Lesson+Plan+Two


 * Lesson Plan 2**


 * Class Description-** This is a 9th grade English class with 50 minute periods. There are 26 students in the class. There are 15 males and 11 females. The students are fairly diverse, reflecting African American, Hispanic, Native American, and Caucasian backgrounds. Three students have an IEP and are fully included into their curriculum. Desks are arranged to support cooperative learning activities and to facilitate group instruction/ discussion. Students work best with multiple means of instruction: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and group activities. I strive to utilize Gardner’s multiple intelligences into my lesson planning. ||
 * Class Description-** This is a 9th grade English class with 50 minute periods. There are 26 students in the class. There are 15 males and 11 females. The students are fairly diverse, reflecting African American, Hispanic, Native American, and Caucasian backgrounds. Three students have an IEP and are fully included into their curriculum. Desks are arranged to support cooperative learning activities and to facilitate group instruction/ discussion. Students work best with multiple means of instruction: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and group activities. I strive to utilize Gardner’s multiple intelligences into my lesson planning. ||


 * Unit Title**
 * Unit Title**

Social Injustice and Discrimination in Literature ||
 * Lesson Topic**

Defining Culture ||
 * Type of Lesson**

Developmental || 2.1.2 NCTE 11 ||
 * Core Learning Goal/Curriculum Standard**


 * Lesson Objective(s):**
 * Objective 1 –** SWBAT define the characteristics of culture by creating their own “I am Poem,” in order to label specific diverse cultures in our society.
 * Objective 1 –** SWBAT define the characteristics of culture by creating their own “I am Poem,” in order to label specific diverse cultures in our society.


 * Objective 2 –** As a group, SWBAT reflect on their background knowledge of culture through a KWL chart, in order to set appropriate goals for their culture assignment. ||

Formative Performance To reinforce the material in today’s lesson, students reflect on their individuality and culture to create an “I am poem.” Students will highlight areas of interest, heritage, location, family, likes/dislikes, etc. The information will be compiled into a poem and collected as a formal assessment. This is also a great introductory activity for the beginning of the unit, helping students to personalize themselves with the unit. ||
 * Assessment(s):**
 * Assessment(s):**
 * __Assessment for Objective 1__ –**“I am Poem”
 * Is this a formative or summative assessment?**
 * Would you characterize this assessment as a traditional or performance assessment?**
 * Why did you select this assessment strategy to measure student learning?**
 * __Assessment of Objective 2__ –** KWL Chart
 * __Assessment of Objective 2__ –** KWL Chart

Formative Traditional This chart assesses student’s prior background knowledge on their specific assigned culture. It will help me to understand what they know about the individual culture they will research and present with the class. The assessment also establishes successful goal setting. The “W’ is defined by the specific elements students want to know about their culture. Therefore, these elements of the culture give students a starting point for their research tomorrow in class. The “L” will be completed at the end of the research activity, after two more lessons. Overall, the activity can be used as an assessment for cooperative skills as well. ||
 * Is this a formative or summative assessment?**
 * Would you characterize this assessment as a traditional or performance assessment?**
 * Why did you select this assessment strategy to measure student learning?**

Computer PowerPoint (with instructions) Poem Template “I am Poem” example Timer Discrimination Mind Map Colored Index Cards (Student grouping) Culture Items CD player Dictionary KWL Chart Handout Research Tips Handout Culture Mind Map || What is culture? What elements are used to define culture? What is my culture? ||
 * Materials Needed for Lesson**
 * Materials Needed for Lesson**
 * Lesson Development**
 * Teacher **
 * Teacher **
 * Drill/Motivational Activity- ** To motivate students about today’s lesson on culture, I’ll be sharing a plethora of world culture items that I’ve collected over the years: Native American artifacts, Early European Tools, Aboriginal Australian musical instruments, African art, New Zealand jewelry, Hispanic music, etc. Students will be able to hold/listen all of the culture items in the classroom, noticing their eclectic differences. I will ask students probing questions to define culture: “If I told you that all of the items that you’ve seen today reflect different cultures throughout our world, how would you define culture?” “What other items, actions, or beliefs do you think could define culture?” We will draft a few words that describe culture on the board.
 * Transition- ** “We’re all on a good track to defining the importance of culture in our lives; but before we can truly understand different cultures throughout the world, we need to define our own culture.” I will be passing out their poem template.
 * Activity 1 – ** I will begin the first activity by sharing the directions of the “I am Poem.” I will also share my own “I am Poem” with students. I will emphasis the need for individuality and background experiences/lifestyles for this activity. I will also emphasis our use of describing our own individual cultures in the poem. The directions will be on the board and on their poem template form. Afterward, students will independently complete their “I am Poem” while listening to music of various cultures. At the completion of the activity, I will ask students if they would like to add any other words to those describing culture on the board.
 * //__ Key Questions __//**
 * Transition- ** “All of you have been working very hard on these “I am Poems.” Let’s share some of our poems to help build upon our definition of culture.”
 * Students**


 * Students enjoy the variety of items being passed throughout the classroom and the music playing on the CD player.**


 * Students will carefully review the “I am Poem” model. Afterward, students will** ||
 * Time**


 * 8 minutes**


 * 17 minutes** ||
 * Teacher (cont’d)**
 * Teacher (cont’d)**

What is culture? What are some elements of the readers’ culture?
 * Activity 2 –** Students will have the opportunity in this activity to collaboratively share their “I am Poem.” I will ask for 7-8 volunteers, or I will choose them if students are non-compliant. As students read their poems, we will discuss the subtle words and phrases which define the reader’s culture. As a class we will refer back to our words defining culture on the board, and open our dictionaries to view the actual definition of culture. We will compare/contrast ours with the dictionary’s to draft our own definition. I will use our words and definition to create another mind map.
 * //__Key Questions__//**


 * Transition-“**Great! We have our very own definition of culture. To better understand several individual culture’s throughout our world, I’d like to introduce you to our group assignment and groups. All of you have a colored index card taped under your desk; match your color with the designated areas throughout the room with the same colored cards to meet your new group. You have 20 seconds, starting now! (Timer set).”


 * Activity 3 –** Students will quickly get into their culture groups (6) to read their group envelope. The envelope contains one copy of the KWL chart (with instructions) and one card that names their culture (Native American, Latin American/Hispanic, African American, Japanese, Chinese, and Australian Aborigine) to be researched. Students will collaboratively complete the “K” and “W” of their chart, based on their assigned culture.

What do I know about _______culture? What do I want to know about the _______ culture?
 * //__Key Questions__//**


 * Summary/Closure/Revisit**
 * Objective-** We will have a quick discussion on our KWL charts. I will be especially focusing on what students want to know about their culture to research. We will revisit our 2nd objective, which focuses on our purpose in completing the KWL chart. Students will be prompted that this activity will help them to outline their research tomorrow in the computer lab. This summary will quickly tie into our homework assignment summarized below.

I will give students a homework article to read: “Research Tips.” Each student will also write one paragraph, describing why it is important to use credible and scholarly resources when researching.


 * Safety Valve-** Instead of completing the “I am Poem,” I was considering having students draw a picture that depicts their individual or family culture. I would provide a model for students to follow, as well as a brief description to serve as a rationale for my drawing. Students will also write two sentences, describing how the picture portrays themselves or their family. To follow up with this activity, we would share and discuss our drawings, using the discussion to define culture. ||
 * Students (cont’d)**


 * Students will share their poems and actively participate in a discussion about the readers’ individual culture.**


 * Students quickly get into their groups to complete their KWL charts on their assigned culture.**


 * Students will briefly share their “W” column of their KWL chart, which will serve as a goal for their research tomorrow.**


 * Students will collect their homework (with instructions). I will also prompt students to meet in the computer lab (library) at the beginning of class tomorrow.** ||
 * Time (cont’d)**


 * 10 minutes**


 * 14 minutes**


 * 1 minute** ||

To begin the class, all of the objectives are posted on the board so the students and the teacher know their expectations on the lesson. All of the instructions for activities are also posted on the board (or PowerPoint). On physical handouts for activities, students are given a clear format to follow, as well as the instructions posted on the top of the paper. To motivate students, I’ve selected a variety of items that span several multiple intelligences. For example, the artwork would appeal to students who are interested in cultural or historical art. For those who specialize in music, I’ve included a variety of instruments and CDs for students to enjoy and connect with. As always, I model my activities before directly giving them to students. In this lesson plan, I modeled the “I am Poem” by reviewing my very own poem with the class. These activities help students to their expectations and guidelines before starting an assignment. I also will model the KWL chart with an example. As usual, the class is filled with discussion, giving students the opportunity to verbally express their thoughts and feelings. The “I am Poem” gives students the opportunity to use their personal experiences and interests into a writing activity. This is a great exercise for students who have difficulty writing long passages, the poem is designed to be individual; the author may be the only student who actually knows what the poem actually means! Lastly, I’ve carefully chosen students for their culture groups. I’ve matched students who I feel will push one another to succeed. The colored cards are a quick organizational tool to reduce wait time and increase active involvement. It is a great strategy for students with attention deficits.
 * Differentiation-**
 * Differentiation-**


 * Reflection on assessment –** If the lesson is unsuccessful in mastering the objectives, I will adapt the lesson to best meet the needs of the entire class. The “I am Poem” could possibly be too difficult for students to understand. If this is true, I would have students assist me in developing our own class “I am Poem,” instead of the individual poems. We could still capture individual cultures, while also applying the information to a class-wide culture. This would surely help students to generalize culture into their lives and their community. In terms of defining culture, I could provide more visuals to assist students in envisioning and describing culture. Students could use these visuals to develop words in their class definition of culture. Regardless of the activity, I will take the role as a facilitator, assisting students in the right direction. In defining culture, more visuals and examples will be the best bet to generalize the information into students’ surroundings and background knowledge of culture. ||