Concept Unit

Lesson Plan Template

Unit Working Title: Speaking Up
Unit Big Idea (Concept/Theme): Courage
Unit Primary Skill focus: Persuasion
Week 2 of 3; Plan #6 of 9; [90 mins.]
Plan type: _X__Full-Detail ____Summary
Content Requirement Satisfied: Writing instruction, technology use (students are using
Google Docs collaboratively to provide feedback to each other), at least 1 short text as a
model (a different draft of the injustice topic, the use of the R-word for the Question
Flood)
(Note: Refer to the list in the document called Concept Unit Lesson Plans)
Unit Learning Objectives (numbered) [from my Backwards Design Unit Document],
followed by Specific lesson objectives (lettered) being taught in this lesson:
SWBAT:
Cognitive (know/understand):
1. Studentswillbeabletoknowthatspeakinguprequirescourage.
b.Studentswillbeabletoknowthatwritingisamethodofspeakingup.
c.Studentswillunderstandthatwritingisacontinuousprocess.
Affective (feel/value) and/or Non-Cognitive:
3.Studentswillbeabletofeelconfident/empoweredtospeakup.
a.Studentswilldemonstratesuccessfullytheiractionofspeakingupinfront
ofanaudiencemadeupoftheirpeers.
b.Studentswillrespondtotheirpeersusinglanguagethatisrespectfuland
appropriatetotheaudienceandcontext.
Performance (do):
5.Studentswillbeabletoactcourageously.
a. Studentswillbeabletodeveloptheirpersonaldefinitionofcourage.
b. Studentswillbeabletodemonstratetheirpersonaldefinitionofcourage.
8.Studentswillbeabletoarticulatetheirreactionstotheirown,theirpeers,and
otherpeoplesdevelopingideasofcourage.
a.Studentswillbeabletoaffirmthewaysthattheythemselvesandtheirpeers
expresstheircourage.
SOLs: [List with numbers portrayed in the SOL document]

7.7 The student will write in a variety of forms with an emphasis on exposition,
narration, and persuasion.
d) Establish a central idea and organization.
f) Write multiparagraph compositions with unity elaborating the central idea.
g) Select vocabulary and information to enhance the central idea, tone, and voice.
j) Revise sentences for clarity of content including specific vocabulary and
information.
k) Use computer technology to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writing.
7.1 The student will participate in and contribute to conversations, group discussions, and
oral presentations.
b) Ask probing questions to seek elaboration and clarification of ideas.
CCSs: [List with numbers portrayed in the CCS document]
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.5
With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing
as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on
how well purpose and audience have been addressed. (Editing for conventions should
demonstrate command of Language standards 1-3 up to and including grade 7 here.)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.6
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite
sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing
sources.
Methods of Assessment:
[How will you know if the intended learning occurred?] List all methods of assessment
used in this lesson or which are related to this lesson and come in a future lesson. After
each assessment, indicate in brackets the number(s) and letter(s) of the unit objective and
the related lesson objectives that the assessment is evaluating.
Diagnostic
Anticipation Guide
I will assess the
students initial
understanding and
preconceptions about
the writing process and
the revision process
when I survey the
class opinions towards
the statements. This
will inform my
instruction by giving

Formative
Question Flood
I will circulate and
observe the students
interactions with each
other and review the
comments students
make in each others
Google Docs in order to
assess students
developing ability to
respond to each others
writing in a critical, yet

Summative
Use Your Voice Project
At the end of the unit on
Presentation Day
(Lesson Plan 9), students
will express their ideas
about courage (still
developing during this
lesson) by presenting
their persuasive text to
an audience of their
peers. Students will also
respond to each others

me an idea of how
explicit I need to make
my writing instruction
and how much I need
to review or provide
instruction on the
stages of writing. (1b,
1c)

respectful manner. This

will inform my
instruction by showing
me how much we need
to review our classroom
norms of being
respectful towards one
another and reinforce
instruction on how to
provide constructive
feedback in a respectful
manner. (1a, 3a, 3b, 5a,
5b, 8a)

and their own acts of

courage in a reflection.

Writing Conferences
I will conduct writing
conferences with
students to assess
students developing
understanding that
writing can be both a
method of speaking up
and a stepping stone to
speaking up about a
topic. This will inform
my instruction by letting
me see where students
are and how much
writing workshop time I
need to provide in the
next few classes. (1c,
8a)
Procedures/Instructional Strategies
[Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.]
Beginning Room Arrangement:
[Changes in this arrangement that become necessary later will be noted in the plan]
8. [8 mins.] Bridge/Hook/Opening to lesson:
I will say, Welcome, scholars to class! Last class you got a chance to play around
with the medium of your Use Your Voice Project to find a good fit for your
message and audience and started writing a draft. Today you will be zooming in
to think about the writing process in particular so that you will begin to

understand the many stages of the writing process; this will help you with
finishing your drafts.
[3-5 mins.] Do Now Anticipation Guide
For their Do Now, students will complete an anticipation guide about the
writing process. Before students walk in, there will be instructions for the Do
Now projected onto the board. While students are completing their Do Now, I
will be taking attendance and then circulating to see what students are saying.
[3 mins.] Brief Anticipation Guide Review
I will briefly ask students to raise their hands if they wrote Agree, then
Disagree for each statement on the anticipation guide to get a sense of what
students think about the writing process. Scholars of 2nd Block! What do you
make of the statement, When I write an essay, I write it down once and then
Im done. Forever? If you wrote True, please raise your hand. If you
wrote, False, please raise your hand. I will survey the class and then make
a comment like, Hmm, I see that there is some disagreement here.
And so on and so forth.
I will not be discussing most of the statements. I am looking to discuss the
statements When I write an essay, I write it down once and then Im done.
Forever. and Writing takes a lot of courage, the first one because it most
pertains to the idea of revision and we are focusing on revision today with
students; the second one because it pertains to the idea of writing as a way to
speak out and affirming students who share vulnerable experiences through
writing.
Transition: After I finish asking about the 7 statements, I will say, All right,
now that we have surveyed the class on how you feel about writingwe are
going to return to our writing workshop. You will be working on finishing
your drafts so that we can get to revising them. After 16 minutes, I will call
time and come back together for a minilesson about a revising strategy. As
you get started, Ill be coming around to check on your status.
Take our your computers, open up Google Docs, and lets get started!
9. [20 mins.] Writing Workshop Drafting
[5-8 mins.] Status of the Class
Although students are still working on their drafts for their persuasive text
about standing up against an injustice, in this lesson they will also be
focusing on the process of writing. Students are continuing to work on
their drafts from the class before (where students turned in their draft on
Google Classroom/Docs).

I will walk around the classroom to conduct a Status of the Class and
check in with each student to see what stage they are at for creating their
persuasive text. I will ask, Since last class, has your topic changed? If
students topics have changed, I will write down their new topic. What
stage of the writing process are you at? Brainstorming? Drafting? Ready
for revision? I will write down brainstorm, draft, or revising for
students possible statuses.
After I finish checking Status of the Class, I will circulate for a few more
minutes and then start to conduct conferences.
[10-12 mins.] Conferences
For conferences, I will check the Conferences sign up on the whiteboard
to see how many students signed up. Before I conference with the students
who signed up, I will first prioritize conducting conferences with students
I anticipate needing support early in the drafting process and who have not
already signed up to conference with me today. I will have time later in the
second half of writing workshop and conference with the students who
have signed up then.
Potential Scenario: Student has not started.
Me: Tell me about your topic of injustice. What is your stance on the
topic?
Student A: I was doing this other topic, but now Im interested in the
injustice racism. I think racism is bad.
Me: Hmm, we are in the middle of our drafting stage. Im afraid that you
wont have enough time to begin and finish a new draft in class. Are you
sure about starting over?
Student A: Yes! I like this topic way more.
Me: Okay then. Lets try and narrow your topic down. Racism is a very
broad topic. Is there a specific example that youre thinking about?
Student A: Yeah, I think I remember my older sister talking about people
in Arizona arresting a lot of Spanish people based on how they look.
Me: That sounds familiar. I think the problem was that Arizona passed a
law that made it legal for the police to stop anyone who might look like
they are undocumented without any real evidence. Why dont you use our
school databases to look up this law, Arizona SB 1070, and get a general
idea of what your stance is? Start writing your draft, and conference with
me again next class.
Transition: I will give students a friendly 5 minute time reminder and
then when time is up, I will call students to attention by saying, Give me
5! and raising my hand. When students quiet down, raise their hands, and
make eye contact with me, I will say, All right, scholars, lets bring it
together to learn a revising strategy called the Question Flood that you do

with a partner. Having a second pair of eyes look at your draft will help
you because they might be able to see things that you missed.
10. [30 mins.] Minilesson on Revising using Question Flood
I will ask students, What do you think Question Flood is about? What
comes to mind when you hear the words Question Flood? Looking for:
a lot of questions, flood makes me think of a rainstorm flooding the
streets, etc. I will say, Thats exactly right! You guys are making really
good inferences about what Question Flood is based on what you already
know. When you do a Question Flood, you look at someone elses draft
and write questions in the margin of the paper. Since we have begun to
write our drafts on Google Docs, you will be using the Commenting
feature to insert questions in the margins of the paper.
a. [15 mins.] Model of Question Flood
I will provide students with a draft of mine (on Google Docs) and show
them how to do the Question Flood.
Class, we are going to learn about what you can do to revise your essay
after you finish writing your first draft. Thats right! After you finish your
drafts, we are going to keep working at it and write a second draft. I am
going to model the revising strategy called Question Flood.
This is a very early draft I wrote (it is different from the one last class). I
wanted to show you scholars this one because it is still a bit
underdeveloped, as you can see! Im not where I want to be yet, but I have
some good ideas down. (The underlined text is the draft that I am showing
students.)
I believe that the R word should be banned. This word hurts a lot of
people, so we shouldnt use it. So casually. Its really hurtful. It hurts
people because it insults them about the amount of intelligence they have.
This word has become an insult and we have a responsibility to make
everyone feel safe. If itll take banning this word, we should ban it!
I will tell students, My topic of injustice is about the use of the R word. My
stance is that we should ban the word and just find a different word to use
instead. Nowlets look at my draft more closely. What are some
questions that are left unanswered about my injustice topic? Id like for
you guys to generate some questions that will help me think about what
details I can add to paint a fuller picture. When you think of a question,
please raise your hand.
I will give wait time. After 30 seconds, if still no one has raised their hand,
I will prompt, Lets start from the top. If I were someone reading this for
the first time, I might wonder, What is the R word? The writer doesnt

explain that at all and I dont know what the writer is talking about. Rat?
Rocket? If students do raise their hand, I will keep calling on them to give
me questions. My model paragraph, with questions handwritten in the
margins (though on the computer I have typed my Question Flood in light
blue), might look something like this:
I believe that the R word should be banned. (What R word? Please
explain.) This word hurts a lot of people (Who exactly? Do you know
anyone whos felt hurt when they heard that word?), so we shouldnt use it
(Where? At school? Outside of school?). So casually. Its really hurtful. It
hurts people because it insults them about the amount of intelligence they
have. This word has become an insult and we have a responsibility to
make everyone feel safe (Where? In what situations?). If itll take banning
this word, we should ban it! (Are there other ways of making people feel
safe besides banning it?)
A screenshot of the actual Google Doc:

At the end of students questions, I will first change the editing mode of
the Google Doc to Suggesting. I will tell students, When you are doing
revisions based on your friends Question Flood, please do NOT resolve
the questions that your friend inserted and make sure that you are editing
your paper in Suggesting mode. That way I can see the changes that you
made. To get to Suggesting mode, click on View, then Mode (the second
item on the drop down menu), then Suggesting (again, the second item on
the drop down menu).

I will model rewriting my draft by adding in the parts where I answer their
questions. Hmm, What R word? is a great question. Even though I knew
what I was thinking about, I forgot that someone else might not! Ill
rewrite this part.
I believe that the R word should be banned. The R word, retarded, hurts
a lot of people, especially people with intellectual disabilities. My friend,
Sammy, has a younger brother with an intellectual disability. She really
dislikes it when people use this word because shes witnessed how hearing
it hurts her brothers feelings. We definitely should not be using the R
word so casually. It hurts people by insulting them about the amount of
intelligence they have. This word has become an insult and we have a
responsibility to make everyone feel safe at school. If itll take banning
this word, we should ban it! Lets all make a pledge on the campaigns
website to Spread the Word to End the Word.
A screenshot of the Google Doc version, which shows the revisions in
Suggesting mode:

At the end of my modeling, I might say, Wow, these are some great
suggestions that you made just by asking a couple of questions. Look at
how much my paragraph has improved! I included a personal story, which
helped support my claim that the R word hurts people when we use it.
What was it like for you guys to practice that with me?
I anticipate student answers: Can we ask any kind of questions? It was
really fun to ask all these questions. It was kind of boring. I liked to
see everyones questions. Depending on student answers, I might
respond, Your questions should be related to the draft, but as long as it
makes sense to ask the question in the context of the draft, you can ask any

kind of question. I might also say, Yes, I find this kind of revision process
to be really engaging because Im challenged to think beyond what I
already have.
Transition: I will then transition to students doing revision and say, Now
youll get a chance to try this yourself! You will get together with your
Elbow Partner and exchange drafts (what you have so far is fineI know
everyone is at a different place). You have 7 minutes to finish your
Question Flood. Use the commenting feature on Google Docs to write
your questions in the margin of your partners paper (the way I did on
mine). Right now you are JUST doing the Question Flood part. Dont do
the revising yet.
b. [10-15 mins.] Question Flood in Pairs
I will have sorted students into pairs ahead of time so that students are not
just pairing up with their friends, which has the potential for many
students to get off task. I will have sorted students into pairs according to
their readiness levels (such as pairing Jackie with another student
identified as gifted so that they can really challenge each other through
their peer feedback), their interests, and the possibility for some students
to pair up with their friends if they are usually pretty quiet and need to be
talking with someone they feel comfortable with.
Students will give peer feedback using Question Flood. Students will use
Google Docs commenting feature to record their questions. I will be
circulating during this time to see what students are writing for their
questions and checking to make sure that students are on task.
Potential student questions include finding the Suggesting mode, and for
that I will show them how to do it and then ask them to teach their peer
feedback partner if they have that question, thereby making the process
more efficient!
Transition: I will bring the class back together by saying, Give me 5! and raising
my hand to gain their attention. When they make eye contact with me, raise their
hand, and quiet down, I will say, Thank you for working so diligently, everyone!
We are going to shift back into normal writing workshop mode where you have
time to work independently on your drafts. You can either keep writing your drafts
(if you hadnt finished early before we did the Question Flood) or you can begin
revisions based on the peer feedback you got via the Question Flood.
For the students who are doing revisions based on your friends Question Flood,
please do NOT resolve the questions that your friend inserted and make sure that
you are editing your paper in Suggesting mode. That way I can see the changes
that you made.

11. [20 mins.] Writing Workshop

Here is a reminder that you have 19 minutes to continue working on your draft. I
will also be conferencing with the students that have signed up to conference with
me.
Students will commence writing on their drafts (either continuing to finish their
draft) or starting to revise based on the peer feedback from the Question Flood
revising strategy.
[20 mins.] Conferences (3-5 mins. each)
To conference with students who have signed up, I will walk to where
students are seated and pull up a chair to talk with them. I will ask students
to start making an action plan for the remaining days until the project is
due. This step will encourage students to plan ahead a little and break
down what they have left into smaller, more manageable steps. Questions I
have include, Tell me about what you have so far, for example, what is
your injustice and your stance? What do you need to do to finish your
project? I will also say, Lets figure out how to break this down into
smaller steps. That way you can work on this a little bit every day instead
of leaving it all until the night before.
As the end of writing workshop time draws near, I will give students a
time reminder of about 5 minutes and then 1 minute. At the close of
writing workshop, I will remind students about todays homework. Today,
we have homework for the first time (it is one of the few times we have
homework in my classroom)! Your job is to keep working on these drafts
at home. Since the drafts are on Google Docs, those of you with internet
can access them at home. Those of you who do not have internet access
should stay after class so I can print out your drafts and you can work on
them by hand. The purpose of this homework is to give you some extra
time to keep carving away at your drafts while they are fresh in your mind
and you are still in the momentum of writing. Next class, you will be doing
Revision in Stations so it will be most helpful for you if you bring in a
completely revised draft based on the Question Flood so that you can
concentrate fully on other revision aspects.
Transition: I will say, Now that we have done some drafting and revision
today, we are going to go back to looking at our anticipation guide and
filling it out now that we have some more experience with the writing
process.
12.

[12 mins.] Closure: Anticipation Guide Close, Review, & Last

Thoughts/Questions
a. [5 mins.] Closure: Anticipation Guide

I will reiterate the purpose of the anticipation guide: The purpose of us

completing the anticipation guide is to see how our ideas about writing
have changed since the beginning of today. You will have 3 minutes to
complete the After column of the Anticipation Guide.
Students will then complete the after column of the anticipation guide.
I will circulate to see when students are finishing up; if they do not finish
up quickly, I will give students a 30 second time warning. I will call
students back to attention, saying, When you are finished, please put down
your pencil and give me a thumbs up. When everyone is ready, I will
transition into going over the Anticipation Guide.
b. [7 mins.] Review & Last Thoughts/Questions
To begin the quick review of the Anticipation Guide, I will say, After
going through the Question Flood today, has anything changed in the way
that you think about the writing process? What about the revision
process? Lets go through the statements to see what has changed for you,
if anything.
The students who wrote True for the first statement, When I write an
essay, I write it down once and then Im done. Forever, please raise your
hands. What about students who said False to that one? If there is still a
lot of disagreement, I will let the students take the floor and explain their
positions.
I will continue to go through the Anticipation Guide in this way until I get
through seven statements. I will not have students discuss every single
one; the only ones I intend on discussing are When I write an essay, I
write it down once and then Im done. Forever, and Writing takes a lot
of courage, especially the latter one.
I will say, Sometimes we dont think too hard about the writing process,
but it can be helpful to do so. We might feel less frustrated when doing it if
we understand that writing is a process. Remember that next class, we will
be moving along the stages of writing and you will be in writing stations
doing targeted revisions!
Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students:
(This is where you identify specific aspects of this lesson which have been differentiated
in order to address the needs of one or more of your profiled studentsidentify them by
name)
o MarkSince Mark is more relaxed and willing to share his opinions during oneon-one interactions, I adapted instruction so that the peer feedback activity would
work well for him. As long as I am monitoring he and his feedback partner to

make sure that they are on task and not getting distracted all the time, I think it
will offer him a chance to really focus on his writing. Moreover, the peer feedback
activity using Question Flood does not require talking between the peer feedback
partners, as feedback is given through the commenting feature on Google Docs.
o JackieFor the Question Flood peer feedback activity, I will pair her with
another student in the class who is identified as gifted so that they may really
challenge each other to stretch themselves with their peer feedback.
o JoeDuring the Question Flood peer feedback activity, I will likely work closely
with Joe instead of pairing him up with another student so that he is receiving
support for his specific learning disability in reading. I will also prioritize
conferencing with Joe again to follow up with our last conference about his
interest in investigating the injustice of sexism against women and girls in gaming
culture.
Materials Needed (list):
o Google Slides
o Computer
o Anticipation Guide
o Text to be modeled & Question Flooding version
Materials Appendix: (e.g., supplementary texts, Ppts, overheads, graphic organizers,
handouts, etc.)
o Anticipation Guide
o Text to be modeled & Question Flooding version
(https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Re8sLPrsATj12LXDCt0Uw2fuvFeEUTMyVPpg_p7Tvg/edit?usp=sharing)
o Google Slides
(https://docs.google.com/a/virginia.edu/presentation/d/18afqjVlz8fPuWkZ8UrGv
B-Jm4F4Ex9H4QD5V2zrWBmU/edit?usp=sharing)

Anticipation Guide
Instructions: Look at the Before column and indicate whether you think
the statement is true or false by writing down True or False.
Before

Statement
a) When I write an essay, I write it down
once and then Im done. Forever.
b) Revision is the same thing as editing for
grammar and mechanics.
c) There are many strategies I can use to
revise a paper.
d) Writing down my thoughts is a good
way to prepare for giving a speech.
e) In some ways, writing is like making a
sculpture.
f) Although writing can be a lot of hard
work, I feel proud of myself when I
finish writing something.
g) Writing takes a lot of courage.

After