Lesson Plan: Novel Study: Drita, My Homegirl

Using the Lumens Ladibug Document Camera

Grades 5

Objectives Students will:

• To write a personal narrative using notes and a graphic

organizer.

Apps / Equipment Needed 1. Drita, My Homegirl by Jenny Lombard

2. Lumens Ladibug document camera

3. LCD projector

4. Interactive white board or screen

5. Blank sheet of paper

6. Graphic organizer – Story map

7. Reading journals for predictions/notes

8. Class set of novel

Essential Question? How do taking notes and graphic organizers assist you with

narrative writings?

Instructional Plan

(whole group instruction)

Using the combination of the interactive whiteboard, LCD

projector, and Lumens Ladibug document camera, you will be

able to demonstrate to your students how to write a

personal narrative using notes and a graphic organizer.

1. To begin the lesson, the teacher should build background

knowledge by asking the students if they have ever moved to a

new place and had no friends. "Class, has anyone ever moved to a

new place and had no friends? How about if anyone has ever

moved from another country and had to learn a new language?”

This would connect them to any prior knowledge of themselves

or to another person that felt these experiences.

2. After building background knowledge and discussing being new

to school or to the United States, the teacher would show them

the first five words that would be important vocabulary for the

chapters he/she will read. The teacher will project the

vocabulary list on the board using the Lumens Ladibug document

camera and the LCD projector.

"Please look up at the board and review the vocabulary listed.

These words will be in the book that I will be reading aloud.

When Drita speaks, she will say many words in Albanian that may

or may not be defined in the story. Please raise your hand if you

know any of the words and I will allow you to go up to the board

if you know the correct definition.

VOCABULARY

baba - Albanian for father - Drita's baba drives a cab for a

living.

gjyshe - grandmother - Both Drita and Maxie live with their

grandmothers.

dawdling - loiter - If you dawdle after school, you will not get

your homework done.

bazaar - market - In Drita's country, she was use to seeing

many markets in the street where they sold food and goods, like

clothing.

cab - taxi - Some of the students in New York have to take a

cab to school.

3. "Now that we have reviewed some of the vocabulary in the

story, I will read the first two chapters. I want you to listen

carefully and then I will ask you to make predictions."

"So what do you think so far of Drita and Maxie? What do you

think will happen next?" The teacher should have the students

write their predictions in their reading journals.

"Now I will read halfway through the book, but I will be stopping

throughout the story to do what good readers do, 'think aloud'."

4. During the reading, the teacher should remind the students

to take notes in their reading journals because it is important

information about the character, setting, point of view, and plot.

"How can you tell which character is speaking? Where is the

main setting of the story? What is the plot of the story?"

These questions can be written down on a blank sheet of paper

and projected onto the whiteboard using the Lumens Ladibug

document camera for the entire class to review.

5. After reading, the teacher will ask the students, "Have any of

you ever felt like Drita? How about Maxie? Each of these girls

has different lives, but from what we read so far, things are

just getting interesting. Maxie protects Drita from Brandee,

and gets in trouble at school. What do you think will happen

next?” The teacher will guide the class in a discussion.

6. The teacher will have the students write their notes and/or

thoughts into their graphic organizer. He/she can model how to

do this by projecting the graphic organizer on the board using

the Lumens Ladibug document camera. The students should be

given 10 minutes to complete the task.

7. Now I want you to use your notes and graphic organizer to write

a personal narrative about a time in your life when you felt bullied

or felt alone, like Drita." This narrative should be a page in length

at minimum. The time allowed is 20 – 30 minutes.

Online Resources N/A

Evaluation/Reflection

If time allows, the teacher should bring the students attention to

the graphic organizer that they used to organize their thoughts.

The teacher can ask for a student to volunteer their graphic

organizer and notes to be projected. They should review the

predictions that were made, and the teacher should ask the class

what they learned in the lesson. Their answers can be written on a

blank sheet of paper and projected on the board using the Lumens

Ladibug document camera and the LCD projector.

FL Standards Strand B: Writing

Standard 1 LA.B.1.2: The student uses writing processes

effectively.

Benchmark LA.B.1.2.1: The student prepares for writing by

recording thoughts, focusing on a central idea, grouping related

ideas, and identifying the purpose for writing.