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Laura RedebaughED 282-02KWL: Hidden Meaning of “Spaghetti”Tradebook: I am using the short story “Spaghetti” by Cynthia Rylant. I chose this short story because it was recommended to me by my mentor teacher and because it fit in well with my lesson plan. The story is short, but it has a lot of deeper meaning in the story, so it is a good introduction to the literary essay, which is what my mentor teacher wanted me to introduce. This text is not from a basal reader.Bibliography:Rylant, Cynthia, and S. D. Schindler. "Spaghetti." Every Living Thing: Stories. New York: Bradbury, 1985. Print.Audience: The classroom is a 7th grade writing course. There are 24 students in second hour and 15 students in third hour. I will be teaching my lesson with both hours. Both classes are made up of a mostly Hispanic population, with a mix of Caucasian and African-American students. There are more boys than girls in the class, but not by a large margin. There are about five students with special needs, mostly students with ADHD. Most students have English as their first language, with the exception of one student, who has Spanish as his first language. There are also multiple bilingual students that speak both English and Spanish.I am making the assumption that students are able to find the deeper meaning in text with some scaffolding. I am also making the assumption that my students have prior knowledge about pets. I am printing off copies of the story, so that the students can read along with me, and also printing off copies of a KWL chart so that students can write along with me. This will help keep the ADHD students active so that they do not lose focus and become distracted. I will be making a copy of the completed KWL chart for the students with special needs that attend workshop, so that they can work on this further with an aide. Length of Lesson: The lesson is expected to take 30 minutes.Classroom Management: 2 minutesOrientation: 2 minutesPost a KWL Chart: (1 minute, Before class)Complete the K Column: 5 minutesComplete the W Column: 5 minutesRead the Book: 5 minutesComplete the L Column: 5 minutesAssessment: 5 minutesTransition: 1 minuteMaterials Needed: StudentsTeacherAdvanced PreparationPencilCopies of the short storyMake copies of short story- 1 for each student +1 for teacherCopies of KWL chartMake copies of KWL chart worksheets- 1 for each student + 1 for teacherCopies of Assessment sheetsMake copies of Assessment sheets- 1 for each studentPen for KWL chartOverhead ProjectorLesson Objective: The student will be able to analyze a story to find deeper meaning beyond the literal meaning of the story.Grade Level Content Expectation (GLCE): R.CM.07.03 Analyze global themes, universal truths, and principles within and across texts to create a deeper understanding by drawing conclusions, making inferences, and synthesizing.Assessment: Each student will receive their own copy of a KWL handout, and I will be observing them fill out the chart. I will also be able to take note on their responses and understanding of the lesson. However, in order to make sure that each student understands the lesson, I will be handing out an Assessment worksheet for each student to complete. The sheet is a strip of paper that says “What I learned/What was helpful:” on one line and “A Question I still have/ What I still don’t understand:” on the next line. Students are reminded that this is not graded, and they only need to write a sentence or two for each. I will allow the students a few minutes to fill these out, then I will ask them to share their answers. As a class, we can attempt to answer questions that the students have. I will collect these worksheets after the students complete them and it will help me determine what they understood and what they still need help on.What is Happening in the LessonWhat is Being Said in the LessonClassroom Management: (2 minutes)The students will be sitting at their desks during the lesson. I have chosen this because the arrangement of the desks in the classroom does not allow for other effective types of organization and this is the type of seating that the students are comfortable with.I have chosen to address the group as a whole because I feel that this is the most effective way to conduct a K-W-L lesson. The students will be able to draw off of the knowledge and questions of other students in order to come up with their own ideas.I will clearly state my behavior expectations at the beginning of my lesson. I will also clearly state how the lesson will work, as to avoid confusion, which leads to behavioral issues. I will manage materials by making copies of handouts and distributing them at the beginning of my lesson. I will raise my hand when I want the students to be quiet.My mentor teacher works hard to make sure all students are participating and paying attention and I will incorporate that into my lesson because this is clearly an important viewpoint.T: I’m going to pass out a story and a worksheet to the front tables and I want you to pass it back and take one of each.T: [while handing out materials] Today we’re going to be reading a story and I’m going to be asking you some questions before, during, and after. I think you all will be able to participate, and you should all aim to make at least one comment today. Please remember to raise your hand before speaking and remember to wait until other’s are done speaking before you start to talk. When I raise my hand, I want you get quiet and all to have eyes on me please.T: Ok, does everyone have a KWL chart and a story?ESR: Yes Orientation (2 minutes) Hook: “How many of you have ever had a pet or wanted a pet?” “Activate prior knowledge: What are some things that you like about having pets?State objective: “Today, we’re going to read this story and work as a class to try to find the deeper meaning behind it”Set purpose for reading: “Be sure to pay attention to clues within the literal story and try to find a deeper meaning.”Since the story is about a lonely boy that finds a cat, I am going to ask the students if they have ever had a pet, or wanted to have a pet. We will discuss how pets can be good friends, which will help them build on their prior knowledge to T: Well before we start reading the story. I’m going to ask you a few questions and I want you to think of this discussion as we are reading the story.T: How many of you have ever had a pet or wanted a pet? [Bloom’s: Knowledge][ESR: raise hand]T: What kind of pets do you guys have? [Bloom’s: Knowledge]ESR: I have a beagle named Maddie.ESR: I have a cat named Sprinkles.ESR: I have a turtleT: What are some things that you like about having pets? [Bloom’s: Knowledge]ESR: They’re fun to play with. I taught my dog to play catch with me.T: That’s true. What else?ESR: They can be a good friend when you’re lonely.T: These are all very good points. Have any of you ever heard of the phrase “a dog is a man’s best friend? [ESR: nodding]T: Why do you think a dog, or any kind of pet, would be a good friend? [Bloom’s: Analysis]ESR: They’re good to talk to because they are good listenersT: Good, what else?ESR: They don’t make fun of youT: Working off of what you all are saying, do you think that sometimes pets can make you feel better when you’re sad or lonely? [Bloom’s: Analysis]ESR: Yes, sometimes they can tell when you’re sad and then they make you feel betterT: These are all good points. I want you to keep all of this in mind when you are reading the story. Today, we’re going to read this story and work as a class to try to find the deeper meaning behind it. Be sure to pay attention to clues within the literal story and try to find a deeper meaning.T: Now instead of just reading the story and then discussing it at the end, we’re going to be stopping throughout the story and finding clues that might be helpful later. We’re going to do this while using a K-W-L chart. Have any of you used a K-W-L chart before?ESR: [some students raise their hand]T: Ok, take out the worksheet that looks like this [puts K-W-L chart on overhead] This is a KWL chart. It has three parts- the K column, which is what you know, the W column, which is what you want to know, and the L column, which is what you learned. So we’re going to be reading the story and filling this out together.#1. Post a KWL chart (1 minute, prior to start of class)The KWL chart will be a worksheet that will be placed on a document camera, so that the entire class can see it.[Posting this before class]#2. Complete the K column (in total: 5 minutes)I will be reading the story in five different parts. Each time we stop I will ask if we know anything knew about the story/character.*Note that I will not be completing the KWL chart in order. My mentor teacher suggested that I read parts of story and return back to the K and W sections, and I will be demonstrating this in my lesson planT: Before we read the story, can someone tell me the title of the story?ESR: [raises hand] SpaghettiT: Yes, and what is in the picture above the title?ESR: [raises hand] A catT: Exactly. So based on our discussion earlier, and this new information of the title and picture, what do you think this story is about? [Bloom’s: Analysis]ESR: A cat that eats Spaghetti?T: That’s a possibility, what else do you think it could be about?ESR: A cat named Spaghetti?ESR: That’s another possibility. Let’s keep this in mind as we start the story. As we’re reading the story, there are little lines marked in the story, showing where we’re going to stop. I’m going to read the first part.#3. Read part 1 (1 minute)#4 Return to K ColumnT: Ok, so now that we’ve started the story. What can we add to the K-Column, what do we know about the story?ESR: There’s a kid named GabrielT: Right, the main character of the story is named Gabriel. What do we know about Gabriel? [Bloom’s: Comprehension]ESR: He’s lonelyT: How do you know that he’s lonely? [Bloom’s: Analysis]ESR: It says that he wished for some companyT: Good job. [Writes in K-column: Gabriel is lonely] What else can we see about the setting of the story? [Bloom’s: Comprehension]ESR: It says that he’s on the stoop of a tall building of crumbling bricks and rotting woodT: What do you think of when you hear the words crumbling and rotting? [Bloom’s: Knowledge]ESR: He doesn’t have a lot of moneyT: What else in the story would make you think that Gabriel doesn’t have a lot of money? [Bloom’s: Comprehension]ESR: It says that he had a butter sandwich for lunchT: That’s true. [Write in K-column: Gabriel does not have a lot of money] What else does this paragraph tell us about Gabriel? [Bloom’s: Analysis]ESR: He’s smart. It says that he was the only boy in class with the right answerT: You’re right. [Writes in K-column: Gabriel is smart]#5 Add to W Column (total: 5 minutes)Each time I read a new part, I will ask the students if they have any questions about the text. I will write down the questions that they ask.So now that we’ve added some information into the K-column, let’s move over to the W-column. What do we want to know about the story? [Bloom’s: Comprehension]ESR: Why is Gabriel lonely?T: [Writes in W-column: Why is Gabriel lonely]. Good point, what else can you think of? What can you think of that relates to the title of the story or the picture at the beginning? [Bloom’s: Comprehension]ESR: Is he going to get a cat?ESR: Is he going to eat spaghetti?T: [Writes both questions in W column]#5 Read part 2 (1 minute)T: Would anyone like to read the next section? Maybe someone that hasn’t spoken yet?ESR: [student volunteers]T: Thank you, start at “Gabriel was thinking” and stop once you reach the end of the paragraph#6 Return to KWL chartT: Thank you for reading. What else can we add to the K or W column now?ESR: Gabriel doesn’t want to be with people. He wants to sleep with the coyotes.T: Do you think that he really doesn’t want to be with people? Or do you think that he believes that people don’t want to be with him? [Bloom’s: Analysis]ESR: Maybe both?T: Maybe this is something that we would put in the W column [writes: Does Gabriel want to be with other people?]T: Can someone read the next partESR: [volunteer]T: Thank you, start at “Gabriel was a boy” and read the next three paragraphs#7 Read Part 3 (1 minute)#8 Add to the K columnT: What did we learn in this section:ESR: Gabriel thinks hard and often about his lifeT: Good, that’s something that we should add to the K column [adds to KWL] #9. Add to the W column T: Is there anything else we can add to the K column, or to the W column?ESR: What does Gabriel hear crying?T: Good question [adds to KWL] #10. Add to the L Column (total: 5 minutes)We will answer questions from the W column, add information that we have learned about the character/story.T: Do you think we answered any of the questions in the W-column?ESR: YesT: Are you sure? What about the question “Does Gabriel want to be with other people?”, do you think that the last line we read answers that? [Bloom’s: Comprehension]ESR: Oh, yes. Because he was excited about finding someone else, so that means that he didn’t want to be by himself.T: Right, so we can put that in the L column [writes: Gabriel did not want to be by himself]. Anything else?ESR: We know that the cry was coming from a catT: That’s right. What else?ESR: Gabriel is excited about finding the cat. He doesn’t seem sad anymore.T: Very good. Can someone read the next section?ESR: [volunteers]T: Thank you, start at “He started into the street” through to the end.#4 Read Part 4 (1 minute)#5 Complete the L column We will answer questions from the W column, add information that we have learned about the character/story. Also, we will add what we have learned about literal vs. deeper meaning.T: Did we answer any of the questions from the W column?ESR: Yes, we know that the cry is coming from a cat.T: Good, anything else?ESR: We learned that Gabriel is happy again.T: What in the text shows this? [Bloom’s: Comprehension]ESR: It says that he could not think as seriously as before because he has the cat nowT: Good, so we can see that Gabriel is not as lonely and sad as he was in the beginning. Did we answer every question that we have about the story?ESR: No, we don’t know why Gabriel is lonely.T: Why do you think the author never explained why Gabriel is lonely? [Bloom’s: Analysis]ESR: Because we’re supposed to just guessT: Sometimes the author does not give us all of the information. We have to infer from what the author gave us to make predictions about the characters.T: Now I want you to compare the literal and the deeper meaning of this story. The literal interpretation is the facts of the story. In this story, the literal meaning would be that a boy finds a cat.But based on our discussion before we started reading the book and what we’ve learned about Gabriel do you think that there is a deeper meaning behind the story than just a boy that finds a cat.ESR: Yes, Gabriel was lonely and the cat made him feel better, like man’s best friend.T: Exactly, the deeper meaning of the text would be that Spaghetti is about a lonely boy that finds a cat and learns to love again. Let’s write these two meanings on the L section of our column [writes Literal meaning and Deeper meaning in L section of column]T: So now we know that most stories are not all that they appear to be. You have to ask questions about the text throughout the story and look for clues on what the story is really about, or the deeper meaning of the story.Assessment (5 minutes)Describe what you will say and do to assess your students.T: I have a small worksheet that I want you all to fill out, it just asks “What I learned/What was helpful” and “A Question I have/What I still don’t understand”. You’re not going to be graded on this, but we are going to discuss your responses as a class. Remember to write your names on the top, because I’m going to collect them afterwards. I’ll give you guys a few minutes to write down your answers.[Wait a few minutes, observe when students are finished with their papers]T: Ok, it looks like you guys are done with your responses. What did you learn or what was helpful about filling out the chart? [Bloom’s: Evaluation]ESR: I learned that there can be a different meaning than what you think there isT: Good, what else?ESR: I liked how we read the story together instead of just filling it out by ourselvesT: I’m glad this was helpful, anything else?ESR: I learned that pets can make you feel betterT: These are good responses. What were some questions you still had or what you still don’t understand? [Bloom’s: Evaluation]ESR: Does Gabriel take the cat home?T: Well what do you all think about this question? Is there anywhere in the story that might answer this?ESR: It says that he went to show his kitten where they would live together.T: That’s true, so we can infer that he is probably going to keep the cat. Any other questions? ESR: Who does the cat belong to?T: That’s true, the author never tells us who the cat belongs to. What are other questions?Transition (1 minute)I will transition the lesson back to the teacher, and she will explain how they will apply what they just learned into their next topic, writing a literary essay. T: Thank you for all of your responses. Did you guys like this story? [Bloom’s: Evaluation]ESR: YesT: I’m glad you liked it. Now Mrs. Stam is going to tell you how this is related to your next essay. ................
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