Focus Plan
Texarkana Independent School District
GRADING
PERIOD:
writer:
5th six weeks
PLAN CODE:
Deanna Henderson
Course/subject:
English II
Grade(s):
10
Time allotted
for instruction:
One block period
Title:
Lesson TOPIC:
TAKS Objective:
FoCUS TEKS and
Student Expectations:
Supporting TEKS and
Student Expectations:
Concepts
Symbol
Me, Myself and I
Students will focus on exploring symbols of their individual identities
and then write college admission essays about their meaning.
Objective 4
The student will, within a given context, produce an effective
composition for a specific purpose.
(1) Writing/purposes. The student writes in a variety of forms,
including business, personal, literary, and persuasive texts, for
various audiences and purposes. The student is expected to
(B) write in a voice and a style appropriate to audience and
purpose; and
(C) organize ideas in writing to ensure coherence, logical
progression, and support for ideas.
(2) Writing/writing processes. The student uses recursive writing
processes when appropriate. The student is expected to
(B) develop drafts [both alone and collaboratively] by
organizing and reorganizing content and by refining style to suit
occasion, audience, and purpose; and
(C) proofread writing for appropriateness of organization,
content, style, and conventions.
Enduring Understandings/Generalizations/Principles
The student will understand that
A symbol is something that is itself and yet stands for or suggests or means
something else; as the letters a p p l e form a word that stands for a
particular objective reality; or as a flag is a piece of colored cloth that stands
for a nation.
Word web
A word web is a graphic organizer, created to gather and connect facts,
ideas, concepts, and/or words (attached)
T-Chart
A T-Chart is a type of graphic organizer in which a student lists and
examines two facets of a topic, like the pros and cons associated with it, its
advantages and disadvantages, facts vs. opinions, etc.
Identity Symbol Chart
An identity symbol chart is used to help a student think about labels and
symbols they use to define themselves and others.
College Admissions Essay
A college admissions essay is an essay written as part of the college
admittance process. It is a personal statement; it often provides a wonderful
opportunity to share your thoughts with the admission committee and lets
them see another side of you.
I.
Sequence of Activities (Instructional Strategies)
A.
Focus/connections/anticipatory set
Students will participate in an activity entitled “Step into the Circle.”
 Students will form a large circle.
 The teacher will read a series of statements and instruct all students for
whom the statement (i.e. “You are wearing sneakers”) is true to step into
a circle.
 Instruct students to take note of who is in the circle, and who is not, and
then return to the outer circle.
 The purpose of this activity is to see where students share common
ground, as well as uniqueness in their identity and experience.
 The following are suggested statements:
1. You are wearing blue today.
2. You ate breakfast this morning.
3. It took you longer than a half hour to get to school today.
4. English is your first language.
5. You have at least one sibling.
6. You have mixed ancestry.
7. You practice a religion other than Christianity.
8. You have a MySpace or Facebook page.
9. You have traveled outside of the United States.
10. You are a member of a sports team.
 The teacher should call the first few statements to set the tone, and then,
of appropriate, students can create their own statements. Typically
students should be instructed to call statements that they identify with
themselves, rather than solely to “out” other students. Suggested topics
for additional statements: entertainment preferences, extracurricular
activities, familial or geographic diversity, skills, experiences, etc.
B.
Instructional activities
(demonstrations, lectures, examples, hands-on experiences, role play, active
learning experience, art, music, modeling, discussion, reading, listening, viewing,
etc.)
After students have completed the activity, lead a brief discussion by asking students
some or all of the following discussion questions:
 What did you notice about yourself during the activity?
 What did you notice about other people during the activity?
 Did you learn anything new about this group?
 How did it feel to participate in an activity like this?
 Do you think this activity is representative of our school? Why or why
not?
 Do you think diversity is valued at our school? Why or why not?
 What does it mean to be an individual within the context of a larger
community?
C.
Guided activity or strategy
 As a class, read and discuss the article “The Poncho Bearer”
(http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20070108monday.ht
ml), focusing on the following questions: (Handout # 1 – “The Poncho Bearer”)
(Handout # 2 – Questions to accompany “The Poncho Bearer)
1. Who is Sam to the author?
2. Why is the wearing of the poncho significant?
3. What does the author assert is an intense “pressure” point in high school?
4. What three types of kids did Sam perceive to exist in his fifth-grade class?
5. Some people worried that wearing the poncho would result in Sam not being taken
seriously. Do you agree with this concern? Why or why not?
6. Does anyone at your school do something individualistic like Sam wearing his
poncho? If so, what do you think of this person and what he or she does? If not, why do
you think that might be?
7. The article implies that Sam is not Mexican. What do you think of his choice to wear a
“Mexican poncho” to school every Friday?
8. Sam penned a Haiku poem about wearing his poncho. What do you think the poem
means? How would you interpret it?
9. Do you agree with the author that “defining yourself is the central questions of
adolescence”? Why or why not?
10. If Sam went to your school, would you want to have the poncho passed on to you?
Why or why not?
 Explain to the students that, by expanding on the warm-up activity and the article,
“The Poncho Bearer,” they will begin to think about their identity by creating a
word web. They will write their name, and then add adjectives, nouns, verbs or
adverbs that describe who they are.
 After they have completed the word web, students will create a T-chart of their
own personal strengths and weaknesses. They should include at least three for
each side. (A T-chart is simple the letter T, drawn with “strengths” written at the
top of one column, and “weaknesses” in the other column.
 After they have worked on developing their strengths and weaknesses, they
should begin thinking about who they are and what symbolizes their identity. Do
they have a particular object or symbol that they identify with (i.e. the poncho)?
Of so, what is it and how does it reflect them? If not, they should come up with
one that reflects who they are. Have students sketch the object or symbol and
then post the sketches around the room.
 Explain to students that they are going to be crafting a college essay for
homework based on their personal object or symbol. Have each student briefly
explain to the class why they have chosen their symbol, and provide time before
the end of class for students to discuss further the issues of identity and
adolescence: How well do you think your school encourages you to be
yourselves? How well does the larger society honor and encourage you to be
yourself? Why do you hold that perspective?
 Students should be given guidelines for creating a 500-word college essay based
on the Common Application, which allows students a topic of their choice as part
of the admission process (http://commonapp.org/#).
 Guidelines might include (Handout # 3 – Guidelines for 500-word College
Essay)
1. The topic is what is unique about yourself, based on your object or symbol.
How might you turn this into a question to guide your essay?
2. What might your main point or thesis be for the essay?
3. How might you use your word web and T-chart to develop ideas for your
essay?
4. How might you craft an outline for the progression of your essay?
5. How will you structure your essay? Chronologically?
6. What type of opening paragraph will you create? Will you lead with a quote or
anecdote?
7. Have you thought about your paragraphs and topic sentences? If so how will
they work to transition your thoughts?
8. How will you provide support for your statements? Will you use examples
from your life experience?
9. How will you conclude your essay? Will you refer back to the opening
paragraph, or will you reiterate a general theme from the essay?
HOMEWORK:
Individually, students craft 500-word college admissions essay about themselves
and their unique identities.
D.
Accommodations/modifications
E.
Enrichment
II.
STUDENT PERFORMANCE
A.
Description
The teacher should have individual handouts of the following:
 Handout # 1 – “The Poncho Bearer”
 Handout # 2 – Questions to accompany “The Poncho Bearer
 Handout # 3 – Guidelines for 500-word College Essay)
 Handout # 4 – Rubric for grading College Admissions Essay
 Handout # 5 – TAKS ELA Prompts of the Past
The teacher should have the following supplies:
Pens/pencils
Paper
Classroom board
Materials to create and hang sketches of symbols of identity (colored pencils, paper,
markers, tape, etc.)
B.
Accommodations/modifications
Students requiring accommodations/modifications should have access to the Learning
Lab as well as extended time.
C.
Enrichment
Students requiring enrichment may choose from the following activities:
1. Using all available materials, create a collage of photos, magazine ads, or other
materials about what it means to have a contemporary adolescent American identity.
2. Craft a poem in any style you choose entitled and themed, “What It Means to Be Me.”
3. Create an illustrated life map, which uses a timeline of key moments of your life from
birth to me. Examples include moving, new siblings, changing schools, religious
celebrations, monumental family occasions, etc. Your map should be illustrated,
using words, sentences, or symbols. It can be linear and chronological or openended.
iii.
IV.
Assessment of Activities
A.
Description
Students will be evaluated based on participation in the initial activity, reading and
discussing “The Poncho Bearer,” active participation in activities and discussions, and a
well-crafted college admission essay.
B.
Rubrics/grading criteria
See Handout # 4 – Rubric for grading College Admission Essay
C.
Accommodations/modifications
Students requiring accommodations/modifications may use the Learning Lab and/or have
extended time.
D.
Enrichment
Students requiring enrichment may present their extension activities to the class and/or
receive extra credit.
E.
Sample discussion questions
What does it mean to identify yourself in relation to others?
What are some of the benefits of being in school with people who are different from you?
What are some of the benefits of being in school with people who are similar to you?
What other symbols of identity are you familiar with?
TAKS Preparation
A.
Transition to TAKS context
In the TAKS ELA test, students are asked to write a two page essay. The two page essay
is comprised of an introduction, a descriptive narrative story, and a conclusion. Sample
TAKS ELA essay prompts that have been used in past tests are:
B.
V.
VI.
VII.
Sample TAKS questions (See Handout # 5 – Prompts of the Past)
Key Vocabulary – reinterpreting, accurately, subversive, distinctive, donned, serape,
intervene, obscenities, obligation, escalated
Resources
A.
B.
Textbook
Supplementary materials
Handout # 1 – “The Poncho Bearer”
Handout # 2 – Questions to accompany “The Poncho Bearer
Handout # 3 – Guidelines for 500-word College Essay)
Handout # 4 – Rubric for grading College Admissions Essay
Handout # 5 – TAKS ELA Prompts of the Past
C.
Technology
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20070108monday.html
http://commonapp.org/#
http://712educators.about.com/cs/rubrics/1/blrubricexpos.htm
http://commonapp.org/#
FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES
(reteaching, cross-curricular support, technology activities, next lesson in sequence, etc.)
A.
Review of skills
Sample word webs, T-charts, and graphic organizers are included with this lesson plan.
B.
Next lesson in sequence
The next lesson in sequence might include the presentation of enrichment activities.
The film “Mean Girls” (2004), based on the book “Queen Bees and Wannabes” by
Rosalind Wiseman, depicts cliques in high school and stresses the importance of identity.
The class might watch the film and then write a review of the film or book comparing it to
the social structure in your school.
viii.
Teacher Notes
This focus plan is based on the following website:
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20070108monday_print.html