Brad Baum CI 403 E Professor Willis Unit Plan Lesson Plans 15 December 2011 Week 8 Day 4 Starting to Create

e Time: 50 minutes Setting: Our classroom is made up of a diverse and unique group of students. This unit and lesson is being prepared for an eleventh grade English class at Centennial High School. There are twenty-five students in the class, fifteen females and ten males. The class is very racially diverse as well, with a good balance between each ethnic background. There are eight students who are white, eleven students who are black, four students who are Latino and two students who are Asian. There are two English Language Learners in the class: one, a female student who is bilingual (Spanish/English) and has high fluency and literacy, and a male student whose primary language is Spanish, and has medium fluency and literacy in English. There is one male student in the class that has ADHD, and one male student with a mild form of Aspergers Syndrome. Theory Into Practice: This theory into practice is to be applied to the final two weeks of the unit and, as such, encompasses all of the lessons, activities, assignments and projects that fall within that final two-week period. For the end of the unit, much of the focus is placed on the final project, and the research and presentations that are conducted in relation to that final project. As such, much of the theory included deals with digital literacy, overarching unit projects, conducting research while in the classroom and giving presentations to ones peers in the classroom. One thing that we focused on with this unit, particularly with the major projects that we have assigned, is the inclusion of choice within our projects. I find that it is incredibly important to allow the student to have a say in what is being done in the classroom. This way, you can be sure that the assignments and activities that you go over will be met with at least some enthusiasm and interest. Burke lists a number of ways that negotiation could be used in the classroom, including providing students with choices on what they will be studying in class, in the way that they will be assessed, as well as choosing to complete assignments in different mediums (19). With this unit in particular, we tried to focus on providing students opportunities to complete assignments in different mediums, and to assess students in very different ways. In looking at the assignment sheet for the final project, you can see that the students are given a wide variety of options, and are allowed to attack the assignment from many different mediums. Really, it allows the student to focus on their strengths; they are no longer forced into a specific medium that is restrictive. And while it is important to have students become literate in a variety of mediums, what I am concerned about, in this case, is their understanding of the

content and their ability to illustrate their knowledge about that content. How exactly they get to that point, while important and is a concern, was not the most significant aspect for us for the final project. In his article on literary circles, Daniels also illustrates the importance of student choice by stating that the teacher serves as a facilitator, not a group member or instructor (18). While this doesnt apply exactly, the idea behind it does. As a teacher, I should allow the student to take charge of the group, or in this instance their final projects. I take the role of the facilitator, and help where I see fit and when a student is in need, but do not force any medium on to the students. Another important aspect of the end of this unit is the research component. Burke talked at length in chapters twelve and thirteen about technology in the classroom and media literacy. It is media literacy in particular that is important here, as students need to know what they can use for a source and those websites that just arent reliable. In this day and age, one in which students basically live on the computer, it is important to illustrate the importance of being literate online and knowing which sources can be used with educational projects and assignments and those that cannot. He talks at length how to read documents, and how to teach students how to discern between what is reliable and what is not. In asking how we teach students to read these types of documents, Burke answers that, one might point, first of all, to the variety of other sources worth consulting to see whether his argument holds up. This requires teaching kids how to use various informational resources print, electronic, digital to gather information. It also requires teachers to teach, at every step of the way, how to measure truth, how to assess the value of the resources we find along the information superhighway (344). Here, Burke clearly illustrates the importance of teaching about sources throughout the research process, and making sure that students know the difference between the truth and all of the other information that they find out there on the world wide web. As a small supporting source, I would say that Redd and Webb offered a great quote and some research that works with my idea of placing an importance on perspective, and how it can change once you learn more about a particular subject. As stated in Redd and Webbs text, whether you realize it or not, your personal theories about the world guide your teaching (1). And while this quote applies particularly to teaching, I think that we can expand it out and illustrate to our students that their assignments are going to guide their learning and their schoolwork. The preconceptions and ideas that they have about the world are certainly going to influence they way that they think and the work that they complete. This is something that we must be thinking of throughout the unit and while we are teaching. Another large focus of our unit as a whole is project based learning, and, in particular, those that have a direct connection to how our classroom can serve as a vehicle for social change. The Heifer International Project focuses on this at length, and shows our students how what we do in the classroom can have an influence on the outside world. Burke completes a similar project in his own classrooms, calling them social problems projects, and stating that, confronted with this sharp contrast between home and work, I feel obligated to develop in my sophomores and awareness of those social problems common to our society (354). Ultimately, Burke ends his chapter with a statement of the self as the project. I think that this idea truly fits with this unit, as we are trying to get our students to create projects that are truly representative of their abilities,

projects that illustrate their knowledge on the topic, and also projects that illustrate how they themselves (unlike anyone else in the class) have tackled this project. Chapter eight of Burke focuses on teaching speaking and listening, and the overall verbal curriculum that is used in schools. The last week of our unit deals with students giving oral presentations to the class to present their projects, so the verbal curriculum is something that is very important to our overall unit. One of the most important sections for me was the sections on the rules of the game, and how you can get students to deal with anxiety. In all, Burke details them as rules of the game, and I think that this would be a beneficial way to approach presentations, as all students need to be treated with respect while they are in the front of the room. It is stressful enough, add on heckling from the crowd and it gets to be very near impossible. In all, Burke illustrates that the verbal curriculum is extremely important, as we need to prepare our students for what lies ahead in their education and in the workplace. Ultimately, they are going to have to communicate with others and share their ideas verbally for the rest of their lives. Thus, it is extremely important to prepare our students, and be sure that they are able to speak in public. Background: Throughout the unit, students will have been reading Amy Tans The Hundred Secret Senses, a novel about the relationship between two Chinese halfsisters, and their travels back to where they grew up in China. In the previous week, the students finished the book, and completed a variety of activities to go along with the reading, including a day that was provided to reflect on the text as a whole. During yesterdays lesson, the final project was introduced to students. The final project will be to create some type of presentation/tool that acts as a tourism guide for a particular city throughout the world. Students will have already completed two days of research, and will have the fourth day of the week to finish up that research or get started on actually creating their final project. Objectives: Students will be able to identify reliable sources while researching their topics. Students will be able to synthesize all of the material and pull out the information needed for a specific task. Students will use technology to express their ideas and present their research. Students will be able to apply research to other aspects of their education.

Materials: Extra copies of the guided research handout 26 copies of the presentation guidelines/important aspects to include in your presentation Computer lab/laptops Poster board/paper Markers/crayons/colored pencils/etc.

Preparation: Before this lesson, I will have to be sure to create the presentation guideline handout, and prepare some type of presentation/group activity that will provide students with some basic information on the important aspects to think about when presenting to the class. I will also have to make sure that I have reserved the laptops or time in the computer lab, as well as ensure that students have all of the needed materials to start creating their projects. I will talk with other teachers and school staff as a means to let them know that students may be working throughout the school, as well as a way to check out any equipment that is needed for videos or other aspects of their projects. Procedure: Students will arrive to class, take their seats and get settled in for the day. We will then, as a class, compile a list of the things that are important when giving a presentation. (15 minutes) First: o Students will be given a couple of minutes to jot down, on their own, some ideas. o Students will then pair up with a student near their desk/across from them and share their ideas. o We will then come back to the large group and talk about presentations as a large group, during which I will pass out the handout on important aspects to remember when presenting. We will then head to the computer lab/get our laptops out and continue to work on research. If students have completed all of their research, which they should have by this point, then students will begin to work on their final projects. o Since students are allowed to complete this project in a variety of ways, they may be allowed to relocate to a different part of the building if need be. (Classroom to complete posters, library to check out video equipment, etc.) As an exit slip, students will list off a couple of aspects that are important to presentations. If I feel that a certain area needs to be focused on, and that most of the students are looking over, then I will bring it up during tomorrows class period.

Discussion Ideas: What is the difference between a reliable and unreliable source? What aspects allow us to differentiate between the two? What types of information do we keep during research? What type of information do we disregard as unimportant? What things are important to remember when giving a presentation? What types of things do we have to think about? What will you be graded on?

o Why is it important to keep eye contact, maintain posture, speak in a loud and clear voice, stay on topic, etc? Bilingual/ESL and Englishes Accommodations: Since most of the work is being completed on the computer, I would make sure that any websites that can be translated would be made available. Also, I would find a good translation site for the student so that any terms or blocks of text that is difficult to understand could be translated at ease. As usual, I would make sure that the schedule would be known in advance, and that students in ESL would be prepared to start their projects during this day. I would talk with the ESL teacher is necessary about the project and getting started. This way, the student can come prepared, and work out some of the language issues with their ESL teacher if necessary, or ask their parents or myself for help with any issue that they are struggling with. Frontloading information is the key here, so that the student isnt unprepared, or unable to complete the assignment, during class when the activity is announced to the entire class. Ultimately, providing students with a general outline of your schedule would be good for all of the individuals in the classroom; generally, accommodations are going to assist all of the students in your classroom in some way or, at least, this should be the goal. For this assignment in particular, ESL accommodations are going to be important. Giving a presentation is stressful in general, but add on top of that a student or any individual who has difficulty with the language, and you raise the stress level much higher. As such, I would be sure to talk with my students in ESL well in advance, and ensure them that this presentation process will work out just fine. To start, I would like to get the Spanish teacher involved if at all possible. I think that, for a student who is at middle proficiency, it may be beneficial for this student to first write out the presentation in Spanish, get down the content, and then work on translating the presentation into English. In the end, I care about two things: does the student know the content, and are they able to present their information and ideas to their peer group and myself? So, if need be, I will have the student work with myself as well as the Spanish teacher to work on making sure that both students are comfortable as they can be presenting in front of the class. It may also be beneficial to pair the student with medium proficiency, with the student who speaks English well, when students are practicing presentations the week beforehand. Starting as early as possible hear is best, as you want to ensure that the student is going to be prepared to go up in front of this classroom. I would suggest to these students to take some time out Friday during class to start putting together their presentations and practice with other students or myself. This way, they can start to get a feel for the information that they will be discussing with their peers, and start to break down some of the language problems that may arise when giving a presentation. Special Education Accommodations: As with the students in ESL, I would be sure to inform all students about the presentation early enough so as to allow them to prepare for the work that will need to be

completed. This is especially important, however, when working with students with Aspergers, as her or she may have difficulty being social and presenting in front of the class. As for the student with ADHD, it will be important to go over the presentation and listening expectations, to make sure that he can stay attentive and be respectful throughout the rest of the class presentations. As with the other assignments, it will be beneficial to go over this assignment with the special education teacher, so as to introduce the idea to the student with Aspergers on many fronts, and get him to become comfortable with the idea. Perhaps he is a good presenter, and has completed formal presentations in the past, but it will still be beneficial to offer the student outside help if necessary. I also may have to go over the social norms that are followed during presentations, including clapping and listening even if you dont find the presentation interesting or factual. Talking about these things beforehand will help the flow of the class go much more smoothly come presentation day. Ultimately, I think that for both students, expectations are extremely important in this case. I will need to explain to both of these students how presentations are going to work and what will be expected of them both as presenters and observers. It is also going to be important to work with these students from the start when they are creating their projects. The student with ADHD may have trouble getting started or deciding on a particular area or project to focus on, so it will be important to stress the importance of merely getting started on the project and going from there. Assessment: Students will be assessed based on their participation during the opening activity, as well as throughout the day when they are working on their projects. Most of this assessing will be informal, and require me to simply observe the class and take note of who is staying on task, contributing to discussion, working well in groups and is completing their research or getting started on their projects. Besides this, the only thing that can be assessed the exit slip, which will be check for completion and comprehension. I will use this exit slip as a means to gage what the students have learned from the brief presentation activity. If there are certain aspects that I feel students need some work on, I will note it and bring it up during tomorrows class, and perhaps have the students specifically practice this part of the presentation with a partner or small group. Extension Ideas: As discussed in later lesson plans, I think that it would be beneficial to bring these presentations to a larger scale than they are at this point. It would certainly be beneficial for students to have a longer presentation than five minutes, as they would be able to delve deeper into the issues and cultural backgrounds of the cities that they are working with. If provided with more time, I think that it would have been interesting to team up with a history class and have a sort of world fair day, in which the students got into larger groups, and prepared large scale presentations in a fair style for the whole school to take part in. This would be a lot more work for the students, but would also be much more

valuable, as the students would be reaching more people with the work that they have completed. I also think that the specific teaching of speech and presentations is very important, as something that students should spend a considerable amount of time on. Students are going to have to speak in public, to some extent, for the remainder of our lives. Thus, it is our job as educators to prepare them and provide them with the skills to successfully communicate with their peers and anyone they may interact with. Source of Activity: I would like to thank Amy Tan for writing her novel, and providing the inspiration for the overall final project. Her description of the landscapes of Changmian really resonated with the group, which brought about the idea to create a travel guide, just as Simon and Olivia planned on doing. I would also like to thank many of my teachers for placing a focus on multimodal projects and offering a variety of options; giving the students a choice is such an important aspect to being successful in the classroom. I would also like to thank some of my speech teachers back in high school, as well as here at the university, for making me realize how important communication classes are in a students education. Resources and References: Burke, Jim. The English Teacher's Companion. Third ed. Portsmouth: Heinemann, NH. Print. Daniels, Harvey. Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in Book Clubs and Reading Groups. Redd, T. M. & Webb, K. S. (2005). A teachers introduction to African American English: What a writing teacher should know. Tan, Amy. The Hundred Secret Senses. 1995. New York: Vintage Books, 1998. Print. Illinois State English Language Arts Goals: Research: 5.B.5a Evaluate the usefulness of information, synthesize information to support a thesis, and present information in a logical manner in oral and written forms. And Research: 5.B.5b Credit primary and secondary sources in a form appropriate for presentation or publication for a particular audience. These standards connect with the second objective, and deals with students ability to identify credible and reliable sources for their projects.

Research: 5.A.5b Research, design and present a project to an academic, business or school community audience on a topic selected from among contemporary issues. This standard specifically relates to the first two objectives, and deals with the students beginning their research and leading into the creation of their projects and presentations.