1.

Title or Topic of Lesson and Grade Level

Shared Reading and Inquiry in Nonfiction Texts: Ecosystems - Main Idea and Details
3rd Grade
2. Lesson Essential Question(s)
What are main idea and details?
3. Standards
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to
the text as the basis for the answers.
Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support
the main idea.
Lesson Objectives

Assessments

Students will be able to use inquiry and

student-centered learning to ask questions
they are actually interested in receiving
answers to.

Students will take a QFT (Question

Formulation Technique) approach to inquiry.
They will work in groups to create as many
questions as they can about Ecosystems.

Students will be able to identify the main idea

and 3 supporting details.

Students will read about penguins and record

the main idea with 3 pieces of evidence that
supports their main idea. This will be done
TO/WITH/BY

4.

5. Materials
Post its
QFT rules poster
Blank piece of paper for students to put their post its on
Main idea and details paper
Penguins in Motion article
6. Pre-Lesson assignments/Prior Knowledge
This is a new reading unit, so students have not had any assignments. They do, however,
have some nonfiction knowledge from second grade about ecosystems. There has been no prior
lessons or assignments because this is a student-based activity that requires the students to come
up with the questions they would like to learn about this unit.

7. Lesson Beginning
Teacher will provide the class with a Question Focus on Ecosystems - Mammals in
Ecosystems
The students will take part in QFT to inquire about ecosystems.
Students will produce as many questions as they can in 2 minutes. These questions will
be completed on post its and will be put onto a larger piece of paper (one piece of paper
per team). Rules are: Ask as many questions as you can, do not stop to answer, judge,
or discuss any questions, write down every question you have, no statements. Teacher
will write these rules on an anchor chart for future reference.
After the students are done asking questions, the teacher will explain that now the class is
going to learn about the two different types of questions that may be on their lists.
Close-ended questions: Questions that can be answered with one word or one sentence.
Open-ended questions: questions that require an explanation.
Teacher will put these on another anchor chart
Students will then look through their questions and label questions with an O or a
C.
The teacher will ask the benefits of each question. Write these on anchor chart.
The questions that the students came up with will be put to the side to use again another
day.
8. Instructional Plan
The teacher will bring the students to the carpet.
After reviewing questions and benefits, the teacher will explain that the first topic we will
be looking at is Penguins.
Penguins are mammals that belong to a variety of ecosystems. Some live in cold areas
and some live in warm areas.
Teacher will explain that here on the carpet we are going to read about Penguins in a piece
called Penguins in Motion.
Today it is our job to find out the main idea and find some evidence that supports our main
idea.
TO: the teacher will read the article out loud while the class follows along on their own
copies.
The teacher will find the main idea of Waddling on Land
She will also find 3 supporting pieces of evidence.
She will write these down on her chart.
The students will copy these down.
WITH: The teacher will do Zipping Through the Water with the class
BY: The class will work with their assigned partners to do Bird that Cant Fly
Make sure to go over what the subtitles are (parts of nonfiction text. The students have
done this for fictional text and it is important to apply this to their nonfiction reading as
well).

Differentiation:

 QFT is a very new topic in this classroom. It is the first time the third grade is
implementing it. All of the new rules and terms will be written on anchor charts for
students to have the visual aid and to go back to for future reference.
The students are given a chance to work at their own pace with classmates of different
levels to act as support to bounce ideas and questions off of one another.
The teacher models TO the class and then does an assignment WITH the class. When it
comes time for the BY portion of the lesson, students have a good model to emulate and a
classmate to work with.

Classroom Management:
Responsive classroom is the most important aspect of classroom management in this
classroom. The students are to work based on what they already know about what the
classroom is supposed to look like and sound like. If needed, the teacher will remind them
with the question, What is this classroom supposed to sound like? What is it supposed to
look like?
Students who are being disruptive will be issued a verbal warning.
Students who continue to not do their work will have to write their name on the board.
If the whole class is being disruptive, the teacher will put letters on the board to spell out
NO RECESS, one letter at a time.
Since students are working in pairs for this assignment, teacher will make sure each pair is
doing their work by walking around and monitoring the classroom. Students who are not
doing what they are supposed to be doing will sit by the teacher on the rug instead of going
where they want to in the room.

Questions:
What is a mammal?
What are ecosystems?
What is an open ended question?
What is a close ended question?
Why do we ask questions?
How can we ask meaningful questions?
What is a main idea?
How do we find the main idea?
What is a detail?
How do we find supporting details?
Why do we have details?
Why do we have a main idea?

9. Closure
The class will regroup on the carpet.
The class will go over Bird that Cant Fly

 The class will tell the teacher what the main idea and 3 pieces of evidence are for this final
subtitle section of the article.
The lesson will close with Why is the main idea important? Why is the evidence important?