Brad Baum CI 403 E Professor Willis Unit Plan Lesson Plans 15 December 2011 Week 8 Day 2 Starting the

e Research 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. They completed some research and chose their top 3 cities to focus on for their 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 be able to add their own creative ideas to existing information. Students will be able to differentiate between stereotypes and facts.

Materials: Slips of paper detailing each students city/town/village 26 handouts of the guided research handout o Included on the worksheet will be a list of starter websites to use for research Lap top case/computer lab

Preparation: Before the lesson begins, I will have to be sure to have checked out the laptops or reserved the computer lab for the week. I will then need to print out the guided research handouts and bring them to class. What will take a considerable amount of time will be to sort through the students top choices for their cities, and ensure that every student gets one of their top three choices, and that none are repeated. Once that is done, I will compile a list of websites that can be used as research starters for the students. Procedure: Students will arrive to class, take their seats and get settled in for the day. On their desks, I will have placed a small slip on their paper that tells them which of the three cities they chose they will be researching. Students will then spend ten minutes on a creative quick write in which they construct a short description of the city before they even know, in detail, the characteristics of the city. This way, we can establish what our preconceptions and stereotypes of a particular culture or location, and try to break those down once we know more about the cities and cultures at the end of the assignment. (15 minutes) o As stated, this quick write will be revisited at the end of the research/project. Students will be asked, at a later time, to write another short description. They will then be given their old quick write, and be asked to complete a reflection on how their opinions and descriptions changed, as well as to touch on how those stereotypes break down once knowledge is gained. I will hand out the guided research handout. The students will not have to follow the handout exactly, but I will check notes as an exit slip. (10 minutes) o Note taking expectations will have been described in detail beforehand, as well as specific strategies that can be used as a means to make it much easier to pull information at a later time. o Complete quick overview of the guided research handout, offering specific strategies and tips for researching, and differentiating between credible and unreliable sources. Students will be given the remainder of the period to work on their research. (25 minutes) Students will be told that while they do have the remainder of the week to complete research, they should try to finish up within the following day, as Thursday and Friday are being allocated to start work on actually creating their projects.

Discussion Ideas:

What is the difference between a reliable and unreliable source? What aspects allow us to differentiate between the two? What types of note taking strategies work for you? What is the best way to quickly remember information? What types of information do we keep during research? What type of information do we disregard as unimportant?

Bilingual/ESL and Englishes Accommodations: To start, I would be sure to provide my students in ESL with a daily and weekly schedule well before we actually start the work in class. 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. Another thing to think about would be to pair the student who is at medium proficiency in English with the student that is in high proficiency, is bilingual, and can speak both languages comfortably. Ultimately, I must remember that I am the teacher, and that I will have to be sure not to hold another student responsible for the learning of another. This strategy, however, could be very helpful for these students, especially the student who is at a medium proficiency in English, as he will be able to work with the other student in both Spanish and English as a means to gain the best possible understanding of the material. 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 I would for any student, I would also suggest that any individual having trouble with comprehension, especially due to a language barrier, should come in before and after school, during a study hall or during a lunch hour if possible. This way, I can have some one on one time with the student and really help with his or her comprehension and overall reading, writing and speaking ability. I would also be sure that both of my students with ESL backgrounds were familiar with the assignments for the day, especially the creative assignment, just to ensure that expectations are clear. If this is a type of assignment they havent encountered thus far, it may be hard to complete the assignment and express themselves in English. As such, it would be all right with me if they wrote the original essay in Spanish, but then worked with the Spanish teacher or a translator in the school so that they could also work on improving their skills in English.

Special Education Accommodations:

As stated with the ESL students, I would provide each student with an advanced schedule so that they could have the material read before class if their reading speed is slow or the student has trouble with comprehension. This way, the student can go over the work with their special education teacher, if they have one, or any other individuals who offer them support with their academics. Providing the student with advanced information is key, as you will then not waste any time with comprehension during the lesson, as the student will be aware of the expectations and content for that day of class. As stated in previous lesson plans, the student with ADHD would benefit from clear transitions and an organized schedule for the day. Because it is difficult for this student to stay on task, and he often loses his attention easily, providing them with clear directions for the day, and telling the student when you are going to move on to the next activity will be key in keeping him on task and moving on to the next part of the lesson. It is also beneficial to break up your lesson into the smallest chunks possible. This will alleviate any problems with attention span, as the student is continuously moving on to a new activity or assignment, and not spending more than twenty minutes on one particular activity. This student will also benefit, again, from being provided multiple seats in the computer lab or regular classroom, so that at any interval he can merely switch seats and turn his attention back to the classroom activity that is being completed. For this lesson in particular, it might be wise to spend a little more time with this student during research, especially right off the bat, to make sure that he stays on task from the get go. The internet is full of distractions, so it is important for me to make sure that this student in particular is staying on task and transitioning from assignment to assignment well. As stated earlier with Aspergers, structure is key. With this lesson in particular, I would say be sure that he is aware of the expectations with the short creative writing assignment, and introduce this idea early on and before the lesson starts. they enter the classroom, and they will be aware of the expectations for that particular day. As with the student with ADHD, transitions are important. Be sure to establish the same routine, and let the student know when you will be moving on to the next activity. It will also be important to pay special attention to social situations, as students with Aspergers are often unaware of many social cues that are obvious to the majority of the students in the classroom. Assessment: Students will be assessed on the short creative writing assignment on a check plus, check and check minus basis. The main aspects that I am looking for, and this will be made clear before they are told to complete the assignment, are their prediction, the support for that prediction, and grammar and mechanics. They will be informally assessed on their work ethic and participation throughout the lesson. As an exit slip, I will check the notes that they had taken while completing their research, taking note of any new strategies that I feel may be useful to the class as a whole. Extension Ideas: I think that it would be interesting to go into the idea of stereotypes of a place, location and culture even more than I do here. I really like the idea of connecting the

knowledge and preconceptions of the students before they read, and then having the students go back and complete the same type of reflective activity afterwards. I think that this is a really important concept to share with our students, and an idea that could probably be worked into a unit of its own. Also, as said before, the research will be extended another day, and will be worked into the final project of the semester, in which the students will create a travel guide for the city that they have been researching. 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 like to thank Mrs. Biddle from Edison Junior High School for really getting me thinking about how to incorporate specific note taking strategies in my classroom, and implicitly teach note taking in lessons. I had always thought that I was good at taking notes, but never realized that this was most likely a learned skill or something that I can share with others. 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.