A Common Core learning standard is given and placed unpacked and the following chart as an example.
CC Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.2 Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text. http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RI/4/#CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.2
Rewrite Standard so it is usable: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text. (although this one is already clear)
Big Ideas: identify and summarize the main ideas of the passage, give a defense
Skills: note taking, observation of the text, and summarizing
| Cognitive Level & Bloom’s verbs | Learning Target | Probing Question |
| For Teacher: The mental skills needed to summarize a text for Comprehension. Knowledge: Recall information from the text by reading a non-fiction, informational text. Help students be able to explain and tell the main idea. Then, have them defend their answer of the main idea. Have them support it by using evidence from the text. | For Students: Good Morning! Please read pages 22-23 from the book, “Island of the Blue Dolphins” by Scott O’Dell. Please explain the main idea of that passage? Describe why you choose the main idea? How is it supported? Such as, Describe What are the key details? Summarize Paragraph 2 of page 23, place the story in your own words. To help you to comprehend, take down some notes. Look for key ideas, names, places, events… | For Students: How can you identify the main idea of the passage? How can you defend your answer? For Teacher: A vital skill is note-taking, this has to be purposefully and deliberately taught by examples. And this takes time, many lessons over the year. |
Your learning target must support student mastery of the learning standard!
For this lesson, by having the students read the passage and look for the main idea, they will have the means to be able to explain the main idea of any text. Then they will be able to “communicate the learning targets of the day.” Other key skills are incorporated like practice sessions and lesson assignments.
To further enhance the lesson, be teaching note taking, to help students to discover key details for better comprehension as well as Summarizing the passage. In so doing, they should be able to describe why they choose their inkling for the main idea. Also, having the students defend their position by having to explain how it is supported, will help them preform this skill. The practice of looking for and describing what are the key details will build on the practice and connects the students to the literature with a purpose of the lesson that will help cement their ownership.
Make sure the relationship between the cognitive level of your students corresponds to your learning target.
The mental skills needed for the “acquisition of information” to engage this lesson are the abilities to read and summarize a text to “encourage higher-order thought” for better comprehension. The students will further develop the knowledge to recall information from a passage by reading a non-fiction, informational text. This will help students be able to explain the CCSS lesson and preform the behavior such as being able to tell the main idea. Then, when they defend their answer of the main idea, they picked they will know how to support it. Having them support it by using evidence from the text builds confidence and engagement thus bring the “desired behavioral change” for learning and the “connect to an essential higher order learning goal.” All enabling the students to learn and know what is expected and then be able to see what success of that look like.
Dr. Richard Krejcir is an Author, Researcher, seasoned Special Education teacher and the Director of a nonprofit that does educational training in third-world countries. He is also a STEAM teacher and a father of a son with autism.
betterteacher.net 
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