Education Internship – H453/454/455 Lesson plan template: 

Name: Alejandro Gonzalez Cooperating Teacher: Miss Berdick

Subject: English Date of Lesson: 11/11/19
 
CLS #1 - Learning Targets (CLS/CCS) for lesson: 
(Ask your teacher, if you are unsure. Needs to be written out completely - not just a number.) 
 
E208 Course Critical Learning Standards:
1. Explain the central meaning using key details from a text
3. Explain how the author uses literary elements to construct meaning

CLS #1 - Objective: 
(Student centered, measurable, and specific) 
What are the STUDENTS doing? HOW are they doing it? WHY are they doing this specifically? 
The students will...  by..  in order to... 

     
identify literary symbols and discussing McBride’s rhetorical reveal the larger thematic ideas
messages in The Color of Water choices and devices of the novel and analyze the
  significance of them within the
novel and in the real world.

Objective: (Combine the 3 boxes above into 1 complete sentence) 

 
The students will identify literary symbols and messages in The Color of Water by discussing
McBride’s rhetorical choices and devices in order to reveal the larger thematic ideas of the novel
and analyze the significance of them within the novel and in the real world. 
 
 
CLS #2 - Introduction (anticipatory set): 
(Related to lesson, grabs students attention, and promotes engagement through interaction) 
 
In order to expose them to the activity we will be doing and allow them to “warm up” to
eventually participating, I will place them in small groups of 3-4 where they will have to share their
responses (From the pre-assigned Reading Guide worksheet created by me) to their peers. Within
these groups the students will not only be able to begin participating in a more comfortable and
controlled environment, but they will also be able to present questions to one another regarding areas
of concerns or difficulties that arose for them while reading. This will allow those students who tend to
be more introverted and less participatory the opportunity to voice their opinions or concerns without
having to deal with the attention or stress that can arise in a whole-class setting. They will converse in
their groups for 4-6 minutes and once that time has been reached, I will draw all of their attention
back to me and inform them that we are going to begin our discussion. The expectation is that within
those 4-6 minutes each group should be able to discuss all or most of the questions on the worksheet,
while also allowing and encouraging each member of their group to share their thoughts. Additionally,
while each group is conversing I will be walking around and assigning each group a specific question
that they will be responsible for answering during our discussion. By incorporating this mini-group
activity before beginning our whole-class discussion, the students will be more inclined to participate
and ask questions due to them already having started to generate analytical conversations within
their groups. This also allows us to avoid large periods of silence and/or awkwardness due to students
being uncomfortable to be the first to speak and instead be able to efficiently use our class time to
conduct a thought-provoking and intellectual conversation where we analyze the first 2 chapters of
The Color of Water.
 
CLS #3 - Teaching Input:  
(List the steps to teaching this lesson – thoroughly explain/detailed directions – appropriate instructional method - should be longest part of lesson plan) 
 
1. First, I will gather all the students’ attention to focus on me, thereby signaling them to end their
small group conversations.
2. Next, I will grab a dry-erase marker as well as my personal notes and get prepared to speak to
the class about the characters that were introduced so far within the book.
3. Then, I will write the names of each character on the board underlined and with enough space
between and below each of them to be able to write some information about each of them.
4. Next, I will ask the class, “So what do we know about XXXX so far?” for each of the 4 main
characters one by one that have been introduced so far (Ruth McBride, James McBride, Hunter
Jordan, Andrew McBride).
5. I will call on students who raise their hands to share their responses with the class and will
continue to call on students until the following is put on the board:
a. James McBride
i. 8th in a family of 12
ii. Biological father is Andrew McBride
iii. Considers Hunter Jordan to be stronger father-figure
iv. Hunter’s death was very hard for him to process
b. Ruth McBride
 i. Ruchel Dwarja Zylska -> Rachel Deborah Shilsky -> Ruth McBride
ii. Old Life
iii. Orthodox Jew
iv. Left family in Virginia
v. Hated the strict lifestyle, wanted freedom
c. Hunter Jordan
i. Step-Dad
ii. Died of a stroke
iii. Embraced all of the children
iv. Loved by all
d. Andrew McBride
i. Father of 8
ii. Died when Ruth was pregnant with James
6. If a student provides some information, not mentioned above, that proves to be substantial and
significant enough to point out to the class, I will also write it on the board.
7. During this process if the students are not volunteering or struggle to come up with the correct
responses, I will help set them up with phrased questions like “How many children are there in
total within James’ family?” or “Why did Ruth abandon her family in Virginia/Why did Ruth
detest her Jewish lifestyle?” I will say phrases like, “Nice.” or “Exactly.” whenever the students
respond with applicable information that we can put on the board.
8. Then, once this task has been completed I will tell the students, “Alright, good work everyone.
So now that we have a basic understanding of each of the characters and their relation to one
another we can start discussing the questions from our reading guide worksheet.”
a. The following are the questions on the worksheet
i. What is McBride attempting to convey to the reader here?
ii. Why does Ruth refer to herself as “light-skinned” despite being white?
iii. Who is the narrator of this chapter?
iv. “Rachel Shilsky is dead as far as I’m concerned. She had to die in order for me,
the rest of me, to live” (McBride 2). Why is this significant?
v. “She was a quiet woman, my sweet Mameh. That’s what we called her, Mameh.
She’s one person in this world I didn’t do right by. . . .” (McBride 3). Given the
description Ruth gives of her father, what does this quote imply about the
relationship with her mother? Any guesses on what might have happened?
 vi. Who is the narrator of this chapter?
vii. What is the significance of Ruth being the only white woman in an
African-American Community as well as being the mother of 12 mixed-race
children? How does this impact the lives of the children?
viii. What is the role of the bicycle in Ruth’s grieving process? (Hint: Your answer
should mention Hunter’s car)
ix. Explain why Ruth allows her children to be more independent and live in a “Kill or
be Killed” environment.
x. Why does Ruth ignore questions regarding race and identity?
9. Next, I will read the first question and ask the group I pre-assigned to this associated question
to please share their group’s collective response to the question.
10. After hearing their response I will either praise them for their accuracy by saying
“Exactly/Nice/Good job/Perfect.” or help redirect their thoughts to the expected response by
saying “That’s one way to think about it, but . . . /Not quite/Close, but . . .”
11. Regardless of the accuracy of a group’s response, I will build off each group’s answer with my
personal analysis, thoughts, and notes and ultimately help summarize the main concepts and
essential points of each question for the entire class.
12. Repeat steps 9-11 for each question on the worksheet until all questions have been discussed,
analyzed, and covered within the class discussion.
13. Throughout this process if any students may have questions that arise I will either answer it
myself or redirect their question to the group whose questions most relates to the topic of the
student’s question allowing the students to formulate complex thoughts and attempt to convey
them in a clear, analytical, and concise manner to their peers.
 
CLS #4 - Checking for Understanding: 
(What method will you use to check that the majority of students “get it” before moving on - explain) 
 

In order to ensure that every student has at least begun to grasp the significance of each
character, the thematic ideas presented, and overall importance of everything they read in the first 2
chapters of The Color of Water, I will utilize the “3-2-1” method. After concluding our discussion, I will
instruct the students to take out a half-sheet of blank white notebook paper and write down 3 facts
about one of the characters they have learned about so far, 2 themes or symbols they noticed, and 1
question they still might have. I will give the students 3-4 minutes to complete this task and afterwards
I will ask one student to share their facts, another to share their themes/symbols, and 2 more students
to share the questions they wrote out. When the facts and themes/symbols are being shared out I will
clear up any incorrect information or discrepancies that may arise. After I will ask for the questions to
be read out to the class and will first ask the class if they think they are capable of answering the
question themselves and allow them such an opportunity to do so, but if no students volunteer or feel
confident enough to answer the question then I will do so and provide that assistance. This “3-2-1”
method allows those students who may not be comprehending any of the necessary information from
the discussion to get an idea of what they should be focusing on as they continue to read the novel
and gives another opportunity to answer any remaining questions they may still have.
 
CLS #5 - Follow up/Closure: 
(Review major points – relate back to objective(s) - relate to future application) 
 
Once the “3-2-1” method has concluded I will tell the class, “Thank you everyone for your
participation and hard work today. In our discussion we learned about who exactly Ruth McBride,
James McBride, Hunter Jordan, and Andrew McBride are and about their importance within the novel.
We also addressed ideas like the questioning of one’s identity and the impact that race can have,
which both play essential roles throughout the entirety of the novel. As we continue to read the novel
and learn more about James’ story and his mother’s, make sure to keep an eye out for these themes
and any symbols that may be used to convey them. We have begun to see, even through only the first
two chapters of the novel, that the McBride family faces a lot of economic adversity and racial tension
so while you’re reading try to picture yourself in James’ shoes and think about what you would do if
you were in his situation. Remember that chapters 3 to 6 are due for tomorrow and make sure to fill
out your discussion topics worksheet.” I will then pass over the remaining time of the class period to
my cooperating teacher and conclude my lesson.
 
Instructional Materials/Supplies:  
(Detailed list of everything needed – includes copies of instructional materials, notes, keys, etc.) 
 
- Personal Copy of The Color of Water (To be able to look back at certain sections and reference
specific parts)
- Dry-Erase Markers (To write things on the board)
- Personal Notes (I will use these to keep track of the topics I want to make sure that we discuss
and go over)
- Key of the Reading Guide Worksheet (I will use this when the students are sharing their
responses to ensure that they are generating the correct answers and are comprehending
what they read, will help guide the discussion)
- Blank Copies of the Reading Guide Worksheet (4-5) [To give to those who may have lost them
or were absent]
- What the students will need
- Pencil/Pen
- Completed Reading Guide Worksheet (To share their responses)
- Novel (To be able to quote or look back for reference)
- iPad/Notebook/etc. (To take notes)