Towson University

Department of Secondary and Middle School Education

Lesson Plan Template
Terah Minor-Jones
Date: 11/27/18

Brief Class Description (contextual information including number of students, subject, level, IEP/ELL/GT
or other special considerations) - Class type - 22 student, 8th grade, on-level, 90 minute, Law and Finance, magnet
class. Hailley C. is my only student with a 504 plan. She needs encouragement to stay on task and to concentrate on
the questions asked in assignments. She is also working on thinking and processing information, so she might approach
assignments slower than others. She’ll need leadership opportunities and extended time in assignments. Oluwasegun
“Dorian” A. is a student in my class who was considered for an IEP, but this did not go through. She tends to
come into class late, with breakfast, and can be disruptive at times. She often calls out. Please take this into consideration.
The back row in the class can be chatty, but often completes their assignments and remain on task. This goes for the group
of students who sit to the right of the projector as well. Law and Finance class is my first class in the morning, so their
energy may to be lower at first and will need extra enthusiasm to be encouraged to work diligently and to stay on-task.
Phones should be in lockers, but we’ve been having issues with this lately. If one is present, I do take it from them until
the end of the day and students are aware of this.

UNIT LESSON TOPIC OBJECTIVE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

The Adjudication “Introduction to
Process Monster by Walter
Dean Myers”
SWBAT examine the
opening statements in
Monster in order to
determine if Steve is given
the right to be perceived
innocent before being
proved guilty.
(How do you know
students are ready for
this lesson?):
This is the first lesson as our
class transitions to a new
long-term assignment in the
Unit for The Adjudication
Process. Students will have
some background
knowledge on parts of the
adjudication process, so this
should be both and review
and inquiry into the
different agencies in
juvenile justice.

STANDARD (State OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT ACTIVITY(IES):

{CCRS/Other} and
Professional
Organization Content
Standard)
MLO – PS, CS 6.5.12.2
Investigate the role of the
delinquent in the adult court
system in order to evaluate
their effectiveness and
ethical concerns these
measures create in the legal
system and society.
(A brief
description of
title of related
activity)
SWBAT - read the opener of Formal Formative Character
Monster in order to identify • Students will fill out a Description
and investigate the roles of worksheet and we go Handout
the agencies and delinquent through the book and
in the adult court system. identify characters in the Exit Ticket Index
court case. Card
• Students will complete an
exit ticket where they will
identify the role of two
characters.
Informal Formative
 • Check with students during
and after in-class theatrical
reading.

MATERIALS NEEDED:
Students will need their devices, handouts, a copy of Monster, and a writing utensil. Teacher will need their device,
projector, and a copy of Monster.

TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION:
Student and teacher devices as well as PowerPoint, padlet.com, and YouTube.

LESSON PROCEDURE:
HOOK – 5-7 Mins
Students will arrive to class with the following “DO NOW” on the board:
• What does the phrase “innocent until proven guilty” mean to you? What about the terms “innocent” and
“guilty”?

They are to pull out their devices and use 5 mins to answer the question on the following Padlet discussion board:
https://padlet.com/msminorjones/innocent_guilty

Teacher Talk: “Good Morning! Please take your seats and take out your devices to answer the following DO NOW
warm-up in our class’ Padlet online discussion. Be sure to like and/or respond to at least two other responses on our
discussion wall.”

Transition: “This ‘DO NOW’ will bring us over to our objective and agenda for today.” *Review the Objective, EQ,
and agenda for the day. *
CURRENT EVENT ASSGINMENT – 20-25 Mins
Student will choose one of 3 articles and work either in pairs or independently to complete a current event assignment.
The articles are as follows:
The New York Times -
https://nyti.ms/2PotzxY
ABC Chicago -
https://abc7.ws/2QrP54r
CNN -
https://cnn.it/2QKFX88

As students read through the article, they will fill out their current event handout and prepare for a mini class
discussion based off the readings.

Teacher Talk: “As mentioned earlier, we will be completing a current event assignment. This assignment will get
graded for how well you or you and your partner are able to examine sources as well as assess information. Choose one
of the three articles and follow the directions on your handout. You’ll have about 20 minutes (*actually 16-18 mins*) to
complete this assignment and to be ready to discuss your findings as a class.”

Teacher Talk Pt. 2: (*last 2-7 mins*) “Alright, let’s bring it back together as a class. Let’s discuss our findings. I will
ask some or all of the following questions:”
1. What was this reading about?
2. What are the explicit facts that occurred?
3. Was the security guard given the right to be perceived innocent? Why was or wasn’t he?
4. How did the police see the security guard? Person or Monster?

Transition: “So most of you choose that the police officer saw this man as a monster rather than a person and
unfortunately because of this, the security officer had been killed. He was not given the right to be considered innocent
before being proven guilty. We are going to continue with the topics of “innocent before guilty” and “Person or
Monster” as we move on to our next activity.”
 ANTICIPATION GUIDE – 15-20 Mins
Teacher Talk: “I’d like to know more about where your heads are at before we read a few pages on this book that I
LOVE. I’m passing out an Anticipation Guide that in many ways connects with it and the unit we’re about to go into
with it.”

Independently, students will be able complete an Anticipation Guide that is based off the book Monster. The questions
ask will challenge students’ ethics, morals, and understanding of the law.:

I. Before reading Monster, in the “Before” column, respond to each statement by putting a plus sign (+) if you
agree with it, a minus sign (-) if you disagree, and a question mark (?) if you are unsure of your belief.
II. For one of the statements, respond on the back (in 350 words or more) as to why you have the belief you do.

Transition: “All right, finish up that last thought and let’s bring it back to the class. Those are some tough statements,
aren’t they? It really makes you consider your biases and what you consider to be right. How can any of us really
perceive someone else’s innocent without our own biases jading our judgement? (*take 2 answers*) With them in mind,
let’s take a look for ourselves.”
THEATRICAL READING – 20-25 Mins
Teacher Talk: “Everyone should now have a copy of the book Monster by Walter Dean Myers. This book is:
1. Written in the perspective of 16-year-old, Steve Harmon
2. About the story of his trial along with friend James King for felony murder in the state of New York; while on
trial, he is serving time in an adult prison.

I have an audio recording of the first few pages of the book in from of you. These pages will give us a better since of our
friend Steve Harmon. Follow along in your book as this video reads aloud. Starts on page 1, put a thumb up when
you’re there.”
YouTube -
https://bit.ly/2P8jMXw

Teacher Talk Pt.2: “So how are we feeling about our first impression of Steven in the adult prison? (*take a couple
answers*). Let’s keep reading as a class to learn more about what is going on. I’ll need 11 volunteers to read these parts
during our theatrical reading (*choose students*). On your devices is a worksheet titled Character Descriptions. You
are to fill out the handout out while we read.”

Students will partake in an in-class theatrical reading of the opening from the book Monster. Students will volunteer to
read for a character in the selected section of the reading. All students must start to complete the Character Description
handout as we read together in class. I will stop the reading periodically to help facilitate when students are to fill out
their handout when a character is introduced. The parts for the theatrical are as follows:

Narrator/Stage Directions (more lines*) Guard 1 (less lines*)

Cut To (more lines*) Court Clerk
Steve Harmon Petrocelli (LOT of lines*)
Voice Over (VO) Judge
Sunset (less lines*) Asa Briggs
Kathy O’Brien Mr. Sawicki (less lines*)
Stenographer (less lines*)

Transition: “Interesting right? What attitude have you all picked up on that surrounds this case? Are the people
involved taking this seriously? Are they treating this case as an individual case?

15< MINUTES: Go further into class conversation about whether or not Steve is a “monster” or not.
SAFETY VALVE – CLOSING – 7-15 Mins
5-7> MINUTES: That was great reading; class let’s thank our actors for the day. I am passing around index cards. In
order to leave class today, I want you all to answer the following 3 questions. Please know that you must hand in a card
in order to walk out of class today:
1. Who in our society is seen as a monster? How are these people treated because of this?
2. Based off our reading, do you think Steve has been given the right to be considered innocent before proven
guilty? Why or why not?
 BONUS. Do you think Steve is innocent or guilty? Why or why not

10-15> MINUTES: (*After Index Card*) - (*Informal Formative Assessment*) So just in those 17 pages, we’ve met a
few key witnesses for this murder trial. I want to check in with you all, so quickly log onto the Kahoot link:

Kahoot -
https://bit.ly/2DRvtAb
https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/ce918520-097b-4bbc-aa66-3f5b053b7f15