Emma Veteto - Mursion Scenario Lesson Plan

Objective: What will students do during your lesson? What is your end goal and how
will you measure the students’ intended learning in the lesson?

SW examine characterization in a narrative text IOT draw conclusions about character

motivation and priorities.
Or
SWBAT analyze how complex characters develop over the course of a text IOT
determine how characters advance plot and reinforce the text’s overall theme.
Reading (chapter excerpt):

Chapter 1
THEY CALLED HIM Moishe the Beadle, as if his entire
life he had never had a surname. He was the jack-of-
all-trades in a Hasidic house of prayer, a shtibl. The Jews

of Sighet—the little town in Transylvania where I spent my childhood—were fond of

him. He was poor and lived in utter penury.

As a rule, our townspeople, while they did help the needy, did

not particularly like them. Moishe the Beadle was the exception. He stayed out of
people's way. His presence bothered no one. He had mastered the art of rendering
himself insignificant, invisible.
Physically, he was as awkward as a clown. His waiflike shyness
made people smile. As for me, I liked his wide, dreamy eyes, gazing off into the
distance. He spoke little. He sang, or rather he

chanted, and the few snatches I caught here and there spoke of
divine suffering, of the Shekhinah in Exile, where, according to
Kabbalah, it awaits its redemption linked to that of man.
I met him in 1941. I was almost thirteen and deeply observant.

By day I studied Talmud and by night I would run to the synagogue to weep over the
destruction of the Temple.

One day I asked my father to find me a master who could

guide me in my studies of Kabbalah. "You are too young for that.
Maimonides tells us that one must be thirty before venturing into
the world of mysticism, a world fraught with peril. First you must
study the basic subjects, those you are able to comprehend."
My father was a cultured man, rather unsentimental. He rarely
displayed his feelings, not even within his family, and was more
involved with the welfare of others than with that of his own kin.
The Jewish community of Sighet held him in highest esteem; his
advice on public and even private matters was frequently sought.
There were four of us children. Hilda, the eldest; then Bea; I was
the third and the only son; Tzipora was the youngest.
My parents ran a store. Hilda and Bea helped with the work.
As for me, my place was in the house of study, or so they said.
"There are no Kabbalists in Sighet," my father would often
tell me.
He wanted to drive the idea of studying Kabbalah from my mind. In vain. I succeeded
on my own in finding a master for my-
self in the person of Moishe the Beadle.

He had watched me one day as I prayed at dusk.

"Why do you cry when you pray?" he asked, as though he
knew me well.
"I don't know," I answered, troubled.
I had never asked myself that question. I cried because
because something inside me felt the need to cry. That was all
I knew.
"Why do you pray?" he asked after a moment.
Why did I pray? Strange question. Why did I live? Why did
I breathe?
"I don't know," I told him, even more troubled and ill at ease.
"I don't know."
From that day on, I saw him often. He explained to me, with great emphasis, that
every question possessed a power that was lost in the answer...

Discussion Questions (3 -5): Consider higher level questioning; utilize Costa’s levels of questioning if
possible
1. What is a value?
2. Can you give me an example of one of your values?
3. What does Elie value? /What does Moishe value? (level
1)
4. What do these values tell us?
5. Can we predict how these priorities/values will affect
their actions later in the text? (level 2)
6. Where do we see these priorities? How do we know
what they are? (referring to text) (level 1)
7. What did Elie Wiesel seek to say about humanity in the
face of tragedy? (level 3 thinking) or what is Wiesel
saying about values?
8. What would you say this text is about? (level 2)

Assessment (Quick; formative) - How Will You Collect Evidence That Your Students (individually)
Grasped The Intended Learning in Today’s Lesson?
Quick Write
Question(s):
What are some of Elie’s character traits and how do these traits affect his actions? Emma
Think about how his values as a person push him to make certain decisions and to Veteto
refrain from others.
What is a value of yours and how does that value impact the decisions you make in
your daily life?
Building relationships components - List 3 – 4 you hope to utilize during your lesson & discuss in a
short description how you plan to implement each one

I will build trust with my students by using body language (e.g. nodding), eye contact
(as appropriate to the student), and conversation moves (e.g. “Let me repeat back what
I think you said”) to signal to students that you are listening to and taking their ideas
seriously

In order to build trust, I will respond to student answers by synthesizing their

ideas and asking them if they feel I’ve done an adequate job of understanding
them. Additionally, I will treat student-teacher talk as if it is a conversation in
order to allow students the comfortable environment they need to thrive in a
discussion.

I will support individual students to engage in productive struggle with content and
to persevere by positioning every student as competent, explicitly marking their
strengths, successes, and examples of persistence/resiliency.
In order to encourage engagement, I will make individualized commentary
about positive student behavior. For instance, if a student partially answers a
question but isn’t sure how to unpack their ideas further, I will commend them
in front of the class for their excellent start and urge them to move forward
with their thinking.
I will maintain relationships with students by greeting them and having casual
conversations with them as class begins.
In order to build and maintain relationships with my students, I will start the
class period by saying hello to everyone and asking them how they are doing.
In doing this, I will establish an environment of comfort and ease that will
encourage students to participate in class and feel validated.

Reflection - Due 1 week after lesson implementation - Use Reflection sheet in PDS Handbook (pg. 104)