Name Sarah Wells

English

Grade Level: 7th

Writing Mini-Lesson Template

Mini Lesson
Topic

"What do the Olympics, World War II, and a Bird all have in common?"
Oppression: We had discussed two examples of Oppression last week in
Baseball Saved Us and The Bracelet. Today, we will be watching a
YouTube documentary and reading a Newsela article about oppression
during WWII but from a different point of view. The students will examine
how the author angled the text to create a specific mood and tone toward
the reader.
Each mini lesson will be building up to a larger unit plan. After reading
and researching literature and first-hand accounts of oppressive
relationships, students will write a brochure which promotes positive and
negative positions of the reasoning and treatment for the individuals
involved in the situations.
7.5 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of
fiction, narrative nonfiction, and poetry.
c) Describe the impact of word choice, imagery, and poetic devices.
7.6 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of
informational texts.
c) Distinguish fact from opinion in newspapers, magazines, and other
print media.
d) Identify the source, viewpoint, and purpose of texts.
7.8 The student will develop narrative, expository, and persuasive writing.

Materials

Connection:

Tell them what

you taught in
the previous
lesson.
How does this
idea connect?

"Events Surrounding World War II" dates with information (Before Reading
Strategy/ Bell Work)
Poster Board
Glue and Scissors
"The Great Zamperini" video on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEGL-wyz1yk
Paper for Mind Mapping (During Reading Strategy)
Projector to display Mind Maps after the video
NewSela Article: https://newsela.com/articles/japan-pow/id/12443/ (8 th
Grade and 6th Grade Reading Level available)
Exit Ticket
For the beginning of class, we will begin by reviewing by the events
surrounding World War II by completing a timeline. Now why are we
talking about World War II? This is because we read two books, Baseball
Saved Us and The Bracelet, which took place at the beginning and into
the middle of World War II, focusing on Japanese internment camps and
oppressions. This will refresh our memory on the years the events took
place and how the stories are related at this time. [I will have my own
completed copy as an example of what theirs should resemble by the
end] The bellwork may be completed at your tables in groups no bigger
than 4. I suggest you cut out each date and description and match them
before glueing them onto your poster board and utilize your powerpoint
notes from the start of the unit. We will go over the timeline before

Explicit
Instruction:

Tell them what

you will teach
today.
Show them
examples of
how others use
the
technique(s).

Guided
Practice:

Engage them in
practicing youre
your and/or
other(s).

beginning whole group instruction. [Allow about 15 minutes to complete

activity; Have resources prepared on students' desks] As whole group, I
will project my copy of the timeline and we will spend about 5 minutes
reviewing and making sure everyone has it done correctly. If students
misplaced a date or event, they can renumber in the corner where it
should be. This information is to help guide us in understanding the
historical context in which our stories took place and what we will be
learning about today in regards to oppression.
What we have been focusing on as a part of our unit is understanding
how author's tone and voice creates the message and purpose of the
text. For example, can anyone tell me how Baseball Saved Us or The
Bracelet displayed a specific message to the reader through the author's
tone and purpose? [Responses could be: Ruri leaving her friend,
symbolism of the bracelet, treatment of the family in the camp and
outside of the camp, the guard's relationship to Shorty, baseball as a way
to stay positive] Now that we have read examples of Oppression from the
eyes of Japanese-Americans we will be looking at World War II through a
new perspective. This will be through the eyes of prisoners of war. What is
a prisoner of war? [An individual who is held hostage by an opposing
force, often these individuals are in the military] We will be watching a
documentary about a Olympic athlete who went to serve in World War II
and soon became captured by the Japanese as a Prisoner of War. His story
is about his journey through new beginnings, strength, perservance, and
courage against all odds. This is a pretty interesting and very real video,
so I'm positive it will keep your attention but just to make sure we are
getting ideas down on paper, you will be completing a mind map. The
mind mapping is meant to show the process of using key words, symbols,
and lines to show relationships among ideas. This might help you in
brainstorming connections between the texts and organizing information.
As we gather more information to make our Oppression brochures, this
will help plan what we decide are important details, minor details, or what
we do not need to include at all. While watching the video, feel free to
make connections or note differences between the three perspective
(Baseball Saved Us, The Bracelet, The Great Zamperini). KEEP IN MIND:
The change in voice by the author- who is now speaking? Why is this
different? [The video is 35 minutes]
Stopping Points in the Video: 3:50- How did Zamperini's childhood affect
his life? 8:08- What do we think will happen next? 14:25- How does this
make you feel? 19:20- Is this a type of Oppression and why? 26:05- What
a powerful image, is this a fight for freedom, fight for personal rights, or
personal stength?
Once we have viewed the video, we will be sharing our mind maps. We
will first dicuss how the point of view was different than our first two texts
[They should be reflecting on how the point of view is opposite than it
was before; older male; longer period of internment and harsher
punishments] What about some of the similiarities [kept against their will;
courage; standing up for what they believe in; overall, they search for
equality]. Now, it is time to have some volunteers to share their mind
maps by the projector [Try and have at least 4 students come up and
provide some new aspect of their maps]. Overall, emphasize how the
different type of oppressions seen in the three examples are explained
through the author's tone and purpose. The mind maps should have

connections to all three examples.

Independent
Practice:

Remind students
how the
teaching point
can be used in
independent
writing.
Link mini-lesson
and writing
lives.

Groups Wrap
Up:

Restate the
teaching point.
Ask: Did you try
what was
taught? Did it
work for you?
How will it affect
your future
writing?

The last activity will to read a short Newsela article about how Prisoner of
War survivors have gone back to visit Japan over 70 years later. This will
be done as a silent read, but they are encouraged to make comments,
highlight, or cicle important details that they come across while reading.
The goal of reading the article is to show how even though many years
can pass, there are still signs of our survivors today. They are symbols of
strength and loyalty to their country and what they stand for. Yet, our
survivors are everywhere because everyone can face oppression, whether
you are Ruri, Shorty, or Louis. Also, because the students watched a video
for the majority of class, I wanted to include a short article to reinforce
creating connections through reading and video.
For your exit ticket today, I want you to select a character from our
lessons on Oppression during World War II, Ruri (The Bracelet), Shorty
(Baseball Saved Us), or Louis Zamperini (The Great Zamperini). Thinking
from the author's perspective of the main character, which story stood
out to you the most and why? What did the author do for the reader that
made you feel the most connection to the story? For The Bracelet and
Baseball Saved Us, think about the pictures that were drawn for the story
and for The Great Zamperini, think about certain quotations or life events
that Louis personally touched on?
All I want to tell young people is that you're not going to be anything in
life unless you learn to commit to a goal. You have to reach deep within
yourself to see if you are willing to make the sacrifices. - Louis Zamperini

Self Check:
I modeled writing for the students.
I used a mentor text.
I used excerpts from the mentor texts.
I provided details as to what I was doing for each stage of the lesson.
I provided details as to what the students were doing for each stage of the lesson.