lesson 5

LEARNING & TEACHING SEQUENCE

WALT (We are learning to): Compare multiple sources for similarities & differences and justify our ideas to questions by referring back to our text.

Teacher Notes/Planning

Before reading: What do you think might happen in this story based on just the title? (prediction)

Text specific vocabulary: water-hole; thirsty; trumpeted; squirt; squash; Comprehension questions: Why could the mouse not have a drink of water? What was the name of the place where the mouse wanted to drink? Why could she not drink with the elephants? What was the mouses idea? Where did the mouse have the elephants squirt water? How did the mouse get a drink of water?

Compare information for similarities - explain the concept of the two circles with the things that are the same in the cross-over section. What things only happened in one of the stories.

Full expanded plan available here

Other learners in my class are completing a range of independent activities to support their learning. The activities included:

Interacting with texts and activities using the Sunshine Classics

Completing Explain Everything activities and a subsequent blog post as a follow up to their guided reading lessons (refer my reading planning for each group here)

Listening to read-aloud stories to increase their "reading to" mileage

Spelling test or blend activities created using Explain Everything and available via my class site here

Reflection

It was my plan to meet again with this group after they'd completed the activity, but as is often the case in the classroom outside activities interfere with class time and I wasn't able to complete the follow up with them. I was particularly impressed with how well they have compared the two texts. Next time I want to have the learners read both texts prior to coming to my table so we are able to compare the two texts without me providing the scaffolded language - now the learners are familiar with using a Venn diagram I think as a group we can complete this activity with minimal initial input from me (collaborative Google Doc perhaps). The group is doing well on comprehension questions, so will try including these on the follow up activity and just discussing the inference questions as a group. Also need to try and incorporate multiple texts on a topic over a week so they are building on each reading.

LEARNING ON THE CLASS SITE