Lesson Study 1-14 – Page 2

September 10, 2014

Batty About Bats

Batty About Bats Unit: Stellaluna Character Inferences and Development

Content

As per the Oregon standards for 3^rd grade, the students will work on their ability to make inferences and track character development in a work of fiction. In this lesson, we will be looking specifically at Stellaluna by Janell Cannon while meeting the guidelines set in the following standard 3.RL.3:

Process

Together as a class, we will read Stellaluna. Before reading, I will also ask the class to pay special attention to how Stellaluna changes in the beginning, middle, and end. Then, I will model the inference-making process via a poster on the board so they can see what the expectations are for this activity. To begin, I will redirect the students to the beginning of the story, point out a sentence, and ask them to think about how Stellaluna is feeling or thinking based on what the author has told us. Is she scared? Happy? Hungry? As a class, we will come up with at least 1 inference for each section. Then, the students will brainstorm additional words for their final product with the help of their table group and the teacher(s).

Product

For the final product the students will create the following:

Inside the bats, the students will write the inferences they have chosen to describe Stellaluna at each part of the story. In the boxes they will provide the textual evidence they used to make the inference, paraphrased in their own words. The teacher will use the product to evaluate the students’ understanding of making inferences and character development. Then, they will be displayed around the room so the students can see their work and the work of their peers. The students may work in their table groups if they wish, but each student will make their own poster.

Thank you to Linda from Around the Kampfire for her inspiring lesson on bats from which my activity template was created. If you want to see how she used the template to create a lesson on Stellaluna’s responses to different situations check our her fantastic blog post!

Evaluation

If I want to do a formal evaluation process, I will use this rubric. Students will shade in the boxes with the faces/point values that they think best describe their work. Then, they will write comments to further reflect on the activity. I will circle the faces/point values I think they deserve and write in my own feedback. The rubric should be returned to students so they can accrue a sense of their progress and make note of how they can improve for next time.

Reflection

After creating my first lesson plan study assignment, I have learned quite a bit through not only the creation of the lesson, but also through the feedback of my peers. I came to class a little unsure of my work since I have not drafted many lesson plans in the past. However, I found that at the end of the day I was excited to try out my activities thanks to the enthusiasm of those who edited my lesson. I received thoughtful feedback that was both constructive and encouraging. My peers challenged me to look more closely at how my students will receive the lesson. Will they understand all the terms I’m using? Will they be able to finish the assignment in the time given? What are ways students with limited written communication can participate? Through these questions and others, I was able to alter my lesson plan so that it better fit my students. Thus, I really enjoyed this lesson plan study. It helped me build upon my ideas and improve them in a way that I would not have been able to do on my own. I look forward to continuing to work with this class and constructing more lessons!

September 9, 2014

Let’s Eat Grandpa – 7th Grade Introduction to the Importance of Grammatical Conventions

Content

The lesson will take place within a unit that focuses on grammar and conventions in writing in order to meet 7th grade standards.

Process

Opening/Warm-Up: Every morning the instructor in my classroom writes a ‘welcome note’ on the board. This lesson’s welcome note will be slightly different, it will be written without any capitalization or punctuation. The welcome note will include seating instructions and the also instruct the students to take out a sheet of paper and write the answer to the question, “What is the most commonly misspelled word in America and why do you think it is so often misspelled?”

After a short time they will be asked if they noticed anything confusing about the note. They will then be instructed to re-write the sentences in the note as individuals, making corrections to capitalization and punctuation if needed. The students sit in desk groups of four or five and after making their corrections the students will discuss their edits in their desk groups and come up with corrected sentences they all agree on. One student from each table group will then come up to the board and re-write the note with the edits the group has agreed upon. The instructor will then reveal the correct corrections to the class.

Introduction Lecture: Why is it important for us to understand the correct usage of grammar when writing? Each table group will have 5 minutes to come up with a one sentence response to this question. The class will then briefly disc Someecards uss.

Spell Check Generation Prezi– The instructor will show slides illustrating examples from writing composed on a computer: grammatical mistakes on Facebook, typed resumes, etc., in order to prove wrong the notion that with computers helping us we don’t need to learn the rules. The presentation will also cover the basic lessons we will be focusing on. Capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, parts of speech etc. With each slide the students will be encouraged to rate themselves on what they believe their level of competence is in each area 1 to 5. 1 being they feel they require a significant amount of instruction or clarification on the concept, to 5 being they feel very confident on their already formed knowledge base.

Another concept that will be addressed is the hard truth that much of understanding grammar is pure memorization. How do you know your name must always be capitalized? Because you have had to write it 5,000 times. By the 400th time you have probably realized you need to capitalize both your first and last names, right? What are some ideas the class has to facilitate memorization of the grammatical rules they may find difficult? Also the introduction of the idea that conventions are MORE than just rules. The are a foundation with which to base the expression of their ideas.

Product

Students will be motivated going into the unit on conventions to appreciate their real world application, and to reflect on the areas they need to focus on while in the unit. Not all students are the same. We all have trouble with different areas, I want them to appreciate this from the beginning and begin to focus on those lessons in the unit where they need particular instruction.

Evaluation – At the end of the first lesson students will write in full sentences a brief exit self-reflection on their confidence with grammatical conventions. What common errors have they noticed themselves making: commas, title capitalization etc. How do they think the best way is for them to memorize the correct uses?

What kinds of thinking will students need to do to participate in the lesson?

Knowledge, comprehension, some analysis of their own tendencies.

To what extent do students have options or choices regarding these lesson components?

I am there to facilitate the introduction but I will want them to constantly be reflecting on their own experiences with grammatical conventions as I teach the introduction lesson and make suggestions on how best to link what they know about conventions to what they struggle to remember. The lesson’s overarching purpose is to motivate the students to understand the importance of learning grammatical conventions however dry it can seem sometimes, and to take responsibility for their own learning as we progress through the unit.

Personal Reflection

I have heard teachers say much of their lesson planning is facilitated by “working backwards”. From the concept or output they are hoping the students to master or achieve to the steps required in the lesson to arrive there. The planning of this lesson helped clarify for me, why that is a helpful process. To understand the route to take, first you must know where you are going. My upcoming work sample is going to be focused on grammatical conventions, a topic I find a little daunting for various reasons. How do I engage 7th graders and motivate them to want to learn and to be advocates for themselves? How do I keep it exciting? This lesson was my first attempt at understanding what shape that might take. I have a long way to go, but this exercise and the peer review that followed was very valuable to me.

Photo credit: someecards.com

September 9, 2014

Taking a Stand

Content This lesson is the introduction to the Cause unit, which asks students to think about a cause they would be willing to stand up for, even if it required great personal sacrifices. By the end of the unit, students will have written a short essay that includes an introduction, the problem, what should be done, what they can do individually and a conclusion. They will also create a collage that represents their cause.

This lesson will introduce different historical and current day civil rights leaders, asking students to identify the individuals and their causes. Then, students will begin brainstorming the cause that’s important to them.

Process Students will have read about Cesar Chavez in a previous lesson. I will use a Prezi to start today’s lesson, using student participation to identify the different leaders and their causes. There are some leaders that students may not recognize, but the causes are varied and relevant to their daily lives. We will also discuss what elevates a cause to international recognition. The students will then brainstorm causes that are important to them personally.

Product At the end of the lesson, students will have identified their cause for the project. They will then begin working on the first draft of their topic sentence and engage in a peer review process that will extend into the next lesson.

Evaluation Students will not be expected to identify all the leaders, but I hope that the presentation will lead to a conversation about the different causes and the overall idea that there are issues that are worth taking a stand for, even if it leads to personal sacrifices. Students will demonstrate understanding as they continue with the unit and create a short essay.

What kinds of thinking will students need to do to participate in the lesson? This lesson will ask students to remember what they have already learned about historical figures and world history, as well as analyzing what causes are important to them personally.

To what extent do students have options or choices regarding these lesson components? As this is an introduction, student ownership is limited to demonstrating the information they learned last year. Student ownership will increase as they identify their personal cause and begin their essays. They will also have full control of the art portion of the unit, creating their collage. They will work together to peer edit their essays throughout the process.

Personal Reflection This is my first experience co-teaching with my cooperative teacher to introduce a unit and my first time using Prezi as a tool for student discussion. I’m not sure how the class will react to the discussion component, as this is only our fourth class together, but I hope I’ll be able to engage students into a deeper level of conversation, beyond yes and no answers. Thanks to my EdMethods classmates for their help in designing this lesson!

Image Credit: Mississippi Department of Archives and History

April 8, 1968

September 9, 2014

Dots Not Feathers: Ancient India for Sixth Graders

The following is a lesson study for part of a 10-lesson unit on ancient India that I will be teaching in October. For the purpose of my work sample, I will likely focus on Hinduism, the caste system, the life of Prince Siddhartha, and Buddhism.

Lesson Study (The Life of Siddhartha)

Content (knowledge, skills, course curriculum/standards)

Ss were assigned a reading in advance of the lesson: chapter 16 from History Alive! They were also instructed to make a chronological list of what they believe are the most important events that occurred in Prince Siddhartha’s life.

Curriculum: Ancient India: Buddhism: The life of Siddhartha Gautama. This lesson will serve as a precursor to a lesson (or two) on Buddhism.

Process (materials, procedures, CW/GW/PW/IW*)

Ss will share their list of what they believe to be the most important events from the life of Prince Siddhartha (IW), first with a partner (PW). Then as a class (CW), we will compile one master list of the scenes the Ss believe are the most important to know/cover, as well as how many Ss need to be in each group, and what roles need to be played. Ss will then create tableaux to illustrate the life of Prince Siddhartha in groups (GW; the same # of groups as our agreed upon list of life events).

Product (produced to demonstrate learning)

Tableaux: In small groups, Ss will create tableaux scenes (one per group) highlighting the pivotal moments/main events in the life of Prince Siddhartha.

Evaluation (assessment)

Formative assessment of their performances in the tableaux, participation in the class conversation, and their individual lists of the important events in Siddhartha’s life.

What kinds of thinking will students need to do to participate in the lesson?

Evaluation: what were the pivotal moments in the life of Siddhartha?

Demonstration/illustration (kinesthetic): how do I show this event clearly through a visual scene created with my body and the bodies of my fellow group members?

To what extent do students have options or choices regarding these lesson components?

Ss get to help create the list of “scenes” (important moments in Siddhartha’s life) that will be performed in the tableaux, and Ss have to decide (in small groups) how to demonstrate/show their scene.

Personal Reflection:

Initially, I did a lesson study on the entire ancient India unit, which is the document I brought to our peer review session. It was important to me to explore everything I wanted to cover. However, the lesson study format turned out to not be the best method for me to explore these options. To fit an entire unit on one page, I had to pick and choose from various threads of thought, which contributed to a lack of cohesion in the document. My thanks to Andy for supporting my use of visual and kinesthetic activities and encouraging me to continue in that direction. My thanks to Erik for helping me focus in on what topics I really want to address and providing follow-up peer review support.

* These designations are Individual Work (IW), Pair/Partner Work (PW), Group Work (GW), and Class Work (CW), terms I acquired at the Paris Teacher Training Centre whilst working on my TEFL certificate.

Image: “Lady in Blue,” taken by the author in New Delhi, India, in October 2009. Available on Flickr.