Direct Instruction Lesson Plan Template

Grade Level/Subject: 4th Grade Literacy

Central Focus: Determining the theme of a story

Essential Standard/Common Core Objective:

4.RL.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what
the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
4.RL.2 Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in
the text; summarize the text.

Date submitted: 3/23 Date taught: 3/21

Daily Lesson Objective: Students will be able to independently determine the theme of Daedalus and Icarus
from details in the text, by receiving 3 out of 4 points on the What Stuck With You Worksheet.
21st Century Skills:
Learning and Innovation Skills
Communication and Collaboration:
-Articulate thoughts and ideas
effectively using oral, written and
nonverbal communication skills in a
variety of forms and contexts
- Assume shared responsibility for
collaborative work, and value the
individual contributions made by each
team member

Academic Language Demand (Language Function and Vocabulary):

-Theme
-Characters
-Risks
-Consequences
-Decisions

Prior Knowledge:
Students are able to make summarize and make predictions by using details from the text.
Students are familiar with the theme chart used in the classroom, and have determined themes of previous
stories.
Activity

1. Focus and Review

2. Statement of
Objective
for Student
3. Teacher Input

Description of Activities and Setting

I know you guys have determined themes of stories during previous
lessons.
Can someone tell me what a theme of a story is?
How do you determine the theme of a story?
Is there a chart that you guys use to help you find the theme of a text?
Describe to me the chart and how you use it to determine the theme.
Today were going to determine the theme of a story called Daedalus
and Icarus using key details from the text.
The story that we are going to read is a myth. A myth can be a story
that explains why some things occur in nature, such as the change of
seasons. A myth can explain the consequences of behaving in certain
ways. For example, a myth can explain why being too proud can result
in punishment. Characters in a myth can include goods and goddesses
as well as humans.
Before we start reading, lets ask ourselves a few questions that can get
us thinking about the story.

Time

5 minutes

30
seconds
25
minutes

What is usually made of wax?

What makes wax melt?
How do birds fly?
How do feathers help bird fly?
Have your parents ever warned you not to do something?
After discussing the questions above with the class, the teacher will
begin to read Daedalus and Icarus with the students following along in
their own books.
Throughout the reading, the teacher will choose key stopping points
and ask the students to discuss as a class what they had just read.
Once the teacher has finished reading the story with the students, the
teacher will pull up the theme chart on the board. The teacher will say
to the students Now that we have finished our story, we can look at our
theme chart and discuss the components. Title: What is the
significance of the title? How: How does the main character change?
How is the change brought about? Emotion: What emotion did you feel
at the end? Mood: What is the mood of the story? Enduring: What
message of the story applies to real life?
The teacher will fill in each of the five parts of the theme chart with the
help of the students until the chart is completed.
Think to yourselves what you think the theme of the story is. What is
the the moral, message, or lesson of the story?
After discussing the theme chart the teacher will group students into
pairs and hand out the Finding the Theme worksheet, one sheet for each
pair.
The teacher will explain to students:
As a group, I want you guys to complete this Finding the Theme
worksheet. As you can see, there are four main questions that you need
to answer. How did the characters react to obstacles? What important
decisions did the characters make? How did the characters grow or
change in the story? What did the characters learn? At the bottom of the
worksheet there is a section for you to use your answers to determine
the theme of the story. Here you will write what you think the theme of
the story is. You may use your books to help you answer the questions
as well as the theme chart we just completed. I want you to answer
every one of those questions using the text and the theme chart we
filled out.
Once students have completed the Finding the theme worksheet during
guided practice. The students will be asked to independently complete
the What Stuck With You? Worksheet.
The teacher will say to students:
Now that you guys have determined the theme by completing the

Finding The Theme worksheet, I want you to independently work on

this What Stuck With You worksheet so I can have an idea of not how
you found the theme but to see examples from the text that support your
choosing of that theme. The teacher will hand out a What Stuck With
You Worksheet to every student. Once every student has a worksheet,
the teacher will explain: In this bubble of the worksheet where it says
The theme of the passage is I want you to put what you determined
the theme of the passage is. You wrote down the theme on the previous
Finding the theme worksheet. I want you to repeat what you think the
theme is and over here in these three bubbles I want you to explain why
you chose that theme with examples from the text. There are 3 bubbles
so I want 3 examples. For example, If I determined the theme of the
text was having too much pride which can result in consequences, I will
look back in the text to see what would support that. Here it says that
Daedalus told Icarus not to fly too high because the sun will melt the
wax holding his wings. Icarus didnt listen because he was the first boy
to fly and wanted to show off. This resulted in Icaruss wings melting
and him falling into the water. He didnt listen to his dad which resulted
in his wings falling off and Icarus falling in the water. That is the kind
of example that I want to see on your papers, using a lot of details.
Students will be put into groups of two. As a group and using the text,
students will complete the Finding the Theme worksheet. Students will
also be able to use the key details from the text that were discussed on
the theme chart during teacher input, to assist them in completing the
worksheet.
The teacher will walk around the room and observe the groups
working, and how well they use details from the text to complete the
worksheet.
4. Guided Practice

5. Independent Practice
6. Assessment Methods
of
all objectives/skills:

The teacher will ask groups who have trouble:

What are some things that happened in the story that you think were
very important?
What major decision did Icarus make in the story?
Do you think it was a good decision? Why?
Was Icarus warned not to make that decision? By who?
What was the result of Icaruss decision?
What did Icarus learn?

15
minutes

At the end of the guided practice and students have complete their
finding the theme worksheet, the teacher will ask the students as a class
what theme they have determined and why.
Students will independently complete the What Stuck With You?
10
worksheet. Students must receive 3 out of 4 points in order to show
minutes
mastery of the objective.
Students will independently complete the What Stuck With You worksheet by
determining the theme of the story using details from the text. Students will show
mastery of the objective by receiving 3 out of 4 points
Stating the theme of the passage- 1 point
One example from the text supporting the chosen theme- 1 point

7. Closure

8. Assessment Results of
all objectives/skills:

One example from the text supporting the chosen theme- 1 point
One example from the text supporting the chosen theme- 1 point
Total- 4 points
The teacher will ask students:
So what have we all determined was the theme of the story? What
does it mean?
Did anyone have trouble understanding the theme of the story?
(If some students could not find the theme, the teacher will ask if
anyone can explain what the theme of the story is and how they were
able to determine the theme)

5 minutes

Students will complete an exit ticket to bring the lesson to an end.

The question for the exit ticket will be:
Tell me one thing that you learned from the story Daedalus and
Icarus.
The class as a whole did very well throughout the lesson. 23 out of 26 students
successfully completed the Finding The Theme worksheet. Three students
completed the worksheet but lacked a significant amount of detail.

24 out of 26 students showed mastery of the objective by receiving 3 out of 4 points

on the What Stuck With You worksheet. Two students only provided one example
from the text.
Targeted Students
Student/Small Group Modifications/Accommodations:
Modifications/Accommodations:
Students who need extra support completing the lesson
will be placed into a small group and assisted by the
teacher during guided practice. If the students have
trouble during independent practice as well, they will also
be assisted by the teacher in order to get a better
understanding of what questions they are being asked.
Materials/Technology:
(Include any instructional materials (e.g., worksheets, assessments PowerPoint/SmartBoard slides, etc.) needed
to implement the lesson at the end of the lesson plan.)
Daedalus and Icarus book (Teacher and student materials)
Theme chart
Finding The Theme Worksheet
What Stuck With You Worksheet
References:
Imagine It!: Risks and Consequences Unit 1
Reflection on lesson:
The students enjoyed the lesson. They explained that the story was interesting and that the theme of the story
(Risks and consequences) was a very important lesson to learn in life. 24 out of 26 students showed mastery of
the objective by receiving 3 out of 4 points on the What Stuck With You worksheet. Two students only provided
one example from the text. These students were told the theme of the story during the closure part of the lesson
and were given examples as to why this was the theme.

Name:

____________________________

What Stuck With You?

I know this because the text says

The theme of the

passage is
_____________
_____________
_____________
____________

Nicole Shelby 2014