Instructional Goal and
​ Learning Objectives

  • Students will recognize relevant information while reading about a topic.
  • Students will use different graphic organizers to separate the content into easy to understand chunks.

Instructional Approach

Project based learning will be used in this lesson. Students will be able to utilize different formats of graphic organizers in their hands-on approach to note taking for writing. Allowing students to be hands-on in creating the organizers gives them a sense of ownership and creates an environment where students are responsible for the work they are creating, not leaving it up to the teacher’s graphic organizer to tell everyone what to do. This allows each individual the opportunity to learn about note taking on a topic they are interested in, which helps keep them engaged in the process.
Module Lesson Plan Outline
  1. Review of prior knowledge about note taking 
    1. Teacher will ask students about note taking and how they look for information
    2. Teacher will discuss how to look for chunks in writing to find important information
  2. Graphic organizer review
    1. Teacher will spend day one reviewing each of the graphic organizers provided: Narrative, Opinion, Informational, Animal, Planet, and how-to. 
  3. Student completion of one graphic organizer
    1. Day two will be spent allowing students to complete their own research through the use of the internet and books to complete a relevant graphic organizer to their topic using Padlet.
  4. Assessment
    1. Teacher will use a rubric to assess how well students utilize their graphic organizer to help with their note taking. ​

Instructional Activities
Day one will be spent reviewing each organizer and how it can be used and what it can be used for. The class will review each organizer as a whole group to provide an example for students on how they can be used.

Day two students will choose a topic of their own to write about/research. Students will use the internet and books to help them in their research.  They will have the option to utilize the template of any of the graphic organizers discussed on day one or create their own, choosing the one that is best suited for their topic.  They will use their Padlet account from Module 1 to document and create their graphic organizer, this will create a portfolio of their work. Activity one: Students will be asked to complete one organizer on their own using books and or the Internet. Activity two: Student will be asked to complete a different graphic organizer than in activity one. Student will be given a partner with the same topic/organizer and they will compare/contrast their note taking/organizer information to ensure that they are both finding the important pieces of their reading and that their note taking reflects good information.

​Graphic Organizer Choices: (printable)

GRAPIC ORGANIZERS (online):
         1. MindMup - https://app.mindmup.com/map/new/1540685818449
                 2. Popplet - http://popplet.com

Assessment Activities