Lesson Plan
A Year of Growth
Students will be able to reflect on the characters' growth and the changes in the classroom community from the beginning to the end of the book.
This lesson helps students develop critical thinking and social-emotional skills by analyzing character development and understanding the evolution of a community, connecting literary themes to their own experiences.
Audience
4th Grade
Time
30 minutes
Approach
Through discussion, a creative project, and reflection.
Materials
- A Year of Growth Slide Deck, - Warm-Up: Favorite Memory, - Book: A Year of Growth (Chapter 29), - Discussion Questions Ch. 29, - One-Pager Project Guide & Rubric, - Art supplies (paper, markers, colored pencils), and - Gallery Walk & Reflection Activity
Prep
Teacher Preparation
15 minutes
- Review the entire lesson plan and all generated materials, including the A Year of Growth Slide Deck, Warm-Up: Favorite Memory, Discussion Questions Ch. 29, One-Pager Project Guide & Rubric, and Gallery Walk & Reflection Activity.
- Prepare the classroom for the activity, ensuring students have access to art supplies.
- Ensure Chapter 29 of the book A Year of Growth is readily available for reading.
- Missouri Counseling Standards Alignment:
- Self-Management:
- A. Emotional Regulation: Identify more complex feelings and emotions. Revisit and reinforce the acknowledgment of different types of feelings.
- B. Coping Skills: Identify helpful strategies to foster positive emotional experiences.
- Responsible Decision-Making:
- A. Safe & Healthy Choices: Practice the steps of problem solving and decision making for personal safety. Apply effective problem-solving, decision-making, and refusal skills to make safe and healthy life choices. Identify the role that peer influence may have on problem-solving and decision-making skills.
- Relationship Skills:
- A. Healthy Choices: Identify decision-making process for friend selection based on good friendship qualities. Demonstrate the social skills needed to maintain relationships. Demonstrate respect for others’ personal opinions and ideas. Exhibit mutual respect in relationships.
- B. Conflict Resolution: Identify the steps of solving problems and conflicts with others. Apply the steps of solving problems and conflicts with others. Identify and practice the skills used to problem solve in a variety of situations.
- Social Awareness:
- A Respect for Self & Others: Identify similarities and differences across cultures, backgrounds, and belief systems. Demonstrate respect for other people whether they are similar or different.
- B. Empathy: Understand the concept of active listening. Demonstrate active listening. Identify more complex feelings of others by observing emotional expressions and listening.
- Self-Awareness:
- A. Self-Acceptance: Identify skills and activities that are more difficult to accomplish. Identify skills and activities that are easier to accomplish and enjoyable. Understand the concept of self-talk.
- B. Personal Responsibilities: Reflect on personal roles at home and at school and identify responsibilities. Reflect on personal roles in the community and identify responsibilities as a community. Develop strategies to balance family, school, and community roles.
- C. Citizenship: Identify the personal characteristics needed to contribute to the classroom. Identify the personal characteristics that contribute to the school community. Demonstrate personal characteristics of a contributing member of the school community. Recognize and demonstrate respect for the differences between personal culture and other cultures.
- Self-Management:
Step 1
Warm-Up: Favorite Memory
5 minutes
- Begin with the Warm-Up: Favorite Memory activity.
- Ask students to share a favorite memory from the book or from their own classroom experience this year. This activates prior knowledge and sets a reflective tone.
Step 2
Read & Discuss Chapter 29
10 minutes
- Read Chapter 29 of A Year of Growth aloud as a class, or have students read it silently.
- Facilitate a discussion using the Discussion Questions Ch. 29 to prompt reflection on character growth and community changes. Encourage students to support their ideas with evidence from the text.
Step 3
One-Pager Project
10 minutes
- Introduce the One-Pager Project Guide & Rubric.
- Explain the assignment: students will create a one-pager reflecting on a character's growth or the classroom community's evolution throughout the book. Provide art supplies.
- Students begin working on their one-pager. Circulate to provide support and answer questions.
Step 4
Gallery Walk & Reflection
5 minutes
- Facilitate a Gallery Walk & Reflection Activity where students display their one-pagers.
- Students walk around to view their classmates' work, making connections and observing different perspectives.
- Conclude with a brief class reflection on key takeaways from the activity and the overall theme of growth.
use Lenny to create lessons.
No credit card needed
Slide Deck
A Year of Growth: Reflecting on Change
How do we grow?
How do communities change?
Welcome students and introduce the day's topic: reflecting on growth. Explain that today we'll be thinking about how characters and communities change over time.
Warm-Up: Favorite Memory
Think about your favorite memory from this book or from our classroom this year.
Why is it your favorite?
Introduce the warm-up activity. Explain that students will silently reflect on a favorite memory before sharing with a partner or the class. Encourage them to think about why this memory stands out.
Chapter 29: The Final Pages
Let's read the last chapter!
What changes do you notice?
What stays the same?
Transition to reading Chapter 29. Remind students to pay attention to character feelings, actions, and how the classroom community is portrayed in this final chapter. Emphasize that this is a chance to see how much has changed.
Discussing Chapter 29
How have the characters grown?
How has our classroom community grown this year?
Lead the discussion using the provided discussion questions. Encourage students to listen respectfully, build on each other's ideas, and cite evidence from the text to support their responses. Facilitate deep thinking about growth and community.
Your Growth One-Pager
Showcase character growth or community change!
Use words and images to tell your story.
Refer to your One-Pager Project Guide & Rubric.
Introduce the One-Pager Project. Explain the concept of a one-pager as a creative way to synthesize learning. Go over the One-Pager Project Guide & Rubric details, highlighting expectations for content and presentation. Show examples if available.
Gallery Walk & Reflection
Share your amazing one-pager!
See your classmates' ideas.
What new insights did you gain?
Explain the Gallery Walk activity. Describe how students will display their one-pagers and move around to view others' work. Encourage them to look for similarities and differences in how their classmates interpreted the themes. Conclude by bringing the class back together for a final reflection.
Warm Up
Warm-Up: Favorite Memory
Take a moment to close your eyes and think back through the book we just finished, A Year of Growth. Or, if you prefer, think about our own classroom community over this past year.
What is one of your absolute favorite memories?
It could be a funny moment, a time you learned something new, a challenge a character overcame, or a special moment with a friend.
Once you have your memory, think about why it's your favorite.
Be prepared to share your memory and why it's special to you with a partner or the whole class.
Discussion
Discussion Questions: Chapter 29 - A Year of Growth
Let's reflect on the final chapter of our book, and how far our characters (and we!) have come. Use evidence from the text to support your answers.
-
Character Growth: Think about [Main Character's Name] from the very beginning of the book. How is [Main Character's Name] different in Chapter 29? What are two specific examples from the book that show this growth?
-
Community Changes: How has the classroom community in the book changed from the start of the story to Chapter 29? What challenges did they face, and how did they overcome them together?
-
Personal Connection: How do the changes and growth of the characters or the community in the book relate to your own experiences in our classroom this year? What's one way you feel you have grown, or our class has grown as a community?
-
Looking Ahead: What do you think the characters will remember most about their year together? What message do you think the author wants us to take away from their journey?
Project Guide
One-Pager Project: A Year of Growth
Objective: Create a visually engaging one-pager that reflects on the growth of a character or the evolution of the classroom community throughout the book A Year of Growth.
What is a One-Pager?
A one-pager is a single sheet of paper that summarizes and makes connections to what you have learned about a topic. It uses both words and images to show your understanding and creativity.
Your Task:
Choose one of the following options for your one-pager:
Option 1: Character Growth
Focus on one main character from the book. Show how they have grown and changed from the beginning of the story to Chapter 29. Include specific examples.
Option 2: Community Evolution
Focus on the entire classroom community in the book. Show how the group changed and grew together throughout the year. Highlight key moments or challenges.
Elements to Include (Choose at least 5):
- Central Image/Symbol: A large image or symbol in the center that represents the main idea (character growth or community change).
- Key Quotes: 2-3 important quotes from the book (with page numbers!) that support your main idea.
- Character Traits/Community Values: A list of traits for your chosen character (beginning vs. end) or 3-4 key values of the community. Use a T-chart or Venn diagram if helpful.
- Reflection Questions: Answer 1-2 of these questions on your one-pager (briefly!):
- What was the biggest challenge your character/community faced?
- What was the most important lesson learned?
- How does this story connect to your own life?
- Vocabulary/Keywords: 3-5 important words from the book that relate to growth, change, or community.
- Personal Insight: A short statement about your own biggest takeaway from reading the book.
- Color & Design: Use color, doodles, and thoughtful arrangement to make your one-pager visually appealing and easy to understand.
One-Pager Rubric
| Criteria | 4 - Exceeds Expectations | 3 - Meets Expectations | 2 - Developing | 1 - Beginning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Content | Clearly addresses the prompt with detailed, relevant examples and insightful analysis. | Clearly addresses the prompt with relevant examples. | Addresses the prompt, but examples are limited or general. | Little connection to the prompt or no relevant examples. |
| Elements Included | Includes 5+ required elements, all thoughtfully integrated. | Includes at least 5 required elements. | Includes 3-4 required elements. | Includes 1-2 required elements. |
| Visual Appeal | Excellent use of color, imagery, and organization; highly engaging and clear. | Good use of color, imagery, and organization; generally clear. | Some use of color/imagery, but organization is messy or confusing. | Little to no effort in visual appeal or organization. |
| Conventions | Few to no errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. | Minor errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation that do not impede meaning. | Several errors that sometimes impede meaning. | Numerous errors that significantly impede meaning. |
| Effort/Creativity | Demonstrates exceptional effort and original thought; unique and well-developed. | Demonstrates good effort and some original thought; ideas are clearly presented. | Shows some effort, but ideas are basic or uninspired. | Little effort or creativity shown. |
Activity
Gallery Walk & Reflection
Part 1: Gallery Walk (3 minutes)
- When instructed, carefully place your completed One-Pager Project on your desk or a designated display area.
- You will then stand up and walk quietly around the classroom.
- As you move, observe your classmates' one-pagers. Look at their central images, quotes, and how they represented character growth or community change.
- Think about:
- What ideas are similar to yours?
- What new ideas or perspectives do you see?
- What makes a one-pager visually engaging?
Part 2: Class Reflection (2 minutes)
Let's come back together and share our thoughts.
- What was something interesting or surprising you saw during the gallery walk?
- Did seeing other one-pagers give you new insights into character growth or community in the book?
- What is one big takeaway you have about growth or change, either in the book or in our own classroom this year?