Learning Experience Plan

Subject: ELA
Unit: Shakespeare

Grade level: 12TH Grade

Length of LEP: 1 Day

Topic: Introduction to Shakespeare

Content Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.5

Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her
exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing,
and engaging
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.6

Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is

particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power,
persuasiveness or beauty of the text.
Learning Experience Outcomes
(knowledge/skills)

Learning Experience Assessments

-Partner with a fellow student to brainstorm
-Actively listen and participate in class
-Provide thoughtful answers to questions
-Completed semantic map

Students will:
-Gain knowledge on who Shakespeare is
-Develop a reason why he is still read
-Analyze the impact he has had on the
English language
-Share their findings with the class
-Complete a semantic map
Differentiation (What will you do to meet the needs of students at these different levels?)
Approaching
On-level
Beyond
Approaching students will
On-Level students will be
The independent practice
benefit from partnering
able to collaborate with
will allow the higher level
with peers who are more
higher level thinkers to
learners to expand on their
advanced. Partner work
help them build on their
own knowledge more in
will help them gain
responses.
depth. They will work at
insight. Note taking
their own speed.
strategy will benefit them
to organize thoughts.
Curriculum Integration (Does this lesson correlate with any other content area? Describe.)
Students will be learning about the historical time period that Shakespeare grew up in.
This correlates with Social Studies.
Material Procedures/Strategies
s
Day 1
Sponge Activity As students walk in to class they will be partnered up
with a classmate to work on the Do-Now question together.

Smartbo
ard

Noteboo
ks

Looseleaf
for
personall
y drawn
semantic
map.

Assigned
text

Anticipatory Set- Students will have a Do-Now on the board asking, List
famous dead writers whose works we still read constantly today. Students
will volunteer the answers they came up with the partners they were
assigned to during the sponge activity. These answers will be written on
the board by students.
Activating Prior Knowledge Students will volunteer their answers to the
Do-Now question. This will help students get a sense of how great writing
doesnt die even when the writers do. I will ask students to brainstorm
again with their partners but this time they will be brainstorming reasons
as to why these writings are still so popular. We will come back together as
a class to discuss why books that are very old are still read today. These
reasons will be written on the board. This will help students understand
why Shakespeare is still read today. It will introduce the informational text
that they will be reading.
Direct Instruction Today we will begin our Shakespeare unit. For this unit
we will be reading one of Shakespeares great plays, Much Ado About
Nothing. Before we begin reading the actual text we will learn more about
who Shakespeare is and some other very important topics to help you
understand as you read. Today we will read an article on who Shakespeare
is and his contribution to the literary world. Before we begin I would like
you all to draw a semantic map like we have done before and write down
anything that you know about Shakespeare and his writing. You will be
able to go back to see if you learned anything new. I will then give you the
article and I would like for you all to read independently and take notes
using the Cornell Method. This will help students realize the new things
they have learned and the note taking will help record the information in
their minds and allow them to practice the method. A model of the
semantic map will be displayed.

Guided Practice The students will turn back to their partners to

brainstorm again. They will then begin to fill out the semantic map with
Shakespeares name in the middle. The students can fill in anything they
know about him in the branches that stem off of his name. This prereading strategy allows for student prior knowledge to be activated to help
them later understand their reading. They will be able to connect their
prior knowledge to the information in the informational text. The students
will then present their findings to the class. As a class, the semantic map
on the board will be filled in.

Independent Practice Students will begin to read the informational text

2

from the History Channels website about Shakespeare. As the students

read the text they will take notes using the Cornell Method. This will help
them go back afterwards to the semantic map to see what they have
learned since reading the informational text. The students will be given
time to finish their notes in the Cornell Method. Once students have
finished they will be asked to talk about the article with their partner.

Closure Students will be asked to compare their notes with their partner
and then compare to the semantic map. The students will then be asked,
What did you learn today, what did you find odd, or what do you still have
questions about. Students will be able to add any information they did not
pick up on to their notes. Student answers will help deepen the learning.
HW: Review your notes and summarize at the bottom. Revise notes if
needed.

EX: What did he do for a

living?

SHAKESPEARE