Lessons & Units :: Sequence 4th Grade Unit

Lesson 3: Exception Questions in Stories with a Flashback

Lesson Plan

Learning Goal
Use textual evidence to answer exception questions about the sequence of events in a story with flashbacks.
Duration
Approximately 50 minutes
Necessary Materials
Provided: Direct Teaching Passage "Leaving Home," Guided Practice Passage and Worksheet; Independent Practice Worksheet
Not Provided: N/A

  • Teacher Modeling

    will review the strategy of using index cards to determine the correct chronological order of events from a story with flashbacks. I will explain that there are other strategies to help us identify the chronological order of events in a passage with flashbacks. I will reread the passage “Leaving Home” and model identifying the chronological sequence by numbering the important events in the text. For example, I will put number one on the sentence that reads: “The first time I moved I was four years old.” I will continue numbering important events in the passage in chronological order. I will explain that I need to reread the passage a few times in order to fully understand and identify the chronological order of events.

    TIP: The strategy of numbering sentences in chronological order not only engages students’ critical thinking skills, but is also an excellent test taking strategy for state mandated tests.

  • Think Check

    Ask: How did I determine the sequence of events in the story? Students should respond that you read the story multiple times and wrote numbers on the sentences ordering them in chronological order.

  • Guided Practice

    will read “Grandma’s Diary” and number the first two important events in chronological order. (See Student Guided Practice Worksheet, provided below in Teacher and Student Materials.) We will answer the two questions about the passage.

  • Independent Practice

    will continue numbering the important events in chronological order and answer exception questions about the passage. You will base your answers on evidence from the text. (Student Independent Practice is provided below.)

Build Student Vocabulary settled

Tier 2 Word: settled
Contextualize the word as it is used in the story I settled on the couch to begin reading.
Explain the meaning student-friendly definition) Settled means to get comfortable and make a space feel like home. When the girl settled on the couch, she got comfortable and planned to stay there to read.
Students repeat the word Say the word settled with me: settled.
Teacher gives examples of the word in other contexts Pioneers settled the West. They made it into a new home. My family took a few weeks to settle into our new house. At first it seemed strange, but after a few weeks we became comfortable living there.
Students provide examples What are some things you do to get settled before you go to bed?? Say “Before I settle down to go to bed, I _________________.”
Students repeat the word again. What word are we talking about? settled
Additional Vocabulary Words diary, flipped

Build Student Background Knowledge

Before reading "Grandma's Diary," explain that you are going to read a passage about a girl who finds her grandmother's diary. Explain that diaries are records of our day-to-day lives. By reading other people's diaries (who want to share them with you), you can learn how people in the past lived. For example, Anne Frank wrote a famous diary about living in hiding during the Holocaust. Baghdad Burning is an Internet blog and a book about a woman living through the Iraq War. The diary will help this generation and future generations understand how the Iraq War impacted real people. Even diaries of our relatives can reveal information about who they were or what people did for fun in the past.

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

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User Comments

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Submitted by schdgm_2210183 on 8/28/16

Where is the answer key for Grandma's diary?

Submitted by cjones_1683505 on 2/23/16
Hello there, at his point in time an answer key for this guided practice is not available. Thank you, and happy teaching.
Submitted by ReadWorks Team on 8/24/16

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Submitted by Debbie Cheney on 3/5/15

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Submitted by cristina.helmer_1265941 on 2/23/15