1. “Now that we know how important it is be kind to others, we are going to work on drawings about Chrysanthemum’s story.”
2. “We are going to go back to our desks, where there is a paper with a drawing box and lines for a sentence. When we get to our
desks, we are going to work quietly and independently on drawing a picture based on the story we just read. I want you to
choose a moment in the story to draw. It should be a picture that shows how Chrysanthemum is feeling, and why. We will also
write one sentence below your picture, it will say: Chrysanthemum is happy, because…, or Chrysanthemum is sad, because....”
3. Quickly erase the previous sentence starters from the board, and draw Chrysanthemum in bed quickly. “If I were drawing my own
picture, I think I would draw a happy Chrysanthemum laying in her bed, and I would write ‘Chrysanthemum is happy because her
parents made her feel better.’” Write that sentence on the board under the picture you drew (this will be a good model for
students as they work.
4. “If you are going to write about a moment when she is happy you will use this to start your sentence…” Write on the board:
‘Chrysanthemum is happy, because…’ point to that as you are reading it to them.
5. “If you are going to write about a moment when she is sad you will use this to start your sentence…” Write on the board:
‘Chrysanthemum is sad, because…’ point to that as you are reading it to them.
6. “Does anyone have any questions about what we are going to work on next?”
7. Answer any questions students have about the exit ticket.
8. Possible questions: How many colors do we have to use? (Answer: at least 3) Can we say she is something different than happy
or sad? (Answer: yes, if you need help with what word to use you can raise your hand for help after you draw), Can we draw her
parents/classmates/Mrs. Twinkle? (Answer: yes, but you need to have Chrysanthemum in the picture too), etc.
9. “If you need any help with words or have any questions as you are working, raise a quiet hand so I can come help you. Ready?
…Go!”
10. Students will work on their drawings and sentences for 8-9 minutes, walk around and help students as needed.
11. “Okay, start wrapping up your drawings on Chrysanthemum and your sentences about her feelings, when you are finished please
come hand it to me as your exit ticket to get ready for recess.”
12. “I’m excited to look at your pictures about a moment in the story that you remember and how that moment affected
Chrysanthemum’s feelings.”
13. Collect student’s papers as a summative assessment of their comprehension of the story and how that relates to feelings and
kindness.

Academic language supports: For the conclusion of this lesson plan, the academic language support that is needed should be focused
within the area of writing. The students will be writing their own sentence, so the sentence starters on the board are necessary for
the language as they write. Also, if they have any questions on a word or spelling, they will have access to the teacher individually to
help them with that during independent work time.

Assessing for understanding: The assessment that is used for the end of the lesson is the summative exit ticket about the book. The
students will be using their comprehension of the text to look back on the moments they can remember about feelings, kindness, and
emotions and depict that in their picture and sentence. They will not only need to be able to identify a time when Chrysanthemum
felt happy or sad, but also why she felt that way which relies on their remembered understanding and comprehension of the text.
The exit ticket will inform the teacher if the student understood the content of the story.

Adaptations for student support: The adaptations in this exit ticket portion is the support of the sentence starters and access to the
teacher if the students need help individually. The students that work fast will be able to spend more time working on their pictures
and coloring, whereas students who need extra support will have the resources to get that needed help. If students struggle to recall
the information from the text in the exit ticket, the teacher can plan to work with a small group about reading comprehension later.