Objective
Students will be able to ask and answer questions about key details in a text to demonstrate understanding of the story's characters, setting, and main events. Students will correctly answer at least 4 out of 5 comprehension questions about the read-aloud text.
Standards
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1 — Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3 — Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
Materials
- "The Rough-Face Girl" by Rafe Martin (class read-aloud copy)
- Story map graphic organizer (characters, setting, problem, events, solution)
- Sticky notes (3 per student)
- "Who, What, Where, When, Why, How" question word cards (posted on wall)
- Comprehension question cards (10 cards, text-dependent)
- Sentence stems poster
Warm-Up (5 minutes)
Show the cover of "The Rough-Face Girl" and read the title aloud. Ask students to make predictions: "What do you think this story is about? Who might the rough-face girl be? Where do you think the story takes place?" Record predictions on chart paper. Remind students that good readers make predictions before reading and then check them as they read. Introduce the strategy for today: asking and answering questions while we read.
Direct Instruction (12 minutes)
Read "The Rough-Face Girl" aloud, stopping at three planned points to model the questioning strategy. At the first stop, model asking a "who" question: "Who is the main character and what do we know about her so far?" Think aloud: "I know her name is the Rough-Face Girl and her sisters are mean to her. The text says they burned her skin with cinders from the fire." At the second stop, model a "why" question: "Why does the Invisible Being only appear to certain people?" At the third stop, model a "how" question: "How does the Rough-Face Girl prove she can truly see the Invisible Being?"
After each modeled question, point to the question word cards on the wall and explain how different question words lead to different types of answers. "Who" questions give us character information. "Where" and "when" questions give us setting details. "Why" and "how" questions require deeper thinking.
Guided Practice (10 minutes)
Distribute three sticky notes to each student. Re-read a section of the story (the climactic scene where the Rough-Face Girl goes to meet the Invisible Being). Ask students to write one question on each sticky note — one must be a "who" or "what" question, one must be a "where" or "when" question, and one must be a "why" or "how" question. Pair students up and have them trade sticky notes, read their partner's questions, and try to answer them using evidence from the text. Walk around and listen to conversations, prompting students to point to specific parts of the story that support their answers.
Then, as a class, fill in the story map graphic organizer together. Students identify: characters (Rough-Face Girl, the two sisters, the Invisible Being, the sister of the Invisible Being), setting (a village near a great lake, long ago), problem (everyone wants to marry the Invisible Being but only someone who can truly see him is worthy), events (the sisters lie and fail, the Rough-Face Girl goes and tells the truth), solution (she can truly see him and they marry).
Independent Practice (10 minutes)
Students work independently to answer 5 text-dependent comprehension questions on a worksheet. Questions range from recall ("What did the sisters do to the Rough-Face Girl?") to inference ("Why do you think the Invisible Being chose the Rough-Face Girl over her sisters?"). Students must write answers in complete sentences using the sentence stems poster for support ("The text says...", "I think ___ because...", "In the story..."). Early finishers write one additional question about the story and answer it.
Assessment
- Formative: Review sticky note questions during guided practice. Can students form grammatically correct questions using question words? Can they answer their partner's questions with text evidence?
- Summative: Collect comprehension worksheets. Score out of 5. Note which question types students struggle with most (literal vs. inferential) to guide future instruction.
Differentiation
- Struggling learners: Provide the comprehension questions with answer choices (multiple choice) instead of open response. Pre-fill parts of the story map and have students complete the remaining sections. Re-read key passages with the student in a small group.
- ELL students: Provide a picture walk of the story before the read-aloud. Supply vocabulary cards with illustrations for key words (invisible, rough, cinders, birch bark). Allow students to dictate answers to a partner or teacher instead of writing them. Provide sentence frames in both English and the student's home language.
- Advanced learners: Ask students to compare the Rough-Face Girl to another version of the Cinderella story. Have them write a paragraph explaining the theme or moral of the story. Challenge them to answer questions that require inference and synthesis.
- Students with IEPs: Provide an audio recording of the story for re-listening. Reduce comprehension questions to 3 instead of 5. Allow verbal responses. Offer extended time and a quiet space for independent work.
Closure (3 minutes)
Return to the predictions chart from the warm-up. Ask: "Were our predictions correct? What surprised us?" Review the main comprehension strategy: asking questions before, during, and after reading. Have students share one thing they learned today by completing the sentence: "Today I learned that good readers..." Close by previewing tomorrow's lesson, which will focus on retelling the story in sequence.