PART VI: DAILY LESSON PLANS/LEARNING GUIDES

Daily Lesson Plan/Learning Guide for Day 1

Course, Unit Theme and Grade
Level

English 10 Core
The Pearl
10th Grade

Utah State Core Standard and

Objective

ELA-Literary.SL.9-10.1: Initiate and participate effectively in

a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups,
and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 910 topics,
texts, and issues, building on others ideas and expressing their
own clearly and persuasively.

Essential Question(s)

How do activities, materials etc.

connect to students prior
knowledge?
(academic, interests, learning styles,
motivation, Funds of Knowledge)

1. Can happiness be bought?

2. What forces determine an individuals lot in life?
3. What is the purpose of tragedy in literature?

The anticipation guide is geared to encourage relevant and

thought-provoking discussion about ideas thematically tied
to The Pearl.
Silent reading time is designed to provide students with
the opportunity to read high-interest books and practice
summarization skills.

Assessments
(formative and/or summative)

Learning Activities:
(Include description and time
frame for each activity)

1. Grammar Starter: Students copy and correct the

following sentence in their OneNote notebooks: If I finish
my report do laundry and promise to be home by eleven
may I go to the concert which is at the amphitheater?
After, several students are called up correct the sentence
that is projected on the Smartboard. Grammar rules are
then discussed for each error. (5-10 minutes)
2. Silent Reading: Students read a self-selected novel for ten
minutes. They then compose a one-sentence summary
about what they read in their OneNote notebooks. (10-15
minutes)
3. The Pearl Pre-assessment: Students complete The Pearl
Pre-assessment. In their OneNote notebooks, students
evaluate their performance on the pre-assessment by
responding to the following questions:

Grammar starter
The Pearl Pre-assessment
Anticipation Guide
Exit Ticket

a. Rate your effort 1-5 (5 being I tried my best). Why

did you give yourself this rating?
b. What was difficult?
c. What was easy? (15 minutes)
4. Anticipation Guide: Students are given five minutes to
read and complete the anticipation guide for The Pearl.
After, read each statement aloud, and have students gather
in four different parts of the classroom based on whether
they agree, mostly agree, disagree, or mostly disagree.
They are given a minute or two to discuss their opinion in
their groups. Then, a student from each group is called on
to share his or her opinion with the rest of the class. (20
minutes)
5. The Pearl Preface: Read aloud the novellas preface. In
groups, instruct the students to generate three questions
about the preface. It can be about the characters
mentioned, the plot hinted at, or unfamiliar words. Collect
one question from each group and write them on the
board. Inform the students that they will be answering
these questions over the upcoming weeks. Ideally, one
group will ask what parable means. Introduce the units
essential questions and define parable using The Pearl
PowerPoint. Encourage the students look for the moral
novella teaches and consider the essential questions as
they read The Pearl. (15 minutes)
6. Exit Ticket: Using socrative.coms exit ticket feature,
students answer the following questions:
a. How well did you understand todays material?
b. What did you learn in todays class?
c. What is a parable? (5 minutes)
Accommodations made for
struggling and accelerated learners
(grouping patterns, content literacy
strategies, etc.)

Anticipation guide
Socrative.com

Resources

The Pearl Pre-assessment

Anticipation Guide
The Pearl PowerPoint

How has the prior days assessment

shaped your instruction?

Not applicable. First day of new unit.

Daily Lesson Plan/Learning Guide for Day 2

Course, Unit Theme and Grade
Level

Utah State Core Standard and

Objective

English 10 Core
The Pearl
10th Grade

Essential Question(s)

How do activities, materials etc.

connect to students prior
knowledge?
(academic, interests, learning styles,
motivation, Funds of Knowledge)

ELA-Literary.RL.9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual

evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inference drawn from the text.
ELA-Literary.W.9-10.9: Draw evidence from literary or
informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.
ELA-Literary.L.9-10.4: Determine or clarify the meaning
of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases
based on grades 910 reading and content, choosing
flexibly from a range of strategies.
ELA-Literary.SL.9-10.1: Initiate and participate effectively
in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in
groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9
10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others ideas and
expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

1. Can happiness be bought?

2. What forces determine an individuals lot in life?
3. What is the purpose of tragedy in literature?
I attempted to choose a short story for a literature circle packet
that would be engaging and appropriate for the Halloween
season. Click-clack the Rattlebag by Neil Gaiman is
accessible and spooky. I also have a few students reading
Gaimans The Graveyard Book for silent reading time.

Assessments
(formative and/or summative)

Learning Activities:
(Include description and time
frame for each activity)

1. Grammar Starter: Students generate three sentences

based on the prompts below:
a. Commas separating three or more items in a list.
b. Commas separating two adjectives modifying the

Grammar starter
Literature Circle Practice
Exit Ticket

2.

3.

4.

5.

same noun.
c. Commas separating two independent clauses
(sentences).
They record their sentences in their OneNote notebooks.
After students are given time to write, call three students to
write their sentences on the boardone for each of the
prompts. (10 minutes)
Silent Reading: Students read a self-selected novel for ten
minutes. They then compose a one-sentence summary
about what they read in their OneNote notebooks. (15
minutes)
Literature Circle Introduction: Using the Literature
Circle Template projected on the board, briefly introduce
the students to the concept of literature circles. Emphasize
that participation will be graded heavily. (10 minutes)
Literature Circle Practice: Pass out copies of Clickclack the Rattlebag and start the video of Neil Gaiman
reading the short story. After, pass out the literature
practice worksheet (one per group). Groups are given 15
minutes to complete the worksheet. Each group then
submits their summary, discussion question, and
connection to socrative.com. Provide feedback and
highlight exemplary responses. (40 minutes)
Exit Ticket: Using socrative.coms exit ticket feature,
students answer the following questions:
a. How well did you understand todays material?
b. What did you learn in todays class?
c. How can you make a literature circle successful?
(5 minutes)

Accommodations made for

struggling and accelerated learners
(grouping patterns, content literacy
strategies, etc.)

Heterogeneous groupings
Student generated questions
Vocabulary chart (adapted from Frayer model)
Socrative.com

Resources

Literature Circle Packet Template

Literature Circle Practice worksheet
Neil Gaimans Click-clack the Rattlebag
Video of Neil Gaiman reading Click-clack the Rattlebag
at the New York Public Library (YouTube)

How has the prior days assessment

shaped your instruction?

Most students struggled with vocabulary words from the The

Pearl on the pre-assessment. I have included a vocabulary
chart in their literature circle packets for their Vocabulary
Enricher to complete. It is similar to a Frayer model and asks
for the word in context, its definition, and three synonyms.

Daily Lesson Plan/Learning Guide for Day 3

Course, Unit Theme and Grade
Level

Utah State Core Standard and

Objective

English 10 Core
The Pearl
10th Grade

Essential Question(s)

How do activities, materials etc.

connect to students prior
knowledge?
(academic, interests, learning styles,
motivation, Funds of Knowledge)

ELA-Literary.W.9-10.9: Draw evidence from literary or

informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.
ELA-Literary.L.9-10.4: Determine or clarify the meaning
of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases
based on grades 910 reading and content, choosing
flexibly from a range of strategies.

1. Can happiness be bought?

2. What forces determine an individuals lot in life?
3. What is the purpose of tragedy in literature?
I have found the quick question feature on socrative.com a
more effective way to engage students in class-wide
discussions.

Assessments
(formative and/or summative)

Learning Activities:
(Include description and time
frame for each activity)

1. Grammar Starter: Students generate three sentences

based on the follow prompts: Write one sentence for each

Grammar starter
The Pearl research worksheet
Socrative.com discussion
Exit Ticket

2.

3.

4.

5.
6.

comma rule: (1) Commas separating an introductory word

or phrase, and (2) commas separating a nonessential
phrase in the middle or end of the sentence. They record
their sentences in their OneNote notebooks. After students
are given time to write, call three students to write their
sentences on the boardone for each of the prompts. (10
minutes)
Silent Reading: Students read a self-selected novel for ten
minutes. They then compose a one-sentence summary
about what they read in their OneNote notebooks. (15
minutes)
Background Questions: Students are divided into groups
of five and are given the research worksheet with three
questions to answer. They are provided with three
resources to help them answer the questions. After 10-15
minutes, groups share their answers with the rest of the
class. As students listen to the other groups, they write
down the answers given. (30 minutes)
Socrative.com Discussion: Using socrative.com, students
submit their responses to the following questions:
a. What further questions do you have about John
Steinbeck or the setting of The Pearl?
b. How do you think this background information will
help you as you begin reading The Pearl? (10
minutes)
Begin Reading The Pearl: Students listen to and follow
along with an audiotape of The Pearl. (Until the last 5
minutes of class)
Exit Ticket: Using socrative.coms exit ticket feature,
students answer the following questions:
a. How well did you understand todays material?
b. What did you learn in todays class?
c. Name one thing that happened in The Pearl so far?
(5 minutes)

Accommodations made for

struggling and accelerated learners
(grouping patterns, content literacy
strategies, etc.)

Research worksheet (note-taking strategy)

Student generated questions
Heterogeneous groupings
Socrative.com

Resources

The Pearl background questions

The Pearl research worksheet
Sparknotes context for The Pearl

How has the prior days assessment

shaped your instruction?

The PearlBackground Information PDF

Background Info to Help Readers Understand the Context
of The Pearl PDF

Based on the students pre-assessment results, I believe they

require additional background and contextual information
about The Pearl to better understand it.

Daily Lesson Plan/Learning Guide for Day 4

Course, Unit Theme and Grade
Level

Utah State Core Standard and

Objective

English 10 Core
The Pearl
10th Grade

ELA-Literary.W.9-10.4: Produce clear and coherent

writing in which the development, organization,
and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and
audience.
ELA-Literary.W.9-10.6: Use technology, including
the Internet, to produce, publish, and update
individual or shared writing products, taking
advantage of technologys capacity to link to other
information and to display information flexibly and
dynamically.
ELA-Literary.SL.9-10.1: Initiate and participate
effectively in a range of collaborative discussions
(one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with
diverse partners on grades 910 topics, texts, and
issues, building on others ideas and expressing
their own clearly and persuasively.
ELA-Literary.L.9-10.4: Determine or clarify the

meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words

and phrases based on grades 910 reading and
content, choosing flexibly from a range of
strategies.
Essential Question(s)

How do activities, materials etc.

connect to students prior
knowledge?
(academic, interests, learning styles,
motivation, Funds of Knowledge)

1. Can happiness be bought?

2. What forces determine an individuals lot in life?
3. What is the purpose of tragedy in literature?
In my pre-assessment a major of students indicated that
they prefer a mixture of individual and group work. In
order to provide more variety, the students complete
their literature circle role independently.

Assessments
(formative and/or summative)

Learning Activities:
(Include description and time
frame for each activity)

1. Grammar Starter: Students generate three

sentences based on the follow prompts: Write one
sentence for each comma rule: (1) commas
separating 2 adjectives modifying, or describing,
the same noun, (2) commas separating 2
independent clauses (sentences) joined with a
conjunction, (3) commas separating a nonessential
phrase in the middle or end of the sentence. They
record their sentences in their OneNote notebooks.
After students are given time to write, call three
students to write their sentences on the boardone
for each of the prompts. (10 minutes)
2. Silent Reading: Students read a self-selected novel
for ten minutes. They then compose a one-sentence
summary about what they read in their OneNote
notebooks. (15 minutes)
3. Set Up Literature Circle: In their groups, students
share the literature circle packet as a Google doc
and fill out the role chart. (10-15 minutes)
4. Finish Reading Chapter 1-2 of The Pearl:
Students listen to The Pearl and following along.
(20-30 minutes)
5. Begin Literature Circle Roles: Students begin
work on literature circle roles. (15-20 minutes)
6. Exit Ticket: Using socrative.coms exit ticket
feature, students answer the following questions:
a. How well did you understand todays
material?
b. What did you learn in todays class?

Literature circle roles

Exit Ticket

c. What has happened in the book so far? (5

minutes)
Accommodations made for
struggling and accelerated
learners
(grouping patterns, content
literacy strategies, etc.)

Vocabulary chart (adapted from Frayer model)

Heterogeneous grouping
Socrative.com

Resources

Copies of The Pearl

Literature circle packet templates

How has the prior days

assessment shaped your
instruction?

Students struggled a little with coming up with thoughtprovoking, open-ended questions for their practice
literature circles. I will provide feedback about their
questions on their Google docs before their first
literature circle next class period.

Daily Lesson Plan/Learning Guide for Day 5

Course, Unit Theme and Grade
Level

Utah State Core Standard and

Objective

English 10 Core
The Pearl
10th Grade

ELA-Literary.RL.9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough

textual evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inference drawn from the
text.
ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3: Analyze how complex
characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting
motivations) develop over the course of a text,

Essential Question(s)

How do activities, materials etc.

connect to students prior
knowledge?
(academic, interests, learning styles,
motivation, Funds of Knowledge)

interact with other characters, and advance the plot

or develop the theme.
ELA-Literary.W.9-10.4: Produce clear and coherent
writing in which the development, organization,
and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and
audience.
ELA-Literary.W.9-10.6: Use technology, including
the Internet, to produce, publish, and update
individual or shared writing products, taking
advantage of technologys capacity to link to other
information and to display information flexibly and
dynamically.
ELA-Literary.W.9-10.9: Draw evidence from
literary or informational texts to support analysis,
reflection, and research.
ELA-Literary.SL.9-10.1: Initiate and participate
effectively in a range of collaborative discussions
(one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with
diverse partners on grades 910 topics, texts, and
issues, building on others ideas and expressing
their own clearly and persuasively.
ELA-Literary.L.9-10.4: Determine or clarify the
meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words
and phrases based on grades 910 reading and
content, choosing flexibly from a range of
strategies.

1. Can happiness be bought?

2. What forces determine an individuals lot in life?
3. What is the purpose of tragedy in literature?
During a previous unit, I assess the students multiple
intelligences. Many scored highly on intrapersonal
intelligence. I hope to address this intelligence through
the literature circle discussion activity.

Assessments
(formative and/or summative)

Learning Activities:
(Include description and time
frame for each activity)

1. Grammar Starter: Students are given 10

sentences to add commas to or mark as correct.
After 3-5 minutes, the answers are reviewed as a
class. (10 minutes)
2. Silent Reading: Students read a self-selected novel

Literature circle discussions and roles

Peer assessments
Exit Ticket

for ten minutes. They then compose a one-sentence

summary about what they read in their OneNote
notebooks. (15 minutes)
3. Example and Non-example: Present the example
and non-example of a literature circle response
worksheet. Review literature circle expectations.
(10 minutes)
4. Literature Circles: Students are given 10-15
minutes to complete or polish their literature circle
assignments and implement instructor provided
feedback. Afterwards, they are given 20-30 minutes
to complete their literature circle discussions. (45
minutes)
5. Exit Ticket: Using socrative.coms exit ticket
feature, students answer the following questions:
a. How well did you understand todays
material?
b. What did you learn in todays class?
c. How did your first literature circle go? What
could go better next time? What could you
do to help make your group successful? (5
minutes)
Accommodations made for
struggling and accelerated
learners
(grouping patterns, content
literacy strategies, etc.)

Additional modelling of literature circles: example

and non-example
Vocabulary chart (adapted from Frayer model)
Heterogeneous grouping
Discussion sentence starter
Socrative.com

Resources

Copies of The Pearl

Literature circle packet
Peer assessments

How has the prior days

assessment shaped your
instruction?

In order to further address the students difficulty with

generating thought-provoking, open-ended discussion
questions for their literature circles, I decided to do
additional modeling and create an example and nonexample of a completed literature circle packet.