Heather Howell

November 9, 2014
READ 436
Comprehension Minilesson
Fictional Story The Moon Ring by Randy DuBurke
4 students
30-Minute Lesson
Materials:
Book
Worksheets
Pencils
Highlighters
BEFORE: Story words
I will have a list and each student will have a list.
I will read the words as I point to them.
Then we will read the words together.
Blue-moon
Strange
dance
giraffes
raced

magic
penguins
seal
New York City
adventures

Give five minutes to think about what the story will be about using these words. Tell a
partner (2 and 2) what you think the story will be. Then we will share.
DURING: check!
Look for the words throughout the story and highlight them when you hear the words in
the story.
After the first Whoosh I will ask what they think will happen.
As we read I will ask where they think she will go next.
AFTER: Retelling the story
In order, write about the three places she went before going home.
The words first, second, and third would be good words to use
Reflection if they finish early:
If you had a moon ring and could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

blue moon
magic
strange
penguins
dance
seal
giraffes
New York City
raced
adventures

In order, write about the three places Maxine

went before going home.

Heather Howell
READ 436
November 17, 2014
Reflection
After looking at all of the activities that we discussed in class regarding
comprehension, I decided that I wanted to try the story words activity to begin the
lesson. I think it is such a fun way to get the students hooked in and engaged with the
lesson. This is how my lesson planning began. My teacher informed me that she wanted
me to do this lesson with a small group of four students who need extra work with
comprehension. Knowing the general reading level of these students and the activity I
wanted to start with gave me an idea of what type of book to look for. I chose a book that
was not very long, has a clear sequence of events, and has an unexpected plot. After
choosing a book, I decided what I would do for the activities during and after reading the
book. My teacher expressed that she would like me to focus on sequencing with the
students, so that is what I based my activity on after the reading.
The students were immediately engaged in the lesson through predicting what the
story was going to be about by looking at ten words from the story. With the story words
in front of them, they were critically thinking about how the author was going to include
each of those words in the plot of the story. This activity activated some prior knowledge
because they had to know the meaning of each of the words in order to figure out the
story. It also set a purpose for reading for the students because they were eager to figure
out if their prediction was correct.
Using a highlighter, the students marked off their story words as they heard me
read them in the story. This task made the students attentive to every word in the book,
which kept them engaged throughout the story. They became excited every time they

recognized a word from the list and got to highlight it. Along with the reading, I also
asked the students questions about what was happening in the book. The questions asked
the meaning of certain words, and they asked for the students to predict what was to
happen next.
Because the post-reading activity needed to be written work, and my cooperating
teacher wanted them to practice sequencing, I had them write about the three places the
character went (other than home) in order. Some of the words given to the students at the
beginning are important parts of the story. They were able to use what they knew about
those words and apply that knowledge to their post-reading activity. Some of the students
used the given words to assist them in remembering the main events in order to sequence
them.
The students maintained a high level of engagement throughout the entire lesson.
Every student participated with enthusiasm from the beginning as they made a prediction
for the plot of the story. During the reading, two of the students missed a word, but I
think that was just because the words were too close together. They were still
highlighting one word when the following word on the list was read, so they thought the
second word was never read. As the students answered my questions during the reading, I
could tell they were engaged and interacting with what was happening in the book. After
the reading, the students seemed disappointed once I told them that they were to write
about the three places the character went. It seems that they really enjoyed expressing
their knowledge orally, but because writing is not something they enjoy as much, they did
not have much fun with that section of the lesson.
As with my other minilessons, I taught it in at a table in the hallway. Because I

had to wait for all four students to get to school, I did not start the lesson until five
minutes before the bell that marks the beginning of school rang. This meant that the
hallway was a lot quieter than before, which was nice, but there were a still a lot of
distractions as entire classes went by. We had to stop a few times in order to get everyone
focused again.
If I did this lesson again, I would make sure to do it in the classroom where the
students can focus on the lesson. Another thing that I think distracted the students a little
was using the highlighters. If I did this lesson again, I would have the students just use
their pencils to circle the words they hear rather than highlighting the words. The students
spent more time than expected to make sure they highlighted the words completely, and I
think that took a little bit away from their comprehension of the story.
In my classroom, it will be important for the students to have reading/writing
journals to log their comprehension and writing activities. I will make sure to do
comprehension activities before, during, and after a reading to assure that the students
understand what they are reading. Writing can especially be incorporated in
comprehension activities after reading by having the students do a response log to a
question regarding the story read.
In order to plan comprehension lessons, it is important to assess the readability
level of each student to know where everyone is and what material your students need.
The students should be given material that is at an instructional or independent level for
the students. Once it is clear what every students readability level is, the students can
then be grouped into three or four groups according to their level. Comprehension lessons
should include activities before, during, and after reading a story, which should happen at

least once a day as the students are read to aloud. The strategies used will depend on what
type of book is being read because the strategies should make sense, and they should
engage the students.
Writing activities will be done about three times a week to enhance the students
writing. All throughout the week, I will give the students time for writing. On Tuesday,
Wednesday, and Thursday I will teach minilesson to the class about things that I want
them to be thinking about as they are writing. These things could branch off of
observations made when viewing their writing from Monday and Tuesday. They could
also be minilesson teaching about the different stages of the writing process. Wednesday
and Thursday, as students are working on their writing, I will have a conference with
each student to talk about his/her writing. Friday, I would give the students time to share
their writing with the rest of the class.
In order to provide some structure for the students in their writing process, some
specific materials are necessary. Pencils will always be provided so the students have
something to write with. To distinguish between the first draft and the final draft, there
will be colored paper to use for the first draft and white paper to use for the final draft.
An editing checklist will be provided to students for them to edit their own work, as well
as edit their classmates work. There will also be a word wall for the students to look at
how to spell commonly misspelled words. Finally, he students will have access to
dictionaries and thesauruses to use while they are writing.