UCLA Extension Clear University Induction Program

LESSON PLANNING GUIDE

Inquiry I: Effective Learning Environments and Supporting Cultural Diversity
This guide may be used for the Culturally Relevant Lesson Plan, as well as the lesson observed by your Support Provider or Mentor Teacher.

Topic of Lesson: Formula Poetry: “Where I’m From” Poem Date: October 3rd, 2019

Inquiry Question: What does it mean to belong? How do our memories and places we come from contribute to our identity? Grade Level: 6th Grade
Expected Outcomes: What is your learning objective for students to know Behavioral Needs Focus Student: How will you modify, accommodate, 
at the end of this lesson? or differentiate instruction to ensure universal access to curriculum for 
your Focus Student?
By the end of the lessons, students will be able to:
In order to meet the needs of my Focus Students, the following measures 
 Create a categorized list of details for their poems based on objects
and memories from their personal lives. will be taken: 

 Learn about formula poetry, specifically Where I’m From poems,

read several student examples of this type of poem, and ultimately  Assigned seating. 
write their own.  Frequent check­ins. 
 Use of breaks when needed. 

Assessment: What evidence of learning will you gather to assess student  Flexible Grouping Strategies: How will you group students in the lesson 
learning? to address identified language, academic, and instructional needs for 
individual students? 
In order to assess student learning, I will be collecting their Formula Poem
packet which will include their brainstormed list and the “Where I’m From”  Students will be placed in assigned groups of 4. 
poem (or poem template) that they have created.  These groups will have a mixture of students from all ability levels
and will take into account academic, language, behavioral, and 
instructional needs. 

What academic content standard(s) will you focus on during this lesson?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task,
purpose, and audience.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning,
revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
UCLA Extension Clear University Induction Program­ Lesson Planning Guide
 UCLA Extension Clear University Induction Program
LESSON PLANNING GUIDE
Inquiry I: Effective Learning Environments and Supporting Cultural Diversity

Lesson Differentiation: Explain how you will ensure student engagement and differentiate within this lesson to meet the needs of students who have 
learning difficulties, students who are language learners, and students who are gifted. 

In order to meet the needs of students with learning differences:

 All instruction will be presented in three forms – verbally, projected on the PowerPoint, and written on student handouts. 
 All model poetry readings will be done out loud and will be repeated three times. 

In order to meet the needs of students who are language learners: 
 A ‘poem template’ will be provided so students can fill in the blanks with words / phrases from their brainstormed list. 
 Several student examples will also be given to students to serve as model poems. 

In order to meet the needs of students who are gifted:

 They will be given the option to choose from a variety of Formula Poems.

Lesson Design: Explain your planned activities to meet your learning objective.

*Lesson is designed for a 100 minute block*

Do Now (5 minutes)
 In their notebooks, students will respond to the first Essential Question of the day: “What does it mean to belong?”
Vocabulary Instruction (10 minutes)
 In their groups, students will attempt to come up with a definition for the words “Poem,” “Belonging,” and “Identity.”
 After students have had a chance to brainstorm, they will compare the definitions they came up with to the actual definitions of the words and add
to their definitions, if needed.
Poetry Brainstorm (15 minutes)
 Students will be given a graphic organizer that is split into three categories: 1. “Items from your home, yard, or neighborhood” 2. “Words / phrases
you heard growing up (can be in a language other than English)” 3. “Foods you love or have fond memories of”
 Students will have 10 minutes to brainstorm a list for each of these three categories. At the end of 10 minutes, I will ask for student volunteers to

UCLA Extension Clear University Induction Program­ Lesson Planning Guide
 UCLA Extension Clear University Induction Program
LESSON PLANNING GUIDE
Inquiry I: Effective Learning Environments and Supporting Cultural Diversity
share out some of the things they wrote down and I will write these ideas on the board for other students to see.
Model Poems (20 minutes)
 As a class, we will read two model poems: “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon and my own personal “Where I’m From” poem.
 The first poem we will listen to the audio and we will go through it three times. On the first read, students will just listen to the poem. On the
second read, students will highlight words or phrases that stand out to them. The third read they will do on their own and they will underline any
repeated words or phrases, circle words they don’t understand, and will put a star next to lines that they think are important.
 For my model poem, we will go through the same process as the first poem, except I will read it out loud the first two times, and students will
complete the third read independently.

Poetry Writing (45 minutes)

 Students will have 30 minutes to write their own formula poem. They may choose to use a poem template to help them with their writing or they
can do it without one.
 At the end of 30 minutes, students will be sharing the poems they wrote with the group members. Any student who would like to have the
opportunity to share with the whole class will be able to do so.

Exit Ticket (5 minutes)

 Reflective Quick Write - In their journals, students will respond to the following questions: What did you like or appreciate about writing your
own formula poem? What about this activity was challenging for you? If you had to change anything about the activity, what would you change
and why?

Academic Vocabulary Instruction: What specific vocabulary/terms will  Culturally Relevant: How is this lesson relevant to the students in your 
you explicitly teach and have students practice during this lesson to ensure  class? How does this lesson encourage a classroom that is supportive of 
concept understanding? diversity?

 Poem / Poetry This lesson is relevant to the students in my class because it allows them to
practice a new form of writing, it allows them to share about themselves and
 Belonging make connections to other students, and it relates to our unit’s essential
 Identity question which helps students use their background knowledge to connect to
the text we are reading as a class. Similarly, this lesson encourages a
classroom that is supportive of diversity because it allows students the
opportunity to share about their cultures and to use phrases from their home
UCLA Extension Clear University Induction Program­ Lesson Planning Guide
 UCLA Extension Clear University Induction Program
LESSON PLANNING GUIDE
Inquiry I: Effective Learning Environments and Supporting Cultural Diversity
language to add to their poems.

Classroom Management: What do you anticipate your focus student will  Integration of Technology: How will you integrate available technology 
need to be successful with this lesson? What other issues should you  resources into this lesson as you plan, teach, and assess student learning? 
consider to ensure a safe and inclusive environment for student learning? How might students use technology in this lesson to deepen their 
understanding of the content? 
 Focus students might need more frequent check-ins than other
students. Planning, teaching, and assessing student learning:
 PowerPoint: Much of my lesson will rely on the use of PowerPoint
to display important information.
 Audio: Students will have the opportunity to listen to a master
reading of each poem.

Student use of technology:

 Students could use technology to look up pictures of some of the
items or foods they remember growing up in order to create
descriptive language for their poems.
 They also could use their computers to look up definitions or
spelling of words in both English and Spanish.

UCLA Extension Clear University Induction Program­ Lesson Planning Guide