UMF Unit-Wide Lesson Plan Template
Name: Rebecca Long Program: SMED
Lesson Topic / Title: Superstition in Literature and Media
Lesson Date: 1/24/2022 Lesson Length: 70 minutes
Learning Objectives & Content Standard Alignment - Selects, creates, and sequences learning
experiences and performance tasks that support learners in reaching rigorous curriculum
goals based on content standards.
Learning Objective(s)
1. Understanding what superstition is
2. Understanding how superstitions have been used
in literature and the media
Content Standard(s)
ELA.912.S.CS - Demonstrates the ability to have formal
and informal discussions as well as give formal and
informal presentations.
ELA.912.W.CS - Demonstrates the ability to write and
revise writing as well as the ability to complete short and
sustained research.
ELA.912.L.CS - Demonstrates the ability to use content
specific language and more generalized vocabulary as
well as capitalization and punctuation rules.
Course: EDU 460
Grade/Age: 10
Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
This unit’s main text is Shakespeare’s
Macbeth which heavily relies on the
superstitions surrounding witches to
forward its plot and create
atmosphere. Shakespeare also uses
these superstitions to draw in his
audience in the beginning of the play.
As a way to get students interested in
the unit and help them understand the
context of the play, I decided on a
hook activity where we would explore
superstitions and their use in various
media. I felt this would prepare
students to discuss how Shakespeare
uses superstition in his play like
others have used various
superstitions in their media. I also
knew that the final project would
include students incorporating
Macbeth into a game of their own
design, so I wanted them thinking of
how myths and superstitions have
been used as the basis to create other
forms of media.
Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
These standards account for three of
the four being worked on throughout
the unit this lesson is a part of. These
standards are also Mt. Blue High
school’s four main English standards
and therefore the ones I'll be grading
students using. They are also
developmentally appropriate and
align with my unit goals. These
standards also align with both
objective one and two of this lesson.
More specifically, I chose standard
ELA.912.S.CS because it fit the goals of
this lesson. Students would be having
two informal discussions in this

Assessment - Uses assessment flexibly to expand and deepen understanding of learner
performance and determines best supports for continued learner growth.
Assessment
Pre-assessment: Students will be graded on the slides
they put together that summarize the research about the
superstition they choose.
Formative: When they start reading students will also be
asked to answer the question: why would Skakespeare
start his play with witches?
lesson. One when reporting their
answer to a question about if they are
superstitious and another when doing
a search and find activity about
superstitions. Then, they’ll be giving a
formal presentation when sharing out
the research they collected on one
specific superstition.
I chose standard ELA.912.W.CS
because students would be doing
some writing in their reader-writer
notebooks. And because they would
be completing short term research on
superstitions in general and then
more sustained research on a specific
superstition.
I chose standard ELA.912.L.CS
because students would be presenting
a slide where they would have to show
they understand mechanics and the
text features and aesthetics of a
presentation.
Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
As this was the first lesson I was
teaching students and the first lesson
of the unit, it was the perfect
opportunity to gauge students’
abilities in some of the areas my unit
goals were surrounding. Mainly,
students research abilities, their
handle over presentations, how well
they did with class discussions, and
their language skills. It was a relatively
low stakes assignment that would
show a lot of students’ abilities in the
areas I wanted to center the unit
around.
One of the main aims of this lesson
was to set students up to answer the
question: why would Skakespeare start
his play with witches? This question
acted as a bridge into the play, and
was meant to get students thinking
about how authors are purposeful. By
answering this questions students
would also show how well they
understood this lesson and how well
they could transfer knowledge of one
topic to another.
Instructional Materials and Resources - Stays current in content knowledge and expands expertise
in reviewing instructional materials from the perspectives of both the discipline and individual
learner needs.

Materials, Resources, and / or Technology Instructional Decisions / Reasoning

Students’ laptops Students will need their laptops to

Teacher’s laptop research and create a presentation.
Reader/writer notebooks + writing utensils
Shared Jamboard I will need my laptop to go through
Google classroom the Jamboard, write the search and
Projector find responses on the Jamboard, and
assist students with their research.

Students will need their reader/writer

notebooks and writing utensils to
answer the opening question of the
lesson: are you superstitious?

There will be a shared Jamboard to

put down students’ search and find
responses, a slide to define
superstitions, a slide for students to
pick a superstition to research, a slide
with instructions on it, and a slide for
every student to put their research on.

Students’ will find a summary of the

lesson and the Jamboard on their
Google classroom.

A projector will be needed to put the

Jamboard on the whiteboard where
everyone can see it.

Instructional Methods: Selects, creates, and sequences learning experiences and performance
tasks by using a variety of instructional approaches, strategies, and technologies that make
learning accessible to all learners and support learners in reaching rigorous curriculum goals.

Teaching and Learning Sequence Instructional Decisions / Reasoning

Answering the question “are you superstitious?” in their
reader/writer notebooks (5 minutes)
Class discussion to define superstition and explore
everyone's experiences with them (20 minutes)
Fact finding information dump where every student puts
one or more interesting fact about superstition on a
shared slideshow (10 minutes)
Individual research activity on common superstitions and
how they’ve been used in the media (25 minutes)
Share out where students summarize the findings of their
research (10 minutes)
This starting question will get
students thinking about what they do
and don’t know about superstition
before we move into the search and
find activity. Students will also get the
opportunity to do some self-reflection
which is always a good skill to
practice. It is also a good time for
students who process through writing
rather than speaking to prepare
something to share during discussion.
Students are also used to using their
reader/writer notebooks to respond
to questions in this way. I thought
doing something familiar would help

Meeting students’ needs (differentiation,
extensions, modifications, accommodations)
Having an agenda for the day
Modeling the research assignment
Putting all instructions on Google classroom
Saying all directions out loud and re-wording
them when necessary
Teaching for various learning styles
students adjust to having a new
instructor.
Class discussion allows students to
share their own knowledge and gain
insight from others. This is also a way
to build an open and welcoming
classroom climate because students
can share low stakes information
about themselves. It also opens us up
to a wider cultural conversation
depending on the background
students have with superstitions.
Rather than have me lecture students
on various superstitions, it felt more
worthwhile to have students inquire
into questions they had about
superstitions and report back. Not
only would this inform me of their
research skills, but it also would allow
them to chase their interests.
During students' independent
research time I would circulate
around the room. This allows the
teacher to be ready to assist students
immediately, that way they are able to
ask questions or receive help when
needed. It also acts as a way to gauge
students’ progress with the
assignment.
Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
I chose to read all of the instructions
and materials I gave out loud, so
students could hear them as well as
read them to get maximum
comprehension. Also, it helps any
auditory learners to grasp the
assignment. I restated and reworded
every direction or question I gave the
students to ensure that they
understood the parameters of the
assignment too.
All instructions were also placed on
Google Classroom, so that students
could return to them as they worked.
And, so that any student who was out
or who needed time outside of class to
finish the assignment would have
them.
This lesson also targets various
learning styles such as visual learners
because the definition slide on the
 Jamboard that defined superstition
used graphics to do so. It also targets
social learners due to the
collaborative learning of the class
discussion and the fact finding activity.
Solitary learners would also benefit
from the independent research, and
verbal learners too.

Field Courses Only – Post lesson

Reflection

- I could have been more clear when explaining the instructions for the
research assignment, or maybe the expectations. Students didn’t know if they
were doing the assignment right, but so long as they had all the elements
from the instructions I would have considered them good. I should have
communicated that more clearly. Also, I should have put the instructions on
Google Classroom and the Jamboard, not just a slide on the Jamboard like I
had.

- I should not have tried to introduce a new technology that students weren’t
familiar with because it distracted from the lesson. Students spent too much
time grappling with how to use Jamboard rather than completing their work.

- I am happy with how engaged students were with the topic and how
interested they got in the topics they chose to research more deeply. I hope
this carries through to the less exciting research they’ll be doing in the next
lesson. I also think that despite the lesson being on a more “fun” topic that it
related to the unit in a meaningful way.

Teaching Standards and Rationale

Standard # 5 Designer
Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and
accommodate learner variability. Educators:

Indicator B: Design authentic learning activities that align with content area standards and use
digital tools and resources to maximize active, deep learning.

I designed this lesson to be learner driven in how students got to choose what topics they
wanted to research, and in how they were focused on answering their own questions and
curiosities instead of me lecturing on topics I thought were important. This lesson also required
students to make their own meaning and connections and take responsibility for their learning
in a way that would encourage them to be independent learners. This lesson was also created to
be an authentic learning experience because students were practicing skills applicable to their
lives outside of school, learning about a topic they were genuinely interested in because of its
relevance to them, and discussing real-world topics. It also clearly applies to different standards
in my content area as evidenced by the content standards section of the lesson plan where it is
aligned with four widely varying standards. I also used many digital tools in this lesson that
helped students deep dive into the lesson and grasp its objectives more strongly. For example, a
Jamboard was used to gather students’ thoughts during the share out activity, present
information about superstitions, give instructions, claim research topics, and create a shared
presentation. This lesson also showed my awareness of learner variability because of the section
on meeting students’ needs where I discuss various differentiations and accommodations I
planned for the class.

Standard # 2 Learning Differences

The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and
communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that allow each learner to reach
his/her full potential.

Indicator K: "Knows how to access information about the values and norms of diverse
cultures and communities and how to incorporate students' experiences, cultures, and
community resources into instruction."

This lesson plan shows my ability to understand individual differences, diverse cultures, and
various communities because it centers around exploring students' experiences with
superstition, disparate communities' experiences with superstition, and superstitions from
other cultures. It also shows my capacity to foster an inclusive learning environment where
every student can grow and develop to a high degree. It does this because a section of the
lesson asked students to share their experiences with superstition thereby encouraging them
in a low risk situation to feel comfortable taking part in class activities. It also shows students
that they have valuable experiences to share and that their voices have a meaningful impact
on class discussions. This lesson plan also shows that I know how to incorporate instruction
about the principles and conventions of variegated cultures and communities. I asked
students to share their own experiences with superstitions, the superstitions of a community
or culture they are in or know of have, I prompted students to search for information about
superstitions from other countries during the fact finding activity, and I gave students
diverse options to investigate for the research project portion of the lesson. Specifically,
students gathered superstitions from Japan, Syria, Mexico, Egypt, Christianity, sports, Maine,
Finland, and more during the search and find fact gathering activity. Then, some of the
options for the research activity that I chose were el chupacabra, palm reading, yetis, the
Jersey devil, the evil eye, the number 666, and more. Students also shared some of their
personal superstitions and superstitions from the cultures and communities they are a part
of such as wearing certain clothes before sports matches or reciting a certain mantra for luck.
In this way, I was purposefully including students' experiences with all of these areas into my
instruction too. I also did this in the beginning portion of class when students wrote about
whether they were superstitious or not and then had a class discussion sharing their
responses and knowledge about superstition. All in all, in this lesson, I created a comfortable
learning climate where students could succeed, gathered information about diverse cultures
and communities to share with students, and encouraged learners to share their experiences
in those areas too.