Respond to the prompts below (no more than 9 single-spaced pages, including prompts). 1. Central Focus a.

Describe the central focus and purpose for the content you will teach in this learning segment. The central focus of this learning segment is analyzing the authors use of short story elements (plot, characters, setting, theme, style, point of view) to create a personal connection between the reader and the protagonist in An Underground Episode. We will examine each element in depth while students are in class; throughout the learning segment, they will produce several completed graphic organizers to prove their learning. Students will have opportunities in class to engage in each of the four language domains: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. This learning segment is part of a larger short story unit, so students will have additional opportunities to practice analyzing short story elements as we continue through the unit. b. Provide the title, author (or, if a film, the director), and a short description (about a paragraph in length) of salient features of the text(s) that a reviewer of your evidence, who is unfamiliar with the text(s), needs to know in order to understand your instruction. If there is more than one text, indicate the lesson(s) where each text will be the focus. Consider including the following in your description: genre, text structure, theme, plot, imagery, or linguistic features, depending on the central focus of your learning segment. Text: An Underground Episode by Edmund Ware Genre: Short story Plot: A boy crawls through an underground pipe to unclog it. Along the way, he battles fear and doubt; the climax is when he hears a crew members voice and begins to believe he will make it through the pipe. Characters: an unnamed 17-year-old boy, several crew members Setting: outdoors, in the rain (otherwise unknown) Themes: Family can be found outside of blood relations; hope can overcome doubt even in the bleakest of situations Style: Lots of narration but very little dialogue; figurative language (similes and metaphors); Point of View: 3rd person Conflict: Person v. self (inner conflict) c. Given the central focus, describe how the standards and learning objectives within your learning segment address students abilities to (1) comprehend, construct meaning from, and interpret complex text and (2) create a written product interpreting or responding to complex features of a text. All of my learning objectives are tied directly to MN State Standards; I will address the standards here. The pre-reading activities in the first lesson of this learning segment are designed to aid comprehension. By activating memories or experiences that connect them with the protagonist, I can help students frame the story in something personal; within that framework, then, I can draw on their remembered thoughts and emotions to help them

infer what the protagonist may be thinking and feeling (MN State Standard 9.4.3.3). I chose to have them write about their experiences instead of sharing them aloud in hopes that they will explore relevant memories deeply and personally. Most students trust me, and they know I will not share their journals with anyone else unless absolutely necessary. Throughout the learning segment, students will refer back to the text to construct meaning (9.4.1.1, 9.7.9.9). Finding evidence in the text to support and alter their claims is something that does not seem to come naturally to 9th graders, but it is one of the most important skills I can teach them. No matter what profession they end up pursuing, they will need to be able to defend themselves logically. I introduced this skill with our first unit on William Goldings Lord of the Flies, so I should not have to teach it explicitly; however, I will continue to provide guidance and feedback as they continue to practice and improve. Whether students are working in groups or asking me individual questions, I try to respond with questions of my own that encourage them to think more deeply. For example, if a student has chosen a quote to support his interpretation of the text, I will ask him to explain HOW the quote proves his point. Our exploration of each story element on a deeper level (9.4.5.5, 9.4.2.2) is meant to take students beyond comprehension and construction of meaning to interpretation. The element that most directly leads to interpretation is theme, so I leave that for last; by the time we get there, students should have plenty of ideas in their heads, and my job is simply to show them how to connect the dots. Because we did a major formal writing assignment with Lord of the Flies, I am not asking students to write another formal essay during our short story unit. Instead, we will work on writing over shorter time frames and for different purposes (9.7.10.10). They will write a formal paragraph, but the rest of our writing will be informal; students know that when I assign an informal writing assignment, I do not grade on spelling and grammar, but on the quality of thought. I tell them often that I see writing as a means of exploring our own thoughts. The two graphic organizers that I will ask students to complete (a plot map and a character tracker) will help them gather evidence to create and support an interpretation of the text. After they complete each graphic organizer, I will ask them to write a sentence on the back that summarizes their findings. I want them to be able to see both the individual plot points AND the story, both the individual character traits AND the character. d. Explain how your plans build on each other to help students make connections between textual references, constructions of meaning, interpretations, and responses to a text to deepen their learning of English-Language Arts. An Underground Episode is our fourth short story out of seven; students have already read three different short stories and completed three story wheels. We have discussed plot, characters, setting, theme, style, and point of view on a surface level so that they understand each concept, and now I believe students are ready to delve into each aspect at a deeper level. The first lessons pre-reading exercises will lead them into the story and encourage them to make a personal connection to the protagonist on a personal level when we read it as part of the second lesson. If they have their own struggles in mind, it will be much easier for them to see the connection between the protagonists struggle and their own. The plot takes on metaphorical meaning when taken out of one setting and into another. The goal-setting portion of this lesson should also reinforce the will to go deeper; these students are excellent at setting the bar high and exceeding their own goals.

Students have just finished writing, revising, and editing a five-paragraph essay, and they have been keeping journals all quarter; theoretically, they are used to both formal and informal writing. The journal prompt and paragraph assignment in the first lesson should build on what they already know about writing. The grammar mini-lesson on complements builds on both the parts of speech grammar unit we finished before winter break and the subject-verb mini-lesson we will complete just prior to this lesson. Students will need to be able to identify parts of speech in order to determine where the complements are in a sentence. This learning segment is designed around an effort to make literature relevant and accessible to students. Ideally, they will go beyond seeing the text as a story and begin to see it as a creative way of describing a universal human experience. The learning segment as a whole is another step in our short story unit; after An Underground Episode, we have three more stories to read and discuss before the end of the quarter. I will continue to explore story elements on deeper planes and through different viewpoints as we progress from story to story. 2. Knowledge of Students to Inform Teaching For each of the prompts below (2ab), describe what you know about your students with respect to the central focus of the learning segment. Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different strategies/support (e.g., students with IEPs, English language learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted students). a. Prior academic learning and prerequisite skills related to the central focusWhat do students know, what can they do, and what are they learning to do? Students have been through short story units in both 7th grade and 8th grade, where the focus was on plot and setting with a brief introduction to characterization. This particular group of students had excellent English teachers both years. In 9A, we have already defined and discussed short story elements and format through exploration of three other short stories. Students should be able to identify and define story elements by this point. The next step is helping them to articulate how and why authors create certain effects within the framework of a short story. They are learning to look at specific choices an author has made (regarding dialogue, characterization, plot, etc.) and to explain the effect those choices has on the story in question. Ultimately, my goal is that students will start to see that authors make the choices they do in order to emphasize certain parts of an experience and to connect with readers. b. Personal/cultural/community assets related to the central focusWhat do you know about your students everyday experiences, cultural backgrounds and practices, and interests? The people who live in this community are largely white, middle-class families. The most prominent diversity is socioeconomic; some of the students at the high school travel around the world with their parents, while others are homeless and struggling just to get by. The community is situated just west of a much larger city (around 80,000 people), with several major employers. Many of my students have parents who work for major companies in high-income positions.

Most of my class is Christian and many students are active participants in church activities; they know each other better because of out-of-school programs through the local churches. Many of my students are involved in sports, music, drama, and other extra-curricular activities, where they have learned to be fiercely competitive. As freshmen, many of them were struggling with self-doubt before they ever walked into my classroom. There is a lot of pressure on todays teens, and our school is a breeding ground for self-doubt. I also know that many of my students come from broken homes. 3. Supporting Students English-Language Arts Learning Respond to prompts 3ac below. As needed, refer to the instructional materials and lesson plans you have included to support your explanations. Use principles from research and/or theory to support your explanations, where appropriate. a. Explain how your understanding of your students prior academic learning and personal/cultural/community assets (from prompts 2ab above) guided your choice or adaptation of learning tasks and materials. I chose to begin with a personal writing assignment because so many of my students struggle with self-doubt and broken homes. I expect that some of them will be hesitant to share anything personal I believe thats a defense mechanism and that others will share very personal information in an effort to make someone care about them. The storys themes relating to family will hit home for a good portion of my class. These kids need to understand that literature is about human connections, and that no matter what their family situations are, someone in their lives cares deeply about them. Because students have worked primarily with plot and setting in their previous short story units, I will address setting only briefly and plot in terms of specific details (initial incident, climax, etc.). We will spend much more time looking at additional story elements, like characterization and style. b. Describe and justify why your instructional strategies and planned supports are appropriate for the whole class and students with similar or specific learning needs. Consider students with IEPs, English language learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted students. The desks in my classroom are set up in a U shape, which is designed to allow students to help each other without distracting each other. No plan is perfect, but I am hoping that this will be an improvement over pods (groups of four desks) for this particularly social group of freshmen. At our school, students who are on IEPs or 504 plans all have access to the resource room and extra support from a paraprofessional when one is available. If my students ask to go to the resource room, I usually let them, especially during work time or quizzes/tests. I understand that sometimes those extra supports are necessary in order to even the playing field. The personal writing assignment is a great way to differentiate, because I can adapt assessment criteria to each students ability level while still assigning the same homework to everyone in the class. For example, I can expect my student on a 504 plan to make a personal connection to the text just like his classmates, but I might expect a shorter reflection or be more lenient when assessing grammar. My gifted students will be able to write more (I never give them a maximum page length). My background in ESL has taught me that ELs benefit from as much practice with the language as they

can get writing makes them think and helps them learn, as long as I dont grade their grammar and mechanics too harshly. In general, the pre-reading assignment and activities will help all of my students gain access to the text. When it comes to the graphic organizers, I will give students specific directions in terms of how many pieces of textual evidence they need for certain parts. I will give students a minimum but no maximum, so that my students with learning disabilities or special needs will know what their goal is and my gifted students can work as hard as they want. I will use a variety of groupings throughout the learning segment, but will rely heavily on partner/small group work; that grouping allows my gifted students to answer their own questions while I help the students who need individual attention. c. Describe common student errors or misunderstandings within your content focus and how you will address them. At this level, a lot of students have trouble understanding why we examine story elements, particularly authors style. As stated above, this whole learning segment is designed to help them connect with literature. This particular story, An Underground Episode, also provides new challenges for students in terms of plot mapping. There are not a lot of events, but there are a lot of shifts in the main characters thoughts and perspective. Using the graphic organizers on plot and character in conjunction with one another will hopefully help students understand that plot does not always have to be events. This will be most evident when it comes to the climax of the story, which is a major shift in the main characters thinking. I will also directly address this issue in class once students have completed their graphic organizers. 4. Supporting English-Language Arts Development Through Language a. Language Demand: Language function. Identify one language function essential for students within your central focus. Listed below are some sample language functions. You may choose one of these or another more appropriate for your learning segment. (Analyze Argue Describe Evaluate Explain Interpret Justify Synthesize) Analyzing short story elements (plot, characters, theme, and style) b. Identify a key learning task from your plans that provides students with opportunities to practice using the language function identified above. In which lesson does the learning task occur? (Give lesson/day number.) Character analysis grid (lesson 3) c. Additional Language Demands. Given the language function and task identified above, describe the following associated language demands (written or oral) students need to understand and/or use. a. Vocabulary The character analysis grid that students will complete includes several important vocabulary words. There is a circle at the center that is labeled conflict; because it is one of the terms we discussed during the introduction to our short story unit, students already know what conflict is in terms of literature

and know the four different types of conflict that can exist in short stories (person v. self, person v. person, person v. nature, person v. society). They will need to draw on that previous learning to complete the center circle. There is also a section at the bottom of the page for authors theme we have discussed theme in relation to literature, too. When we began the short story unit, I told students we would be analyzing short story elements and defined analysis as picking something apart and looking at the different parts to see how they work together. That is what we will do with the character grid. As students read the story, they will notice what the main character says and does, but until they look at those pieces in conjunction with what others think about the main character, they probably will not get a clear picture of that character. Analysis is the way we create meaning from the many pieces of evidence in a text. Students will need to be able to discuss these things orally during work time and express their understanding in writing on the graphic organizer. b. Plus at least one of the following: i. Syntax ii. Discourse In English-Language Arts, knowledge construction involves supporting claims with evidence from the text. Part of the discourse associated with the character analysis grid, then, is providing page numbers or specific quotes from the story itself to answer the questions provided. We have also talked in depth about how to have a discussion about literature. Students know that instead of calling someone elses idea wrong, they should tell us that they disagree; they know that we need to take turns talking and build on one anothers ideas to create an understanding that works. I hope to hear polite, respectful conversation while students work on their character grids. d. Consider the range of students understandings of the language function and other demandswhat do students already know, what are they struggling with, and/or what is new to them? As stated above, my students should already know how to have polite, respectful discussions about literature; however, they still need to practice. Students will also need to continue practicing the art of analysis on their own, which includes reading and picking out important information, organizing and understanding information, and creating and expressing the overall effect of that information on the text. Thats a lot to ask of 14- and 15-year-olds, but with the right guidance and lots of practice, they should get the hang of it. e. Language Supports. Refer to your lesson plans and instructional materials as needed in your response to the prompt. a. Describe the instructional supports (during and/or prior to the learning task) that help students understand and successfully use the language function and additional language identified in prompts 4ac.

I chose to have students complete the character analysis grid instead of simply diving into characterization because the grid will help them organize their evidence and see both the parts and the whole at the same time. Before I set them loose to work, I intend to walk them through the parts of the grid as a large group; hopefully, that will ward off some of the questions that will interrupt work time. While students are working, I will circulate and answer any remaining questions, addressing the class as a whole when necessary. While students are working, I will allow them to use their classmates as resources AFTER they have done their own best work. I believe that collaboration is an important piece of any classroom and that students learn more when they have to defend their ideas. Once students have spent time working on their own and in small groups, I will bring them back together as a large group and discuss further 33 minds are better than 1. 5. Monitoring Student Learning Refer to the assessments you will submit as part of the materials for Task 1. a. Describe how your planned formal and informal assessments will provide direct evidence of students abilities to comprehend, construct meaning from, interpret, and/or respond to a complex text throughout the learning segment. I will ask students to turn in the story map, the first person narrative, and the character analysis grid; between the three, I should be able to get a sense of how well they are navigating the text and our discussion surrounding it. If students are able to correctly place the most difficult information (such as the climax) in the correct place without my help, I will know they are succeeding in analyzing the text. Although I believe in high expectations for all students, I doubt that very many of my students will have ALL of their information correct. Seeing which students have correctly placed which information will allow me to see which things we need to discuss further as a large group, either because the text is unclear or because I need to explain something better. I intend to use each of these assessments again for our remaining short stories, and I expect there will be a learning curve. In general, students will probably do better on these organizers the next time we use them. b. Explain how the design or adaptation of your planned assessments allows students with specific needs to demonstrate their learning. Consider all students, including students with IEPs, English language learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted students. On each of the graphic organizers, I expect students to give me textual evidence (page numbers and/or direct quotations). I will give all students a minimum but no maximum. That way, my struggling students will know exactly how much they need to do to get full credit, and my gifted students can do as much as they want to get a more complete picture of a given story element. Letting students work together once they have attempted each task on their own is another planned support for both struggling and gifted students; it allows them to share ideas and gain from each others understanding. I tell all of my students that I am more concerned with depth than length; I want to see that they have really thought about something, not that they can write a certain number of words. When it comes down to it, I grade on a combination of understanding and effort.

Reference List Buehl, D. (2009). Classroom strategies for interactive learning (3rd ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D., & Pollock, J. E. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.