LESSON PLAN FORMAT CI 5426 Sec.
1
Higher Order Thinking Lesson
(Adapted from the U. of M. Elementary Lesson Plan Template for Explicit Instruction
Based on the edTPA Teacher Performance Assessment)
Name: Samantha Schwab
Date Taught: 10/29/19
Time Needed: 30 minutes
Grade of Students: Kindergarten
Number of Students in Group: 23
Lesson Rationale: Research has shown that asking primary grade students more higher
order thinking questions not only leads to higher amounts of student motivation and
engagement, but also increases reading achievement for all students (Peterson, 2019).
The students have been practicing answering higher order questions related to narrative
texts, mostly text-to-self connection questions (“My favorite part was ___ because ____,”
or “The story made me feel ____ because ____,” for example). Currently, 19/23 students
are able to answer these questions consistently without adult support, and the other 4/23
students can answer them with adult prompting and support. This lesson was created to
provide students with practice answering more complex higher order thinking questions
relating to interpreting character actions.
Minnesota English Language Arts Academic Standards Addressed:
SL.0.8.1.1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about
kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
Content Objectives: Explicitly say to students, “Today when we read our book, we will
be thinking about our interpretation of the characters actions. An interpretation is our idea
about if a character should have done something, or if we think they should not have
done something. When we think about our interpretations of characters and what they do,
we can better understand the story and what the book is trying to tell us.”
Academic Language Objectives: Students will be able to answer the question about
character motivation such as “Should Cat and Squirrel have let Duck stir the soup?” using
the sentence frame “I think Cat and Squirrel should/should not have let Duck stir the soup
because_____” verbally with a partner and in writing.
Provisions for Individual Differences: During the read aloud, I will allow students to
think about their answers before sharing with a partner, in order to help each student form
their responses. I will provide students with sentence frames to help shape their thinking,
and will model possible answers (ie—“You might say yes, because ____” or “You might
say no, because____”). I will emphasize that there are no wrong answers, and that
everyone’s ideas are ok as long as they can use a reason to back up their answer.
During the writing portion, I will allow each student to draw a picture of their answer
first if they choose, because as kindergarteners they are more proficient in drawing than
in their writing. I will support each student as they write some words to go with their
picture and explain their thinking: some can dictate their answers while I write them,
some can sound out key words, some can write a whole sentence with sounding-out
support from myself. In this way I will support each student as they craft their answer.
Materials Needed (Attach graphic organizers, models, visuals, etc.):
● Cooper, H. (1998). Pumpkin soup. New York: Square Fish Books.
● Pencils
● Crayons and colored pencils for drawing
● Sheet of paper for drawing and writing:
Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks to Support Learning
Orientation/Engagement/Motivation:
Continue on by saying, “Kindergarteners, I want you to think about a time you made
something. When you have an idea, put your finger on your chin. I see lots of
kindergarteners have ideas of something they like to make. Now I want you to think
about why it is that you like to make that, what makes it so fun. When you have an idea, I
want you to put your finger on your nose. When you turn to your Rooftop Partner and tell
your partner about what you like to make, you are going to say something like “I like to
make ____ because _____. Remember to say because so your partner knows why you
like to make that.” Students will then discuss this with their Rooftop Partners. The
teacher will say, “I heard lots of you telling each other something you like to make, and
also using the word because to explain why you like to make it. In our book today, three
characters—Duck, Cat, and Squirrel—make something, too. Let’s see what they make.”
Presentation/Explicit Instruction/Guided Practice/Feedback: (Be specific):
Read the entire book for enjoyment and comprehension. The teacher will summarize the
book, saying, “Alright kindergarteners, in our book, our three characters Squirrel, Cat,
and Duck liked to do the same things every day. They played the same instruments, and
had the same roles when they made their soup: Cat sliced the pumpkin, Squirrel stirred
the pot, and Duck added the salt. But one day, Duck wanted to do a different role—he
wanted to stir the pot. When Cat and Squirrel said no, Duck got mad, and ran away. This
made Cat and Squirrel very sad, and they missed their friend. When Duck came back,
they let Duck stir the pot after all, and he was very messy. But he was happy. In the end,
Duck decided maybe he wanted to play a different instrument, too, and it ends with all
the animals starting to fight again. I want you to think in your mind: when Duck decided
he wanted to stir the soup, should Cat and Squirrel have let him stir the soup? Just think
in your mind. You might think: no, they should not have let Duck stir the soup, because
he does not know how to stir, and he made a big mess! Or you might think: yes, because
telling him no made them fight, and Duck was so mad that he left, which made Cat and
Squirrel sad. So, you might say yes, and you might say no.
Closure: Direct students to their writing task, and say “Kindergarteners, you are going to
write your interpretation of whether Cat and Squirrel should have let Duck stir the soup
or not, and why. You may return to your seats.” After they finish their writing, students
will read what they wrote to a partner, and listen to another partner’s writing.
Formative Assessment: (Attach answer sheets, rubrics, etc.):
***Attach student work to the lesson plan. Include your checklist, rubrics, notes, etc. to
document that you actually used your assessment tools to provide feedback to students.
Rubric:
Answer Components Score (1 point=present, 0=absent)
Student answers yes/no to question
Student explains reason
(ie—”because….”)
Answer makes sense
Total Score: ___/3
Answer Components Score (1 point=present, 0=absent)
Student answers yes/no to question 1
Student explains reason 1
(ie—”because….”)
Answer makes sense 1
Total Score: 3/3
Notes: I told Jack, “Good, you answered the question with a yes, and you explained your
reason why you thought yes. Your reason why they should have let Duck stir the soup was
that Cat and Squirrel should have taught Duck how to stir the soup. Does that make
sense with the story?” Jack responded, “Yes, because if they had let him stir the soup,
then he would know how, and they could take turns.” I said, “That reason makes sense.”
Answer Components Score (1 point=present, 0=absent)
Student answers yes/no to question 1
Student explains reason 1
(ie—”because….”)
Answer makes sense 1
Total Score: 3/3
Notes: I said, “Max, you answered yes to the question, ‘Should Cat and Squirrel have let
Duck stir the soup?’ What was your reason for saying yes?” Max said, “It would be a
nice thing to do, it would be a warm fuzzy.” I said, “Great explaining your reason. That
reason makes sense with the story! Do you think Duck would have left if they had been
nice?” Max said, “No, he wouldn’t have been sad and left.”
Answer Components Score (1 point=present, 0=absent)
Student answers yes/no to question 1
Student explains reason 1
(ie—”because….”)
Answer makes sense 0
Total Score: 2/3
Notes: I told Sebastian, “I see you answered no to the question, ‘Should Cat and Squirrel
have let Duck stir the soup?’ Why did you answer no?” Sebastian said, “Because it was
funny when the Duck left!” I said, “Yes, I see you wrote the word “funny” here. Do you
think that answer makes sense with the story?” Sebastian shrugged. I said, “I do not
think that that answer makes sense with the story. What your reason does do is tell me
how you felt about it, but not why you think Cat and Squirrel should not have let Duck
stir the soup. Could you think of another reason why Cat and Squirrel should not have let
Duck stir the soup?” Sebastian said, “I don’t know.”
Answer Components Score (1 point=present, 0=absent)
Student answers yes/no to question 1
Student explains reason 1
(ie—”because….”)
Answer makes sense 1
Total Score: 3/3
Notes: I asked Alma, “Should Cat and Squirrel have let Duck stir the soup? What do you
think?” Alma said, “No, because it was ok for the Duck to get mad and leave, it was
funny!” I said, “Oh yes I see you wrote the word ‘funny.’ I also heard you use the word
‘because,’ that tells me that your reason was that it was funny when Duck left. Does that
answer make sense with the story? Is that a reason why they should not have let Duck stir
the soup?” Alma said, “Well, he did not know how to stir, that’s why they should say
no.” I said, “Yes, I understand that reason and it makes sense with the story.”
Reflection:
1. What were the students able to do?
The students were able to engage with the higher order thinking question, and
explain their yes or no answer with a reason. Some of the students needed
adult support to expand on their answers (4/23), but all students were able to
come up with an answer. The students successfully participated in a turn and
talk with their Rooftop Partner, and utilized the sentence stem. All of the
students were able to draw a picture communicating the answer to the
question, and were able to sound out and write either “yes” or “no.” All
students were able to dictate their reasoning to the teacher. Most of the
students were able to sound out one or more key-words from their reasoning
(ie—“nis” to mean “nice” as in “it was a nice thing to do”) (17/23). All of
the students were able to attend to the story and participate in any
conversations around the text.
2. What did I do to help them be successful?
One of the biggest things I did to help them be successful was to provide
explicit instruction that provided them with adequate vocabulary instruction,
models of possible ways to think about the answers, and sentence stems to
help them frame their answers. I also provided them with enough time to think
about their answers, as well as opportunities to talk about them with partners.
During the writing portion, I provided differentiated support and challenge
for each student (such as helping some students sound out words, or pushing
certain students to write more words). I also provided encouragement when
certain students became discouraged. One student in particular started the
writing portion by saying that he can’t write and he can’t draw. I tried to
encourage a growth mindset by answering statements like these with answers
such as “try your best” or “the more you practice, the better you will get.” I
also provided him with the book to look at for inspiration for his drawings,
after he had decided his answer and reasoning. Having them read their
written answers to a partner was also motivating and engaging for them, and
reinforced the idea that they can write to communicate their ideas.
3. What else could have been done in the lesson? What would I change or add?
During the writing portion of the lesson, I noticed that some of the students
seemed to be writing other students’ ideas instead of coming up with their
own. For example, one student verbalized at their table that no, they should
not have let Duck stir the pot “because it was funny when he left.” (I included
an example of two of these). Since the time was limited, I was only able to
tease out more complete answers from some of the students (such as the fourth
work sample I included, Alma’s: her original thought was just “because it
was funny,” but then I asked her to tell me more about why they should not
have let Duck stir, and she then added because “he did not know how to
stir”). If I taught this lesson again, I would try to anticipate this, and try to get
more students to expand on their answers so they really have to engage in
higher order thinking rather than just copying an answer they thought was
funny. I also would like to add an additional sentence to my explicit
instruction about how they have to think about reasons based on what
happened in the book, since this was a character interpretation question
(ie—“remember, I’m asking you if you think Cat and Squirrel made the right
decision, not if you thought the decision was funny. Did they find a good way
to fix their problem, or should they have done something different?”). I think
with more practice in engaging in these higher order thinking questions, this
will become easier for them, and they will rely less on what their peers think
and more on what they think and infer from the text.
4. What did I learn and how will I apply that to future lessons?
One of the biggest things I learned was the importance of planning higher
order thinking questions ahead of time. I find it easy to think about questions
about the text itself (ie—“What is Cat doing here? How does he feel?” etc).
But higher order thinking questions are something I need to be more
deliberate about in order to make sure that they are the right amount of
challenge. Planning them out also allows me to fully scaffold them
beforehand, knowing which terms I need to define (such as the word
“interpretation” for this lesson) and what prior knowledge I need to have
them access (such as during the turn and talk before reading the book) in
order for them to be successful. In this way, I also learned how important it is
to have explicit instruction for higher order thinking lessons. Building in
opportunities for vocabulary instruction, turn and talks, and modeling exactly
how they will engage with the higher order thinking questions by providing
examples of thinking (ie—“you might answer yes, because….”) as well as
sentence stems all provide adequate scaffolding for each student to be
successful. In future lessons, I will be very deliberate in how I incorporate
higher order thinking questions into reading activities.
Another thing I learned and will apply to future lessons is the importance of
wait time. During this lesson, I tried to be very intentional about how much
wait time I gave my students: I wanted them to be able to really think about
their answers, but did not want to wait too long and lose their attention. I
found myself closely observing all of the children as they thought through
their answers, and as they discussed their reasoning with their Rooftop
Partners. I think that giving them this space to think gave them time to fully
engage with the material, and improved the quality of their answers.
