Lesson Plan Template

EDIS 5882: English Education

Name: Katy Greiner
Context:

Date and time for which lesson will be taught: Monday, September 12th, 8:55AM & 2:30PM (recorded time)
Course name: AP English Language
Grade level: 11th
Length of lesson: 80 minutes
Description of setting, students, and curriculum and any other important contextual characteristics:
a. The students in AP English language are beginning their third week of school and their first novel study for
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. So far, they have been given diagnostics for how well they would
score on the AP test if they took it right now by practicing an essay and the multiple choice section of the
exam. Theyve also been introduced to asking thought provoking questions and close reading skills through
texts such as This is Water, a commencement address by David Foster Wallace, and, most recently, For
Esme, with Love and Squalor, a short story by J.D. Salinger. Coming into this lesson, students were to
read the first third of the book.

Objectives:
Number each objective to reference in the Assessment section
SWBAT:
Cognitive (know/understand):
o 1) What factors contribute to a poor or positive small group discussion
o 2) How to analyze narrators that may seem untrustworthy

Affective (feel/value) and/or Non-Cognitive:

o

Performance (do):
o
o
o

3) Students will understand that productive literary conversations with their peers can increase
learning.

SOLs:
o
o

4) Create a list of small group discussion standards

5) Reflect on what makes for a poor or positive discussion
6) Engage in a critical questioning of narration at the start of The Cather in the Rye with their peers.,
and apply the conversation to their own lives.

SOL 11.1 h: Collaborate and report on small-group learning activities

SOL 11.4 k: Generate and respond logically to literal, inferential, evaluative,
synthesizing, and critical thinking questions before, during, and after reading texts.

CCSs:

CCSS ELA - RL11-12.6: Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires
distinguishing what is -directly stated in a text from what is really meant
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1

Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in

groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues,
building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Assessments: Methods for evaluating each of the specific objectives listed above.
Please use the sentence stems to describe your assessments. In brackets after each assessment note the number of the
objective(s) from above being assessed
Diagnostic: Students will demonstrate what they already know about by
SWBAT 2, 6 I will go around and check in on their homework to see what theyve got going into discussion, and if
I see any glaring gaps, I will start my formative assessment with that group of students.
Formative: Students will show their progress towards by
SWBAT 1, 3, 4, 5 Students will be informally assessed by creating their list of discussion norms as a class and
agreeing to them. They will then be informally assessed on putting those norms into practice by discussion Holdens
reliability as a narrator. I will be circling during these discussions and continue to formatively assess during the
class-wide share out at the conclusion of class.
Summative: Students will ultimately be assessed (today or in a future lesson) on by...
SWBAT 2, 6 In the future, our class will complete a summative assessment where they analyze how society has
failed or been successful to them (in a similar way to how Holden thinks society has failed him).

Materials Needed:
This is just a list of the materials you will need for this lesson to occur. In the Materials Appendix below, you will include the
actual materials or links to what you will be using.

(Whoops! Id accidentally put this in the materials appendix section. Ive copied it here now!)
Students need their journals, laptops, and copies of The Catcher in the Rye
I need my copy and a roster to mark down participation.
Theres a powerpoint for my Catcher in the Rye days that begins on the fifth slide. It can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NexV974GZwKz9wP1ZbLJWDY2B5Znu5Sdaw4H2h8Kop4/e
dit?usp=sharing
BeginningRoomArrangement:
Ourclassroomissetupinto7smallgrouptables,mostlyof4,withonegroupof6inthemiddle.

Instructional Steps (Procedures): Detail student and teacher actions, discourse, and behaviors.
[Note:Anywordsthatrepresentwhatyouwillsaydirectlytostudentsappearinitalics.Whenstudentsarespeaking,indicate
yourtargetresponseaswellasanypossiblestudentmisconceptionsand/oroffthetargetresponsesandhowyouwill
respondtothem.]

1. 15 mins: Catcher response & News

Welcomeeveryone!Ontheboard,IvegottwoquotesfromyourCatcherreading(seepowepoint,slide.6)
Inyourjournals,Iwantyoutorespondtoone.Writeenoughtogivemealevel5thought.Whenyouve
finished,youcanusetherestofthetimetoworkonyournewsfortoday.Asyoudothat,takeoutyour
journalsformeandopentothepagewhereyouwroteyour2comments,2questions,and2quotesand
vocabinyourjournalsandhaveemopensoIcancomearoundandcheckin.
Igoaroundandcheckinonthestudentsandmakesuretheyvegotsomethingtoshowmefromthe
readingintheirjournals.
2. 3 mins. Go over plan for the class
Alrightguys,weregonnalookataroadmapfortoday.Todaylookslikealotofbuildingexpectations.So
thatwereallonthesamepageforfuturediscussions,weregoingtotalkaboutwhattalklookslikefora
littlewhilesothatyouallknowwhatIexpectandyouguyscanletmeknowyourexpectations.Then,were
gonnadiveintoCatcherandpracticetalltheseskillsbydiscussingwhatawhineynarratorheseemstobe
oractuallyisnt.Lastly,wellregoupasaclass.

3. 25 mins: Creating and setting discussion norms

Okayguys,inthisclassroomweregoingtobedoingalotofdiscussionbasedwork.Thisishowtherealworld
goeswearegoingtobeexpectedtoworkwithalldifferentkindsofpeopleataminimum,atleasttoleratethem.
Iwantyoutotake3minutesandthinkaboutpastconversationsyouvehad,inclassandbeyond.Whatmadefor
goodconversationsandwhatmadeforbadones?Imlookingforspecificseyecontactreallyhelps,butits
reallydiscouragingwhensomeoneconstantlyshootsdownmyideas.Keepwritingandthinkingforthefull3
minutes,please.
Givethemthreeminutestothinkofexamplesofwhatmakesforagoodconversationandwhatmakesforabad
one.Whiletheyareworking,createatchartofgoodthingsandbadthingsontheboard.
Alrightall,finishupwithinthenext10seconds.Iwannahearwhatsworkedinthepastandwhatsfailed.Call
onstudentsforsuggestions.
Then,forthenext5minutes,takesuggestionsfromtheclassandwritetheminthetchart.
Okayguys,thesearegreat.Letshighlightwhatsmostimportantfromourpastexperiencesandbuildsomeclass
normsoutofthem.
Fromthattchart,begintoturningtoturntheirsuggestionsintonorms.Therearecertainnonnegotiablesthat
wellneedonthechart,basedonMr.Eliasonsandmyexpectations.Ifthesedontcomeupnaturallyinthe
discussion,Iwilladdthem.Theyareacademicandpersonallybased:
Academically:
Come prepared to discussion. If you havent read, you are worthless to a productive conversation.
Always, always, always bring it back to the text. You have to have evidence for everything you say.
Personally:
Listen: respect others and listen well (this will look differently depending on what the class decides to
define as listening)
Launch and build respect when someone offers an opinion and build off of it. Sometimes, a crappy
question will start conversation, but youll usually all be able to tell when a launch sucks. 9 times out of
10, I want to see growth that stemmed from somebody elses ideas every once and a while, a launch
fizzes and dies right away, and thats okay. What Im looking for usually is growth in the discussion. .
Your questions / opinion will get asked later.

Attheend,aftermakingsuretheyveachievedthesenonnegotiables,IwillalsoexplainhowIseeteachersasa
caboosetothediscussiontrain.Wefloataroundandthenattachourselvestotheendofconversations.Weare
nottheenginesthatkeeptheconversationgoing.SometimesImightbecompletelysilent,justlistening.
Sometimes,Illaskaquestionorforclarificationonacertainpoint.Ifagroupistotallylost,thatswhenyoucan
raiseyourhandsandwellcomeovertotrytogivethetrainalittlepushfrombehind.Forthemostpart,you
shouldbetalkingtoyourpeers,andyoushouldntcarewhereIamintheclassroomtohaveanintelligent
conversation.WellknowwevereachedtherightlevelofdiscussionwhenIcanleavetheroomandyouall
everyone,becauseweareateamwillkeeptalking,ontopic.ThisistoughthisiscollegebutthisisAP.You
candoit.
4. Catcher discussion: 15 mins

Alrightguys,nowweregoingtoputthisintopractice.Sometimes,youallprovidethefirstlaunchofeach
discussionwithyourTPQsfromthenightbefore,butsometimes,Illgiveyoualaunchfromacertaintopic.
Today,startwiththis:Holdenisawhiny,selfabsorbed,annoyingadolescent.Whatdoyouthink?Whereisthere
evidencetosupportthis?Arethereplacestodisputeit?Bytheendofdiscussion,Ineedalevel5thoughtonthis
topicalongwithevidencetoproveyourpoint.Isitagoodideatotakenotesonyourdiscussion?(wait)Yeah,
absolutely.Whenyouretalking,youmightcomeupwithotherTPQsthatyoudliketoposetotheclassorspend
moretimethinkingabout.Jotthemdown.IexpectconversationstokeepgoinguntilIbringusbacktothefront.
Anyquestions?TakethemasneededLetsgo!
Breakthemintogroupsandforthenext15minutes,letthemdiscuss.Duringthediscussion,Iwillwalkaround
andpracticebeingacabooseandinformallyassesshowwelltheirconversationsaregoing.
5. Discussion Wrap-up
Onthesmartboard,takeopinionsandevidencethattheygatheredaboutHoldenasanarratorinanothertchartof
goodandbadopinionsofhimasaperson.Startthere,butthentakequestionsandtopicsfromthestudentsbased
onotherthingstheytalkedabouttohaveasolidclasswidediscussion.
Ifnothingisworkingout,startaconversationaboutnarrationandwhatwecanalreadylearnaboutHoldenasa
narrator.Promptthemwith:
Is Holden a good person? Why?
Can we trust him as a narrator? He lies all of the time. Is HE a phony?
What do we do with voices we dont like? What are options if we only see him as a winey character?
Throughoutthediscussion,Iwanttoencouragethemtocomebacktothetextandatleastonce,wewillclose
readapassageasaclass,whichIwillguide.
6. [5 mins] Closure & Homework:
Have them ask one lingering question that might be answered or further explored by reading more. This
shouldnt be plot or fact-based, but character or literary driven.
Say: Choose a topic that todays reading or discussion has prompted and ask a question about it. This
should not be fact or plot-based, but something you could explore by reading or thinking further. Dont
have a question? Identify a motif youd be willing to explore further as you keep reading. This will also be
displayed on the board.
While they think, show them what they need to do for homework and remind them that I will be typing up
their individual class norms.

Attention to Individual Student Needs: (Differentiation):

Detail specific actions/materials you will use to differentiate instruction in this lesson. Use specific student names when
appropriate

As I check their homework, I will see who seems to be on the right track with the depth of reading Im
trying to achieve and if someone falls short, I will pay particular attention to his or her group during
discussions.
The slight modification I made based on your comments was that I had intended to remind the students
of the norms wed just created if I ran into a conversation dominator or someone who wasnt
participating, but in the moment I forgot and I never ended up doing this in the lesson! This is another
large area of growth.
Technology Use:
Detail specific technology being used in the lesson with explanation for why it is being used.

We will need access to a projector and a screen, and I will use the smartboard to make our T-chart with
the class as a whole
Materials Appendix:
Include the actual materials or links to what you will be using. If you are using a handout or a PowerPoint, or giving a quiz,
etc., these documents (or links to them) must be included. (see the list above)

Students need their journals and copies of Catcher in the Rye

I need my copy and a roster to mark down participation.
Theres a powerpoint for my Catcher in the Rye days that begins on the fifth slide. It can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NexV974GZwKz9wP1ZbLJWDY2B5Znu5Sdaw4H2h8Kop4/e
dit?usp=sharing
In Retrospect (to be completed after the lesson has been taught):
Reflect on the lesson after you taught it. Was there anything that surprised you? Discuss your students reactions and
behaviors to the activities you planned. Is there anything that you would do differently if you were to teach this again? What
would you do?
Biggest takeaways (I stopped using track changes here so that the whole thing isnt in red):
How do I lead productive conversations?
I left the lesson feeling that it went ~okay~ but not grand. I dont think it was a waste of their time, but Dean nailed it when
he mentioned to me that the real impact of todays lesson will be in the follow-up. Im planning on revisiting the norms we
created next week, and offering the class a chance to revise them. Their purpose is to set high expectations for discussion.
However, getting them to match those high expectations is the bigger problem. I can sense that they have a lot more depth of
thought about Catcher than weve achieved in class discussion. I know this because Dean can get them there to a point
where we feel like the conversation was worth our time, where we feel like weve learned something more about the book
because weve talked about it.
Some things weve discussed about letting the depth they can achieve individually translate into class discussion:
--give them a forum to submit questions that they are curious about in order to lead discussion
--In small groups, give them passages that have great depth and tell them theres something here. Find it. Then share out
with what theyve found and pick one or two to hone in on and have a good discussion about.
As always, I need to sloooow down. Also, a bigger, deeper fear, that didnt exactly rear its ugly head today is behavior
management. I need to push kids and be more confident theres a lot to uncover here, and Im not sure if I know it yet.
I think, overall, the lesson was fine, but these kids deserve so much more than fine.