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Renovated Lesson Plan with Plans for Flexible Grouping

Day 1​: Introducing Shakespeare and the Time Period

Standards of Learning​:
9.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze a variety of fictional texts including narratives, literary nonfiction, poetry, and
drama
e) Analyze the cultural or social function of a literary text
g) Explain the influence of historical context on the form, style, and point of view of a written work
9.5 The student will read and analyze a variety of nonfiction texts.
e) Summarize, paraphrase, and synthesize ideas, while maintaining meaning and a logical sequence of events, within and
between texts.
Learning Outcomes/Objectives:
The students will understand that:
- Historical background information can help them understand the meaning of written text.
The students will know:
- Who is William Shakespeare and what were his major accomplishments?
- The historical context in which ​Romeo and Juliet​ was written.
- How to summarize ideas and facts into their own words.
The students will be able to:
- Identify characteristics of William Shakespeare. (Remembering)
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- Describe the time period in which William Shakespeare lived and wrote in. (Understanding)
- Summarize different facts and ideas into their own words (Understanding)
- Recognize the important features of a sonnet (Remembering)
- Identify the different parts of a sonnet (Understanding)
- Interpret the author’s meaning of the sonnet (Applying)
- Analyze how the author uses figurative language and literary devices to create meaning (Analyzing)
Materials Needed for the Lesson:
- Shakespeare WebQuest Website: ​http://shakespearewebquestday1.weebly.com/
- Shakespeare WebQuest Worksheet
Guiding Questions
- What part of the question are you confused about?
- Can you show me where in the question you are having trouble with understanding?
- What do you think you may need to know first about ______ to help you find the answer?
- Do you think that this page/link/section is the right place to find that answer? Why or why not?

Lesson Body and Sequence:
Time Teacher (What will the teacher do?)
15 minutes Read during SSR Time
5 minutes Introduce the switch from the short story
unit to a play.
10 minutes Bring up the Shakespeare Webquest
website. Pass out the WebQuest
worksheet. Go through the different pages
on the website with them and explain the
directions of what they will be doing.
55 minutes Walk around the room, check to see
student progress on the assignment and
help if they are struggling to find the
answers.
5 minutes Wrap up the lesson, tell students where to
submit the ​flyer​ and pick up the
WebQuest worksheet.
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Students (What will the students do?)
Read during SSR Time
Listen to the teacher’s introduction
Take out Chromebooks and go to the
Shakespeare WebQuest website. Follow
along on the website as the teacher
explains the directions
Students will work to complete the
WebQuest worksheet either by themselves
or with a partner.
Turn in WebQuest worksheet or complete
for homework if they are not finished.
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Plans for Differentiation and Accommodations

Student(s) Category Characteristics Accommodations

“Cloud” He does not have an IEP yet, but he gets I will give Cloud a shorter version of the
distracted easily and does not take notes Shakespeare WebQuest assignment to
well. According to the special education complete.
teacher, he is also on the autism spectrum,
and does not have well-developed social
skills.

ELL Student & Auditory v. Visual I have one ELL student who likes to have
Learners the directions in front of him to see when
being told what to do. I have some
students who prefer to learn auditory over
visually and vice versa.
I will go through the website with the
students while they have it up on their
own Chromebooks, and verbally explain
what they have to do for this assignment

Formative Assessments
The formative assessment for Day One is the WebQuest that the students will turn in at the end of class.
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Inter-Logic
This is the first day of my three-day unit on introducing William Shakespeare and ​Romeo and Juliet​. The goal of this class is to create
a base of historical background on William Shakespeare and the time in history that he lived and wrote his plays. This will prepare the
students for the cultural differences between then and now that they are more familiar with before they even start reading the play.
This is common for us to discuss the historical background of a piece of literature and the students have done this previously for
stories in the short story unit. This historical base will help them for the next class (Day 2) in which we focus on Shakespearean
sonnets, the poetic form that Shakespeare created.
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Renovations
Renovation #1: SSR into Hook
Accommodations/Modifications
1. Provide different articles about plays based on readiness: ​Instead of students reading a text of their choice during SSR,
they will be provided with different articles about the major components of studying plays based on their readiness
level. Before the beginning of this unit on Shakespeare and ​Romeo and Juliet, s​ tudents will be given a quick
pre-assessment to gauge their understanding about Shakespeare and his works. By altering what students read during
SSR, we can prime them for the upcoming content in the ​Romeo and Juliet​ unit.
a. This modification would benefit ​students with reading disabilities​ by providing the same content to them
without confusing or overwhelming with vocabulary or syntax structures that they might not be familiar with in
English. ​EL students​ could benefit from having an introduction text that provides more of a wide overview of
Shakespeare and his effects on the English language. ​Students with attention disorders​ can receive an
introductory article that could incorporate explicit connections to material that was previously taught in-class,
strengthening their connections to prior content they might have had trouble picking up while also preparing
them for the future unit.
2. Highlight keywords: K ​ eywords and phrases will be highlighted in all of the articles, regardless of the text’s readiness
level purpose. Highlighting keywords and phrases can help students by drawing their attention to the major points and
main ideas of the articles. This modification also can help students from becoming too confused or overwhelmed with
the length of the article.
a. Highlighting keywords is useful for ​EL students, students with reading disabilities, and students with
attention disorders​. EL students benefit from highlighted words as they can visually see the most important
vocabulary of the article and what words they should know the definition of in order to understand the content.
Students with reading disabilities, such as dyslexia, will be able to see what words or phrases will need the most
clarification or are important to the overall content. Students with attention disorders can infer the major ideas
or themes of the article by reading the highlighted words or phrases. For all of these students, it is important to
not highlight too much. Too much highlighting is akin to no highlighting at all.
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3. Include a text-to-speech option: ​Students will also have the option of listening to the article on a computer or cellphone
through the use of a text-to-speech option. There are websites and apps (such as ​Newsela, Readworks​, or various
text-to-speech browser plugins) that can allow students to hear the text as they read in a personalized manner (i.e. the
teacher does not have to always read out loud as some students might not need/want that option). This modification can
also help students focus on the content within the article or help them follow along with the reading.
a. Utilizing a text-to-speech option can benefit ​students with reading disabilities, students
emotional/behavioral disorders, students with attention disorders, students who are on the spectrum, and
ELs. ​EL students and students with reading disabilities can clarify and/or reinforce the text on the page by
hearing the text read aloud. Students on the autism spectrum can benefit from a text-to-speech option as it
allows for said students to practice their listening and comprehension skills. By having the option to listen to the
article as it is being read, students with attention disorders and emotional/behavioral disorders can better stay
focused on the material when they have the option of hearing the text while they read it.
● Co-Teacher: For this activity, we would have one teacher instructing and one teaching assisting. The teacher responsible for
instruction would be in charge of outlining the directions for the reading activity while the teacher who is assisting would float
around the classroom, clarifying points of confusion or helping students who may have had trouble understanding the
directions.
Renovation #2 & #3 WebQuest Assignment
Accommodations/Modifications
1. Shorten the WebQuest​: Originally, the WebQuest was seven sections with a total of fifty-five questions, and was
provided by Katie’s cooperating teacher for her high school practicum experience. Katie had seen the students struggle
to finish the WebQuest in the time given and would only see the students finish around two to three sections in the
timeframe of fifty-five minutes. We would definitely change the length of the WebQuest to only six sections with five
questions in each section, focusing on the important information that the students should focus on.
a. The accommodation of breaking a larger task into a smaller task is helpful to ​students on the autism
spectrum​, ​EL student​s, and ​students who have attention disorders/ADD​. It allows them a chance to scaffold
their thinking and more time to go deeper in each part. It also allows the students to not get bored if it is
chunked into smaller tasks.
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2. Students will work on WebQuest in small groups: ​As we said in the previous modification, we would have less
questions and sections for the students to complete, but it is still a lot of work for one student to work on. Instead of
having each student work on the whole WebQuest by themselves, the students would work on one section with three
other classmates. This would mean there would be a total of six groups of four students. We would put the students in
each section group based on interest through a spectrum/line up question, like how spicy do you like your food, or how
cold/hot do you like your bedroom. Due to the fact that each section of the WebQuest will now be completed by a
group, we would also reduce the time to around twenty-five minutes so we can include a related activity for the student
to share their work.
a. This accommodation is great for ​EL students​, ​students on the autism spectrum​, and ​students with
emotional and behavioral disorders​. Group work allows students on the autism spectrum, and students with
emotional and behavioral disorders to practice and model good and positive socialization skills that they may
have trouble with. For EL students, it allows them a chance to practice their speaking and listening skills with
native speakers of English in a low-stakes environment.
3. The students get a chance to not work with a group, and instead work individually:​ While group work is a great way for
students to socialize and participate in active learning together, it can sometimes cause stress or be overwhelming to
some students in the classroom. We would give our students the chance to opt out of group work once during this three
day unit, so they could choose this assignment to work on individually instead. The student will still only have to work
on one section of the WebQuest.
a. While this accommodation is great for every student, it is especially important to give this option for​ EL
students​, ​students with emotional and behavioral disorders​, and ​students on the autism spectrum​. For EL
students, they can get overwhelmed and tired speaking and reading in the language they are still learning and
growing in. Allowing them to work individually, ELs can work at their own pace without the pressure of other
students. Some students on the autism spectrum prefer to work individually because working in groups can be
loud and overwhelming for them. Letting them work individually allows them to be more comfortable while
being more productive with their learning. Students with emotional and behavioral disorders cannot always
work with others due to different triggers that may set off their different emotional and behavioral disorders. We
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want to create a safe and comfortable learning environment for our students so letting them have the option
gives them a chance to take a breath and refocus.

4. Change how we provide directions​: Originally, the teacher would explain the directions on how to complete the
WebQuest verbally from the WebQuest website while the students looked at their own Chromebooks or along on the
SmartBoard. While this was helpful as an introduction, some students would forget to go back to the WebQuest website
for what to do and would get confused. Along with explaining the directions verbally and the directions on the
WebQuest website, we would give the students a worksheet that each student can have and hold themselves that has the
directions on how to complete the WebQuest and how to prepare for the related activity. This will allow them to not
worry about having to go back and forth from the direction page and the links page, and make it easier for them to
navigate this assignment.
a. Providing different ways to give directions to the students is great for ​EL students​, ​students on the autism
spectrum​, and ​students with attention disorders​. Visual directions combined with verbal directions are great
for EL students because it can allow for better comprehension and understanding. Giving the students their own
personal copy is good for EL students and student’s with attention disorders because it allows them to stay more
organized with their work and reference back to it. It is also good to give students on the autism spectrum
because giving them step by step instructions prevents them from getting overwhelmed, and by giving them a
physical copy allows them to reference back and keep track of what they have done and what else they need to
do.

5. Alter the articles given to the students: ​The article and websites currently given to the students for the WebQuest are
not only a bit dated, but also very lengthy and do not aid in comprehension. We would find new articles from Newsela
and Readworks that are more updated on the content. The other reason why we would use these websites is due to the
fact the students can change the reading level to what they feel most comfortable but encourages purposeful growth.
a. This accommodation is good for​ EL students​, ​students on the autism spectrum, students with reading and
writing disorders, ​and ​gifted and talented students​. Every student is going to be at a different reading level or
different comprehension level, so using websites like Newsela and Readworks, allows students to choose what
reading level they feel most comfortable with.
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6. Provide other kinds of content for the students to find information for the WebQuest: L ​ astly, all of the resources given
to the students in the original WebQuest are all just websites that the students read the information. We would include
other kinds of content, like videos, podcasts, and infographics that students can use to complete their WebQuest.
a. Providing other kinds of content is great for ​EL students, students with reading and writing disorders, ​and
students with attention disorders​. When reading long blocks of texts, students with attention disorders can get
bored or confused while reading, while watching videos and looking at infographics, which are usually shorter,
they can pay more attention. Students with reading and writing disorders or EL students can get confused or
frustrated when reading long blocks of text, so watching videos or listening to podcasts can be more productive
for their learning.

● Co-Teaching Models: During the WebQuest assignment, we decided that the best co-teaching model would be to use Team
Teaching. While one of the teachers explains what to do with the WebQuest assignment, the other would model how to work
on it and complete it. It also will allow both teachers to walk around the room and check on each group while they are
working.

Renovation #4: Formative Assessment of Individuals (Exit Ticket)

Accommodations/Modifications
1. Allow for different methods of completing the exit ticket: ​As opposed to students simply writing down their responses to
the exit ticket questions, they will have multiple options in regards to how they can complete the exit ticket. Students
could have the option to record themselves on a flipgrid, use images, create diagrams, write, or something that would
be approved by the teacher (e.g. speaking to the class for 10-20 seconds about their answers to the exit ticket
questions.)
a. The option allowing different methods of completing the exit ticket would be useful for ​ELs, students with
attention disorders, students who are on the autism spectrum​. All of these students can have trouble
expressing themselves using the English language (e.g. lack of knowledge of the English language for ELs,
trouble focusing on completing a writing task for students with attention disorders, and trouble expressing their
feelings for students who are on the autism spectrum) and the ability to represent an understanding of the
content in a multitude of ways can allow the teacher to get clearer picture of what the students know.
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2. Provide more time to complete the exit ticket: ​While reworking different parts of the lesson, specifically pulling time
from the webquest, more time can be allocated to students so they can complete the exit ticket. Therefore, if they
choose a different method instead of writing that may require further explanation from the teacher, the students would
have adequate time to complete their formative assessment.
a. By providing extra time on this activity, ​ELs ​could use more time to gather their ideas together and any
questions they may have about any word or phrase meanings. ​Students with ASD ​could also benefit from
gathering their thoughts together due to students with ASD having trouble expressing themselves. More time on
an activity gives them the ability to think about how they would like to express their thoughts. ​Students with
reading/writing disorders ​would have extra time to review the exit ticket questions and their own work before
they turn it in as these students may require more time to decipher the given reading materials.
3. Clearly model examples of how students could complete the exit ticket: S ​ ince students will have the ability to complete
the exit ticket in a manner they would like, we would model instances of how other students have completed (or
provide examples created by the teacher) to better guide students toward completing the exit ticket in the way that best
suits the students’ needs.

a. All students would benefit from having clear instructions which would keep the results from their formative
from being tainted due to a lack of clarity on the teachers part. ​ELs ​could greatly benefit from having visual
examples of how they could complete the exit ticket. The visual cues would help reinforce the major ideas that
were taught during the class and could strengthen the ELs understanding of the vocabulary used in the lesson.
Examples of students’ work with a visual component would also benefit ​students with attention disorders ​as
it can help them focus their ideas on what they would like to do for the exit ticket. Finally, students with
emotional/behavioral disorders ​could benefit from having clear, visual instructions as it can provide a
template of expectations for the student while completing this activity.

● Co-Teaching Models: Since students will already be in groups, we decided to use parallel teaching for the exit ticket. When
using parallel teaching, each teacher will work with half the class while presenting the exact same exit ticket activity. The
students will benefit from having a lower student:teacher ratio in case they have any questions about this activity. Parallel
teaching also works well when reviewing material due to the previously mentioned student:teacher ratio.
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Addition #1: Jigsaw

Accommodations/Modifications:
1. Students would be able to move around the classroom: ​In the current lesson, the students do not get a chance to move
around. They sit at their desk and just work on the WebQuest. Ben and I realized that we wanted to integrate a related
activity that the students can learn about the other sections of the WebQuest from the other students. Since we reduced
the time the students took to do the webquest, the students would have twenty minutes to participate in this jigsaw.This
jigsaw will allow the students to move around the classroom and learn about the other sections and get a full picture of
William Shakespeare and the time period that he lived in.
a. Movement to work with other people is a great thing to integrate into your classroom especially with ​EL
students, students with attention disorders, ​and ​students on the autism spectrum​. Movement with students
who had attention disorders is great because a lot of the time they learn from doing, so movement not only
allows them to get extra energy out but also helps them recall the lesson. Movement and working with others is
great EL students and students on the autism spectrum because it can show a clear transition from one activity
to the next
2. Students will be given a worksheet to fill in the information: ​During the jigsaw, the students will be given a worksheet
that they will fill out. There will be six different sections for them to write down what their classmates believe are
important to know based on the research they did in the WebQuest. One worksheet will be taken from each section
group randomly to be used as a formative assessment, which will hold all students accountable for the work.
a. This worksheet along with the activity is helpful for ​EL students, students on the autism spectrum, and
students with attention disorders​. EL students, students on the autism spectrum and students with attention
disorders struggle with organization so by giving them a worksheet, they can write down their thoughts and
explanations from their fellow students in an organized way. EL students struggle with English linguistic
organization and students on the autism spectrum struggle with thought expression, so worksheets can help
these students.
3. Use additional cues to stay on task: W ​ hile the students are working on the jigsaw, it is the responsibility of the teacher
to walk around the classroom and make sure that all students are staying on task. Working in groups can be very
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beneficial and productive to student learning if the students are staying on task and following the routines set for group
work. Some students need more cues than others to stay on task.
a. This is good for ​EL students, students with attention disorders, and students with emotional and
behavioral disorders​. Students with attention disorders can get distracted easily so additional cues can help
keep them on task. By using additional cues with students who have emotional and behavioral disorders, it
reinforces the positive behavior and decreases the likelihood of problem behaviors. Using additional cues with
EL students can help them stay organized in what they are working on.

● Co-Teaching Models: For the Jigsaw assignment, we decided that the best co-teaching model to use would be Team-Teaching.
We felt that like with the WebQuest assignment, while one teacher explains the directions of how a jigsaw works, the other
teacher would be able to model and roleplay with the other teacher to help the students best understand. It also would allow
each teacher to focus on two groups of six during the discussion and come back together and talk about what the students got
form the lesson

Summary of Grouping
In the original lesson plan, the only form of grouping that is used within the lesson is choice grouping. What we mean by
random choice grouping is that the students have the choice to work on the full Webquest with a partner they choose or by themselves.
When teaching this lesson, most of the students chose to work with a partner, which shows that students do like to work with their
classmates when they have the choice. After changing the lesson with all of our accommodations, we have four major kinds of
grouping used: individual, readiness grouping, like-interest grouping, and mixed-interest grouping.
Originally, during the actual lesson, the students would read their choice texts during silent sustained reading (SSR). One of
the renovations for this lesson focused on altering the SSR time to an introduction activity that was based around SSR. The students
would still silently read for about 15 minutes but they would receive articles based on their reading level and readiness with the
content. These students would be grouped homogeneously based on readiness so they could all be on equal footing when beginning
the lesson.
The like-interest grouping was used for the WebQuest activity where the students were grouped by interest through a
spectrum/line up question, like how spicy do you like your food, or how cold/hot do you like your bedroom. While in the line up, the
students will be grouped up into six groups, one for each section of the WebQuest. This means that there would be six groups of four
students for the WebQuest activity. These students then worked on one section of the WebQuest assignment together.
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The mixed-interest group was used in the jigsaw activity where one student from each like-interest group came together. This
creates four groups of six students that meet together for the jigsaw activity. Each student then explains what their like-interest group
learned while completing their section of the WebQuest.
The three big groupings we did not see within our renovated lesson plan were grouping by choice, grouping by mixed
readiness, and whole class discussion. It would be beneficial for our students to include these three flexible grouping types because not
every student learns the same way.
Additional Tasks
Additional task #1 (Group by Choice)
We would have the students take on different stage roles (e.g. director, stage hands, actors) after reading a scene from the play.
This approach would be useful for providing different perspectives while reading the text. The students would be grouped based on
choice. This would be within the unit as a precursor before the students actually perform a scene in the play. Our sample analytical
role cards are below.

Director Actor Stagehand

The Director identifies major ideas they The Actor focuses on the thoughts and The Stagehand analyzes the scene and
would want to recreate on the stage and emotions of the characters in the play. thinks about what items or props they
how. They look for characterization traits need to bring the scene to life.
within the play.

Pit Orchestra Director Writer Audience

The Pit Orchestra analyzes the scene for The Writer looks for different literary The audience would describe the aspects
the mood and chooses songs that would fit devices and figurative language and their of the scene they found most interesting
and why. impact on the scene. and why.
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Instructional Use and Why:

● The students would choose their analytical role card, since they did not have the opportunity to choose an activity during the
original lesson. The inclusion of student choice into a future lesson would be useful in helping students understanding the
different major concepts that they should be searching for while reading/viewing a text. The students would also have the
opportunity to “instruct” each other while also being able to make personal connections to the text based on their choice of role
card.
Additional task #2 (Group by Mixed-Readiness)
For this grouping task, students would be grouped together heterogeneously based on readiness from their content mastery
throughout the unit. Each readiness group would be provided with a different form of the same scene from ​Romeo and Juliet:​ the
original text, a performance of the scene, the modern translation, and a graphic novel containing a modern translation. The students
will answer the following questions. 
Looking at Romeo and Juliet 
What is happening in this scene of ​Romeo and Juliet? 
● What is the setting of the scene? What parts of the scene let you know this? 
 
 
 
 

● Who are the characters of the scene? 

 
 
 
 

● How would you describe the characters of the scene? 

 
 
 
 
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● How is meaning gained from reading the modern translation? 

 
 
 

● How is meaning lost from reading the modern translation? 

 
 
 
 

● How is Romeo described by other characters in this scene? 

 
 
 

● How is the dialogue in this scene different from the last scene we performed as a class? 
 
 
 
 

Instructional Use and Why:

● This activity could be used as a way to both check for and reinforce student understanding of the concepts that were studied
throughout the unit (up until the point that this activity was done). Students would read different “translations” of the same
scene and can compare their understandings with each while also arriving at different ways of interpreting a scene. This
activity also requires students to examine how the different representations of Shakespeare can alter the meaning of the play.
The activity is supposed to spark a conversation about the benefits, and drawbacks, of only reading the original version of
Romeo and Juliet.​ We want students to understand that modern translations can aid in understanding the play but the
translations should not completely replace the original work.