EIS 303/304 Lesson Plan
Fall 2013
Your Name: Paige Henninger
Mentor’s Name: Mr. Jordan
Date of Lesson: October 21, 2013
Course/Class: Early American Literature
Lesson Topic: Herman Melville: Biography and “The Lightning Rod Man”
Grade Level: 11th and 12th graders
Time: 10:52-11:43
STANDARDS: (Identify and site the standards addressed in your lesson plan).
Goal
Standard (Common Core)
CC.11-12.R.I.2 Key Ideas and
Details: Determine two or
more central ideas of a text
and analyze their
development over the course
of the text, including how
they interact and build on one
another to provide a complex
analysis; provide an objective
summary of the text.
CC.11-12.W.4 Production and
Distribution of Writing:
Produce clear and coherent
writing in which the
development, organization,
and style are appropriate to
task, purpose, and audience.
Benchmark
OBJECTIVES:
List your objectives,
beginning with a verb that
is observable and
measurable.
ASSESSMENT:
Describe the assessment and explain its
usefulness in measuring individual
student learning. Attach a copy of
Students will discuss the
story, “The Lightning-rod
Man” with their peers, and
with the class as a whole.
Student participation (Informal)
Students will express a
time in their lives where
they felt pressured, just as
the narrator had in “The
Lightning-Rod Man”. They
will demonstrate this
through a journal.
RATIONALE:
Explain why you selected this
method of assessment and its
alignment with the objectives.
the assessment and grading
criteria.
This type of informal assessment
allows me to see which students seem
Students will discuss with their peers
to have a good understanding of the
and with the whole class. They will
text, and those who appear to be
discuss topics such as theme, plot, or
confused or not attempting to
language. I will walk around as students participate with their classmates. I can
are discussing and I will be able to
further discuss the story if students are
determine who is participating, and
confused and I can move on with the
understands versus those who are not
activity if students appear to have a
putting forth discussion.
good understanding of the story. This
also allows me to determine how
prepared students are for the formal
assessment.
Journal (formal) (10 points)
I choose this activity because I think a
journal relates well with the text. It is
Students will write a journal response to appropriate for students in the 11th and
“The Lightning-rod Man”. The journal
12th grade because they are working
will ask students to describe a time in
on their writing skills and reading.
their lives when someone was
Students will be making a connection
pressuring them to buy something, do
from their lives to the text. This will
something, or try to convince them to
demonstrate relevance and apply
agree with their argument. How did they “text-to-self”. Students will be
handle it? Did they give in and do what applying the text to their own lives,
the person wanted? Or did they make
and they will be able to make valid
their own decision? Students must write connections. Through their journals I
in clear, complete sentences, and write
will be able to see how they
about a paragraph or two.
understand the story, and how they
make connections to their own lives. I
also think that this is a valid prompt
for students at this particular age
because they are constantly dealing
with peer pressure from others, and
having to decide how they confront it.
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS & RESOURCES:
List everything you need to teach this class. Your actual instructional materials, i.e., lecture notes, PowerPoint,
maps, supplementary material, etc. must be included. Attach to your lesson plan where applicable and note
where used within your lesson plan.
Materials, Technology, Other Resources Needed
Text book
Short Story: The Lightning-rod Man”
Computer
Lecture Notes
Projector
Smart Board
Journal handout
IINSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES:
Define in detail the two or more strategies you plan to use. Explain the rationale for each strategy. It should take
into consideration students’ age, ability, needs, etc. Ask yourself, what is the best way to teach this lesson
content to these students?
Strategy or learning tasks
Brainstorming/Activating Prior Knowledge
Oral/Listening Based
Collaboration
Justification for strategy
From the beginning of the lesson we will be activating students’
prior knowledge. While reading the biography, I will ask
question such as: who are other authors that did not receive
recognition while they were alive? What works has Hawthorn
created (because Hawthorn is mentioned in Melville biography)?
This will enforce students to think back to prior lessons and
classes where they have discussed these issues before, and make
connections. Students at this point in high school have certainly
worked with authors of this time period (mid 1800s) and they
should be able to make these connections that I am asking them
to. Students will also be thinking critically when I ask them try to
guess what the story will be about before we start reading it. This
allows students to get engaged, and actually think about the
possible events in the story, instead of just jumping in and having
to find out gradually through the reading. This also stresses the
importance that titles have for stories, they are meant to convey a
part of the story, and meant to draw readers in. This activity will
also get students more interested in the reading, because they will
want to know if their assumptions were correct.
Students will be participating in reading, and listening to myself,
and their peers. Not only will we be reading the story together,
but also listening to each other read. Students will respectfully
listen to their peers and me. It is a good practice to read aloud in
front of others because it allows students to practice reading
fluency and rhythm. I will also be stopping throughout the story
to make sure that vocabulary is understood, and that important
parts are noted. I could not do this through independent reading,
because students read at different speeds. This strategy also
ensures me that everyone has read the story thoroughly and
understands components of the story. This class can be very
distracted, so when they have individually read in the past, I can
see those who are not really reading because they are trying to
check their phone, or work on other homework. This ensures that
everyone will be reading together and distractions will be
minimized.
This particular group of students works well with each other, and
enjoys working with their peers. They will be reading the last
part of the story together in groups and then doing a small
discussion on their reactions to the story. I will then ask students
to come back together as a whole. I will ask groups to share their
thoughts on the story. I would like students to state what the
message/theme possibly was, parts of the story they
liked/disliked, and any opinions. This allows students to
determine the theme or important aspects of the story on their
own without me simply telling them. If they do not understand
the overall message, I will of course, push them in the right
direction. This also prepares them for the assessment and allows
me to informally check if they understood the text.
BEFORE CLASS BEGINS:
Consider what happens before you start your lesson or before the “bell” rings. What duties are you responsible
for? Will you greet your students? How and where? Are there routines and procedures already in place or will
you plan something?
I will stand outside the classroom with Mr. Jordan and greet students as they walk in the class.
When the bell rings, I will walk into the class and take attendance on the computer, and wait for students to
get settled in their seats.
When I finish taking attendance, I will stand in front of the class and greet students.
I will then inform students about the plan for the day.
Classroom procedures
OPENING:
* Introduce the
lesson. Establish
yourself as the
teacher.
YOU start the class!
(approximate time)
-Students will walk in and take their seats
and prepare for the class.
(1 min)
-Students will get out their textbooks, and
prepare to read Melville.
(2 min)
Instructional Details
-I will be standing at the podium and I will
begin class.
-“Good morning students. I hope that your
day is going well.”
-“We just finished up The Patriot, and I
hope that you all enjoyed it.”
(1 minute)
-To begin, I will inform students of the
plan for the day.
-“We will begin reading he biography of
Herman Melville in the book, then we will
read a short story in class together, you will
do a little group work, and lastly, I will
give you a journal response.”
-I will ask students to get their textbooks
out and turn to page 352.
(2 minutes)
Accommodations/Modifications:
Discuss with your mentor any
accommodations/modifications necessary for ALL
students’ success.
INSTRUCTIONAL
METHODS:
Provide clear and
detailed instructions
enabling a third
party to use this
lesson plan. Detail
all procedures for
the instructional
strategies. Detail all
questions for
discussion, provide
full examples, etc.
(approximate time)
-Students will listen to me read the first
part of the autobiography.
-Students will volunteer to read and take
turns reading.
-Students will ask me any questions they
may have and we can discuss them
together.
-Students will answer any questions I may
ask the class.
(8 min)
-Students will determine what they think
the story will be about based on the title of
the story.
-Students will raise their hands if they have
a comment to make about the title.
(5 min)
-We will read the autobiography of Herman
Melville together as a class.
-I will begin reading and then I will ask for
a volunteer to read, and then they can
choose another student to read.
-I will stop students to pause for discussion
on important parts of the biography.
-Such as: talk about other authors who
were not given as much recognition until
after their death, Hawthorn and his works
and beliefs.
-We will briefly discuss the biography.
(8 minutes)
-Next, I will introduce the title of the short
story we are going to read, which is “The
Lightning-rod Man”
-I will write/type “The Lightning-rod Man”
on the smart board, and then I will ask
students to think of what the title says the
-Students will read along with me as I read story could be about.
the beginning of “The Lightning-rod Man”, -So I want the students the guess what the
and then they will volunteer to read after
story will be about, and share it with the
me.
class.
-Students will follow along as their peers
-I will write/type their statements on the
read.
board.
-Students will participate in class
(5 minutes)
discussion and ask me if they have any
questions.
-After students have discussed the title,
-Students will get in their groups to finish
then we will begin reading “The Lightningreading the story and they will discuss the
rod Man”.
story with their peers.
-I will hand each student a copy of the
-If they have any questions, they will raise short story.
their hands and I will help them.
-“Feel free to write on these as we go
-Students may refer to the board if they are along, take notes and you may keep them.”
not sure what to discuss.
-I will read the first paragraph and then I
(30 minutes)
will ask for a volunteer again.
-We will read the story together and
discuss points throughout the story that
may need more explaining, or interesting
-Students will share their interpretation
points that deserve discussion.
with the class and answer any questions
that I may ask them.
(5-8 minutes)
-Students will go back to their seats and
they will work on the journal prompt for
the rest of the hour.
-They will fully answer the prompt and
they will write in complete sentences.
-Students will turn in their journals at the
end of class when they are finished.
(10 minutes)
-The last page or so, I will ask students to
get into the groups they were with for The
Crucible project. They will read the last
part of the story together, briefly discuss
their initial reactions, what their impression
of the story was, what the theme/message
was of the story, and any interesting points
they found.
-I will display these questions on the board
for students to refer to.
(30 minutes)
-Next, we will share interpretations
together.
-I will ask questions such as: “What did
you think about the text?” “What do you
think the overall message was of the
story?” “Was there a theme?” “How would
you describe the characters of the story?”
(5-8 minutes)
-When we have finished discussing, I will
handout the journal prompts, and ask
students work on them for the remaining of
the hour.
-The journal will ask students to describe a
time in their lives when someone was
pressuring them to buy something, do
something, or try to convince them to agree
with their argument. How did they handle
it? Did they give in and do what the person
wanted? Or did they make their own
decision? OR a time in their life when they
were trying to convince someone else to do
something.
-I will collect the journal for a grade.
-It will be worth 10 points.
(10 minutes)
Accommodations/Modifications:
Discuss with your mentor any
accommodations/modifications necessary for ALL
students’ success
CLOSING: End
the class. Provide
opportunity for
student feedback,
key point summary,
time for Q & A, and
clear links to next
-Students will turn in their journals and put
their books under their desk.
-Students will prepare for the bell and wait
for the bell to ring.
-They may leave the classroom when the
bell rings.
(3 minutes)
-The last couple minutes of class I will ask
students to finish up their journals.
-I will ask the students for their journals
and I will return them the next day.
-As I collect the journals, I will let the
students know what they will be doing the
next day.
lesson (find out
from mentor if you
will not be
teaching).
(approximate time)
**If we do not have enough time to finish
the lesson, I will explain what we will do in
class the following day to finish.
-I will wish them a good day, and good
weekend and thank them for their
cooperation and work for the day.
(3 minutes)
Accommodations/Modifications:
Discuss with your mentor any
accommodations/modifications necessary for ALL
students’ success