Guided Reading/Directed Reading Activity (DRA) p.1
EDCI 461
Guided Reading/DRA Instructional Lesson Plan Form
Your Name
Grace Hamilton
Reading Level(s) of Students in
Group and How Determined
Grade
3rd grade
Title of
Lesson
Freckle Juice
Ch. 1
By: Judy
Blume
Duration of Lesson (minutes)
DRA Group Size
5 Students
Genre of Text and Text Level (Fountas &
Pinnell Leveling System)
25 minutes
Fiction-Level M-370L
Circle: On, Above, or Below Grade
Level
I. Purpose and Rationale of the Lesson
What will the students learn or continue to practice? Students will be practicing describing main
characters through evidence (actions, words, feelings etc.) found in the text.
How does this lesson fit within broader curricular goals for that grade? Students will master describing
characters and eventually be able to identify how their actions and behaviors contribute to the story as a
whole in the sequence of events.
Why is this lesson meaningful, necessary, and appropriate? Freckle Juice is an amusing and engaging
text that will be fun for students to begin the early steps of character analysis. This lesson is necessary
because students need to be able to determine various points within a book that the character develops
(the sticky notes), ask and answer questions about a text, and finally summarize the important aspects
that have evolved from a reading segment.
What will the students write, say, and/or do that will serve as evidence of learning? The sticky notes,
questions, and graphic organizers will serve as the main evidence of learning. I will be taking notes of
student questions and responses that display comprehension and growth, and the graphic organizers will
show what they deem important from the chapter.
How will you document that? I will be documenting strengths and weaknesses on sticky notes as the
lesson progresses, and then eventually transfer my notes to a graphic organizer of sorts.
Common Core State Standards Citation
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3
Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions
contribute to the sequence of events
Lesson Objective (The students will…in order to… OR The students will be able to … by …)
The students will be able to describe the main character by completing a graphic organizer noting the
character’s actions, words, and his/her character traits.
Plan for Formative Assessment and Documentation
The students will be assessed based on their sticky notes, questions and answers, and completed
graphic organizers.
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II. Instructional Procedures for the Guided Reading/DRA Lesson – What instructional
strategies and sequences will I use to ensure that every child is a successful learner?
Instructional Materials (complete bibliographic citation), Handouts (e.g., graphic organizers), and
Technologies (e.g., power points, websites)





5-7 copies of Chapter 1 of Judy Blume’s Freckle Juice
5-7 copies of the “Whoo” is the Character graphic organizer
5-7 pencils or erasable pens
30+ sticky notes (5+ stickies per student plus me)
5-7 copies of sticky note/question directions
Management Considerations (Procedures, Transitions, Materials, Behavior, Rest of Class)
The materials will be previously copied and ready at the reading table prior to the lesson. Students
participating in the lesson will be instructed to raise their hands when they want to comment or participate
and speak in inside voices to avoid disturbing the rest of the class. The remainder of the class will have a
checklist of things to complete displayed on the front board, so that they can constantly be moving to the
next task, eliminating “down time” for chit-chat.
Instructional
Sequence
Before Reading
Before-reading
activities introduce
students to the text
through brief activities
that motivate and
prepare students to
read and that activate
prior knowledge (e.g.
picture walk, word
framing, making
predictions, discussion
of genre and topic).
Specific vocabulary is
listed in the lesson
plan. Vocabulary is
introduced and steps
are taken to support
recognition and
conceptual
understanding of
challenging words in
the text.
An active purpose for
reading is set that is
aligned with the genre,
standard, and lesson
objective.
Approximate
Time
Procedures and Scripting

Who here has freckles or knows someone who has
freckles? Are we born with freckles? Can anyone get
freckles if they want to?

Students will be asked to predict what they think Judy
Blume’s story will be about based on the title of the book
and the front cover. What do you think this story is about?
Has anyone ever heard of freckle juice before? What do
you think freckle juice is? Has anyone read any other Judy
Blume stories before?

Who can tell me what a character trait is? After hearing
student replies, I will remind them that a character trait is a
part of a person’s behavior or attitude that makes up their
personality. I’ll list of some descriptive adjectives as
examples: funny, nervous, annoyed, smart… Then I’ll ask
for some student examples.

Today we are going to start reading a book called Freckle
Juice by Judy Blume, and we are going to pay special
attention to the main character in the story. Students will be
advised to read and look for the actions and words of the
main character, so that they can start to accumulate a list
of character traits.

Before we start reading today, we are going to go over a
few vocabulary words that might not be familiar to us.
5 minutes
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
Ch. 1 Vocab Words: warts (page 1), plenty (page 2), &
recipe (page 8)

Who knows what a wart is? Wait for student responses and
then come up with a general definition to write on the
board. Who can tell me what plenty means? Wait for
student responses and then come up with a general
definition to write on the board. Who can tell me what a
recipe is? Wait for student responses and then come up
with a general definition to write on the board.

Each student will be given a pile of sticky notes and a
pencil/pen. They will be asked to put a sticky note on the
parts of the chapter where the main character does
something they think is important or interesting. They will
also be asked to come up with a “quiz” question based on
the information they just read in the chapter, and write it on
a sticky note and put it on the last page of the chapter.
(Directions will be additionally provided, so students can
have something to refer back to while reading)

We will read the first page of chapter one together to
correctly identify the main character, and so I can give an
example of how the sticky note process works. [Ex: I am
going to put a sticky note next to the part that says “Andrew
Marcus wanted freckles,” because I think that will be an
important part of the book.]

Students will be instructed to read the remainder of chapter
one silently or whispering to themselves as they sticky note
important main character parts.

In addition to sticky noting, the students will be instructed to
stop their reading after every two pages, so we can answer
comprehension questions together.
15 minutes
During Reading
During-reading
activities include
students in the actual
reading of the
selection. How are
students reading?
Silent? Choral?
Whisper? (NOT
round robin)
The reading selection
is divided into
segments identified
by page #, followed
by specific
comprehension
questions to check
comprehension after
each segment.
Are you revisiting your
objective? Are you
revisiting your active
purpose and/or
identified strategy for
reading?
The teacher’s active
role in guiding
students through the
reading selection is
clearly evident. You
have written the script
of everything you will
say.
Different types of
questions are posed to
assess different aspects
of comprehension. Be
sure to include higher
order thinking
questions (inferential
1. Questions for pages (1-2): Who is the main character?
–Andrew Marcus; What does Andrew want? Why? –
Freckles, because then his mom wouldn’t be able to
see when his neck was dirty and he wouldn’t have to
wash
2. Question for pages (3-4): Who seems to be Andrew’s
enemy? –Sharon
3. Question for pages (5-6): What does Andrew blame for
missing Miss Kelly’s reading group announcement? –
He thinks if he had his own freckles then he wouldn’t
have been counting Nicky’s freckles and he would’ve
heard the teacher.
4. Question for pages (7-8): What does Sharon say she
will give Andrew for 50 cents? –A secret freckle juice
recipe
5. Additional Questions: (time depending) What do you
predict will happen in Chapter 2? Does Sharon really
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have a secret freckle juice recipe? Do you think Sharon
is a nice girl? Why or why not? Will Andrew give
Sharon the 50 cents for the recipe? What character
traits can we already start to see from Andrew Marcus
in Chapter 1
6. Once we have finished reading and the comprehension
questions and students have written their question
sticky note, I will tell the students that they get to be the
teacher for the next few minutes as they ask each other
the comprehension questions they wrote down. Each
student will take a turn asking his/her posed question,
and all the students in the group will have the
opportunity to answer them.
and beyond the text
ones)
After Reading
After-reading
activities include
questions to check
students’ overall
reading
comprehension and
are appropriate for the
lesson’s objective.
15 minutes

The after-reading activity will be to complete the “Whoo” is
the Character graphic organizer.

Students will each be given a graphic organizer and a
pencil/pen. We will review the graphic organizer together
first. Students will be instructed to write the name of the
main character and the title of the book at the top of the
page. They will be able to draw a picture of what they think
Andrew Marcus looks like in the portrait frame, but will first
be instructed to complete the Action, Words, and Character
traits sections of their graphic organizers. Now we are
going to flip back through our sticky notes in Chapter 1 so
we can fill out our graphic organizers. Look through your
stickies and see where you marked any of Andrew’s
actions, then decide what kind of character trait describes
his actions and write it in the box. Then flip through your
stickies again and look at the words Andrew says. Find a
word that describes his words and fill out the character trait
box. We are going to be doing a big character writing
assignment at the end of the book, so our graphic
organizers need to be complete and accurate to help us
later on.

Students will then be instructed to return to their
desks/tables to complete their graphic organizers with their
chapter copies/sticky notes
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EDCI 461
5 minutes

Closure

The teacher provides
closure for the lesson
with questions and a
statement that
emphasizes what was
accomplished and the
new learning that took
place.
Implementation
of Assessment
Actions and
Documentation
Assessment was
ongoing throughout the
lesson, with activities
that are clearly
explicated and directly
related to the lesson
objective and
activities.



Students will gather together after completing their graphic
organizers to discuss their findings/wrap up Chapter 1.
What are some of Andrew’s actions/words you noticed in
Chapter 1, and what character traits did you come up with?
Do you like Freckle Juice so far? Can anyone relate to
Andrew Marcus?
We will conclude with an acknowledgement of the new task
they just practiced. You have just practiced describing the
main character in a story through their traits, actions, and
words.
I will document who seems to be struggling and succeeding
on sticky notes throughout the reading and activities. If
certain students seem to be struggling reading to
themselves, I will whisper read with them to get them
going. If students are breezing through the reading,
questions, and activities, I will assess whether or not they
are at the appropriate reading level.
I will be taking notes of student responses to all questions
to see who specifically is struggling with comprehension or
inferential questions.
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