STUDENT-TEACHER CREATED LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE
ENGLISH EDUCATION, 2008-2009 COHORT
JULIE POOLE
DATE: MARCH 27, 2009
PERIOD: 3RD & 4TH BLOCK
GRADE LEVEL: ENGLISH 11 GENERAL/COLLEGE
CONTEXT/RATIONALE:
(Why this lesson in this way with this group of students today? How does it fit into the bigger context of the
unit?)
STUDENTS WILL BEGIN READING EDGAR ALLEN POE’S “THE RAVEN.” AFTER READING IT THROUGH AN
INTERACTIVE WEBSITE, STUDENTS WILL REWRITE THEIR OWN VERSION OF THE POEM IN STORY FORM. THIS
WILL ENSURE STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THE CLEVER WORD CHOICE THE POET USES, THE MEANING BEHIND
THEM, AS WELL AS PRACTICE THEIR OWN WRITING. STUDY GUIDES FOR NEXT WEEK MIDTERM AS WELL AS
THE EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT WILL BE REVIEWED.
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES:
(Connect to SOL’s where appropriate.)
SOL’S: 11.3, 11.4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
GIVEN THE FIRST PART OF CLASS, STUDENTS WILL BE GIVEN A HANDOUT REVIEWING IMPORTANT
FACTS ABOUT EDGAR ALLEN POE, THE HISTORY BEHIND THE POEM, AS WELL AS POETIC DEVICES AND
SYMBOLISM FOUND WITHIN “THE RAVEN.”
GIVEN STUDENTS HAVE BEEN GIVEN ENOUGH PREPATORY BACKGROUND, STUDENTS WILL ENGAGE IN
AN INTERACTIVE WEBSITE, READING THE POEM ALOUD TO ONE ANOTHER IN PARTNERS.
GIVEN STUDENTS HAVE READ THE POEM, STUDENTS WILL BE PLACED IN GROUPS TO REWRITE 3
STANZAS OF THE POEM IN STORY FORM ON THE CLASS WIKI.
GIVEN STUDENTS HAVE COMPLETED WRITING THEIR STANZAS IN STORY FORM, THE CLASS STORY
VERSION OF THE RAVEN WILL BE READ AND DISCUSSED TO GAIN MEANING FROM THE POEM.
GIVEN STUDENTS UNDERSTAND “THE RAVEN”, STUDENTS WILL WATCH “THE SIMPSONS’” VERSION
OF THIS POEM.
GIVEN STUDENTS HAVE HAD A MIDTERM REVIEW, STUDENTS WILL BE GIVEN THE REST OF CLASS TO
COMPLETE THE STUDY GUIDE.
GIVEN STUDENTS HAVE COMPLETED THE FIRST EXTRA CREDIT OUTSIDE READING, STUDENTS WILL
BE ASSIGNED THEIR SECOND BOOK (UGLIES)
OPENER/ANTICIPATORY SET/WARM-UP:
(Include details about what prior knowledge students need in order to enter into this lesson and
how you’ll engage it.)
1.
FOR THE FIRST PART OF CLASS, STUDENTS WILL REVIEW FACTS THEY LEARNED FROM THE
EDGAR ALLEN POE VIDEO. A HANDOUT WILL BE GIVEN TO THEM AND DISCUSSED, HIGHLIGHTING
THE IMPORTANT FACTS NEEDED TO PREFACE THE READING OF “THE RAVEN.”
ACTIVITIES:
(Include variety here – use the lesson planning checklist as a reference.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
REVIEW EDGAR ALLEN POE VIDEO AND HANDOUT
INTERACTIVE READING OF “THE RAVEN”
CLASS WIKI ASSIGNMENT – REWRITING “THE RAVEN” IN STORY FORM
READ THE STORY FORM OUTLOUD
WATCH “THE RAVEN” BY “THE SIMPSONS”
WORK ON STUDY GUIDE
ASSIGN EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT
CLOSURE:
AT THE END OF CLASS, I ASKED IF THERE WERE ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THE STUDY GUIDE OR THE
MIDTERM. ANY CLARIFICATIONS WERE ANSWERED AT THAT TIME.
MATERIALS:
(What do you need to gather and have ready for students to support and drive this lesson?)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
EDGAR ALLEN POE HANDOUT
INTERACTIVE WEBSITE (COMPUTER)
THE SIMPSONS VIDEO
EXTRA CREDIT BOOKS TO CHECK OUT
STUDY GUIDE
DIFFERENTIATION:
(What can you do within this lesson to make sure that you are moving ALL kids further in their
skills and understandings? Note: It is not enough to mention that you’re working with a
collaborating teacher or reading specialist here. This might not happen in each lesson.)
NEW LITERACIES/21ST CENTURY SKILLS/TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION:
(Again, this might not happen in every lesson, but you’ll want to articulate it when it does – and
offer ideas about why it isn’t the right fit specific cases, etc.)
1.
STUDENTS ARE ACTIVELY USING THEIR COMPUTERS IN CLASS, CLASS WIKI, INTERACTIVE WEBSITE,
ETC.
ASSESSMENT:
(How do you know what ALL students know? Formative and summative.)
Formative:
1. Rewritten version of “The Raven” poem on the class wiki
Summative:
1. Midterm (Tuesday, March 31, 2009)
Notes on “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe: February 1845
“…the death, then, of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical
topic in the world – and equally is it beyond doubt that the lips best suited for
such topic are those of a bereaved lover.”
Edgar Allen Poe Notes:
1. Virginia, Poe’s love at the time, was dying of Consumption (Tuberculosis).
2. Poe found the word “Nevermore” to be his inspiration towards this particular poem,
finding that this word created “the utmost conceivable amount of sorrow and
despair.”
3. By choosing this as his final word, he began at the end in order to construct this
mysterious story.
4. New England poets criticized Poe saying “The Raven’s” purpose was to teach moral
lessons. Poe did not agree in saying “that Beauty is the sole legitimate province of
the poem.”
5. Poe’s belief when it came to poetry was that it was not the time to teach moral
lessons rather it was the medium for expressing truth and passion, and best of all,
beauty.
“The Raven” Notes:
1. A discourse between narrator and bird; the narrator grieves over the death of a
woman he loves only to hear from the bird, “Nevermore.”
2. Alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginning of words.
EX. “…while I pondered weak and weary”
3. Assonance: the repetition of vowel sounds, usually within words.
EX. “And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before”
4. Internal Rhyme: the rhyming of words within a line of poetry, not just at the end of
the lines.
EX: “Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer”
Symbols to consider:
The Raven:
“`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil!”
“`Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!”
By referring to the Raven as a “Prophet” from the “Plutonian shore,” Poe represents this
creature as a mythical God from the underworld with a prophetic, dark omen. In this case,
his message “Nevermore” concerns the narrator’s lost love, “Lenore.”
Bust of Pallas:
“Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door”
The Raven perches upon the bust of the mythical Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, extending
Poe’s symbol that this creature carries some prophetic message of wisdom from the
underworld concerning “Lenore” – or at least that is what the narrator thinks.
Purple Curtains:
“And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain”
Poe could have used ANY color to describe these curtains, yet he chose purple. Purple is
often seen in literature as a symbol for royalty, a rising of status, or even blood. In this
case, we could potentially see this as Poe commenting that “Lenore” is no longer of the
human world, therefore “rising” away - OR it could be a symbol of blood, referencing his
own lost love, Virginia, and her death by consumption (i.e. coughing blood).
Links to wiki/interactive website/video:
3rd Block: http://demondialogue3.pbwiki.com/The-Raven
4th Block: http://demondialogue4.pbwiki.com/The-Raven