Blended Learning Lesson Plan

Lesson Title: Thinking Out Loud

Objectives:
Students will be able to read the given material in with little to no help and write out their thoughts on
said stories.

Students will be able to discuss/question/decipher what they have read in groups or in pairs.

State Standards:
Standard 3: Construct knowledge, applying disciplinary concepts and tools, to build deeper
understanding of the world through exploration, collaboration, and analysis.

- 3.1 Develop a plan of action for collecting relevant information from primary and
secondary sources.
- 3.2 Organize and categorize important information; collaborate to validate or revise
thinking; report relevant findings.
Standard 4: Synthesize integrated information to share learning and/or take action.

- 4.1 Draw logical conclusions from relationships and patterns discovered during the
inquiry process.
- 4.2 Reflect on findings to build deeper understanding and determine next steps.
4.3 Determine appropriate tools and develop plan to communicate findings and/or take informed
action.

Context: I am teaching this particular lesson because it is important for elementary school
students to find ways around not knowing what’s happening when reading a difficult story or
article. Before this lesson I will have given examples of how to get around large words, or long
passages to make reading easier. After this lesson I will then direct the students to put away what
they are working on and join me in their assigned seats on the rug. From here I will call on
students randomly using popsicle sticks with their names on them and ask them questions about
the activities such as “what was your favorite rotation, why?” or “give me a new word you
learned during independent time?’. From here they will be told to return to their desks where I
will instruct them to take out their homework folders and give them that night’s homework on
reading comprehension.
Data: Students will be grouped based on their current level of reading and comprehension skills. They
will be leveled into three groups, junior, intermediate, and senior. This way I can make sure the students
are all equivalent in their groups and easier for me to reinstruct the junior group who’s struggling.
Students will be grouped based on their current grade average in the reading and comprehension
section of their report cards. If they are below the educational standard they will be placed in junior. If
they are at the correct level they will be in intermediate, and all those who are advanced will be in
senior. In this lesson, data will be collected through my observation, on independent papers, and on
short answer/multiple choice questions given on a Google Form.

Materials:
- Pre-made packets of Macbeth
- Sheets of lined paper
- Pencils
- Chromebooks/IPads

Procedures:
Introduction (10): After concluding a previous lesson or entering the classroom, students will sit on the
carpet in their assigned spots. They will then be directed to the front of the room where I and the smart
board are. The student’s groups will be displayed on the smartboard. I will explain their instructions,
such as the reading material, how to access the online partner work, and where to get lined paper for
independent work. Lastly, I will say which group goes first, second and last at each station.

Teacher Directed (10): In this group I will have students each grab a packet I have printed out of
certain sections from the Shakespear’s play Macbeth. From there we will assign who will be what
character and read sections out loud. After finishing each section, we will stop, and I’ll ask questions that
will prompt my students to comprehend what they read. Such as “What are the three witches discussing
as the play begins?” or “How do the people of Scotland react to Macbeth’s kingship?”. From here I will
allow the students to also ask questions which their group members will answer. The goal is to use
questions and discussions to help students fully understand what they read and use this tool in the
future when they don’t comprehend something the first time they read it.

Collaborative (10): Students in this group will partner up and agree on one small chapter book
together from the schools online library. They will then each grab a piece of lined paper, write their
names, date, and the title of the chapter book. Then they will begin reading out loud one at a time,
taking turns every chapter. At the end of a chapter the one that was not reading will write a summary
on their lined paper of what happened in that chapter. Then they will switch roles and the student that
was writing will now read and the other student that was reading will now write the summary. This will
continue until the end of the 10-minute rotation, when that time is up, they will staple or paper clip
their papers together and turn them in. The goal of this exercise is to practice collaborating with a friend
to understand a reading.
Independent Digital (10): This rotation will involve students grabbing their personal laptops and going
to Google Classroom. In Google Classroom they will find an IXL link (linked below) in which they will click
on it and answer enough questions to get a score of at least 50 points. After achieving this score, they
will go back to Google Classroom where I have assigned a Google Form that has questions similar to
those, they answered in the IXL link. They will be given multiple choice and short answer questions to
evaluate their comprehension and critical thinking skills. If they do not finish the form in time, it will be
considered homework due the next morning. The goal of this work is to teach students to use context
clues when they don’t understand something and have no one else to turn to.
https://www.ixl.com/ela/grade-5/determine-the-meaning-of-words-using-synonyms-in-
context?_gl=1*1p9ho3y*_up*MQ..&gclid=C

Closure (10): After the last rotation is done, I will then direct the students to put away what they are
working on and join me in their assigned seats on the rug. From here I will call on students randomly
using popsicle sticks with their names on them and ask them questions about the activities such as
“what was your favorite rotation, why?” or “give me a new word you learned during independent
time?’. From here they will be told to return to their desks where I will instruct them to take out their
homework folders and give them that night’s homework on reading comprehension.

Rationale:
Online library: I chose this website to use because many online libraries given by the
school districts not only allow the students to find whatever book they want but also
allow them to look up certain words they don’t understand. By allowing them to easily
look up words the students comprehension skills will increase, because it will give them
the accurate definition for the way that word is used thanks to the high quality of
libraries.

IXL: Using IXL was a smart choice in this lesson plan because it is a very well-known
site that has almost every subject accounted for. My students can easily find the subject
they need and practice whenever they want. Not only can they practice but they can also
get feedback on their performance and increase the difficult to their own desires.