ConceptUnit

LessonPlanTemplate

UnitWorkingTitle:HowICanUseLiteraturetoApproachProblemsinMyOwnLife

UnitBigIdea(Concept/Theme):CopingwithAdversity

UnitPrimarySkillfocus:MakinganArgument

Week__3_of3;Plan#__8_of9;[90mins.]

Plantype:____FullDetail_X_Summary

ContentRequirementSatisfied:TechnologyIntegration
(Note:RefertothelistinthedocumentcalledConceptUnitLessonPlans)

UnitLearningObjectives(numbered)[frommyBackwardsDesignUnitDocument],followedby
Specificlessonobjectives(lettered)beingtaughtinthislesson:

SWBAT:
Cognitive(know/understand):
1.Studentswillunderstandthattheycanexaminehowtheyapproachadversitiesintheirown
livesbyanalyzingliterarycharactersapproachestoadversity.

Affective(feel/value)and/orNonCognitive:
5.Studentswillvaluetheimportanceofselfreflectionandlearningfromonesmistakeswhen
lookingbackonhowtheyapproachedcertainproblems
a.studentswillbeabletoanalyzetheirownchoicesthroughselfreflection

Performance(do):
7.Studentswillbeabletocriticallyexaminehowcharactersinliteratureapproachdifferent
problems
b.studentswillbeabletoreflectonhowtheyhaveapproachedobstaclesintheirownlife

8.Studentswillbeabletomakewrittenandoralargumentsaboutwhethercharacterschoicesin
literaturewhenfacedwithadversitywereeffectivechoicestomakeatthetime
c.Studentswillbeabletocomposeargumentativestatementsbasedoffclosereadings
g.Studentswillbeabletotranslatetheirwrittenrecordintoapodcast

SOLs:[ListwithnumbersportrayedintheSOLdocument]
7.1Thestudentwillgiveandseekinformationinconversations,ingroupdiscussions,andinoral
presentations
b.communicateideasandinformationorallyinanorganizedandsuccinctmanner
e.usegrammaticallycorrectlanguageandvocabularyappropriatetoaudience,topic,and
purpose

CCSs:[ListwithnumbersportrayedintheCCSdocument]
CCSS.ELALITERACY.SL.7.6Adaptspeechtoavarietyofcontextsandtasks,demonstrating
commandofformalEnglishwhenindicatedorappropriate
CCSS.ELALITERACY.L.7.3Useknowledgeoflanguageanditsconventionswhenwriting,
speaking,reading,orlistening

MethodsofAssessment:
[Howwillyouknowiftheintendedlearningoccurred?]Listallmethodsofassessmentusedin
thislessonorwhicharerelatedtothislessonandcomeinafuturelesson.Aftereachassessment,
indicateinbracketsthenumber(s)andletter(s)oftheunitobjectiveandtherelatedlesson
objectivesthattheassessmentisevaluating.

Diagnostic Formative Summative

Atthebeginningofcomputer Asstudentsareintheprocess Studentswillusetheirfinal
section,Iwillaskstudentsif ofcreatingtheirpodcasts,I productoftheirpodcastaspart
anyonehasexperienceusing willbeavailableforhelp. oftheirCharacterTalk
GarageBandtocreatea Additionally,afterstudents summativeassessment,which
podcastbefore.Iftherearea finishthepodcastsbeforethey encompassesassessmentof
lotofstudentswhohave,I moveontothereflective mostobjectivesforthisunit.
willdirectthesestudentsto writingexercise,theywill
helptheirpeerswhenthey completeajournalentrywith Theirpodcastsandtranscriptof
cansowecanmakethe apromptthatwillgetthem theCharacterTalkwillbe
processmovealongquickly warmedupwithreflective assessedaccordingtoarubric
andefficiently.Iwillalsobe writing.Afterstudentsdothis foundonthesummative
walkingaroundand individually,wewilldiscuss assessmentdocument.
troubleshootingwith anyquestionsorconcernsthat
technicaldifficulties. theyhaveaboutreflective Objectives1,5a,7a,8c,8g,
writing. SOL7.1b,7.1e
CCSS.ELA CCSS.ELA
LITERACY.SL.7.6 Attheendofthis LITERACY.SL.7.6
Objectives7a,8g workshoppingperiod,students
willbeabletoturninanexit
sliptomewheretheyask
questionsabouttheir
individualselfreflective
writingpiecessofar.

SOL1,5a,7.1b,7.1e
Objectives1,7a,8c,8g,

Procedures/InstructionalStrategies
[Note:AnywordsthatrepresentwhatIwouldsaydirectlytostudentsappearinitalics.]

BeginningRoomArrangement:
[Changesinthisarrangementthatbecomenecessarylaterwillbenotedintheplan]
Studentswillbeseatedintheirusualseatingarrangement,butwillbeallowedtomovearound
theroomforpeereditingwiththeirpartners.

1. [2mins.]Openingtolesson:
Welcomestudentsintotheclassroom,remindthemthatwearenearingtheendofourtimeon
thisunit.Tellstudentsaboutthestructureoftheclasstoday.Thefocusisformingthepodcast
anddoingselfreflectivewritingassignment.

2. [40mins.]CreatingCharacterTalkPodcasts

Evenifallstudentsarentdonewiththeirfinaldraftsbythistime,mostofthemshouldbeafter
workingonthemforalmostanhour.Instructstudentstogetouttheschoollaptopsandopen
GarageBand(orasimilarapplicationthatcanrecordifGarageBandisnotavailable).Usethis
sameapplicationonmylaptopandhookituptotheprojectorsostudentscanfollowwhatIam
doing.Walkthemthroughthebasicsofcreatingapodcast,explaininghowtocutarecordingand
dothingslikeaddmusic.Leavetimeopenforstudentstoaskgeneralquestionsattheend.

Remindstudentsiftheyhaveaquestionthattheycanaskafriendandthenaskmeifneitherof
themknowstominimizetheamountofstudentswhoaresittingtherewaitingformyhelp.
Explainthatstudentscanmessaroundwiththeapplicationalittlebitbeforerecordingtheir
actualdraftstogetthehangofit.Emphasizethatwhenstudentsareactuallyrecording
themselves,theyshouldbeawareofcommonmistakes(e.g.speakingtooquickly,notadding
emphasis,etc.)Makealistoftheseontheboardatthefrontoftheroomsostudentshaveeasy
accesstoit.Alsowritethetimeguidelinesontherubricontheboardsostudentsarecognizantof
thisastheyarerecording.

Ifstudentsarefinished,providethemwithexamplesofpodcastsforcertainbookstheymayhave
read.Asstudentsfinishatdifferentpaces,theywillbeabletostartontheirreflectivewriting
journals.

3. [45min]Studentselfreflectivewritingassignment:practicewithreflectivewriting

Studentswilljournalfor10mininresponsetothisprompt:
Perseverance is a steady effort to maintain a course of action, purpose, or belief, often in spite
of difficulty. Write a speech for a school assembly about the meaning of perseverance as it
applies to personal success. You may use the following information as well as your own
experiences, observations, and/or readings.

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time you fall.
Source: Nelson Mandela
Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it
will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.
Source: Lance Armstrong
I would go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times
without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it would split
in two, and I knew it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before. Source:
Jacob A. Riis
Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. Remember
no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost. Sometime, somewhere,
somehow we shall find that which we seek. Source: Helen Keller
Its not that Im so smart; its just that I stay with problems longer. Source: Albert
Einstein
If you run into a wall, dont turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go
through it, or work around it. Source: Michael Jordan
As you write your speech, remember to:
Focus on the meaning of perseverance as it applies to personal success.
Consider the purpose, audience and context of your speech.
Organize your ideas logically and effectively.
Include specific details that clearly develop your speech.
Edit your speech for standard grammar and language usage.

As students are journaling, I will be circulating and available for questions or help. After 10
minutes is up, as a whole class we will discuss if any questions about reflective writing came up
during this process. If we have time, students will share what they wrote about perseverance
since this theme connects to the first lesson we did in this unit about defining terms that relate to
adversity.

Studentswillspendthenext25minworkingontheirselfreflectivewritingassignmentforthe
unitaboutapproachingadversity.Iwillhavealistofhelpfultipsforreflectivewritingonthe
board(e.g.makesureitswritteninanexcitingwayisitsomethingyouwouldwanttoread?If
yourehavingahardtimefiguringoutwhattowrite,itsokaytojuststartwithoneideaandthen
changeitlaterifnecessary,etc.)

4. [_3_mins]Closure:

Useanticipationclosure,explainingthatstudentsareattheendofthisprocessnowthatthey
havecreatedapodcastanddonetheselfreflectivewritingassignment.Explainthatnextclass
wewillhavetimetolistentoeachotherspodcastsandthenmoveontothenextunit.Thank
themfortheirworkinthisunitandexplainthatIamexcitedtolistentotheirpodcastsandread
theirwriting.RemindthemthatthequestionofwhydoIneedliterature?isonetheyshouldbe
askingthemselvescontinuallythroughoutEnglishclass,notjustduringthispastuniton
adversity.Previewtheunitforthesecondhalfofthenextclass,gettingstudentsexcitedaboutit.

DifferentiatedInstructiontoaccommodateoneormoreofmyprofiledstudents:
(Thisiswhereyouidentifyspecificaspectsofthislessonwhichhavebeendifferentiatedinorder
toaddresstheneedsofoneormoreofyourprofiledstudentsidentifythembyname)

Aly (the student who is high-performing but doesnt see the value in English) and Garrett (the
student whos performing well above grade-level) will be paired with students who are
struggling because I anticipate that both of them will finish this a lot earlier than everyone else.
Ideally, having Aly as a peer tutor or helper would help her set a purpose for the class; even if
she doesnt care about her work individually, maybe she can see the value in helping a friend.

MaterialsNeeded(list):
SchoolLaptops(1/student)
Headphones(1/student)
ListofTipsandTricksforRevising(AppendixA)
ReflectiveWritingPrompt:SpeechonPerseverance(AppendixB)
TipsforReflectiveWriting(AppendixC)
ExitCard:ReflectiveWritingQuestions(AppendixD)

MaterialsAppendix:(e.g.,supplementarytexts,Ppts,overheads,graphicorganizers,handouts,
etc.)
ListofTipsandTricksforRevising(AppendixA)
ReflectiveWritingPrompt:SpeechonPerseverance(AppendixB)
TipsforReflectiveWriting(AppendixC)
ExitCard:ReflectiveWritingQuestions(AppendixD)