Level II - Teacher Ed Lesson Plan Template (UED Courses)

Teacher (Candidate): Nhan Lee Molzahn Grade-Level: 8th Lesson Date: 2-1-23

Title of Lesson: Refugee Cooperating Teacher: Victoria Smith

Core Components
Subject, Content Area, or Topic

English – Reading – comprehension and understanding/compare and contrast

Student Population

30 Students
0 IEPs
5 504s

Learning Objectives

I can compare and contrast various reading texts fiction and non-fiction.

Virginia Standard(s) of Learning (SOL)

7.5 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of fictional texts, literary
nonfiction, poetry, and drama.

h) Compare/contrast details in literary and informational nonfiction texts.

VDOE Technology Standards

English Language Proficiency Standards (WIDA Standards)

Materials/Resources
Blank sheets of paper, pen/pencil, the four number posters for corners of the room, the three
posters with main character names for the corners of the room, **make sure the poster has the
character’s name, example of similarity, and the multiple-choice questions.
High Yield Instructional Strategies Used (Marzano, 2001)
Check if Used Strategy Return
Identifying Similarities & Differences 45%
Summarizing & Note Taking 34%
Reinforcing Efforts & Providing Recognition 29%
Homework & Practice 28%
 Nonlinguistic Representations 27%
Cooperative Learning 23%
Setting Goals & Providing Feedback 23%
Generating & Testing Hypothesis 23%
Questions, Cues, & Advanced Organizers 22%
Does your instructional input & modeling yield the positive returns you want for your
students?
Check if Used Strategy Return
Teach Others/Immediate Use of Learning 95%
Practice by Doing 75%
Discussion 50%
Demonstration 30%
Audio Visual 20%
Reading 10%
Lecture 05%
Safety Considerations

Time
Process Components
(min.)
10 *Anticipatory Set
min
SOL Prompts - #2 and 31

REFUGEE WARM-UP
TTW use the whiteboard to define and answer questions about the definition of
“refugee”.

-What is a Refugee?

-What might a refugee, who is seeking safety, might take on their journey?
Small activity – TSW write down 5 personal special items down on the board that
they would want to take with them if they were refugees. TTW then instruct the
students to cross three things off that list.
**How hard was that to do? **Did you choose the most useful items or the most
meaningful items?

-What is the most difficult part about leaving your home?

1 min
*State the Objectives (grade-level terms)

-I will be able to compare and contrast different reading informational texts

10 *Instructional Input, Modeling, or Procedures

min
Compare – identifying the similarities and differences between two things.

Contrast – identifying only the differences between two things.

Steps to follow when answering compare and contrast questions.

1. Analyze the question – compare/contrast.

2. Content – identify key details in the text to begin developing main ideas.
3. Structure – identify lengths, type of writing (expository, descriptive,
persuasive), style of writing (appeals to emotions, informative), how ideas are
presented (facts, story, poem)
4. Evaluate – put information into Venn Diagram

*Check for Understanding

TTW go to shared slides on google drive to check for understanding.

 Link: Compare in Contrast - Google Slides

25 *Guided Practice
min
Round Robin Strategy
Activity based off the first 9 chapters of Refugee, three chapters each of each main
character.

***Classroom Management*** -
-Students will be divided into four groups. TTW count the students off by fours.
-The students will go to their designated corner with their number.
-All students will work only in their groups and move together. TTW allow a timer
for 5 minutes at each station.
-On the three posters with the main characters, the teacher will provide examples of
the similarities they share. The students MAY NOT use the examples as their answers
but ONLY as for guides.
-TTW display specific instruction on the board for this activity so the students can
refer to if need further guidance.

TTW give explicit instructions to the students for the next activity.

1. There are four stations. One station per corner of the room
2. Each corner of the room will represent one of the three main characters in
“Refugee”.
3. In the three corners with the main characters, you will complete the following
at each station.
1. While you are at a particular station, you will write two similarities in
full sentences that you can relate to.

Example: You are at Josef’s station; you believe you relate to Josef
because you should not leave any family members behind.

**Important**: after completing all three main character stations, you

should have the total of six similarities.
 2. Next, answer the multiple-choice questions at each station. Write your
answer letter (a, b, c, d) on your paper.

4. Lastly, the fourth corner represents the differences of all the three main
characters. At this station, you will come up with 4 differences between the
characters. Example: (ethnicity, family, countries, travel destinations, etc.)

20 *Independent Practice
min
Color picture/Venn diagram Activity/Strategy

Kinesthetic/Visual Learners

Classroom Management – During the instructions, TTW draw the Venn diagram on
the board for an example for the students to follow.

Instructions:
1. Blank piece of paper and colored pencils.
2. Draw a Venn Diagram.
3. Compare and Contrast one of the main characters you related to during the
round robin activity and yourself.
4. Using the information from one of the characters from the previous activity,
draw pictures that relate to what you wrote.
5. Draw pictures inside the Venn Diagram. Remember: One side of the Venn
Diagram represent pictures that relate to you. The other side of the Venn
Diagram is pictures that relate to one of the main characters. And in the
middle are pictures that represent your similarities between both you and
your main character that you chose.
6. After you finish drawing, write a POWER paragraph that explains what you
wrote.

10 Assessment
min
TTW have a few of the students volunteer to show and explain their work to the rest
of the class.
Remember: make sure the pictures relate to the compare and contrast assignment, and
make sure the POWER paragraph supports the Venn Diagram.

3 min *Closure

3-2-1 Strategy

TSW write down on a piece of paper the following: 3 things you learned new today, 2
things that you still have questions about, and 1 thing that you thought was the most
important thing in the lesson. TSW turn their work into the teacher.
Differentiation Strategies (e.g. enrichment, accommodations, remediation, learning style,
 multi-cultural).

I included an activity for visual and kinesthetic learners. They will color pictures that relate to
certain terms

Classroom Management Strategies (To ensure a positive learning environment).

1. When giving instructions, make sure you provide clear examples for the students that
they can follow for guidance.
Lesson Reflection. To be completed following the lesson. Did your students meet the
objective(s)? What parts of the lesson would you change? Why? (Professor will determine
if reflection goes here or in written report).

*Denotes Madeline Hunter lesson plan elements.

Candidate Signature Cooperating Teacher Date

Signature

Signatures indicate the candidate presented the lesson for cooperation.

 Lesson Reflection

In this lesson plan, I taught a lesson on comparing and contrasting characters for the book

we are reading in class, Refugee by Alan Gratz. Furthermore, I taught the students about the

Venn Diagram and how they can use comparing and contrasting through this specific diagram

strategy. I developed this lesson for the students to gain some practice with their skill for

comparing and contrasting. I wanted them to be able to compare and contrast different elements

through reading. Moreover, I designed this lesson so the students could also connect the story

and the characters to their own life as well. They were required to compare the characters’

emotions and struggles and their own emotions and struggles. Furthermore, I developed a section

of the lesson where the students would find differences between the characters and relate it back

to themselves. From the assessment section, I would take the students feedback and emphasize

on the areas where I need to be clearer in my instruction. For example, one the students wrote on

their exit ticket, “how might we use our imagination further to really put ourselves in the

perspectives of the characters in refugee?” My answer to that question is to provide more

background knowledge to the story. Furthermore, I would adapt fun engaging activities that

would help the students imagine the life of a refugee would be.

What went well? The content and flow went well. I knew what I was teaching, and I had

slides on the board to guide my delivery and content. Towards the beginning, I told the students I

wanted to get down to business because we had a lot to go over that day. I laid down the law and

told them about the expectations for behavior and the consequences for misbehavior. The

students responded well to my expectations and started their behavior well. For my own future

class, I would like to make sure I lay down the law when I first meet my students. I want them to

know how I run the class and what is expected of them. Another thing that went well was student
comprehension during class instruction. During my instruction, I made sure to pause at certain

moments to make sure the students understood what I was teaching. There were minimal

questions from the students after I asked for understanding. At some points, the students didn’t

even raise their hands for questions. In my own classroom, I would like to continue this method

during instruction. This will allow students to ask questions at each step rather than flooding all

the questions at the end.

What went wrong? I hate to say it, but some aspects in classroom management went a

little crazy. This was the first block I was teaching this lesson plan. As a result, my classroom

management was a little rough. For example, during guided practice, I had a group station

project for the students to practice their comparing and contrasting. During this time, I was not

clear in which direction I wanted the students to go after each station. Then I remembered I

forgot to go over this section during my directions. In my future classroom, I need to be actively

cautious in my future classroom when giving specific details. Furthermore, I need to give

instructions even to the smallest details during delivery. Furthermore, I would like to post the

instructions on the board, so the students can visually see what they need to do. Another aspect

that went wrong was how I divided them into their groups. First, I wanted to do group leaders

and then spit the rest of the students by counting them off by fours. This went completely wrong

when one of the students thought they were picked to be leaders because they were be slighted

and thought they were the “bad” students. In my future classroom, if I want to divide students up,

I need to previously divide all the students up by name, or I need to count all the students off by

certain number. Overall, from this lesson plan, I learned a lot about specifically classroom

management and giving very clear instructions during guided practice.

LESSON PLAN REQUIREMENTS:

In this lesson plan, I focused on culturally responsive teaching and classroom and

behavior management. In this lesson, I included some activities that would focus on various

cultures and backgrounds. Including instruction and activities that focus on different cultural

backgrounds help enrich learning development. In article written by Andrea J. Stairs, she writes

about the importance of culturally responsive reaching. She states,

“The underlying assumption of culturally responsive pedagogy is that diversity is an asset

that enriches the learning of all students, not a deficit to overcome. Jacqueline Jordan

Irvine and Beverly Jeanne Armento explain this approach: "The term culturally

responsive pedagogy is used interchangeably with several terms such as culturally

responsible, culturally appropriate, culturally congruent, culturally compatible, culturally

relevant, and multicultural to describe a variety of effective teaching approaches in

culturally diverse classrooms,” (Stairs).

Teachers must consider all these points when including culturally responsive teaching.

Incorporating and considering students cultural backgrounds might provide a bridge and

connection to a concept that might be difficult to reach.

During this lesson, we are working through a novel called Refugee by Alan Gratz. I

thought this would be a great opportunity to focus in on the different cultures since the three

main characters in the book are from three different countries. One is from Germany, one is from

Syria, and one is from Cuba. I did have a couple of students in my class that had German and

Cuban decent. Furthermore, I focused on comparing and contrasting in this lesson. As a warmup,

I had the students go around to different stations, comparing themselves to the three different

characters in the book. As the characters in the book were refugees, I had the students compare
what might they feel that they relate to each of the characters. Each of the characters in the book

had different struggles of their own considering their cultural backgrounds as well. As a result, I

had the students work through some of the differences they might have compared to the

characters in the book as well. This might include appearances, accents, family history,

languages, demographics, and other noticeable traits and qualities the students might find.

For classroom management, I had the students split up into four groups. I counted the

students off by 4s. 1s would go in one corner, 2s into theirs, and so on. Once we had established

groups, I then instructed the students how rotations would work. Group 1 would go to station 2.

Group 2 would go to station 3. 3 would go to station 4. Group 4 would go to station 1. The

students would move up the next number station after the time was up. Furthermore, I posted the

instructions on how to move from station to station on the board so the students could visually

see as well. This type of classroom management is important because students need direct and

clear instruction on how and where to move when it comes to group stations.

For the assessment portion, I would take the students’ work and use that as data to

formulate and navigate how I would change my future instruction. The part where the students

volunteer themselves to share their work is a direct way of receiving information to see if the

students understood the content. As they share their work, it is a way for the students to share the

material in the way they understand. In addition, based off those understandings, you can see if

their knowledge matches up to the content instruction that was just taught. If not, as the teacher, I

need to find clearer ways to deliver my classroom instruction. Examples would be more visual

directions, creative learning strategies, learning strategies that reaches individual learners. As the

students practice their comparing and contrasting skills, such as the Venn Diagram and POWER

paragraph exercise, I would take the results of their work and use it as examples for how the
outcomes of this certain exercise would turn out in the future. Saving the students work is a good

way of feedback of what to expect from the students. Furthermore, I can tweak the assignment to

produce a desired outcome from my students. So, altogether, from the assessment, I am learning

how to differentiate my future instruction based of the assessments the students complete.
 Cited Sources

Stairs, A. J. (2007). Culturally Responsive Teaching: The Harlem Renaissance in an Urban

English Class. The English Journal, 96(6), 37–42. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30046750