Culminating Project: Language Arts Thematic Unit

Kaitlynn Acuff
TCH 502
1/18/21
 Lesson Plan #1

Grade Level: 10th grade

Topic:
● Building vocabulary
● Exploring poetry
● Comprehending poetry

Objective(s): Given the materials and activities, the students will be able to do the following with
at least 75% accuracy. This will be measured by a test at the end of the unit.
● Students will comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate poems.
● Identify and explain figures of speech in various literary works.
● Analyze the author’s purpose in a literary work.
● Make predictions and ask questions while reading ("10th Grade English Objectives ").

State/district standards for reading:

● L.9-10.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and
usage when writing or speaking; demonstrate proficiency within the
● 9-12 grammar continuum ("North Carolina Standard Course Of Study English Language
Arts ", 2017).
● L.9-10.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling when writing; demonstrate proficiency within the 9-12
conventions continuum ("North Carolina Standard Course Of Study English Language
Arts ", 2017).

Materials/resources:
● Classroom set of “I and I Bob Marley” by Tony Medina
● Laptop with internet access
● Journal
● Headphones

Learning activities:
I will begin the lesson by presenting the book “I and I Bob Marley” to the class. I will have
the students study the front and back of the book and ask them to use their Chromebooks to
answer a question on Padlet.com. Padlet is an online poster board that students can post their
answers and opinions. This eliminates students from talking over each other and trying to steal
each other's thoughts. The first question they will answer will be “What do you think the book is
about and what do you think is going to happen?”
After the students have all posted their answers, I will cast the Padlet onto the TV so we
can read each other’s answers and discuss our predictions. Next, the students will answer
another question on Padlet.com about who Bob Marley is and they will be encouraged to post
as many things they know about him as they can. I will have this Padlet cast to the TV screen
for everyone to see as answers are being entered. We will have a small discussion about who
Bob Marley is.
After our discussions, we will read the first poem in the book, “My Heart The Island.”
While reading I will have the students take notes in their journals about what stuck out to them.
We will read the poem twice. After reading the poem, I will discuss items about the poem with
the students. Students are encouraged to take notes during the discussion. These items
include:
● What event is happening in this poem?
● What kind of tone does the poem have?
● Why is this event important?
● Where is the event taking place?
● How does this poem make you feel?
● What do you think the title of this poem means?
● How can a heart be an island?

The students will be given a topic pertaining to Bob Marley that they will need to
research. Those topics will be:
● Jamaica
● Africa
● Europe
● Reggae

Next, they will create one slide in a slide show software that has information about the
topic and pictures (like a digital poster). I will explain to the students that their slides should be
like an ad for their topic. They are trying to convince others to visit this place. This slide will need
to be esthetically designed to draw attention from others. It will need to be enticing and
persuasive. I will give the students subjects for them to look at when researching, such as
culture, history, artists, musicians, etc.

After they have finished their slide, the students will answer comprehension questions on
their own about the poem with 75% accuracy. They will be allowed to use their notes from the
reading and discussions. The questions will be based on the class discussions from that day.

Differentiation:
For the inclusion classroom, students will be given guided notes for them to fill in
throughout the reading and class discussions. They will be allowed to look back at these notes
during the assessment. Language learners will be provided an iPod that is locked so that only
Google Translate is allowed. Advanced learners will not be given guided notes and will not be
allowed to use their notes on the assessment.

Method of assessment:
The students will be assessed on their comprehension with a formal test in which they
will need to score a 75% or better.
 Lesson Plan #2

Writing Skills Lesson Plan

Topic: Writing Strategies

Objective(s): Students will be able to understand and utilize the six traits of effective writing.

State/district standards: W.9-10.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive

topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

Materials/resources: Pencil, “Writing Project Planning Web” worksheet, “Essay Planning Map”
worksheet, Chromebook, internet, highlighters.

Learning activities:

Ideas- Students will be given a topic on which they are to choose a side and argue their point of view.
The topic is “Are school uniforms a good idea?” They will use their “Writing Project Planning Web”
worksheet to begin their thought process. The students will be instructed to write “School Uniforms” in
the center “Main Topic” bubble and decide their point of view and write yes or no in that same bubble.
Once they have their view point decided, they will think of why they agree or disagree and put those
reasons in the “Subtopic” bubbles. Once they have all 4 subtopics, they will use their Chromebook to
research credible sources that support their subtopics and put those sources in the dotted bubbles.

Organization- Once the students have filled out their “Writing Project Planning Web” worksheet, they
will begin their “Essay Planning Map” worksheet. Using their “Writing Project Planning Web” worksheet
they will organize their ideas so that they flow in the proper order that makes the most sense for their
intended audience. They will be instructed to choose their three strongest subtopics from their “Writing
Project Planning Web” worksheet and put those subtopics in order from least to most important on
their “Essay Planning Map” worksheet. Next, they will begin filling in the rest of their worksheet
following the outline below. Once they have finished their worksheet, they will be asked to use their
worksheet to form their paper on a Google Doc.
Voice- Once they have finished transferring their worksheet to a Google Doc, the teacher will read a
scholarly written essay about a similar topic and have the students point out words that helped them
understand the author’s attitude toward the topic. They will be instructed to make note of these words
and make sure that their writing portrays their attitude properly.

Word Choice- The teacher will give an example sentence of “I had a very good week” and then rewrite it
with a blank in place of good. The class will be asked what words can be used instead of good that would
make a better sentence. After they get the hang of it, students will be asked to read one sentence from
their paper and the teacher will write it on the board. The class will brainstorm different words that
could be used to make the sentence stronger. Once each student has been given a turn to strengthen
their sentence, they will read through their paper and find other sentences that could be stronger.

Sentence Fluency- The teacher will read a poorly written paragraph and ask the students if they
understood what she was reading. When they all say no, she will project the paragraph onto the TV and
have them brainstorm changes that could be made to make the paragraph more fluent. Once they have
made all of the necessary changes, she will reread the paragraph and ask them if it makes more sense.
Once they all agree that the paragraph makes sense, they will get into groups of 2 and read over each
other's paper. They will make notes of where their peers could make changes to make their paper and
sentences flow better.

Conventions- After the students have read their peers' papers, they will be given a paper that has
multiple spelling and grammatical errors. They will also be given 4 different colored highlighters. They
will be asked to highlight the errors accordingly, yellow for capital letters, blue for spelling, green for
punctuation, orange for word spacing and paragraph indents. The teacher will review the document and
make sure that all of the errors are found. Once they have found all of the errors, they will get back with
their partner and search their peer’s paper for any errors. They will also use the highlighter on Google
Docs to highlight different spelling and grammatical errors that the student may want to address. They
will use the same color error code as before.

Differentiation of learning styles- One-on-one support from the teacher or aid for students to work on
specific skills. For students who are above the given assignment, they will be required to create a visual
to go along with their essay. This visual can be a digital visual such as a powerpoint or prezi, or physical
such as a poster board.

Method of assessment- Have the students repeat the process (without the peer reviews) on a different
topic and assess how they used and applied the traits to their writing. Use the writing skills rubric to
assess the students' understanding.
Lesson Plan #3

Topic: Rwandan Genocide

Objective(s):
● Students will practice answering and asking questions to strengthen their understanding
of a subject.

State/district standards:
● SL.9-10.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-
on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts,
and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Materials/resources:
● Background Information Sheets
● Worksheet 1
● Worksheet 2
● Blank sheets of paper
● Notebook paper
● “Hotel Rwanda” movie & DVD player

Learning activities (e.g., listening, speaking, reading, writing):

● The teacher will ask the students what they think Genocide is and write their ideas on
the board.
● The teacher will pass out the Background Information sheets for each student to study
and follow along with.
● The students will volunteer to read sections of the sheet and listen as their peers read
the information.
● The teacher will pass out a blank sheet of paper to each student and draw a timeline of
Rwanda on the board for the students to copy. The teacher will start the timeline with the
first Tutsi King.
● The teacher will introduce the vocabulary that the students will hear in the movie that
may be unfamiliar to them.
Vocabulary: peacekeeper, convoy, militia, rebel, ethnic, tensions, genocide, rules of
engagement, massacre, evacuation, machete, visa, peace agreement, intervene
● Once the students have all of their background information, the teacher will pass out
Worksheet 2 and explain to the students they only need to use the words in the word
bank to fill in the blanks. They will get their answers while watching the movie.
● The worksheet is broken up into 6 sections of the movie. Once one section is completed,
the teacher will pause the movie and review the section with the students.
● Once the teacher finishes reviewing the fill in the blank portions, the teacher will then put
the students in small groups and have them discuss the discussion questions and
answer them on a piece of notebook paper.
 ● Once each group has an answer for each discussion question, the teacher will have the
students come back to their seats and discuss what their groups talked about with the
class.
● The teacher will ask the class questions about each section and have them explain what
is going on in the movie and why.
● After the class has finished watching the movie and filling in all of their sections, the
teacher will assess the students' understanding with a test. The students must score a
70% accuracy or better.

Differentiation of learning styles:

For students with learning disabilities, the teacher will help the students during the small group
discussions to answer questions and write down their ideas properly. For students who are
more advanced, they will be required to have an 80% accuracy or better on their assessment.

Method of assessment:
The teacher will assess the students learning on the Rwandan genocide by adminstering a test
and requiring them to score a 70% (or 80%) accuracy.
 Lesson Plan #4

Topic: Holocaust

Objective(s):
● Through reading Night students will analyze characters and their situations to better
understand the themes of the novel.

State/district standards:
● SL.9-10.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and
rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.

Materials/resources:
● “Night” By Elie Wiesel class set
● Study Guide Questions
● Chromebook
● Grading rubric
● Section Quizzes

Learning activities (e.g., listening, speaking, reading, writing):

● The teacher will present the book to the class and ask them what they know about the
holocaust. The teacher will write the student’s ideas on the board.
● The teacher will present the “Study Guide Questions” for the students to answer while
they are reading.
● The teacher will guide the class during the first section and stop while they are reading
to answer questions as they go along.
● After they finish the first section and have answered all of the questions for that section,
the teacher will administer a short 10 question quiz to gauge the students understanding
and see who is not grasping the information. A quiz will be given after every section.
● Once the teacher sees who is struggling and who is not, she will break the class into
groups. Each group will have a student who is struggling (scored 60 or below) and a
student who is excelling (scored 70 or higher) so that the student who is excelling can
help the struggling student understand. The students groups may change depending on
the quiz scores.
● Each group will read a section together and answer the questions together. (this will be a
daily activity used between other activities). (Other activities include EOC grammar
practice, vocabulary review, and reading comprehension games).
● The teacher will have the students play a game using Quizlet Live to review what they
have read the day before. (The questions on the game will be similar to the ones on the
study guide)
● Once the class has finished reading through all of the sections and answering the
questions, the teacher will present their last assignment for this unit, a research
presentation.
 ● The class will be given a topic dealing with the holocaust and will be asked to create a
10 slide powerpoint presentation. The presentation will be graded with a rubric.
● They will be given several days to work on this presentation and the teacher will walk
around the class and help students as needed. She will give students advice on what to
include in their presentation and help them organize their presentation.
● All of the presentations will be presented to the class and each student will be given a
“Grading rubric” for them to grade their peers' presentation and take notes on the
information presented. The teacher will give the students the option to read the
presentation to the class themselves, or have her read it.
● Once all of the presentations have been completed, the teacher will do a final
assessment on the students understanding using a test. The test will include information
from the book, the vocabulary, and from the presentations. The teacher will prepare the
students by playing multiple review games over the course of the unit. The teacher will
expect each student to score a 70 or above.

Differentiation of learning styles:

For students who have learning disabilities, the teacher will work closely to make sure they are
understanding the text and will help them with their study guide questions. She will also help
them find sources for their presentations and help come up with items related to their topic for
the student to research. For students who are excelling, they will be required to present their
presentations to the class themselves.

Method of assessment:
The student will be assessed with a formal test at the end of the unit that will include information
from the book, the vocabulary, and the student presentations. They will be expected to score a
70% or higher.
 Lesson Plan #5

Topic: Discrimination

Objective(s):
● Students will practice analyzing text and using context to make connections.

State/district standards:
● RI.9-10.3 Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events
including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and
developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
● W.9-10.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using
effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

Materials/resources:
● Vocabulary
● “Refugee” by Alan Gratz class set
● KWL Chart
● Chromebook

Learning activities (e.g., listening, speaking, reading, writing):

● The teacher will present the book to the class and also draw a KWL chart on the board.
● She will have students draw the same chart on a piece of paper and tell them to write
down what they already Know about discrimination.
Know Want to know Learned

● Once each student has brainstormed some ideas she will have the class take turns
telling their ideas and she will write them in her chart on the board.
● She will then repeat the process with the Want to know section of the chart. (After
reading, she will repeat the process with the Learned section.)
● Next the teacher will pass out the discussion questions and present the discussion
questions on the board. As they read, they will stop and answer the discussion questions
together, she will write down their answers on the board for the students to copy.
● While reading, the teacher will assign each student with one of the 3 main characters
(names will be duplicated). As they read, the students will write 10 journal entries (at
least 5 sentences each) that their character may have written during their time, they will
include the character’s thoughts, feelings and reflections, as well as their reaction to the
day-to-day events including what happens to other characters as well as themselves.
● Once the class has finished reading and writing their journal entries, they will transfer
their journal entries to a Google Slide.
 ● They will be instructed to use StoryBoardThat.com to create a cover page for their
characters diary. This will be used as the title slide of their Google Slide.
● Once their journal entries have been transferred to the Google Slide, they will use
vocaroo.com in order to record themselves presenting their Google Slide as a character
review.
● They will export their recording and put it onto their title slide.

Differentiation of learning styles:

For students with learning disabilities, they will only be required to write 8 slides instead of 10.
Also, they will be allowed to use a template for their characters' diary entries. For students who
are excelling, they will also be required to create a playlist of songs that goes along with their
journal entries as well as a timeline of events for their character.

Template:

What happened to the character?

How is the character feeling?
What does the character think is going to happen?
What happened to the other characters?
How does this affect your character?

Method of assessment:
The teacher will assess the students learning and understanding with the journal entries
presentation. The teacher will look for understanding of the characters emotions, understanding
of how the three characters tie in together, and understanding of the importance of the events
that happened to their character.
Idea Web/Planning Guide
 Assessments

Effective Writing Rubric

4 3 2 1

Ideas & Exceptionally clear, Evident main idea Main idea may be Lacks central idea;
Content focused, engaging with with some support cloudy because development is
relevant, strong which may be supporting details minimal or non-
supporting detail general or limited is too general or existent
even off-topic

Organization Effectively organized Organization is Lack of structure; Lack of

in a logical and appropriate but disorganized, hard coherence;
creative manner. Intro conventional. to follow. confusing.
and conclusion is Attempt at intro Missing or weak No intro or
creative and engaging and conclusion. intro and conclusion.
conclusion

Voice Expressive, engaging, Evident Writing tends to be Writing is lifeless

sincere commitment to flat or stiff No hint of the
Strong sense of topic Little or no hint of writer
audience Inconsistent or dull writer behind
Shows emotion personality words

Word Choice Precise, carefully Language is Monotonous, often Limited range of

chosen functional and repetitious, words
Strong, fresh, vivid appropriate sometimes Some vocabulary
images Descriptions may inappropriate misused
be overdone at
times.

Sentence High degree of Generally in Often coppy Difficult to follow or

Fluency craftsmanship control Monotonous read aloud
Effective variation in Lack variety in sentence patterns Disjointed,
sentence patterns length and Frequent run-on confusing,
structure sentences rambling

Conventions Exceptionally strong Control of most Frequent Numerous errors

control of standard writing significant errors distract the reader
conventions of writing conventions, may impede and make the text
occasional errors readability difficult to read.
with high risks
Discussion and use of Conversations Rubric
SL.9-10.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one,
in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues,
building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Excellent ● Student stays on topic the entire time when speaking

● Student fully understands the topic
● Student always listens to others and is supportive.
● Student answers questions from teachers and students accurately.

Good ● Student stays on topic most of the time

● Student has a good understanding of the topic
● Student often listens to others and is supportive.
● Student answers questions from the teachers and students accurately
most of the time.

Average ● Student stays on topic some of time

● Student has an acceptable understanding of the topic
● Student listens to others and is supportive some times.
● Student answers questions from the teachers and students accurately
some of the time.

Poor ● Student almost never stays on topic,

● Student does not have an understanding of the topic
● Student does not listen to others and is not supportive
● Student answers teachers and students questions inaccurately most
of the time.
Creative Writing Grading Rubric
W.9-10.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

Excellent Good Average Poor

Setting/Scenes Many vivid, Some vivid, The reader can The reader has
descriptive descriptive figure out when trouble figuring
words are used words are used and where the out when and
to tell when and to tell when and story took place, where the story
where the story where the story but the author took place.
takes place. takes place. did not supply
much detail.

Characters Readers can Most readers The reader It is hard to tell

picture the would have knows very little who the main
characters some idea of about the character is.
clearly as they what the characters.
read. characters are
like.

Chain of events The journals flow The journals are The journals are The journals are
in a logical fairly well not very not organized
order. organized organized and and jump around
can be hard to too much.
follow

Ending The ending is The ending is The ending The ending is

creative and somewhat shows little flat and not
concise. creative and creativity. creative.
concise.
 Mrs. Acuff’s Daily Schedule

7:30 - 8:00am Arrival/Morning Work

8:00 - 9:40am English III Inclusion with Mrs. Johnson

9:45 - 11:15am Math II Inclusion with Mr. Dunaway

11:20 - 11:25am Curriculum and Instruction - Morning announcements

11:25 - 11:40am Daily mini lesson focused on IEP goals

11:40 - 12:00pm Progress monitoring

12:00 - 12:25pm Daily mini lesson focused on core classes

12:25 - 12:55pm Lunch

12:55 - 1:25pm Guided/Independent work on core classes

1:25 - 3:00pm Planning

 Resource Journal

Integrating Technology, Cultural Diversity, and Listening and Speaking Activities in

Language Arts

Part 1

Activity 1

Grade Level: 10th grade

Activity: Students will use their Chromebooks to go on a song lyric scavenger hunt. Before the
activity, the teacher will model and give examples of homophones, acronyms, and noun
modifiers. The teacher will then model the activity. Students will be given a list of songs and
their job will be to search the lyrics of the song for the different parts of speech. After searching
the lyrics, the students will record their findings in their parts of speech journals.

Materials: List of songs, Chromebook, pencil, a journal for recording

Assessment: The teacher will view the record in the student’s journal to assess if they
understand parts of speech and if they were able to find all of the parts of speech in the song.

Activity 2

Grade Level: 10th grade

Activity: This activity involves listening and reading. In a small group have students listen to a
story on a Chromebook. Using an app that reads the story while showing the words to the
students. After reading, students will discuss the story among their group and create
comprehension questions to ask the other groups.

Materials: Chromebook, Headphones, Journal, Pencil

Assessment: The teacher will assess students' understanding of the story by viewing/listening to
the student’s questions and answers. Students should have an accuracy level of 7/10.

Activity 3

Grade Level: 10th grade

Activity: Using their Chromebooks, students will use StoryBoardThat.com to create a visual
representation of the story they read in the previous activity. They will each get a copy of the
story and use their own Chromebooks to create a storyboard that shows the main points of the
story to them. The students will be provided a rubric that details what is expected on their
StoryBoard. This activity will help the teacher understand what stood out to each student and
what skills they need to focus on in their teaching.

Materials: Chromebook, StoryBoardThat.com, a printed copy of the story

Assessment: The teacher will assess the students' understanding by seeing what events they
put in their StoryBoard.

Activity 4

Grade Level: 10th grade

Activity: Each student will be given a story to read that is on their level. Each student will record
themselves reading using their Chromebook. After each student has recorded themselves, they
will be allowed to watch their recording. Have the students write down one thing that they liked
about their reading. Then pair off the students into groups of two. Have the students listen to
each other's recordings. The students will pick out something they liked about the video of their
partner reading. This exercise is to help teach students about listening to reading and how to
read with animation.

Materials: Chromebook, leveled readers

Assessment: The teacher will walk around the classroom and observe. The teacher will
informally assess students on their reading and listening skills and make notes on a class roster
about each student's abilities and difficulties.

Explanation: Incorporating technology into all subjects is important. I don’t think that students
need to be left on their own to do online work all day; however, technology can be a great tool to
help teach language arts. Technology can allow for a different way of teaching skills and
strategies that may make them easier to understand and comprehend. It can also make learning
fun and keep the students engaged.

Part 2

Activity 1

Grade Level: 10th grade

Activity: Read Aloud “I am Alfonso Jones,” by Tony Medina. Before reading, have the students
examine the cover of the book and ask them what they think will happen in the story. Ask what
they think the cover represents. Explain that this book is about an African American boy who
was shot and killed. Tell students before reading to listen for events that they think would never
happen. Have them jot down the event. After reading, have the students tell which events in the
book that they have never heard of happening. Explain that these events happen on a daily
basis. After reading I will ask students what this story was actually about. The class will
participate in a discussion of the beginning, middle, and end. Students will then write in their
journal about how they can relate or not relate to the story.
Materials: “I am Alfonso Jones,” by Tony Medina, Journals

Assessment: Formal assessment when reading student journal entries about the comparison of
their lives to the story.

Activity 2

Grade Level: 10th grade

Activity: After reading “I am Alfonso Jones,” by Tony Medina as a whole group, students will
break into small groups. The teacher will start the conversation by asking the group what they
liked most about the book. Students will begin to discuss events in the story and give their
reasoning for why they liked it. The teacher will then ask the groups to share how they relate
this story to their own life. The teacher will ask the students to write about what their favorite
part was in their journal. Students will then use magazines to find a picture of their writing that
complements their writing.

Materials: “I am Alfonso Jones,” by Tony Medina, Journal, magazines

Assessment: The teacher will assess the students learning of the activity by reading their
journals. I will check for sentence structure, spelling, and grammar. As well as their ideas of
what their favorite part was and why.

Activity 3

Grade Level: 10th grade

Activity: Read Aloud, “Diverse Energies,” by 11 speculative fiction authors. Before reading, ask
students what they think the story will be about. Ask them what they think diversity means. Have
students raise their hands to participate in discussion. While reading, stop to ask the students if
their predictions were correct. Have students raise their hands to participate. Ask students if
they have changed their minds about what they think diversity is? What context clues can you
use to figure out what diversity is? After reading, ask students story-specific questions to check
their understanding and how well they were listening.

Materials: “Diverse Energies,” by 11 speculative fiction authors

Assessment: Informal assessment during the discussion.

Activity 4
Grade Level: 10th grade

Activity: After reading, ask the students to take a moment to write what they think makes them
different from the other students in the classroom. Students will break into small groups. The
teacher will instruct the students to talk about the story with their group and what they wrote in
their journals. The teacher will ask questions aloud to the entire class and each group will talk
about it and discuss amongst their group. The teacher will ask, what person in the book did they
think was the most interesting to read about. They will discuss who their favorite character was
and why. The teacher will then ask what character did the students relate to the most. The
students will discuss in their small groups who they related to most and why. The students will
also write all of their answers into their journals. The group will use magazines to create a
poster board of things that made them think of their favorite/most relatable character (1 for each
student on the poster board).

Materials: Journal

Assessment: Each group will present their poster board to the class while the teacher informally
assesses their understanding.

Explanation: Culture affects language learning because a child’s culture begins the day they
are exposed to their daily life, opinions, and language. These factors are shaped by what they
come in contact with throughout their lives. Everyone has different experiences in life and their
classmates may not know about each other’s experiences. By looking at different cultures and
the things that other students go through, it will give other students a different perspective on
their life and how things could be different for them.

Part 3

Grade Level: 10th grade

Activity: Students will participate in an interactive read-along of Antigone. The teacher will
assign each student a different part to read. Before reading, the teacher will play a short video
summary of the play and ask the students what they noticed in the video and what they think will
happen in the play. While reading, the teacher will pause the class during important events and
question the class on how they would’ve handled the situation. For example, when Oedipus is
hit by the king, the teacher would pause the classes reading and ask them how they would have
responded to that situation. After the class has finished reading, they will each get a certain part
of the play to create a storyboard using StoryBoardThat.com. They will share their storyboard
with their teacher and the teacher will combine all of the storyboards into one storyboard. The
class will then take turns presenting their part of the storyboard.

Materials: play, Chromebook, StoryBoardThat.com

Assessment: The teacher will assess the students' understanding by reviewing their storyboards
and listening to their presentations to the class.

Explanation: Listening and Speaking allows the students to grow in their ability to form
sentences and summarize large texts. Listening is essential to understanding what is being said
to them. Allowing students the chance to speak, helps them better understand what they are
reading, and gives them the opportunity to hear how others understand the reading.

Part 4

Grade Level: 10th grade

Activity: The students will be asked to create a Prezi or PowerPoint presentation about
themselves to present to the class. They will be given a list of items to include in their
presentation (previous schools, family, friends, hobbies, etc). The class will be allowed time to
add pictures and animations to their presentation. They will present their “About Me”
presentations to the class. They will be allowed to use note cards to help them with their
presentation.

Materials: Chromebook, Prezi or PowerPoint, note cards

Assessment: I will assess their public oral skills during their presentation.

Explanation: In order to write sentences correctly, you must be able to speak correctly. Oral
language is the foundation of literacy success. With a good oral language foundation, the
student will become successful readers, strong communicators, strong listeners, and it will
increase their confidence.
Reading Strategy Activity

Materials: “Diverse Energies” by 11 speculative fiction authors, vocabulary kahoot game, a

blank sheet of paper, laptop
Strategy: With students sitting at their desk, the teacher will read aloud the book. Before reading
the teacher will introduce the story by reading the title. The teacher will ask the class what they
think the book is going to be about. The teacher will write the predictions on the board. The
teacher will read the back of the book and then ask the students again what they think the book
will be about and see if any of them change their minds. The teacher will write their new
predictions on the board and continue updating the predictions as they read. Asking these
questions peaks students' interest in the book.
While reading the book, the teacher will have the students write down the names of each
character and write a few words about who they are and what they are going through. This will
help the students create a bond with the characters. The teacher will have the students make
verbal predictions about what they think will happen to the character later on in the book. They
will also discuss any personal experiences or related events that they connect with that
character. The students will write a summary of each story and the characters that were
involved. After each story, the students will participate in a Kahoot game using their laptops.
Questions on the Kahoot game (online game) will range from vocabulary in context to recalling
facts and events in the book.
Once the teacher has read the book, the students will watch two short videos about diversity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFNuRJm4LMs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQT5S57FyXw

Then the students will be given a “brochure” that they will fill in and color any way they want.
The brochure will have sections such as:
● How are you different and unique?
● What character from the book “Diverse Energies” did you relate to the most? Why?
● Have you ever made a decision about someone just by looking at them?
● Has anyone ever made a decision about you just by looking at you?
● What are ways that you can be different from others?
● What are ways you can make others feel welcome?

Experience: In my experiences, starting off a class by learning about diversity and learning
about each other's differences, we are able to have a more successful school year. The
students get to learn so much more about each other than if I was just to go straight into
progress monitoring assignments. The students become more aware of their classmates'
feelings and home life. They learn things about their classmates that they otherwise would have
never known to ask about. By starting off with this diversity activity, the students are more
comfortable around each other and are willing to open up more in class. This makes reading out
loud and class discussion more enjoyable for both the students and the teacher.
Writing Strategies Graphic Organizer

Strategies Traits Examples

Prewriting Ideas ● Distribute the “Narrowing a Topic” worksheet.

Audience ● Assign students a topic from the “Writing
Voice Topic List”.
● Use their broad topic to narrow down their
topic to a specific topic.
● Distribute the “Writing Project Planning Web”
Worksheet.
● Students will generate ideas about their topic
and come up with subtopics for them to
discuss in their paper.

Drafting Voice ● Distribute the “Essay Planning Map”

Organization Worksheet.
● Students will start writing their ideas down in
full sentences,
● Come up with transition sentences.
● Plan out the order of their topics.
● Formally transfer it to a Google Doc.

Revising Word choice ● Each student will check over their paper for
Sentence fluency sentence fluency and word choice.
● Send their papers to a peer for their peer to
review and make suggestions on the structure
or word choice.
● The teacher will show examples of how other
writers begin their paper with a devastating
result of an event, and then move to persuade
the readers in the rest of the essay.
● The teacher will question the students about
the order of their paper.
● Should it be chronological, or should the
events be listed in order of importance?

Editing Conventions ● Students will look for spelling, capitalisation,

Word Choice punctuation, paragraphing, grammar, and
word choice.
● Have a different peer than before to read over
their paper and check for any errors.

Publishing ● Students will be instructed to get into groups

of 3.
● Take turns reading their paper out loud to their
group members.
● The listeners will take notes while the reader
is reading and give feedback after the reader
has finished.
List of Best Practices for Teaching Language Arts

1. Mini lesson
a. Mini lessons allow a teacher to quickly teach a strategy that the students will use
often. Shorter lessons help students stay engaged and keep their attention.
Teaching strategies in this way allows students to learn new strategies without
spending too much time on drills and worksheets.
2. Guided or independent student practice
a. Starting with guided practice helps the student become more confident in their
ability to complete the task. Once they have completed a few guided practices,
then they can practice the task independently with little to no errors.
3. Reflection
a. Reflection allows students to review the lesson objectives, share their ideas to
the class, and reflect on what they have learned.
4. Encourage independent reading
a. Students who read 30 minutes a day on their reading level build confidence in
reading and reading stamina. It also expands their vocabulary and knowledge.
5. Pre-reading and pre-writing strategies
a. Pre-reading allows the teacher to see what the students know about the subject
prior to reading. Vocabulary activities are a great way to engage students in pre-
reading activities. Pre-writing strategies such as venn-diagrams, help students
build their writing and create a paper that is logically organized.
List of Technology Resources

1. StoryBoardThat.com
2. Quizlet
3. Kahoot
4. Prezi
5. Google Classroom
6. Khan Academy
7. Albert.com
8. EasyCMB
9. Loom
10. Padlet
11. Live Binders
Visual organizer of how to use speaking and listening in the classroom
List of skills for teaching and building student vocabulary

1. Create a word map

a. Associate it with antonyms and synonyms
2. Music for memorization
a. Use a catchy beat and a good hook
3. Root Analysis
a. Teach root words and have them guess the definition
4. Personalized lists
a. Let students pick their own vocabulary words from a larger list
5. Use context clues
a. Encourages students to use critical thinking skills and make connections
6. Create index card graphic organizers
a. Part of speech
b. Definition
c. Use it in a sentence
d. Roots
7. Scavenger hunt
a. Have students search for the vocabulary words in a text the class is reading
8. Word Wheel

a.
9. Photo Album
a. Have students cut out images from magazines that remind them of the
vocabulary word
10. Heads up Vocabulary Game
a. Students hold a card on their forehead with a word on the card.
b. They then ask the other students questions to try to figure out what word they
have.
11.
 Bibliography

Cox, J. (2020, September 25). 10 Teaching Strategies to Help Students Listen. Retrieved January
14, 2021, from https://www.teachhub.com/teaching-strategies/2014/08/10-teaching-
strategies-to-help-students-listen/

Ekaran, S. (2020, December 17). Top 10 Tools For The Digital Classroom. Retrieved January 14,
2021, from https://elearningindustry.com/tools-for-the-digital-classroom-top-10

Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2020, July 16). Speaking and Listening in Content Area Learning. Retrieved
January 14, 2021, from https://www.readingrockets.org/article/speaking-and-listening-
content-area-learning

Mansaray, H. (2013, May 22). Nine Strategies for Reaching All Learners in English Language Arts.
Retrieved January 13, 2021, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/stw-expanded-learning-
time-individualized-learning-hassan-mansaray

Top 10 Educational Technology Resources. (2011, September 26). Retrieved January 14, 2021,
from https://www.teachervision.com/educational-technology/top-10-educational-technology-
resources

Van Gemert, L. (2020, September 28). 21 Ideas for Teaching Vocabulary in the Classroom.
Retrieved January 14, 2021, from
https://www.giftedguru.com/21_ideas_for_teaching_vocabulary/

Www.facebook.com/flocabulary, N. P. (2018, August 13). Effective Vocabulary Instruction: Five Best

Practices for Teachers. Retrieved January 14, 2021, from http://blog.flocabulary.com/best-
practices-k12-vocabulary-instruction/