Name: Mrs.

Kagan Grade 9- Literature for the Ages

Lesson Plan Title
Foundations of O. Henry: Foreshadow, Humor, and Irony

Goals
-Students will learn about the literary techniques of humor, foreshadow, and irony.
-Students will connect literary works to their time and place of origin as well as to present day
humanity.
-Students will develop clear written communication skills using varied vocabulary and precise
mechanics

Objectives
-Students will be able to define and provide examples of humor, foreshadow, and situational,
verbal, and dramatic irony.
-Students will utilize active reading questioning and annotation to build comprehension and to
identify literary techniques.
-Students will demonstrate understanding of unfamiliar words as used in O. Henry’s short
stories.
-Students will evaluate the influence of O’Henry in today’s society.

Discipline and Topic

The discipline is High School English. This lesson is part of a full year curriculum studying
timeless literature and basic plot structures. This particular lesson set would occur in the
second half of the year and utilizes literary analysis practices that have been taught in prior
units, including active reading annotation.

Target Population
This lesson session will be taught to 9th Grade English I students on a college prep level track.

Curriculum Alignment
This lesson session satisfies the following NYS Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly
as well as inferences drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are
defined in standards 1-3 above.)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.9
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.10
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and
shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and
audiences.

Lesson Description
2- 50 minute In-Class Periods
2- Online Work Days

Classroom Lesson 1: Initiating activity: Pre-reading Journal: Have you ever wondered what
your life might be like in the future? Describe how you see yourself in twenty years? How
might you be different? Do you think you will remain close to your best friend? Discuss
responses briefly.

Introduce Comedy→ O. Henry is known for humor through surprise endings and
Irony. Tone/Mood doesn’t have to be entirely upbeat for an element of humor. A darker
tone/mood with an ironically comedic ending is achieved through foreshadow leading to a plot
twist.

Introduce “After Twenty Years.” Read Aloud with Active Reading- Have students question,
clarify, connect, predict, and evaluate. Annotate pdf as we read!

Classroom Lesson 2: Initiating Activity: Prior Knowledge Quickwrite: What is irony?

Explain an example of something ironic.
Discuss responses before Viewing Ted Ed Videos (available on Moodle) to demonstrate
Verbal, Situational, and Dramatic Irony. Students provide further examples and review their
prior knowledge for accuracy.
Irony also creates humor→ ironic comedy.
O. Henry is also known for his literary irony.
Introduce “A Retrieved Reformation” Begin reading in class with pdf active reading
annotation. Complete quiz online.

Online:
Irony videos:
Situational Irony
Verbal Irony
Dramatic Irony

Quizlet Reinforcement Irony Activity:

https://quizlet.com/54905137/verbal-dramatic-situational-irony-examples-definitions-
flash-cards/
 Quizlet Vocabulary Retrieved Reformation
https://quizlet.com/3777158/a-retrieved-reformation-vocabulary-flash-cards/

Discussion Thread- In what ways are O. Henry’s works comedic? Review comedic
plot structure. Is irony humorous?

“After Twenty Years” Vocabulary Builder Worksheet

Quiz- Retrieved Reformation Reading Quiz

Supplemental Materials/Links
Online links are provided above in Lesson Description and found on Moodle.
Quiz and Worksheet

Assessment of Students
Students will be assessed throughout the week in both formative and summative ways.
Students will demonstrate active reading and annotation practices independently on the second
short story after review and guidance on the first. Once complete, comprehension will be
assessed using the Quiz on Moodle. Ability to define literary terms will be formatively
assessed in initiating activity and summatively assessed independently using Quizlet. Student
understanding of new, unfamiliar words will be assessed both on Quizlet and in the
completion of a vocabulary worksheet in which they must apply new words to writing.
Assessment of students’ ability to evaluate irony will be administered through the online
discussion forum and scored using the attached discussion rubric.

Evaluation of Lesson
The lesson will be successful if 80% of students demonstrate comprehension and vocabulary
skills at 85% or better on assessments
The lesson will be successful if 90% of students engage in the discussion forum at 85% or
better.

Rationale for using the medium

For Session 1, I have included several digital resources including: pdf texts of the stories; online
vocabulary exercises and assessment; online videos and exercises reinforcing the concepts of
irony; an online discussion forum; and an online comprehension quiz. Each of these media
experiences serve a purpose towards my expressed objectives and correspond to a level of
thinking on Bloom’s taxonomy. Each online component also reflects online learning best
practices. The Quizlet learning and gaming activities (vocabulary and irony) reinforce the in-
class lessons, present information in a new and varied way, and meet Bloom’s
“retrieve/remember” and “apply” levels. Researchers have identified numerous benefits to
asynchronous discussions including “opportunities for constructing and negotiating meaning,
promoting critical thinking, achieving higher levels of abstract cognitive processes, providing
careful formal and reflective responses, and being motivated to write well due to the presence of
a real audience and purpose for communicating” (Rice, 2012, p.156). The forum created
provides an opportunity for students to “evaluate” the writings and “create” commentary for an
authentic audience, both higher order thinking skills on Bloom’s taxonomy. The hope is that
students will post thorough replies numerous times throughout the week session. Rice (2012),
however, warns that teachers may find students write too little or all responses in one visit to the
forum, or possibly not participate at all. In light of these potential issues, “Monitoring
participation in online discussions is critical, especially with middle and high school students
who may not be closely monitored by an adult at home” (Rice, 2012, p.168). Finally, the online
quizzes give students the flexibility to test when they are prepared; however, it is understood that
there are factors to consider in this assessment of knowledge. External resources are accessible to
students quizzing independently, so all responses may not truly reflect internalized
information. There is also no guarantee that the students are quizzing independently rather than
with friends outside of class. In-class activities should apply the online learning concepts to serve
as a system of checks-and-balances and monitoring student understanding.

Larson and Lockee (2013) indicate that media in education is purposeful when used for learning
with technology, learning from technology, learning about technology, and when using
technology for productivity. Though learning about technology is not reflected in this lesson
plan, students are demonstrating what they have learned about technology by utilizing the LMS
resources as designed. Students are expected to learn from technology when viewing the online
irony tutorial videos and using the Quizlet flashcards. Students learn with technology by
participating in the discussion thread and Quizlet game activities. Technology is used for
productivity as the LMS manages information, resources, and grades for the entire class.

Larson, M. B. and Lockee, B. B. (2013) Streamlined ID: A Practical Guide to Instructional

Design. New York, NY: Routledge.

Rice, K. (2012). Making the move to K-12 online teaching: Research-based strategies and
practices. New York, NY: Pearson.