Lesson Plan for Implementing

NETS•S—Template I
(More Directed Learning Activities)
Template with guiding questions
Teacher(s)
Name Stephen W. Rockwell

Position Language Arts Teacher

School/District Brookwood High School / Gwinnett County Public School

E-mail stephen.rockwell@gcpsk12.org

Phone

Grade Level(s) 11th

Content Area Language Arts

Timeline 2-3 weeks

Standards (What do you want students to know and be able to do? What knowledge, skills, and strategies do you
expect students to gain? Are there connections to other curriculum areas and subject area benchmarks? ) Please
put a summary of the standards you will be addressing rather than abbreviations and numbers that indicate which
standards were addressed.
After this lesson, students be able to analyze foundational US oral and written arguments and
speeches, as well as focus on the rhetorical devices used in the works and be able to explain why
those devices are effective. After students look at some examples of effective US foundational
arguments and speeches, I want students to use technology to create their argument or speech in
the form of a public service announcement (PSA).

All students will need to know the background information for all of the works we read and listen to
(Declaration of Independence, The Crisis, Letter from Birmingham City Jail, and more recent video
PSAs). Students will also need to know the definition and function of recurring rhetorical devices
and how they appeal to the ethos, pathos, and logos of rhetoric. Students will also need to know
how to use some specific productivity tools as well as some Web 2.0 tools.

Some of these objectives and standards will also connect to their current US History course. This
Content will help reinforce connections to history and literature, remind students that literature should not be
Standards separated from the period in which it is written.

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 Students will use technology to empower their learning, construct their knowledge, design their
product, and collaborate with classmates. To empower their learning, students will be able to
choose what technology they want to use for their final product (PSA). Students will also use
technology to construct their knowledge and understanding needs throughout this unit. Students
will use Padlet and Nearpod to measure their current level of understanding, and they will use other
forms of technology (Storyboard That and Adobe Spark) to synthesize their understanding. Using
their current knowledge of digital tools and learning more about these tools, students will plan and
design their PSA campaign. Since this will be a group project, students will need to find ways to
NETS*S effectively communicate with one another throughout the process, as well as communicating with
Standards: the teacher or any other outside experts they decide to reach out to.

Overview (a summary of the lesson or unit including assignment or expected or possible products)

Before I introduce the project, students will have read some foundational US documents and analyzed the
rhetorical devices used in the documents. Their knowledge of these devices will help them with the end project
(creating their own PSA).
As an interest grabber to introducing the project, students will watch some recent PSA campaigns. After watching
some of the videos, students will discuss some of the rhetorical devices we’ve discussed previously. Then after a
discussion, students will rewatch the videos to see if they can pull out any rhetorical device used in the videos
(watching for purpose). When students have watched the videos for a purpose, we discuss what devices they
noticed. We will also discuss why these devices were effective to their audience and in their delivery.
As a class, we will brainstorm topics that could be used for a PSA today (smoking, climate change, social
distancing, etc.). After we brainstorm topics, students will be able to choose what topic they want to use for their
own PSA.
In groups, students will use a storyboard to design and plan their end product. We will discuss the importance of
using a storyboard for planning purposes, using images and text for what the end product will look like. Students
will pitch their storyboard to another group, providing some peer feedback on the process. The feedback from the
other groups will direct any additional changes they may need to make.
After the final storyboards are approved, students will use Adobe Spark (or other video editing software of their
choice) create a 2-3 minute video PSA to present to the class as their final product.

Essential Questions (What essential question or learning are you addressing? What would students care or
want to know about the topic? What are some questions to get students thinking about the topic or generate
interest in the topic? Additionally, what questions can you ask students to help them focus on important aspects of
the topic? (Guiding questions) What background or prior knowledge will you expect students to bring to this topic
and build on?) Remember, essential questions are meant to guide the lesson by provoking inquiry. They should
not be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” and should have many acceptable answers.

What is a public service announcement (PSA)?

Why are PSAs significant?
What makes a PSA effective?
What literary techniques and rhetorical devices are commonly used in PSAs?
What are some popular topics for PSAs?
What are some topics in society that may need to be addressed through PSAs?
Do we need to have PSAs? Why or why not?
How do people determine which topics are more important than others?

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Assessment (What will students do or produce to illustrate their learning? What can students do to generate new
knowledge? How will you assess how students are progressing (formative assessment)? How will you assess
what they produce or do? How will you differentiate products?) You must attach copies of your assessment and/or
rubrics. Include these in your presentation as well.

By the end of this lesson, students will create a 2-3 minute PSA over a specific topic of their choosing. Students
will watch examples of real PSAs that play on TV. Whole class and small group discussions about those videos
will serve as formative assessments to make sure students understand the basics of effective public service
announcements (ethos, pathos, and logos). Before they create their video, students will also pitch their idea to
another group, in the form of a storyboard. Groups will provide feedback and the students will make the needed
changes before they proceed with developing their video.
The rubrics: Storyboard and PSA Rubrics
The Storyboard Rubric will be used by peer groups. While one group pitches their storyboard, another group will
score using the rubric I’ve provided. Both groups will discuss the scores and any adaptations that may be
needed for the final product.
The PSA Rubric will be used by the teacher throughout the project. The students will be assessed throughout
the project, not just over the final product.

Resources (How does technology support student learning? What digital tools, and resources—online student
tools, research sites, student handouts, tools, tutorials, templates, assessment rubrics, etc—help elucidate or
explain the content or allow students to interact with the content? What previous technology skills should students
have to complete this project?)

In this unit, technology supports student learning in several ways. Technology is used as a means of triggering
background knowledge and collaboration. For instance, when brainstorming what specific PSAs effective,
students will post their responses on a designated Padlet displayed. All students will be able to see the
responses and build on what’s presented. Students will also collaborate and create a storyboard either through a
teacher provided template in Google Docs or create a storyboard using Storyboard That, a web resource that
allows students to create their storyboard with customizable elements.
The teacher will utilize PSA Central to provide plenty of models of PSAs to present the class. Students will also
choose one to analyze before they create their own.
Some basic computer and technology skills that students will have to complete involve word processing and film
planning and editing. I will allow students to use whatever film editing software they prefer, but I will provide a
tutorial and mini-lesson on how to use Adobe Spark to produce their final product.

Instructional Plan
Preparation (What student needs, interests, and prior learning provide a foundation for this lesson? How can
you find out if students have this foundation? What difficulties might students have?)

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 When preparing for this lesson, the teacher needs to have a strong assessment of the students’ current
foundation of knowledge. Since this project will take place after we read some foundational US documents with
exemplary examples of literary techniques and rhetorical devices, they should already have an idea of those
content-specific vocabulary words. Regarding the project, some students may not know the term public service
announcement, but I know that most of them will have seen one at some point in their lives. They also may not
know the specific elements of what makes a PSA effective, but our discussions after watching several will give
them the knowledge to create their own.
Student interest will also serve as a solid foundation for this lesson. Since I am allowing them to pick their topic,
they will most likely focus on a topic of their interest. For instance, several of my students drive. I’m sure we will
likely have some good discussions about texting while driving, and why it’s important to create a PSA for other
students at Brookwood about the problems with texting and driving.
I will gain most of my knowledge of their current foundation through whole-class, small-group, and individual
discussions. Facilitating whole-class discussions and monitoring small-group discussions allows me to get a
good understanding of individual understanding of the content we’re covering in class. With any
misunderstandings that students may have, I will be able to talk with them about what their strengths are and
also build on their weakness of understanding.

Management Describe the classroom management strategies will you use to manage your students and the use
of digital tools and resources. How and where will your students work? (Small groups, whole group, individuals,
classroom, lab, etc.) What strategies will you use to achieve equitable access to the Internet while completing this
lesson? Describe what technical issues might arise during the Internet lesson and explain how you will resolve or
troubleshoot them? Please note: Trouble-shooting should occur before implementing the lesson as well as
throughout the process. Be sure to indicate how you prepared for problems and work through the issues that
occurred as you implemented and even after the lesson was completed.

At the beginning of the project, students will work individually. Desks will be aligned in rows, and most of them
will interact with the essential questions and opening activities with their device. If they do not have a device,
students may pair up. My rationale for having students work individually at first is to gain knowledge of what they
already know at an individual level.
As we progress into the next phase of the project (PSA analysis), students will be assigned in small groups. I
plan to assign students based on the data of our first summative assessments. Using the data from the first
summative assessment, I will make sure that groups are assigned with higher-scoring students and lower-
scoring students in the same group. My rationale for this grouping will allow students who may have some
weaker areas in language arts have the opportunity to work with students who have some stronger aspects in
language arts.
When we need to use laptops, students will use the 15 classroom Chromebooks. Each group will be assigned
one Chromebook to work on their project. To make sure all students have equitable access to the internet, so
work on the project will have to be completed outside of class. However, if students would like to use their time
outside of class, they certainly may do that.
Some technical issues may arise when I implement the lesson. Some students will not remember their password,
and I will have to reset their password through the employee portal. Some students will likely not be able to
access some content because they are not using their school-provided G Suite account. The classroom may
also not have internet during some instructional days. For that, I will have to shift to a more teacher-centered
class and deliver whole-class instruction. For those days, students will also use pen and paper and any other
teacher created templates to complete assignments (storyboard, reflections, etc.).

Instructional Strategies and Learning Activities – Describe the research-based instructional strategies you will
use with this lesson. How will your learning environment support these activities? What is your role? What are the
students' roles in the lesson? How can you ensure higher-order thinking at the analysis, evaluation, or

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creativity levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy? How can technology support your teaching? What authentic, relevant,
and meaningful learning activities and tasks will your students complete? How will they build knowledge and
skills? How will students use digital tools and resources to communicate and collaborate and others? How will
you facilitate collaboration?

Brookwood High School uses the Gwinnett County Public Schools’ Quality Plus Teaching Strategies (QPTS).
Throughout this unit, the following QPTS will be used: assessment and feedback, literacy, technology,
background and prior knowledge, collaboration, and problem-solving. Throughout the project, students will be
receiving feedback from formative assessments. The teacher will be assessing their knowledge and
understanding and peers will be assessing some of their knowledge and understanding through the storyboard
pitch. Literacy will also be a specific strategy used because the teacher will be instructing students on how to
analyze and emulate language to effectively persuade an audience. Students will also need to listen to some of
the models we watch to class, so they will be using literacy to understand what’s effective in real PSAs.
The teacher’s role in this lesson is to present the expectations of the projects, provide support to meet those
expectations, and troubleshoot any issues that students may have with the technology along the way. For the
students, their role is to evaluate PSAs and their effectiveness, synthesize the information present me and their
peers, and create their own PSA from our classroom instruction. Their role is to hit every single level of Bloom’s
Taxonomy, ending with the creation of their own PSA video.
The technology used throughout this lesson will support my teaching by giving students opportunities to share
their knowledge with the class, provide examples of my expectations, and present answers to issues that may
arise throughout the process. The technology will also make this a more authentic learning experience. With the
creation of a video, they will be able to share their work with an audience outside of the classroom, maybe even
through our school’s broadcasting outlet. Their work will be displayed in their digital portfolio, so they will be able
to use that to show future college or job prospects.

Differentiation (How will you differentiate content and process to accommodate various learning styles and
abilities? How will you help students learn independently and with others? How will you provide extensions and
opportunities for enrichment? What assistive technologies will you need to provide?)

I will differentiate content through how I present the information to the class. As stated earlier, instruction will be
whole-class, small-group, and individual, so students will be receiving differentiated instruction throughout the
project. I will also be making the whole class instruction available on our course eCLASS page so students will
always be able to revisit the content on that page.
Students will also be able to choose the topic they want to develop into a PSA. Even though all students will be
required to submit a PSA in video format, how they record their video or what software they decide to use is also
up to the students.
Regarding assistive technologies, I will have Chromebooks for all groups. Chrome will have the Read Aloud
extension added so students can receive assistance if they need it. The magnifier extension will also be installed
within the browser to help students who may need to enlarge text on some websites or other applications. Lastly,
Grammarly extension will also be added for ELL learners or other learners with disabilities.

Reflection (Will there be a closing event? Will students be asked to reflect upon their work? Will students be
asked to provide feedback on the assignment itself? Also, answer the following questions?

• How will you know if the students found the lesson meaningful and worth completing?
• In what ways do you think this lesson will be effective? Why do you think this?
• What problems do you anticipate and why?
• How would you design and/or teach this lesson differently if you had more time?)

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Students will reflect on their word in the Blog portion of their digital portfolio. At the end of units and major
learning targets, I ask students to reflect on their learning throughout the unit. I guide their reflections through
a list of questions that are similar to the following:
 What did you learn throughout this unit?
 What were some misunderstandings you had before the unit but now you don’t?
 Where do you think your strengths were during this unit?
 What about some of your weaknesses?
 Moving forward, how can you move some of your current weaknesses toward making them strengths?
For major projects, I usually always ask for student feedback after they submit. For this project, I will use
Google Forms for students to submit their feedback form this lesson. I will gain feedback from these
questions:
 Did you grow as a learner from this project? Explain.
 Do you think this project helped you learn in the way that you like to learn? Why or why not?
 If Mr. Rockwell could change one thing about this project to make it better for future students, how
should he change it?
The reflections and responses will give me a good idea of how my students enjoyed the project. I believe most
of them will find it meaningful and effective in teaching how language (literacy) can be used to create change
in our world. Another takeaway I hope for students to gain from this assignment if to be more aware of how
others (companies, politicians, etc.) can use the same techniques to persuade people to act in a way that they
may normally not act. I want students to become aware that they are critics, and they can decide what’s
credible and what’s not, which are valuable critical literacy skills needed for our 21 st-century students.
Most of the problems that I anticipate throughout this project involves making the video. I know several
students will likely have experience in making a video, but some will not. I also see some other issues with
technology that students may not be familiar with (Storyboard That), so I will need to appropriately frontload
that expectation to help avoid any issues that may come up.

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