The Hickory Chair

Reader’s Workshop Daily Plan

1. Mini-Lesson Focus: Ideas

ELACC3RL2: Recount stories; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details. ELACC3RL3: Describe characters in a story and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events. ELACC4RL2: Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text. ELACC4RL3: Describe in depth a character, setting or event in a story or drama drawing on specific details in the text. ELACC5RL2: Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges.

2. The Hickory Chair by Lisa Rowe Fraustino: “One way readers connect to books is through their emotions. Books that use strong sensory details help us as readers to see and feel what the author is trying to say.” Read the first few pages of The Hickory Chair. “Turn to your partner and talk about the specific words the author used to help you connect to this book.” Record these findings on chart paper. Note to Teacher: I am sharing a personal connection to this story. Share your own personal connection to this book. “As a reader, I connect to this book on a very personal level. This book reminds me of my grandfather. When the book says, “She had a good alive smell-lilacs, with a whiff of bleach.” This reminds me of the smell of tobacco my grandfather had. If I close my eyes I can still smell the tobacco. Turn to your partner and talk about someone you can connect to on a very personal level.” Share some thinking. Continue to read the book. Stop when you get to the part about Gran passing away. “This reminds me so much of my grandfather as well. I was an adult when he passed away but I still remember how difficult it was – very much like when the book says, “Around her rocker it was hard to breathe.” That is very much how I felt. The book talks about all of the memories the family shares – this also reminds me of my grandfather.” Continue to read the book asking students to turn to their partner and share personal feelings that connects them to the book. Pause at specific points where the author provides a sensory image of what is happening. Connect this image to yourself. “Readers connect to books in many ways. Today I made a personal connection to this book. As an adult reader I find myself many times making those personal connections. This is the way readers think deeply about their books. As you read your own books, keep track of your personal connections. Use a graphic organizer (see example below) to record your thinking.”

3. Student Writing/Teacher Conferring

4. Reader Share: Student Teacher

Name ______Date______

Text: ______

Making Text to Self Connections

What happened in the story … My Text to Self Connection

What happened to ME …

Troup County Schools 2013

Reading Writing Connection