Lesson Plan 6

EDIS 5882: English Education

Name: Dominique Matte

Context:
Date and time for which lesson will be taught: November 30, 2017 at 8:55 AM
Course name: American Studies (Honors English)
Grade level: 11
Length of lesson:
Description of setting, students, and curriculum and any other important contextual characteristics:
There are 24 students in this class. It is one of 4 sections of the American Studies team taught English/Social Studies
class. Of the students, two are Black, one is Asian, and the remainder of the students are Caucasian. One student has
an IEP. This is an every other day course. The students have not had class since Tuesday. On Tuesday, the students
did a character analysis for My Antonia by Willa Cather. We are about a quarter of the way through the book.
Students have a reading guide they are working on and the pacing is online for the book.

Objectives:
Number each objective to reference in the Assessment section
SWBAT:
Cognitive (know/understand):
1. evidence from the text can be used to support personal interpretation of the text
2what a text does not say is as important as what it does say

Affective (feel/value) and/or Non-Cognitive:

3. thoughtfully explore and evaluate the opinions and conclusions of others
4. considerately disagree with their peers responses
Performance (do):

5. utilize excerpts from a text to support responses to a variety of questions.

6assess deficiencies of information in a text to reveal information
7. synthesize information from various excerpts to form a cohesive opinion

SOLs: [List with numbers portrayed in the SOL document]

11.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze relationships among American literature, history,
and culture.
k) Generate and respond logically to literal, inferential, evaluative, synthesizing, and critical thinking
questions before, during, and after reading texts.

CCSs: [List with numbers portrayed in the CCS document]

(no equivalent to VA ELA SOL 11.4)

Assessments: Methods for evaluating each of the specific objectives listed above.
Please use the sentence stems to describe your assessments. In brackets after each assessment note the number of the
objective(s) from above being assessed
Diagnostic: Students will demonstrate what they already know about by
Character Study: The students did a character study during the previous task. They were tasked with finding quotes
and excerpts about different characters. This was followed by a discussion on the depth of the characters and how
they are portrayed in the text. (Obj. 1, 5)

Formative: Students will show their progress towards by

 Informal observation: During the discussion, the teacher will sit in with different pairs/groups to get a sense of
their understanding of the novel. This will allow the teacher to address any common misconceptions either
immediately within the group or to the whole class. (Obj. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Full class discussion: During the full class discussion, the teacher will be able to assess if students are
understanding the concepts and connecting with the text. Further, the teacher will be able to correct misconceptions
and identify parts of the text to revisit. (Obj. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Do Now: During the next class, the students will complete a Do Now asking them to explain a character who they
have questions about and where in the text their question stems from (Obj. 1, 5, 6,7).

Summative: Students will ultimately be assessed (today or in a future lesson) on by...

Midterm Exam: The students will be assessed on the book My Antonia as well as discussed text
features and characteristics of the book towards the end of December. (Obj. 1, 5, 6, 7)
SOL: Ultimately, the students will be assessed on the SOL for grade 11 at the end of the year.
(Obj. 1, 5, 6, 7)
Materials Needed:
This is just a list of the materials you will need for this lesson to occur. In the Materials Appendix below, you will include the
actual materials or links to what you will be using.
Appendix A: Discussion Guides
Appendix B: PowerPoint

Beginning Room Arrangement:

[Changes in this arrangement that become necessary later will be noted in the plan]
Students pick their own seats. The seats are in clusters of 5 with one cluster of 4. There are 6
clusters. The Welcome slide is projected on the board. Teacher is either at the door greeting or
fielding questions at the front of the room.
Instructional Steps (Procedures): Detail student and teacher actions, discourse, and behaviors.
[Note: Any words that represent what you will say directly to students appear in italics. When students are speaking, indicate
your target response as well as any possible student misconceptions and/or off-the-target responses and how you will
respond to them.]

1. [2 mins.] Bridge/Hook/Opening to lesson: Hello everyone! Hope everyone is enjoying their week.
Today we will continue discussing My Antonia. Again, we are working on communicating with various
peers to gain insight into different peoples perspectives and understandings of the text. Todays
discussion is a little similar to the Lighting Round discussion (better known as speed dating) that we did
on Monday.

2. [4 mins.] Directions: You will start out with one partner and discuss a few questions. Afterwards, you
will get new partners. However, unlike Monday, you will still stick with your original partner and instead
of rotating partners you will gain two people to your group. Then, after you discuss, we will have a whole
class discussion. So for now, lets start with our pairs. Everyone clear off everything from your desk
except for your reading guide and book if you havent already. Sam is going to pass out these graphic
organizers for me (Have any student hand out Appendix A). Okay, now that everyone has a sheet, you
have one minute to find a partner. Go find a partner and find somewhere to sit together. (Give students
one minute on the timer on your phone) Okay, time is up. Anyone not have a partner? (If so, match them
up. If you have an odd number of students, allow one group of three). Great. So, I am going to put up the
instructions for the first set of questions. On the sheet it is called Pebbled Pairs (make some sort of
cheesy English teacher alliteration joke here since you have been working on literary and poetic
devices).
3. [33 mins.] Discussion:
(8 min) Pebbled Pairs: You have 8 minutes with your partner. Remember, for all of these
questions you should PROVIDE EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT. You want to come to consensus
on your answer. Make sure you answer all aspects of the question. Raise your hand if you need
me. Get to it! (Set phone timer. Give students warnings at the 4, 2, and 1 minute marks. First,
while students are talking, assign each pair and even or an odd number. If an odd number of pairs,
finagle a group of three pairs.While students are talking, go around and sit in on some of the
discussion. Assess their understanding and correct any misconceptions with leading questions.
Anticipated misconceptions:
1. Not connecting Mrs. Shimerdas generosity to Mrs. Burdens generosity; clarify by
students for asking them how Mrs. Burden received Mrs. Shimerdas gift of mushrooms. How is
her gift of mushrooms different than what Mrs. Burden gives her? Is this response to the
exchange of goods Christianly?
2. Not noting the lack of voice Antonia has in the bartering of her wages. Push students
by asking if she says anything during the exchange. How does Mrs. Harling characterize what
Antonia says? How does Antonia find out about the job in the first place? Was it even her idea?
3. Not reflecting on the fact that Lena is a child when she is being harassed by Ole. What
exactly does Lena do that upsets everyone? Did she ask for his attention? Where do you see in the
text?
4. And, always, not using evidence from the text to support answers/providing answers
that cannot possibly be supported. Guide by asking where do you see that in the text? What quote
from the book supports that? What page is that on?)

(12 min) Rolling Rocks: Okay, time is up! Now, I want you to stay with the same partner and the
two of you are going to join another pair. If you are in an even numbered pair, find a pair with an
odd number. I will give you about one minute to get situation (set timer for 1 minute) Okay time is
up, is everyone with a second pair? (correct grouping if necessary) Go ahead and (Slide 4) spend
4 minutes talking about the first three questions. Then, move on and talk about questions 4 and 5.
Get to it! (Set a timer. After four minutes, let the students know they should be moving onto the
next set of questions and that they have 7 minutes. Give student warnings at the 3 and 1 minute
marks. While they are talking, go to each group and listen and direct. Anticipated issues:
1. Make sure each student is getting an opportunity to share. If a student in a group has
not said anything, give them a personal invitation. Mia, what did you think about this? What
character do you think is not fully developed?
2. make sure the students are not just listing character names, but are explaining HOW
that character is not fully developed and where the holes are. Make sure all parts of the questions
are getting answered. Great, so how exactly is Lena lacking? What do we not know about her?
What do we know about her?

(13 min) Boundless Boulders: Okay, great work everyone. I heard some awesome discussion. I
would like you to (Slide 5) go ahead and spend the next three minutes silently and on your own
answering the last two questions to the best of your ability. Jot down any ideas you may have,
and again, please you support from the text. (Give students 3 minutes. Give them a warning at the
1 minute mark). Alright, so lets talk about these. What arent we getting out of this book? What
is missing? How is it impacting us as the audience? Is there a bias here? (Let as many students
share as want to. Encourage students to support and respectfully contradict each other throughout.
Talk about this question for about 5 minutes. Try to find a good transition into the next question.)
Okay, so how would all that change if we had a different narrator? Would we get the same
book?(Discuss for the remaining five minutes.)
 4. [5 mins] Closure: Excellent discussion today everyone. Going forward in the book, I want you to pay
special attention to how the characters are portrayed by Jim. Look for these holes in information that we
noted. Check for your own biases towards certain characters that are based only on what he says.
Particularly, focus on his portrayal of female characters and their role. We are going to switch gears
now. Since you have a new paper deadline fast approaching, I want to touch on a few things that I
noticed in the last paper and address any questions

Attention to Individual Student Needs: (Differentiation):

Detail specific actions/materials you will use to differentiate instruction in this lesson. Use specific student names when
appropriate
Whole Class: Page numbers to go with questions 1-3 are written down and will be made available to
students clearly struggling to locate excerpts during the first pairing. The questions are all from the
recent reading, however some students may struggle to figure out exactly where. If they are, provide
some guidance to them so that they do not struggle through the entire conversation. However, emphasize
the importance of doing the reading when it is assigned and keeping up with the reading guide.
Sandy: Sandy struggles with instructions. Although most of the students in the class perform easily with
verbal instructions, Sandy gets easily confused and typically asks for clarification. During the
discussion, the instructions and times will be left on the board. This will allow Sandy to be able to
correct herself on her own without requiring teacher intervention.
Hayden: Hayden struggles with discussion. He wrote on his Student Interest Survey that he hates
talking in class and enjoys lecture. He has been noted to not talk at all in class and struggles in group
conversation. The time for answering questions on his own before the whole class share out will allow
him to articulate his own thoughts on the matter instead of just receiving the thoughts of others. He will
have a space to write down his ideas which will also allow the teacher to note if he is engaging with the
material, even if he is not doing so verbally during the larger part of the discussion
Technology Use:
Detail specific technology being used in the lesson with explanation for why it is being used.

PowerPoint to give instructions to keep students on task, particularly Sandy. Also allows teacher
to keep track of time as the times are on the PowerPoint. Provides students with accountability for
knowing how long they have on each thing.
Materials Appendix:
Include the actual materials or links to what you will be using. If you are using a handout or a PowerPoint, or giving a quiz,
etc., these documents (or links to them) must be included. (see the list above)
Appendix A: Graphic Organizer
Pebbled Pairs
1. How does Jim characterize Mrs. Shimerdas desire to give things away to people? Does this agree or
contradict with his Christian background?

2. What is Antonias role in bartering for her new wages? What is the tone in which Mrs. Harling
describes the event?

3. Review the gossip about Lena Linguard. What is her role in the events? How does this anecdote
characterize her? Do you agree that Antonia should judge Lena for her reputation?
Rolling Rocks

4. How does Jims perspective impact how the reader feels about each character? Does he favor some
over others?

5. Are all of the characters fully developed in the story? Which characters are lacking? What do they
have in common with each other?

Boundless Boulders

6. What does the reader not see because of the narrator? What is hidden from us?

7. How would it change if another character narrated the story? (It may be helpful to consider just one
character here)
Appendix B: PowerPoint
In Retrospect (to be completed after the lesson has been taught):
Reflect on the lesson after you taught it. Was there anything that surprised you? Discuss your students reactions and
behaviors to the activities you planned. Is there anything that you would do differently if you were to teach this again? What
would you do?

Overall, this lesson was great! The students worked consistently the entire class. The questions were tricky but seemed to get
them thinking a little more critically about the book. I really liked doing the snowball because the students typically sit with
the same group all of the time. I think it was good to get them talking to each other outside of their usual group. If I changed
anything, I would plan for more time for the first set of questions. I told them they had to pull quotes and consider things, so
this took them a lot longer than the other two sets of questions. It worked out fine, but still I would like to get better about
anticipating that kind of stuff. Further, I would have liked to have prepared a few more questions on my end to guide the full
class discussion. I did not have any points that I was definitely trying to hit, except for the general understanding of reading
between the lines, so I did not really lead it anywhere. The ending was awkward.