Fourth Grade ELA Lesson Plan - Teaching Philosophy

Letters Home from Yosemite by Lisa HalvorsenGrade level: 4th GradeSubject(s) Area: English Language Arts (Reading)Materials needed: Letters Home from Yosemite to read, paper/notebooks, pencils, whiteboard,whiteboard markerStandards:Objectives:Learning Activities:Assessment:Reflection:RI.2: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported bykey details; summarize the text.SL.2: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud orinformation presented orally or through other media.Students will be able to recognize the main idea of a paragraph/text.Students will be able to recognize the supporting details of aparagraph/text.Students will be able to hear a story read aloud and answer questions aboutit.Students will be able to use a graphic organizer to represent their ideas.1. Introduce the story: The teacher will talk a bit about the story, its genre,hypothesize with the students what it’s going to be about, etc. She will alsoreview the main idea and supporting details (hands example).2. Read the story: The teacher will read the story aloud to the students. Shewill check for attentiveness and comprehension by asking questionsfrequently. She will also stop several times throughout the story to ask thestudents about the main ideas and supporting details of portions of thereading.3. Summarize/Review the story: The teacher will review the story with thestudents by asking questions and she will ask students to summarize it.4. Practice: The teacher will lead the students in an activity to practiceidentifying a main idea and its supporting details. Using passages from thestory, students will work in groups to identify the main idea and somesupporting details. Then, they will share with the class. (If there is extratime, each group can do every passage.)5. Wrap-up: The teacher will wrap-up the lesson with a review of theconcepts learned that day and then collect the activity from the students.As the teacher reads the story aloud to the students, she will assess andcheck for attentiveness and comprehension by stopping to ask studentsquestions about the story.As the students work on their activity, the teacher will walk around theroom to assure that the students stay on task.The teacher will collect the activity on main ideas and supporting detailsfrom the students.The lesson went so well! Even the classroom teacher complimented me! It actually went a lot better than I had anticipated. Next time I do it,however, I will be sure to slow down when reading. Maybe it was because Iwas nervous and overall am a fast reader, but I read through the storypretty quickly and probably didn’t give enough time to process it all fully.So, I simply need to take a deep breath and slow down. Otherwise, I think it

Accommodationsand Modifications:went really well and the kids understood the main concepts. The hands ideareally helped with them grasping the main concept.n/a

Page 120: “Badger Pass” (Example of possible Main Idea and Supporting Details)More than 3.5million peoplevisit the parkevery year.Some areas ofthe park canonly bereached by footor horseback.Manypeople visitYosemiteevery year.There is apopular skispot in the parkcalled BadgerPass.Most peoplecome in thesummermonths.

Page 122: “Giant Sequoias” (Example of possible Main Idea and Supporting Details)Sequoias are thelargest speciesof tree in theworld.People can walkthrough thetrunks of someof thre trees!Sequoias arereally bigtrees thatare very old.Sequoias cangrow to over 300feet tall, 40 feetaround, and canlive more than3,000 years.One sequoiatree, GrizzlyGiant, is about2,700 years old.

Page 123: “Yosemite Wildlife” (Example of possible Main Idea and Supporting Details)The writer has seen a tonof mule deer since shearrived.More than 240 species ofbirds and 15 species ofbats have been spottedin Yosemite.Yosemite isfull of manydifferentkinds ofwildlife.The writer sees a blackbear and her two cubson her way to GlacierPoint.The park is also home tomountain lions, bobcats,coyotes, black-tailedjackrabbits, yellowbellied marmots,rattlesnakes, andCalifornia bighorn sheep.

Page 124: “Glacier Point” (Example of possible Main Idea and Supporting Details)Glacier Point is3,200 feet straightabove the floor ofYosemite Valley.In the distance thewriter could seeYosemite Falls, ElCapitan, and HalfDome.Glacier Pointis very highand has agreat view ofthe park.The writer couldsee the lightreflected off thebare rock surfacesat surise and sunset"painting" themdifferent colors.The ranger told thewriter that GlacierPoint is a goodplace to seeperegrine falcons inflight.

Page 118: “Arrival in San Francisco” (Example of possible Main Idea and Supporting Details)Yosemite is knownthroughout theworld for itsamazing sceneryYosemite isAmerica's thirdnational park.Yosemite isa beautifulnationalpark.Yosemite wasestablished as anational park onOct.1, 1890, by anact of Congress.It has incrediblewaterfalls, rockformations, alpinelakes and meadows,and giant sequoiatrees.

Page 127: “Tioga Pass” (Example of possible Main Idea and Supporting Details)It's 9,945 feetabove sea level.Many flowers andplants grow herethat are differentfrom those in lowerplaces like YosemiteValley.Tioga Passis a uniquehighway.It's the highesthighway pass in theSierra Nevada rangeand in all ofCalifornia.The trees along thishighway are smalland studented,because it'sdiffidcult for themto grow at suchhigh altitudes.

The Main Idea and Supporting Details

The Main Idea and Supporting Details

identifying a main idea and its supporting details. Using passages from the story, students will work in groups to identify the main idea and some supporting details. Then, they will share with the class. (If there is extra time, each group can do every passage.) 5. Wrap -up: