Akers-Pecht 1

Dottie Akers-Pecht
EDIS 5882
Observation 5
Context:
Date and time for which lesson will be taught: Thursday, November 5th from 1:20-2:20
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 will have just viewed a biography film on Frederick Douglass to introduce
them to the author of our next text, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. For homework,
they will have read William Lloyd Garrisons preface, Wendell Phillips letter, and Douglass first
four chapters, all of which are included in their text. The objectives of this lesson plan will be to
encourage the students to think about Douglass purposes as an author in writing his narrative,
while connecting them to the larger historical and cultural context of the antebellum era. Two
quotations I use in the PowerPoint are from sources that the students have already read, Twelve
Years a Slave and Olaudah Equianos Interesting Narrative, in order to draw on their prior
knowledge to explore another slave narrative.

Objectives (number each objective to reference in the Assessment section):

SWBAT:
Cognitive (know/understand):
a. Students will know persuasive techniques including appealing to a readers emotions.
Affective (feel/value) and/or Non-Cognitive:
b. Students will value one anothers contributions to discussion and will respond to one
anothers ideas respectfully.
Performance (do):
c. Students will be able to locate instances in a literary text where the author appeals to
the readers emotions.
d. Students will be able to analyze the authors intent and viewpoint.
SOLs:
11.4 e) Analyze how context and language structures convey an authors intent and viewpoint.
CCSs:

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as
well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters
uncertain.
Assessments: Methods for evaluating each of the specific objectives listed above.
Diagnostic: Students will demonstrate what they already know about how authors appeal to a
readers emotions by:
Participating in a Padlet discussion describing an emotional reaction that they had to an
instance in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (objectives a and b)
Formative: Students will show their progress towards todays objectives by:
Working in groups to locate and analyze instances in the text where the author appeals to
the readers emotions (objectives b, c, and d, SOL 11.4e, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1112.1)
Summative: Students will ultimately be assessed in a future lesson on their understanding of the
objectives by:
Completing an end-of-unit test on Narrative in the Life in which they will analyze
passages from the text in writing while using supporting evidence (objective d, SOL
11.4e, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1)
Materials Needed:
PowerPoint with information on sentimentality, preassessment and formative assessment
instructions
Padlet forum to be shown via an overhead projector as students respond
Students will need their laptops provided by the school or their phones to participate in
the Padlet discussion
Copies of the instructions for the group 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 will be seated in six groups with four to five
students at each cluster of desks. This way, they will already be prepared to participate in a group
discussion later in the lesson. The students will remain seated in this arrangement throughout the
block.
1.

[5 mins.] Introduction: Padlet discussion

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As the students arrive to class, they will see instructions and a link for the Padlet discussion on
the PowerPoint via the overhead projector. I will request that any students who dont
immediately do so get out their laptops or their phones to participate in the online discussion. I
will also answer any questions that the students have as they work. This portion of the lesson will
be done independently and silently so that the students can get their thoughts together and reflect
on what theyve read in preparation for todays discussion.
2.

[5 mins.] Step 1: Hook

I will tell the students that we will be able to return to the topic in this Padlet discussion in a
moment. I will explain that before we dive into the text, we need to understand some of the
larger cultural and social issues of the time period in order to fully appreciate the significance of
Douglass work.
I will first discuss a quotation in the PowerPoint presentation without explaining who its author
is, first getting the students to understand the meaning of this message that implies African
Americans should leave America upon the abolition of slavery. I will pause in periodic places
throughout the quotation to ask the students to infer its meaning as we go.
I will encourage the students to then guess who its author is before telling them that it was
Abraham Lincoln. I will explain that I am telling the students this not to discredit Lincoln, but to
show them how prevalent an idea it was during the time period that African Americans were
fundamentally different from white people.
3.

[10 mins.] Step 2: Background on sentimentality in antislavery literature

I will use this discussion of a prominent idea during the antebellum period to segue into a
discussion of Douglass literary techniques, including sentimentality. I will explain to the
students that Douglass used sentimentality, or appealing to the readers emotions, in order to
push back against ideals of the time period that African Americans were not equal to white
people.
From here, I will use two examples from literature that the students have already encountered
this semester by Olaudah Equiano and Solomon Northup. Before reading each example aloud, I
will ask the students to listen out for what specific words or phrases stand out to them as creating
emotion in the reader or expressing emotion in the writer. After we point out these specific
words, I will ask the students to discuss why the authors might have included these details and
how these vivid descriptions affect them as readers.
4.

[5 mins.] Step 3: Instructions for group discussions of Narrative of the Life

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From here, I will inform the students that they will now have the opportunity to find instances in
Douglass work where he appeals to the readers emotions using the technique of sentimentality.
I will have already assigned the groups with different portions of the text. The six groups will be
separated into William Lloyd Garrisons preface, Wendell Phillips letter (both of which are
included in the beginning of the novel), and Douglass Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, and
Chapter 4.
I will explain that the students will have about twenty minutes to complete the instructions on the
board. I will briefly talk through the instructions and ask if there are any questions. I will then
explain that the students will share with the whole class after their group discussion, and that
everyone in the group should contribute to this explanation of the passage that they chose to
analyze.
Before the students begin, I will pull the Padlet conversation back up so that they can refer back
to their own ideas or find inspiration from someone elses as they work.
5.

[15 mins.] Step 4: Group discussions

As the students discuss, I will walk around and ask them guiding questions if they seem stuck, or
request that they push their thinking further or even find another passage to analyze if they seem
to be finished ahead of time. I will encourage the students to use the text and cite specific phrases
or words in their explanations of what a passage means.
Towards the end of the fifteen minutes allotted for this section of the lesson, I will ensure that all
of the students know a specific point that they can make during the discussion, as everyone will
be expected to contribute in the explanation of their groups passage. I will tell the students that
they can write these points down if it helps them to keep them in mind as they work.
6.

[15 mins.] Sharing analysis of passages

I will call on the first group to share so that we can move throughout the text in the order that the
students assigned sections appear in the work. I will encourage everyone in the group to
participate as they first tell everyone what passage they chose (with the page number so that we
can follow along), and then explain what its overall significance to the work is as well as how it
appeals to the readers emotions. I will ask guiding questions to help the students to create larger
understandings and connect these ideas to texts weve previously read from authors like
Solomon Northup and Olaudah Equiano. I will write down salient points on the dry erase board
as the students share as well so that we can keep track of previous comments in the discussion.

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7.

Closing [<5 mins.] Review of discussion points

Before the students leave, I will briefly restate the major points we created in our discussion
today, which will be recorded on the board. I will remind the students to keep in mind Douglass
purpose as an author and abolitionist as they keep reading his narrative.
If time permits or if there is extra time at the end of the block, I will show a clip from the movie
Twelve Years a Slave to illustrate a scene from Douglass work where he discusses slave spiritual
songs and give the students an example of this kind of singing. I will play this clip earlier if it
comes up organically in the discussion or if a group chooses this scene to focus on. We will then
discuss how the scene brings to life Douglass use of sentimentality, as its packed with emotions
such as the sorrow that Douglass attributes to slaves singing (as opposed to joy as some people
assume).

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

you will use to differentiate instruction in this lesson.
I will be assigning different parts of Douglass narrative to different groups strategically based on
students readiness levels. Those students who have higher levels of analysis based on their
writing and discussion points so far in the semester will be placed in groups that study William
Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips two pieces, as they are slightly higher reading levels than
Douglass chapters. Additionally, instances of emotional appeals to the reader are more explicit
in Douglass than in Garrison or Phillips, so students with lower readiness levels will be able to
pick up on and explore these more vivid displays of emotion in Douglass.
I will also print out copies of the instructions for all students to refer back to as they work. My
students with IEPs and 504 plans who need clarified instructions will be able to use them without
being singled out. Additionally, I will leave the Padlet conversation up while the students talk in
groups so that they can refer back to their previous thoughts as well as find examples in the text
from their peers ideas to then decide to analyze with their group members.
Technology Use: Detail specific technology being used in the lesson with explanation for
why it is being used.
The use of Padlet will allow the students to share their ideas on an anonymous forum. Several of
my students are still very quiet in class, and this way, they will put their ideas out there without
having to verbally speak up. This will help them later on in sharing their ideas out loud after their
group discussions, as they have already tested their ideas through Padlet. Additionally, my
mentor has informed me that its typically difficult to encourage the students to begin to talk

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about the tough issues that arise in Douglass work. An anonymous forum may help the students
to become more comfortable with discussing these topics at first.
The PowerPoint presentation allows me to compile examples from texts the students have
previously studied in order to illustrate examples of sentimentality in antislavery literature. The
students can follow along on the PowerPoint slides as I read aloud and then use this text to find
specific words and phrases that demonstrate an appeal to the readers emotions. Additionally, the
use of a video clip within the PowerPoint will help the students to connect a visual scene with
Douglass writing, as well as make connections across two different texts (Douglass Narrative
of the Life and Northups Twelve Years a Slave).

Materials Appendix:
The PowerPoint presentation is enclosed.

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Group Discussion Instructions
In your assigned section of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass:

Find one quotation or passage that has a strong appeal to the readers emotions.

Explain what you think this quotation means.

Why did the author (Douglass, Garrison, or Phillips) include this quotation? What
persuasive techniques is he using, and what point is he trying to make in doing
so?