Teacher: Meg Strauss Date: February 3rd, 2016

School: Holyoke Junior High School Grade Level: 8th

Content Area: English
Title: Finding your Voice Lesson #:_5_ of _16_

Colorado State Standards Addressed:

Standard 2.3.a.iii: Explain how word choice and sentence structure are used to
achieve specific effects (such as tone, voice, and mood)
Understandings:
Students will understand the importance of using voice in personal memoirs.
Inquiry Questions:
Why is using voice important in personal memoirs? How does voice help engage a
reader into a story?
Evidence Outcomes: (Learning Targets)
I can: understand the wide range of voice.
This means: I can use my own voice when writing my personal memoir.

List of Assessments:
- Students will turn in a reflective sheet in which they describe (in their own
voice) the importance of using voice in personal memoirs.

Planned Lesson Activities

Name and Purpose of Name: Finding your Voice
Lesson
Purpose: Students will learn the importance of using voice in personal
memoirs in regards to readers engagement.
Approx. Time and
Materials Duration of Unit: 50 minutes

Materials: 30 slips of paper with different voices on them (such as

grandmother, teenager, baby), hat, computers with text-to-voice
capability
Anticipatory Set When students walk into the classroom, I will have them draw slips of
paper from a hat. Each slip of paper has a different character or voice
written down. Once students are seated, I will provide students with the
prompt, Students will then write for ten minutes on this prompt.
Procedures Teacher Actions Student Actions

1. 5 minutes- 1. 5 minutes-
Give students slip Actively listen to announcements.
of paper Answer attendance question
Announcements
Question
attendance:
What is your
favorite movie?
2. 20 minutes-
2. 20 minutes- Write the prompt using the character
Provide students of the voice you received. Share your
with the writing writing and listen to your peers share
prompt listed their writing.
above.
Write with the
students.
After ten minutes,
have students
share their stories
using the
character that 3. 10 minutes
they received. Do a think, pair, share and answer the
3. 10 minutes- question, Why is voice important in a
Organize a think, personal memoir?
pair, share where
students discuss
the question,
Why is voice
important in a
personal
memoir?
Walk around the
classroom and
check for
students 4. 10 minutes
understandings of Pull up the talk-to-text application on
voice in regards your computer. When your application
to personal is open, talk to the app about you plan
memoirs. to incorporate your voice into your
4. 10 minutes personal memoir. When you are
Explain to finished, look at this text so you get a
students that feel of your own voice.
they will be doing
a talk-to-text
reflection in order
to find their
voice. Have
students pull up
 the talk-to-text
application.
Have students
talk to the
application about
how they plan to 5. 5 minutes
use voice in their Copy and paste the text from the app
own personal into an email to the teacher. Once you
memoirs. have completed this, pack up and get
Walk around the ready to go to your next class.
classroom to
ensure every
student
completes this
activity.
5. 5 minutes
Tell students that
this activity is
meant to show
them how they
sound in real life,
and how they
should aim to
incorporate their
real voice into
their personal
memoir. Tell
students to copy
and paste the
text and email
you.

Closure Students will analyze their talk to text end text and think about how
they will try to incorporate that voice into their personal writing.
Assessment Students will turn in a copy and pasted version of their talk-to-text.
They will be assessed on their actual reflection. I will analyze if students
understand the importance of voice in personal memoirs, as well as if
students are understanding the concept of voice in storytelling.

Differentiation Advanced students will also be asked to reflect on the importance of

word choice and syntax in personal memoirs.
Notes to Self - With everyone speaking into their computers all at once, this
might get pretty noisy. Perhaps we would move to a bigger space,
such as the library, for this activity.

30 characters to put in hat:

 1. Baby
2. Valley Girl
3. Justin Bieber
4. Old man
5. Grandma
6. Mother
7. Hip-hop artist
8. Broadway star
9. Father
10.Angry person
11.Therapist
12.Doctor
13.English teacher
14.Sick person
15.Hippie
16.4th grader
17.Football player
18.Mickey the Mouse
19.Artist
20.Rock Star
21. Robot
22.Drama Queen/King
23.The Southern Belle
24.Clown
25.Sleepy Person
26.Mail Man/Woman
27.Model
28.Hyper Person
29.Know-it-all
30.The Optimist

Talk-to-text website: https://speechnotes.co/