Scaffolded Reading Experience- Allison Reid

Written Report:
I. Introduction
A. Factors that are influencing instructional decision making.
1. Setting: This course is English III Honors, taught in a public school setting to juniors in high school.
Students in this course are studying American literature and writing and I teach the course in chronological order
as much as possible, because I believe that doing it this way better allows students to make connections with the
American History knowledge they receive from their other course. I also feel that teaching in chronological order
allows students to see the progression of thoughts, styles, and trends in American History, art, and literature.
Students in this course are of high academic levels, though it is typical to have varying reading comprehension
levels within a section. There are 24 students in the classroom, the classroom is spacious, allowing for students to
sit at tables as small groups and they are well-behaved. The class meets for 90 minutes per day. Students are
open to discussing varying viewpoints and perspectives, which is great, because this text is difficult and heavy on
religion. Students are studying colonial America and the majority of the texts in this unit have religious overtones.
2. Text: This text (Jonathan Edwards Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God) is a required text for our
course, and the excerpt I am using comes from our textbook. This is the first of such dense and religious writings.
3. Students: There are 24 students in this section, of which there are 10 males and 14 females (5
minority males and 4 minority females), and 5 students of low socio-economic status. I have 4 LEP students who
speak English as their second language, though two of them have tested out of the ESL program because of their
language proficiency. In looking at their Lexile scores, they range from 379 (3
rd
grade) to 1464 (College), though
the average for the group is around 1150 (just at grade level). Strategic pairing of students, based on reading
comprehension levels, English language proficiency, and personalities will be critical to this activitys success.
B. Philosophical/Theoretical Rationale: Of the theories I have studied is social constructivism, which can be
described as the building of knowledge rather merely collecting knowledge, and it emphasizes that interaction with people
in the process of this knowledge construction is of critical importance. Many of the projects I assign involve student
collaboration and inquiry-based learning to the extent that students are required to work together to ask questions and
seek answers and then report out to the group as a whole. To that end, I have designed this experience to be
collaborative and constructive, in the sense that I am starting by expecting level one type responses and layering on the
more difficult concepts as we go. We begin with preloading vocabulary terms (but not all of them) and we summarize and
discuss concrete details to start with before we delve into to the more challenging parts of the lesson. Allowing the
students to collaborate and discuss what they see and learn is an effective way to engage students and build confidence
in their reading abilities.
II. Lesson Plan
A. Instructional Objectives: After instruction, students should be able to demonstrate understanding of:
1. visual and persuasive nature of powerful imagery
2. effective use of figurative language
3. importance of context
4. how authors purpose impacts text
5. how authors use diction (word choice) to create tone
6. differences between argumentative and persuasive texts
B. Materials/Equipment:
Item Required When Used Person responsible
Highlighter Beginning annotation Students
Pencil Throughout Students
Copies of text Entire lesson Teacher
Copies of questions Phase two after annotation and initial readings Teacher
Promethean board Initial reading and during review Teacher
Blank paper and art supplies for artwork Final phase- synthesis Teacher
Computer for connecting to Promethean All phases Teacher

C. Three Phases:
1. Prereading: Before we begin, I will review what we have learned about the Colonial period and the
other writers have read about early America and the Puritans. I will introduce Jonathan Edwards and relay his
background (educated at Yale, asked to deliver this sermon multiple times to many, many audiences in churches,
the structure of a Puritan sermon and the delivery method this sermon would have employed (monotone). We
would remind each other that in this course, we will read many works that are about hot button topics, and that
we are conduct ourselves in a mature manner. We will be focusing on how Edwards uses language to further his
purpose, not debating the merits of Christianity. Edwards was a fantastic writer, and his works have been
preserved and are still taught in our schools because of the masterful ways in which he uses figurative language
and persuasive rhetoric. We will discuss some of the religious vocabulary through discussion (allowing students
to define terms when possible).
2. Reading (Reader-Text Interactions): The first reading of the piece will follow this discussion after a quick run
through of the vocabulary highlighted in the text. The first reading will be silent, and students will mark on their
copies of the text to indicate words they do not understand or words that are used differently than they have seen
them used before. They will look for shifts in the text and will follow our classroom guidelines for annotation. They
are instructed to look for figurative language (though not necessarily to interpret at this point) such as similes and
metaphors in order to discuss them later. They are to look for what it is that Edwards is actually trying to persuade
his audience to do and I will ask them to summarize this in discussions in their groups.
In the second reading, I will read sections aloud and we will discuss as a class questions they found in
their first reads. Then, I will distribute handout (attached at end of SRE) and students will work in pars or triads to
complete handout (though the final question- the artwork is to be completed individually). Most likely, this will
carry over to another day, so students will be asked to work on completing questions for homework. At start of
next class, we will work our way through questions together, and use them as a starting point for our discussions.
The remainder of this time will be spent working on artwork and brainstorming their own sermon while they work
(the post reading piece).
3. Post reading: Draw and color a picture of the image you consider most powerful and effective. Be
prepared to elaborate on your decision. Students will work independently (though at tables to facilitate discussion
while working on artwork), and I will circulate and ask informal questions to assess what they understand about
the text. Because students have to offer a visual representation of what they read, this is easy to assess whether
or not they have synthesized the concepts presented by Edwards. The other follow-up activity the students will
complete is the writing of their own sermon, following the structure of Edwards, where they will implore
someone to do something they deem to be of great importance and urgency. In their piece, they need to employ
figurative language, including similes and/or metaphors, connotative words to suggest deeper meaning, and vivid
imagery to paint a picture for their audience in the way the Edwards models in this text. They will work in groups
and be given the opportunity to present (or not) the following class period. I anticipate that this lesson will cover
two to three class periods.
D. Assessment: Students will be evaluated via classroom pre-reading discussions and participation, through the
work on their actual texts where they annotated and had a conversation with the text, as well as the
completion/discussion of the handout. They will also be assessed on the artwork (and presentation thereof) and the
sermon they will write/deliver of their own as a post reading activity. Rubric for sermons is below.
Persuasive Sermon Rubric
Criteria 4 3 2 1
The request I make a request and explain
why it is necessary.
I make a request but don't
explain why it is necessary.
My request is buried, confused and/or
unclear.
I don't say what my argument or request
is.
Use of
figurative
language
I use 3 to 4 types of figurative
language more than once to
draw pictures in the reader's
mind and enhance the theme.
I use 2 to 3 types of figurative
language more than once to
draw pictures in the reader's
mind and enhance the theme.
I use 2 types of figurative language only
once and the theme is only somewhat
enhanced.
I use only 1 or no types of figurative
language. The theme is in no way
supported because figurative language
is not present.
Organization My writing has a compelling
opening, an informative middle
and a satisfying conclusion.
My writing has a beginning,
middle and end. It marches
along but doesn't dance.
My writing is organized but sometimes
gets off topic.
My writing is aimless and disorganized.
Voice, word
choice, and
tone
It sounds like I care about my
argument. I show how I think
and feel about it. The words I
use are striking but natural,
varied and vivid.
My tone is OK but my paper
could have been written by
anyone. I need to tell more
about how I think and feel. I
make routine word choices.
My writing is bland or pretentious. There
is either no hint of a real person in it or it
sounds like I'm a fake. The words I use
are often dull or uninspired or sound like
I am trying too hard to impress.
My writing is too formal or too informal. It
sounds like I don't like the topic of the
essay. I use the same words over and
over and over and over. Some words
may be confusing to a reader.
Conventions My sentences are clear,
complete, and of varying
lengths and I use correct
grammar, spelling, and
punctuation.
I have well-constructed
sentences and generally use
correct conventions. I have a
couple of errors I should fix.
I have enough errors in my essay to
distract a reader. My sentences are
sometimes awkward, and/or contain run-
ons and fragments.
Many run-ons, fragments and awkward
phrasings make my essay hard to read.

E. Question Labels: Questions labeled according to Question Answer Relationships (QARs), as explained in Chapter
11 of our course text. Labeled questions from handout:
In the text- Right there questions
Section One: Check the statements you believe agree with what the author says. Sometimes the exact words are used; at
other times, other words may be.
1. God is angry with men on earth.
2. All men deserve Hell.
3. There is no hope for sinners at all.
4. You cannot save yourself.

In the text- Think and search questions
Section Two: Check the statements that you feel represent the authors intended meaning.
5. Jonathan Edwards believed unsaved men were in a state of emergency.
6. God is very powerful.
7. Men should afraid and moved to action in order to save themselves.
8. People should give up all hope.

In Your head- the author and you
Section Three: Check the statements you agree with. Be prepared to defend your answers in class with textual evidence.
9. Jonathan Edwards cared for the people he was speaking to.
10. Given his audience, Edwards provided persuasive proof that the people listening should change their ways.
11. A clear alternative to Hell was presented by Edwards.

In Your head- on your own
Section Four: Answer on your own paper after discussing with your small group. Complete sentences are expected, as
always.
12. What is Edwards goal in writing and delivering this sermon? How do you know? (provide textual evidence)
13. What does Edwards mean by natural men? How do you know? Describe his primary audience.
14. In paragraph 5, appease means to pacify; using this definition as a contextual clue, approximate the meaning of
abate.
15. How does he develop the simile in the paragraph that begins, The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one
holds a spider? Discuss the power of imagery. Why does he use it?
16. Describe the figurative language and images in the passage. Do you notice a progression? What point is he making
through this imagery?
17. Tone is the technique by which the author conveys his attitude towards the subject. Describe Edwards tone. List some
words and phrases that help create tone. Does the tone change? Where? (you can use paragraph number) How do you
know?
18. Edwards sermon is persuasive. Although he conveys an argument, how is the text persuasive? Is it effective? How do
you define a persuasive text?
19. Many in the congregation were said to have fainted and cried out as he delivered his sermon. What parts of the sermon
do you believe might have evoked such a response? Why?
20. Draw and color a picture of the image you consider most powerful and effective. Be prepared to elaborate on your
decision.(This would be an extension--Synthesis, from Blooms Revised Taxonomy)
III. Evaluation: In implementing this lesson, several things went well. The last few times I have taught this piece, I had
incorporated too many concepts all at the same time; I had also included some Common Core components dealing with
grammar, like appositive phrases and semicolon usage. The scope of the objectives was too broad, and served to
frustrate the students. Narrowing my focus this time was much better. I will be able to hit the grammatical concepts later,
after students have a better grasp of the text as a whole first. Students worked well within groups, and I was happy with
how open and respectful they were with the subject matter (this piece always makes me nervous). Grouping kids at tables
and allowing time for them to preload vocabulary was very helpful. I also noticed how helpful it is to do multiple readings of
difficult text like this; it allows students time to process things at different speeds and the discussion in between reading
helps to bridge knowledge gaps. I had not used the lower level questions as part of my response before in written form,
and I thought it bolstered the confidence of some of my lower readers to be able to complete those questions with relative
ease. I liked this part.
Overall, I think this lesson was a bit lengthy. I needed to break it up more and allow for more group interaction at the
beginning sections of the activity. They appreciated being able to work in groups and the feedback I got was that the
notes on the text was helpful, as was having the definitions to some of the words right on the page for easy reference. I
did include more opportunities for small group collaboration than I had originally planned, as I could see some of the kids
checking out as the lesson grew long. Next time around, I will try to incorporate more activities in the midst of this to
personalize this, like perhaps showing clips of other particularly persuasive speeches, or in initiating conversations
soliciting examples of speeches they have seen or remember that were particularly powerful and ask why.
Mrs. Reid ~English III Honors
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God- Jonathan Edwards

Students will demonstrate their understanding of:
visual and persuasive nature of powerful imagery
effective use of figurative language
importance of context
how authors purpose impacts text
how authors use diction (word choice) to create tone
differences between argumentative and persuasive
texts

Pre-loading Vocabulary:
incense v. to cause to be extremely angry
induce v. to succeed in persuading someone to do
something
whet adj.sharpened
discern v. to perceive or recognize something
appease v. to bring peace, quiet, or calm to; to soothe
abominable adj .thoroughly detestable
ascribe v. to attribute to a specified cause or source
deliverance n. release, liberation, rescue, relief
mitigation n. alleviation, lessening, improvement
abhors v. to detest, hate, or dislike

Directions: Look over the vocabulary above, then read the text completely before answering the questions.

Section One- I n your head- right there: Check the statements you believe agree with what the author says. Sometimes the exact
words are used; at other times, other words may be used.
____ 1. God is angry with men on earth.
____ 2. All men deserve Hell.
____ 3. There is no hope for sinners at all.
____ 4. You cannot save yourself.

Section Two- I n your head- think and search: Check the statements that you feel represent the authors intended
meaning.
____ 5. Jonathan Edwards believed unsaved men were in a state of emergency.
____ 6. God is very powerful.
____ 7. Men should afraid and moved to action in order to save themselves.
____ 8. People should give up all hope.

Section Three- I n your head-author and you: Check the statements you agree with. Be prepared to defend your answers
in class with textual evidence.
____9. Jonathan Edwards cared for the people he was speaking to.
____10. Given his audience, Edwards provided persuasive proof that the people listening should change their ways.
____11. A clear alternative to Hell was presented by Edwards.

Section Four- I n your head-on your own: Answer on your own paper after discussing with your small group. Complete
sentences are expected, as always.
12.What is Edwards goal in writing and delivering this sermon? How do you know? (provide textual evidence)
13. What does Edwards mean by natural men? How do you know? Describe his primary audience.
14. In paragraph 5, appease means to pacify; using this definition as a contextual clue, approximate the meaning of
abate.
15. How does he develop the simile in the paragraph that begins,The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one
holds a spider? Discuss the power of imagery. Why does he use it?
16. Describe the figurative language and images in the passage. Do you notice a progression? What point is he making
through this imagery?
17. Tone is the technique by which the author conveys his attitude towards the subject. Describe Edwards tone. List some
words and phrases that help create tone. Does the tone change? Where? (you can use paragraph number) How do you
know?
18. Edwards sermon is persuasive. Although he conveys an argument, how is the text persuasive? Is it effective? How do you
define a persuasive text?
19. Many in the congregation were said to have fainted and cried out as he delivered his sermon. What parts of the sermon do
you believe might have evoked such a response? Why?
20. Draw and color a picture of the image you consider most powerful and effective. Be prepared to elaborate on your
decision. (on a separate sheet- I want display-worthy work!)
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Background Jonathan Edwards delivered his sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God in 1741 to a congregation in Enfield, Connecticut.
Edwards read the sermon, as he always did, in a composed style, with few gestures or movements. However, the sermon had a dramatic effect on his
parishioners, many of whom wept and moaned.

We find it easy to tread on and crush a worm that we see crawling on the earth; so it is easy for us to cut or singe a
slender thread that any thing hangs by; thus easy is it for God when he pleases to cast his enemies down to hell

They
1
are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God, that is expressed in the torments of hell. And
the reason why they do not go down to hell at each moment, is not because God, in whose power they are, is not
then very angry with them; as angry as he is with many miserable creatures now tormented in hell, who there feel
and bear the fierceness of his wrath. Yea, God is a great deal more angry with great numbers that are now on earth;
yea, doubtless, with many that are now in this congregation, who it may be are at ease, than he is with many of
those who are now in the flames of hell. A

So that it is not because God is unmindful of their wickedness, and does not resent it, that he does not let loose his
hand and cut them off. God is not altogether such an one as themselves, though they may imagine him to be so. The
wrath of God burns against them, their damnation does not slumber; the pit is prepared, the fire is made ready, the
furnace is now hot, ready to receive them; the flames do now rage and glow. The glittering sword is whet, and held
over them, and the pit hath opened its mouth under them. . . . b
Unconverted men
2
walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places in this covering
so weak that they will not bear their weight, and these places are not seen. The arrows of death fly unseen at
noonday; the sharpest sight cannot discern them. God has so many different unsearchable ways of taking wicked
men out of the world and sending them to hell, that there is nothing to make it appear, that God had need to be at
the expense of a miracle, or go out of the ordinary course of his providence, to destroy any wicked man, at any
moment. . . .

So that, thus it is that natural men
3
are held in the hand of God, over the pit of hell; they have deserved the fiery pit,
and are already sentenced to it; and God is dreadfully provoked, his anger is as great towards them as to those that
are actually suffering the executions of the fierceness of his wrath in hell; and they have done nothing in the least to
appease or abate that anger, neither is God in the least bound by any promise to hold them up one moment; the
devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them, and would fain
4
lay hold
on them, and swallow them up; the fire pent up in their own hearts is struggling to break out: and they have no
interest in any Mediator,
5
there are no means within reach that can be any security to them. In short, they have no
refuge, nothing to take hold of . . . c

The bow of Gods wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart,
and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise
or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood. Thus all you that
never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the Spirit of God upon your souls; all you that
were never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before
altogether unexperienced light and life, are in the hands of an angry God. However you may have reformed your
life in many things, and may have had religious affections, and may keep up a form of religion in your families and
closets
6
, and in the house of God, it is nothing but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment
swallowed up in everlasting destruction. . . . d


1. they: Earlier in the sermon, Edwards refers to all unconverted men, whom he considers Gods enemies.
2. unconverted men: people who have not been born again, meaning that they have not accepted Jesus Christ.
3. natural men: people who have not been born again.
4. would fain: would rather.
5. Mediator: Jesus Christ, who mediates, or is the means of bringing about, salvation.
6. closets: private rooms for meditation.
The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire,
abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of
nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten
thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended
him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from
falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that
you was suffered
7
to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to
be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that Gods hand has held you up.
There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God,
provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship.

Yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment drop down into hell. E

O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in: it is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the
fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against
you, as against many of the damned in hell. You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing
about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder;
8
and you have no interest in any Mediator, and
nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that
you ever have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment. . . .

It is everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but
you must suffer it to all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite
9
horrible misery. When you look forward,
you shall see a long forever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your
soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You
will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with
this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent
by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be
infinite. Oh, who can express what the state of a soul in such circumstances is! All that we can possibly say about it,
gives but a very feeble, faint representation of it; it is inexpressible and inconceivable: For who knows the power
of Gods anger?9

How dreadful is the state of those that are daily and hourly in the danger of this great wrath and infinite misery! But
this is the dismal case of every soul in this congregation that has not been born again, however moral and strict,
sober and religious, they may otherwise be. . . .

And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and
stands in the door calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners; a day wherein many are flocking to him, and
pressing into the kingdom of God. Many are daily coming
10
from the east, west, north, and south; many that were
very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in, are now in a happy state, with their hearts filled with
love to him who has loved them, and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the
glory of God. How awful is it to be left behind at such a day! To see so many others feasting, while you are pining
and perishing! To see so many rejoicing and singing for joy of heart, while you have cause to mourn for sorrow of
heart, and howl for vexation of spirit! How can you rest one moment in such a condition? . . .
Therefore, let every one that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come. . . f

7. you was suffered: you were permitted.
8. burn it asunder (E-sOnPdEr): burn it into separate parts or pieces.
9. exquisite (DkPskwG-zGt): intensely felt.

Vocabulary:
incense v. to cause to be extremely angry
induce v. to succeed in persuading someone to do something
whet adj.sharpened
discern v. to perceive or recognize something
appease v. to bring peace, quiet, or calm to; to soothe
abominable adj .thoroughly detestable
ascribe v. to attribute to a specified cause or source
deliverance n. release, liberation, rescue, relief
mitigation n. alleviation, lessening, improvement
abhors v. to detest, hate, or dislike