Direct Instruction Lesson Plan 

Teachers: Jennifer Valencia Subject:

English
Common Core State Standards:
● 11-12.W.3:​ Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique,
well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
a.​ Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation and its significance,
establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a
smooth progression of experiences or events.
b.​ Use narrative techniques to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
c.​ Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a
coherent whole and particular tone and outcome.
d.​ Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to convey a vivid
picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
e. ​Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved
over the course of the narrative.
● 11-12.W.4:​ Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade- specific expectations for writing types are defined in
standard above.)
● 11-12.L2:​ Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English capitalization, punctuation, and
spelling when writing.
a.​ use hyphenation conventions
b.​ use correct spelling
ISTE Standards
● Digital citizen:
2b ​Students enga​ge in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including social
interactions online or when using networked devices.
● Creative communicator:
6a​ Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their
creation or communication.
6b​ Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or r​emix digital resources into new
creations. (optional)
Anchor Standards
● Production and Distribution of Writing
4. ​Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate
to task, purpose, and audience.
5. ​Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new
approach.
6. ​Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate
with others.
Workplace Employability Skills/Standards
● 1A: Masters core communication skills for the workplace.
•​ Delivers content accurately
• Uses communication style appropriate to audience and situation
• Listens actively
● 5C: Pursues career advancement opportunities within an organization or field.
• Prepares for career advancement
• Pursues formal learning opportunities
• Builds learning relationships
• Applies new resources

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Objective (Explicit):
● Using the examples given students will be able to identify key components in a personal statement in order to
implement at least four of them into their own essay by the end of the lesson.

Evidence of Mastery (Measurable):

◻ Include a copy of the lesson assessment.
◻ Provide exemplar student responses with the level of detail you expect to see.
◻ Assign value to each portion of the response.

Their level of mastery will be based on the student’s final product; their personal statement. The content of
the personal statement will be graded according to the Common Core State Standard 11-12.W.3 Students will need
to follow the rubric which will include each of the subletters in standard 11-12.W.3. Each of these sections will be
ranked on a scale of 1-5; 1 being no implementation and 5 being exemplar application of each of the sections. To
earn full points in subletter ​a.​ students must present their ideas and significance clearly. The narrator must also be
evident, with a comprehensive sequence of events. For subletter ​b. ​students must include at least 5 different
narrative techniques in order to receive full points. In subletter ​c. ​A student’s sequence of events must be clear and
well thought out to form a coherent story in order to receive full points. Full points in subletter ​d. ​will depend on the
amount of vivid and descriptive details the student uses in order to convey a clear image of the experiences, events,
setting, and/or characters; to receive full points in this subletter, a student’s paper must have this type of writing all
throughout their paper and placed in a way that aids their organization. Finally to receive full points in subletter ​e. ​a
student’s conclusion must be clear and include a reflection on how their experience has impacted their lives; the
reader must fully understand why the student chose this specific experience.
There will be an additional section for conventions, still on a 1-5 scale; full points in this section would be
that the student’s essay is free of conventional and grammatical errors.

Sub-objectives, SWBAT (Sequenced from basic to complex):

◻ How will you review past learning and make connections to previous lessons?
◻ What skills and content are needed to ultimately master this lesson objective?
◻ How is this objective relevant to students, their lives, and/or the real world?

I will review past learning by going over the different kinds of narrative techniques and sequencing strategies for
their narratives. I will also be reviewing other forms of text types and their purposes. The skills needed to master this
objective are creativity, excellent organization and a great understanding of writing conventions. These objectives
include all the skills that a student will need in order to be successful in their lives; organization, communication and
collaboration. Their own personal statement will serve them in presenting themselves to colleges in their journey to
pursuing formal learning opportunities.
Key vocabulary: Materials:
● narrative ● personal statement guidelines
● personal statement ● student examples
● narrative techniques ● computers
● cliche ● writing utensils

Opening (state objectives, connect to previous learning, and make relevant to real life)
◻ How will you activate student interest?
◻ How will you connect to past learning?
◻ How will you present the objective in an engaging and student-friendly way?
◻ How will you communicate its​ importance​ and make the content relevant to your students?

I will activate student interest by having them do an anonymous poll online where they would answer questions on
what they think a personal statement is, what they think is included, how long it should be, etc. I will also do a brief
run through of the different types of writings, and go into more detail on the narrative kind. Students will bring back
past narratives that they have written in order to develop their personal statement. Other past knowledge that they
will need in order to be successful are the narrative and organizational strategies because they will need to
implement those into their writing. This content will be made relevant to the students by presenting the personal
narrative as a key component in any career advancement or formal learning opportunity application process.

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 Teacher Will: Student Will:
◻ How will you model/explain/demonstrate all ◻ What will students be doing to actively capture and
knowledge/skills required of the objective? process the new material?
◻ What types of visuals will you use? ◻ How will students be engaged?
◻ How will you address misunderstandings or
common student errors?
In
◻ How will you check for understanding?
s
◻ How will you explain and model behavioral
t
expectations?
r
◻ Is there enough detail in this section so that another
u
person could teach it?
c
t
The knowledge/skills needed for this objective will be Students will start by responding anonymously to a poll of
i
presented in a key components poll followed by a introductory questions that are meant to illicit a student’s
o powerpoint. This is where I will present all the prior preconceptions about a personal statement. Afterwards,
n knowledge that they will need for this lesson. I will also students will be taking notes on the refresher if they need to,
a plan to include a video narrative or a video that plans out and then they will need to take notes on the elements of a
l the personal statement process. The initial poll will allow personal statement. To keep students engaged throughout
I me to see what preconceptions and misunderstandings my initial presentation, I want to ask students about what will
n the students have, therefore, allowing me to answer them be on the next slide, and once they give their answers, I will
as I move through the lesson. I will also put together a present the information.
p
hand-out of common student errors/guidelines for
u personal statements. I will pass this out after my
t presentation. Throughout the presentation I will have
several student examples of the entire essay, or key parts
so that the students are able to see what is expected of
them. Before moving on, I will ask students about the
information I just presented, as well as having them
discuss what was just learned.

Teacher Will: Student Will:

◻ How will you ensure that all students have multiple
opportunities to practice new content and skills?
◻ What types of questions can you ask students as
you are observing them practice?
◻ How/when will you check for understanding?
◻ How will you provide guidance to all students as
they practice?
G ◻ How will you explain and model behavioral
u expectations?
i ◻ Is there enough detail in this section so that another
d person could facilitate this practice?
e
d All students will have the opportunity to select a planning
r technique that works best for them so that they can later
select the best organization strategy that will work best for
a their narrative. As I walk around to check their planning
c process, I will help to answer any topic questions or guide
t them by asking about their experience’s significance; why
i are you choosing this topic? How has this topic driven
c you? I plan to check for their understanding at the end of
e the presentation, but as I walk around, any lingering
questions of clarification will serve as individual checks or
class checks if I notice a common mistake occuring. It will
also happen as I walk around and check that everyone is
on task and following along with what they should be
doing.
◻ How will students practice all knowledge/skills required
of the objective, with your support, such that they
continue to internalize the sub-objectives?
◻ How will students be engaged?
◻ How will you elicit student-to-student interaction?
◻ How are students practicing in ways that align to
independent practice?
Students will practice this new knowledge and implement
prior knowledge by planning out their narrative, before they
begin to write, they will need to plan out every section, how
they will include the narrative techniques, how they will
organize it and point out the key points in their narrative that
they want to highlight. Students will essentially be working
“loosely” independently because the planning process is
meant to be independent, but I would also like them to
discuss their topics with their neighbors, especially if they are
having a hard time thinking of one. I will also have them
brainstorm narrative and organizational strategies before they
begin to plan, that way they will have a better idea on how to
implement them. During this guided practice, students will be
able to freely discuss with their neighbors and get every
question they need answered so that they are ready to begin
writing independently.

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 Teacher Will: Student Will:
◻ How will you plan to coach and correct during this ◻ How will students independently practice the knowledge and
practice? skills required by the objective?
◻ How will you provide opportunities for remediation and ◻ How will students be engaged?
extension? ◻ How are students practicing in ways that align to
◻ How will you clearly state and model academic and assessment?
behavioral expectations? ◻ How are students using self-assessment to guide their own
◻ Did you provide enough detail so that another person learning?
could facilitate the practice? ◻ How are you supporting students giving feedback to one
another?

I plan to continue to walk around, though less often. Students should be finishing up their maps and begin
I will still be aware of my students to make sure they to write out their plans. They should be working
In are working and to be available if they have any independently on their computers. I will have them
d questions, because at this point, I will be their only working on google docs, that way they are able to
e point of contact for questions. This will also allow share it with an assigned classmate and they will
p me to see if any students have not started, maybe review each other’s work for convention and grammar
e still struggling or are veering off track. errors. I will also give students the guide and the rubric
n so that as they write, they are able to reference them to
d ensure that they are on the right track.
e Co-Teaching Strategy
n ◻ Which co-teaching approach will you use to maximize student achievement?
t
P I would only implement co-teaching during independent practice, to possibly have another teacher’s class work with my
r class to peer edit each other’s work. It would be beneficial so that the students can see a different group of writers and be
a exposed to different ideas. The other teacher may have presented information that I did not, but my students would still
c find helpful, or maybe the other teacher presented it in a different way that would also help. The opportunity for sharing
t and help would come through their online peer editing and chat through google docs.
i
c Differentiation Strategy
e ◻ What accommodations/modifications will you include for specific students?
I will offer more resources/guidance to those students who have English as their second language, or any other students
who may be struggling. I can also try to offer them help in their native tongue. For these students, I would also allow a
second submission of the final assessment so that I can go over their errors with them independently and they would have
a chance to correct them before receiving a final grade.

◻ Do you anticipate any students who will need an additional challenge?

I do not really anticipate any students needing an additional challenge because while this assignment is the same for
every student, the main component of the assignment is personalization and creativity. Students will need to tap into their
past experiences and utilize their past writings to enhance their piece. Every student will be at a different writing level, and
they will all have different styles, which is why I believe the additional challenge will come from themselves and the need
to elevate their writing.

Closing/Student Reflection/Real-life connections:

◻ How will students summarize and state the significance of what they learned?
◻ Why will students be engaged?

The students’ summarization and significance will be shown through the concluding parts of their essays. They
should be able to tie their experience to a real life connection; how that experience will serve them in new learning
opportunities. The significance will also lie in the purpose for the assignment, which is preparing them to pursue
career advancements or other formal learning opportunities. In planning and writing this essay students will also be
able to gain a better understanding of themselves and cause them to think about the path they want to take after
highschool.