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Visual Arts - Group Lesson Plan

The Most Important Thing

Subject: Language Arts Grade Level: 2-3

Topic: Main Idea Time Limit: 30-45 minutes

Objective:

The students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the main idea by working in groups to create a scene in a class iMovie.

Materials:

• The Important Bag (containing characteristics for a cake: cake mix, water bottle, egg carton, frosting, sprinkles and the main idea for a cake: photograph of child eating cake)

• The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown

• iMovie software program

• Digital cameras with cords to connect to computer

• Speakers for computer (to raise volume of movie for class to hear)

• Computer

• Overhead projector

• Dry-erase markers

• Planning worksheets

• Instruction pages

• Overhead of instructions

• Four different colors of paper for group corner representation with picture of group’s object on respective colors

• Colored paper squares – one of each color for ¼ of the class each, used to select groups

Introduction:

1. The teacher will present an ‘Important Bag’ modeling the outline of The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown. The teacher will use a cake as the theme of her ‘Important Bag’.

2. The teacher will show each characteristic of the cake and end with “But the most important thing about cake is that you get to eat it!” This is the lesson’s attention getter.

3. The teacher will read The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown.

4. The teacher will ask the students what they remember about the main idea and lead a class discussion based on students’ prior knowledge of the main idea.

Procedures:

1. The teacher will review the concept of the main idea by modeling a planning worksheet that the groups will use later in the lesson using the cake example from the Important Bag. The teacher will read the worksheet from the overhead projector and ask the students to tell him/her what the characteristics of the cake are. In order to scaffold this activity, the teacher can pull the objects out of the bag again to remind the class, if it is necessary. Next, the teacher will ask the students to tell him/her the main idea. (Please see the attached worksheet layout.)

2. The teacher will assign the students into four groups. The groups will be chosen through squares of colored paper left on the students’ desks. Each student will have one of four colors and the color represents a group. Also, on the back of one of each color there will be an R representing the student who will be the group’s runner (one runner per group). On the back of one more color from each group will be a smiley face. The student who gets this symbol will be the student who records his or her voice in the video later in the lesson (one speaker per group). Each group will also have a designated writer that will be represented by a W. This person will do the writing for the group.

3. Before the students go to their respective corners of the room (marked by a sheet of paper matching their group’s color), the teacher will give complete instructions of the activity, including a 7-10 minute time limit.

5. Each group will be assigned one of four objects to find characteristics and a main idea about: backpack, cell phone, pencil, or laptop computer. A picture of the object they are to use will be on the sheet of paper representing the corner of the room the group is meant to meet.

6. The teacher will provide planning worksheets (Please see the attached copy of a planning worksheet.), instructions, and a digital camera for each group. The runner who had an R on the back of his/her colored square will obtain these items for the group. The instructions will also be displayed on an overhead projector.

7. The students will use the digital camera to visually represent their assigned object’s main idea after completing the planning worksheet.

8. Once the photo has been taken, the runner will return the camera to the teacher.

9. The group speaker will record his or her voice saying the group’s main idea sentence into the iMovie with the teacher’s help.

10. The teacher will add each group’s photos to iMovie.

11. The teacher will read the class a couple of expository paragraphs as a final review of the lesson.

12. Together the class will fill in a planning worksheet about the paragraph on an overhead, stating the paragraph’s characteristics and main idea. This aspect allows students to put what they have learned about the main idea into practical use.

Closure:

The teacher will play The Important iMovie the clas made for the class, showing them how smart they are about the main idea!

Evaluation:

The teacher will be able to evaluate the students’ abilities to demonstrate their comprehension of the main idea by assessing the results of the planning worksheets and the picture they take as part of the class iMovie.