Monday, November 16, 2015

Mini-Lesson Plan

TPA Lesson Plan 11-13-2014

1. Teacher Candidate
Sarah Garza
Date Taught
10/08/15
Cooperating Teacher
Rick Haverman
School/District
On Track Academy
2. Subject
English/Language Arts
Field Supervisor
Stephanie Boughter
3. Lesson Title/Focus
Analyzing Novel Themes
5. Length of Lesson
20 minutes
4. Grade Level
10th-12th grade alternative


6. Academic & Content Standards (Common Core/National)
·       RL.9-10.2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
·       SL.9-10.4: present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience and task.
·       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.
7. Learning Objective(s)
·       Given a list of novel passages, students will locate the page numbers, and indicate the correlating theme by working together in teams.
·       Given the sheet with indicated passages, themes, page numbers and the assigned novel, students will discuss and analyze themes by indicating relevant passages and presenting real life experiences to the class.
·       Given the information students just discussed in class, students will demonstrate something they learned during class by completing a 5-minute free write.
8. Academic Language
demands (vocabulary, function, syntax, discourse)
·       Vocabulary: Analyze, theme, correlate, relevant, free write
·       Function: Students will participate in the scavenger hunt for novel themes, the following discussion and the end with the free write.
·       Syntax: Students will use critical thinking to find passages, remember their reading, and have examples to talk about during discussion.
·       Discourse: Students will work collaboratively, discuss as a whole group, and have time to work through personal thoughts and feelings after the lesson is complete.




9. Assessment
Formative: team worksheet
Formative: 5-minute free write exit task


10. Lesson Connections
·       Research: A. Dingli, C. Bonello, and G. Farrugia’s research shows that using more non-traditional styles of teaching in classrooms yields ultimate learning benefits for students overall. Both students and teachers see the benefits of using game-like activities to learn in the classroom.
·       Past Lessons: free writing, book talk
·       Further Development: writing a response paper, citation
·       Building on previous knowledge: Students should have already read the book. Discussing major themes within the novel can help students better understand it’s deeper meaning, relate with how other people interacted with the content, as well as how it is relevant to their lives.
·       Why teach this: This novel deals with very real issues that many high school students deal with on a daily basis. Talking about these things in relation to a novel, can help students develop a sense of community, as well as see relevancy in what they do in school and their personal reality. This will also help students practice working collectively to complete a common goal, work with others collaboratively, and discuss opposing/ or hard-hitting opinions in a respectful and productive way.



11. Instructional Strategies/Learning Tasks to Support Learning

Teacher’s role
·       I will begin by dividing the room into two groups by having students count off in 2’s.
·       Once divided, I will explain to students that they will be participating in a competition.
·       I will hand them a sheet of paper with book quotes, and a theme bank.
·       I will explain that whichever team can find the quote, write the page number and correctly identify the theme it relates to will win a prize. (5min)
·       I will answer any questions students may have, and then initiate the start time.
·       (5 min)
·       Once a group has completed the task, we will go over the items as a whole class, if they get one wrong, the other team will have the chance to steal and take the game. (2min)
·       Once the game is over, I will distribute the prizes (candy) then we will go ahead and begin analyzing the themes they had just found within the book.
·       Students will be encouraged to find other instances and page numbers that further present the themes, as well as relate their life experiences to the text. (5min)
·       Once students have exhausted their conversation, I will give students time to free write something about what they liked about either the game, or the discussion. They will turn this into me at the end of the class time. (3min)
·       Questions:
·       Tell me some more about these themes: how they were portrayed in the book, and how they made you feel while you were reading?
·       Considering these themes, what connections were you able to make to your own life while you were reading?
·        
Students’ Role
·       Students will be asked to count off in 2’s and move to the side of the room to sit with their assigned number.
·       They are to listen to directions, and when they are directed, they will look through their novel and collectively search for the given quote. They are to indicate which theme each quote symbolizes.
·       Once they feel that they are finished they are to all raise their hands.
·       Students will list their answers to the class, and if they are all correct, they will win the candy prize.
·       During discussion about themes, students will be asked to talk about the given themes as they read them in the novel.
·       Students will be asked to provide the specific page number as evidence and follow along with whoever is sharing.
·       Students should actively discuss their experiences both with the novel and their experiences in reality and how they relate.
·       For the free write, students should continuously write about what is on their mind post-lesson and turn it into me before they leave.
Student Voice:
·       Students will have the opportunity to discuss their thoughts as a large group about the novel.
·       Students will have the opportunity to share their feelings about the lesson/ what they learned/what they liked about the lesson in the free write exit task.
·       Students will be able to talk about their process in the group discussion: why did they choose the themes they did, and how those themes are relatable to their lives?
·       Given a list of novel passages, students will locate the page numbers, and indicate the correlating theme by working together in teams.
·       Given the sheet with indicated passages, themes, page numbers and the assigned novel, students will discuss and analyze themes by indicating relevant passages and presenting real life experiences to the class.
·       Given the information students just discussed in class, students will demonstrate something they learned during class by completing a 5-minute free write.
·       Future: following this lesson, students will have a better understanding of the novel’s major themes and ideas. Working through these with classmates helps them gain a more broad appreciation for how other people experience the world. Students will be writing a short paper discussing the themes in the book and relating it to personal events in their own lives as a summative assessment.


12. Differentiated Instruction
·       If a student were not physically able to move around in the room, I would allow him/her to stay in their seat and be with the team closest to them.
·       For students who have trouble reading or writing, they will be in a group where their teammates can help them accomplish the task.
·       For students who don’t thrive in large groups, they will have the opportunity to work in smaller groups, and have some personal time during the free write to work through their thoughts about the lesson.


13. Resources and Materials
·       Ideas for this lesson came from my students and brainstorming how they would like to learn the material.
·       I will need: candy, worksheets, my copy of the novel
·       Students will need: paper, pencil, their novels, worksheets



14. Management and Safety Issues
·       Whenever you are having students compete at something, it can tend to get rowdy. While students are in the team setting, I will need to be walking around the classroom to make sure all students are engaging in the task at hand and that they are not getting too rambunctious.
·       I will also need to make sure there are no food allergies before I bring candy into the classroom.
·       It is also important that I create a safe space for students to be able to share hard-hitting life experiences with the class. Bullying and/or inappropriate remarks towards other students will not be tolerated during discussion.


15. Parent & Community Connections
·       In order to incorporate good discussion, I will be asking students to not only discuss the book’s themes as they are portrayed in the book, but they will also need to relate any life experiences dealing with these ideas to the class to enrich discussion and bring in cultural and community connections.





The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Scavenger Hunt Race

Directions: given these quotes from Sherman Alexie’s novel, you are to search through your copy of the book, locate the page number of the quote, as well as indicate the theme from the theme bank that correlates with it. Whichever team finishes first (and answers correctly) WINS.


Alcoholism      Death      Identity      Self-Esteem      Sexuality      Hopes and Dreams


1. “I’d never guessed I’d be a good basketball player. I mean, I’d always loved ball, mostly because my father loved it so much, and because rowdy loved it even more, but I figured I’d always be one of those players who sat on the bench and cheered his bigger, faster, more talented teammates to victory and/or defeat.”

Page_______________                    Theme____________________________________________

2. “I am a zero on the rez. And if you subtract zero from zero you still have zero. So what’s the point of subtracting when the answer is always the same?”

Page_______________                    Theme____________________________________________

3. “Arnold,” she said one day after school, “I hate this little town. It’s so small, too small. Everything about it is small. The people here have small ideas.”

Page_______________                    Theme____________________________________________

4. “Why would I want to be in the world if I couldn’t touch the world with all of my senses intact?”

Page_______________                    Theme____________________________________________

5. “And the thing is, Miss Warren was hugging me so tight that I was pretty sure she could feel my, er, physical reaction.”

Page______________                     Theme___________________________________________

6. “He looked at me and I swear to you that he understood what was happening. He knew what dad was going to do. But Oscar wasn’t scared. He was relieved.”

Page______________                     Theme___________________________________________






Answers




1.         p. 179            Identity
2.         p. 16               Self- esteem
3.         p. 111             Hopes and Dreams
4.         p. 158             Alcoholism
5.         p. 201             Sexuality
6.         p. 13               Death

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