SEU 342 Lesson Plan Format – Dr.

Mark Wolfmeyer
Kutztown University

LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Teacher Candidate: Madison Brzozowski

Lesson topic: The Story of the Hour short story

Course name and grade: Literature Grade 9
Class period length: 50 minutes
PA Standards (all that are PA Literature Standard: 1.3.9-10.A. Determine a theme
appropriate): or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its
development over the course of the text, including how
it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details;
provide an objecZve summary of the text.
Student Learning Students will be able to comprehend
Outcomes:
the story and efficiently identify the theme and

characters of The Story of the Hour.

Students will be able to analyze the

short story by identifying how the theme

develops over time throughout the text.

Key terms, concepts, -Theme

vocabulary for the lesson: -Analyze
-Plot
-Characters

Overview
- This lesson teaches students about how to idenZfy theme and character
development within texts.

- I begin the story by asking students their opinions on healthy relaZonships between
two people, without any background context. This eventually relates to The Story of
the Hour, the story the students will be reading/listening to.
- Next, the students will read/listen to The Story of the Hour
- Then, the students will complete a Google form asking them to answer what theme
is and the character development within the story.
- A`er, I model to the students how to find theme and character development within
a text.
- Students finally will pracZce this with a google docs exit Zcket.

Resources
A Class set of I pads or laptops for students to complete the Google Forms and to read
The Story of the Hour

The Story of the Hour audio

hbps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C7Q8N_IXo8

Spanish and English version of The Story of the Hour

hbps://albalearning.com/audiolibros/chopin/historia-sp-en.html

Beginning (Time length) 5-10 minutes

I will stand at the front of the classroom as students enter the

classroom, and will greet them and ask them how they are doing.

Students then will grab their name on a card from a pocket sleeve on

the board, and will place their name in one pocket sleeve out of five,

labeled “I am happy”, “I am stressed”, “I am sad”, “I am content”, and “I

am confused”. I want to be up to date with my students and their

mental health, and I strive to support them in the best way that I can.

Next, students will sit down in their assigned seats and I will ask the

students if they are ready to start. I will begin by asking students how

they define a good relationship, and what a good relationship means

to them. I will ask students to participate, and will write their responses

on the board. By jumping into this, it will draw the students in without

any prior context. Then, I will inform them that this relates to what we

will be reading. I will then state the objective, students will be able to

identify the theme and the characters in The Story of the Hour, and will

be able to analyze the short story by identifying how the theme

develops over the text. I next will ask the students their opinions on

healthy relationships between two people, without any background

context. and then relating it to the story they will read, The Story of the

Hour, is student-centered because they are working on developing

their own opinions and using them to influence the way they read and

understand The Story of the Hour. Overall, this will take about 5

minutes, but I will allow it to take up to 10 minutes.

Middle (Time length) 15 minutes

Model: To the students, I will ask everyone if they have ever seen the movie Elf. Elf is a very popular

movie that most students have seen, so I will use this movie for reference. I will ask the students, what

happens during this movie? What did Buddy want to do in New York? Students may answer that Buddy

wanted to learn more about himself, and I will answer that that is an example of a theme because the

movie is focused around him finding himself by going to New York, being himself, and doing what he

believes is right. I will give another example of a theme from Elf, by explaining that Buddy speaks his

mind, and although it may be silly, this makes him confident and passionate. For example, Buddy speaks

his mind when he sees Santa in the mall and screams “THAT IS NOT SANTA”. Speaking your mind is a

theme in Elf because Buddy benefits from speaking his mind and the author is sending the message that

by speaking your mind, this can help you grow as a person.

Independent Practice: I will ask students to independently find another theme in the story that we did not go over, and
I will give them 3-5 minutes to scan through the text and do that. Once the 3-5 minutes is up, I will ask students to
volunteer to share what theme they thought of, and what the driving motivation is behind them finding that theme in the
text.
Guided Practice:

I will start the guided practice by saying, “Now that everyone has submitted their Google Form

about the theme and character development in The Story of the Hour, I am going to anonymously

show student examples from the Google Forms that correctly identify and explain the theme and

character development.” (I will go through and pick out Google Forms submitted that will give the

students a good, clear understanding of the theme and character development.) Next, I will

present on the board a total of 3 forms submitted, going over one by one thoroughly. With each

one, I will ask for a volunteer to read aloud the form submitted, and then we will go over what it

actually means. For example, the student read from the form, “The Story of the Hour’s theme is

identity. Identity is displayed within the text when the narrator states, “There was a feverish

triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory.” Mrs.Mallard’s

confidence grows when she finds out her husband passed away, because she realized she was

able to grow by herself and be who she wants to be, not who her husband wanted her to be.

Mrs.Mallard develops immensely when she prepares herself for freedom, and we can see this in

the quote stated above because her mood and the way she presents herself completely changes

for the better.” I emphasized to the students that this was a great example because of how

detailed the explanation was and how they connected the text to the theme and character

development within the story. I will explain that the student correctly identified the theme

“identity” because Mrs.Mallard’s characteristics changed when the plot (her husband dying)

happened. I will also share that the student correctly identified the character development shift

within Mrs.Mallard’s character because when her husband passes away, she becomes a more

confident, happier version of herself. I will then do the same process with 2 other forms that

correctly explain the theme and character development of The Story of the Hour.
End (Time Length) 5 minutes
After students feel comfortable with the theme of The Story of the Hour, for the
last 5 minutes of class I will ask students to complete an exit ticket that asks if
they understand the theme and character development in The Story of the Hour.
https://forms.gle/3ZGK1sLzyvA1nUjp9 The students will select from 1-5, 1 being
that the student does not understand at all what happened in The Story of the
Hour and need extra support, and 5 being that the student is confident in
explaining the theme of The Story of the Hour and the character development
throughout the story. Considering the situation many schools are in right now, it
is crucial to develop lesson plans that can be taught via Zoom or in person, so
depending on the circumstances, it will be on paper if in person and on a
Google Form if online. When students are filling out the exit ticket, I will ask if
anyone has any questions or concerns, just in case students are stuck on
exactly what is being asked of them. Once I get the confirmation that students
are confident in their response and are finished, I then will ask the class as a
whole how they liked this lesson the get feedback. Receiving feedback from
students is necessary to becoming a strong educator, because in order for
students to succeed in the classroom, they need to understand and engage with
the material being presented to them. If for some reason we end early or don’t
have enough time to do the exit ticket, I will ask students to put their heads
down on the desk and to raise their hand if they have an accurate depiction of
what happened in the short story, to get a count of who understood and who
may need extra help. If we have extra time, I will start a conversation about the
story and ask if they think the relationship being presented is healthy or not and
why. Depending on time, I would like most students to answer to get feedback
from everyone. I will use their feedback to adjust how I will teach this lesson to
other classes or how I will teach it years after.

Diversity
Reading School District in Pennsylvania has a student body consisEng of students who
speak 27 languages and represent 28 countries. StaEsEcs show students are 80.7 %
LaEno, 9.3 % Black, 6.9 % White, 2.5 % MulEracial, and 0.5 % Asian. 93.3% of students
are economically disadvantaged (approximately), 25% are English Language Learners
(approximately) and 18% Special EducaEon Learners (approximately). The classrooms
in Reading are extremely diverse with students who come from many different
backgrounds. Many students live in households with families that may be together,
may be separated, may be deceased, and there are many other family dynamics that
impact students. Power dynamics in households may vary depending on the family
dynamic, so I will ask students in the beginning porEon to think of what a healthy
relaEonship means to them. I will then ask them to think in their own heads, is there
one person in their life that may be controlling over another person? I will give the
students 15 seconds to think. Then I will explain how power dynamics, especially
gendered power dynamics, will take place in The Story of the Hour because the main
female character is being overpowered by the male character because of societal
expectaEons of men having power over women.

DifferenZaZon
There is a diverse spectrum in the classroom between all students and their needs or
accommodaEons. DifferenEaEon should be included in lessons as much as possible, so
lessons are more adaptable and a liZle less tradiEonal. An example of differenEaEon in
my lesson plan is that while the students are reading The Story of the Hour, I will also
provide a read-aloud version if they prefer to listen than physically reading. This
differenEaEon will give students the opportunity to have a preference and a choice,
which will allow them to feel comfortable and not forced to do one thing over another.

AccommodaZons/ModificaZons
 There are 4 students in the classroom with IEPS for Dyslexia. As an

educator, it is my goal to make sure these students are not overwhelmed

with the work assigned to them, and that they are learning and growing from

what I am teaching them. In this lesson, I provide an audiobook for students

to listen to if they prefer to do that, and will also provide extended time for

those who need it. While the students take the Google form, I will also read

the questions out loud so everyone gets on the same page as to what the

Google form is asking.

For these 4 students, headphones are provided for them so that they can

hear audio rather than listen to it. Providing and including audio into my

lessons is a main goal for me as an educator so all students feel included

and have the opportunity to perform at their best.

English Language Learner Support

 1. I will make sure in the beginning of the year I get to know my

students and the language they are most comfortable with.

Including translanguaging methods can create a comfortable

learning environment for students and will give them the

opportunity to succeed. It is important to me that students read

and listen to stories in the language they are most comfortable

learning with, and since many of my students are Spanish

speaking, I will be using this link for the students to read the

story on their devices. https://albalearning.com/audiolibros/

chopin/historia-sp-en.html. This will be available to everyone in

the classroom, since it includes and English version on the right

side and a Spanish version on the left side.

2. During the assessment, the students are required to answer

questions on Google Forms. I will state the question on the

Google Form in both English and Spanish so it is

accommodating to everyone.

Assessment- 20 minutes
Students will be able to read The Story of the Hour on their computer devices,
and they can also listen to a reading-aloud version of the text to follow along
which will play for all of the students on a speaker. After the reading-aloud version
is finished, I will allow students to wrap up their thoughts. Next, I will give the
students a prompt asking them to analyze and write what they believe the theme
is of the story, and how they think the story and characters develop on Google
Forms sent to their emails. https://forms.gle/CTPxhLDZ4oykZkP8A I will direct
the students to write at least one paragraph, and remind them to look back in the
text for any uncertainties or questions. Around 10 minutes later, I will ask the
students to wrap up and submit their responses, and I will begin to look on my
end of the Google Form for sufficient responses that are detailed and answer
what they believe the theme is and how the characters and story develop in The
Story of the Hour. I will share a few responses that exceed my requirements, and
I will display them on the projector for students to see anonymously. Finally, I will
go through in detail why their answers hit every criteria I asked them to
accomplish. I will use quotes from the text to explain why the theme is what it is,
and will ask students to complete an exit ticket either on paper or a Google Form,
(depending if the school district is in person or not) that asks if they understand
the theme and character development in The Story of the Hour. The students will
select from 1-5, 1 being that the student does not understand at all what
happened in The Story of the Hour and need extra support, and 5 being that the
student is confident in explaining the theme of The Story of the Hour and the
character development throughout the story. If students do not finish on time, they
will be prompted to complete the exit ticket outside of class or during study hours.
https://forms.gle/3ZGK1sLzyvA1nUjp9

AnZcipated difficulZes
Students may possibly struggle trying to idenEfy and analyze what they believe the
theme is of the story, and how they think the story and characters develop. Since we go
over in the Guided PracEce how to find these answers in the text, students may
struggle since I don’t provide much prior context to assess where students are with
theme and character development.