Safrianna DeGroat
Teacher: Ms. DeGroat
School: Oakdale Middle School
Unit/Theme: Poetry Unit: Ballad & Narrative
Poetry: The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes
Background
Date: 3/13/12
Grade/Subject/Class: 7th Grade Language Arts CoTaught
State Standards:
Reading: 1. Develop and apply vocabulary through
exposure to a variety of texts. 2. Apply a conceptual
understanding of new words. E. GENERAL READING
COMPREHENSION: Students will use a variety of
strategies to understand what they read (construct
meaning).
Listening: 1. Apply and demonstrate listening skills
appropriately in a variety of settings and for a variety of
purposes.
Literary: 3. Analyze elements of narrative texts to
facilitate understanding and interpretation; a.
Distinguish among types of grade-appropriate narrative
(narrative poetry)
Content Objectives:
FCPS Indicators:
3. Apply reading skills to: Ask questions to draw conclusions; reread and restate to paraphrase.
4. Analyze literary elements: a. Forms of poetry; b. Figurative language; c. sound devices.
7. Develop listening and speaking skills: b. Poetry reading.
Key Vocabulary and Essential Questions:
Narrative poetry, ballad poetry, metaphor, simile,
onomatopoeia, symbol.
Supplementary Materials:
-Audio reading of The Highwayman
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99UH0JB7m5A)
-Song rendition of The Highwayman by Lorenna
Questions: Based on the title of the story, what do
McKennitt
you think this poem is about? What role does Tim the (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teq2m0BN-Wo)
Ostler play? Is what Bess does inspiring or stupid?
-Video adaptation of The Highwayman
What makes this poem a ballad and a narrative?
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1OVqAANwJE)
What types of poetic elements do we see in this poem
and where?
Classroom Context and Accommodations and Supports required (2 to 3 paragraph summary):
This piece of the poetry unit is intended for a seventh grade audience. My internship is at Oakdale Middle
School in Frederick County, an extremely high technology middle school. The school has a focus on skill sets,
so as I move into this unit it will be with the intent of building the abilities to analyze and formulate opinions on
poetry, while having a firm grasp on the vocabulary of poetic devices that will be featured in the poems. By the
time this specific lesson is being done, students will already have seen the vocabulary within the lesson. This
will simply give them an opportunity to apply it and continue to practice it.
This class is a co-taught class. We have fifteen students. Five of them are “mod students,” who will be taking
a modified version of the MSA with extended time and accommodations such as scribes and verbatim readers.
They also will not have to write the BCR portions of the test, but will only get the multiple choice questions.
One student has a personal aide, as she has severe fetal alcohol syndrome and cannot stay focused. Given that
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this class features these mod students, plus several more IEPs, and general low achievers, we will outline the
story before even reading it, as The Highwayman’s language can be challenging at this grade level. The cotaught class has enough students that need the extra supports, so we will take our time. We do not have any ELL
students, though we have two South American students (they are fluent in English) and two African Americans.
The rest of the students are Caucasian. We have two students who may potentially be moving to regular merit
next year if their performance continues to improve.
Realistically, the lesson seen below will take at least one full 80 minute class (two blocks), and could
potentially branch into a third block in order to provide enough wait time and time for us to understand student
understanding. Scribe will be provided to the students who need it, though many of our students are able to
write for themselves when the amount required is very short.
Lesson Analysis
INTRODUCTION
Lesson Sequence and Activities
-Introduce concept of Highwaymen
during the 18th centuries.
X Links to background
Ask if they’ve heard of them before.
X Links to prior learning
X Key vocab emphasized
PRESENTATION +
Practice/Application Part
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Note: This step and the
practice application are
alternated back and forth
between segments and
really are the same
section
Ask for synonyms of highwaymen once
introduced.
Remind them of ballad poetry and
narrative poetry and highlight key
poetic elements that we have discussed
in the past several weeks.
Ask: “Based on the title, what do we
think the story is going to be about?”
Add the question on the board: “How
far would you go to save the one you
love?”
“Now what do you think the story
might be about?”
We will now outline the story before
even reading it.
X appropriate speech
X clear explanations (Step
by step, you need to do X
number of Y by this time)
X various techniques to
make content clear (e.g.,
model, visuals, hands-on,
demonstrations, gestures)
X wait time
Students as a class will discuss what
they think of the story going in.
Sticky notes are handed out so that
students can identify poetic elements of
the poem and put these notes in their
text books. “While reading the text,
look for examples of metaphor, simile,
and onomatopoeia in the poem. Write
these examples down on your sticky.
You will be given two times going
through the poem.”
X meaningful activities
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UDL Principles and Strategies
Applied
-Put keywords on board and have
students look at the worksheet they’ve
been working on for poetry terms
throughout the unit. This customizes
the display of information and gives
several approaches.
-Defining vocabulary (again).
-Guides effective goal setting in that
students know what they’re looking for
going in, and they have a goal to fill out
sticky notes with specific vocabulary
(provided as reminder on board).
-Highlights the critical features, big
ideas, and relationships between events
in the text and the vocabulary used.
-Gives some individual choice in them
getting to decide which presentation
worked best for them.
-Varying levels of challenge and
support. Scribes provided during note
taking process – co-teacher to check
understanding during lesson materials.
-Scaffolds by having many approaches
to the text.
-Takes in visual, auditory, and
kinesthetic learning by having words,
X opportunity to use
learning strategies
X scaffolding techniques
X questions for higherorder thinking
X opportunities for
interaction
X various grouping
configurations (e.g.,
individual, pair, small
groups, whole class)
X opportunities to apply
content and language
knowledge
X hands-on to practice
X language skills
integrated (listening,
speaking, reading, writing)
X appropriate pacing
X simultaneous student
engagement
We then: Listen to a recording of The
Highwayman read aloud (see youtube
link). Students follow along in their
book and use stickies to identify
elements.
sounds, and the ability to write.
-Illustrated key concepts nonlinguistically (through the use of video,
which shows story, metaphor, and
symbol).
Pause for discussion: Have students resummarize the story, one event at a
time. Check for overall understanding.
Get initial opinions. “What did you
think of this poem so far? What did you
think of the reading?” “What role does
Tim the Ostler play?”
We then: Listen to a song version of
The Highwayman (see youtube link).
Students continue to take notes on their
stickies.
Pause for discussion: Have students
discuss which way between the reading
and the song they liked better (show of
hands). Ask them to clarify why.
“Which one was more emotional?
Which was easier to understand?”
“What do you think of the story now?”
We then: Watch the visual presentation
of The Highwayman. Students are
specifically asked to watch (there are
no words) and look for symbols in the
video. They should jot these down on
their stickies.
Practice/Application Part
2:
X meaningful activities
__ opportunity to use
learning strategies
__ scaffolding techniques
__ questions for higherorder thinking
X opportunities for
Pause for discussion: “What symbols
did you see in the video?” (Informal
assessment here of understanding of
symbol. Each student should give an
example of what they thought was the
most powerful image/symbol in the
video and why).
“What types of poetic elements do we
see in this poem and where? Turn to a
person next to you and share what you
found as far as metaphor, simile, and
onomatopoeia in the poem. Be prepared
to share an example with the class.
Make sure you can explain how they
demonstrate each poetic element.”
-Touches on the vocabulary again and
gives them a chance to discuss it now
that they’ve already written it down.
-Continues to highlight the big ideas of
the text and the critical features of the
specific vocabulary.
-Gives a tool for problem
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interaction
X various grouping
configurations (e.g.,
individual, pair, small
groups, whole class)
X opportunities to apply
content and language
knowledge
X hands-on to practice
__ language skills
integrated (listening,
speaking, reading, writing)
X appropriate pacing
X simultaneous student
engagement
-Teachers walk around to monitor and
check for understanding of the terms
(informal assessment). We will gauge
student learning somewhat here.
-Students will share the elements
they’ve found (common metaphors,
similes, and onomatopoeia in the term).
solving/expressive skills (deciding why
they feel the way they do about the
text).
-Supports memory through having to
think about the text to form an opinion.
“What makes this poem both a ballad
and a narrative?” (This draws on prior
knowledge, as students will have
received a lesson the previous day on
narrative/ballad forms).
-“ Is what Bess does inspiring or
stupid?” (Show of hands). Break class
into two groups – stupid/inspiring
groups. Students will have some time to
discuss what they think and then pick
two representatives for a short “debate”
where they will tell why, given events
in the text, they think Bess’s action is
either stupid or inspiring. Each student
should write down two reasons on a
sheet of paper, which will be collected
to ensure each student’s understanding
can be gauged (scribe provided as
necessary). (Informal assessment as we
rotate and see what the students thought
of the text. Time to engage individual
students and hear their opinions as they
contribute to the debate).
-Students have a brief debate.
X assessment of learning
CLOSURE:
X review of key vocab and
objectives
__ assessment of learning
We will briefly touch back upon the
vocabulary and highlight
narrative/ballad poetry and any
difference. Feedback will be given
about the debates and the overall
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-Continues to touch upon vocabulary
and ensures that students get access to it
one final time.
-Enhances relevance in relation to
X feedback to students
success of their stickies (which will be
collected during the previous activity).
overall unit.
-Feedback provides them with
encouragement and highlights how they
used their tools successfully.
ANALYSIS:
This lesson was taught in a 7th grade co-taught Language Arts classroom. For more on the specific
students within the classroom, please see my classroom context and accommodations above. A brief recap is
that there are 15 students, all English speakers, most of which have IEPs and all of which are considered “lowachievers.” Only two of the students in the class received Proficient reading scores on the MSAs last year. The
rest were Basic. This lesson is a part of the poetry unit that I have been doing with students. In the poetry unit,
we looked at seven types of poetry, in the following order: haiku, concrete, lyric, ballad, narrative, limerick, and
free verse. The unit was broken into three smaller segments with ballad and narrative being the second segment.
Ballad and narrative are very closely related, and I want to communicate very clearly to the students that all
ballads are narratives, but not all narratives are ballads. This lesson is only one part of that overall idea, but it
lets students deeply engage with a fundamental and classic piece of ballad poetry.
I approached the lesson by looking at the needs of my many learners. We have students with ADHD and
students who need to be read to, so I knew I wanted to have materials that would be different from the “teacher
stands and lectures at us” model. Because of this, I chose to have the text be read to everyone, have it in a music
form (which really seems to engage a large group of students), and then a completely visual form (another thing
the students really love). Instead of reading the selection silently (which would be difficult for many of these
students), I chose to ensure that they would see the text multiple times in different forms. My hope here is that
auditory and visual learners will be engaged, that seeing the text several times (read, sung, in writing, orally
explained, etc) will ensure the basics are grasped, and that the ability to formulate responses in both a spoken
and written form will help support their understanding as well. This plan certainly addresses UDL in many
ways. In concerns with options for comprehension, this lesson does quite a bit by activating background
knowledge, focusing on critical features and big ideas, and supporting memory. It provides options for self5
regulation, mainly through the use of sticky notes and continual prompting. Students have to reflect on the text
to formulate an opinion about it. We look at multiple options for language and symbols through the various
forms of media, having frontloaded vocabulary and continuing to touch on it, and decoding the text piece by
piece. I could continue to talk about the other UDL methods, but many of them are outlined additionally above.
I feel confident that this lesson does many things to ensure that students will be engaged in some form or
another. While it is impossible to guarantee each student will be fully engaged 100% of the time, I think the
different methods will appeal at different times.
I have kept my students with disabilities in mind, especially by keeping essential vocabulary on the
board and continuing to have my co-teacher rotate to check for understanding. There are no “formal”
assessments in this particular lesson because with this group of students, they have a tendency to completely
shut down when a huge writing assignment is put into their laps, or a formal assessment is given. They do have
to do them regularly, but I feel that for the purposes of this lesson, taking a more informal approach is more
effective. We are still checking to see that they understand and are applying the vocabulary (discussion &
stickies). We are doing a lot of discussion, which many are responsive to, which allows them think time and the
ability to plan out what they think as they go along. Many of the students are very successful at verbally
responding to things. They feel much less pressure when it is just talking as opposed to writing things out (i.e.
students will give perfectly good explanations verbally, but when asked to write a BCR on it, they become
detached and rush to get it done). I have therefore kept the writing minimal and meaningful for organization,
and played off their strengths of discussion. For those who do not like to discuss with the class (there are about
five in the room total, some IEP, some not), the co-teacher has a tendency to have one-on-one talks with them
as she drifts.
This lesson uses the one teach, one support/drift model. My co-teacher helps during this lesson by
checking on individual students, scribing as necessary and redirecting attention when needed. This model is
necessary because the co-teacher is not comfortable with Language Arts content, but has a good relationship
with the kids and can get them to focus on tasks. One student with ADHD is unmedicated and needs guidance
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once in a while, but he is quite intelligent and when kept on task can give very good answers to questions.
Therefore, this model really works best.
As Thoman and Jolls write in their article "Media Literacy Education: Lessons from the Center for
Media Literacy," "Today information about the world around us comes to us not only through words on a piece
of paper, but more and more through the powerful images and sounds of out multimedia culture" (180). With
media comes new ways of learning, thinking, and expressing. Our students today are much more interested in
engaging with media on computers, and as Oakdale is such a technologically advanced school, it seems only
appropriate to utilize what the students are most engaged and familiar with. The Highwayman is a text that can
seem very foreign, so looking at it a few times and then seeing a visual representation can really “seal the deal”
for some students. It will really click with them because that is what they know to relate to. Music can be the
same for many of them, though music is not as universal based on varying tastes and exposure.
Again, the primary approach to this lesson is to expose the students to The Highwayman text multiple
times in multiple forms. They have access to the original text, an audio reading, an audio song, and a visual
representation of the storyline. Each builds on the other. First the students get an outline of the story to scaffold
them into the actual text. Then, they have a traditional reading (with an audio component for modification).
Third, they have a song version, which appeals to students who like to follow patterns or enjoy music. Finally,
they get a visual, non-literary or word based representation. These are meant to appeal to different styles of
learning. Those that like the text approach have the book in front of them. They also have sticky notes to help
them monitor their findings, which can appeal to the few who like to write. There is not a lot of “teacher
talking” during this lesson. Most of that is at the beginning in explaining The Highwayman summary and what a
highwayman is. The rest is a very media centered and student centered lesson, which can help them stay on
task. It still gets the content across and re-addresses essential vocabulary taught earlier. It also exposes students
to a classic text.
Connections between content, approaches, learners needs:
Success:
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Works Cited
Thoman, Elizabeth, and Tessa Jolls. "Media Literacy Education: Lessons From The Center For Media
Literacy." Yearbook Of The National Society For The Study Of Education (Wiley-Blackwell) 104.1
(2005): 180-205. Education Research Complete. Web. 07 Mar. 2012.
CAST. “Universal design for learning guidelines version 1.0.” Wakefield, MA. (2008). Print.
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