Lesson Planning Form for Accessible Instruction Calvin College Education Program

Teacher
Date

Aaron Potter

11/12/14

Subject/ Topic/ Theme "My Dungeon Shook" by James Baldwin

Grade ____11th Grade___

I. Objectives
How does this lesson connect to the unit plan?
It is one of the shorter pieces of African American literature we will be reading in class while the students read their novels out of class.
cognitiveR U Ap An E C*

Learners will be able to:

Recognize the rhetorical strategies used by Baldwin in this essay.

- This will be shown through in class discussion.
Understand that the main message of this essay is that love overcomes hatred.
- This will be shown through in class discussion.
Recognize their and my own complicitness in systemic racism and injustice and express their thoughts on this in
writing, including what we can do about it.
- This will be done in their journals.
Understand the concept of perspective-taking (viewing the world from someone else's point-of-view and
understanding that point of view, even if you don't agree with it).
- This will be done through their journals.

physical
development

socioemotional

RU
U An
UEC

Common Core standards (or GLCEs if not available in Common Core) addressed:

Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the
power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text.
(From the Common Core English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Informational Texts for Grade 11-12)
(Note: Write as many as needed. Indicate taxonomy levels and connections to applicable national or state standards. If an objective applies to particular learners
write the name(s) of the learner(s) to whom it applies.)
*remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create

II. Before you start

Identify prerequisite
knowledge and skills.

The only prerequisites are the ability to read and discuss at a high school level and write an informal
but thoughtful journal entry.
Pre-assessment (for learning):
Formative (for learning):

Outline assessment
activities
(applicable to this lesson)

Formative (as learning):

Summative (of learning): Journal entry in Baldwin's voice relating what he says in "My Dungeon

Shook" to what he says in "Who is the Nigger."

Provide Multiple Means of
Representation
Provide options for perceptionmaking information perceptible

What barriers might this

lesson present?

I will be showing a brief video of

Baldwin that highlights some of the
ideas of the essay.

What will it take

neurodevelopmentally,
experientially,
emotionally, etc., for your
students to do this lesson?

Provide options for language,

mathematical expressions, and
symbols- clarify & connect
language

9-15-14

Provide Multiple Means of

Action and Expression
Provide options for physical actionincrease options for interaction

Provide Multiple Means of

Engagement
Provide options for recruiting
interest- choice, relevance, value,
authenticity, minimize threats

Provide options for expression and

communication- increase medium
of expression

Provide options for sustaining

effort and persistence- optimize
challenge, collaboration, masteryoriented feedback
In their journals students will write
as though they were Baldwin and
make connections between "My
Dungeon Shook" and "Who is the
Nigger."

Provide options for comprehensionactivate, apply & highlight

I will be showing a brief video of
Baldwin that highlights some of the
ideas of the essay.

Materials-what materials
(books, handouts, etc) do
you need for this lesson
and are they ready to
use?

Provide options for executive

functions- coordinate short & long
term goals, monitor progress, and
modify strategies

Provide options for self-regulationexpectations, personal skills and

strategies, self-assessment &
reflection

- "My Dungeon Shook" essay (online) and questions (printed out)

Baldwin, J., & Contributor (2014). A letter to my nephew. The Progressive. Retrieved from http://www.progressive.org/news/2014/08/5047/letter-my-nephew

- "Who is the Nigger" clip

twreflect (2010, April 23). Who is the nigger? - james baldwin (clip) [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watchv=L0L5fciA6AU

- Every student needs their journal

- Projector and screen

In the usual rows facing the whiteboard and projector screen.

How will your classroom
be set up for this lesson?

III. The Plan

Time

Components

Motivation
(opening/
introduction/
engagement)
9:55

10:15

10:17

10:30

10:40

9-15-14

Development
(the largest
component or
main body of
the lesson)

Describe teacher activities

AND
student activities
for each component of the lesson. Include important higher order thinking questions and/or
prompts.
- The students will have been assigned to read and
annotate "My Dungeon Shook" the night before
and then bring them to class for discussion.
- The students will have the first twenty minutes of
class to discuss in their groups about their novel
projects. Rotate, observing and answering
questions as needed.

- You will have been assigned to read and annotate

"My Dungeon Shook" the night before and then
bring them to class for discussion.
- Take the first twenty minutes of class to discuss
your novel projects in your groups.

- Give a little background on "My Dungeon Shook"

(From "The Fire Next Time," same author as "Go
Tell it on the Mountain," same year (1963) as "I
Have a Dream," quote from the same spiritual).
This incorporates a bit of Civil Rights Era history.
- Have the students take out their "My Dungeon
Shook" annotations, pass out questions, put them
into groups of three, and have them discuss the
answers to the questions.
- Bring the class back together and discuss all
together about the questions. Emphasize the
importance of accepting responsibility and that
Baldwin's response is not hate, but love and unity
and thus is ultimately hopeful.
- Show the "Who is the Nigger" clip.

- Listen as the instructor gives some background on

"My Dungeon Shook."

- Take out your "My Dungeon Shook" essays, pick

up a question sheet, get into your assigned group of
three, and go over the answers.
- Come together with the rest of class and discuss
the questions all together.

- Watch the "Who is the Nigger" clip.

10:43
Closure
(conclusion,
culmination,
wrap-up)

10:53

- Pass out the students' journals and have students

take the last ten minutes to respond in them to what
we have talked about during class. Put up the main
points of "My Dungeon Shook" and "Who is the
Nigger" on the board and have them write a journal
from Baldwin's point-of-view connecting the two
pieces together based on these main points. If they
don't have time to finish they can do so at home.
- Thank the students for good work and
participation.

- Pick up your journals and respond in them to

what we have talked about during class. The main
points of "My Dungeon Shook" and "Who is the
Nigger" will be on the board and you should write
a journal from Baldwin's point-of-view connecting
the two pieces together based on these main points.
If you don't have time to finish you can do so at
home.

Your reflection about the lesson, including evidence(s) of student learning and engagement, as well as ideas for improvement
for next time. (Write this after teaching the lesson, if you had a chance to teach it. If you did not teach this lesson, focus on the
process of preparing the lesson.)
I think this lesson went well when I taught it. Based on how they answered questions the students seemed to be grasping the
essentially points of the text, some more than others depending on how explicitly they were stated in the text, but that is to be
expected. Also, I was pleased that the students generally seemed understanding of the fact that we as members of the
dominant culture are not innocent of the oppression people like us have caused because we are complicit members of an
oppressive society whether we realize it or not. I thought this was especially important for my students to understand because
all of them are well-to-do members of the upper-middle class and all but one of them are white (one of the boys is Asian
American). I tried my best not to leave them feeling hopeless and guilty, though, emphasizing what Baldwin says about loving
and forgiving others, working together, and having hope for the future. I sure hope all that sunk in, and I think it did based
on their responses. I probably could have talked more about the rhetorical strategies Baldwin uses in the questions, but I
think the ideas we talked about of love, tolerance, accepting responsibility, and having hope all amidst the darkness of racism
were really powerful and none of the talk was a waste of time. One really unfortunate last minute change I had to make,
though, was cutting the journal writing because Ms. LaGrand needed to have them discuss in their reading groups at the
beginning and it went a bit long. With not enough time left to pass out journals and get solid entries written I led the class in
a brief discussion about the connections between the video and the essay and based on their answers I feel like they did get it.
I had chosen the journals originally as a good type of informal assessment utilizing resources already used regularly in the
class.

9-15-14