UNIVERSITY OF MAINE AT FARMINGTON
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, HEALTH AND REHABILITATION
LESSON PLAN FORMAT
Teacher’s Name: Ms. Hersom
Grade Level: 9-10
Topic: Word Choice’s Significance to Voice
Lesson #: 4 Facet: Perspective
Numbers of Days: 3
PART I:
Objectives
Student will understand that writers and speakers create voice through word choice, points of emphasis,
and tone.
Student will know how to create voice through word choice, tone, and points of emphasis.
Student will be able to create a spoken word poem that has a clear voice and reflects their unique voice.
Product: Podcast
Maine Learning Results (MLR) or Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Alignment
Common Core State Standards
Content Area: English Language Arts
Grade Level: Grade 11-12
Domain: Speaking and Listening
Standard: Comprehension and Collaboration
Rationale:
This lesson will be beneficial in teaching voice because it will allow students to creatively look at how
their word choice affects their voice. They will then be able to explore these ideas by making their own
spoken word poems, choosing words that they think will enhance their voice and play around with tone
and emphasis to further enhance their voices.
Assessments
Formative (Assessment for Learning)
Section I – checking for understanding during instruction
I will be using an observation chart to make sure that students are picking up on the specific word choices
as well as tone and points of emphasis during the Sarah Kay video. They will write down the aspects that
they believe help create Kay's unique voice. I will then look at these to make sure that students are
grasping the importance of these aspects in emphasizing one's voice.
Section II – timely feedback for products (self, peer, teacher)
Students will then be put into pairs to do the Give One, Get One exercise. In this exercise they will then
share with their partner their emotional response to the video as well as what they have written down for
observations. This discussion will allow them to receive peer feedback on their ideas as well as increase
their understanding of the impact that the different tone, word choice, and points of emphasis can have on
the speaker's voice by getting another person's perspective.
Summative (Assessment of Learning):
Podcast: (50) Students will listen to Sarah Kay's spoken word poem "Point B." They will discuss the
different techniques that she uses and then think about ways in which they can convey a topic of their
choosing in the form of a spoken word poem. They will then be asked to write their own spoken word
poem and publish it as a podcast.
Integration
Technology:
I will be incorporating type II technology in the form of a podcast. Students will be able to take their
spoken word poem and share it in a manner that is not as high risk as presenting it live to the class. Using
a podcast allows the students to record the poem several times so that their final product shows their true
understanding of word choice, tone, and points of emphasis.
Writing:
Students will be working on their writing skills as they play around with word choice to form a spoken
word poem. Although these poems are written to be read out loud, they need to be written down first.
Students will be able to explore this type of poetry while also concentrating on the idea of voice and how
their word choice affect their voices.
Speaking: Although students will not be presenting these poems live they will be able to practice using
their audible voices to enhance the voice of their piece.
Groupings
Section I - Graphic Organizer & Cooperative Learning used during instruction
I will be using an observation graphic organizer to help students organize their thoughts as they watch the
Sarah Kay Point B video. They will use this organizer to pick out different word choices, tone changes,
and points of emphasis that Kay uses to enhance her voice in the poem. I will be using the Give One, Get
One exercise as my cooperative learning exercise as it will allow students to share their observations and
listen while their partner shares theirs. This will enable them to hear a different perspective and add to
their understanding of these aspects of voice enhancement.
Section II – Groups and Roles for Product
I will be splitting the students up into groups of two by using quarters. All of the students that pick heads
will stand on one side of the room and those that pick tales will stand on the other side. I will then flip a
coin and whatever side it lands on the kids on that side of the room will be able to pick their partners.
They will need to pick a partner on the opposite side. By this point of the year all of the students will
know each other fairly well so they should feel comfortable sharing basic background information with
one another.
Differentiated Instruction
MI Strategies
Verbal: Verbal learners will benefit from this lesson because it allows them to play around with language
as well as analyze it in the works of others.
Intrapersonal: Intrapersonal learners will be met through the process of thinking about their emotional
response to the poem as well as the actual writing and performing of their poem.
Interpersonal: Interpersonal learners will be met through the Give one, Get one exercise as well as the
discussion of different emotional responses because both of these enable them to interact and bounce
ideas off of others.
Musical: The musical learners will benefit from the spoken word poems (both listening to them and
writing one) because it enables them to put their words to a rhythm and use these rhythms to emphasize
their points.
Kinesthetic: Kinesthetic learners will be met by this lesson because in the hook video Kay emphasizes
her points by using a lot of physical imagery and movement. Students will be able to play around with
these techniques.
Naturalist: Naturalists will be met by this lesson because in the hook video Kay uses many allusions to
nature and the students will be able to make their own spoken word poem that can incorporate aspects of
nature and the world.
Visual: Visual learners will benefit from the many different spoken word poem videos as well as the
organization graphic organizer because it will allow them to clearly visualize the process of enhancing
voice.
Modifications/Accommodations
From IEP’s ( Individual Education Plan), 504’s, ELLIDEP (English Language Learning Instructional
Delivery Education Plan) I will review student’s IEP, 504 or ELLIDEP and make appropriate
modifications and accommodations.
Plan for accommodating absent students:
If a student is absent on the first day he or she will be able to find the Sarah Kay video on the class wiki.
The student will need to watch this and fill out the observation chart for the next class. If a student misses
any of the other classes he or she will be able to find my notes on voice and spoken word poetry on the
class wiki and will need to read these and work on his or her own spoken word poem podcast.
Extensions
Type II technology:
I will be incorporating type II technology in the form of a podcast. Students will be able to take their
spoken word poem and share it in a manner that is not as high risk as presenting it live to the class. Using
a podcast allows the students to record the poem several times so that their final product shows their true
understanding of word choice, tone, and points of emphasis.
Gifted Students:
Gifted students will be given the opportunity to enter their poem into a poetry contest like the ones at
http://www.fanstory.com/page/poetry_contests/poetry_contests.jsp?gclid=CPTSi_DtyqwCFYHe4AodYH
DUqA. They need only to tell me which contest they will be submitting their work to and what the
guidelines for the contest are. I will then judge their spoken word poem on my voice criteria and the
criteria specified by the contest. This allows these students to be challenged and find a real life connection
to their poetry writing.
Materials, Resources and Technology
List all the items you need for the lesson.
• Laptop
• Projector
• Screen
• Sarah Kay Video http://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_kay_if_i_should_have_a_daughter.html
• Observation Graphic Organizer
• Word Choice, Tone, and Points of Emphasis Handout
Source for Lesson Plan and Research
List all URL and describe.
Sarah Kay Video http://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_kay_if_i_should_have_a_daughter.html
In Loving Memory Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QEj0T-yo7E
The Girl http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7pRbefTYe0
Love and Pain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxz6yatpd4E&feature=related
My Father http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdta43fVmes&feature=related
My Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbhZBKww7c0&feature=rellist&playnext=1&list=PL2C6AF05895B
B4E83
Never Let My Down
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le1kHp5lLmk&feature=BFa&list=PL2C6AF05895BB4E83&lf=rellist
To My Unborn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzyrHsYTveE&feature=BFa&list=PL2C6AF05895BB4E83&lf=rellist
Word Choice http://writingcenter.unc.edu/resources/handouts-demos/citation/word-choice
Word Choice and Voice http://www.colorado.edu/PWR/writingtips/14.html
PART II:
Teaching and Learning Sequence (Describe the teaching and learning process using all of the
information from part I of the lesson plan) Take all the components and synthesize into a script of what
you are doing as the teacher and what the learners are doing throughout the lesson. Need to use all the
WHERETO’s. (3-5 pages)
The Classroom will be set up in Twos because they will be working in pairs for their discussions and Give
One, Get One exercise.
Day 1
Attendance (5 min)
Hook Video Sarah Kay Plan B (30 min)
Observation Graphic Organizer and Discussion (15 min)
Introduction of word choice, tone, and points of emphasis lecture (25 min)
Wrap up (5 min)
Day 2
Attendance (5 min)
Brainstorm (10 min)
In Class Writing Time (30 min)
Show Other Examples of Spoken Word Poems & Discussion (20 min)
Recording Time (10 min)
Wrap Up (5 min)
Day 3
Attendance (5 min)
Presentations (70 min)
Wrap Up (5 min)
Students will understand that writers and speakers create voice through word choice, points of emphasis,
and tone. You will need to know this because it helps you to clearly make your points and enhance your
own voice. It is not just for public speaking or writing, but rather think about your word choice when
trying to convince a friend of something or the tones you use when you are arguing with someone.
Students will understand Comprehension and Collaboration.
At the beginning of the lesson students will watch a spoken word poem and speech. They will watch
Sarah Kay's Plan B and speech from the TED conference.
http://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_kay_if_i_should_have_a_daughter.html While watching this students
will fill out an observation graphic organizer where they record specific word choices, tone shifts, and
points of emphasis that they feel make Kay's voice strong. They will then discuss this with their partner.
Where, Why, What, Hook, Tailors: Verbal, Logical, Visual, Musical/Rhythmic, Intrapersonal, and
Interpersonal
Students will know how to create voice and enhance it through tone, word choice, and points of emphasis.
Students will discuss this video using their observation graphic organizer and the Give One, Get One
exercise. In this exercise one student gives one of their observation while the other student listens and
then they reverse roles. This continues until all of the observations have been shared. This graphic
organizer as well as the exercise will allow them to explore this idea of word choice, tone, and points of
emphasis' impact on an individuals voice. We will then have a lecture where I explain to them the
importance of word choice, tone, and points of emphasis and give them a handout. See content notes for
more details. Students will then be able to revise their idea of the importance of these tools before writing
their spoken word poem. I will check for understanding by looking at their observation graphic organizers
as well as walking around the room listening in on their discussions with their partner.
Equip, Explore, Rethink, Revise, Tailors: Verbal, Logical, Visual, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal
Students will explore this idea of voice through our class discussion as well as by watching several other
spoken word poem videos. See content notes. This will help students to build off of what they already
know about voice and begin to see the important pieces that go into enhancing one's voice. By the end of
the lesson students will be able to create their own spoken word poem podcast using specific word
choices, tone shifts, and points of emphasis to enhance their voice. Listening to these spoken word poems
from the web as well as other students' poems as well as participating in class discussion will allow them
to experience the power that these tools have on voice. The podcast will help the students to show
evidence of their learning because they will use specific word choices, tone shifts, and points of emphasis
in their own writing and presenting of their poem to make sure that their voice is enhanced. They will be
able to rethink and refine their ideas of the importance of these aspects in creating a strong voice during
our class discussions. I will also require that they turn in one draft before they actual record their pieces. I
will quickly look over these drafts while students are watching the other spoken word poem videos and
make sure that they are on the right track. If not they will have an opportunity to revise it before actually
turning in their final product.
Explore, Experience, Revise, Refine, Tailors: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Verbal, Visual
Students will receive two formative assessments during this lesson to make sure that they are on the right
track for their summative assessment that will consist of their final spoken word poem podcast. The first
will be the observation graphic organizer that will allow me to see what they have observed, from the
Sarah Kay video, in regards to word choice, tone, and points of emphasis. The second will be their Give
One, Get One exercise where they will need to describe their observations to their partner as well as listen
to the ideas of the other student. This allows me to walk around and see whether or not students are
grasping the importance of these aspects in creating a voice and give me basis for what will need to be
covered in my lecture on word choice, tone, and points of emphasis. We will then discuss these ideas as a
group and watch a few more examples of spoken word poems before they are required to write and record
their own spoken word poem podcast that reflects their understanding of the importance of word choice,
tone, and points of emphasis in enhancing one's voice.
Evaluate, Tailors: Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Verbal, Visual
Content Notes
Students will know…..
Develop detailed content notes so a substitute or a colleague can teach your lesson. (2-3 pages)
Students will have to create a spoken word poem podcast through which they show their understanding of
the importance of word choice, tone, and points of emphasis in creating a strong voice. Below is some
information that students will need to understand to fully grasp the importance of these tools. Once they
understand these aspects they will be able to create stronger voices in their own spoken word poems.
Here are the things I need students to know:
The words that people choose should reflect both who they are and what they are talking about. It is good
to look for just the right word to convey just the right meaning, but students need to be careful not to lose
their voice in the process. A thesaurus is a great tool, but not if a student no longer has a unique voice.
NEVER use a word that you do not fully understand. Picking a word simply because it is on the list the
thesaurus suggested for words that might fit does not mean it is the best word for the job. Trust your
instincts.
Word choice should also take into consideration your audience. We all do know how to change our voice
depending on who we are talking to. We do not use the same language when talking to our teachers as we
do when talking with our friends. Don't believe me? When is the last time you said something like "Hey,
how ya doin buddy?" to your teacher or "How are you today Miss Samantha to your friend?" We all do it
without even noticing that we do.
When writing we need to consider who our audience is and pick words accordingly, but also pick the
words that best convey who we are and what we are trying to say. For more information check out these
two links:
• Word Choice http://writingcenter.unc.edu/resources/handouts-demos/citation/word-choice
• Word Choice and Voice http://www.colorado.edu/PWR/writingtips/14.html
Tone is also very important. You cannot be laughing and smiling while telling a story about your dog
getting run over. Well, I suppose that you could however it would not fit what you were saying and your
audience would not know how to respond. Also, tone changes can be very powerful. For example, you
could be talking in a very lighthearted mood as you talk about your childhood and how magical it was,
but then change the tone drastically as you talk about how you lost all faith in honesty when you found
out that Santa wasn't real. These tone changes keep audiences engaged. Check out this link for more
information on this idea:
This link is for business people, but most of what they say is extremely relevant to what you are doing
with tone.
http://www.slideshare.net/cammybean/dont-be-tone-deaf-creating-tone-of-voice-in-elearning
Lastly, but definitely not least importantly points of emphasis can play a major role in enhancing one's
voice. For example, in the Sarah Kay video that we watched Kay put emphasis on certain words and
strategically worked her sentences and pauses off of these to give them different meanings or cause
certain words or ideas to jump out. You would be ready to fill in one of her sentences and then she would
throw you for a loop as she changed it up and finished it in a different way. This powerful tool keeps
audiences on their feet as well as emphasizes the main points of a persons work. One well know example
of this is the Miss Suzie rhyme:
Miss Suzie had a steamboat.
The steamboat had a bell TOOT TOOT!
Miss Suzie went to heaven.
The steamboat went to,
Hell-o operator I'm dialing number 9
and if you disconnect me ill kick your little,
Behind the refrigerator I lay a piece of glass,
Miss Suzie sat upon it and broke her little,
Ask me no more questions I'll tell you no more lies,
The boys are in the bathroom zipping up their,
Flies are in the meadow the bees are in the park,
Miss Suzie kissed her boyfriend in the,
D-A-R-K D-A-R-K DARK DARK DARK!
Oh hello operator I'm dialing number 10
and if you disconnect me ill sing this song again!
Kids thought that they would be very clever by accenting words just right so that it sounded as if they
might swear, but never did. Points of emphasis are fun to play around with.
Handouts
List the items that need to be printed out for the lesson.
Observation Graphic Organizer
Word Choice, Tone, and Points of Emphasis Handout
Maine Standards for Initial Teacher Certification and Rationale
Standard 3 – Demonstrates a knowledge of the diverse ways in which students learn and develop by
providing learning opportunities that support their intellectual, physical, emotional, social, and
cultural development.
Learning Styles
Clipboard:
Students will be able to organize their ideas about how word choice, tone, and points of emphasis can
enhance a piece by using their observation graphic organizer. This will allow them to see these ideas
clearly laid out and will give them an example to follow as they try to enhance their own voice while
making their spoken word poem.
Microscope:
Students will be able to dive more deeply into this idea of voice as they pick apart how the word choices
that a speaker/writer makes as well as the tone he or she uses add to his or her unique voice. They will
also be able to look at where emphasis should be placed to further enhance this voice and then practice it
themselves by creating their spoken word poems.
Puppy:
Students will be working in pairs and sharing their ideas on the enhancing of voice with one another. This
will allow for students to increase their own understanding as well as talk through their ideas with
someone else to hopefully help them to more clearly understand their own thoughts on using the aspects
of word choice, tone, and points of emphasis to add to their voice.
Beach Ball:
Students will be able to watch a video, organize their ideas, work in pairs, work alone, and get up and
actually create their own spoken word poem, thus exploring this idea of voice enhancement in many
different ways.
Standard 4 - Plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, curriculum goals,
and learning and development theory.
Student will know how to choose words and points of emphasis that enhance their voice as well as find a
tone that further magnifies this voice. Please see content notes for more information. Students will be
expanding on this idea of voice and how it can be enhanced through word choice, tone and points of
emphasis. I will be using the learning facet of perspective. Students will be learning the basics of voice by
learning how to pick out the aspects of a speaker's piece that enhance their unique voice. Students will be
able to convey their understandings through their spoken word poem podcasts. They will be able to
comprehend these ideas as well as collaborate with others to expand on their understandings. These ideas
will deepen their understanding of what voice is and its importance in speaking as well as writing.
Standard 5 - Understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies and appropriate technology to
meet students’ needs.
MI Strategies:
Verbal: Verbal learners will benefit from this lesson because it allows them to play around with language
and analyze it.
Intrapersonal: Intrapersonal learning will be met through the process of thinking about their emotional
response to the poem as well as the actual writing and performing of their poem.
Interpersonal: Interpersonal learning will be met through the Give one, Get one exercise as well as the
discussion of different emotional responses because both of these enable them to interact and bounce
ideas off of others.
Musical: The musical learners will benefit from the spoken word poems (both listening to them and
writing one) because it enables them to put their words to a rhythm and use these to emphasizes their
points.
Kinesthetic: Kinesthetic learners will be met by this lesson because in the hook video Kay emphasizes
her points by using a lot of physical imagery and movement.
Naturalist: Naturalists will be met by this lesson because in the hook video Kay uses a lot of allusions to
nature and the student will be able to make their own spoken word poem that can incorporate aspects of
nature and the world.
Visual: Visual learners will benefit from the many different spoken word poem videos as well as the
organization graphic organizer because it will allow them to clearly visualize the process of enhancing
voice.
Type II Technology:
I will be incorporating type II technology in the form of a podcast. Students will be able to take their
spoken word poem and share it in a manner that is not as high risk as presenting it live to the class. Using
a podcast allows the students to record the poem several times so that their final product shows their true
understanding of word choice, tone, and points of emphasis.
Rationale:
I will be using seven of the different intelligences as well as a type II technology in the form of a podcast
to help students understand the importance of word choice, tone, and points of emphasis in enhancing
one's voice. This will allow students to explore these ideas through several different means and not just
from the traditionally verbal approach.
Standard 8 - Understands and uses a variety of formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate
and support the development of the learner.
Formative:
I will have two formative assessments. First, students will be asked to fill out an observation chart while
watching Sarah Kay's Point B. I will be looking to see if the students are picking out the important word
choices, changes in tone, and points of emphasis. This will give me a base to see how easily they are
picking these aspects out. I will then have them split into pairs. My next assessment will be the Give One,
Get One activity. I will walk around and listen as students share their ideas on word choice, tone, and
points of emphasis with their partner and discuss their importance in enhancing one's voice.
Summative:
Podcast: (50) Students will listen to Sarah Kay's spoken word poem "Point B." They will discuss the
different techniques that she uses and then think about ways in which they can convey a topic of their
choosing in the form of a spoken word poem. They will then be asked to write their own spoken word
poem and publish it as a podcast.
Rationale:
This lesson incorporates two formative assessments and a summative assessment. As a teacher I will be
able to see if students are understanding the impact of word choice, tone, and points of emphasis in
enhancing one's voice. The observation graphic organizer helps students to process and organize the
information that they are gathering while watching the Sarah Kay video and decide what is important in
adding to her voice in the piece. The Give One, Get One exercise is a good activity because it allows
students to convey these ideas that they have formed during their observation as they try to explain them
to their partner. This also gives them an opportunity to expand upon their own ideas by hearing the
observations and ideas of their partner. The summative assessment enables the students to take these ideas
they have been exploring and apply it by creating their spoken word poem. This allows the students to
show their creativity as well as their personality as they enhance their voice in their individual pieces by
using the techniques that they have observed. These formative and summative assessment will help the
students to create their own personal voice.
Spoken Word Poem/Podcast
Spoken Word Poem (50 points)________
Draft is turned in prior to recording (10 points)__________
The tone chosen accurately reflects content (15 points)________
Poem has been turned into a podcast (5 points)_________
Certain points are emphasized (10 points)_________
Word choice fits topic/chosen audience (15 points)__________
Podcast is turned in on time (5 points)_______
Total: _____/110
Word Choice, Tone, and Points of Emphasis
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Word Choice:
When considering word choice writers should:
should choose words that reflect who you are
should choose words that reflect what you are talking about
should choose words that take into consideration the audience
look for just the right word to convey just the right meaning
need to be careful not to lose their voice in the process.
NEVER use a word that you do not fully understand
not pick a word simply because it is on the list the thesaurus
trust their own instincts.
should also take into consideration your audience
We all do know how to change our voice depending on who we are talking to. We do not use the same
language when talking to our teachers as we do when talking with our friends. Don't believe me? When is
the last time you said something like "Hey, how ya doin buddy?" to your teacher or "How are you today
Miss Samantha to your friend?" We all do it without even noticing that we do.
Tone:
Tone is also very important. You cannot be laughing and smiling while telling a story about your dog
getting run over. Well, I suppose that you could however it would not fit what you were saying and your
audience would not know how to respond. Also, tone changes can be very powerful. For example, you
could be talking in a very lighthearted mood as you talk about your childhood and how magical it was,
but then change the tone drastically as you talk about how you lost all faith in honesty when you found
out that Santa wasn't real. These tone changes keep audiences engaged.
Points of Emphasis can:
 give them different meanings
 cause certain words or ideas to jump out
 keeps audiences on their feet
 emphasizes the main points of a persons
work
 Points of emphasis are fun to play around
with
Creative Commons