Lessons & Units :: Plot 4th Grade Unit

Lesson 2: Making Predictions about the Climax

Lesson Plan

Lily and the Wooden Bowl | 710L

Lily and the Wooden Bowl
Learning Goal
Make a prediction about the climax of the story using the rising actions.
Duration
Approximately 50 minutes
Necessary Materials
Provided: Example Chart for Direct Teaching; Independent Practice Passage, “Hide and Seek” and Worksheet
Not Provided: Lily and the Wooden Bowl by Alan Schroeder, chart paper, markers

  • Teacher Modeling

    will explain that we can use the rising actions in a story to help us make predictions about the climax. I will also explain that thinking about the rising actions and climax helps us to better understand the story. I will read Lily and the Wooden Bowl by Alan Schroeder stopping after the page when Matsu locks Lily in the kitchen. I will identify and analyze the rising actions and problem in the story. (Direct Teaching Teacher Example Chart is provided below in Teacher and Student Materials.)

  • Think Check

    Ask: How did I make a prediction about the climax of the story? Students should respond that you read the story and thought about the problem and the rising actions in order to make a reasonable prediction about the climax.

  • Guided Practice

    will use the rising actions identified in the story to make a prediction about the climax. We will discuss the validity of our predictions based on the rising actions in the story. Note: Do not finish reading Lily and the Wooden Bowl until lesson 3.

  • Independent Practice

    will read the passage “Hide and Seek” and write your own prediction about the climax of the story using the rising actions to support your prediction. (Student Independent Practice passage and worksheet are provided below.)

Build Student Vocabulary spiteful

Tier 2 Word: spiteful
Contextualize the word as it is used in the story Yamoto’s wife was a cruel and spiteful woman, with eyes as black as pitch and a smile as cold as the River of Death.
Explain the meaning student-friendly definition) Spiteful means nasty and hateful. Someone who is spiteful is likely to do mean things to people. Yamato’s wife was nasty and hateful.
Students repeat the word Say the word spiteful with me: spiteful.
Teacher gives examples of the word in other contexts You probably don’t want to be friends with spiteful people, because they won’t always treat you nicely. That cat is just plain spiteful – she always scratches me on purpose!
Students provide examples Describe how a spiteful person might act. Start by saying, “A spiteful person might _________________.”
Students repeat the word again. What word are we talking about? spiteful
Additional Vocabulary Words discouraged, treacherous

Build Student Background Knowledge

Explain to your students that you are going to read a book that takes place in Japan. Japan is an island nation. It has four major islands and thousands of smaller islands in Eastern Asia. Point to Japan on a map. Mount Fuji, which will be in our book, is Japan's tallest mountain. It can be found on Honshu island, the longest and largest of the Japanese islands. Its peak, or top, reaches 12,000 feet in the air. The mountain was once an active volcano that erupted, but it is no longer active.

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

(To see all of the ReadWorks lessons aligned to your standards, click here.)

User Comments

My students really enjoyed the story. The timing was perfect about a half hour instructional then a short independent practice. :-)

Submitted by Ellen V. on 2/23/16

Great lesson, very informative and straight to the point!

Submitted by kia_ellis1_1347742 on 3/30/15