Survival of the Fittest

Name: Katie Rybakova

Title of Lesson
*Lesson plan based on a 50-minute class
Purpose/rationale: My 9th grade class is about to learn about war and the philosophies behind
World War One and World War Two in Social Studies as part of their second quarter unit on
conflict. I have discussed this with the Social Studies teacher and have decided to introduce the
students to the novel Lord of the Flies as a supplemental text to discuss war and conflict in their
Honors English class. The students have already read two novels in their English course, and are
familiar with story structure and elements such as plot. They are also familiar with figurative
language terms such as imagery.
This text is appropriate for investigating the theme of conflict, and although violent, is canonical
text material that is regarded by the Common Core standards as an exemplar text. It will also be
a good introduction to Into the Wild, which will be read later on as part of the survival and
conflict unit. Furthermore, by using a novel that depicts adolescent conflict rather than adult
conflict, students will be more likely to be invested in the plot as it is more relevant to their own
age and maturity level. The goal of this lesson is to introduce the text to the students in a way
that not only engages them in the plot and introduction of the material, but also allows them to
think critically about the setting and plot of the novel by the use of creative thought and
foreshadowing techniques. After this lesson students will know how the novel starts, will be
engaged with the plot of the text, and will practice critical literacy skills such as foreshadowing.
Florida Standards:
LAFS.910.RH.1.1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary
sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
LAFS.910.RH.1.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source;
provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of a text.
LAFS.910.RI.1.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course
of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an
objective summary of the text.
Objectives:
SWBAT
Describe their reactions to being stranded on an island
Utilize their new knowledge of survival techniques based on their reading to re-create a
plan of survival

Predict Lord of the Flies plot and setting

Materials:
Paper, if necessary
Pens/pencils, if necessary
Powerpoint hand out, if necessary (Appendix A)
Bear Grylls handout (Appendix B)
Anticipatory set:
As students enter the class, students will complete a bell ringer for the first ten minutes of class.
The teacher will say this bell ringer out loud and make sure students are completing the bell
ringer silently as she takes attendance. After five minutes of writing and five minutes of sharing
in response to the bell ringer Imagine you live in a war-torn country. You live with the fear that
you will die any moment of the day. Bombs go off every hour and you dont go to school
because its too dangerous. One day, you have the chance to flee. You board a plane to evacuate
the war-torn country to a country that is peaceful and beautiful. What are your thoughts when
you are on the plane? Are you scared? Hopeful? Are you wondering anything? The teacher will
explain the following directions after a few students share their response to the bell ringer:
Okay, so we are going to do a quick activity where you will need to close your eyes. Go ahead
and close your eyes now and imagine you are on a plane. Just like in the bell ringer, you are now
flying away from a war-torn country to England, and you are hopeful to reach safety there. Your
parents are also on the way but on another plane. You are on a plane full of adolescents your own
age and gender. Imagine their faces now. Suddenly, the plane jolts and out of the window you see
smoke and fire. The wing of the plane is on fire! You unbuckle your seatbelt but you are too
afraid to move closer. Your stomach turns as the plane quickly starts dropping to the ground, and
before you know it, before you have a second to think, a huge CRASH (pause for effect).
You wake up and your head is pounding, and you are not sure if the wet spot on your leg is water
or blood. You look around and you see dead bodies of young people who must have hit
something on the way down. You look down and realize now that you are in waterthe plane is
sinking into the ocean. You wade through the plane quickly, noticing that others are stirring as
wellyou shout to them, but you dont know what you said. They seem to not have heard you
either. Suddenly, the plane windows break and in rushes in water. You are now neck deep in
water, and swim franticly to the open window. Out you go, into the deep blue sea, pain searing
through your hands as you broke free from the window and must have cut your hands. The plane
is sinking, has already sunk. You see others around you but focus on holding your breathyour
lungs are burning, burning as you swim hastily to the top. Finally, you break free of the depths

and gasp for air. The burning in your lungs subsides, and you let the current bring you gently into
the shore that awaits.
Now, open your eyes, and look at your surroundings. The moist air hits you and all you hear is
the echoes of bird chirps.
What are your next steps? What is your most important priority right now? Write down what you
would do in this situation and what your plan is going forward.
Teaching Strategy/Procedure/Activity:
Time

Student is doing

Teacher is doing

3 minutes

Closing their eyes, listening to

teacher, then opening eyes,
looking at images on screen,
and writing down their
answers based on the prompt
given orally by teacher.

The teacher is transitioning

from the bellwork to the
lesson. She asks students to
close their eyes and reads out
the script found in anticipatory
set. She makes sure she does
this as a narrative, with
inflection at appropriate times
and dramatic pauses at others.
Once students open eyes, they
will be directed to the
Powerpoint, which holds
several images of an island
with a forest that then she will
ask students to look at. She
will then prompt the students
to write down the answers to
her prompt: What are your
next steps? What is your most
important priority right now?
Write down what you would
do in this situation and what
your plan is going forward.

3 minutes

Students will share their

thoughts.

Teacher will prompt students

to share what they wrote
down.

5 minutes

Students will read about

survival techniques based
from Bear Grylls survival
book. They will read along as
the teacher reads out loud.

Teacher will hand out Bear

Grylls survival tips and will
read out loud, asking students
to follow along. She will then
ask if students want to change

4 minutes

When she prompts, students

will response to change their
answer.

their answers or if any of these

tips surprise them at all.

Students will discuss based on

prompt.

Teacher will say:

Okay, so now that we have an
idea of what we would do in
the first moments of a very
scary situation, were going to
introduce this novel that starts
the exact same way, but it is
about a group of young boys
who get stranded on an island
after a plane crash for months
on end. Lets look at the cover
what do you think happens?
(Picks a few volunteers,
discusses) What do you think
the title means? (Picks a few
volunteers, discusses).
Okay, great points. Now that
we have an idea of what this
novel will be about, lets
continue to look at the setting
and how we would navigate
this setting. For the rest of
time today, we are going to
look at animals, plants, and
other things that we would
encounter if we did end up in
this mess ourselves, so that we
have a better idea of what
these boys had to be aware of!

Summary/Closure:
The teacher will transition to the rest of the lesson, which includes a survey of animals and plants and
other survival techniques on island life based on the novel setting that will help students navigate the text
better:
Okay, great points. Now that we have an idea of what this novel will be about, lets continue to look at
the setting and how we would navigate this setting. For the rest of time today, we are going to look at
animals, plants, and other things that we would encounter if we did end up in this mess ourselves, so that
we have a better idea of what these boys had to be aware of!

About ten minutes before the bell, the teacher will ask students to come up individually once she calls
their name to sign out a novel. Students who get a novel are asked to begin their homework: read the first
two chapters of Lord of the Flies.

Assessment:

Formal assessment: There is no formal assessment in this lesson. Bell ringers are
collected at the end of every week for a completion grade.
Informal assessment: I will monitor understanding by noting how students respond to
prompts regarding foreshadowing and what the novel is about. If they miss this point, it
may be necessary to elaborate on the purpose of the novel as well as the setting.

Homework/follow-up assignment:
Students are asked to read the first two chapters of Lord of the Flies.
Accommodations/adaptations:
Students that require accommodation will be supplied with the text version of the verbal exercise
in the beginning of the lesson so that they can follow along. This accommodation can be made
for ESOL students as well.
Students with learning disabilities:

The student with ADD will be asked to write down the answers to the given prompts
prior to responding to the class.
The student with ADHD will be asked to write down the answers to the given prompts
prior to responding to the class. She will also be asked to hand out materials.

Attachments/Appendices:
See attached
Plan B:
If this lesson takes too long, the rest of the lesson will be completed the next period. If the lesson
is too short, then students will be asked to elaborate on what they believe will happen in the
novel and may be asked to role play how they would interact with other people stranded on the
island with them, hypothetically speaking. If the students do not seem engaged, the teacher will
Google pictures of creatures and animals that may be residing in the forest on the island as a
prompt to engage students further. If there is additional time, students will read Bear Grylls
survival news story article. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1194985/Boy-survives-24hours-wilderness-thanks-tips-Bear-Grylls.html)
Appendix A: Images/Powerpoint

Please email kova1227@gmail.com for Bear Grylls handout and citation