ED 101 Educational Technology Lab - Fall 2009
Boston University – School of Education
LESSON PLAN
Your Name
Mr. Howie
Supervising Ms. Carvalho
Landau
Teacher
Grade/School Jackson-Mann School, 7th Grade
Lesson title
Time of
activities
Literary
Genres
10 A.M.
Content
Literature
area
Duration of 1 Hour
Lesson/Unit
Content Area: Genres of literature. The lesson will introduce students to different types
of literature, and students will complete activities in order to develop skills necessary to
differentiate between forms of literature and learn the characteristics of varying literary
genres.
Topic: This lesson is designed to help students learn about different features of literature
in order to enhance the skills necessary to identify different forms of text. In addition,
students will learn the specific categories of literature and how to classify texts into
different genres.
Goals: The over-arching aim of this lesson is for students to learn that literature exists in
different forms. Overall, students will learn the difference between fiction and non-fiction
and be able to apply the differences in determining the genres of different texts with
specific categories, including poetry and biography.
Objectives: Students will be introduced to the concepts of fiction and non-fiction, and
then will investigate varying literary forms to determine which genre they belong to. We
will then discuss as a class the different sub-genres that the students observed.
My students will be able to:
 Identify and list at least three differences between fiction and non-fiction works.
 Identify and list the characteristics of a biography that make it a form of nonfiction.
 Define the elements of song lyrics that mirror poetry.
 Understand that a poem can be either non-fiction or fiction, by identifying the
qualities of the text that can be either truthful or fictionary.
 Listen to a speech and infer from the context that it is a non-fiction presentation,
observed through a class discussion of the elements of the speech that are truthful.
 Watch a performance of an act from a play and derive that the script is under the
genre of fiction, through a brainstorming activity that lists the fictionary elements
of the production.
 Apply the knowledge of literary genres to write their own original fiction and
non-fiction pieces.
Technology, Materials and Aids: This lesson will begin with a brief introduction of the
major differences between fiction and non-fiction, through the usage of a specifically
designed website which will be projected onto a larger screen. Students will then be split
into groups and take turns at different stations, each of which containing a different form
of literature. One station will utilize a stereo and several listening devices allowing the
group of students to listen to a song being played. Another station will utilize the
classroom computer to view a brief performance of a play. A third station will require the
use of a television in order for students to watch the presentation of a speech. While all
three of these presentations will also be on the website, the presence of only one
classroom computer will allow for the implementation of other technological devices.
Ideally, each group would have their own computer to work with to access the content
through the educational website.
Procedures/Methods:
A. Overview: Students will receive a general introduction on the properties of
fiction and non-fiction works and a brief overview of different types of literature
through an informative presentation via the educational website. Students will
then read, listen watch literature and presentations to determine the genres of texts
through tools and information from the educational website.
B. Introduction: After all students have filed in, settled down and have taken their
seats, I will introduce the topic of literary genre. Through the use of the
educational website and projector, I will highlight information discussing the
genres of fiction and non-fiction, and as a class, we will brainstorm examples of
literary genres and which categories they fit into. I will then discuss the different
stations throughout the room that have been set up before the class session has
begun.
C. Activities:
 The lesson will begin with a brief lecture on the two main components of
literary genres, fiction and non-fiction. I will utilize the educational
website created to aid in the presentation, displaying examples of each
genre of literature and outlining specific features of each. However, the
introduction to the lesson will not be too detailed, because student
discovery during the station exercise is the main goal of the lesson.
 After the brief overview, the class will then engage in a discussion listing
some features of each type of literature, as well as assessing the genres of
previous literary works that each student has read.
 I will then explain the station exercise, and will also give each student a
handout containing directions and questions pertaining to each specific
station to be answered. The questions will be geared towards the goal of
identifying what sort of literature each station contains, such as the main
ideas of the work and if the student thinks that it is a description of true
events.
 I will next divide the students into pairs.
 There will be five stations set up throughout the room, and each station
will have some form of literature to be examined.
 The first station will have the class computer, which students will need to
access the link (provided on the handout) on the educational website
containing a video clip of the performance of a scene from William
Shakespeare’s Hamlet. At this station, students will find the dialogue of
the scene to follow along while watching the clip. Additionally, the
directions for this station will discuss the use of plug-ins and links in order
to play the content accessed from the website.
 The next station will be situated at a desk containing an excerpt from the
biography of George Washington. At this station, students will read the
excerpt and answer the subsequent questions on their worksheet.
 The third station will be located at the television, which will contain a
taped segment from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
Also at this station will be transcripts of the speech for students to follow
along as they view and listen to the speech.
 The fourth station will also be located at a desk and will contain copies of
the fairy tale “Rapunzel” by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Again, students
will read the story and answer the questions on the worksheet to determine
what sort of literature the text should be classified into.
 The final station will be located at another desk, with the classroom stereo
and accompanying listening devices. A compact disk in the stereo will be
used to play “The Graduation Song” by the group Vitamin C, and the
lyrics to the song will also be supplied for students to follow along.
 At each station, students will follow the directions of their handout to
complete the task and answer the subsequent questions. The students will
rotate to different stations every 8 minutes, or as appropriate based on
student needs. After the students have visited all 5 stations, we will then
rejoin as a class and discuss what we discovered at each station.
 Each group will present on a station as chosen by myself, and will present
to the class the answers to the questions on the handout, and attempt to
decide which genre each piece of literature applies to.
 With the use of the educational website, I will demonstrate to the class the
specific sub-genre of each literary work after each group’s presentation, if
the appropriate term had not already been mentioned. Nevertheless, the
entire class will engage in a discussion through the use of examples and
explanations of how each literary work is part of a genre and subsequent
sub-genre, and how and why each work fits into the categories.
D. Follow-Up: After the completion of the lesson, I will explain the homework
assignment that will pertain to the underlying objectives of the lesson. Students
will be required to submit to original works of literature through word processing
applications that they have written at home. One will be fiction, and one will be
non-fiction. Students can choose whatever sub-genre they wish, as long as one of
the works falls under the category of fiction and one under the category of nonfiction. If possible, the next day, students will meet with a partner and share their
writings and evaluate whether each student was correct in submitting one work
from each genre.
7. Curriculum Frameworks:
Standard 10: Genre: Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the
characteristics of different genres.
8. Technology Frameworks:
G6-8: 1.18: Use Web browsing to access information (e.g., enter a URL, access links,
create bookmarks/favorites, print Web pages).
G6-8: 1.6: Demonstrate the use of intermediate features in word processing applications
(e.g., tabs, indents, headers and footers, end notes, bullet and numbering, tables).
G6-8: 1.22: Explain that some Web sites require the use of plug-ins and specific browser
versions to access content.
9. Assessment:
*Correct Answers are emboldened*
1. In which genre of literature would you find the following sentence?
In 1977, Gates was arrested in New Mexico for running a stop sign and driving
without a valid license.
a. Biography
b. Fantasy
c. Mystery
2. In which genre of literature would you find the following sentence?
The wizard sprinkled dust upon us just before he hopped onto his kite and flew
away into the night sky.
a. Poem
b. Autobiography
c. Fantasy
3. Which of the following storylines would be classified as literary fiction?
a. A family that lives on Mars in the year 2072.
b. The diary of a girl living through a war.
c. The story of a man who takes advice from his talking dog.
d. Both A and C
4. Which kind of author would write a story about his own life?
a. A fantasy writer
b. An autobiographer
c. A researcher
5. In which section of the library would you go to find literature written with distinct
organizational patterns known as “stanzas”?
a. Poetry section
b. Fiction Section
c. Non-Fiction Section