Sarah Lombardi Lesson Plan 1

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad DayWritten by: Judith Viorst Illustrated by: Ray Cruz

Topic: Interactive read aloud

Grade: 1st

Standards:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.3 Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.3 Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.1a Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).

Objective:

Students will be able to identify the author’s use of chronological organization in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Students will be able to construct their own bad day story using a sequence of events chart.

Materials: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Sequence of events chart Sequence pictures with sentence strips

Procedure: Before Reading

Read book title, illustrator and author- Can anyone tell me what an author does? How about the illustrator?

Discuss title and walk through pictures- The title of this book is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Turn and talk with your partner and discuss what you think this book might be about.

Allow students to share- Ask 3 students to share what their partners’ prediction.

Introduce objective- During this read aloud we are going to learn about Alexander and all the funny things that happen to him on his bad day. The author of this book, Judith Viorst, organized this book in a special way. While we read, I want you to look out for the way she puts the story in order.

During Reading Stop at beginning, middle and end of the book and draw attention to sequence of

events, turn and talk with partner- What time of day is it in the story? How do you know? What time of the day would come next?

Require student to give evidence to support their claims- “ it is morning because Alexander is eating breakfast”.

After Reading Remember before we read I asked you to look at the way the story is organized.

What did you notice about the order of events in the story? -turn and talk to your partner.

Allow three students to share what they noticed about the story.

Explain chronological order- The author of this book organized the text in chronological order. This means that the story was written in sequence, or in order based on time. For example, if I wanted to describe my normal day in chronological order I might say, first I wake up, then I have breakfast, next I go to work, then I have dinner, and last I go to bed. Notice that my day was ordered by the time of day and when I do certain things. Sometimes writers chose to organize text in chronological order because it is easy for readers to understand. Writers use words like “first”, “then”, “next” and “last” to put their stories in chronological order, just like I did in my example.

Introduce after reading activity- Now that we understand what chronological order is, we are going to look at Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day for a second time.

Story pictures- I have four pictures from the story here for you to look at (choose four students to hold pictures in front of the class). You will see here on the board that I have written the words “first”, “next”, “then” and “last”. We are going to

put these pictures from Alexander’s day in chronological order. Next, we are going to write a sentence together that describes the picture.

Allow students to order pictures- Which picture happens first, next, then, last in the story and how do you know? (Choose one student to place picture on the board). After each picture is placed on the board choose one student to write a sentence to describe the photo. For example, a picture of Alexander getting out of bed might say “first, Alexander found gum in his hair”.

Transition to writing activity- One of the reasons we read is to become better writers. We learned today that Judith Viorst and other writers use chronological order to make their stories easy to understand. We are going to write our own bad day story using chronological order with the help of this chart (show chart).

Before we begin writing I want you to brainstorm ideas for your story. Please turn and talk to your partner about one of your bad days. I will know that you are finished when your thumbs are up and your eyes are on me.

When I dismiss you to your writing spots I want you to draw out your story before you write it, just like we did with Alexander’s day. Your drawings do not need to be detailed; they are just a map for your writing. When you complete your pictures you are going to write a sentence to match each picture.

When students are finished turn and talk and understand directions dismiss them to writing tables by partner pairs.

Assessment: Informal Assessment

Listen to students’ answers to discussion questions during readingo Students can identify time of day in story and explain how they know by

using evidence from the story. Students can complete after reading activity

o Students will be able to order pictures from Alexander’s day correctly o Students will be able to write sentences that accurately reflect the event in

the picture.

Formal assessment Students will write their own bad day story using chronological order on first,

next, then and last chart.

Differentiation: Early finishers can add detail and color to their drawings Students who need extra support should be provided with a list of words that they

will need to write their story (see attached).

First

Next

Then

Last

First – Alexander woke up with gum in his hair

Next – Alexander fell into the mud

Then- Alexander ate lima beans for dinner

Last- Alexander learns that everyone has a bad day

Use these words to help you write your bad day story!

First

Next

Then

Last

Later

Beginning

End

Morning

Afternoon

Night

Breakfast

School

Dinner

Friends

Bad

Day

Horrible

Terrible