Sample Lesson Plan: Questioning (before reading) Decoding
If students have not brought words, have them look through their books and find one or two unfamiliar or multi-syllabic word. Ask each student to share their words. Write at least one word per student on the whiteboard. As a group, break the word into syllables. Write all of the first syllables in the first column. second syllables in the second column, etc., but it should not be directly beside the original word or it’s fellow syllables. Touch on morphology and discuss word meanings and context.
Meet the Words/Find the Syllables
Go through the word set (as many as possible in 5 minutes), using the following script as a guide for the different words.
This word is rhapsodic. What does rhapsodic mean?
What letters stand for the /rap/ sound in rhapsodic? (r,h,a,p) What sound does r,h,a,p stand for?
What letters stand for the /so/ sound in rhapsodic? (s,o) What sound does s,o stand for?
What letters stand for the /dic/ sound in rhapsodic? (d,i,c) What sound does d,i,c stand for?
What is this word? (rhapsodic)
Collect the Words – 5 minutes
Erase the original words. Keep the syllable matrix on the board. Ask individual students to come to the whiteboard. They can choose any word, cross off the syllables, and write the full word. The other students should write the words on the handout, under the section called
Decoding Words. Repeat this activity until all the words have been put back together or until
time is up.
What is that word?
Comprehension: Questioning
Describe the strategy and when a good reader should use it – 3 minutes What do you wonder about?
It can be about anything, but usually these questions do not have easy answers.
For example: I wonder how this recession will change how we do things? I wonder if there is such a thing as bad people, or do people just act badly because they are in pain? I wonder why don’t we have a recycling program in our city? I wonder why I’m so interested in vampires lately?
Give the students a minute to think about it, then share their I wonder… questions. They may write more down as we are discussing them.
For this section we are talking about asking questions as a reading strategy. Some literature can help us answer our questions about the world or help us to think about our questions in a different way.
Today we are focusing on pre-reading question. What do we look at before we start reading?
(title and author, the picture on the front of the book, any write up on the book flap, or we might glance through the book or story to see if it relates to any of the things we wonder about).
Think of some questions using these cues.
If we have no questions before we even start reading the book, it will be just about impossible to make it through the book.
Demonstrate the strategy using at least one think-aloud – 3 minutes
Look at my book (Cirque du Freak) – connect to I wonder question about good/bad
o last book Darren talked about a battle – was it right or wrong to kill the vampaneze? o I wonder if the author will pick up on this idea?
o refer to other questions on sticky notes on the cover
What other questions might we have about this book?
Put sticky notes in the appropriate section of the chart on the handout – discuss each section.
Suggested Feedback and Guidance
Think about what you know (it could be movies, tv programs, other books, thinkgs you’ve learned in other classes). How does this information help you t hink of questions about this book?
Good questions will help you interact with the author, discover what you care about, help you figure out what you want to learn, andhelp you make sense of your reading.
What else does this question make you think about?
Apply strategy to material of increasing difficulty – 7 minutes
Use one of their books – generate questions for this book – students can write the questions on their chart.
Remember, it has to be a question you actually care about. If you don’t care about the answer, why bother asking it? Our questions may or may not have easy answers.
Use the strategy independently – 7 minutes
Put 5 questions or sticky notes in the chart – so before you begin reading think of a few questions and jot them down
Reflect on this strategy – how does asking questions before you read help you understand what you are reading?
HANDOUT 8
2 long or unfamiliar words:
1. 2.
Decoding Words:
3 Things you wonder about:
1. 2. 3.
5 Questions you thought of before you started reading (write or put sticky notes on the back of this page)
Questions Answered by the Text Questions to Think About
Questions that Need Research Questions I Can Answer
APPENDIX B
STUDENT APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF A RESEARCH PROTOCOL