Where Are We? Using Details to Determine Setting - Day Two

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Big Idea



5 minutes

In the first day of this lesson, students worked independently to identify important parts of the setting in their historical fiction book or book club book. They drew a picture and labeled it with details for the book. They were so invested in creating the image that they took a lot more time than I anticipated. Part two of the lesson focuses on giving students an opportunity to present their visual to their book club group and form a deeper understanding of the setting and how the author uses it to prepare the reader.

Main Activity

30 minutes

In the previous lesson, I introduced the task that students would be completing today. They are to think specifically about the way the author uses words and phrases to create a mood in the story. This sets them up to notice when the mood changes and presents potential problems in the story.

I display the text that I written from day one of the lesson and review what I did. Because this is the next day (maybe even two days later), students have already read on past the beginning of the text. Therefore, I added another paragraph to take note of how the author indicated change. I model this in the same way I did in the previous lesson. I think aloud and look back in the book to reread specific examples of words and phrases the author used and then discuss what I think I know about the story based on those details.

In this lesson, students will share their visuals with their book club group, and discuss their understanding. Then they will write two paragraphs, one from the beginning of the book and the other noting the change the author made to the setting and why they think the author made that decision.


5 minutes

To close the lesson, I ask a few students to share what they discovered about the change in the story. They share the details, words and phrases, that the author used and what the reader inferred from that information. 

I remind the students to keep their theories in their mind because sometimes those details seem small now but the author uses those examples to create themes throughout the story.