Lesson Plan for Close Reading of Each Kindness
Whole Group
Partner Think-Pair-Share
Individual Responses
Grade
2nd, but could easily be adapted
or used with other grades
CCSS
Focus Standards
RL.2.1 Ask and answer questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate
understanding of key details in a text.
RL.2.2 Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine
their central message, lesson, or moral.
RL.2.3 Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
RL2.6 Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including speaking a
different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.
RL.2.7 Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to
demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
L.2.4A Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
SL.2.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics
and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
SL.2.1.A Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways,
listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under
discussion).
SL.2.1.B Build on others' talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of
others.
SL.2.1.C Ask for clarification and further explanation as needed about the topics and texts
under discussion.
SL.2.2 Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information
presented orally or through other media.
Materials
Book: Each Kindness
By Jacqueline Woodson, Illustrated by E.B. Woodson
Nancy Paulsen Books, An Imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Multiple Meaning Words Activity
• A, B Response Cards (optional)
Text Dependent Questions
Formative Assessment recording sheet for each student
Book Summary
Chloe and her friends won't play with the new girl, Maya. Every time Maya tries to join Chloe
and her friends, they reject her. Eventually Maya stops coming to school. When Chloe's
teacher gives a lesson about the ripple effects of kindness, Chloe is stung by the lost
opportunity for friendship, and thinks about how much better it could have been if she'd
shown a little kindness toward Maya.
Genre
Realistic Fiction
Themes
•
•
•
•
•
•
Grouping
Lexile Measure
Kindness/Friendship
Acceptance/Reaching Out To Others/Fitting In
Unkindness/Bullying
Judging
Character Education
Loneliness
640L
Procedure
First
Read
• Read the story to students without pausing the story to think aloud, question, or
discuss.
• Note the author, the illustrator and that this book has earned the Coretta Scott
King Award.
• “Is this fiction or nonfiction? How do you know?”
• Have students turn to a partner and share their initial thoughts on the story, think,
pair, share. Have them discuss the characters and the plot.
• Have several students share with the class what they talked about in their partner
groups.
• Assess what students have gleaned from the text to help focus further instruction.
Check for understanding of the main idea, story elements, and key details the
author includes. Help students build their understanding of these key ideas and
details as needed.
• Ask first read questions from the attached sheet of questions and assess students’
oral responses to determine need for scaffolding or further lessons. If students
seem to need further development in their skills, try to determine if the focus of
instruction needs to be more on monitoring comprehension and understanding
what they read or hear, or if the instruction needs to focus more on inferring,
drawing conclusions about content and vocabulary using textual information as
well as prior knowledge.
• Explain what character traits are and as a group or individually, based on your
students’ abilities, complete the character traits graphic organizer. Use this to
help assess your students understanding of character traits and using textual
evidence to support their choices.
• Reread the story, or parts of the story to focus in on the author’s word choice and
the story structure.
• Use the Multiple Meaning Words Activity
Second
Read
• Read the multiple-meaning word and then read the word in the context of the sentence from
the story. Ask students to use context clues to determine the correct meaning in the story
(A or B) using a thumbs up as you read the definition choices, or using the attached
response cards. Monitor students’ responses to assess their ability to use sentence-level
context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
• Ask second read questions from the attached sheet, and assess students’ oral
responses to determine need for scaffolding or further lessons
Third
Read
• Referring to the text, have students complete the Point of View Sort Activity. This
could be completed in groups or individually. This activity can be used to assess
understanding and plan for further instruction.
• This lesson could be expanded by tying in other related literature, having students
complete kindness slips for their personal acts of kindness, or by having students
write about related topics.
Multiple-Meaning Words
Each Kindness
Read the multiple-meaning word and then read the word in the context of the sentence from the story.
Ask students to use context cues to determine the correct meaning in the story (a or b) using a thumbs
up as you read the definition choices, or using the attached response cards. Monitor student’s responses
to assess their ability to use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase (CCSS
2.L.4a)
brilliant
That winter, show fell on
everything, turning the world a
brilliant white.
settled
One morning, as we settled into
our seats, the classroom door
opened and the principal came
in.
laced
At lunchtime, we walked
around the school yard, our
fingers laced together,
whispering secrets into each
other’s ears.
rippled
Tiny waves rippled out, away
from the stone.
A) very bright and radiant
B) exceptionally clever or talented
A) resolved or reached an agreement about
B) sit or come to rest in a comfortable position
A) entwine or tangle together
B) fasten or tighten a shoe or garment by tying its laces
A) its effects gradually spread, causing several other events
to happen one after the other
B) moved in a way resembling small waves
Discuss how both meanings of this word were used in the
story. The stone rippling activity symbolized the ripple
effect of being kind.
remained
But Maya’s seat remained
empty.
A) left over
B) stayed
set
I watched the water ripple as the A) appeared to move toward and below the earth's horizon
sun set through the maples and
B) put, lay, or stand something in a specified place or
the chance of a kindness with
position
Maya became more and more
forever gone.
Copy and cut the response cards out. Fold them on the dotted line. Mount them on a popsicle stick
(if you wish) for students to respond individually to the Multiple Meaning Words activity. Make
one response stick for each student.
AB
AB
Text-Dependent Questions/
Responses
1st Read
Possible Evidence-Based
Answers
Textual Evidence
Based on clues from the
• School
author and illustrator, describe
• Winter and spring
the setting of this story.
• Illustrations
• Teacher, classmates,
principal, classroom etc.
• Snow falling
• Warmer, pond thawed, grass
grew, etc.
How do you think Maya is
feeling at the beginning of the
book when the principal is
introducing her to the class?
How do you know, and what
clues did the author and
illustrator give you to help
you infer how she was
feeling?
Possibly afraid, shy and
nervous
• She is looking down, not
smiling
• She whispers hello
• It is her first day at a new
school, and she doesn’t
know the students yet
• What she wore
• What she ate
• Her toys
• Called her “Never’New”
• Clothes looked old and
ragged, shoes were spring
shoes, strap broken, clothes
looked like they’d belonged
to another girl before Maya,
In what ways did Maya reach
out to the other girls to be
friends with them? How did
the girls respond?
Maya’s Attempts:
1.Whispered hello
2.Smiled
3.Showed and tried to share
her toys
4.Tried to visit with Chloe
5. Went about her day
(dressed, ate, played etc.)
6.Asked girls to play
Girls’ Responses:
1.Stared at her, did not say
hello
2.Didn’t smile back, moved
away, looked away
3.Wouldn’t play with her
4.Denied friendship
5.Made fun of her and
whispered about her, called
her names
6.Refused to play with her
What lesson did Chloe learn?
What message was the author
trying to share?
Chloe learned you don’t have
unlimited chances to be kind
to others. Being unkind
doesn’t feel good. Even small
kindnesses can make a
difference. These are the
messages the author was
trying to share with the reader
as well.
Chloe kept hoping for Maya’s
return and promised herself
that would be the day she
smiled back. Chloe’s actions
after school on the day she
learned Maya wouldn’t return
are evidence she had learned
such lessons.
The other students seemed to
judge Maya. What things did
they judge her on?
Key Ideas
& Details
Text-Dependent Questions/
Responses
2nd Read
Craft &
Structure
Possible Evidence-Based
Answers
Textual Evidence
Mrs. Albert says that “Each
little thing that we do goes
out, like a ripple, into the
world.” Explain what she
means by this.
One kindness can lead to the
happiness of another person,
who in turn may go on to
show kindness and so on.
Mrs. Alberts used the
demonstration of dropping
stoned in a bowl of water to
show the ripple they cause is
like the effect one act of
kindness may have.
How dose the phrase “my
throat was filled with all the
things I wished I would have
said to Maya” provide
evidence for how Chloe is
feeling and how she has
changed?
This phrase shows she feels
bad or remorseful for the way
she treated Maya and wishes
she had a second chance to
treat her more kindly. It shows
that Chloe understands the
lesson her teacher was trying
to teach and that she realizes
sometimes you don’t get
another chance.
She walked home alone after
the lesson her teacher had
taught about kindness, and
stopped and the pond and
tossed stones, which also
shows she was reflecting on
how she had treated Maya.
An unkind person
She is feeling guilty about
how she treated Maya. She
couldn’t think of any kindness
she did and passed the stone.
She promised she would smile
at Maya when she returned
On the page where the teacher
is teaching about kindness,
the illustrator shows the
children’s reflections as they
look into the water. What do
you think Chloe sees as she
looks into the water?
“Her Family had to move
away, Mrs. Albert said. Then
she told us to take out our
notebooks, it was time for
spelling.” Why do you think
the author included the words,
“Then she told us to take out
our notebooks, it was time for
spelling”?
To show that life just moves
on as normal, even though
Chloe had changed and
Maya had moved away.
The sentence, “Then she told
us to take out our notebooks, it
was time for spelling”?, comes
directly after the teacher
announced to the class that
Maya wouldn’t be coming
back. It seems as if the author
added it in to show how life
moves on.
Reread the page where Maya
is jump roping and discuss
Maya’s actions and feelings.
Why did the author repeat the
words, “Just jumped, jumped,
jumped.”
She probably felt sad, lonely,
and rejected.She had figured
out that the other children will
likely once again deny her
request to play, so she figures
out a way to play by herself
and goes about her play
ignoring the other children.
The repetition of the word
jumped shows that she was
focused and determined to not
let the other children upset her.
• She did not come over to the
other students to ask if they
wanted to play
• She folded the rope over and
rolled the ends to make it
work for one person
• She jumped without
stopping and didn’t look up
Text-Dependent Questions/
Responses
What do you notice about the
illustrations in this book?
Why do you think the
illustrator made the choices
he made about the
illustrations?
Possible Evidence-Based
Answers
Textual Evidence
• The illustrations seem a bit
out of focus and have unique • This may be to make the
perspectives
reader think about
• Some pages the facial
characters’ feelings on their
expressions are very telling,
own and to see things from a
and others we don’t even see
different perspective
the expression
Chloe promises herself that if
Maya returns she will smile
back at her. Her actions of
walking alone to the pond
after school the day she
learned Maya would not be
returning indicated she had
learned a lesson, which is like
a solution to the problem.
Is this story similar to
anything else we have read or
learned about? How are they
similar?
Answers will very.
Make sure students support
their comparisons with
evidence.
How does the author’s
message relate to our lives?
How has reading this story
affected your thoughts?
Answers will very.
Make sure students reference
the author’s message of how
being kind can make a
difference and sometimes we
don’t get another chance.
Maya
The problem in the story is
how Chloe treats Maya and
the guilt she feels as a result.
The story ends without much
of a solution, as Chloe is not
able to change the way she
treats Maya since Maya
moved away, but Chloe does
seem to learn an important
lesson.
The author probably left the
problem a bit unresolved to
demonstrate how sometimes
you don’t get a second
chance.
Most literature stories have a
problem and and a solution
and a happy ending. What is
3rd Read the problem in this story? Is
there a solution? How do you
Integration feel about the ending of this
of
story? Why do you think the
Knowledge author chose to end it this
& Ideas
way?
Make a list of character traits to describe Maya and Chloe and use evidence
from the book to prove these character traits are fitting. A few examples
have been done for your.
Character Trait
Maya
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Chloe
friendly
Textual Evidence
remorseful
•
Maya played by herself
made fun of Maya’s
clothes
Cut out the point of view cards on the other sheet. Decide if the point of view
stated on each card best reflect’s Maya’s thoughts or Chloe’s thoughts. Glue it
under the appropriate girl’s name. Then, go back and draw a smiley face in the
column next to the point of view if you agree with that thought.
Make a
smiley
face
next to
Maya’s
point of
view if
you
share
that
point of
view
Maya Chloe
Make a
smiley
face
next to
Chloe’s
point of
view if
you
share
that
point of
view
Point of View Cards
It is important to try and
be friendly.
If you keep trying, people
may change.
Kendra and Sophie are
great friends.
You can dress nicely,
even if your clothes are
from a second hand
store.
Spring shoes should not
be worn in winter.
You should do what
others do and encourage
them to act like you so
you fit in.
I can find ways to have
fun by myself.
I haven’t done anything
kind.
I would be embarrassed
to have anyone know I
was friends with a girl
like her.
Sharing is a kind thing to
do.
Each Kindness
Formative Assessment
Student ________________________________
Learning Goal
Evidence
Success Criteria
RL.2.1 Ask and answer
questions as who, what,
where, when, why, and
how to demonstrate
understanding of key
details in a text.
Text-dependent
question
responses from
1st Read
I CAN:
•Ask questions to
show I understand
important details in
a story
•Answer questions
to show important
details in a story
RL.2.2 Recount stories,
including fables and
folktales from diverse
cultures, and determine
their central message,
lesson, or moral.
Text-dependent
question
responses from
1st Read
I CAN:
•Retell a story and
explain the lesson
in the story
RL.2.3 Describe how
characters in a story
respond to major events
and challenges.
Text-dependent
question
responses from
1st Read
I CAN:
•Tell how
characters act
when things
happen in a story
RL2.6 Acknowledge
differences in the points of
view of characters,
including speaking a
different voice for each
character when reading
dialogue aloud.
Text-dependent
question
responses from
2nd Read
I CAN:
•Tell different
ideas characters
have
RL.2.7 Use information
gained from the
illustrations and words in a
print or digital text to
demonstrate understanding
of its characters, setting, or
plot.
Text-dependent
question
responses from
3rd Read
Point of View
Activity
I CAN:
• Use illustrations
and text to tell
about the
characters, setting,
and plot of a story
Comments
Strategy for
Instruction
Learning Goal
Evidence
Success Criteria
L.2.4A Use sentence-level
context as a clue to the
meaning of a word or
phrase.
Responses to
MultipleMeaning
Words activity
I CAN:
• Figure out the
meaning of a word
by reading words
around it
SL.2.1.A Follow agreedupon rules for discussions
(e.g., gaining the floor in
respectful ways, listening
to others with care,
speaking one at a time
about the topics and texts
under discussion).
Group
discussions
and Think,
Pair, Share
activities
I CAN:
•Talk with others
using listening and
speaking rules
SL.2.1.B Build on others'
talk in conversations by
linking their comments to
the remarks of others.
Group
discussions
and Think,
Pair, Share
activities
I CAN:
•Connect my
comments to what
others have said
SL.2.1.C Ask for
clarification and further
explanation as needed
about the topics and texts
under discussion.
Questions
student asks
throughout
the lessons
I CAN:
•Ask questions if I
don’t understand
SL.2.2 Recount or describe
key ideas or details from a
text read aloud or
information presented
orally or through other
media.
Textdependent
question
responses
from 1st Read
I CAN:
• Remember and tell
others the important
details that I have
heard or read
Comments
Strategy for
Instruction