Concept

Unit
Lesson Plan Template

Unit Working Title: Researching YOU

Unit Big Idea (Concept/Theme): Multi-genre Research Project

Unit Primary Skill focus: Creative Writing

Week 1 of 4; Plan #1 of 12; [90 minutes]

Plan type: Full-Detail

Content Requirement Satisfied: Introductory Week Full-Detail Lesson Plan

Critical Learning Objectives (numbered) [from my Unit Preface], followed by Specific Learnings (bulleted)
being taught in this lesson:
SWBAT:
Cognitive (know/understand):
1. Students will understand that routine create efficiency in the classroom.
2. Students will know the routine for turning in and picking up assignments.
3. Students will know that I value their input while creating classroom norms.
4. Students will know that research projects can be a way to get to know one another better.

Affective (feel/value):
5. Students will feel informed about the classroom routines.
6. Students will feel familiar with the students in the classroom.
7. Students will value the opportunity to personalize their own classroom norms.

Performance (do):
8. Students will create a nameplate for their desks and present them to the class.
9. Students will fill out a First Day Survey.
10. Students will brainstorm a list of norms that could be used as rules in the classroom.
11. Students will discuss potential norms with partners.
12. Students will create norms to implement as classroom rules as a class.

SOLs:
12.7 The student will develop expository and informational writings.
a) Generate, gather, and organize ideas for writing.
b) Consider audience and purpose when planning for writing.

Procedures/Instructional Strategies
[Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.]

Beginning Room Arrangement:
Desks will be arranged in a circle, with students facing inwards.

1. Introduction & Basic Routines 10 minutes
Students walk in the room and sit in random seats. Seats will not be assigned today.

Written on the board:

o Welcome! Please grab a sheet of construction paper from the basket on the side wall as you
come in and get settled!
Students grab construction paper and sit down.

Good morning everyone! My name is Ms. Reaves, and I am so excited to get to know every one of you during
this school year. Before we get started, I want to go over a few classroom policies so we can get in our minds
as soon as possible. Along this wall as you walk into the classroom, you will see two different bins. One is
labeled PICK UP and the other is labeled TURN IN. I see many of you read the board and visited the PICK UP bin
already, and I am so glad. For the entire school year, if there is a worksheet or other piece of information I
want you all to have for the class period, it will be in this basket. If there is nothing in it, obviously you dont
need to get anything. But I will use this often. The reason why I have these baskets in place is to create
efficiency and save time. If there is a quiz or worksheet to begin class, you can pick it up as you walk in, cutting
the time it would take for me to pass the worksheets out. What questions do you have about this particular
bin?
Students ask questions they may have.
I will answer the questions and clarify any details.

Now, if you have something to turn in at the beginning of class, this is where you put them the TURN IN bin.
Often I will have the specific item you need to turn in written on the board to remind you, and I would like for
you all to have them in the bin ready to go before the bell rings. Most of the time you will place the homework
due for the day here before class starts. Having this system in place really helps us start the class efficiently
and organized. With this bin, I wont have to come around and collect homework, because you will know that
you must turn it in at the beginning of class in the assigned basket. What questions do you have about the
PICK UP bin?
Students ask questions they may have.
I will answer the questions and clarify any details.

2. Personal Introductions 20-25 minutes
Now I bet you all are wondering what you are going to do with these pieces of construction paper! You are
going to use them to create nameplates for your desks. I am a very visual person, so it will help me immensely
to have these on your desks for these first few days of class. I have markers and colored pencils up front for
you to personalize your sign. Just fold the paper into thirds and write your first name and your last initial like
this.
I will model how to fold the nameplate.
I will write my name on the paper with a marker.

You can decorate it however you want, including activities you like to do, places you want to visit, or anything
else that is essential to your being. We will present these when everyone is finished, so keep that in mind. Also
please make sure your name sticks out from the rest of your drawing so I can easily spot it when I am still
getting to know you all. For this activity, I will give you about 10-15 minutes and then we will move on to the
introductions.
Students will work on their nameplates for about 10 minutes.
I will quickly create one for myself to show that I find this task worthwhile.
After I quickly create mine, I will walk around the room to talk with students as they create.

I see that everyone has finished their nametags, so lets present them! To see who will go first, well go with
whoever has the very first birthday in the year. Whose birthday is in January? Students will say when their
birthdays are, and we will identify who has the first birthday. Okay, Jane, your birthday is January 5 so lets

start with you. After that, we will move to your right. Just state your name, what you drew on your
nameplate, and why you drew that!
Students will go around the room and present their names and nameplates.
We will move in a circle around the room, not by birthdate; that was merely to figure out who should
go first.
I will also present my nameplate.

3. First Day Survey 15 minutes
I really like the creativity you put into your cards. Please keep them on the edge of your desk so that I can refer
to them in the first few days of class. Now I am going to pass out a survey for you all to fill out that I will keep
in my records. This is just for me to look at and gain a little bit of knowledge about all of you. We will have a
more interactive get-to-know-you activity next class, but we need to get these routines and housekeeping
items out of the way today. When you finish the survey (there is a front and back), lets practice what we just
learned and have you turn them into the proper basket on the table. You have about 15 minutes to fill this out.
If you have any questions, dont hesitate to raise your hand.
I will hand out the surveys.

Once students begin turning in their surveys: Some of you are beginning to turn in your surveys. Thank you for
putting them in the basket! As you walk up to the table, you will see a pile of basic spiral notebooks and
permanent markers. Please take one and write your name on the front of them. I know that I have 5
permanent markers, so I want to see 5 when we move on to the next activity. We are going to use these
notebooks quite often in this classroom.
Student will fill out the surveys. When they finish, they will place them in the TURN IN basket.
Students will take a spiral notebook and write their names on them. They will keep them on their
desks.

4. Classroom Norms 30 minutes
Thank you all for your surveys. We are now going to establish a set of classroom norms that we can always
refer to throughout the year. We will move from thinking on your own to small groups, and then we will have
a full-class discussion. To begin, I want everyone open your notebooks to the first page. Title the page
Classroom Norms and put the date in the top corner. For about five minutes, please write down things that will
encourage risk-taking, respect, and other positive attributes of a community. These dont have to be perfect;
just write down what you think should be included in our rules and norms. One example that I would definitely
include is, Challenge ideas, not people. You five minutes; what questions do you have?
Students will ask questions.
I will answer their questions and clarify anything.

It seems like you have a grasp on this, so begin now. I will walk around the room in case you need any
guidance.
Students will brainstorm in their journals for five minutes.

Please finish up your final thoughts on this topic, because we are going to move on to the next step. Turn to
the person next to you and partner up to discuss what you wrote about. See what you all have in common and
what you do not have in common. Star about two or three norms all together that you believe are most
important. You have about five more minutes for this. Does anyone not have a partner?
Students will raise hands if they do not have a partner.
I will readjust student pairs if necessary.

You can begin your comparisons now.

Students will discuss in groups of two or three for 5-7 minutes. They will star the most important rules
they have created.

Please wrap up your conversations and look up at me when you are ready. I am going to make a list of the
most common norms that you all came up with in the discussions. We are going to start with one group lets
start with Jane and Sarah. What are the two most important norms you decided on?
Students will share their 2-3 rules.
I will write them on the board and ask a few questions to clarify or rephrase them.
I will put a tally mark or check next to comments that are brought up more than once.
This will last for about 10 minutes.

All right. We have about 15 different rules on the board. Please turn back to your partner and decide 5 rules
that are the most important to you. Also talk about any that seem unnecessary or similar to others. Make a
list of them in both your notebooks for when we come back together. Take five minutes.
Students will discuss with their partners for five minutes.

Lets come back together one more time. I want to try to break these down to the most important elements to
include in our classroom. Are there any partners who have very strong feelings toward either keeping one
norm or removing one? Raise your hand to discuss.
Students will raise their hands to talk about which norms they really want to include or wish to
eliminate.
This will go on for 10 minutes.

You all have come up with some really neat norms. I am going to write down the final norms we have on the
board and take them home so that I can rework them a little bit. Our next class meeting, I will present them
and see if there are any final adjustments that need to be made.

5. Multi-genre Research Project Introduction 5 minutes
The very first unit we are going to do in this class is a multi-genre research project, which is pretty different
from the traditional research paper. Has anyone heard of this before? Students will raise/not raise hands. It
looks like this is not a familiar project, so I am very excited to introduce this to you.

A multi-genre research project is similar to a research paper in that a specific topic is chosen and researched.
We will gather information individually but at the same time. Once we have gathered some good information,
we are going to take that and insert it into a piece of creative writing. The whole class is going to create a
personal ad, a poem, a storybook, and one other type of writing. But dont worry; this will happen over the
next four weeks, and we will have plenty of class time to work on this.

At the end of this unit, we will set up a little gallery walk and presentation to show the information you have
discovered and share the writing you have created. This multi-genre research project will be a little different,
however, because we are going to be researching ourselves. This wont seem as confusing as it probably does
right now because we are going to build up to the big project. We are going to begin this week with an article
about ourselves. Does anyone have any general questions about this unit?
Students will ask general questions.
I will answer them and clarify any instructions.

6. Planning Personal Ad 5 minutes
We are going to begin the whole multi-genre research project with a personal advertisement. We are not
going to begin the ad right now, but we are going to plan for it. For the next five minutes and for homework if

you do not finish, I want you all to brainstorm information about you. This can range from what you look like
to activities you do on the weekend. You could include information about your family or recount an experience
that has a lot to do with the way you are. I want this to be a pretty big list; write down any and all information
that comes to your mind, even if you think you may not end up using this. No one is going to read this list, and
I am only going to grade it to see that you touched your pen to paper. The exact length is up to you, but
remember that the more ideas you write down, the more inspiration you will have for when you begin to write
the actual advertisement. What questions do you have about this?
Students will ask questions.
I will answer them and clarify anything.

You have about three minutes to begin brainstorming for this. I know its not a lot of time, but I want you to
take this home and bring it in next class. This is your homework. If you need any help, I will be walking around
the room. Please dont write these in your journals because I want to keep them here in the classroom. You
can, however, tear out a piece of paper to use for your ideas.
Students will brainstorm for 3 minutes.
I will walk around to answer any questions.

7. Exit Slip 5 minutes
I am sorry if I am interrupting any breakthroughs you all are having, but I need you to put your papers away in
a safe place. You will take these home and bring them back next class, so make sure they are secure.

Before we pack up to leave, I need you all to do an exit slip. Rip out a piece of paper. Write your name on the
top. On this paper, I want you to write the name of three people in the class who you are comfortable to work
with if you were put in a group with them. Also write a list of three people who you would be uncomfortable
with if you were placed in a group with them. Be clear about which list is which. This list is confidential; only I
will see them. And I will use them only when I form groups for activities in this class. I do not want you all to
discuss this with one another. When youre finished with your exit slip, bring your exit slips and your
nameplates to me. You can then pack up. Remain silent please until the rest of your classmates are finished.
You can leave when the bell rings.
Students will fill out their exit slip and turn it in to me.

Methods of Assessment:
[How will you know if the intended learning occurred?]
Formative:
o Independent brainstorming
Objective 9
o Participation in group discussion
Objectives 3, 6, 10 & 11
o Think-Pair-Share
Objectives 3, 6, 9, 10, & 11
Summative:
o First Day Survey
Objective 8
o Classroom Norms List
Objectives 3, 6, 9, 10, & 11

Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students:
(This is where you identify specific aspects of this lesson which have been differentiated in order to address the
needs of one or more of your profiled studentsidentify them by name)

In order to differentiate for my students, I allowed for a lot of time to think and take notes prior to speaking
with the class or with another student. This will help Derek who is quiet and slow to voice his opinion.
Additionally, I allowed for students to include whatever they wanted on their nameplates. Hopefully this will
allow Phyllis to incorporate some of the images from China on her nameplate.

Materials Needed:
Construction paper
Colored pencils, markers, etc.
Basic spiral notebooks (1 for each student)
Pen/pencil
Student survey
SmartBoard
Materials Appendix: (e.g., supplementary texts, Ppts, overheads, graphic organizers, handouts, etc.)
First Day Survey, below

First Day Survey

Full name:



Nickname (optional):



Birthday:



Cell phone number:



Email address:






What is your family like? Include sibling and pets!

Do you participate in any activities after school? These can be school-related or not!





Sum yourself up in three words:

What kind of reading did you do over the summer? Books? Magazines? Blogs? What are their names?





What is your favorite book? Why did you like it so much?





What is one book, short story, etc. that you would love to read in class?





If you could change one thing about the reading in school, what would it be?







If you could change one thing about the writing in school, what would it be?





Doe you consider yourself a shy person? Do you enjoy participating and talking in class?





What is one piece of advice for me about how to teach this class?