Brook to Ocean

Common Core Connection

In this lesson my class will analyze how illustrations and details help them analyze and integrate the key ideas from an informational text.  The students look at the images, arrows, and text to make inferences about what is happening as water flows to the ocean.  My students do this by engaging in a highly complex concept and expand their phonological skills and vocabulary as they learn new words in context.

Lesson Overview

I like to do Transitions about every twenty minutes to keep the students engaged and I made a video in the resources to explain.  There is another video (Peanut Butter Jelly Partner) explaining the grouping of students. 

Introductory Activity

This is when I like to excite my class and really get them motivated about the lesson. So, I project the lesson image on the board and ask the students to discuss what they can learn by looking at am image.  

Then I share that we are going to analyze two text and learn information by looking deep into the illustrations.  Then we chant I can gain information from the illustrations.

This is the time in my lessons that I usually try to do some kind of formative assessment, so I can plan future instruction based on what my students know. So, I as them to tell their partner where they can look in a text besides the words to gain information.  Hopefully, they will tell their partner the illustrations.  Whatever they say I will add that I hope they can use the illustrations to learn.

Then we chant the lesson goal to really reiterate what I am wanting the students to learn.  They tell their friend the goal, and say it with me.  Telling a friend makes it personal and the repetition builds memory.  In addition, it gives my English Language Learners more practice speaking in complete sentences in English.