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Lesson Plan – After reading about and discussing Common Core and Essential standards, learner
characteristics and instructional strategies, inquiry-based teaching and learning, and instruction
design, you will write a lesson plan employing the principles of backwards design and the modified
C.L.E.A.R. G.O.A.L.S. framework below for a topic and grade level of your choice.
C: CONTENT STANDARDS
CONTENT AREA STANDARDS (provide numbers and text):
1.1.9: Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding.
 Model social skills and character traits that advance a team’s ability to identify
issues and problems, and to work together on solutions and products.
 Design and implement projects that include participation from diverse groups.
2.1.6: Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to
create products that express new understandings.
 Use the most appropriate format to clearly communicate ideas to targeted
audiences.
 Assess how tone and choice of language impact content in a range of media.
 Analyze how composition and placement of visual images influence the message.
 Apply various technological skills to create performances and products.
 Cite ideas and direct quotes using official style formats.
 Employ various strategies for revising and reviewing their own work.
4.1.2: Read widely and fluently to make connections with self, the world, and
previous reading.
 Read, view, and use fiction and nonfiction to enrich understanding of real-world
concepts.
 Derive multiple perspectives on the same themes by comparing across different
works.
 Read widely to develop a global perspective and understand different cultural
contexts.
 Read to support and challenge their own points of view.
4.1.3: Respond to literature and creative expressions of ideas in various formats and
genre.
 Express new ideas gained through information presented in various formats and
connect the ideas to the human experience.
 Identify universal themes in literature and other creative forms of expression and
analyze different cultural approaches to those themes.
AASL STANDARDS (provide numbers and text):
1.1.9: Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding.
1.2.1: Display initiative and engagement by posing questions and investigating the
answers beyond the collection of superficial facts. 2.1.1: Continues an inquiry-based
research process by applying critical-thinking skills (analysis, syntheses, evaluation,
organization) to information and knowledge in order to construct new
understandings, draw conclusions, and create new knowledge.
2.1.5: Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make
decisions, and solve problems.
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2.1.6: Use the writing process, media and visual literacy and technology skills to
create products that express new understandings.
L: LEARNERS
GRADE LEVEL: 12th Grade English
CLASS SIZE: 30 students
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS (Ex. Englishlanguage learners, special needs students,
etc.): 7 English-language learners, a few
students will lower literacy scores.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS NECESSARY
(What, if anything, are you assuming they
already know?): Students have a good
grasp on how to read and analyze
literature.
For this particular lesson, students
discussed beforehand (generally), the
different themes they would be finding and
pulling from the short stories out of their
books.
E: ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
ESSENTIAL QUESTION(S):
 How is our identity connected to our culture?
 How do cultural differences nudge people to the edge of society?
 How do the characters in the books deal with cultural oppression: eg: silence,
privilege, status, and resistance?
“Graphic narratives, on the whole, have the potential to be powerful precisely
because they intervene against a culture of invisibility by taking the risk of
representation” H. Chute and M. Dekoven.
A: ASSESSMENT 1
ASSESSMENT PART 1: What, specifically, should students be able to do as a result of this
lesson? What product(s) will they create to demonstrate their understanding?
 Students should be able to speak about the themes found in the books in a more global
context.
 Students should feel comfortable bouncing ideas of their peers—especially ideas that
may be harder to talk about, like complex social issues.
 Students should be able to work with each other respectfully.
 Students should be able to articulate themes found in book verbally as well as
artistically.
R: RESOURCES
RESOURCES AND TECHNOLOGY: What resources (including technology) do you have access to
that might address the above goals and/or content? Note: You don’t necessarily have to use
them in the lesson itself; these might be resources for you or for the students.
 Teacher and librarian should be aware of the cultural temperature in their school
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and community, as well as in the specific classroom this lesson is taking place in—
they should have access to statistics on these things.
 Access to basic art supplies: paint, markers, colored pencils, poster boards, etc.
 Several copies of the same book for the students in the class.
 A few scholarly articles on hand that address the themes and issues the students
will be learning about and discussing and graphically representing in their books.
G: GUIDING FRAMEWORK OF INQUIRY
INQUIRY: How does this lesson address the principles of inquiry-based learning?
This lesson addresses the principles of inquiry-based learning by first: allowing students
to express interest in a particular book, two: by allowing students to decide what realworld cultural themes they want to pull from the text—students are deciding what is
important and then analyzing it in a way that will allow them to transfer that knowledge to
a different format, and finally: students are presenting their final products to their
classmates, which allows everyone to voice questions and analyze different aspects of the
project.
*This particular lesson seems to lend itself particularly well to inquiry-based learning, as
students are driving the majority of their learning experience from step one of the project.
O: OUTCOMES
UNDERSTANDINGS: Students
will understand that…
o Cultural differences
are not transient, but
deeply engrained…
o They will understand
culture issues in the
context of their book
as well as a bigger
picture of culture
issues in their
community
o The desire to
assimilate verses the
struggle with cultural
loyalty
o Class
conflicts/language
barriers
SKILLS: Students will be
skilled at…
o Reading between the
lines, and foraging a
text for deeper
meaning.
o Using those “deeper
meanings” to
represent the story in
a different format.
o Working
collaboratively with
other students
TRANSFER: Students will be
able to independently use
their learning to…
o Have a greater
sensitivity to and
understanding of the
cultural differences in
the world around
them.
o Be more sensitive to
the “misfits” around
them.
o Use themes and
meanings from one
format to create
something entirely
different and new.
A: ASSESSMENT 2
ASSESSMENT PART 2: What criteria will you use to examine students’ work products to
determine whether they have achieved the level of understanding you are aiming for? In
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other words, what would an ideal end product look like?
 We will watch students working together, and make notes on which students are more
involved in the project/conversation than others.
 We will ask students to write a “how we divided the work & reached decisions as a
group report”. Depending on what form of artistic expression students decide to take
with their projects (digital, poster, sculpture), excellent student participation would
include each student contributing at least one theme or issue found in the book
represented differently in the graphic representation.
 We will observe the students when they present their project to the rest of the class.
Does one person do all of the talking? Do they present the project as a group effort?
Are all students able to answer questions, and in general, talk about the project and
books intelligently?
L: LEARNING EXPERIENCES
LEARNING EXPERIENCES: What learning experiences will enable students to successfully meet
the learning goals (content goals and outcomes, above) and engage with the essential
question(s)? What will you, the classroom teacher, and the students actually do during this
lesson?
Time required: Three class periods, each period 75 minutes long.
Description of learning experiences: Student will be divided into 6 groups of 5. Over the
course of three class periods, each group of students will read a different book of short
stories, create a graphic representation (a poster, etc.) of one of the stories from their
particular book, and present the poster to the rest of the class.
Day 1:
 Students will come to class having already been assigned a book, and having already
read the book. 6 books total, 5 students will read the same book.
 Students will be divided into groups with other students who have read their same
book, and will pick 1 short story from the book to graphically represent.
 Students will discuss then pick one or two of the themes in their short story to
depict in their poster.
Day 2:
 Students will come to class and create their poster/graphic representation of their
short story. This could translate into a variety of different things: a graphic novel
format, a sculpture of some sort, a collage… However: students must relay their
short story in some way in their graphic representation and show how they
addressed the essential questions in the graphic, and they must be able to justify
what they created in a scholarly way, i.e.: they will write a 1 page paper explaining
their thematic choices and discussing what they pulled from their text. (in relation
to essential questions)
Day 3:
 Students will present their projects to the class, and explain the scope of the they
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created/covered (and how it relates to the essential questions)
 Students projects will be displayed in library with their 1 page paper, as well as the
book containing the short story they used to complete the project.
Librarian’s responsibilities:
 Provide copies of books for students.
 Provide scholarly articles on said books for teacher.
 Make room in library to display final projects.
Content teacher’s responsibilities:
o Provide general background knowledge of how to analyze literature and pull
themes from a text.
o Provide a strong framework of project so students know what they’re supposed to
do (and what not to do), as well as group students together in a way that will be
most beneficial to those with special needs.
** This lesson plan in meant to be a final project after reading and discussing all 6
books in class prior these three class periods. Students will be required to pick a
short story out of their book that was not covered in class. Students are not
beginning this project without any prior knowledge/discussion of the books.
Most of the scaffolding done by the teacher to prepare students for this project
has already been done in prior classes.
 Types of Books to be used in this lesson: (nonfiction and fiction)
Drown, by Junot Diaz
Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri
Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, by ZZ Packer
Breath, Eyes, Memory, Edwidge Danticat
S: SCAFFOLDING
SCAFFOLDING: What support(s) will you
provide learners to help make this lesson
more manageable for them? Pay special
attention to any students with special needs.
As the teacher and/or librarian, I will
do the following things to make sure
the lessons benefit the students in the
best and most productive way
possible:
o Divide the project into 3 manageable
lessons, and establish clear goals to
accomplish in lesson (and for
homework that night) so students
don’t feel overwhelmed by the scope
MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES: Which
intelligences does this lesson address (list;
describe only if non-obvious)?
Lesson addresses these types of
learners:
 Verbal/linguistic:
 Visual/spatial: Designing, drawing,
colors, pictures etc. speak to these
types of learners.
 Bodily/kinesthetic: Physically
creating something artistic will
address these types of learners.
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of the project.
o Provide students with concrete
examples and online resources to
turn to if they need help or get stuck.
o Divide students into groups with
English Language learners and those
with lesser literacy skills dispersed
throughout groups so when they
have questions all the special needs
students are not in the same group.
o Let students voice their interests and
have a say in what they’re learning
without letting them get off track.