Using multiple reading strategies
Grade Level Targeted: 4th grade
Objectives:
- Students will expand their vocabulary and make real world connections with new words
- Students will use sticky notes to monitor comprehension
- Students will learn to pause at different points within a text to check comprehension
- Students will identify the main idea of a chapter.
Standards/Benchmarks/Indicators:
Standard 1: Fourth Grade Reading
Reading: The student reads and comprehends text across the curriculum.
Benchmark 2: The student reads fluently.
Indicator 5: The student adjusts reading rate to support comprehension when reading narrative, expository, technical, and persuasive texts.
Standard 1: Reading: The student reads and comprehends text across the curriculum.
Benchmark 3: The student expands vocabulary.
Indicator 1: The student determines the meaning of words or phrases by using context clues (e.g., definitions, restatements, examples, descriptions) from sentences or paragraphs.
Standard 1: Reading: The student reads and comprehends text across the curriculum.
Benchmark 4: The student comprehends a variety of texts (narrative, expository, technical, and persuasive).
Indicator 5: The student uses information from the text to make inferences and draw conclusions.
Materials
Book: On My Way by Tomie DePaola
Article: Pneumonia
Chapter 1 Outline-guided questions
(Before Reading):
- A show of hands if you’ve ever had a cold. We’ve all had a cold at some point in our lives. Can someone share their experience of having a cold? Did you go to the doctor? How did you feel? Were you scared? What did your mom do?
Allow a minute or two for students to share.
- Feeling sick is not fun, and sometimes, you can be so sick that you need to see a doctor right away. A cold can get worse and you may need to see the doctor. Can anyone tell me some other illnesses that can develop from having a cold?
List student’s responses on the board, then tell students that a cold can get worse and turn into pneumonia.
- Has anyone ever heard the word pneumonia? What is pneumonia? Using an overhead projector; write the word pneumonia and its definition.
Tell students that they will come across this word again as we read silently, so to make sure you understand what it means to have pneumonia, we’ll read two paragraphs about pneumonia before we read chapter one of the book, On My Way.
Transition: How will you transition from pre-reading to during reading?
- Now let’s read a few sections of the article on pneumonia. (Reading-Before-Reading)
Read the paragraphs highlighted in yellow and have student’s follow along using their fingers. Define any words that students do not know. Ask students if they have any questions.
- Restate the sentences highlighted in red, so that it reinforces and summarize what the word means and what actually happens when you have pneumonia. Ask students if they have any questions.
Tell students: Now that you understand what pneumonia is, we can read chapter 1 of the book, On My Way. Chapter 1 of this book sets the scene for a boy who is on his way to growing up and his experiences along the way. The purpose of this reading is for you to expand your vocabulary while making real world connections to the main character of the story.
As you read, I want you to pause at the end of every 1-3 paragraphs to review what you’ve just read. Use your sticky notes to write questions, feelings you’re having as you read, events or experiences that the paragraph reminds you of. (Metacognitive Fix up strategies)
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(During Reading)
Please begin reading the chapter. Please raise your hands once you finish reading page three. As students raise their hands, walk over and give each student the outline sheet and explain it individually. Students will use these about-points to reflect on what they’ve read, answer guided questions to improve their reading comprehension. (About-Point Strategy)This outline will be collected to assess students reading comprehension.
Transition: How will you transition from during reading to post-reading?
Once you’ve finished reading the chapter, take a moment to review your sticky notes and the outline sheet to make sure you understand the chapter. Now let’s discuss what you’ve just read together as a class.
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(After Reading)
So this chapter is the first in Tomie’s journey to becoming a grown up. What was the chapter about, what was the main idea? How does the main idea relate to pneumonia? Why did we read about pneumonia before we read this chapter?
We read about pneumonia so that you can understand the emotions and the seriousness of the situation that Tomie, Maureen and his Mom is going through. I wanted you to make that emotional connection with the family, by having a good understanding of the illness.
Let’s take a look at page 5, the second paragraph, (Read the paragraph aloud to students)
“Boys”, she shouted, come in the kitchen. Quick!” Mom was holding our baby sister, Maureen. She was all wrapped up in a baby blanket. Mom had her coat on. She was holding the car keys in her hand. Maureen was breathing funny.
What predictions can you make based on this paragraph. What’s going on at this point in the story? What can you infer or assume about Maureen? She’s breathing funny. Earlier on in the chapter Tomie stated that her cold was not getting any better. Do you think she has pneumonia? Who else in the story thinks she has pneumonia?
(Pointing to the overhead projector)We know what happens when we have pneumonia, so what do you think are Maureen’s symptoms? Where do you think her mother is taking her?
I’d like you to write in your journals for three minutes. You can use your sticky notes, the outline or the book to write your thoughts on what you just read. It can be a summary, you can re-create the story, or you can write about a similar experience that you’ve had. Anything you choose, however it must relate to the story. You’ll write for three minutes. Your journal will not be collected or graded. (Teacher should write along with students)(Three- minute-Write)
Transition: How will you transition from post-reading into closure (ending the lesson)?
Once the three minute is up, ask students to put away their journal.
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Closure:
Review the main idea with students again. Review the word pneumonia, and it’s relation to the characters in the book. Instruct students to read chapter 3 for tomorrow’s lesson, as it discusses another step in Tomie’s journey towards growing up.
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Adaptations:
This lesson can be modified so that the teacher is guiding the reading, by breaking it up into smaller sections, and reviewing each paragraph with students. Especially if there are students with learning disabilities, reading in smaller sections with someone explaining key words, phrases and concepts can help students to better understand the reading.
Students can also be given the opportunity to visit websites that has information on pneumonia for kids- maybe include a visual display.
Reflection:
Throughout silent reading, I could assess if students are grasping the concepts presented thus far, and make necessary adjustments for the rest of the lesson.
The post-reading discussion will serve as my main source of reflection as this will tell me how much students understood and how well they can verbalize what they’ve learned. I will also use the outline to aid in my reflection of what I could have changed or taught differently to increase student learning.
Assessment:
I will use two forms of assessments: The outline given during reading is collected and graded to check reading comprehension. I will also assess students as a whole based on post reading discussion.
My objectives were met and evidence of this would be seen in discussions as well as assessments.
For students who did not learn, they would have an opportunity to re-read the chapter and a review would be done prior to the next lesson.
Resources
https://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/sick/pneumonia.html#
You're out in the rain, jumping around in puddles, and somebody yells, "Get inside before you catch pneumonia!" But what is pneumonia? And can you really catch it from playing in the rain?
What Is Pneumonia?
Pneumonia (say: new-moan-ya) is an infection of one or both lungs. To know what that means, you have to know something about lungs and what they do. When you breathe in, you pull oxygen into your lungs. That oxygen travels through breathing tubes and eventually gets into your blood through the alveoli (say: al-vee-oh-lie).
Alveoli are tiny air sacs covered in tiny blood vessels called capillaries. How can something so small get oxygen into your blood? You have about 600 million of them! When oxygen-rich air reaches the alveoli, it can be absorbed into the blood. Then your red blood cells can carry oxygen all over your body. The body needs oxygen to keep working properly and to stay alive.
But if a person has pneumonia, his or her lungs can't do their job as well as they usually do. Why? Because this kind of infection creates fluid that blocks the alveoli. This makes it hard for oxygen to get deep into the lungs, where it can be passed through to the blood. The person can still breathe, but it might be harder to breathe, especially if the pneumonia affects both lungs.
Pneumonia can happen to people at any age, from tiny babies to really old people. Getting wet doesn't cause pneumonia — an infection from bacteria or a virus does. A cold or flu that gets worse can turn into pneumonia. That's because the cold or flu will irritate the lungs, creating an environment where it's easier for pneumonia germs to move in and start an infection.
How Does It Feel?
Most kids with pneumonia will feel sick. The symptoms can vary depending on a kid's overall health and whether it's caused by a virus or bacteria. With bacterial pneumonia, a kid might feel sick suddenly and have a high fever with chills. The viral kind of pneumonia might happen more slowly and take longer to go away.
Either way, a kid might feel like he or she has the flu with a cough, fever, headache, and sometimes belly pain. Pneumonia often causes chest discomfort, too — and a feeling like you can't quite catch your breath. The kid might be breathing faster than usual and may cough up gloppy mucus. Pneumonia can even make a kid feel sick to his or her stomach and not want to eat at all. It's not much fun, but with the right treatment, most kids with pneumonia recover completely.
What Do Doctors Do?
To diagnose pneumonia, a doctor will first ask you questions about how you are feeling — including how well you're breathing — and examine you. The doctor will listen to your chest with a stethoscope (say: steth-eh-skope). We usually think about stethoscopes listening for heartbeats, but they help doctors hear what's going on in your lungs, too.
- Tomie
- Who is Tomie?
- Why is Tomie scared?
- Can you relate to Tomie? (jot down a similar experience)
- Maureen
- Who is Maureen?
- What is wrong with her?
- Is her cold getting better?
- What do you think will happen to Maureen if her cold doesn’t get better?
- Mrs. Purcell
- Who is Mrs. Purcell?
- What does she think is wrong with Maureen?
- What is the Main Idea of this Chapter?
- Three Minute Write( write something about the chapter, ex. Summary, comparison to our own experience, etx)