Lesson Plan on The Book Thief
PROJECT OUTLINE AND DESCRIPTION
BY: ALLIE CALDERON
ED 370
MARCH 16, 2014
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 TIMELINE & OUTLINE
 CLASSROOM CONSIDERATIONS
 ACCOMMODATIONS
 ASSESSMENT & EVALUATION
 DISCUSSION
Timeline & Outline
SUBSECTIONS:

TIMELINE CALENDAR

OUTLINE – DAY 1

OUTLINE – DAY 2

OUTLINE – DAY 3
Timeline
 Day 1 – Introduction to
Novel
 Day 2 – Setting
 Day 3 – The Meaning of
Words
Outline – Day 1
 Word Map & Brainstorm

As a class, students will
create a word map of the
book's title on the front white
board. The discussion will be
teacher guided but student
generated. Possible
brainstorm topics include
predictions, connotations,
denotations, etc. of the title
of the book. This activity is
meant to be open, discussion
based. (20 min)
 Read Prologue

The class will read the
prologue aloud together. The
teacher may choose to begin
first, and then have student
volunteers carry on reading.
(Approx. 30 min)
Outline – Day 2
 Setting – Photo Activity

Using Google Earth and other
images, show students pictures
of 1930s and 1940s. The
purpose of these images is to
contextualize the setting for
students (these images should
be pre-selected before class
time). (10 min)
 Free Write

Give students 10 minutes to free
write in as much detail as
possible about one of the images
they saw from the selection that
they think is powerful,
interesting, etc.; they may also
choose to create a list of word
associations with an image.
 Word Sort

Preview this activity with a brief
discussion of the terms
"connotation" and "denotation."
Then, using a list of words
(either teacher pre-selected
words, words from the students'
free write, or a combination) ask
students to rate words according
to their connotation as they view
them; that is, as positive,
negative, or neutral. Students
should do this individually on a
piece of paper and then share
with the class. Take 5 minutes to
"rate" the words and then use 10
minutes to talk about it as a
whole class. (3o min total)
Outline – Day 3
 “The Sneetches”
 Watch a 4 minute video
clip from Dr. Seuss's The
Sneetches. Then host a
brief class discussion.
 In groups of 3-4, students
will compare words from
the video to words we use
in contemporary times
that have power.
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 Written Conversations
 Students will have the last
10 minutes of class time to
reflect on the reading thus
far. They also have the
option to write about the
connections they saw
between the video and
class discussion and the
reading. These prompts
should be expressed
verbally or written on the
board if needed or
requested.
Classroom Considerations
SUBSECTIONS:
 STUDENTS
T E C H N O L O G Y N E E D S
Students
 Students are 10th graders in a public high school. The
setting is assumed to be a cross-over somewhere
between urban and suburban.
 This classroom consists of a diverse student
population, including a fair representation of English
Language Learning students.
 Students also come with a variety of skill sets and
abilities. Prior knowledge to the extent of recognition
of World War I is assumed; however, brief
background information is provided in the lesson.
Technology Needs
 Because of the situation of an urban/suburban
school, technology availability may be an issue. This
classroom does not have access to student sets of
iPads, Chrome books, or laptops. However, I am
assuming that there is at least one teacher computer
with internet access and connected projector.
 One activity and assessment method does require
students to have access to an internet-ready
computer outside of school hours.
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Accommodations
SUBSECTIONS:
 DAY 1
D A Y 2
D A Y 3
Accommodations for Day 1
 For this lesson plan, I imagine that accommodations
may be needed for students who struggle with
reading, especially out loud, that may be either
dyslexic, special needs, or ELL. To accommodate one
or any of these circumstances, I will not require each
student to read out loud during the class reading of
the Prologue. If using the popcorn model, I will allow
students the option to "pass" if called upon by
another classmate.
Accommodations for Day 2
 For this lesson plan, I imagine that accommodations
may be needed for ELL students who may not have a
strong grasp on a word's denotation, let alone the
connotations. To accommodate these students, I will
provide each ELL student with a list of the words'
definitions and common connotations so that they
may better able to understand and participate in the
activity.
Accommodations for Day 3
 For this lesson plan, I imagine that accommodations may
be needed for ELL students. To accommodate this, I will
provide these students with hard copies of the book The
Sneetches (preferably checked out from a school district
library) so that they can read along with the video and/or
refer back to the story line. ELL students may need to work
together to share the book copies if there are more students
than books available.
 For the written conversations, it is likely that some students
will not own a family computer. To remedy this, students
may use public library or school library computers. If
possible, these students will be able to check out or rent
laptops from the school.
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Assessment & Evaluation
SUBSECTIONS:
 DAY 1 ASSESSMENTS
 DAY 2 ASSESSMENTS
 DAY 3 ASSESSMENTS
Assessment of Day 1
 I will assess whether my students have met the
learning objectives of this lesson through listening to
their comments and observations about the book's
title. Since this activity is a class brainstorm, it will
allow me to identify which students are able to
engage with the words in the title and draw
assumptions on them based on their knowledge of
those words. Additionally, the class discussion after
reading the prologue will further allow me to
measure their ability to engage in conversation over
a text.
Assessment of Day 2
 One way that I intend to assess students is by
reading their free write entry. In addition, the
activity on denotations and connotations will help
students understand the difference between these
two terms. In order to also assess students' complete
integration of these terms' meanings, I will ask
students to offer reasoning for why they associated a
word with one connotation over another.
Assessment of Day 3
 Students will begin their online written
conversations through a Google document. Students
will be paired with a fellow classmate. Student pairs
will write responses on class activities and/or the
reading to each other. The Google document will also
be shared with the teacher so that she/he may
monitor and assess students’ thoughts, writing, and
participation. These online “journals” would be
continued throughout the course of reading the
novel.
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Discussion
THIS SECTION WILL ADDRESS THE
POTENTIAL USE OF INTERACTIVE
POWERPOINT SUCH AS THIS IN FUTURE
CLASSROOMS AS INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS.
Interactive PowerPoint in the Classroom…
While this would be a great instructional tool to present the
material that sometimes loses student interest but must be
covered nonetheless, I like the potential it has as a form of
assessment or performance task for students. In particular, I like
the idea of using the action buttons on PowerPoint as a form of
interactive research project. I think that this usage of it has a lot
of possibilities: in any subject and with many assignments and
topics. Students can research just about anything, but instead of
always writing the traditional research paper, they can present
their findings and learning in a presentation that is both
engaging for the audience and presents an improved way for
students to demonstrate what they know. This would work really
way as an alternative book report, science project, author/poet
bio, historical era research, or even debate presentation.
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