Meet Yuyi Morales! Lesson Plan

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Academic Standards

 

Reading Objective:

Children will describe and sequence the steps of how Yuyi Morales makes a book.

 

Literacy Focus:

author/illustrator study

 

SEL Focus:

growith mindset

 

ELA Skills:

key details, vocabulary, writing

 

Page 4 Skill:

use visuals

 

Vocabulary:

author, illustrator, process, details, inspiration, frustrated

 

CCSS:

SL.2.3, RI.2.1, RI.2.4, RI.2.10, W.2.1

 

Guided Reading Level:

J

 

Lexile level:

480L

Download TEKS Standards
Download Common Core Standards

Provide students with some background on storytelling.

Build background knowledge (10 min.)

Watch our video “Video Read Aloud With Yuyi Morales: Dreamers."  Yuyi asks questions for students to think about as they listen.

Preview vocabulary (3 min.)

Next, play the online vocabulary slideshow. This issue’s featured words are author, illustrator, process, details, inspiration, and frustrated.

Set a purpose for reading (5 min.)

  • Pass out the issue, and discuss the cover. How do children think Yuyi creates her books? Is it easy or hard?
  • Next, read the As You Read prompt on page 2: “Think about the steps Yuyi takes to make a book.” Encourage children to think about this prompt as they read.

Read together (20 min.)

Pass out the Read and Think printable. Use it to check comprehension as you read the issue together, pausing to ask the questions. 

Assessment: Reading Quiz 

Pass out the Reading Quiz to review key concepts from the issue and assess students’ proficiency on key nonfiction reading skills.

  • Children search a busy library to find books about different topics in our Library Find-It game.

You can use our printable worksheets to focus on important Social Emotional Learning and ELA skills. Here’s how.

ELA Focus: Vocabulary (15 min.)

  • Use the Word Work printable to deepen students’ understanding of the words process, details, inspiration, and frustrated..

Editor’s Pick: Writing (15 min.)

  • The Writer’s Process skill sheet mirrors the interview questions in the issue, asking children to think about their own writing. Questions include What gets you in the mood to write? What materials do you need? Answering these questions will inspire and prepare children the next time they sit down to write!

ELA Focus: Growth Mindset (15 min.)

  • The Magic of Mistakes skill sheet is a great way to make text-to-self connections. On the left side, children pull information from the issue to write about how Yuyi deals with making mistakes. On the right side, they write about how they deal with the same situations.

 Here are two past issues you can use to extend your lesson on author, illustrators, and growth mindset:

  • “Meet Christian Robinson!” March 2021. This issue takes students through the work process of another wonderful children’s illustrator.
  • “Malcom Tackles Reading,” January 2019. This issue tells the story of NFL player Malcom Mitchell, who found reading diffi cult as a child. But he practiced hard and grew to love it—so much that he wrote and published a children’s book of his own!

You can find a higher-Lexile-level and a lower-Lexile-level version of the article online here:

  • Higher Lexile level: 550L
  • Lower Lexile level: 380L