Student Learning Plan
English Education
Designer Gabi Rivera-Morales
1
Teaching Date TBA
Topic: The Last Lecture (Literature and diversity)
Grade Level:
11
Time Frame
7:20-9:03
Description of Students:
This is a general education class with 15
females and 3 males. Most students are
Caucasian. There are no students in this
class that require accommodations due to
IEP or 504 forms.
Lesson Objectives: Students will compare multiple authorial perspectives on a common theme (death).
Students will read aloud. Students will annotate poetry appropriately. Students will provide textual
evidence to support possible authorial intent.
SOL: 11.4, 11.5, 11.6
Related SOL:
Specific objectives:
 Students will make connections between explicit concepts in their primary text and themes found in
other works of American literature.
 The students will explore the theme of optimism versus pessimism in the face of mortality.
 The students will practice finding textual evidence and constructing persuasive, organized
statements about their personal beliefs.
 The students will compare different authorial points of view on a common theme.
Assessment: Formative and Summative
 Students are required to read aloud, share their
findings in small groups, and present their
collaborative summary of Randy’s mantras.
 They will display their conceptual comprehension
during the class-wide annotation process.
 Their “exit ticket” with textual evidence of authors
displaying Eeyore or Tigger-like qualities is a great,
summative assessment that will show how well they
understood pessimist versus optimist reactions to
death.
Resources:
 “I heard a fly buzz when I died” by
Emily Dickinson
 “Nothing but Death” by Pablo Neruda
 Excerpts from Walt Whitman’s:
“Scented Herbage…” and “I Sing…”
 An Analogy Graphic Organizer (from
Buehl’s strategies)
2
Lesson Content:
 A “Tigger” refers to an optimistic, outgoing, extroverted individual; an “Eeyore” refers to a person
who is pessimistic, dark, pained, and generally gloomy.
 Pablo Neruda exhibits a negative, pessimistic, nihilistic attitude when discussing death in his poem
“Nothing But Death.”
 Students should know that Neruda died of cancer.
 Walt Whitman has a drastically opposite attitude to death. Students should see similarities between
Whitman’s POV and Randy’s POV

Both authors celebrate life and view death as part of an inescapable cycle.

They see every moment, even death, as a blessing
 Emily Dickinson in “I heard a fly buzz…” has an almost indifferent POV when discussing
mortality. Though coming to terms with mortality is, at the very least, emotional, her poem reflects
an unsettling, distant POV.
Instructions:
 Students will take a reading quiz (10 minutes).
 Students will present their “How to Live Your Life” mantras from their Tumblr project
(10-15 minutes).
 Students read aloud the remainder of Randy’s “How to Live Your Life” mantras and pay
specific attention to the “Tigger or Eeyore” piece about optimism (15-20 minutes).
 Students will take a poll on the “Tiggers” and “Eeyore”s in the class (5 minutes).
 The class will split in to three groups: Tiggers, Eeyores, and the undecided. Each group
will prepare a statement about why either personality type is validated (10 minutes).
 When the class regroups, they will get into a teacher-led discussion on the benefits of
optimism versus pessimism (5-7 minutes).
 Students will read: “Nothing But Death” by Pablo Neruda, “I heard a fly buzz” by Emily
Dickinson, and portions of Walt Whitman’s “Scented Herbage of My Breast” and “I Sing the
Body Electric” aloud and annotate them as a class (20 minutes).
 For the end of class (10-15 minutes) the students and the teacher (on the board) will
complete an Analogy Graphic Organizer to map out the differences and similarities
between the author’s point of view on death and Randy’s point of view on death.
Multi-disciplinary Connections
 We will be polling and presenting
arguments, techniques that are usually
reserved for social studies classrooms.
Adaptations: N/A
Student Learning Plan
English Education
Differentiation Strategies:


The class will read every text or excerpt aloud.
Any analysis will be guided by the teacher
(annotated poetry and a worksheet comparing
multiple perspectives).
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4
Reflection/Recommendations for Future Use: N/A
SOE Student Teaching Competencies:

Demonstrates understanding of subject matter and pedagogical knowledge for instruction.
• Reflects knowledge of subject matter appropriate for grade level in lessons
• Reflects understanding of pedagogy appropriate to subject matter
Demonstrates understanding of the central role of language and literacy in student learning.
• Understands the role of reading in student learning

Plans lessons that align with local, state, and national standards.

Selects appropriate instructional strategies/activities aligned to instructional goals and
responsive to diverse student needs.

Selects appropriate materials/resources aligned to instructional goals and that are reflective
of diverse perspectives.