Katrina Booth

4/18/2018

The Hate U Give: Workshop

Character Blog Workshop

*Lesson plan based on an 80-minute class

Purpose/rationale:

My 10th grade class has just finished reading the fiction book The Hate U Give. They read this
book as part of their multicultural literature. They are reading a total of 5 multicultural texts
with a follow-up lesson to work on various writing, analyzing, reading, and presentation skills.
The purpose of reading texts such as The Hate U Give is to broaden student’s views of cultures
besides their own. I chose The Hate U Give because it is relevant today. It is a young adult novel
based off of current issues in America with police brutality and the Black Lives Matter
movement on social media. Students are seeing these issues online daily and reading these
stories on a variety of social media. There are protests and riots happening all over the country
in response to these issues. The Hate U Give is a realistic fiction book written by an African
American author who creates a story about an African-American 16-year-old girl, Starr, who
deals with the aftermath of watching one of her best friends of color get shot by white police.
Starr begins to see the racism of the system and struggles to use her voice to fight against the
injustices of the police. Although, fiction, this book is an accurate depiction of what is currently
going on in our country. It is relatable to young people, written in their language, and focused in
modern day culture with references to social media, music, etc. that young adults can relate
and understand. This text will give students a chance to work with a book that is current and
relatable to their generation.

I chose this book because it will lead a discussion of current events. In an article written by
Travis Rink, he discusses the importance of teaching current events. He writes, “Elevating
student awareness of global issues is increasingly important as the countries of the world
become more interdependent.” Although this is a fictional story it is an accurate depiction of
current events going on throughout America.

There was a powerful article written for Teaching Tolerance, that reads,

“…the students who sit in front of us daily are not always directly affected by the killing of
unarmed black people or any of the other injustices that plague our nation. But as teachers
 who function as caretakers, truth-seekers and advocates of justice, we can acknowledge
how the threat of justice in one community is, to borrow from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a
threat to justice in every community. We have a civic responsibility to be educated about
Black Lives Matter and, as we learn, we must teach” (Pitts, 2017)

This book discusses the issues that may not get discussed otherwise. As an educator, I hope to
bring light to these issues – to help my students see all the perspectives and develop their own
thoughts and feelings on the current world issues.

There is not more appropriate time than now to discuss this book with these issues so relevant.
It shows students that although we have talked about cultural issues of the past, there are still
current cultural issues in our own country.

This text has sparked a lot of discussion among educators. I read through many twitter
discussions and blogs posts of the importance of this book. One video on the book stuck out to
me specifically. You can find the blog post and video here:
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/books/the-hate-u-give/

The video I wanted to discuss was posted by Jennifer Gonzales. She discussed how in the book,
readers get to know the characters and their lifestyles, life in a black community, at a deeper
level. She compares it to how in the media we don’t get that personal connection. We just get
the side that the media wants to portray and the story that they want us to hear. This is an
important text for students to read because of the relationship that Angie Thomas gives her
characters with their readers. This book gives readers a different view and the understanding
that things are not always as they seem. There is often more to the story, especially in the case
of these Black Lives Matter cases. This book came out in 2017 and is extremely relevant in our
world today.

When creating today’s lesson, I wanted students to get personal with the characters for the
reasons written above. I want students to have an in-depth idea of what people facing these
issues and fighting with these fears feel like. I decided to take a creative approach with students
to allow them the freedom to interpret the characters on their own and to extract their own
truths for the characters in which they choose.

Students will be choosing characters to create blogs for. They will select their characters and
create a blog that highlights the important events of that character throughout the book. They
will write posts in the voice of their character that showcases an understanding of what
happened to the character and the feelings elicited within that character.

Having students creating blogs will build upon their 21 st century literacy skills. Blogging will help
students to “develop proficiency and fluency with the tools of technology” (NCTE, 2013).
Students will be utilizing a variety of skills – identifying important events in the text, narrative
writing, and working with new technologies. Blogging also will allow students to get personal
with the text and characters. Blogging is a form of personal writing and doing this through the
eyes of a character will help students to develop a deeper understanding of the characters
within the text.

A flipped lesson is when the lecture portion of a lesson is given through video outside of the
classroom, allowing for workshop time within the classroom. I chose to create today’s lesson
with this format to allow students more time to work through creating their blogs within the
classroom to have assistance from the instructor to minimize frustrations and maximize
confidence with their blogging skills.

Prior to today’s lesson, students have been asked to complete their reading of The Hate U Give
and to have watched the flipped lesson for today and to have completed the requirements
outlined in the flipped lesson. The flipped lesson discusses the assignment and the expectations
for the workshop day. It is also an instructional video on how to use Weebly. The flipped lesson
ended with requirements for students to decide on their character and to come with at least 5
events written down with page numbers to start their blogs with. Blogs won’t be expected to
be completed by today.

Standards:

CCSS.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, interact with other characters, and advance the plot
or develop the theme.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.6
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or s
hared writing products, taking advantage of technology's capacity to link to other
information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

Objectives:

Students Will Be Able To…

 Utilize Weebly to create a fictional blog.
 Extrapolate The Hate U Give’s characters based on their experiences and personalities in
the book and create them a “real-life” blog
 Identify important events in a chosen character’s life
Materials:

 Choice of 3 different writing prompts from “642 Things to Write About”

 Journals
 Laptops
 Rubric (see Appendix E)

Anticipatory set:

As students enter the classroom they will see three creative writing prompts written on the
board. This is something students will have been participating in since classes began. Today’s
writing prompts will be taken out of “642 Things to Write About” and students will complete
their responses in their class journals (Appendix A).

Teaching Strategy/Procedure/Activity:

Time Student is doing Teacher is doing

10 minutes Students will enter the
room and will put their
materials at their desk.
They will grab their journals
from the rack and then sit
at their seats. They will
complete the writing
prompt of their choice in
their journals. If they finish
their first prompt they will
move onto one of the other
two prompts and write on
that one. They will continue
writing until the timer goes
off.
10 minutes Students will listen to the
recap of the flipped lesson
and ask any questions that
Teacher will set a timer as
she greets students. She
will remind students to get
their journals and begin
writing their prompts. She
will also remind students
that responses have to be
at least one full paragraph.
The teacher will remind
students that if they finish
their prompt before the 10
minutes is up they are to
pick a second prompt to
write about. The teacher
will observe as the timer
runs down. When the timer
dings the teacher will ask
students to close their
journals and put them in
their desks or off to the
side. She will move to the
front of the class and begin
with the lesson.
The teacher will briefly
recap what was discussed
in the flipped lesson. She
 they need clarification on.
After questions have been
answered students will get
out their books and notes
and get onto the Weebly
site.
20 minutes Students will listen to the
prompted questions and
give responses after raising
their hands and being
called on by the teacher.
will discuss the blogging
site Weebly and briefly
recap what the project is
about (see Appendix D).
The teacher will then ask if
anyone has any questions.
After questions are
answered she will ask
students to get their books
and their notes for the day.
She will hand out the rubric
for the blogs while students
get their materials. Then
she will move to the front,
again, and said “Okay class,
before we begin working on
our blogs lets spend some
time discussing blogging
and what we might want to
see in a blog.”
The teacher will lead a
discussion of blogging. She
will stand at the front of
the room and write lists
and notes on the boards
from the discussion. She
will ask students:
- Why might
someone use a
blog? (To write
about a personal
experience)
- What would make a
blog look more
appealing?
(Pictures, graphics,
tabs – about me,
etc).
- What way would
the author of a blog
write? Which point
of view would be

30 minutes Students will utilize their
class workshop time to
begin creating their blogs.
They will start by creating
the basic blog layout. After
students have gotten their
blog created and layout
picked, they will start
putting together their blog
posts using events from the
book.
As they work, the students
will ask the teacher any
questions he or she may
have during workshop time,
most effective?
(Generally, authors
of blogs are
reflecting on
something personal
to them. They would
write in the first
person POV)
- What are some
different topics
someone might blog
about? (a goal they
are working
towards, their
healing process
after a traumatic
event.)
If students don’t have
answers to these questions
the teacher will provide a
few examples for each and
ask students to think of
some more examples.
*teacher examples are in
the parenthesis above.
The teacher will tell
students that they have the
next 30 minutes to begin
working on their blogs.
The teacher will float
around every 10 minutes to
be sure that students are
staying on topic and
utilizing their workshop
time.
The teacher will approach
any student that raises
their hand to ask a
question.
 they will signal the teacher
by raising their hand.
If students have
headphones they will be
allowed to listen to music
quietly.
Students will finish up their
work for that day and send
the teacher a link of their
blogs.
5 minutes Students will stop working
on their blogs.
Students will listen to the
teacher discuss the
homework expectations.
They will ask any questions
they have.
They will grab their
journals.
The teacher will tell
students that they may
listen to music quietly if
they have headphones.
With 2 minutes to the end
of the workshop the
teacher will let students
know that their workshop
time is coming to an end.
She will ask students to
send her an email link to
their blogs before they
leave for the day.
The teacher will ask
students to end where they
are on their blogs.
She will explain the
homework expectations
and ask for any questions…
“Okay, for homework today
you’re going to be
continuing to work on your
blogs. I would also like you
to find a story that is similar
to Khalil’s based on the
trend today of the Black
Lives Matter movement.
Please read the article and
bring it to class to share.”

She will then ask students

to grab their journals for an
exit slip.
5 minutes Students will grab their The teacher will ask
journals and will respond to students to answer these
their exit slip questions. questions in their journals:

Once they have finished How comfortable do you

they will put their journals feel so far with your blog
in their bin and pack up project?
 their things.
Would you benefit from
more workshop time?

What challenges did you

face today?

She will tell students to put

their journals in their bin
and pack up once finished.

Summary/Closure:

Students will end class with a discussion of instructions for their homework and completing
their exit slip questions in their journals.

Journals are graded with a pass/fail grade. They aren’t formal pieces of writing, but more as a
way for the teacher to check in and make sure that the students are doing their work and
following the instructions provided to them.

Assessment:

 Formal assessment: Completed blogs will be the formal assessment (not expected for
today’s lesson)
 Informal assessment: Informal assessment will be taken through observation during
class time and exit slip responses. Students will also be assessed on how much they
completed on their blogs. Did they create their account? Did they pick a theme? Did
they pick a character? Did they create multiple tabs?

Homework/follow-up assignment:

Students will be asked to work on their blogs outside of class. Students will also be asked to find
an article on the Black Lives Matter movement that discusses a case similar Khalil’s in the book.
Students will be asked to read the article and bring a print out copy to discuss.

Accommodations/adaptations:

Student with visual impairment:

 Student will receive a hard copy of writing prompts that will be on the board printed on
contrasting colored paper to aid student in seeing the prompts
  Student will have the option of creating an “audio blog.” In this option, the student will
be expected to take on the personality of the chosen character and record blog posts as
if speaking from that character’s point of view.
 Student will receive a hard copy of exit slip questions printed on contrasting colored
paper. In addition, the teacher will read these out loud to the class as well (see
Appendix C).
 If needed, the student will be provided with an audio version of The Hate U Give

Student with mild autism

 Student will be provided with a timer during workshop time to know how long
workshop time will last
 Student will be allowed to have a fidget tool for use when feeling upset (the teacher will
hold at her desk and will give the student if needed).
 The teacher will sit with this student periodically to help encourage their understanding
of the text.

Student with Bipolar Disorder

 Student will be provided with a schedule of the class events, so they are prepared for
the day (see Appendix B).
 Student will be allowed to be excused to the guidance counselor if they begin to feel
agitated and/or experience a bout of rage.
 Student will be allowed bathroom breaks without restrictions.
 Student will be allowed an item of comfort/fidget tool if needed to reduce agitation and
frustration.

Attachments/Appendices:

- 642 questions
- Class schedule
- Exit slip questions

Plan B:

If students begin to finish their blogs early, the teacher will ask them to send their links for her
to look over. After students have done so, students will be asked to begin looking into the Black
Lives Matter movement that is occurring. She will ask students to search for cases that are
similar to Khalil’s in the book. She will explain the homework and ask students to begin working
on that if they finish their blogs early.
Students are not expected to finish their blogs during this workshop period, if they run out of
time they can continue to work on their blogs outside of class.

If the assignment becomes too overwhelming or stressful for students, then the class will join
as a class and make a list of the important characters in the book. They will then break down
the characters for important events, personality traits, and how these characters change and
evolve over the course of the text. The teacher will write these findings on the board for the
class to visualize. Students will then think of example blog idea for one of the characters
discussed, as a class they will discuss possible blog focuses.
Appendix A:

642 Things to Write About: Prompts

1.Your face is on the evening news.

Write a short news story to explain
why.

2.You’ve been stranded on an island for

five years now. Describe your typical
day.

3.The last chapter of the relationship…

Appendix B:

Class Schedule:
10 minutes: You will arrive and write your daily creative writing post.

10 minutes: You will listen to the discussion of the day’s events and the
explanation of the video you watched for today’s lesson. (Ask any question you
have here)

20 minutes: The class will do some blogging brain storming – think about: why
might you use a blog? What different things should be included in a blog? How
should a blog be written (meaning what point of view and writing style)?

30 minutes: You will have independent work time to work on your made-up blog.
Raise your hand during workshop time to let the teacher know if you have a
question.

5 minutes: You will listen to your homework, you will ask questions, and you will
send your work for the day to your teacher through your blog link by the end of
class.

5 minutes: You will answer the exit slip questions in your journal. You will put you
journal in your bin and then pack up to leave class.
Appendix C:

Exit Slip Questions

1.How comfortable do you feel so far

with your blog project?

2.Would you benefit from more

workshop time?

3.What challenges did you face today?

Appendix D:

Flipped Video Recap

Students watched a video prior to class that discussed the basic outline of how to create
a Weebly account and how to begin creating it. Weebly is a site that allows anyone to create a
website of their own for free. This is the site students will be utilizing to create blogs. Their
blogs will be based on a character in the book. Students will select a character in the book and
will create a website for that character as if that character had created it themselves. Meaning,
their blogs will be written in a first-person POV. Today, students should get the basic layout of
their blogs completed or almost completed and should have their character and some events
picked out to eventually turn in blog posts.
Appendix E

Character Blog: Rubric

Grows Criteria Glows

Areas that need work Expectations/Standards Exceeds Expectations

Website Appearance:

Website is appealing. Website

includes graphics and tabs:
about me, home, and blog.
Website is easy to navigate
and looks polished.

Blog Posts:

Blog includes at least 10 blog

posts (3 paragraphs minimum
for each). Blog posts are well
written with little to no
grammar mistakes. They
reflect the tone of chosen
character.

Chosen Events:

Events chosen are significant

to the character’s life in the
book. Blog posts explain the
importance of the event.

For example:

If you created a blog based on

Seven, the birthday party
scene at the end would be an
ideal event to discuss. This
event showcased a lot about
Seven and his family.