Observation #3 ​(Link to video)

What am I teaching and to whom?

3rd-grade ​Humanities Read Aloud on Zoom (whole group)
Content objective:​ I can identify the central message of ​Lailah’s Lunchbox​.
Student information: ​This lesson is designed for our entire third-grade class. Admittedly, there are some
challenges to planning lessons via Zoom. First, we don’t always know exactly how many students will
attend each Zoom. Our class is a mix of native speakers of English and English language learners
(ELLs). In this class, there are 5 ELLs, ranging from level 2 to level 5. Because of the unpredictable
nature of our Zoom calls, we are planning to do the entire lesson in a whole-group setting with certain
supports built-in for ELLs. Included supports are sentence frames, explicit vocabulary instruction, visual
supports (ie: typing on slides as students share out, like a virtual anchor chart) and modified exit tickets, if
needed. As a level N book,​ Lailah’s Lunchbox w ​ ill be an accessible text for a majority of our students. The
included scaffolds will help students access the material.

Why am I teaching it?

There are a few reasons we are teaching this story and this skill. First, as the first day of
Ramadan, I wanted to be really intentional about introducing students to a major holiday in a religion that
they may not be familiar with. As a social justice educator, I am committed to teaching students more
about the world. I am also committed to de-centering Christianity in the classroom by making space for an
academic discussion about other religions. I truly believe that knowledge can help instill empathy into
students. Given the Islamophobia present in our nation’s country, as a result, it’s important for me to do
what I can to educate my students about Islam.
In a similar vein, one of my students, months ago, mentioned that she “didn’t talk about her
religion at school”. I know that this student is Muslim, and I couldn’t help but wonder why she doesn’t like
talking about her faith at school. I wanted to very intentional about featuring a story with a Muslim girl in
our class, to teach the class as a whole, but also to provide this student with a “mirror” opportunity in our
curriculum.

This lesson fulfills multiple academic standards:

● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2
○ Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine
the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details
in the text.
● WIDA ELP Key Uses, Grade 3
○ Determining the central messages, lessons, or morals of fables and folktales from diverse
cultures
● Teaching Tolerance, Social Justice Standards
○ Diversity 8 DI.3-5.8
■ I want to know more about other people’s lives and
experiences, and I know how to ask questions
respectfully and listen carefully and non-judgmentally

About the text (from the Amazon listing)1

“​Lailah is in a new school in a new country, thousands of miles from her old
home, and missing her old friends. When Ramadan begins, she is excited that
she is finally old enough to participate in the fasting but worried that her
classmates won’t understand why she doesn’t join them in the lunchroom.

1
Amazon. (n.d.). Lailah's Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story. Retrieved from
https://www.amazon.com/Lailahs-Lunchbox-Ramadan-Reem-Faruqi/dp/0884484319
Lailah solves her problem with help from the school librarian and her teacher and in doing so learns that
she can make new friends who respect her beliefs . F​ ountas & Pinnell Level N)

How am I teaching it? Why am I teaching it that way?

**The lesson starts at 7:15 in the video**

Review Zoom expectations (7:29-10:40) We will start the lesson by going through the main
Zoom expectations we have. Overall, our Zooms
with 3rd grade have gone very well, but we thought
it would be helpful to include a few norms at the
beginning of each lesson. By giving reminders, it
helps students know exactly what is expected
during a Zoom call, and having clear guidelines can
help students adjust to online instruction.

Introduce Read Aloud Goal (10:49) To help students think ahead, we go through the
goal for the read-aloud. If students know they are
going to determine the central message, they can
set a purpose for listening.

Review the agenda (11:30) We will briefly go over the agenda, so students can
know exactly what to expect. I will ask for student
volunteers to increase student voice & participation.

Introduce Vocabulary + Ramadan Because there are some very specific words in
(12:15-13:44) Lailah’s Lunchbox, it’s important that we review
these keywords before reading the story.
 First, I will introduce the 3 keywords (fast,
Ramadan, Islam). I will give students prompts to
practice saying the new, possibly unfamiliar words.
Then, we will watch a short video that explains a
young boy’s experience with Ramadan. I included
guiding questions on the slide, so students can
have a very clear purpose for watching the video.
They know they will watch the video to find out
what fasting is, what Ramadan is, and why people
celebrate Ramadan. The video also provides a
real-life example of people celebrating Ramadan.
When the video ends, I will ask for volunteers to
Video (13:44-15:20)
answer the guiding questions.

After watching the video, we will quickly go through

the meanings of the vocabulary words. I will ask
students to read various parts of the vocab chart to
increase student voice + participation. I will be
careful to point out that “fast” doesn’t always mean
someone who can run or move quickly, but in this
Go over vocab words (19:30)
context, it means something else.

Questions for Ms. Burgy (21:40-32:30) We will use the vocab words as an anchor for
questions, to help students formulate questions to
ask the principal. We will have students type their
questions in the chatbox for two purposes: first, it
helps students not forget their questions, and
secondly, it allows the teachers to gauge their
thoughts about Ramadan. If needed, my co-teacher
and I will subtly ask questions that relate to the
central message of the book.

Doing a Q&A with the principal serves a lot of

purposes. First, it is a helpful way to reinforce key
vocabulary words. It also helps students build
background knowledge before listening to a story
about a girl who celebrates Ramadan. Lastly, it also
allows students to hear from someone who actually
celebrates, instead of simply hearing the teachers
tell about a holiday. It also never hurts to have
students learn from new faces! From our
experience having guest speakers this school year,
I think our students will really love to hear from our
principal about this topic. They love asking
questions!
Read Aloud 32:34-42:58 During the read aloud, I will add on the spot
comments as needed, like “Hm...she looks pretty
sad” or “I wonder where she will go for lunch!”

When a map is mentioned, I will utilize the

annotation feature on Zoom to illustrate how Lailah
moved from Abu Dhabi to Georgia.

Retell/Central Message After reading the story, we will practice retelling the
story with picture cues. During this time, my
co-teacher and I will tag-team this activity, and she
will guide most of this activity while I type on the
screen. Facilitating and typing on the screen during
Zoom can be mentally taxing, so we like to divide
and conquer to be more efficient. I might chime in
as needed, but she will mostly lead this part of the
lesson.

We wanted to do a retell to help students reflect on

the main events of the story. Then, we will prompt
students to think about the problems in the story,
which often serve as a clue for the central
message.

We are not sure how many ELLs will sign into the
Zoom, but this also provides a helpful speaking
practice activity for those students who are on my
caseload. One of the English Learner Plan
speaking goals is to “retell a story with picture
clues”, which this activity works towards.

Problem-Solution “Chat Check” As another opportunity for a quick formative

assessment, we will do a short “Chat Check” where
students will need to answer a question in the chat
 box. This provides an opportunity for all students to
participate in the chat, and it also allows Ms.
Luetzow and I to gauge whether students have a
strong understanding of the problems in the story.

Problem & Solution Slide (52:04-55:03) Together, we will brainstorm the problem in the
story and how Laila solves it. As students share
out, I will type their responses into the slide. Typing
as the students share out helps support students’
connection between the spoken and written word.

Exit Ticket (57:00) Students will respond to the following question:

Exit Ticket
● In the chat, type your answer to Mrs. Welsh.
1. What is the central message, or
lesson, in ​Lailah’s Lunchbox​?
2. Use an example from the story to
prove your answer.

To support ELLs, I included sentence frames on the

slides. Additionally, if any students get stuck, I have
an extra slide with modified questions to help. I will
Extra support for ELLs, if needed: not present these scaffolds right away, but will wait
to see if any students struggled.
How will I know students have learned? How will students know they have learned?
In this lesson, there are a few opportunities for formative and summative assessment.
First, by asking students to chat their questions for the principal into the chat box, my co-teacher
and I are able to determine if students are on track. For example, if students ask questions that
don’t make sense, it helps us understand that we are not being clear in our directions, or
students are not understanding the main elements of fasting and Ramadan.
During the retell portion, my co-teacher and I are able to determine if students will
understand the main plot points of ​Lailah’s Lunchbox.​ Students will know they are successful
based on our feedback and response to their comments.
The “Chat Check” also provides an opportunity for every student to type in a problem in the
story, which helps us determine if students have an accurate understanding. Similarly, my co
teacher and I can reply back to students to give them feedback on their Chat Check responses.
Lastly, a formal exit ticket helps us know if our lesson’s objective is successful. We will
have hard data to assess. As students are typing, we can give feedback to ask them to adjust or
add to their answer.