Lesson Plan 2: Online Reading Comprehension

Grade level: 4th Grade 

Subject: Reading/ELA

Length of lesson: 90 minutes 

Lesson Topic: Researching

Overall Goal:

• Students will be able to understand how to research different topics and comprehend those sources for their Travel with Me project. 

Learner Background:

• Students know what the internet is
• Students have read and watched the information on the internet before. 

This lesson is being taught to enhance the reading comprehension of the students and their online researching skills. In today’s society we depend significantly on the internet, so students must learn at a young age what is important on the internet and what is not. In order to do this, they must gain the skills to research topics of interest on the internet. 

Curricular Standards: 

ELA Standards for Grade 4 in South Carolina: 

Inquiry-Based Literacy Standards

• Standard 2 
  • 2.1 Explore topics of interest and formulate logical questions; build knowledge; generate possible explanations; consider alternate views. 
• Standard 4
  • 4.2 Reflect on findings to build deeper understanding and determine the next steps. 
• Standard 6: 
  • 6.1 Determine the development of a theme within a text; summarize using key details. 
• Standard 8: 
  • 8.1 Use text evidence to: 
    • B. explain the influence of cultural, historical, and social context on characters, setting, and plot development. 
• Standard 13: 
  • 13.2 Read independently for sustained periods of time to build stamina. 

Student Learning Objective(s): 

• Students will be able to research countries of their choice and take effective notes. 
• Students will be able to use their notes to engage in peer and class discussion. 

Assessment:

Part I: (Formative)

• I will continuously ask students questions in regards to the reading material presented to them in class. 

 Part II: (Summative)

•  I will have students write their opinion to a statement presented and have them ask a question after reading the material presented. I feel this will allow the students to use the knowledge learned and want to further investigate their interests. 

Materials/Resources: 

• Computer or Tablets (whichever is available) 
• Pen/Pencils 
• Loose Leaf paper 
• Handouts I will give them

The Lesson

Initiation:

Part I

I will engage students by giving them a self-reflection, that I will make. The survey will consist of questions like: 

1. How well are you at researching topics of interest on the internet? 
   1. I have never done research 
   2. I have done little research 
   3. I have done some research but need help improving my skills
   4. I am confident and do not need help
2. What is research for you? (open-ended question)
3. I am confident using electronic devices such as tablets or computers? (Yes or No) 
4. On a scale of 1-10, how much do you like reading online? (1→ I do not like it, and 10→ I love it)
5. If you could travel to any country, what country would it be and why? (Open-ended) 

  This survey will not only allow me to evaluate what the students have done previous to my classroom but help focus on what I need to teach them in order to be successful researchers. I believe that this survey would take less than 15 minutes, so I would most likely have my students take this test the day before so I have time to evaluate and read their responses so my lesson can be appropriate for these students. I would then open with talking about the survey and reveal the common trends, and then have an inclusive discussion with the class.

Part II

  After our discussion on the trends in the survey the class took, I will then ask the students to remember their answers from which country they would like to travel to and WHY? I would like students to decide if they would like to choose this country as their Travel with Me country. Given that not everyone will want to use that country, I must allow time for my students to choose what country they then do want. I will express the importance of research for this project and how it will benefit them not only for this project but really the rest of their academic careers. I feel for myself I never got the right foundation to research, so I hope this will create a stable foundation for these students. 

Timeline of Events for this Lesson: 

Start with discussion with the self-reflection survey: (10-15 minutes)

Ask the students what research is and make a running list of definitions they say, after gathering enough information then come up with a definition they all can agree on. (About 10 minutes) 

After completing this I will hand out my hand out with internet safety which I feel is significantly important. We will also have a discussion about appropriate and reliable websites. (10 minutes)

Then we will discuss the Travel with Me project and choose their countries they would like to research (10-15 minutes) 

After all the students choose their countries, I will give them a hand out with general questions that they should answer with the information on a google doc. After the students have received the general questions I will allow them to conduct research. I will go around to make sure that the students are working and finding reliable information. I want students to ask for help if they do not understand! 

I will let them research for about 45 minutes. The whole task is for the students to use their reading comprehension skills to find reliable information that will benefit them for their Travel with Me project. 

Closure:

For the closing activity, I would like to bring the group of students back to a discussion and have them state one thing that they found the most interesting about their country. I want to see that they had fun researching their country and found information that will help. I hope this lesson will help the student better their reading comprehension, and research skills. I do not want the students to stress, the whole purpose of this is to have them look up topics of interest and learn new content they did not know!