Erin Percacciolo Donika Zherka Commentary 2

1: Lesson Plan #2 (Literary Devices) 2: Promoting a Positive Learning Environment A) There are multiple examples of how mutual respect for, rapport with, and responsiveness to students are demonstrated throughout the lesson. An indicator of this would be the acknowledgement of the students backgrounds and lives outside the classroom in the lesson. The lesson was specifically geared towards their own lives and how they themselves have experienced loss of innocence. Engaging the students with their own personal lives demonstrated to them that I care for them and their interests. By gearing a major assessment towards writing a rap song about a personal experience was a way for students to write about themselves. This allowed them to give me respect because they realized I respect them. The students demonstrated respect for each other as well. The lesson required group work in which they had to work together to come up with answers. The students were respectful during the discussion by allowing everyone to speak, by actively listening, by taking turns, and by speaking respectfully. I showed the students respect and they reciprocated it back to me. My body language contributed to this respect as well. I was warm with the students while I spoke but I also gave off a warm body language. At 1:35 in the video clip I laugh with the student and allow for mistakes while also correcting the student and help push to deepen their thinking. At 4:58 in the clip and in many other sections I encourage the good work that students are giving. During group work I walked around to let the students know they could ask questions if needed. When the students did have questions I allowed my body language to convey I was open for all questions. This

positive learning environment allowed the students to have a safe environment in which they feel comfortable being in.

3: Engaging Students in Learning

A) Students constructed meaning through learning what literary terms are, their definitions, and how they are used in literary works. They performed interpretations through poetry, songs, and real life examples of literary terms in written works. They responded to the Katy Perry song for homework by composing a paragraph about which literary terms they identified and how they might contribute to the song as a whole. Students also created a literary rap video where they demonstrated their ability to use these new terms in everyday context. B) Our instruction linked students prior academic learning by connecting a previous unit on poetry. The poetry unit and prior lessons taught the students how to close read poetry. Now the students will be able to combine those close reading poetry skills with the new skill set on how to identify literary terms in different literary works. Personal, cultural, and community assets were combined with this instruction through the song activity and rap assignment. In the literary terms rap video students composed, they were encouraged to use their own creativity, personal, and cultural backgrounds to aid in their development of their video.

4: Deepening Student Learning during Instruction

A) During our lesson we elicited and built on student responses to promote thinking and develop students abilities to constructing meaning, interpret, and respond to complex

texts by encouraging them to take challenging risks in literacy. We participated in a grand conversation with the students and had students respond to questions pertaining to what literary devices are and how they are used. When they responded we challenged them to create their own sentences in which they incorporated examples of these literary terms. They completed worksheets that assisted them in understanding how literary terms are used in everyday life. The final assessment challenged students to use their own creative ideas to compose a literary rap in which they were required to incorporate a certain amount of literary terms and exemplify their meaning. B) We supported students in using song references because students were required to provide such evidence in their responses to how literary terms were incorporated into their selected songs.

5: Analyzing Teaching A) There is always room for changes regarding lesson plans. This lesson plan has a few things that wouldnt hurt to revise. The biggest component of a lesson is pacing. The pacing of this lesson could be adjusted so that the students dont feel rushed and to ensure maximum learning of the topic. Transitioning could be done better so the students do not feel flustered going from one activity to the next. By adjusting the transitioning and the pacing, the rap video at the end could have been discussed and there wouldve been closure for the students. Instead, at 21:23 of the clip I started the video before the students finished their exit slips. This distracted the students from their responses. Since the pacing did not work out as great, there was no closure for the students. B) These changes would ensure student learning for the better. By slowing down the pace of the lesson, the student will have a bigger opportunity to let the lesson sink in or ask questions. There is a lot of room to lose student attention because there are pauses

here and there where the student is not engaged. If the activities are minimized and the pacing slowed down then the students will be able to focus more on one main activity. According to Gererd Dixie in his article Introducing Pace and Purpose into your Lessons there are different stages when preparing the pace of a lesson. In The Planning Stage we must keep in mind that student learning is our main focus. To ensure this, the teacher must make sure to be prepared for every class period. With that said, we must also keep in mind to not get side tracked during class. With all the preparation that is made, side tracking will throw off the lesson that was prepared. One issue that I believe I will keep in mind is the handing out of worksheets. Instead of wasting time handing them out, it would be a great idea to have them ready for the students on their desks while they walk into class. The overall element of figuring out pacing is to practice the lesson at home and time everything. Setting a time limit for activities will ensure that the lesson will proceed as planned.