Lesson Plan

Determining Character Relationships and Dynamics Using Concept

Mapping Application, Mindomo
Subject: English

Grade: Cycle 1, Year 2

Unit: The Miracle Worker by

William Gibson

Group: 17 students

Lesson: Concept mapping the

characterization in The Miracle
Worker
Background information for this Lesson:
The cycle 1 year 2 students were introduced to concept mapping in their previous lesson. Since
the students just recently presented persuasive speeches, they constructed a concept map based
on the foundational elements of the persuasive speech form to understand the important elements
of and rationale behind concept mapping. The rationale behind implementing concept mapping is
to visually represent content concepts by making the relationships within their concept maps
explicit. Concept mapping is not just about making thinking maps or graphic organizers, which
are subject/content specific. What differentiates concept mapping from other mind mapping
strategies is that concept mapping requires users to describe the relationships between their
subject bubbles.
Moreover, this lesson, as well as the previous one, are intended prepare students for a Prepared
Reading in which they will perform scenes from the play in front of their peers using props and
costumes. Although they are not expected to rewrite a scene in their own words, they will have to
accurately, emotionally portray the characters. This concept mapping activity will help them
visualize and better grasp the personality of each character and the dynamics among them.
Inquiry questions:
-

What is characterization?
What are some of the ways in which
an author develops his/her
characterization?
How do the methods of
characterization inform the
audiences understanding of
characters?

Vocabulary Explored in Lesson:

-

Characterization
(direct/indirect)
concept mapping
parking lot
methods of characterization:
attitude/appearance, dialogue,
thoughts, reactions of others,
emotional setting, and physical
setting

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1) On their own, on Whos Who Characterization exit cards, students will write down
the definition of characterization.
2) On their own, on Whos Who Characterization exit cards, students will list two
methods of characterization, one direct and the other indirect, and provide an example for
each selected method from the play.
Professional Goals for the Lesson:
1) My professional goal for the lesson is twofold: students will become comfortable with the
active learning strategy of concept mapping, and by constructing concept maps, students will
correctly identify the important literary concept of characterization in The Miracle Worker.
Group Size: 17 students

Materials Needed:
Construction of Concept Maps:
-

six (6) iPads

Exit Card:
-

17 Whos Who characterization

exit cards

Work for Fast Finishers:

-

Read The Miracle Worker

How the lesson connects to the students lives:

The lessons focus on using concept mapping to develop and organize the
concept of characterization in The Miracle Worker is relevant to students
lives because concept mapping is an active learning strategy they can use in
other academic subjects and other areas in their lives to plan, clarify, and
master knowledge of any given subject or complex task.

Time:

Lesson

Introduction:

Introduction:

(10 minutes)

1) I will begin by asking students what they know about

characterization.
2) Hook: Students will watch the following trailer from the animated
film, Inside Out, in which the methods of characterization are
represented in the minds of the characters. I will tell the students to
pay attention to six ways the characters are portrayed.
3) I will then ask students to Think, Pair, Share with the person right
next to them. They will be asked to discuss what they noticed about
how the characters are portrayed in the video and what elements are
used to describe the characters.
4) We will then discuss as a class what elements everyone came up
with and make a master list of these methods of characterization.
5) I will tell the students what we will be doing in the class: first, I will
tell them that they will be put into groups of three. Each group will
be given an iPad already set up with Mindomo. Each group will be
assigned one method of characterization discussed and create a
concept map for it. We will then reconvene as a class and examine
every groups concept map and how each method is applied in The
Miracle Worker. Finally, they will complete an exit card at the end
of class.

(The teams have been developed with the special needs children integrated
with the students who are stronger in English in the hopes that they can help
each other create a concept map and in the process, analyze methods of
characterization and construct the concept maps.)
Development:
(35 minutes)

Development:
-

I will tell the students to get into their assigned groups to spend the first
five (5) minutes developing a parking lot of the key words for their
respective method of characterization. By key words I mean the ways in
which their method of characterization describes a character. After five
(5) minutes, I will tell them to begin constructing their concept maps.
I will tell them that they have fifteen (15) minutes to construct a concept
map for their method of characterization. I will tell them to put their
specific method in the central subject bubble of their concept maps.

Conclusion/
Assessment:

Assessment/Conclusion:
-

(10 minutes)
-

Reflection:

Their parking lot words will be put into secondary bubbles that
connect to the central one. I will also tell them that the relationships
between the central and secondary bubbles must be typed out.
I will tell the students that examples from the play must be put into
bubbles that connect to their parking lot word bubbles. Again, the
relationships between the secondary and tertiary bubbles must be typed
out.
After fifteen (15) minutes, I will ask the students to send their respective
concept maps through the Mindomo cloud and I will then project them
onto the white board.
We will then discuss each concept map and method of characterization
for another fifteen (15) minutes.

The students will be given the Whos Who Characterization exit card
and told that they will complete it on their own and in silence for ten
(10) minutes. They will be asked to define characterization and list two
methods of characterizations with examples from the play.
The students will be told that after they are finished, they will hand in
their exit cards and continue reading the play in silence.

Were the students able to cooperate with their group members to

complete the discussion and construct their concept maps?
Were the students able to describe and analyze the ways in which the
playwright develops his characters and explain using evidence from the
text?

References and Resources used:

-

The 8 Methods of Characterization

http://www.slideshare.net/es99.trish.turner/the-8-methods-of-characterization-powerpoint
The EMC Masterpiece Series. (2003). Literature and the Language Arts: Lesson Plans
with Alternative Teaching Options and Readability Guides. Saint Paul, Minnesota:
EMC/Paradigm Publishing.
Colosimo, A. (2014). Concept Mapping to Promote Teaching and Learning. SKILLSETS.
Montreal, QC: McGill University.

Inside Out movie trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?

feature=player_detailpage&v=seMwpP0yeu4

Differentiated Instruction:
1) The students have been assigned to groups depending on their strength and/or weakness
in English. Stronger students have been placed with weaker students to have a studentcentered classroom where they can help each other better understand the plays methods
of characterization.