Thematic Unit Lesson Plan

Identify the proficiency level or levels of your students and their age/grade level. Write
down the topic of each lesson of your unit. Your objectives should include content and
language learning strategies and should be aligned with Nebraska’s English Language
Proficiency Standards (NE ELP).

Integrate the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing, into your
activities, focusing on the development of academic language. Also include vocabulary
development, grammar practice as needed, and a range of communicative and academic
language functions in your lesson plans.

KEY:
Blue highlight – ESL Strategies
Yellow highlight – Scaffolding and Supports
Green highlight – The language domains
Pink highlight – Gradual Release of Responsibility

Sections:

I. Unit/Lesson #: 1

II. Lesson Topic/Title: Introduction to Civil Rights

A. What are civil rights?

III. Grade Level: 8th grade

IV. Language Level: Level 2

V. Standards (NE ELP): 6-8.1 and 6-8.2

NE ELP 6-8.1.2: An ELL can use an emerging set of strategies to identify the main
topic in oral communications and simple written texts and retell a few key details.

NE ELP 6-8.2.2: An ELL can participate in short conservational and written exchanges
on familiar topics and texts, present information and ideas, and respond to simple
questions.

VI. Academic (Content) Objectives: Students will be able to use different sets of
instructional strategies (Guided Reading, Talking Chips, Pair Checks, and Sentence
Frames) to help them evaluate and recognize, eventually recall, new Unit 1
vocabulary as well as investigating context clues with the book of the day, A Sweet
Smell of Roses.

VII. Language Objectives: In pairs, SWBAT investigate the main idea and supporting
details of the book, A Sweet Smell of Roses, by evaluating the book’s context clues
then completing a vocabulary based matching activity that follows the book and our
introductory vide on what civil rights are.

VIII. Materials:
A. Daily Notebooks – used for warmups and activities
B. Book: A Sweet Smell of Roses
C. Sentence Frames over the main idea and the details of the book
 D. Matching Activity with vocabulary words and main idea with supporting
details from the book

IX. Procedures:

A. Introduction
Anticipatory Set: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT3EIKmKpaQ
i. They will watch this video individually.
ii. After watching the video, with a partner, they talk about what they
saw, felt, and heard.
1. They will communicate using Speaking frames and talking
chips (Cooperative Learning).
2. I saw _________________ in the video. It made me feel
__________ because ______________. I heard about
_____________. (Speaking frames). (YOU DO TOGETHER).
(Speaking).
B. Warm Up Questions about their values
They will complete a question with a sentence starter (Writing).
i. Question: What are your values? (Explain what a value is)
ii. Sentence Starter: My values are _________________.
iii. Question: Have you ever fought for something? (Give an example)
iv. I fought for ___________ because ____________.
v. The students will write these with their daily notebooks.
C. We will discuss the term values, rights, and beliefs to bring in their
background knowledge about these words.

D. Through
Instructional Input:
i. Together, we will read A Sweet Smell of Roses. As I read aloud, they
will follow along (I DO and Listening).
1. They will receive two sticky notes. On the sticky notes, they
must write down two questions or words they don’t know on
each sticky note (Collecting and Processing Words-H&J).
2. For the words they do not know, they will look up the words in
their native language to help get an understanding then we
will discuss as a class in English. We will put these harder
words in a word bank on the board.
3. The students will use the schema theory to activate their past
knowledge of the words (value, rights, civil, etc.).
ii. As a class, we will review a video together
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7c2dLHbd9E). As we review it,
they will write down words or ideas that they know. We will watch it
again and they will write down words and ideas they don’t know.
(STOP AT 1:32) and repeat video as needed).
1. I will be doing this as well. The words and ideas I selected are:
b. The term – civil rights (break it down to civil and rights)
c. The term – movement
d. Establish a time period
e. Explain why people of color we treated different.
f. Segregation – define it and translate it if possible.
g. Equality and democracy – explain and define.
h. Voting Rights
i. Educational rights
 j. Business rights
2. Together, we will discuss these topics and terms and add them
to our word bank. As we add them to our work bank, they will
write down the term or idea with its definition in their
notebooks for later use (Writing).
3. We will say these words out loud together to practice speaking
as well.
b. I will use a guide for them to help with writing the
definition. This will be instructed on the board as well
as orally.
c. Civil rights are _____________________. (Example)
d. A movement is described as _______________.
(Example)

E. Beyond
Independent Practice:
i. Individually, students will practice our vocabulary words and review
the story’s main idea and its supporting details (YOU DO ALONE).
1. A word bank from the book as well as a word bank of our new
vocabulary words will be provided on the board (Guided
Practice).
2. They will have 10 words and their definitions and 5 topics from
the story.
3. After they complete this short activity, they will do a Pairs
Check. Their elbow partner will check their work and vice
versus.
4. As a class, we will discuss the answers together to help those
that didn’t get 100% on the activity.
ii. Students may have experienced some kind of discrimination. They
may be immigrants or come from immigrants’ families therefore a lot
of these civil rights may affect them in some way. This whole unit is a
great way to connect with their own lives.
X. Assessment:
A. Students will answer a two question “quiz” as their exit ticket.
i. Their two questions will be…
1. What is the definition of civil rights? Answer to the best of
your ability.
b. Civil rights are _____________.
2. What is the main idea for the story we read today, A Sweet
Smell of Roses?
b. The main idea to the story is ____________.
ii. They will answer these of an index card that they will turn in as they
walk out the door (Writing).