Lesson Plan for Implementing NETSSTemplate I

(More Directed Learning Activities)

Template with guiding questions

Grade Level(s)

9 - 10

Content Area

English Language Arts, Special Education

Time line

3 classes with special education students for 60 minutes per day over 10 days (30 hours)

Standards (What do you want students to know and be able to do? What knowledge, skills, and strategies do you
expect students to gain? Are there connections to other curriculum areas and subject area benchmarks?)
This lesson is focused on writing an argumentative. In this lesson, students will read a
novel that is about the trial of a teenage boy for murder. Students will write an essay to
argue the verdict of the trial. To do this, they will annotate, discuss, develop a timeline of
events, explore the legal system, and reflect on facts provided from the novel throughout
their readings. This lesson plan project will cover the following content standards:
ELAGSE9-10W1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive
topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
a. Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing
claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among
claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while
pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the
audiences knowledge level and concerns.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create
cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between
reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
d. Establish and maintain an appropriate style and objective tone.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the
argument presented.

Content Standards

APPLICATIONS FOR ALL STANDARDS: www.lino.com for annotations,

www.stinto.com for online discussions, OneNote and OneDrive for uploading and
submitting individual reflections, storyboardthat.com to present a timeline of events.

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II. Communication and Collaboration: Students use digital media and

environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to
support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
A. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a
variety of digital environments and media.
B. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a
variety of media and formats.
IV. Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving, and Decision-Making: Students use
critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve
problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and
resources. Students:
A. identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for
investigation.
C. collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.

NETS*S
Standards:

APPLICATIONS FOR ALL STANDARDS: www.lino.com for annotations,

www.stinto.com for online discussions, OneNote and OneDrive for uploading and
submitting individual reflections, storyboardthat.com to present a timeline of events.

Overview (a short summary of the lesson or unit including assignment or expected or possible products)
Students with Specific Learning disabilities will apply critical thinking skills to produce an argumentative essay.
They will read Walter Dean Myers novel Monster. This novel is about the trial of a teenage boy for murder.
Students will use the Lino app to annotate and document evidence for or against the defendant. The teacher will
create 2 Stinto.com chat groups to represent each position. Intermittently during the readings, students will use the
Stinto app to chat about their readings and collaboratively build their case for or against the defendant within their
specific groups.
I have taught this novel in the past and remember that my students were divided about the verdict. I knew that the
next time that I would teach it, I would need to provide opportunities for them to gather facts and evidence to
express their positions and respectfully explore their peers positions as well. The prospect of using technology to
accomplish this purpose creates an opportunity for students to increase engagement and improve digital skills.
At the conclusion of the project, students will learn to write an argumentative essay; collaborate on a digital
platform, explore the legal justice system, and reflect on their readings. During this process, students will reflect
digital citizenship by maintaining a respectful and positive tone. Students will also demonstrate appropriate
writing skills in grammar and mechanics.
Essential Questions (What essential question or learning are you addressing? What would students care or
want to know about the topic? What are some questions to get students thinking about the topic or
generate interest about the topic? What questions can you ask students to help them focus on important
aspects of the topic? What background or prior knowledge will you expect students to bring to this topic
and build on?)
How does one make an argument for or against an idea? (Reference to reading of Myers Monster)
What facts do you have to argue your position? What tone will you use to present your facts to the other side?
How would you prove the other side wrong? How do you convince the other side to see your point?
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Students will develop knowledge of the judicial system from reading Dean Myers Monster. They will make
connections between real world judicial system and the case of the teenage boy on trial for murder. Students will
use their 1:1 devices to annotate, collaborate, present a timeline and reflect on the evidence presented in the novel.
Assessment (What will students do or produce to illustrate their learning? What can students do to
generate new knowledge? How will you assess how students are progressing (formative assessment)? How
will you assess what they produce or do? How will you differentiate products?)
Students will read the novel Monster and make annotations throughout their readings; annotations will be made
using the Lino app. At the conclusion of the novel, students will produce an argumentative essay to challenge or
defend the verdict based on the facts gathered during their annotations. Students will also identify their peers who
share their position, and discuss the facts using the Stinto app. To make a convincing argument for or against the
verdict, students will use storyboardthat.com website to create a timeline of events as they perceive and present it
to the class. Finally, students will produce and submit individual argumentative essays for or against the verdict.
Teacher will use both Formative and Summative assessments. Students will be assessed for maintaining focus on
throughout the task, presenting a timeline of events using a digital storytelling app, and their ability to produce
evidence based argumentative writing in essay format. Rubrics will be developed and used to evaluate student
work.
To differentiate, student accommodations will be taken into consideration as applicable for example read aloud,
check for understanding, etc. Students are not bound to the specific app discuss. They may be allowed to use other
familiar apps as long as they are appropriate and will accomplish the same purpose. In addition, students will be
collaborating within their groups using the chat app Stinto to synthesize specific facts and observations that
support the position that their group has taken. Students will choose their peers for peer editing.
Students will be allowed to criticize or applaud the current criminal justice system as a way to reflect their
knowledge of the real world criminal justice system. They may reference real cases about people they know or
about popular cases in the media. The purpose is to provide an authentic approach to their position on the
argumentative essay.
To generate new knowledge, students and teachers will explore other technology solutions or applications that
will support the activities and purpose of this project. Students will pair up to peer edit their argumentative essays
and learn from each other. Peer editing allows students to improve their grammatical skills and learn from each
other. When students reference cases of people they know or cases that were popular in the media, they are also
learning about the judicial system form their peers. In general, both the teacher and students will have ample
opportunities to learn from one another during the course of this lesson.
Resources (How does technology support student learning? What digital tools, and resourcesonline
student tools, research sites, student handouts, tools, tutorials, templates, assessment rubrics, etchelp
elucidate or explain the content or allow students to interact with the content? What previous technology
skills should students have to complete this project?)
In the course of this unit, technology will be used to support student learning in several ways through
collaboration, critical thinking, digital storytelling and to produce an argumentative essay. In general technology
will be used as productivity tools word documents for essay writing; and as publishing tools content authoring
on group chats, digital storytelling, and online essay submission.
An audio version of the novel may be used to support students with read aloud accommodation Amazon
audiobooks may be used or other available read aloud tools. Students will use the internet to research academic
websites that describe how to write argumentative essays. They will also use the internet to explore the legal
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system and develop an insight to how the legal system works. These digital resources allow students to
demonstrate independence in building knowledge for themselves. It also allows students apply critical thinking
skills to plan and conduct research. This lesson integrates digital tools for communicating and collaborating
during projects.
Students are not required to have specific technology skills for this lesson plan project. However, basic keyboard
skills and willingness to explore different applications will be helpful. Through active monitoring and ongoing
feedback students will be supported by the teacher throughout the project.
Instructional Plan
Preparation (What student needs, interests, and prior learning provide a foundation for this lesson? How
can you find out if students have this foundation? What difficulties might students have?)
In order to prepare for this project, students need to apply the foundations of the writing process: Pre-Write,
Writing, Revision, Editing and Publishing. It is also necessary to demonstrate a high level of interest, motivation
and critical thinking skills to accomplish the tasks as assigned. It is necessary that students apply their listening
and reading comprehension skills in order to make the most of this lesson. Where students lack the independent
reading and writing foundations but have the interest to be read to, oral reading accommodation will be used
along with other digital tools that support content authoring (for writing).
To determine whether students lack the independent reading and writing foundation, their Individualized
Education Programs (IEPs) will be consulted for updated accommodations instructional accommodations. All
instructional accommodations will be applied to support students with disabilities as specified in their IEPs.
Students may struggle with the theme of crime and punishment, the harsh reality that there are teenagers who are
on trial for serious crimes such as murder. Students may also struggle if they lack the interest and motivation to
complete the tasks and use teacher feedback to maintain a sense of direction throughout the project. If students
maintain an academic attitude and take in the morals of the novel, they would make this an ideal learning
experience to help them become responsible members of our society.
Management: Describe the classroom management strategies will you use to manage your students and the
use of digital tools and resources. How and where will your students work? (small groups, whole group,
individuals, classroom, lab, etc.) What strategies will you use to achieve equitable access to the Internet
while completing this lesson? Describe what technical issues might arise during the Internet lesson and
explain how you will resolve or troubleshoot them?
Classroom management should not be a major concern given that all 5 class periods that will carry out this project
are small group special education classes. Class sizes are typically between 5 and 12 students. Despite the small
class sizes, best practices will be used to ensure students are engaged. Some of the best practices that will be used
include a digital citizenship session prior to beginning this project. In addition, students will be actively
monitored; ongoing feedback and supports will be provided as well. These strategies will help students stay on
task and demonstrate digital citizenship.
Students will work independently on their devices. The collaborative aspect will be carried out using apps that
facilitate group discussions. An alternative is to collaborate on one device and discuss in person. Given that my
school has already implemented the 1:1 device initiative, digital equity will not be an issue.
Some of the technical issues that will be anticipated is internet disruption. To address this issue, students may hold
discussions in person and document their conversations using paper and pen. Another issue may be with student
devices, to manage any issues, basic troubleshooting should help resolve the problem; where it does not, devices
may be checked out from the school media center to support the specific student(s).
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Instructional Strategies and Learning Activities Describe the research-based instructional strategies you
will use with this lesson. How will your learning environment support these activities? What is your role?
What are the students' roles in the lesson? How can you ensure higher order thinking at the analysis,
evaluation, or creativity levels of Blooms Taxonomy? How can the technology support your teaching?
What authentic, relevant, and meaningful learning activities and tasks will your students complete? How
will they build knowledge and skills? How will students use digital tools and resources to communicate and
collaborate with each other and others? How will you facilitate the collaboration?
The learning activities take a student centered approach and include a variety of activities. Formative assessments
will be carried out as students annotate, create and present their digital stories. As summative assessments, student
essays will be evaluated. Prior to the formative assessment, students will peer edit their essays they may choose
who to partner with; research shows Data analysis revealed that students' overall performance significantly
improved when they worked in pairs than when they did the activity individually (Sasan, 2010).
Students will read the novel Monster and annotate throughout their readings. Students will be reminded of the
importance of protecting their identity online and maintaining a positive online learning environment. Methods of
assessment will be introduced and discussed. The teacher will use stinto.com to create two chat groups: for and
against the verdict. Students will log into these chat groups based on their position; they will use their annotated
facts to strengthen their position as a group during the chat discussions.
To activate students interest, they will view the youtube.com trailer of Walter Dan Myers unofficial Monster
movie trailer on youtube.com. At the conclusion of the novel, students will use styboardthat.com to create a
digital story and present to the class with a view to convincing them on the position that their group has taken.
The final task is that students will apply the writing process to produce an argumentative essay for or against the
verdict. They will use evidence annotated during their readings and make references to the criminal justice system
to support their essay. Essays will be peer edited. Students will use OneDrive accounts to save and upload their
essays; final versions will be published to their individual OneNote account for summative feedback from teacher.
Both the students and the teacher will be learners as we explore the facts that justify each groups position and
explore the criminal justice system. Specifically speaking, my role as the teacher would be to support students
during the writing process, monitor student engagement, remind students of their digital responsibilities,
troubleshoot technology, provide ongoing feedback and rubrics
Differentiation (How will you differentiate content and process to accommodate various learning styles and
abilities? How will you help students learn independently and with others? How will you provide extensions
and opportunities for enrichment? What assistive technologies will you need to provide?)
Differentiation will be addressed in numerous ways. Due to the small class sizes, students will receive one on one
supports and feedback. May explore other digital tools and resources that will serve the same purpose defined in
the project. If they prefer familiar platforms that are appropriate, they will be allowed to use them as well. Student
accommodations specified in their Individualized Education Programs will be taken into consideration as this a
highly recommended strategy for differentiating tasks that will be completed by students with learning
disabilities.
Reflection (Will there be a closing event? Will students be asked to reflect upon their work? Will students
be asked to provide feedback on the assignment itself? What will be your process for answering the
following questions?
Did students find the lesson meaningful and worth completing?
In what ways was this lesson effective?
What went well and why?
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What did not go well and why?

How would you teach this lesson differently?)

Students will evaluate the relevance of this lesson by reflecting on the criminal justice system at the conclusion of
this project. However, the final graded activity will be the argumentative essay. This less is effective in addressing
English Language Arts content standards for 9th and 10th grade students with specific learning disabilities: With
accommodations, students will collaborate with their peers to produce a multi paragraph argumentative essay.
Closure: Anything else you would like to reflect upon regarding lessons learned and/or your experience
with implementing this lesson. What advice would you give others if they were to implement the lesson?
Some advice: Read the novel ahead of your students and anticipate a few offensive words. Consider censoring
these words if you will read aloud and remind your students to focus on the key ideas.
NOTE: Common Core rubric for 9th and 10th grades argumentative essays will be used for summative
assessment to evaluate student work. A screenshot of the rubric has been attached and may also be accessed
directly from this website: http://www.schoolimprovement.com/docs/Common%20Core%20Rubrics_Gr910.pdf
A separate rubric has been developed by the teacher for formative assessments during the project (see p. 7)

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Reference

Sasan, B. Journal of Language Teaching & Research; Sep2010, Vol. 1 Issue 5, p721-727, 7p, 2 Charts
July 20th, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.schoolimprovement.com/docs/Common%20Core
%20Rubrics_Gr9-10.pdf

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