March 17, 2006
Literacy Lesson Plan
Teaching Point (Aim): Infer character traits by using facts and details from the text.
Connection: (2 minutes)
This week, students have been introduced to the theme: “What’s Behind the Red Curtains,” that
symbolizes the idea of inferring – seeing what is “behind” the text. Students will be able to
connect today’s lesson to the previous lessons of the week, as well as the previous lessons in
identifying essential evidence in a story.
Teaching: (10 minutes)

Introduction/Hook: Students will be able to recall and explain the previous lesson (using
evidence to infer about the setting,) during their “Do Now.” After completing the Do Now, a
group of students will act out a scene that demonstrates today’s theme for what’s behind the
curtains. Students will respond to a series of questions about the acting students, probing
into their inferences about character traits.

Mini Lesson: I will connect our introduction to the lesson itself: how to infer character
traits. Just like students used clues about the acting students in order to describe their traits,
they will also be able to use clues to describe the characters in their independent reading
books. Students will be presented list of character traits that they came up with the day
before, and they will brainstorm a few more character traits to add to this list.
Shared Reading / Guided Practice: (15 minutes)

Students will receive graphic organizers in order to take notes on their responses.

Together, we will use clues to describe character traits in the shared reading text: Maniac
Magee, by Jerry Spinelli, focusing on the two main characters, Amanda Beale and Maniac.

Focus questions: What are the character traits of Amanda? How does the way she responds
to the writing on the Beale’s home exemplify her traits? What does the way Maniac
responds to Amanda say about him as a character?

Students will be asked to fill in graphic organizers along with me, raising their hands for
inferences while we read the text together.

After finishing the shared reading, we will reiterate aim and the task will be assigned for the
workshop period.
Workshop: (25 minutes)
Students will utilize the skill of inferring character traits on their own by utilizing their independent
reading books and filling in their graphic organizers.
Share: (7 minutes)
Students share their inferences and evidence with the rest of the class. What traits describe their
character? What were the details they used from their book?
Closing: (2 minutes)
Review the strategies of inferring. Link this lesson to the next weeks’ lesson on inferences and
learning more strategies on figuring out what’s behind the red curtains.