CAPSTONE
English Academy
Daily Lesson Planning Tool
Woodside High School
Teacher: S. Brandt
Course/Grade: English Senior Seminar
School: Newport News, VA
Journal Writing Guidelines Assignment for
PREPARING/PRESENTING A JOURNAL TOPIC using a
nonfiction piece (excerpt from a memoir, autobiography, essay,
Lesson Topic:
etc.)
Date of Lesson: QTR 3
CCRE/Objective
9, 10, 15, 17, 39
Materials and Resources:
Way to project text and enter text (e.g., LCD/computer, SmartBoard), Laptops, Calendar, highlighter,
pen/pencil (if you have access to a nonfiction anthology such as 50 Essays: a Portable Anthology by
Samuel Cohen, you can have students pick a nonfiction piece from a book or from the internet.)
Teacher
Student
Engage
& Hook
1. Pass out the student copy of “Shame” by Dick
Gregory handout for this class and direct
students to the top of the handout where it says:
“Reflecting on What You Know”.
2. Ask the students to think about the following
statements on the handout:
We all learn many things in school beyond the
lessons we study formally. Some of the
extracurricular truths we learn stay with us for the
rest of our lives. Write about something you
learned in school—something that has made life
easier or more understandable for you—that you
still find useful.
1-2 Student responses are given in a journal
response then share some of the responses:
 by teacher calling on students to respond
 by putting responses on sticky notes and
then post them on the board to see
common answers
 think-pair-share
Explain
& Model
1. Remind students of the journal article summaries
that they completed in the first and second
marking periods. This lesson is similar in that
each student will choose a nonfiction piece /
excerpt from the internet, a magazine, or from a
nonfiction anthology. The nonfiction piece /
excerpt must relate to their individual text set
topic.
2. For this teacher modeled lesson, the teacher will
model an article that relates to his/her text set
topic. Example: My text set topic is Personal
Identity: Who or What Defines Us? I have
chosen a nonfiction essay by Dick Gregory
called “Shame”.
3. Prior to teaching the lesson, highlight important
phrases and annotate the nonfiction piece /
excerpt using Microsoft Word Comments feature
located under the Review tab on the tool bar. As
you highlight a word, phrase, or sentence in
Lesson
Component
2011-2012 Capstone
Word, click on the Comments icon in Word
Review to annotate/comment. You will then see
your comments in the right margin of the
document.
4. Also, prior to teaching the lesson, create a
paragraph summary of the nonfiction excerpt to
show the students at the end of the lesson. Use
proper MLA documentation at the end of the
summary.
5. Model & show this feature to the students by
using the Teacher Copy of “Shame” handout.
Teacher will need to use the SmartBoard to
project the teacher copy of the handout showing
the students how to utilize the Microsoft Word
Comments feature.
5-6. Students will follow along with the teacher
model lesson with their own Student Copy
of the “Shame” handout.
6. The Teacher Copy “Shame” handout should also
be used for guided instruction and discussion.
7. Have students respond to the “Discussion”
questions at the end of the Student Copy
handout:
 Reread this essay’s first and last paragraphs,
and compare how much each one
emphasizes shame. Which emotion other
than shame does Gregory reveal in the first
paragraph, and does it play a role in the last
one? Is the last paragraph an effective
ending? Explain.
7. Students will respond to the “Discussion”
questions at the end of the “Shame” Student
Copy handout:
 Reread this essay’s first and last
paragraphs, and compare how much
each one emphasizes shame. Which
emotion other than shame does Gregory
reveal in the first paragraph, and does it
play a role in the last one? Is the last
paragraph an effective ending? Explain.
8. Students are going to do the same process with
this lesson:
 Select a nonfiction piece from either the
internet or from a nonfiction anthology.
 Highlight and annotate the article using
Microsoft Word Comments feature
 Type a paragraph summary of the
article, use proper MLA documentation.
 Create one or two journal questions for
the audience to respond to either before
or after their oral presentation to the
class on the date they select to present.
 Model again for students if necessary
Explore
& Apply
1. Have a calendar with the dates of the 3MP that
the class meets.
2. Randomly call each student (student names
pulled out of a hat, etc.) to select a date during
the 3MP to orally present their nonfiction piece
and journal question relating to their text set
topic.
3. While the teacher speaks to each individual
student about the date he/she picks to present
his/her article, the rest of the class can be on the
laptops or looking through a nonfiction anthology
researching a nonfiction piece that they will
present to the class on the date that they have
chosen.
2011-2012 Capstone
1. Choose a nonfiction piece / excerpt from the
internet or from a nonfiction anthology that
pertains to your text set topic in regard to
the novel/book you are currently reading in
your text set. Nonfiction piece or excerpt
must be of sufficient length (5 or more
paragraphs). When in doubt, ask the
teacher.
2. Use the writing process that we have
practiced in class today:
 Copy the excerpt in Microsoft Word.
(Most selections can be found on the
internet; copy and paste the excerpt into
a Word document)
 Highlight important information in the
excerpt and annotate using the Microsoft
Word Comments feature.
 Write the rough draft using information
you annotated on the Comments section.
 Have a peer editor (another student or a
parent) read the rough draft, making
grammar/content corrections.
 Type (double spacing) the final draft in
proper manuscript form, including the
name of your source in proper MLA
format.
 Create one or more discussion questions
about the summary. Choose one
question to ask the audience to respond
to in his/her personal journal.
1. In the 3MP, student presentations will be made
during the first five minutes of class.
 If a student "forgets" the assignment,
he/she receives a zero--no late reports are
accepted. Absences are made up in class
if a date is available; otherwise the
presentation is scheduled after school
during tutoring hours. [Tuesdays]
Evaluate
& Close
1. Present the summary orally to the class on
the date the student picked. (Minimum 3
minutes)
2. Ask the class to respond to your journal
question in their journals: each student will
write twelve (12) lines in response to
question presented by the student.
 A full line is from margin to margin on
the paper
 1/2 lines do not count as full lines or
portions of full lines
 Lines must be numbered
 Writing the question is not a
requirement since the question itself is
not considered part of the twelve line
response.
This document was developed as part of the English Capstone Collaborative Pilot Program, a VDOE grant, supporting a partnership between James
Madison University and SURN at The College of William and Mary to pilot and develop materials for the English Senior Seminar. Virginia educators have
permission to use and adapt this document for educational purposes.
2011-2012 Capstone