Bridget Thorp

ENT 441 Teaching Reading and Literature

Fall 2015

Knight Lecture Lesson Plan

Grade Level: 11th Grade IB.
The Learning Target(s): - Students will learn what it is to be a knight, what the time
period was like, famous male and female knights, and the main characters and important
lore of Arthurian Legend.
Common Core Standard(s): - Determinecentralideasorthemesofatextandanalyze
theirdevelopment;summarizethekeysupportingdetailsandideas.
Integrateandevaluatecontentpresentedindiversemediaandformats,including
visuallyandquantitatively,aswellasinwords.
Materials Needed: Power point made from The Book of Knights, print outs of the
Paragraph Plug-In, and
Length of Lesson: 1 class period.
Instructional Activities:
Hook 78-79 painting of Winter in Camelot, page 75 The Sword in the Stone, 70-71 The
Red and White Dragons, and 67 Merlin will be on the Smart board when students walk
in. Students will be asked to guess the paintings subject and the story that all are a part of.
(i.e. We have a Castle, Dragons, a Wizard, and a sword in the stone. Does anyone have
any guesses as to what story connects all these images together? The color of the
dragons, one white and one red, is a direct reference from within the text. Who is the
most famous wizard you know of? (if given Harry Potter as an answer, Who is the oldest
and most famous wizard you know of? Ron Weasley often said ____s beard!)
Activity Lecture on the ideal of Knights (Valor, Honor, defending the weak and
innocent), the role of Knights in society (Police and Army Guards of the time vs Kings
brutes), basic overview of key characters King Uther, Merlin, King Arthur, Guinevere,
Lancelot, Galahad, and the importance of Arthurian Legend in today, specifically
literature (ideal of teamwork, equality, and sacrifice).
After the lecture students will fill in a Paragraph Plug- In.
Arthurian Legend takes place in
(Medieval) Times, in the land of
(Camelot). King
(Arthur) rules as a
(*Just, good, kind, brave,
etc.) man, who leads a group of men called The
(Knights) of the
(Round Table). These men are trained to
* and be
*. They fought for
* and to bring
* to the world. The Holy
Grail was the greatest
(Quest) of the Knights. Only the
* of knights
would find it. Lancelot du Lac could not find the
(Holy Grail) because he

Bridget Thorp

*.
* led to the fall of Camelot. Arthur died at the
hands of
(Mordred), who was his
(son/nephew). Arthur and
(Guinevere) were not the only romance to end in misery,
(Tristan) and
Isolde also ended in misery. It is said Arthur will one day,
(come again/rise/etc)
with his Knights.
*These may have multiple answers that are correct.
Closing We will discuss how the idea of Camelot and the Knights of the Round table is
still used in todays story telling. (Examples Kingsman- 2015 Movie, Hellboy Comic,
Kamelot Music, etc.).
Discuss how teamwork, friendship, is a fundamental need for defeating evil (ex. Harry
Potter). How Arthurs death and sacrifice, although ending Camelot, allowed them to
become legends and live on forever. Why did it live on? What made this story so famous
that is retold over and over?
Assessment:
Students will hand in an Exit Slip of the most interesting fact they learned about knights
or Camelot today.

Story Knights vs. Real Life Lesson Plan

Grade Level: 11th Grade IB
The Learning Target(s): - Students can make the connection between The Once and
Future King knights with those in Le Morte DArthur.
- They understand the importance of knights as an ideal, what made knights a
reoccurring literary device, and what knights and their life was really like.
Common Core Standard(s): - Readcloselytodeterminewhatthetextsaysexplicitly
andtomakelogicalinferencesfromit;citespecifictextualevidencewhenwritingor
speakingtosupportconclusionsdrawnfromthetext.
Analyzehowtwoormoretextsaddresssimilarthemesortopicsinorderto
buildknowledgeortocomparetheapproachestheauthorstake.
Interpretwordsandphrasesastheyareusedinatext,includingdetermining
technical,connotative,andfigurativemeanings,andanalyzehowspecificword
choicesshapemeaningortone.
Materials Needed: Three photos of cabins in varying scariness.
Length of Lesson: 1 class period.

Bridget Thorp

Instructional Activities:
Hook One photo, a photo of a house surrounded by trees, is on the screen as students
walk in and sit down. I will ask them to describe the picture and write down their
descriptions on the board. Then I will change slides to two photos: A Cabin in the Woods
and a Cottage in the Forest. How do the words they describe compare to the other two? Is
there overlapping? How is it that two vastly different photos can be so similarly
described? This is a comparison to how we think of Castles vs. actual Castle life.
Activity Students will be separated into groups of 4-5 and use the Loaded Languages
and compare the way that knights are described in The Once and Future King, Le Morte
DArthur and what that could be interpreted to mean in real life. They will choose one
quote about their assigned knight from each text and interpret them for comparison.
Example: They were the best of the land. = They were the richest or from the best
families. Uther, Gawain(e)/Gareth, Pellas/Percival, Tor, Lancelot, and Tristan will be
divvied up to the respective teams. (Careful consideration for who is given Lancelot. I
would like the person who has Lancelot to understand he was an adulterer and King
Arthurs best friend. The person who has Lancelot should be mature enough not to focus
on description of appearance and interaction with Queen Guinevere). Students will create
a list for the legendary descriptions and on the other side of the paper write their
believed interpretations.
Closing- Students will share their top 2 interpretations and we will discuss as a class if
others came up with a different interpretations for the same statement.
Assessment:
The students will take a poll on whether they now think being a knight would be as great
a life as they thought before and if they are now rethinking classic fairy tales. Discuss
why. What made them change their minds? Was it living in that time period (disease,
living conditions, life expectancy, etc)? Was it the knowledge that Knights were not
always honorable? Or that they were often slaves to their Kings whims?
Explanation of Support for Struggling Readers:
In this lesson students will be asked to reread difficult parts in the text that may have
challenging or alternative meaning, other than the assumed definition. Not only does this
teach students that words must be analyzed for their true meaning or multiple meanings,
but it allows students in the class who have difficulty with reading and complex
connotations to listen to others understanding and interpretation of said difficult sections.
ENT 441 Teaching Reading and Literature
Fall 2015

Lady of Shallot Lesson Plan

Grade Level: 11th Grade IB.

Bridget Thorp

The Learning Target(s): - Students will be able to visualize poetry into actual images by
comparing Tennysons, Lady of Shallots description of Camelot with the paintings in
Book of Knights.
Common Core Standard(s): - Determinecentralideasorthemesofatextandanalyze
theirdevelopment;summarizethekeysupportingdetailsandideas.
Interpretwordsandphrasesastheyareusedinatext,includingdetermining
technical,connotative,andfigurativemeanings,andanalyzehowspecificword
choicesshapemeaningortone.
Assesshowpointofvieworpurposeshapesthecontentandstyleofatext.
Integrateandevaluatecontentpresentedindiversemediaandformats,including
visuallyandquantitatively,aswellasinwords.
Analyzehowtwoormoretextsaddresssimilarthemesortopicsinordertobuild
knowledgeortocomparetheapproachestheauthorstake.
Materials Needed: Copies of Tennysons Lady of Shallot, markers, paper, and art
supplies.
Length of Lesson: 1-2 class periods.
Instructional Activities:
Hook Play a reading of the Lady of Shallot with students following along on their own
copies.
Activity Students will be asked to draw or list the things they feel must be included in a
painting or description of Camelot. They will then compare, as a class, their list with the
first four stanzas and last six stanzas of Tennyson, and the paintings in the book. What did
they have similar? What differed? Why is it important for us to think about this? (It is
important because our perspective influences our reading.)
Closing What did students find most important about Camelot?
Assessment: If there was one color for Camelot what would you choose? Why? Write the
answer on an Exit Slip.
ENT 441 Teaching Reading and Literature
Fall 2015

The Fall of Camelot Lesson Plan

Grade Level: 11th Grade IB.
The Learning Target(s): - Students can clearly see and map out the knights and King
Arthurs actions, as well as the plot points that led to the fall of Camelot.

Bridget Thorp

- Students will better understand Cause and Effect and consequences of actions.
Common Core Standard(s): - Analyzehowandwhyindividuals,events,andideas
developandinteractoverthecourseofatext.
- Assesshowpointofvieworpurposeshapesthecontentandstyleofatext.
Materials Needed: Rube Goldberg parts or a computer, DVD cases, paper covers,
markers, tape, and a clear space in the room.
Length of Lesson: 1-2 class periods.
Instructional Activities:
Hook If given the time I will set up a Rube Goldberg machine, a complex system that
accomplishes an often menial task with multiple physical parts, such as a pendulum
hitting a ball that rolls into a line of dominoes that ends up clicking the coffee machine
on. This is a physical demonstration on how actions lead to an ending. If I do not have the
time, I will play OK GOs Rube Goldberg music video.
Activity Students will work as a class to figure out what the actions of all, Arthur,
Lancelot, Guinevere, and all the knights, led to the fall of Camelot. No idea is too small
as long as it pertains to the eventual fall for Camelot. With time constraint it will be
narrowed down to 10 main important acts. We will then as a class create the acts as
DVD dominoes, DVD cases covered in paper that students will write/draw on, that will
eventually topple our card house = Camelot. Students may choose either to draw or write
a one sentence description of the plot point.
Closing Students will reset up the boxes and see if there was another path that could
have been taken to save Camelot, which act could have been removed, and where would
the path have led instead.
Assessment: Students will give me, on an Exit Slip, the action that started the downfall,
what or who caused this action, and the effect on the rule of Camelot by the previous two
answers. Ex. Lancelot sleeping with the Queen, Morgana Le Fey to create strife, and
allowing Mordred, her son, to become King with Arthur going mad over the love affair.