Mini Lesson

For my mini lesson, I worked with a small group of four students. These four students were identified by my MT as struggling with the subject of text identification, differentiation, and using texts across the curriculum.  The students are very successful with student discussion and are attentive and motivated to learn.  Their challenges are based solely on the subject material. They benefit from individual attention in instruction. I have observed them and worked with them throughout the whole year and understand which environments are the most conducive for their learning.  These four students have always worked much better in small group settings compared to the whole-class environment. For the lesson, I focused specifically on the fact that the group of students I worked with is very strong with discussion-based activities.  Because the students were so comfortable with having discussions, the lesson was very successful.  They had much more background knowledge than what was expected, and brought a lot of insight to the lesson itself.  They all were able to identify the texts after we reviewed the differences between fiction and nonfiction.  They were also able to relate the texts to each other in a way that could be used with other texts and classroom topics.  I wouldn't change anything from the lesson, as long as the students I teach are similarly discussion oriented. If I were to do a follow-up lesson, I would have the students create a sample of their own fiction and nonfiction text to share with the group. Mini-Lesson Grade: First Rationale: Students need to be able to differentiate between types of texts and compare/contrast across multiple contexts. Students need to be able to talk about how these types of texts affect them and what thoughts are prompted from the reading of the text. Students should be able to understand how the texts are different and how they can be related. Objective for this lesson: Students will be able to… Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information, drawing on a wide reading of a range of text types. (Common Core Standards) Materials & supplies needed: The Three Pigs by David Wiesner Animals and Me by Marie Greenwood Paper Writing utensil

Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event   • Introduction to the lesson Today we are going to look at the books Animals and Me and The Three Pigs. After we spend some time reading these books, we are going to talk about what the type of the book was. Earlier this year we talked about types of text, like creative nonfiction, fiction, and historical narratives. Today we are just going to discuss fiction and nonfiction texts. Do you remember what a fiction text is? What about nonfiction? (Go over definitions of fiction vs. nonfiction). As we read through these books, think about what similarities and differences you can find and discuss with your group. Also think about how the texts make you think or how they can be related to other topics. (5 minutes) • OUTLINE of key events during the lesson At the beginning of the lesson, I will tell the small group of students I am working with that I expect them to be on their best behavior. I will tell them that it is important to listen carefully when I am giving instructions and reading.  I will tell them that it is also necessary that we respect what everyone has to say, we need be patient, and that everyone will get a turn to contribute to the discussion. We will begin with the book Animals and Me. I will read through a few parts of the book that give information on animals (including page 23 which talks about pigs). After reading a few excerpts from the book, I will read the entire story of The Three Pigs. After I read both of the books, we will have a student-group discussion addressing the following questions: Just from the two titles of the book, how do you think the two texts are similar or different? How were the stories different? How were the stories similar? What type of text was Animals and Me? What type of text was The Three Pigs? Fiction or nonfiction? Did these texts make you think about your own experiences in (and out) of the classroom? What experiences can you relate to these two books? After we discuss the fiction and nonfiction texts, I will hand out a blank sheet of paper and a writing utensil (pencil) to each student in the group. Each student will create a Venn Diagram, highlighting the similarities and differences of Animals and Me and The Three Pigs. This activity will be a student driven activity, but I will refer back to our discussion to prompt student thinking and writing.   (30 minutes) • Closing summary for the lesson Was it helpful to compare books after reading? Did it help you to make a Venn Diagram to visualize the similarities and differences? Now that you have compared and contrasted fiction and nonfiction texts, you can use this same method with any text you read. You can relate texts you read in the classroom to other texts, as well as to your daily experiences. Next time you read, think about how you can identify a text and what information you can gain from reading.   (5 minutes) Assessment: Students will be able to progress toward the objectives through group discussion and by creating a Venn Diagram of similarities and differences. Students will be able to identify what type of text each book is and talk about how the text is related to student experiences. The discussion and student writing will help me to observe student understanding of the objectives as well as give feedback as to how I can improve the lesson for the future.