Crystal Owens
EDC-528 Teaching Language Arts
Summer II- Diane Kern
Grade/Content
Area
Lesson Title
Grade 7/ English Language Arts
GLEs/GSEs
R-7-2.1 Students identify the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary
by ... Using strategies to unlock meaning (e.g., knowledge of word
structure, including prefixes/suffixes and base words; or context
clues; or other resources, such as dictionaries, glossaries,
thesauruses; or prior knowledge) (State)
Please Stop Laughing at Me: Bullying
R-7-13 Uses comprehension strategies (flexibly and as needed)
before, during, and after reading literary and informational
text. (Local) EXAMPLES of reading comprehension strategies
might include: using prior knowledge; sampling a page for
readability; summarizing; predicting and making text based
inferences; determining importance; generating literal, clarifying,
and inferential questions; constructing sensory images (e.g., making
pictures in one’s mind); making connections (text to self, text to
text, and text to world); taking notes; locating, using, and analyzing
text features (e.g. transition words, subheadings, bold/italicized
print, parts of the book); or using text structure clues (e.g.
chronological, cause/effect, compare/contrast, proposition and
support, description, classification, logical/sequential) (Local)
Context of Lesson
The classroom set up for this lesson will consist of 8 seventh grade
students in a rural public school in Rhode Island. The demographics
of this classroom consist of middle to lower class families. The
school is predominantly made up of Caucasian. All 8 students are
performing below average academically. All 8 students receive
special education services in science, Social Studies, Mathematics,
and English Language Arts. All students have PLP’s (Personal
literacy Plans) and also receive additional reading instruction from a
Reading Specialist.
This lesson will be introduced at the beginning of the school year in
order for students to practice, utilize, and master the metacognitive
processs of questioning before, during, and after reading. The lesson
itself will be used as a hook to engage students in questioning
throughout the reading of the narrative Stop Laughing At Me: One
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Woman's Inspirational Story by Jodee Blanco, as well as pull them
into a theme of recognizing bullying that will be carried out through
connecting texts in the course of the first semester.
Opportunities to
Learn
Diverse Learning:
The vocabulary words will be posted on a chart, which is identical
to the concept definition map each student will be using, in the
classroom. Also, multiple copies of the text Please Stop Laughing
At Me: One Woman’s Inspirational Story by Jodee Blanco will be
available in the classroom. The teacher will ask directions to orally
be restated and write the steps on the whiteboard to ensure the
students understand the task.
This lesson incorporates opportunities to learn in the three
modalities: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Students will
experience a teacher think-aloud modeling how to explicitly use
questioning strategies as she writes her I wonder questions on a
chart paper and also how to use the concept definition map as she
writes down vocabulary words related to the word bullying (visual),
will listen to the teacher read aloud the text and think-aloud
questioning strategies (auditory), and will create a graphic organizer
(kinesthetic).
Materials Needed:
Blanco, Jodee. Please Stop Laughing At Me: One Woman’s
Inspirational Story. Massachusetts: Adams Media Corporation,
2003.
Concept of Definition Map
http://www.readingquest.org/pdf/cdmap.pdf
I wonder bookmark
http://int.cysd.k12.pa.us/Formspage/pdf/selfquestioning/iwonder.pdf
Technology:
In the lesson previous to this, students will use the links below to
find out background knowledge about the author Jodee Blanco (also
known as an “Author Study”). This will give the students insight to
why this author wrote about the topic of bullying in several of her
books.
http://www.jodeeblanco.com/pdf/Jodee_Blanco's_Author_Bio.pdf
http://www.jodeeblanco.com/media_news.htm
Objectives
1. The student will activate background knowledge and
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develop knowledge of the key concept vocabulary word
BULLYING and relate at least three vocabulary terms while
listening to the text Please Stop Laughing At Me: One
Woman’s Inspirational Story by Jodee Blanco read aloud.
2. The student will accurately use the questioning
comprehension strategy before, during, and after reading the
text Please Stop Laughing At Me: One Woman’s
Inspirational Story by Jodee Blanco by asking at least four “I
wonder…. Because” questions for one passage of the text.
Instructional
Procedures
Opening:
The teacher will place a chart paper in the front of the room with
the word “Bullying” written in the middle of it. The teacher will
then ask the students to peer share what they think the word
bullying means. The teacher will pull the group together and ask
some peers to share their thoughts; she will then write the groups
responses on the chart paper. As a class a definition will be created;
for example, someone who is continuously cruel to others who are
weaker. The students will be asked to list at least one example of
bullying on their graphic organizer (either personal or made up).
Today’s opening brainstorming list regarding the term “Bullying”
comes from the author Jodee Blanco, whom we have already done
an author study. What do we know about Jodee Blanco as an
author? (The students should be able to say that she writes several
books regarding bullying because she was a victim of bullying).
What other words mean the same as bullying? The teacher will
record the students’ answers on the chart paper.
The teacher will hold up the text Please Stop Laughing At Me: One
Woman’s Inspirational Story by Jodee Blanco. This is the first text
that Jodee Blanco wrote about Bullying. Without even opening the
book I have a couple of questions about the text. I wonder who the
woman is that Jodee is telling the story about because the title says
“One Woman’s Inspirational Story”. I also wonder who the girl is
on the cover, is it Jodee as a young girl? Because I know she was
bullied as a young girl. Notice how I used the sentence “I
wonder…because….” I ask these questions because these ideas are
unclear to me and I am hoping to make them clear by reading the
text. The teacher writes down her I wonders on a chart paper. Good
readers ask questions before, during, and after they read a text. This
makes the text easier for the reader to comprehend and enables the
reader to get a deeper meaning of the text. Notice how I used the
title and picture to ask questions before I read the text. In today’s
lesson, we are going to be practicing how to ask “I
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wonder…because” questions, before during, and after we read the
first chapter of this book. We will also be concentrating on the
concept of bullying to build more vocabulary words to add to our
own word banks.
Engagement:
Listen as I read aloud and then share the questions/I wonders I have
regarding the first chapter in this text. Old Ghosts Come Back to
Haunt Me: High School Reunion. What did I think when I read this
part? First, I stopped and thought about my I wonders from the
cover and title of the book. I asked myself, “I wonder what old
ghosts the narrator is talking about? How does this connect to
Bullying?” I wonder if the old ghosts are the bullies because the
title is Please Stop Laughing At Me. I then continue reading to see if
my questions get answered somewhere in he text. All of my
questions may not always get answered.
Read first page of text and records all “I wonders” on the chart
paper.
Stop at sentence, “They can’t hurt me anymore.” What did I think
when I read this sentence? Well, I wondered who can’t hurt her
anymore because this is not yet clearly stated in the text. Is she
talking about the bullies from her past? I wonder how they hurt her
because it seems to still affect her. Stop at sentence, “I escaped
those bullies at school.” Aha! She is talking about the bullies. My
question was answered. As I read this though it raises more I
wonders, I wonder why she was bullied in the first place, because
she seems so friendly and successful and I wonder how she escaped
the bullies at school because from her actions and admitting she is
full of fear it does not seem she escaped them.
Stop at sentence, “I’m terrified to get out of the car because I know
inside that ballroom of that Hilton are ghosts from my past that still
haunt me.” I wonder how many bullies she had because the sentence
says ghosts. I also wonder if the bullies will continue to be mean to
her at the reunion, even as adults, because adults are suppose to be
mature.
As I was reading did anyone see any words that are similar to the
word bully? If the students do not see this connection immediately, I
will ask them to skim the first page and find the words. Hopefully
the students will find; terrify people, hurt and bruise people, frighten
people, laugh at people, taunt people.
Notice the question words I use after my I wonders. Teacher will
underline with a different colored marker Who? What? When?
Where? Why? How? statements. These are the six question words I
want you to use when we do this together. You do not have to use all
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of them, but they help you form your question.
Read second page of the text, model for students, but invite students
to add to teacher’s think aloud/I wonders. Use the “I wonder”
graphic organizer to share and record students’ I wonders and text
cites.
For the third page, ask students to work with a partner to complete
the “I wonder… because” and “Concept Definition Map”
worksheets collaboratively to ask I wonder questions and find terms
related to bullying. Partners will share work with class to monitor
comprehension strategy. Reteach, if needed.
Ask students to independently read the fourth page of the text and
write at least four I wonder questions and provide text citations.
Closure:
Let’s return as a whole class and share some of our "I wonders" or
Bully terms. What strategy were we using to clarify the text? How
does a reader question? Why question when you read? When might
you use the questioning strategy again? What type of text could this
be used for? Is there a text that this would not be useful for?
For homework I want you to think of a time you have bullied
someone or have been bullied and write down how you felt? Is there
I wonders you would like to ask the bully or bullied? We will write
about this in our journals tomorrow.
Assessment
1. Collect Concept Definition Map to formally assess individually
students’ ability to relate at least three vocabulary terms found
throughout the text Please Stop Laughing At Me: One
Woman’s Inspirational Story by Jodee Blanco to the key
concept vocabulary term BULLYING.
2. Collect “I wonder…. Because” bookmarks to informally assess
students’ ability to accurately ask at least four “I wonder…
because” questions before, during, and after reading the first
chapter of the text Please Stop Laughing At Me: One Woman’s
Inspirational Story by Jodee Blanco.
Reflections
Student Work Sample 1 – Approaching Proficiency:
Student Work Sample 2 – Proficient:
Crystal Owens, Please Stop Laughing At Me: Bullying
Student Work Sample 3 – Exceeds Proficiency:
Lesson Implementation:
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