Text Talk Lesson Plan

A text talk lesson plan is a lesson plan that focuses on helping students connect with and understand the story that they are reading. It focuses more on the text of a story and less on the illustrations and asks higher order thinking questions as well as questions that ask students to make predictions throughout the story. The lesson also includes a section where students learn certain vocabulary words mentioned in the story and check their understanding of these words in several contexts. It is a great way to keep students engaged in a read aloud and to check for comprehension and listening skills.

Here is an example of a text talk lesson plan created for the book, Sheila Rae The Brave:

Title: Sheila Rae The Brave
Author/Illustrator: Henkes, Kevin
Publisher and Date:Penguin Group, 1987
Genre:Picture Book
Age Range:K-2nd



Text Talk Lesson Plan:


Vocabulary: Sheila Rae, The Brave

(Page 10) Fearless: Sheila Rae was skipping, and she started to sing, “I am brave, I am fearless.” (Fearless means to be brave and calm in a scary or dangerous situation.) “Say fearless.”

What would be fearless…..
Taking a bath or Petting a shark
Eating ice cream or Going to the dentist
Getting a shot at the doctor or Playing at the park with your mom

“What’s our word?”


(Page 17) Convince: Sheila Rae is lost in the woods and she ties to convince herself that she is brave and fearless. (Convince means to make yourself or someone else believe something that you say.) “Say convince.”

Would you try to convince……
Your mother or your fish
Your dog or your friend
Your teacher or your cat

“What’s our word?”


(Page 26) Dash: When Sheila Rae saw her house through the trees, she grabbed Louise and they dashed home. (Dash means to move quickly or fast.) “Say dash.”

Which things could dash?
Your brother or a turtle
A cheetah or a slug
A caterpillar or your cousin

“What’s our word?”




Review: fearless, convince, and dash:
--Would making friends at a new school or watching a movie with your family be fearless.
--If you tried to convince someone what would you be doing?
--Would your dog or your turtle be more likely to dash to the house?






Text Talk Questions and Possible Answers:
Sheila Rae, The Brave

•(Page 5) What’s going on here?
-she giggled at the principal
-she tied her classmate up with a jump rope
•(Page 5) Why does she do these things?
-she’s brave
•(Page 9) What is happening now?
-She’s being mean to her sister
-She’s walking home a new way
•(Page 13) What are some things Sheila Rae does to be “fearless”?
-stepping on cracks
-walking backwards with her eyes closed
-growling at stray dogs
•(Page 19) What’s the big problem here?
-She’s lost
-She’s all alone
-She’s sad
•(Page 19) How do you think Sheila Rae feels right now?
-She’s sad
-She’s crying
-She’s scared
•(Page 21) What just happened?
-Sheila Rae was found by her sister Louise and Louise knows the way home
•(Page 24) What did we just find out here?
-Louise can do everything Sheila Rae can do
-Louise is copying her sister
•(Page 27) What just happened?
-they made it home
•(Page 27) How do you think Sheila Rae feels now?
-happy
-safe
-excited
•(Page 28) What do you think Sheila Rae learned from getting lost?
-not to walk home alone
-to be nicer to her sister
-she needs help from others sometimes
-other people can be fearless too