The True Story of the First Thanksgiving ABC Book-Debra-LA

I. PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLSPrior to this lesson students are familiar with the 5 W questions and how. They know the 5 W questions stand for who, what, when, where and why. Students are also familiar with what these five questions mean. As a class they have practiced figuring out which question a statement is answering. Students have also practiced focusing on one topic in their writing. They have practicing figuring out what they want to focus on and ensuring all of their details or explanations focus on that larger idea. Students are familiar with the concept of an ABC book and know that each page has a topic that begins with that letter of the alphabet.

II. CONTENT TO BE TAUGHT ABC books are a way to gather information learned and present it in a synthesized manner. Each student is responsible for choosing a word related to the topic (The First Thanksgiving) that begins with a specific letter of the alphabet and compile information about that word. They then create a page based on the information that includes the letter, a piece of writing and an illustration (Tompkins, 2011, p. 211).The mini-lessons will specifically cover:1. Main Idea: The main idea is the most important part of the piece. It is the topic of the

paragraph or piece. It is often supported or held up by details that explain the main idea further.

2. Details: The details give more information about the main idea. They explain the who, what, when, where, why and how of the main idea.

3. Rhyming: Rhyming happens when two words have similar ending sounds. In ABC books this typically occurs at the end of two lines so the two lines sound similar to one another. Rhyming is used to create a pattern within the piece that keeps the reader engaged.

4. Illustrations: Illustrations are used on the ABC book page to reinforce the main idea. This helps the reader understand the information by providing more context.

III. RATIONALEAlphabet books are a collaborative project that allows opportunities for ownership. Students are responsible for gathering the information they have learned and choosing the parts they feel are most important to share with others. Through the process of picking a letter and making an individual page, students have a sense of pride in the decisions they make. However, they are also aware that their decisions affect the larger group as their page will eventually make its way into the class book (Tompkins, 2011, p. 211). Students will be more invested in the process because they are responsible for doing their part in order to create the final product. Additionally, ABC book pages are often short and must get the point across rather quickly. Students learn that picking the right words to convey their meaning is especially important when they must keep the piece short (Tompkins, 2011, p. 72). As a result of students not having a lot of space, they will be more cognizant of the words they choose to use and therefore be encouraged to use Tier 2 words that convey more meaning than the Tier 1 words (Beck, McKowen, Kucan, 2002) An ABC book also aligns with the Massachusetts State Standard for third grade stating that students must be able to “write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly” (p. 25). When students compile their non-fiction information about the First Thanksgiving, they must then write a piece explaining the main idea of their page so that they can share their knowledge with others. Additionally, the students will “include

illustrations…to aid comprehension” as well as “develop a topic with facts, definitions, and details” (Massachusetts State Standard, p. 25). The mini-lessons teach students how to choose a topic, gather facts, gather details and create or choose a useful illustration. The students are combining all of these skills into one presentationIV. GOALS

1. Students will understand that details support the main idea of an ABC page by answering the five W questions and how.

2. Students will understand that rhyming engages a reader and enhances a piece of writing.3. Students will understand that illustrations contribute to and support the main idea of an

ABC page.V. PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES

1. Given a letter for the ABC book on the First Thanksgiving students will write and illustrate their page of the ABC book and receive at least 3 out of 4 on each category according to the rubric.

VI. MATERIALSClass draft for letter D, Journey around Boston from A to Z by Martha Day Zschock, copies of main idea table activity, scissors, glue sticks, materials from previous classes including posters and graphic organizers, anchor chart of how to write an ABC book page, various books on the Wampanoag, Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving, Dictionaries, computers/IPads, teacher exemplar, copies of classroom draft, copies of teacher exemplar, yellow and blue highlighters, copies of Q page from Journey around Boston from A to Z by Martha Day Zschock, copies of exit tickets for each day

VII. PROCEDUREMini-lesson 1, Opener (Appendix A)Mini-lesson 2, Attribute 1 (Main Idea) (45 minutes)Opening (2 minutes)

1. Begin with students on the rug and poster that shows the draft for D on the board in front of them (in Appendix A). Ask a student read the draft out loud so we can remind ourselves what we worked on yesterday.

Development (35 minutes)2. Remind students, “Today we are going to be discussing some ways to improve our draft in

order to make our class ABC book the best it can be. I want you to remember that if we change something you contributed it is not because it was a bad idea. Instead, you were helping us learn and practice our revising strategies.”

3. Point to and read the sentence: There were five deer. Explain, “This sentence gives us more specific details about the topic deer. It tells us how many deer there were which is important because we now know that the Wampanoag brought a large gift to the Thanksgiving feast. Details are extremely important because they tell us why the main idea or the most important part of the page is so important to the First Thanksgiving. Today we are going to focus on how the details help us better understand the main idea or most important part of the page.”

4. “I am going to show you an ABC book about a topic that may be familiar to you” Use document camera to put up a projection of the Q page from the book Journey around Boston from A to Z by Martha Day Zschock (Appendix B). Read the page out loud to the

students. Ask students to turn and talk with the person sitting next to them to discuss what the most important part of the page is.

a. Expected response: Quincy Market5. Tell students, “Yes! You just found the main idea of the page! How did you know this was

the most important part of the page? How did you know it was the main idea?”a. Expected responses: Because the page is Q, it talks about the carts, it talks about

Faneuil Hall, it talks about the history of Quincy Market, It talks about what it looks like today.

6. “Yes! There are lots of different details that led you to believe that the main idea of this page is Quincy Market. Each detail tells us more information about Quincy Market. When we write ABC book pages we must make sure all of our details make our main idea stronger. We are going to play a game to better understand how the main idea ties all of the details together into a single thought.”

7. I will explain the game by saying, “Look at your desk. How does the part of the desk you write on stay in place?”

a. Expected Response: The legs hold it up!8. “Exactly! The legs support the table just like the details support the one main idea. You

and your partner will each receive a page with a table on it. The legs of the table have three details written on them that all relate to the same main idea. On the other piece of paper I have given you three options for the main idea of those three details. You must pick the main idea, cut it out and paste it onto the top of the table. Then the details will be supporting the main idea! Thumbs up if you understand, thumbs down if you have questions.” (Appendix C)

a. Answer any questions students may have.9. Students will work with partners to complete the three tables. After 15 minutes we will

stop and I will project my answer key on the document camera (Appendix D). We will do thumbs up if we agree and thumbs down if we do not agree. For each table we will discuss how we knew to choose that main idea. I will explicitly say for each one that the details tell us more about the main idea and why it is so important.

10. After the activity is over I will say, “Now it is time to pick the topic or main idea for each of your pages in the ABC book. I have assigned everyone a letter. I have not included D because we are working on this one as a class. Once I tell you your letter you will have 15 minutes to look at the various books in the room, look at posters or activities we have done and decide on your main idea for your page (that starts with the letter you are assigned). There will also be other ABC books out that are not about our topic so you can get a better sense of what an ABC book looks like. You will then open your writers’ notebook and write down some details that will support this main idea and show why it is important to the First Thanksgiving.

a. Directions will be written on the board as a reference.11. Students will receive their letter and go through the steps explained above. Students are

welcome to discuss with one another and get ideas from one another. I will be walking around, suggesting resources for students to look at (dictionaries, informational texts about The First Thanksgiving, Wampanoag and Pilgrims, posters in the room), discussing topics with students, reminding students that main ideas are supported by details and approving of main ideas chosen.

Closing (5 minutes)

12. Gather students on the rug. Have an outline of an anchor chart prepared on the board. The title of the anchor chart is “What to include in our ABC Book.” I will say, “Today we talked about main idea and how important it is for an ABC Book. Can you tell me important parts about main idea? I will write your thoughts on our poster so we can continue to refer to it as we write our ABC book pages,

a. Expected responses: The most important part of the page, what the details support, what the page is mostly about

13. “Thank you for working so hard today. We learned a lot about main ideas and picked our own main idea for our pages in our ABC book about the First Thanksgiving. Before we finish up please fill out this exit ticket in order to show me what you have learned about main idea today (Appendix E). Tomorrow we are going to focus on creating details that make our paragraphs about our main idea interesting and specific.”

Mini-lesson Three, Attribute Two (Details) (40 minutes)Opening (5 minutes)

1. “We have been working on the D page of our ABC book for the First Thanksgiving. Today I am going to share with you the page I made that is also for the letter D and has the main idea of deer (Appendix F). I want to remind you as we work today that if you contributed something to our class draft that we end up changing, it does not mean it was a bad idea. You are helping us learn and practice our revising and thinking strategies. Today I want us to pay special attention to the details in both the one I made and the one we made as a class. Who can remind me what details are?

a. Expected responses: the things that hold the main idea up, the who, what, when , where, why and how, something that explains the importance of the main idea.

2. “Now that we have reminded ourselves what details are, I want you to think about the similarities and differences between the details we have included in our class draft and the ones I included in my draft.” Pass out copies of each draft to students and a yellow and blue highlighter. Then I will read the drafts out loud to the students. (both are on the document camera as well).

Development (30 minutes)3. I will give the instructions, “Now that we have read the two pieces let’s find some

similarities in the two drafts. Talk to your table and determine some similar details in the two drafts. I would like you to highlight those in yellow on both drafts.”

4. Give students 2 minutes to discuss at their tables and determine similar details. I will call the group together after two minutes and ask students to volunteer and share with the class the similar details they found.

a. Expected responses: Massasoit sent men out and there were five deer. 5. I will then ask students to talk in their groups and highlight the details in each draft in blue

that are not different in each draft. I will give students 2 minutes to do this.6. After two minutes I will stop the group and ask volunteers to share out their answers.

a. Expected Responses: The class draft mentioned that there was corn at the feast, the teacher draft said the Wampanoag were invited to the feast and the deer were a gift,

7. I will then say, “Turn and talk to the person sitting next to you and answer the question, why did I include the details that were not included in the class draft?”

a. Expected Response: because it tells us why the Wampanoag went to hunt deer and the importance of the deer.

8. “Now I would like you to turn and talk to your partner about why I may not have included the line about the corn being at the feast”

a. Expected Response: It is not about the deer, its too general about the feast9. “When we write details about our main idea we want them to answer one of the 5 W

questions or how. We want it to answer who, what, when, where, why or how. This is the information that holds up the main idea. It tells us why knowing about the Deer for instance is so important to understanding the First Thanksgiving. Let’s look again at Journey around Boston from A to Z by Martha Day Zschock. I am going to pass out copies of the Q page we looked at yesterday about Quincy Market. With the person sitting next to you, please highlight with your yellow highlighter one detail you find interesting and discuss which of the five W questions or how this detail answers about Quincy Market.”

a. I will pass out the copy (Appendix B) and also put it on the document camera if students would like to look at it up there as well. Students will have two minutes to work with a partner.

10. After two minutes I will draw attention back to the front and ask students to share out what they found.

a. Expected Responses: There are carts at Quincy Market (what), Bostonians go there (who), It is in front of Faneuil Hall (where), use to be a place to distribute meat and produce (what), now it sells treats of all kinds (what or why)

11. Students will then have a brainstorming session where they are welcome to use computers or IPads for research, posters created in class, graphic organizers filled out in class and books around the room to write down details in note form about their main idea for the ABC books. Students began this the day before so they will be encouraged to go through their work and revise it, making sure each detail answers one of the W questions or how. They are welcome to discuss their ideas with those around them. I will be circulating in order to conference, look at students’ notes and help find resources.

Closing (5 minutes)12. Students will gather on the rug and I will read what we have on our anchor chart so far.

We will review what main idea is and have some students volunteer which main idea they are doing. Then we will write that the next criteria is details. I will ask the students what I should put as a description under details.

a. Expected Responses: answers one of the five W questions or how, holds up the main idea, explains why the main idea is so important, tells the audience more about the main idea.

13. “We now know that a well written ABC page has a main idea and details that tell us more about that main idea. I enjoyed seeing the revisions you made on your details today. By working hard on our drafting and revising we are going to make an amazing ABC book. Before we finish up today please fill out this exit ticket to show me what you learned about details today.” (Appendix G)

Mini-lesson Four Attribute Three (Rhyme) I DID NOT DEVELOP THIS MINI-LESSON. ASSUME THOUGH THAT I HAVE TAUGHT IT FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE INCOMPLETE ARTIFACT.

Mini-lesson Five Attribute Four (Illustrations)I DID NOT DEVELOP THIS MINI-LESSON. ASSUME THOUGH THAT I HAVE TAUGHT IT FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE INCOMPLETE ARTIFACT.

XI. EVALUATIONFormative Evaluation: Each day students will fill out an exit ticket that pertains to the

topic covered in the mini lesson. The first question asks students what they thought was the most important aspect of the topic of the mini-lesson. The second question asks what they have chosen to include in their ABC page pertaining to that topic. The first question informs me about what the students have taken away from the lesson. If a student chooses to discuss a major theme of that attribute then I will know they have grasped the concept. If they choose something that is not relevant to the attribute for the day I will know they have not grasped the concept yet and I should do another mini-lesson with those students. The second question keeps me updated about where the students are in their projects, if they need redirection or help finding resources.

Additionally each lesson has independent working time so if I am not working with a small group of students who need a review, I am walking around the room helping students find resources, revise/edit their work and brainstorm. This gives me an idea if the student understands the assignment. By listening in on student conversations as well I can determine which students are feeling comfortable enough to do independent work and which students need more support.

Summative/Authentic Evaluation: By the end of the mini lessons students will have completed their own ABC book page about the First Thanksgiving. This page will be expected to receive a 3 out of 4 on each section from the rubric, which includes four sections pertaining to the four mini-lessons.

Appendix

A) Mini-lesson 1

Mini-lesson 1

Opener:

1. Students will begin sitting on the rug. I will say, “Last time we studied the Wampanoag

we learned about the first Thanksgiving. We saw that the first Thanksgiving was quite

different from what we imagine and how we celebrate today. Today we will begin

working on a project to inform others in our school about these differences. First, let’s

refresh our memory and review what we learned last class! When I say go, everyone will

stand up. I will say something about the first Thanksgiving. If it is a true statement you

will go to the left side of the room (point) and if it is false you will go to the right side of

the room (point)

a. There are signs on each side of the room that say true and false so students have a

reference.

2. I will read 4-5 statements about the First Thanksgiving. If there are disagreements I will

have representatives from each side of the room explain why they think they are correct

and then we will go over the correct answer, referencing materials (story, video, activities)

from last class.

3. After the activity the students sit down on the rug again. I will say, “It is so interesting that

the First Thanksgiving was so different from what many of us imagine and read about. I

think we should share this information with the rest of our school. What do you think we

can make as a class to show our peers and teachers what we have learned about the First

Thanksgiving?

a. Expected Response: Poster, a play, a book of facts, a newspaper article

4. “I was thinking about some sort of book as well. I think we should make an ABC book to

share with everyone. An ABC book is really cool because we can each have our own

letter and be responsible for sharing information about one aspect of the First

Thanksgiving. Each page has one letter and we choose a main idea to discuss that starts

with that letter and has to do with the First Thanksgiving. You will write a short paragraph

about that main idea and include a picture that supports the main idea as well! Then we

can put all of the pages in order and share them with our peers and teachers.”

Development

5. “If you were going to write an ABC book about the First Thanksgiving, what would you

want to write about?”

Student Predicted Dictation:

Student 1: I would write about the Deer that Massasoit brought to the feast!Teacher: What letter of the alphabet would that go under?Student 1: I think D for deerTeacher: (Writing on poster in front of students) Ok so we have D is for Deer. What would you write after this?Student 2: I would say that there were five deer. (Teacher writes this down)Teacher: Ok what else would we say?Student 3: There was also corn at the feast.Teacher: Where should that sentence go?Student 3: At the endTeacher: Any other details?Student 4: I would say that Massasoit sent men out to hunt the deer.Teacher: Where would you like that to go?Student 4: It should be the very beginning.

Student Artifact:D is for Deer. Massasoit sent men out to hunt the deer. There were five deer. There was also corn at the feast.

6. Why did you each choose to write those sentences?

a. Student 2: Because that tells us how many deer there were. We know it was a big

gift.

b. Student 3: It tells us other things they ate and what Thanksgiving was like.

c. Student 4: It tells us who went out to get the deer cause it might sound like

Massasoit hunted all those deer but he didn’t.

7. “It sounds to me like you wanted to give supporting details so our audience would learn

more about why the deer are so important to the First Thanksgiving. Tomorrow we will

talk even more about how details help us learn about the main idea of the paragraph. This

will help us write our own ABC book so our audience will have lots of details about each

main idea we choose to talk about.

Closing

8. “Thank you so much for working hard on our class draft. I actually wrote a draft on the

same topic but I wanted to first see what you came up with. I will share mine with you

tomorrow. We will look at this draft again tomorrow once we have more information so

we can make changes in order to make the best ABC book we can!”

B) Q Page from Journey Around Boston From A-Z by Martha Day Zschock

C) Main Idea Activity

Table 1

I like the feeling of sand between my toes. Beach volleyball is my favorite sports

My sister and I jump waves together

Table 2

Cats are quiet and won’t wake you up

Cats do not need to be walked

Table 3

Morgan looked under her bed Morgan called out her friend’s name

Morgan felt stumped!

Main Idea Options:

Table 1:

1. The beach is my favorite place to go.

2. Summer is the best season.

3. I love to play games

Table 2:

1. You should get a pet.

2. I like to play with my cat when I get home from school.

3. Cats are better pets than dogs.

Table 3:

1. Morgan was looking for her keys.

2. Morgan was playing hide and seek with a friend.

3. Morgan looked behind the couch.

D) Main Idea Activity Answer Key

Table 1:

I like the feeling of sand between my toes. Beach volleyball is my favorite sports

My sister and I jump waves together

The beach is my favorite place to go

Table 2

Cats wont leave slobber on your faceCats are quiet and won’t wake you up

Cats do not need to be walked

Cats are better pets than dogs

Table 3

Morgan looked under her bed Morgan called out her friend’s name

Morgan felt stumped!

Morgan was playing hide and seek with a friend

E) Exit Ticket mini-lesson 2

1. What do you think is the most important thing to know about main idea?

2. What main idea did you choose for your ABC book page?

F) Teacher Exemplar

is for eer

On Thanksgiving Day

When the Wampanoag were invited

to stay,

For a delicious Pilgrim feast,

Massasoit wanted to bring a gift at

the very least.

He sent men out to hunt for five deer

To add to the celebration cheer.

G) Exit Ticket mini-lesson 3

1. What do you think is the most important thing to know about details?

2. What is one detail you are going to use for your ABC book page?

H) Completed Anchor Chart after 4 mini lessons

What to include in our ABC Book

1. Main Idea

The most important part of the page

What the details support

What the page is mostly about

2. Details

Answers one of the five W questions or how

Holds up the main idea

Explains why the main idea is so important

Tells the audience more about the main idea

3. Rhyme

When the end of a sentence sounds like the end of another sentence

Different patterns (AABBAA, ABAB…)

Keeps the reader interested

4. Illustration

Matches the main idea

May show details as well

Keeps the reader interested

I) Rubric for completed ABC book page

Fantastic4

Good3

Okay2

Let’s try again1

Main idea The main idea is accurately related

to the First Thanksgiving

and the student’s assigned letter, is

the most important part of the page and is the focus of the

page.

The main idea is accurately related

to the First Thanksgiving

and the student’s assigned letter,

but not the main focus of the

page.

The main idea is related to the

student’s assigned letter

but is not accurately related

to the First Thanksgiving.

The main idea is not related to the

student’s assigned letter

and is not accurately related

to the First Thanksgiving.

Detail The details clearly support the main idea

add more descriptions of the main idea and answer at

least 3 W questions or how

The details answer at least 3 W questions or how and add

more descriptions of the main idea. However 1-2 details do not

clearly support the main idea.

The details answer 1-2 W questions or

how, add more descriptions of the main idea. 3 or more details do not clearly

support the main idea.

The details do not answer W

questions or how and do not

clearly support the main idea.

Rhyme The rhyming pattern chosen is consistently used throughout and

the rhymed words have the same ending.

The rhyming pattern chosen is

used at least three quarters of the time. There

are 1-2 times the intended words do not rhyme.

The rhyming pattern chosen is used at least half

of the time. There are more than 2 times the intended words do not rhyme.

The piece does not rhyme.

Illustration There is one illustration that

clearly relates to the main idea

and one illustration that

clearly relates to a detail

discussed.

There is one illustration that

clearly relates to the main idea but

the other illustration does

not clearly support a detail.

Only one image is used to support

the main idea.

No images are used.