L5+Bernhardt,+Jennifer

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, HEALTH AND REHABILITATION LESSON PLAN FORMAT
 * UNIVERSITY OF MAINE AT FARMINGTON

Teacher’s Name:** Ms. Jennifer Bernhardt **Date of Lesson:** Lesson 5
 * Grade Level:** 11th **Topic:** Themes

__**Objectives**__

 * Student will understand that** literary text has themes that are universal, but show different perspectives and can be implicit and explicit.
 * Student will know** how to find themes and their meaning in a piece of literature and connect them to real life.
 * Student will be able to** adapt a theme from the book to the real world.

__**Maine Learning Results Alignment**__
Maine Learning Results: English Language Arts - A.Reading A2 Literary Texts Grades 9-Diploma //A Story Like the Wind// Students read text within a grade appropriate span of text complexity and present analysis of fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry, using excerpts from the text to defend their assertions. a. Analyze the characters' external and internal conflicts d. Evaluate the themes in a literary text.


 * Rationale:** Through their knowledge of themes, motifs, and symbolism, students will be able find themes in literature and find their meaning. With this understanding they will be able to generalize the theme and connect it to the real world or adapt it to their lives.

__**Assessment**__
Students will reflect over their learning and themes in their journals through prompts that I will write up on the board for them. The prompts will allow them to think about themes and revise and rethink their learning. The prompts that they will write about are, "Write three questions you still have, two “ahas”, and one suggestion for improvement." and "What did you learn and how will this affect you later?"
 * Formative (Assessment for Learning)**

Students use comic life for this assessment. They will need to choose a theme from the novel and then either fit it to the real world or their lives or find a similar theme that is in the real world. Students will need to create a comic book about this theme as it pertains to the real world. They will need to have the comic book set up like a real comic and create an original title that would imply the theme. They may use characters from other comics (if they do they will need to cite this comic), or they can create their own. Students will work in partners for this project. Students should be implicit with their theme throughout the comic and not come right out and state it.
 * Summative (Assessment of Learning)**

__**Integration**__

 * Technology**: Students will use Comic life to create a comic book showing an implicit theme that they have adapted from the novel into a real world theme.


 * Social Studies**: Students will be looking at current events and searching for a theme in the real world that is similar to that of the novel.

__Groupings__
Students will be grouped according to their seasonal partner sheets. They will be partnered with their fall partners. These will be their partners for group discussions as well as for the comic life project.

__**Differentiated Instruction**__

 * Strategies**
 * Verbal**: Students will discuss themes in their groups.
 * Visual**: Students will work with comic life using pictures to portray a story with an implicit theme.
 * Logical**: Students will organize their information in a graphic organizer.
 * Interpersonal**: Students will work with partners to complete the project.
 * Intrapersonal**: Students will have time to reflect on their learning in their journals.
 * Body**: Students will have a "Comic Book Fair" and have time to move about the room and look at each students work and make comments and ask questions.
 * Technology**: Students will use Comic life to create a comic book showing an implicit theme that they have adapted from the novel into a real world theme.

//I will review student’s IEP, 504 or ELLIDEP and make appropriate modifications and accommodations.//
 * Modifications/Accommodations**

If students know they are going to be absent for this class they must come and tell me so that they can receive the t-chart and in class notes. I will write the directions in detail on their chart as well. If students are unaware they will be absent, they must come in to me during my office hours and receive the instruction they need and we will work on an agenda that they can follow to get all their work done and in at a reasonable date. Also the syllabus with due dates and assignments will be posted online for students to view. Also partner assignments will be posted. This way students know who their partner is so they can get in touch with them to work on projects. I still want students to work with partners even if they are absent, and the journals will tell me whether or not the absent student did their part.

Students will use comic life to create a comic book to show that they understand how to adapt themes from the novel to the real world and that they can imply themes and their meanings within their stories. Comic life is a type two technology because students will be using the different elements of this software to show their understanding of the unit and it will be easy for them to change the comic book as they refine and rethink their ideas about themes.
 * Extensions**

__**Materials, Resources and Technology**__
//A Story Like the Wind// Laptops Pencil T-Chart Journals

__Source for Lesson Plan and Research__
http://hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/feature9.html Here is an explanation by an author as to why writers write (and why they write what they do) I found this interesting as a way to explain to students why some authors put implicit meanings in their novels.

http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Tackling_Theme_Literature/ This site gives questions students can ask themselves to help find the theme.

http://www.ci.maryville.tn.us/mhs/studyskills/CompGuide/LitAnaTheme.htm This site has more information on themes and what they are as well as what to look at to find them.

__**Maine Standards for Initial Teacher Certification and Rationale**__
Rationale:** I will be applying different methods to meet all the learning styles of my students, because not all students are the same and learn the same. Each learning style will be addressed throughout the lesson. The same format of the previous class will be used for students who like consistency in their routines. Students will have visual directions on the syllabus and the learning will be progressive (clipboards). Students will learn by discussion with peers over themes and their meanings from the novel and then how to adapt them to the real world (microscope). Students will be able to use the notes that I put down on the board as well as the organizers they create in their groups and with their partners to further their understanding and have the ability to look back if they need to. Students will have a choice as to which theme they will choose, what theme they will adapt it too, and the story they will create to show the implicit theme (beach ball). Continuing to use the "Giving Feedback" handout, students will evaluate their peers presentation anonymously. I will consistently demonstrate a positive and encouraging attitude as a model for my students and be there for students who need someone else to talk to or ask questions (Puppy).
 * //Standard 3 - Demonstrates a knowledge of the diverse ways in which students learn and develop by providing learning opportunities that support their intellectual, physical, emotional, social, and cultural development.//

Rationale:** In this lesson students will discuss more in depth the different themes from the novel and their meanings. They will also discuss how they could adapt the themes to fit the real world and how they might possibly show them in their own original story. Students will learn how to find themes and connect them to real life as well as understand how to imply them and not make them explicit. The curriculum will be presented in a variety of ways because all students learn differently.
 * //Standard 4 - Plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, curriculum goals, and learning and development theory.//

Rationale:**
 * //Standard 5 - Understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies and appropriate technology to meet students’ needs.//
 * Verbal**: Students will discuss themes in their groups.
 * Visual**: Students will work with comic life using pictures to portray a story with an implicit theme.
 * Logical**: Students will organize their information in a graphic organizer.
 * Interpersonal**: Students will work with partners to complete the project.
 * Intrapersonal**: Students will have time to reflect on their learning in their journals.
 * Body**: Students will have a "Comic Book Fair" and have time to move about the room and look at each students work and make comments and ask questions.
 * Technology**: Students will use Comic life to create a comic book showing an implicit theme that they have adapted from the novel into a real world theme.

Rationale:** Students will reflect over their learning and themes in their journals through prompts that I will write up on the board for them. The prompts will allow them to think about themes and revise and rethink their learning. The prompts that they will write about are, "Write three questions you still have, two “ahas”, and one suggestion for improvement." and "What did you learn and how will this affect you later?"
 * //Standard 8 - Understands and uses a variety of formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and support the development of the learner.//
 * Formative (Assessment for Learning)**

Students use comic life for this assessment. They will need to choose a theme from the novel and then either fit it to the real world or their lives or find a similar theme that is in the real world. Students will need to create a comic book about this theme as it pertains to the real world. They will need to have the comic book set up like a real comic and create an original title that would imply the theme. They may use characters from other comics (if they do they will need to cite this comic), or they can create their own. Students will work in partners for this project. Students should be implicit with their theme throughout the comic and not come right out and state it.
 * Summative (Assessment of Learning)**

__Teaching and Learning Sequence__
The class will be arranged in pairs because students will be working in pairs throughout this lesson. When they are through students will understand that literary text has themes that are universal, but show different perspectives and can be implicit and explicit. They will know how to find themes and their meanings in a piece of literature as well as connect them to real life. Students will be able to adapt a theme from the book to the real world. //Students will realize that conflicts are a part of everyday life and can be found in every piece of literature, and find that they can find similar conflicts in their own life. Students will read text within a grade appropriate span of text complexity and present analysis of fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry, using excerpts from the text to defend their assertions.// Students will come into class and find comic books on their desks. They will have time to look through them before I give them their directions. Then I will ask them to look through the comics again and this time look for themes, they are to jot down any ideas that they have that could be themes and then they are to write them on the board and together as a class we will discuss them. I will ask them how they think that they could change these themes to apply to them. What could they do to generalize the themes and make them matter in their lives because themes are universal and can be found in all literature and everyday life.

(**What, Where, Why, Hook, Tailors: Visual, Verbal**, **Body**, **Interpersonal**, **Intrapersonal**)

This discussion will lead into a discussion of how the students came across these themes and what clues they found that would lead them to that theme. We will discuss motifs more in depth as well as symbolism and how they might express themes in an implicit manner. I will give students more examples of motifs and tips on how to find themes and their meaning. Students will then receive T-Charts and from the previous lesson over themes create a list of themes from the book (by now they will know more themes because they will have read more of the novel). Then they will brainstorm themes from the real world that would be similar to those of the book, when I say real world I mean from their lives. Themes that they can think of from their lives that would be similar to the themes from the novel they have listed. They will complete the T-Chart with their partners.

(**Equip, Explore, Experience, Tailors: Interpersonal, Verbal**)

After they have completed the T-Chart I will discuss the lesson project that they will complete. They will need to choose a theme from the novel and then either fit it to the real world or their lives or find a similar theme that is in the real world. Students will need to create a comic book about this theme as it pertains to the real world. They will need to have the comic book set up like a real comic and create an original title that would imply the theme. They may use characters from other comics (if they do they will need to cite this comic), or they can create their own. Students will work in partners for this project. Students should be implicit with their theme throughout the comic and not come right out and state it. I will go over how to use comic life and pass out the rubric for the comic book they will create. For the next two days students will work on their projects during class. This way students who do not have computers have time and resources to create their comic book. On the fourth day students will display their comic books and every student will move around and read the comics and fill out an evaluation about them. They will also add some comments/questions to the back of the evaluation form (all of these evaluations will be anonymous). This way the students can look at these comments or questions and begin to think about their projects from a different perspective. Students will refer to their "Giving Feedback" handout when giving these comments.

(**Rethink, Revise, Refine, Tailors: Visual, Intrapersonal, Body**)

After students have seen all of the comic books and filled out the peer evaluation forms, they will fill out a self/partner evaluation and pass it in to me. Then they will have ten minutes to do their formative assessment. Students will reflect over their learning and themes in their journals through prompts that I will write up on the board for them. The prompts will allow them to think about themes and revise and rethink their learning. The prompts that they will write about are, "Write three questions you still have, two “ahas”, and one suggestion for improvement." and "What did you learn and how will this affect you later?"

(**Evaluation, Tailors: Intrapersonal**)

Look through comics (5 minutes) Hook (20 minutes) Themes discussion (20 minutes) T-charts (20 minutes) Comic Life explanation (10 minutes)
 * Agenda**

Day 2 Work on comic life project (80 minutes)

Day 3 Work on Comic Life project (80 minutes)

Day 4 Comic Book presentation (70 minutes) Journals (10 minutes)

Plot: What is the story about? What actually happens? What does the character do in the story? Characterization: What kind of person is the protagonist? What does he want? How does he go about getting it?
 * Content Notes**

Use the structure of a story to determine its themes.

Look at the **narrative arc** (who is the character at the start of the story and what does he become at the end?)

By looking at the story closely and asking why certain things are placed within its structure, you'll be able to determine what the story is really about.

Reminder: A theme is an idea or message about life, society, or human nature.


 * **Needs and Desires:** Understand the inner struggles of characters. What are their needs and desires in the beginning, middle, and end? What is the character like at the start of the novel, and how or why does he/she change? What do they want?
 * **Conflict:** Identify the central conflict. List the protagonist’s friends and enemies. Are there conflicts between characters, between the character and society, nature etc?
 * **Motifs:** Pay attention to visual cues. Search for symbols or motifs that represent something else.
 * **Subtext:** Examine dialogue and action between characters.
 * **Titles:** Study the book’s title, as well as the titles of chapters, for clues about the author’s message.
 * **Personal Experience:** Compare the protagonist’s journey to your own experiences. Do you know how character feels when they are happy or sad? Do you agree with what they say or do? If you were in their position, would you act differently?


 * * ====Theme is the meaning released by the work when we take all aspects of the work in its entirety into account.==== ||
 * * ====It is an aspect of human experience that the author wishes to express.==== ||
 * ====Discovering theme: Theme can be discovered only by becoming aware of the relations among the parts of a story and of the relations of the parts to a whole:==== ||
 * || ====Characters: What kind of people does the story deal with?==== ||
 * || ====Plot: What do the characters do? Are they in control of their lives, or are they controlled by fate?==== ||
 * || ====Motivation: Why do the characters behave as they do, and what motives dominate them?==== ||
 * || ====Style: How does the author perceive reality?==== ||
 * || ====Tone: What is the author's attitude towards his subject?==== ||
 * || ====Values: What are the values of the characters in the story? What values does the author seem to promote?==== ||
 * ====The importance of theme in literature can be overestimated; the work of fiction is more than just the theme. However, the theme allows the author to control or give order to his perceptions about life.==== ||

[|T-Chart] Self/Partner Evaluation
 * Handouts**