Lesson Plan II

Lesson Title: College Applications

Name: Lindsay Blowers

Subject: English Language Arts
Grade Level: 12th
Time Frame: 96 minutes (high school block)

Objective 12th-graders will become familiar with the college application process by completing a
college application worksheet and by brainstorming for college application essays.
Rationale Filling out college applications is a task seniors need to become familiar with, the sooner
the better. This lesson will familiarize them with the process, get them thinking about
what colleges are looking for, and introduce the college essay. Their application
worksheet will also give them something to refer to when filling out real applications.
Prior Information that will be requested on the application worksheet (e.g., how long you
Knowledge have lived in your current state of residence).
Standards - Read with comprehension a variety of informational and functional reading materials
(2)
- Write for a variety of purposes (7)
- Demonstrate appropriate use of punctuation (8)
- (eventually) Revise drafts to increase sentence complexity (9)
Essential What do I want to do after high school? What do I need to do to get there? What is the
Questions balance between being yourself and meeting expectations?

Assessment/Differentiation/Accommodation
Formative Observation will be used for the following:
Assessment - To assess students’ willingness and readiness to complete college applications
(application worksheet)
- To assess students’ preparedness to write a college application essay (essay
brainstorm assignment)
- To assess group collaboration and brainstorming

Students will be asked to turn in a list of schools they are actually interested in
applying to at the end of the period.

In order to assess understanding of essay structure and the effectiveness of the in-
class brainstorm, students will complete an outline for their college essay as
homework.
Summative The application and essay will be a part of the Professional Portfolio.
Assessment
Differentiated IEP – It seems pretty clear that Josh struggles with language, especially writing. His
Instruction English standardized test scores are by far the lowest. He also has difficulty staying on
task and working with other students, but it seems like a lot of his misbehavior is a
result of frustration in the classroom. The following accommodations take these things
into account:
 I hope that Josh has a co-teacher in this class, especially since he struggles so
much with English-related tasks.

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 much with English-related tasks.
 Does the AOD mean that Josh does not plan to go to college? If so, this lesson
may not really apply to him. It might be a good opportunity for an alternate
activity. Perhaps Josh could continue work from a previous lesson, like
researching more about possible lines of employment--which also seems to be a
major AOD goal.
 While a full-length essay may be too much to ask of Josh at this point, I would
like for him to attempt some of the simpler writing tasks, like keeping a
notebook. If he refuses to complete even this amount of writing, I'd like him to
discuss the questions and prompts with the teacher or co-teacher.
 Even if Josh does not fully participate in this lesson, it may be good for him to be
a part of a brainstorming group, just for the collaborative thought and group
interaction.
 If he is participating in the majority of the lesson, Josh would probably benefit
from receiving a copy of the brainstorming notes, rather than

ESL – This lesson provides a great opportunity (and necessity) for the teacher to
become acquainted with her students' plans for the future, and Jose is no exception.
Does he know what he wants to do as far as education and employment are
concerned? Is he looking at junior colleges or universities? Perhaps a trade or technical
school? This plays a big role in what Jose does with this activity.
 If Jose wants to go to college, which I imagine is pretty likely, I think he should
participate in the entire activity.
 I think completing the application worksheet is something he can accomplish
fairly easily. He may encounter some difficulties understanding the wording. I
may ask him (or even the whole class--that's partly what the group activity with
the application worksheet is for) to highlight any words or phrases he doesn't
understand, and then make sure we cover those parts thoroughly.
 Jose may also have difficulty completing the activities/honors sections. I think if
he were provided with a complete example, that would help. Going through
these lists verbally may also help.
 It would be a good idea to provide Jose with a copy of the group brainstorm, in
addition to his own notes.
 Jose should still complete the outline, but his language learning will be taken into
consideration during assessment.
 To assist with the outline, providing Jose (or even the whole class) with a list of
college essay vocab words might be a good idea.

Lesson Plan
Lesson Students will engage actively in the college application process by completing a college
Overview application worksheet. The worksheet will contain the key information solicited by
most colleges, including personal information, honors and activities, etc. Once
completed, this worksheet should be kept for further use in the unit and for a
reference when students are filling out real college applications. After completing the
worksheet, students will continue practicing the college application process by
randomly selecting college app essay prompts, getting in groups according to their
prompts, and brainstorming using a graphic organizer.
Materials Classroom computer & projector, application worksheets*, essay prompts (cut in strips
in multiples of five or so)*, brainstorm graphic organizer*

*included
Bell Personal essay spark (in notebooks):

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Bell Personal essay spark (in notebooks):
ringer/Review - What are your proudest accomplishments?
Activity - What is something unique about you?
- What are your strengths?
- What are your weaknesses and how have you learned from them?
- What is an example of a time you “failed” and what did you learn from it?

Have students work on these questions for about 3 minutes in their notebooks (they
do not have to answer all of them, as long as they are writing for the full 3 minutes).
They should then share what they wrote with nearby students. Walk around the
classroom while students are sharing and ask them to share with you what they've
learned about someone else.
Activities and Instructional Methods: Think-Pair-Share, Modeling, discussion, independent work,
Procedures group work
(with
transitions - Bell Ringer (5-7 minutes)
and time
allocations) - Application Worksheets (35 minutes)
 Distribute application worksheets, explaining the rationale behind them.
 Before instructing students to begin completing the worksheets, split them
into groups based on where they are sitting and assign each group a section (or
sections) of the application. Each group should answer the question “Why is
this section of the application important?” and should identify anything that is
confusing or unclear about the section. Each group will then share with the
class what they discussed. (15-20 minutes)
 Give students some time to begin filling out the applications. The completed
worksheet will be turned in as a part of the Professional Portfolio. (15-20
minutes)

- Online application demonstration (10-15 minutes)

 While students are working on completing their applications, use the computer
& projector to demonstrate accessing a college application. Discuss the
benefits of completing applications online.

- College application essay brainstorm (40 minutes)

 Students will randomly draw one of four or five preselected college essay
prompts
 Students will get in groups according to the prompts they drew (all students
who drew the same prompt should be in the same group)
 Students will be provided with a brainstorming graphic organizer. Each group
should provide one graphic organizer to turn in. Each student should also have
his/her own copy to take home & use when creating an outline for the essay.
Closure  Remind students to create an essay outline as homework to be turned in the next
day.
 Collect group brainstorms.
References University of Alabama paper application
http://www.ua.edu

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Common Application
I chose this one because it is the most comprehensive and it is widely used. It is probably practical to
only require certain sections, but the practice is worth it!

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 College Essay Prompts

Essay Questions http://www.collegeboard.com/student/apply/essay-skills/108.html

1. “Describe the most challenging obstacle you have had to overcome; discuss its impact, and tell what you
have learned from the experience.” (Guilford College)

2. “Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.” (Common
Application)

3. “For some prognosticators, the end of the world was in sight by the year 1000. How do you foresee your
world of 2020?” (Dickinson College)

4. “What is the value and importance of community service in our society and tell us what it means to
you.” (Ohio Wesleyan University)

5. “Discuss some issue of personal, local, or national concern and its importance to you.” (Common
Application)

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Essay Brainstorm/Outline Worksheet

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