Fall Reading Lesson

Not sure who, if anyone, is interested in this blog, but I just finished a series of three lessons based on the book The Falling Leaves and the Scarecrow.  It was very enjoyable for the third grade ESL students.  It can be easily adapted for other grades.  If I had more than three days, we could've really done so much more.  Each lesson we read the book out loud.  I added some scaffolding such as a word bank with pictures for writing activity B, which aren't noted in the lesson plan.

Hope you get to try it.

Next week, they will begin partner reading through the PALS for grades 2-6.

The Falling Leaves and the Scarecrow

By Steve Metzger

ELP Standard(s):	Listening 1.1 – Follow modeled directions, supported with visuals. Speaking 2.1 – Produce basic words and familiar phrases that can be understood. Reading 3.1 – Recognize, repeat, and/or read aloud rehearsed words, phrases, sentences and basic reading materials, with extensive support. Writing 4.1 – Write numbers and all letters of the alphabet legibly in manuscript.
Newcomer themes/ideas:	Color words, Seasons, Times of Day (dawn, morning, afternoon, night), Fall vocabulary (tree, leaf/leaves, autumn, scarecrow)
Content Area Connections:	Science
Examine Data:	IPT scores/assessment
Assessment:	Informal – Informal Student Interview (see below) Formal – A Color Collage booklet, Seasons of the Year, Label the Color Wheel
Resources:	One of more copy of the book for read aloud/activities (published by Scholastic © 2004)

Informal Student Interview – Conducted individually or in stations

Purpose:

To determine if and/or to what extent the student knows his/her colors.

Procedure:

1.     Ask the student to point out something in the room that is one of the basic color words.  (Receptive language vocabulary)

a.    “Point to (show me) something that is _____________.”

b.    If the student accurately identifies an object of named color, mark it as “known” in the RLV column.

c.     If the student does not accurately identify an object of named color, do not attempt to correct but simply mark it as “unknown” in the RLV column.

d.    Move on to the next color using the same prompt.

2.     Hold up an object and ask the student to identify the color using a color word.  (Productive language vocabulary)

a.    Hold up one object at a time.  Ask, “What color is this?”

b.    If the student accurately names the color of the held object, mark it as “known” in the PLV column.

c.     If the student does not accurately name the color of the held object, do not correct but mark it as “unknown” in the PLV column.

3.     Display sheets of construction paper in the nine basic colors (read, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, brown, white).

a.    Provide paper that is numbered from 1-9.  Place corresponding numbers on the colored sheets of construction paper.

b.    Ask students to write down the name of the color of construction paper on each line.

c.     Students who struggle with this activity should be provided a matching activity whereby they are given the word already written on separate cards and match it to the corresponding color of construction paper.

4.     Ask students to take the Color Quiz – What Color Am I?

Learning Experiences

Activity 1:  Anticipatory Set

·      Display a chart of the seasons summer, fall/autumn, winter, spring.

·      Ask students to work in pairs and identify which season is which.

·      Ask them to write down the names on a piece of paper or white board.

·      Check their knowledge as a group.

·      Ask students what type of weather occurs during each season.  (Take any answer and make a chart on the board.)

           

 Activity 2:  Presentation of New Language/Concepts

·      Display the front cover of the book without the title.

·      Ask students to name things they see on the cover.

·      Ask them what they think the story might be about (making predictions).

·      Read the story out loud to students.

Activity 3:  Book Talk 

            Using one or more of the following prompts, lead students to talk about the story with their peers either in pairs or as a whole group.

Pre/Early Production:

·      Point to the __________.  (knowledge)

·      Is this book about fall?  (comprehension)

·      Show me the (red, yellow, blue, green) leaf?  (knowledge)

·      Which one is the (farmer, crow, _____ color tree)?  (knowledge)

Speech Emergence:

·      This book was about …. (retell/summarize)

·      Why did the farmer make a scarecrow?  “The farmer made the scarecrow to ….” (inference, analysis)

·      How would you change the main idea of the story?  (synthesis)

Intermediate Fluency:

·      Compare the farmer’s opinion of the scarecrow at the beginning of the story and at the end.  “The farmer __________ at the beginning of the story, but at the end of the story the farmer was __________.”  (analyze)

·      Why was it good that the trees helped their friend the scarecrow?  “It was good that the trees helped the scarecrow because _________.”  Where in the story does it tell us that?  (text dependent question, analysis)

·      Pretend you were there to help the scarecrow.  What would you do?  (synthesis)

Activity 4:  Application

            Students choose from one of the three writing activities below.  Students may complete more than one if time allows.

·      Summarize the main idea of the story.  Write about who is in the story (characters), what happened (plot) and how it ended (resolution).

·      Write down several things that you hear, feel, see and smell on a nice fall day.  Write sentences or a short paragraph using these observations.

·      Story/paragraph starter, “My favorite thing about fall is….”  Write three or four sentences.

Content Connection:

·      Independent reading and response to “Why do Leaves Change Color in the Fall?”

Anchor Activities for Vocabulary Building:

·      Autumn word search

·      Fall acrostic

·      Story sequencing

·      Color chart/matching

·      Seasons

·      Times of day

Assessment:

·      Matching (colors, seasons)

·      Fill-in-the-blank

L