More Coral Reefs

Common Core Connection

This standard falls under the knowledge and ideas category, so I am focusing the lesson on my students gaining knowledge by reading.  Specifically the RI.1.1 requires the students to ask and answer questions about the text.  At first I thought this seemed too easy to be true, and it sounds that way.  However, I quickly discovered that teaching first graders to ask meaningful questions that are relevant to a topic is quite complicated!  

Lesson Overview

I selected Coral Reefs for the guided practice because I want to project the first three pages on my Smart board and only analyze the text with those images.  For the partner work I chose a less complex text since the students will need to be able to work more independently.  In the partner work I read the text to them three time then they generate a informational paragraph using information from Florida's Coral Reef.

Students work with Partners throughout the lesson and do Transitions every twenty minutes. I have a video explaining both strategies in the resources.

Introductory Activity

I usually begin the lesson by projecting the lesson image on the Smart board and asking the students to generate some questions about  the image. Using technology motivates the class and the images of the coral reef are so interesting. While the students talk I assess their ability to create questions.

Then I share the plan for the lesson with the class. Last they chant the lesson goal: I can ask and answer questions about a text.