Introductory Lesson Plan – The Power of Loaded Words

Name: Christina Yeji Lee Grade: Grade 7

Unit: Persuasive Writing Time Allotted: 50 minutes

Lesson Topic: The Power of Loaded Words – An Introductory Lesson

Context for Learning: The purpose of this lesson is to introduce loaded words and phrases and
how they are used to illicit emotions and persuade an audience. This is an introductory class to a
persuasive writing unit. At this stage, some students may already know what loaded words are,
but it is expected that this is the first time most students (if not all) are learning about loaded
words. There are laptops available for each student for group work. Desks in the classroom are
arranged in rows; students may move their desks for group work later in the class. This format
will encourage students to pay attention in the beginning of class during the lesson; later when
they are working in groups, they will be able to position themselves to be physically closer to
their group mates.

NCTE/IRA Standards:
4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style,
vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process
elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and
punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss
print and nonprint texts.
11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety
of literacy communities.
12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for
learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Maryland College and Career-Ready Standards:

L3 - Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or
listening.
L5 – Demonstrate understanding figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word
meanings.
W3 – Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
W6 – Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite
sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources.
RL4 – Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choice on
meaning and tone.
RL6 – Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author
distinguishes his or her position from that of others.
Objectives (observable and measurable):
Students will be able to identify loaded words in text and understand their value and use.
Students will be able to create both a positive advertisement and a negative review for household
items or other objects of their choosing by incorporating loaded words in a group setting.

Materials: Laptops, projector, Loaded Words Lesson PPT

Proactive Behavior Management: A poster of classroom rules will be up on a wall. Before

starting discussion I will remind students that they must raise hands to give input. Distractions
will be asked to be put away (cell phones, ect). Talkative students will be separated from each
other and placed near me to prevent distractions. During discussion, I will first take volunteers to
answer questions. Students will be cued to raise their hand when I raise my own hand after
asking a question. Students will be picked randomly to answer questions to ensure that each
student gets a chance to speak and also to keep them in focus about the ongoing discussion. I will
call out sections of the classroom to pick up or drop off laptops. I will pass out papers to the front
of the row so students can pass them back. Students will work individually for the first lesson.

Provisions for Student Groupings: Groups will be made of three to four (mostly four) students
in close proximity of each other. Depending on the class, I would either pick the groups or have
students pick their own. I would already have students seated on an assigned seating chart. This
seating chart would be based on how well students work with each other as well as keeping
talkative or distracting students away from each other.

Procedures

Warm-Up/Opening (5 minutes):
1) Once the bell rings, students are settled into their seats.
2) On the projector, I will have the warm-up activity: “What do you think loaded
words/phrases are? Please write down your definition and an example.”
3) Students will work individually and write down their thoughts in their English journal.
4) I will ask a few student volunteers on what their answers are.

Motivator/Bridge (5-8 minutes):

1) I will show a picture of an adult pit-bull with a neutral expression. I will ask students
to describe the image to me in one word or a single phrase. I will expect both positive
and negative answers.
2) I will show students a picture of a cute, docile pit-bull puppy. I will ask the same
question and I expect most of the answers to be positive.
3) I will show students a picture of a vicious, aggressive adult pit-bull. Again, I will ask
the same question and expect a more negative response.
4) I will explain to the students that by using different “loaded words” to describe the
same breed of dog, I could convince the audience that a pit-bull is either a lovable pet
or a dangerous beast.
5) I will state the goal and objectives for the day’s lesson, which is also written on the
white board.
Definition Lesson (5-8 minutes):
1) I will explain that the purpose of persuasive writing is to convince another person to
look at a topic through the writer’s point of view and to convince the audience that
the writer’s view is correct.
2) Using the power point presentation, I will explain the definition of a loaded
word/phrase. The PPT will have several words and phrases and I will ask students
whether they illicit positive or negative feelings and why.
3) We will discuss as a class how loaded words can be used to persuade and target
specific audiences.

Group Work (~25 min):

1) I will explain the group work; the directions will be on the screen; I will also show them
my advertisement example.
2) I will create groups and have students move their desks to be closer to their group mates.
Students will assign roles in the group and all of them will pick up laptops from the front
of the classroom. (This is will take no longer than 5 minutes)
3) Once students are seated they will pick 1 of the 5 items, events, or locations projected on
the front screen (if students have a different choice, they can run it by me first).
4) Students will create a positive advertisement as a group about the item, event, or location
of their choice.
a. Students will write down their target audience.
b. Students will use at least 10 loaded words or phrases to sufficiently describe or
“sell” their chosen item, event, or location to their target audience.
c. Students will also have to find at least three positive images to include into their
advertisement, sources must be provided in MLA format.
d. Once students are finished with their advertisement, they will save their work to
the class Dropbox folder.
5) I will walk around the classroom helping groups and will call out time to pace students.

Summary / Closure (5 minutes):

1) About five minutes before the bell rings, I will ask students to save their work into a
Dropbox folder that is shared with both teacher and student.
a. This way, everyone will be able to access the file outside the school.
2) Students will return the laptops to the front of the class.
3) I will explain their homework for the night.

Assessment:
Formative assessment

1) I will observe which students are not participating or are struggling with answering the
questions correctly during the first half of class.
2) I will walk observe students getting ready for group work, taking note of who is taking
longer to settle down and why.
 a. If two students are over talkative, their seats will be moved the next class
b. If some students are not on task on their laptops, I will have them moved closer to
the front of the class so they are easier to monitor.
3) During group work, I will walk around the classroom making note of students that that
are off-task. If there are off-task students, I will approach them and ask them to show me
what they are working on.

Summative assessment

1) Group advertisement assessment:

a. Students will be graded based on correctly using positive loaded words in their
advertisement.
b. Students will be also graded on how well they followed directions and included
all necessary points.
2) Homework due the next day:
a. Students will be graded on correctly using negative loaded words in their “Yelp”
review.

Generalization/Extension Activity:

1) Highly unlikely that groups will finish early, but in case they do, they can have an early
start on their homework.

Review/Reinforcement (Homework):

1) Students will choose either their own advertisement or another group’s advertisement and
write a negative “review” for the item, event, or location. They will try their best to
convince other people to not buy the item or go to the event/location.
a. Students will use at least 5 negative loaded words/phrases to negatively describe
the item, location, or event.
b. The review can be either written in paragraph format or as a list.

Adaptations:

1) During group work, I will walk around the classroom and offer help and opinions about
their advertisement if needed.
2) Some students may not have access to a computer to do their homework. If this is the
case, I will give the students print-outs of one or two advertisements so that they can
write it out the assignment by hand at home.
3) I will have assigned seating so that the class clown, hearing impaired student, and student
with ADHD is at the front of the classroom with little distractions about them. They will
not be placed in the same group. The student in the wheelchair will be placed near the
door so that he does not have difficulty coming in and out of the classroom, and I will
have assigned helpful students or some of his friends near him.
4) I think I will have my opinionated female student in the same group as the shy,
overweight newcomer. Having a leader in the group might make it easier for the shy
 student to adjust to her role in the group. Also, for the shy student, I will make sure to
greet her before class and make her feel welcome in the classroom. I will try to group her
with students that are friendly and extroverted.
5) For my students with reading disabilities or hearing disabilities, I will verbally explain
directions while also having them on the board. Also, for these students, I will group that
student with peers that are helpful and patient that are a level or two above him, but close
enough in reading levels. I would not place the student with reading disabilities with
students that are three levels above their grade because they will most likely feel
frustrated.
6) To interest my athletic and musical students, I will include several items, locations, or
events within the activity that encompasses sports and music. This will allow students to
pick what they are passionate about.

Reflection:

This is the first time I’ve written a lesson plan with students with specific needs in mind. I also
realized that this is one lesson plan, for one day, for one class. There are other classes that I
would need to adjust slightly to cater to those students. As a teacher, I must be vigilant in
keeping up with my students’ strengths and weaknesses. Also, I had written out a co-teacher in
my lesson plan because in the schools I’ve observed, most of the classes only had one teacher. I
realized having a co-teacher would definitely help in keeping a second eye out for struggling
students. Hopefully, I would be blessed with working with a co-teacher in the future.

Initially, I had forgotten some of the students in the scenario, so once I had finished the lesson
plan, I needed to go back and make a few modifications and decisions on whether the original
lesson plan would work or not. I would imagine this would be a common occurrence in the
future. If I don’t make effort to remember specific students and their needs, they will
unfortunately slip between the cracks. Also, for a teacher, it is easy for students that are quiet and
shy to go unnoticed in the class because we would have our hands full with trying to calm down
the class clown or student with ADHD; however, I was reminded while writing this lesson plan,
that teachers also have to give special care to the quiet, shy students as well. Keeping notes for
each class is vital and having different options ready is also necessary.

I wanted to make the introduction to persuasive writing to be fun. I’m not sure if my activity is
going to excite the students, but I wanted them to realize that persuasive writing is everywhere.
The main thing I was worried about when writing this lesson plan was the timing. Would my
students be able to write an advertisement within 25 minutes? Is my lesson time long enough for
understanding? I’ve decided that if the majority of the class was not finished, I would have no
choice but to continue the lesson the next day for the first ten to fifteen minutes.