Ms. Snows Lesson Plan Obsv.

WEEK 2 (1/30-2/3)

Subject:
7th Grade English Language Arts

Curriculum Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.7.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one,
in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others'
ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis,
reflection, and research.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning
words and phrases based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.1: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the
text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Lesson Topic: Trade and the Economy: Impacts on Mexico
Purpose: To gain a better understanding of other factors that affect the flows of immigration (i.e. trade and the
enconomy).
Content Objectives for the Lesson:
Students will be able to construct a working definition of NAFTA and how it functions.
Students will be able to consider various personas involved in free trade in Mexico and the United States
and assess the positive and negative effects that NAFTA may have on these personas.
Students will be able to synthesize the lesson in a one-page reaction piece addressing the success or
failure of an objective posed in NAFTAs preamble from their personas.
Learning Objectives for the Students:
Students will be able to build empathy with our novels character, Victor, and the position the economy
puts him in by exploring NAFTA and its effects.
Students will be able to analyze an article in class while working in groups to answer a purpose question
about NAFTA.
Students will be able to share information gathered from reading and discussion to the larger class.
Language Objectives for Students:
Students will be able to discuss the roles theyre playing with groups and the class.
Students will be able to outline the article for important information to answer their purpose question.
Students will be able to present to the rest of the class
Starter: (5-10 min)
ATB-Grammar corrections and practice, standard to the beginning of every class.

 Ms. Snows Lesson Plan Obsv. 1

Class Procedures:
Students work on the ATB, then take volunteers to write up their corrections for Q. 1 & 2 on the board. Q.
3-4 will be completed chorally or by raise of hand. Afterwards, Ill review the agenda for the day with
students and follow the outlined activities below.
Class Work (Questions/Activities:
(15 min) Crash Course: Imports and Exports
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geoe-6NBy10
Students will need additional time to finish answering questions at the beginning of Tuesdays class. Go
over the questions as a group, asking for volunteers to share their answers. With the last two questions,
Ill give them 5-10 minutes to wrap up their written responses.
Tuesday/Wednesday
(30 min) Read as a class, In Corns Cradle, U.S. Imports Bury Family Farms. As you go, use the following
questions to bolster conversation with the group, or initiate a think-pair-share.
As a class, read and discuss In Corns Cradle, U.S. Imports Bury Family Farms, afterwards having
a discussion that focuses on a sampling of the following questions:
In what ways is corn a central item in Mexicos culture, history and economy?
How many Mexicans farm corn, and how many family members are supported by it?
Why is Lorenzo Rebellos story similar to others stories all over Mexico?
How much of the corn in Mexico is imported from the United States, and how has this impacted corn
growing in Mexico?
How has NAFTA affected the corn agribusiness in Mexico and in the United States? How do free
trade and farm policies differ in this industry in the two countries?
Why does this article use the term survival instincts to describe how Mexican corn growers must
act?
What have been and will be some of the effects of the United States being able to export all the corn
it wants to Mexico, duty free, by 2008? What did NAFTAs drafters say would happen, and what
has happened?
Why do the small farmers in Mexico have little political clout under the government of President
Vicente Fox? Why is this mentioned?
What was predicted about the effect of American imports on Mexican agriculture when the trade
pact took effect? What was not foreseen?
Why is the importation of bioengineered corn from the United States a separate but heated
issue?
The last three paragraphs of the article offer different opinions on what Mexican farmers will need to
do in the future. How do you interpret these different views?

(30 min) Students will be assigned one of seven roles in their table groups:
1. Mexican corn farmer operating a very small farm in a central Mexican town
2. Owner of a large animal feed company in Mexico that imports most of the corn used in the feed from the

 Ms. Snows Lesson Plan Obsv. 1

United States to cut costs

3. Owner of an animal feed company in the United States moving your company near the Mexican border to
lower your labor costs
4. Factory worker in an animal feed company based in the United States that has just announced that it is
closing your factory and moving to Mexico to lower its labor costs
5. Owner of an animal feed factory in Mexico that was bought out by a larger American company
6. Worker in an animal feed factory in Mexico that was just bought out by a larger American company
7. Farmer in the United States wanting to buy the best feed for your livestock for the least amount of money
Give them time to introduce their roles to the group members and discuss how they think theyll be
impacted by trade and NAFTA.
Each group member should prepare to respond in a mock Town Meeting. To prepare for the town hall
meeting, each role member should formulate answers to the following questions (written on the board
for easier student access):
- Has NAFTA been financially beneficial to you? Why or why not?
- How has NAFTA impacted your family? How has it impacted the city or town where you live?
- In what ways do you feel that NAFTA helps support your nations economy? In what ways do you feel
it does not?
Student groups will each have a role-response sheet wherein theyll write out their answers and turn it in for
credit. Once groups have finished, I will conduct the town meeting by calling out the roles and having those
students stand and talk in their groups about their responses.
Plans for Assessment:
Students will be evaluated based on participation in group and class discussions, thoughtful participation
in the Manzanillo town hall meeting, and well-written final piece evaluating the success of a NAFTA
objective from the perspective of the persona examined in their class groups.
Homework assigned/due date:
-30 mins of reading for each night of the week
-Preparation for Lit Circles on Thursday
Plans for Enrichment (students who finish early will):
Preamble Response: Students will read over the preamble and pick one that impacts the role they played
and why.
Plans for Remediation (students who need additional support):
I will make sure to go around and informally assess the progress being made or support needed. We will
also preview the questions before the poem is reading so they know what to be thinking about.
Our close-reading worksheet has chapter vocabulary that might be unfamiliar. We will work with
partners in the class to help define the terms.

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Plans for English Language Learners:

I will also provide explicit instructions for tasks and transitions, as well as challenging and/or unfamiliar
vocabulary.
I will circulate to see if any additional support will be needed.
Students will be reading and talking in groups, receiving additional support from peers.
Reflection:
I think what went well about the lesson was how the kids got involved. They posed salient points, built on the

comments of their peers, and all did well on the written assessment portion. Since we spent some time building

up the board on previous class periods, as well as reinforcing routines, the students were more in on what was

involved for the simulation. I think they also were able to employ critical thinking skills by making inferences

about their roles and the impacts of NAFTA. What could have gone better would have been the sequencing. It

took some extra time to figure out the transitions and bring the group back together. As well, hitting certain

beats in the activity, giving time for quiet thought processing, and arranging the groups beforehand may have

worked better. I think something I would do differently would role member sharing. It was difficult for each

person playing a certain role to say something different/add-on, so maybe coming up with varying questions for

each person in that role would be beneficial and offer everyone to contribute something new. I could also use

restatements so as to check attention and understanding. I will proceed with the next lesson by addressing the

NAFTA preamble as a class. Then, students will select one of the preamble purpose statements and write a solid

paragraph stating whether or not that purpose succeeded/benefited the role they played, and if not, why? These

will be used as a book end to the activity and as an extra incentive, they will turn in their annotated articles with

the paragraph for a possible 5 extra points of the activity.