The Construct of Civility: A Guide to Analyzing Articles

TITLE

Lesson Plan
Template

Guiding Question: How do I properly analyse an article and connect it to the broad
theme of Civility.

DURATION

3 Classes (60 mins.)

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

TEXT(S)
MATERIALS

Handout and Prezi

SUBJECT AREA
LEVEL

PROGRAM CONTENT

TEACHING COMPETENCIES

PROFESSIONAL
COMPENTECY

English Language Arts

Secondary
Cycle One

Year 1 (Gr. 7)
Year 2 (Gr. 8)

Secondary
Cycle Two

Year 1 (Gr. 9)

Year 3 (Gr. 11)

Year 2 (Gr. 10)

Production Process
Uses strategies to generate, clarify and expand ideas such as brainstorming
Examines the relationship between context, producer of text and familiar

1,2,3,4,5,6,8,12

#4: To pilot teaching/learning situations that are appropriate to the students concerned and to the
subject content with a view to developing the competencies targeted in the programs of study.

Students will be able to:

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After the first learning opportunity students will be able define the term civility and how to
analyze an article.
After the second learning activity students will be able to apply their skill to an example of a
news article
After the Performance Task students will be able to connect the article and novel to theme of
civility, in a reflection format.
Secondary
Cycle One

Competency 1. Uses language/talk to communicate and to learn

Competency 2. Represents her/his literacy in different media
Competency 3. Reads and listens to written, spoken and media texts

SUBJECT-SPECIFIC
COMPETENCIES

Competency 4. Writes a variety of genres for personal and social purposes

Secondary
Cycle Two

Competency 1. Uses language/talk to communicate and to learn

Competency 2. Reads and listens to written, spoken and media texts
Competency 3. Produces texts for personal and social purposes

CROSS-CURRICULAR
COMPETENCIES

Competency 1. Uses information

Competency 6. Uses ICT

Competency 2. Solves problems

Competency 7. Achieves his/her potential

Competency 3. Exercises critical judgment

Competency 8. Cooperates with others

Competency 4. Uses creativity

Competency 5. Adopts effective work methods
Health and Well-Being

BROAD AREA
OF LEARNING

Personal and
Career Planning

CLASS PERIOD
& DURATION
CLASS # 1
15 Min. for
Activity

Competency 9. Communicates
appropriately

Environmental Awareness /
Consumer Rights and
Responsibilities

Media Literacy
Citizenship and
Community Life

LESSON PLAN
LEARNING OPPORTUNITY 1: What is mean to be Civilized?

We are currently reading the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding in class
(about half-way through). The novel centers on a group of young boys that have been left
on a deserted island with no adult supervision, after a horrific plane crash. Tensions are
high, when the two leading powers cant agree on the groups main priorities. This conflict
sparks the theme of civility throughout the novel by questioning the moral character of
each group member. The novel was created around the theme of Civility, hows its
upheld, and what are the consequence if its not maintained. The point of this lesson is to
discover on the meaning of civility and how its represented both in the novel, and other
literary sources.
Leaning opportunities 1 will be presented via a Prezi.
(The link can be found in the attached appendix.)
Introduction/Warm-Up:
I will begin my class by welcoming my students with an enthusiastic hello. There
will also be a question projected on the board, which will later prompt the discussion in
class. I want to get their minds thinking about the theme that we have been discussing
throughout the entire novel, Civility. The question on the board will be What does it
mean to be civilized? This will provide my students an opportunity to reflect/think about
the lesson given in Mondays class and how it will apply to todays learning opportunity.
Closure/Wrap-Up:
After having a quick discussion and recap on the definition of civility, I will
continue the learning opportunity by explaining the proper procedure to analyse an article
through a Prezi presentation. Although, first I shall present Things to keep in mind while
reading a news article.

"The newspaper article, also sometimes called a newspaper story,"

Writers take a particular event and mold it into their point of view of the events.
Therefore, being biased is simply impossible.

Development:

The presentation will be broken down into the following subtitles:

1. Who is the author of the article?
2. What is the purpose of the article?
3. How might the audience perceive the article?
Extension/Whats Next?
Next I will continue the Prezi presentation, by presenting the class the following two
guiding questions to help them navigate throughout the article.

What is the significance of this article, what is it telling us about "society?"

How does this article reflect or contrast "The Construct of Civility?"

LEARNING OPPORTUNITY 2: Article Analysis

CLASS # 1
15 Min. for
Activity

Introduction/Warm-Up

At this point in the lesson I will distribute the article that we will be reading as a class,
entitled Murder Reveals 'Lord Of The Flies' Street Culture In Washington. Before we
begin to read it as a class, I shall give a brief context of the article so the students understand
the narrative of the article. Throughout the article I will stop at selected moments to display
the articles general connection to the theme of civility.

I will get students to volunteer to read and participate in the analysis of the
article.
At the end, students will be asked if they have any questions concerning the
narrative of the article.

Development:
15 -20 Min. for
Activity

Next I will distribute the Article Analysis Worksheet where students must answer the
following questions in silence. I will give them 5 minutes to formulate an answer for the
first question, and then we shall briefly discuss it. The same procedure will be given for the
second question, although the final question students will have plenty of time to brainstorm
their ideas and develop their own arguments.
Directions: Fill out the following chart, by answering the given questions in the space
below.
Answers may be given in point form.
Make sure to support you argument with textual evidence from the article.

Questions:
1. What is a Street Family?
2. How are they forming their own Society? (Provide one example)
3. Brainstorm how this article reflects or contrasts "The Construct of Civility?"
Closure/Wrap-Up

As a class, we shall go over each question on the worksheet and formulate a few bullet
points on the board while having a brief discussion on the article. I hope to build a stronger
understanding of the theme of Civility, for my students so they are more prepared for the
final reflection next class.

CLASS # 2

Extension/Whats Next?

(10 mins)

I will present the class with their final reflection on the theme of civility, and they will have
the following two class periods to complete their work.
PERFORMANCE TASK: Refection on The Construct of Civility

CLASS # 2-3
60 mins each.

At the beginning of class students will be given a handout entitled Reflection on The
Construct of Civility Lord of the Flies where students will be able to reflect on what
they have learnt about the theme of civility and how it relates to both the novel and the
article.
They will have to answer the following questions in couple of paragraphs in their
journals.
Information on Handout:
Directions:
Write a reflection on the following question:

1. How does the article reflect The Construct of Civility in comparison to the
novel Lord of the Flies?
o Reflect on a specific example or aspect of the article that is similar to novel.
o You may refer to the quote integration done on the theme of Savagery from
Lord of the Flies and compare it to the article.
! (Quote Analysis done on October 24th)

Your reflection should be between 200-250 words.
It should be written in your journal, with the title Lord of the Flies - The
Construct of Civility and the date.
Due Date: Friday, October 28th 2016.
Assessment:

Students will be graded on the content they have written after completing their reflection
on The Construct of Civility in class.
Evaluation Criteria

They answer the question in a well-developed manner.

They make insightful connections between the article and the novel.
They use textual support.
(Rubric in Appendix)

Extension/Whats Next?

When the bell rings, I will wish the students a good day and I shall pick up their final
reflection.
**If students complete their reflection early they must read Chapter 6 of Lord of the Flies.
If not completed, it will be assigned as homework.

APPENDIX

Link for the prezi: https://prezi.com/giof8auiyfph/article-analysis/

Citation for Prezi: How To Analyze a Newspaper Article - Understand Media. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23,
2016, from http://www.understandmedia.com/topics/media-theory/112-how-to-analyze-a-newspaper-article.html

First Handout (Double Sided) - Article

Murder Reveals 'Lord Of The Flies' Street Culture In

Washington's Capital
By: Northwest)News)Network)
Just a few blocks away from Washingtons Capitol campus in Olympia you can

find a street culture where young adults and teenagers live by their own rules
sometimes with tragic consequences.
An especially grisly murder last year revealed an underworld in Washingtons capital city
that can sound almost like a scene from Lord of the Flies.
A crime within the family
A blackberry bramble-covered trail leads to the scene of the crime. Its a trash-strewn,
former homeless camp along Interstate 5 in east Olympia. Its here that last October a 17year-old named Forest Snow Bailey who went by the street name Sonic - was stabbed
to death.
Police ... quickly arrested a prime suspect who was 19 at the time: Christopher Lee
Harrison known as Skitzo on the streets of Olympia. Two alleged accomplices,
Red and Discord, were also arrested.
Alf who goes by the street name Joker - knew both young men. For her, the murder
felt like a crime within the family. And it is. Its a street family, she says.
Were tight.
Alf is a longtime client of Community Youth Services in Olympia where Charles Shelan
is CEO. He says its common for runaways and other disaffected youth to replace the
family they ran away from with a street family. On the streets of Washingtons capital
city you can also find more formal alliances.
Jessica Alf Joker is 22. She identifies herself as a Juggalo. Thats the name given to
followers of the Detroit-based rap group Insane Clown Posse.
We watch each others back, we are always with each other, she says. I dont know if
youve heard on the street we say whoop, whoop which means I can.

Forming their own society

These kids are living outside the bounds of what we would consider society, I guess,
says Patrick OConnor, a public defender who represents the man accused of committing
last falls homeless camp murder.
OConnor wont talk about this specific case, but he says over the years hes defended
dozens of young adults living on the streets of Olympia.
What weve seen is that they in a way are forming their own society with a kind of a
hierarchy of members where some people have some authority in a community to set
rules and the younger members follow the rules.
Family breakdown
Several of the youth I spoke with said they feel safer in a smaller city like Olympia than
in Portland or Seattle. But they also complained that trust within the street family has
broken down recently mostly because of rampant drug abuse meth and lately heroin.
Police say theyve seen more violence too. Charles Shelan at Community Youth Services
says last falls homeless camp murder was a galvanizing event. In response, he secured
emergency funding to open a seasonal, ten bed overnight shelter.
We know if that young man would have had a safe place to stay and had chosen to stay
there, he would be alive today.
That murder hit especially close to home for Chelan and his staff. Court records indicate
the accused Christopher Harrison was a client at Community Youth Services.
)
)
)
)
)
Citation:(
Orthwest News Network. "Murder Reveals 'Lord Of The Flies' Street Culture In
Washington's Capital." OPB News. N.p., 14 Oct. 2013. Web.)
)

Handout #2 : Article Analysis Worksheet

Name:________________________

Article Analysis: Murder Reveals 'Lord Of The Flies' Street

Culture In Washington's Capital
Directions: Fill out the following chart, by answering the given questions in the
space below.

Answers may be given in point form.

Make sure to support you argument with textual evidence from the
article.

What is a Street Family?

How are they forming their own Society? (Provide one example)

Brainstorm how this article reflects or contrasts "The Construct of Civility?"

Handout #3: Final Reflection on Civility

Name: _______________________

Loyola High School

English Language Arts
Reflection on The Construct of Civility Lord of the Flies
Directions:
Write&a&reflection&on&the&following&question:&&
&
1. How&does&the&article&reflect&The$Construct$of$Civility&in&comparison&to&
the&novel&Lord&of&the&Flies?&&
o Reflect'on'a'specific'example'or'aspect'of'the'article'that'is'similar'to'novel.''
o You'may'refer'to'the'quote'integration'done'on'the'theme'of'Savagery'from'
Lord'of'the'Flies'and'compare'it'to'the'article.''
! (Quote$Analysis$done$on$October$24th)$$
'
Your&reflection&should&be&between&2009250&words.&&
It&should&be&written&in&your&journal,&with&the&title&Lord&of&the&Flies&9&The&
Construct&of&Civility&and&the&date.&
Due&Date:&Friday,&October&28th&2016.&
&

Rubric for Final Reflection - Examples of Rubrics - Assessment - Grand Valley State ... (n.d.). Retrieved October 23,
2016, from https://www.gvsu.edu/assessment/examples-of-rubrics-32.htm