Louis Gaier

Lesson Plan
Over this past summer, I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Piqua Public Library with their
summer reading program. I worked with students who were between the grades of 1st and 8th
grades. Near the beginning of the summer, I was mostly helping students get signed up and
explaining how the program worked. Students would check out a book, go home and read it,
come back and explain what they read, and then we would play a game or do an activity in which
they could earn money to buy prizes at the store. The theme for this summer was Dragons which
meant that the games and activities were mostly medieval themed. Inspired by my time spent
volunteering at the library, I came up with this idea for an in semester reading project to do with
my history class during the school year. Students will read a book and do a related activity.
Reading Groups: Semester Project
Learning objectives
Students will learn about the culture of different time periods by reading works of literature
written during that time.
Students will work together as members of a team.
Ohio Common Core Standard (Can be adjusted for 7-12 grade levels)
2. The civilizations that developed in Greece and Rome had an enduring impact on later
civilizations. This legacy includes governance and law, engineering and technology, art
and architecture, as well as literature and history. The Roman Empire also played an
instrumental role in the spread of Christianity.
16. The ability to understand individual and group perspectives is essential to analyzing
historic and contemporary issues.
Motivational Techniques
After the completion of each book, students will do a project where they construct
something inspired by the readings. They will have much freedom in choosing how to approach
constructing their project. The teacher will show an example of a project at the beginning of the
lesson to get the students excited.
Materials needed
Books (examples: Oedipus the King, Canterbury Tales, 12th Night)
Materials for various projects
Handouts
Procedure for the Lesson

Students will be divided into groups of four or five for this project (These groups may
stay the same throughout the whole semester or may change from book). This lesson will last
throughout the semester and will be an in class book club. Groups will read three books from
various time periods throughout the year, discuss them in groups, and do various projects relating
to them.
The first time period will be the ancient world. Students will read a play or story from the
ancient world (complexity of writing will vary with grade level). Students will do a majority of
the reading outside of class and will have time in class to discuss the reading. The teacher will
provide a handout that has questions and prompts related to the work. A different group will
present their thoughts on the handout each class when the book is being discussed. The teacher
will give out the handout to all groups in advance of reading and the group leading the discussion
will get special help and tips from the teacher leading up to the discussion day.
While students are reading their first book, some time will also be given in class to
construct Greek Theater Masks. Supplies will be provided by the teacher (hoping to partner with
a local art museum for materials). Near the end of the book, each group will take turns acting out
a passage while wearing their masks.
The second reading will occur during the section covering the middle ages. Students will
again be divided up into groups. They will read whole or exerts from a medieval text (such as the
Canterbury Tales) to get a better idea of the time period. Again, handouts will be provided by the
teacher for groups to help facilitate discussion of the readings. A group will once again take
charge in leading discussion on a particular section of the reading. The teacher will give the
leading group forewarning and help them prepare for discussion.
At the completion of this reading, groups will have the option of either constructing a
Cathedral or a Castle. They will have to acquire their own supplies but the teacher will help them
with suggestions and supplies if needed. Time will be given in class to complete this project if
needed. Once their building is completed, each group will write a one page paper discussing the
importance of their particular type of building during the Middle Ages. Students will be
encouraged to collaborate on their papers using Google Docs or another online sharing methods.
The last topic to be covered will be the Renaissance. Once again, the teacher will provide
groups with a sample of written work from that time period (Such as a Shakespeare Play or
Sonnet). Groups will be in charge of answering discussion questions on set days again. Once the
reading is completed, the teacher will provide a short part of a famous Shakespearian play and
each group will act out the scene for the class (if a student does not want to act out a scene, he
can narrate what is going on in the scene before the actors start). The purpose of this activity is to
become more familiar with famous Shakespearian plays and also to use this opportunity to learn
more about the conventions of Elizabethan theater which the teacher will discuss before or after
the presentations.
Academic Language
Tragedy, Play, Roman, Greek, Medieval, Feudalism, Castle, Cathedral, Renaissance, Sonnet,
Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth
Assessment Methods

I will use a combination of formal and informal assessment for this lesson. I will be
judging how well students know the material based upon class discussions. For a formal
assessment, students will receive a grade from the answers they write on the handouts that they
fill out while they are reading. I will also be grading them on the three different projects that the
groups will complete. During the reading of the Greek Tragedy, students will construct Greek
Theater Masks. Students will receive a completion grade for this project. After the completion of
Canterbury Tales, groups will work together to construct a medieval building. They have the
options of building either a castle or a monastery. The purpose of this project is to learn more
about the time period by constructing and learning about these buildings. Groups will then
present their building to the class. They will also have to write a short paper together explaining
the significance of the building that they built in regards to the time period. They will receive a
completion grade for completing the building and their papers will also be graded. Upon
completing the reading for the Renaissance section, groups will act out a scene from a
Shakespearian play. Students will be informally assessed during a class discussion where the
teacher will ask them what conventions of Elizabethan theater they used in their reenactments.