Akers-Pecht 1

Dottie Akers-Pecht
EDIS 5882
Observation 4
Context:
Date and time for which lesson will be taught: Thursday, October 15th from 11:05-12:05
Course name: Honors English 11 American Literature
Grade level: 11th
Length of lesson: 60 minutes
Description of setting, students, and curriculum and any other important contextual
characteristics:
The students have just completed a mini unit on colonial literature that consisted of short
texts. This week, they are studying Edgar Allan Poe in another mini unit including one of his
poems and two of his short stories. In the previous class, the students will have been introduced
to Gothic literature, biographical information on Poe, and The Raven. They will have
discussed how Poe uses authorial techniques to create the mood of his works.
In this lesson, they will continue to work on using specific evidence from a literary text to
support their arguments, as this is an objective they have been asked to work on throughout
multiple writing assignments this semester. Here, they will do so not via writing, but via oral
arguments and discussion. Additionally, the students have struggled somewhat with sharing the
floor during discussion and not talking over one another. The rules of this class fishbowl
discussion will assist students with remembering discussion etiquette.
Objectives (number each objective to reference in the Assessment section):
SWBAT:
Cognitive (know/understand):
a. The students will know characterization techniques, including dialogue, thoughts,
actions, and description.
b. The students will understand that authors use many techniques to effectively create
interesting, three-dimensional characters.
Affective (feel/value) and/or Non-Cognitive:
c. The students will feel that their own thoughts and ideas are valued during class
discussion.
Performance (do):
d. The students will be able to support their conclusions about a character using specific
evidence from the text.

SOLs:

Akers-Pecht 2
11.1 The student will make informative and persuasive presentations.
c) Address counterclaims.
d) Support and defend ideas in public forums.
CCSs:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.c
Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence;
ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarify, verify, or challenge ideas
and conclusions; and promote divergent and creative perspectives.
Assessments: Methods for evaluating each of the specific objectives listed above.
Diagnostic: Students will demonstrate what they already know about characterization by:
Participating in an informal discussion about the main character of The Tell-Tale Heart
as they read (objectives a, b, and c)
Formative: Students will show their progress towards todays objectives by:
Participating in a fishbowl discussion using specific evidence from the text (objectives c
and d, SOL 11.1 c and d, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.c)
Summative: Students will ultimately be assessed in a future lesson on their understanding of the
objectives by:
Completing a creative project on The Raven in which they use specific evidence to
support their interpretation (objective d)
Materials Needed:
Copies of the anticipation guide for all students
Copies of The Tell-Tale Heart for all students
Copy of guiding questions along with my own notes for discussion
PowerPoint including instructions for the fishbowl activity
Index cards for students to write down points they would like to add to the fishbowl
discussion

Instructional Steps (Procedures): Detail student and teacher behavior.

[Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.]
Beginning Room Arrangement: The students desks will be placed in an arrangement for the
fishbowl discussion. Eight students will be placed in the inner circle of the fishbowl (four on one
side of the debate, and four on the other). Outside of the circle will be 16 more desks (eight on
one side, and eight on the other).

Akers-Pecht 3
1.

[<5 mins.] Hook: Anticipation guide

The students will complete a short anticipation guide on The Tell-Tale Heart. This guide will
be available on each desk at the beginning of the block so that students can get started as soon as
the bell rings. These questions will prime them for the fishbowl discussion to later be had. The
students will take no more than five minutes reading and responding to each statement.

2.

[5 mins.] Step 1: Brief sharing of anticipation guide responses

I will ask for the students to vote by raising their hands to indicate whether they agreed or
disagreed with a statement. I will call on volunteers to explain why they voted in a certain way
and to give examples of how each statement may be true or false.
Given these several prompts, I will ask the students to make predictions on what they believe
will happen during The Tell-Tale Heart.

3.

[10 mins.] Step 2: Background on characterization

I will inform the students that if they havent guessed already, The Tell-Tale Heart involves a
protagonist who may or may not be insane. I will advise them to consider the narrators sanity as
they read by examining the following clues that Poe leaves us in his writing: the characters
actions, his thoughts, and any dialogue that may occur. (I will map these hints up on the board as
I introduce them to the students.) I will inform them that these clues Poe leaves us assist him in
developing his main character and will be useful tools to them later on in a discussion well have
today.
I will also ask the students to be aware of the words that Poe uses to develop his setting and his
main character in the Gothic style. (We will have already done work on analyzing the Gothic
style in our previous class introducing this literary movement.) I will briefly ask for volunteers to
remind us of what the Gothic style includes and list these characteristics up on the board as the
students share them (i.e., supernatural elements, the evil nature of mankind,
psychological/introspective issues, etc.). If necessary, I will provide students with examples that
weve discussed already to guide them to these major points of Gothic literature.

4.

[20 mins.] Step 3: Reading The Tell-Tale Heart

I will distribute copies of The Tell-Tale Heart to the students. I will begin by reading the first
paragraph aloud and then asking for volunteers to each read a paragraph of the text. I will

Akers-Pecht 4
periodically pause to ask guiding questions about the protagonist, Poes use of words to develop
his main character and Gothic elements, and the mood of the passages in general (as we will
have focused heavily on mood in the previous class).
If no students volunteer to read at any given point, I will likely call on a student to keep reading.
I will provide guiding questions to help students reach conclusions about the text, encouraging
them to look to specific words and evidence from the story to help them answer their questions.

5.

[5 mins.] Step 4: Explaining instructions to fishbowl discussion

Using a PowerPoint to help the students visualize the format of fishbowl discussion, I will
explain the instructions and rules of this activity to them. I will tell the students that they will
each be able to make one point while in the inner ring of the fishbowl before cycling out. If they
feel inclined, they can pass a note with a comment to someone in the inner ring while theyre
sitting on the outside ring and unable to speak. Otherwise, they should be recording important
points that people in the inner ring make so that they can address these once they are in the inner
circle and able to talk.
I will allow students to ask questions about the instructions before showing them the topic of
their debate: Is the narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart guilty of first degree murder, or is he not
guilty by reason of insanity? Use evidence from the text to support your case. I will explain that
the students on one side will argue that he is guilty, while those on the opposite side will argue
that he is not guilty. The students will have their texts with them during this debate in order to
refer to specific details in the story to support their evidence, much like lawyers provide exhibits
of evidence in a courtroom.
I will ensure that all of the students questions are answered before we begin the discussion.

6.

[15 mins.] Fishbowl discussion

I will leave the instructions for the fishbowl discussion on the PowerPoint presentation as the
students talk for them to refer back to. I will act largely as a facilitator during this portion of the
discussion and will step in if the students fail to adhere to the instructions on the board. As the
students talk, I will also encourage them to look to the text to find evidence to back up their
arguments if they fail to return to the story in their discussion.
After each student has made one statement, the eight students in the inner circle will cycle out
and eight more in the outer circle will cycle in. Once all 24 students have spoken in the inner
circle, I will stop the discussion.

Akers-Pecht 5

7.

Closing [<5 mins.] Vote on final opinion

After the fishbowl discussion, I will ask the students to vote on their final opinions for how they
would sentence the narrator based on evidence from the text. I will ask which side they believe
argued their case better while using specific lines from Poes short story. I will remind them that
moving forward, using such specific evidence will strengthen their writing as well as the points
they make during class discussion.

Attention to Individual Student Needs: (Differentiation): Detail specific actions/materials

you will use to differentiate instruction in this lesson.
Several of my students with 504 plans and IEPs need clarified instructions. By leaving the
instructions for the fishbowl activity on the board and asking the students to clarify and discuss
them ahead of time, I will allow all students to refer back to the directions without singling
anyone out by providing them with individual copies.
I will also consciously group which students are in the fishbowl together at one time. Those
students who have difficulty contributing to discussion or those who have lower readiness levels
in the analysis of texts so far can participate in the inner circle of the fishbowl first when most
comments will not have already been stated. The discussion will likely become more complex
over time, so those students who are comfortable contributing and have exhibited higher levels
of analysis in their writing can join the fishbowl later on when they will need to push themselves
to find more evidence than what has already been presented so far.
For the summative assessment testing students ability to use specific evidence from a Poe work,
the students will have the choice of a creative product to capitalize on their interests while
expressing their interpretations of this literary work. They will be able to create an artistic,
musical, or written interpretation so that this assignment will be differentiated based on their
interests and provide them with some autonomy in choosing how they would like to analyze
Poes mood and themes.

Technology Use: Detail specific technology being used in the lesson with explanation for
why it is being used.
I will use a PowerPoint presentation projected on the board to give the students a visual of how
fishbowl discussion physically looks. Additionally, the PowerPoint will constantly display the
rules for fishbowl discussion as the students speak so that they can refer back to it throughout the
conversation. If a student strays from the directions (for example, by speaking out of turn) I can

Akers-Pecht 6
always simply point to the rule on the PowerPoint slide to keep them on track instead of
interrupting with a verbal comment.
Additionally, as we review the elements of Gothic literature at the beginning of class in step 2, I
can always refer back to the visuals (including paintings that portray the mood of Gothic works)
that I will have used in the previous class to jog the students memory about the mood of Gothic
works.

Akers-Pecht 7
Materials Appendix:
Anticipation Guide: The Tell-Tale Heart
1) People who are insane always know that they are insane.
Disagree
2) Insane people should not be held accountable for their
Disagree
crimes to the same degree as sane people.
3) It is normal to imagine that you hear or see things that
Disagree
arent actually there.
4) It is possible to love and hate someone at the same
Disagree
time.
5) It is impossible to commit the perfect murder.
Disagree

Agree

Agree

Agree

Agree

Agree

Akers-Pecht 8
Guiding Questions
How does Poe set the mood for the story from the very beginning? How do you know? (Look at
specific words or descriptions he gives us.) How can you tell that this is a Gothic work from the
first paragraph or so?
Why does the narrator decide to kill the old man? Do you think that this is a decision that a sane
person would make?
What is the narrators argument for why he is sane? Is it convincing, and why or why not?
What words and descriptions does Poe use to create an atmosphere of suspense in the scene
where the narrator is about to kill the old man? How do these techniques reflect those of Gothic
literature?
How does the narrator continue to try to persuade us that he is sane even after he has killed the
old man?
What is happening in this final scene? What do you think the police officers are thinking, and
how can you tell from specific evidence in the story?
What do you think happened after the ending? From where is the narrator likely telling us his
story?