Lesson Plan for the Formal Observation #4

Your name: Emily Comos

Date/Time of observation: 3/21 from 11:50-12:50 PM
Class/Grade: Honors ELA 9 (3rd hour)

1. Lesson plan title: “Independent Reading Eliciting Interviews- Comparing and

Contrasting Peer’s Reading Experiences through Elicitation”

2. Central problem/essential question of the lesson: How can we embed

collaboration and connectivity into the practice of independent reading
through eliciting information that dives deeper than surface level
comprehension?

3. Lesson overview: Independent reading can feel very disconnected and

hard to track, as an educator. This lesson is meant to both measure
student’s independent reading abilities, but also to give students the
opportunity to learn about what their peers are reading on a deeper level.
They will be challenged to discuss their own novels, but also to ask questions
and think critically about the novels that their peers are reading as well.

4. Context of the lesson: How the lesson fits into the overall unit (What came
before, what will come after): This lesson fits into our Argumentative
Writing/Rhetorical Analysis unit. Because there is no whole class novel for this
unit, students are required to maintain their reading stamina by choosing an
independent novel in any genre they’re interested in. They just finished a
contemporary fiction unit, where they read books in “book clubs,” so they
were encouraged to choose something different in content, genre, and
style, but were not required to. Unrelatedly, but contextually, they are
working towards a fully developed argumentative essay. After this unit, they
will begin reading another whole class text, which is Romeo and Juliet.

5. Learning objectives/goals (Students will know/ be able to do):

 a. Students will be able to read independently for any given length of
time, while staying on-task and maintaining a reading speed
appropriate to their age level.
b. Students will be able to participate in collaborative discussion
activities where they are challenged to both respond to and
generate thoughtful questions.
6. Benchmarks/C.C. or other standards (taken from: Common Core State
Standards for ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS & Literacy in History/Social Studies,
Science, and Technical Subject)
a. “By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including
stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 9–10 text complexity band
proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range”
(Reading Standards for Literature 6–12, page 38, standard #10).
b. “Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative
discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse
partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’
ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively” (Speaking
and Listening Standards 6–12, page 50, standard #1).
i. “Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched
material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by
referring to evidence from texts and other research on the
topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned
exchange of ideas” (Speaking and Listening Standards 6–12,
page 50, standard #1).

7. Core teaching practice(s) [CTP(s)]: Eliciting and Interpreting Student Thinking

8. Instructional materials (What students will use to facilitate their learning):

a. Students will use the packet provided to them, which includes the
eliciting question prep document, eliciting response tracker, and the
partner/self evaluation document.
b. They will also need the projector which is going to display their task for
this activity.
 c. If they would like to reference the One Note page, which also has our
agenda for the day, they will need their own personal computer.

9. Instructional sequence: Numbered list of individual tasks and activities

i. We will begin class by reviewing the learning goal and agenda
for the day, which will be displayed on the board through a
projector.
ii. Then, I will introduce their activity, which is a peer-led reading
conference that focuses specifically on eliciting each other's
thoughts, opinions, and ideas surrounding the independent
novels they are reading.
iii. The explicit directions (which are going to be displayed on the
One Note page) are attached to this document separately.
iv. Students will then participate in two, three minute conferences
where they will be responsible for tracking their partner’s
response.
v. Then, students will complete a conference “evaluation” that
asks them to evaluate both their contributions and their
partners' contributions to the discussion.
vi. With any time remaining, students will have the opportunity to
work on their partner projects which is a rhetorical analysis on a
Ted Talk of their choosing.

10. Accommodations/modifications for special populations: This class is an

Honors level class so there are no true accommodations necessary. Some
students in this class have 504s, which requires me to provide them with
various written accommodations.

11. Formative/summative assessment: The formative assessment here is a

combination of things. The first being their ability to create the “dig”
questions, after learning what it means to “elicit” your partner's thinking.
Then, they are supposed to be tracking their partner’s response and also
evaluating their own participation. These are all methods of gauging
student comprehension of their own novels and their ability to discuss
meaningful topics with their peers.
Winter Term 2023