Strategies Presentation: Written Summary

Emily Foster
8th Grade ELA

1. Objective(s):
Standards:
LA.8.RI.1 Determine two or more implied or explicit central ideas and how they develop over the
course of an informational text, including their relationship to supporting ideas.
LA.8.RI.2 Analyze how particular events, interactions between individuals, or key facts and details
contribute to meaning.
Content Objective: Students will determine how implied or explicit details contribute to the meaning and
development of characters.
Language: Individually, students will analyze implied or explicit details contribute to characterization by
correctly answering 11 out of 13 points on the exit ticket written assignment.

2. Instructional Strategies:
a. Description of at least two instructional strategies used during the lesson (800-word limit):
Within my direct and indirect characterization lesson, I first employed the peer teaching/re-teaching
instructional strategy within which peers re-taught and reviewed the concepts of direct and indirect
characterization. As partners, one student taught their peer about direct characterization, and the other
student taught their peer about indirect characterization, both informed by a previous lesson taught
within the past week. This strategy was used during the anticipatory set of the lesson which supported
the content of the lesson by serving as a way to activate background knowledge and set the stage for the
remaining instruction. The peer teaching, or in this case re-teaching, strategy was brought to a close by
asking the students if they have any further questions on direct and indirect characterization which was a
way for me to check for understanding before launching into the activity. Additionally, I briefly
reviewed the definitions of direct and indirect characterization immediately following the peer re-
teaching activity as a way to address any ill-defined teaching by students to their peers. The peer re-
teaching instructional strategy also engaged learners because it is collaborative. It also serves as a break
from direct instruction, which they had been receiving a lot of this week in order to build background
knowledge. By having students re-teaching concepts to each other, it not only shows me whether or not
they have a grasp on it, determined through observation, but it also lends itself to creating a
collaborative learning community in which students are actively engaging with the content and their
peers.
The second instructional strategy used within this lesson was an adaptation of role-play interviewing.
This strategy was pulled from the Nebraska Department of Education instructional strategies list, and
their example was on a point-of-view lesson. I used that lesson example as a jumping-off point to adapt
it for direct and indirect characterization. This is another strategy that is student-centered with very little
instructor intervention. Role-play interviewing in this lesson meant that students were grouped into
small groups of five to six students, and each student was then given a picture of a “character” and asked
to jot down some notes about their character which would be used to answer questions and describe their
character to the group. All of the character pictures were also displayed on the board. In these small
groups, students had to ask their peers questions about their characters, coming up with their own
questions. The idea is that each student would become their character, answering questions as if they
were that person. After each student had asked and answered at least one question, individuals would
then go around and describe their character to their group using the notes from earlier. Finally, each
student within the group would determine who had which character, and the groups would reveal their
assigned characters. Students were then asked to reflect on whether or not they got it right and why the
made the decisions that they did.
 The Role-Playing Interview strategy supported the content of the lesson by having student practice
applying the concepts on their own. Additionally, it helped illustrate the concepts in yet another way for
students, showing its relevance in a variety of settings. Similar to the peer re-teaching strategy, the role-
play interview engaged learners through collaborative learning and through inductive teaching. By
grouping students, having them develop their own questions, and work together, this strategy engaged
learners through an inductive teaching method.
b. One instructional strategy featured supported by two empirical research articles:

Role-play interviewing

c. Citations for articles:

Ricker, A., Peterfeso, J., Zubko, K. C., Yoo, W., & Blanchard, K. (2018). The mock conference as a
teaching tool: Role‐play and “conplay” in the classroom. Teaching Theology & Religion, 21(1),
60–72. https://doi-org.leo.lib.unomaha.edu/10.1111/teth.12423.
Jones, V.N., Conner, L.R. (2021). Measuring social work students reflective learning through role-play
and writing. Social Work Education: The International Journal, 40(7), 861-871. https://doi-
org.leo.lib.unomaha.edu/10.1080/02615479.2020.1729721.

d. Summary of the instructional strategy featured in the articles (100-word limit):

In these two articles, the strategy of role-playing is employed for post-secondary students and
professionals. The method is observation and reflection driven. They use it by assigning different
students to either important concepts within the content (religious education or social work) or people
within the context of the lessons. Participants then ask and answer questions guided by their peers in
order to gain a better understanding of the concepts. Both empirical articles indicate that participants
both enjoyed the activity and demonstrated a well-rounded understanding of the concepts and of
perspective-taking.

3. Description of how assessment data guided planning and instruction of the lesson or
might guide subsequent lessons (500-word limit):

Assessment data for this lesson aided in planning because, prior to this lesson, students completed a
reading and writing activity in which they practiced applying their knowledge of direct and indirect
characterization. During this activity, student expressed confusion with the concepts and found difficultly
when attempting to explain and cite their evidence when making inferences. This indicated that they needed
another day with these concepts in order to nail it down. Additionally, many students had yet to turn in that
assignment prior to the planning and implementation of this lesson which told me that there still could have
been some lingering confusion after class was finished. The assessment data for the role-play interview
strategy is primarily observational; however, I did have students make some notes before and after the
activity so they could have something to use during discussion and so I could see what clicked and what
didn’t. Also collected during this lesson was data from an exit ticket assignment with more concrete
conceptual questions which was beneficial because the concepts of direct and indirect characterization are
present throughout the unit.
The data collected from two class periods (50 students total) from the interview activity notes indicated
that the majority of students, about 78%, either met or exceeded my expectations. This tells me that students
should feel more comfortable applying direct and indirect characterization in future lessons. The exit ticket
activity data from all six class periods (106 students total) indicated that about 92% of students met or
exceeded my expectations for that activity. Through the data obtained by this lesson, subsequent lessons can
be focused in on more in-depth review if necessary or can move on within the unit. Most students should be
ready to apply their knowledge within a summative assessment if necessary. Students can also be asked to
 apply the concepts of direct and indirect characterization with greater confidence that they will do it
correctly and effectively.
Assessment data: Met expectations – 33; Exceeded Expectations – 6; Did not meet expectations - 11

4. Summary of how Technology-Supported Student Learning (100-word limit)

When teaching, I almost always prepare a slideshow presentation to show as the lesson progresses. This
typically contains key concept definitions, task instructions, task expectations, as well as notes for me about
needed materials or reminders. The slideshow allows for both an auditory and visual presentation of
material. Additionally, students responded to their exit ticket using a Google Form link on their course page
on Classroom. This is engaging for them and allows for a multi-media response. These two forms of
technology relate well to UDL which is crucial to hit upon for student learning.