L5+Mourkas+Margaret

Grade Level: 11/12 Topic: A River Runs Through It
 * Teacher’s Name: Ms. Maggie Mourkas Date of Lesson: 5 (empathy)

Objectives Student will understand that how the different characters are all silently working together to help resolve the main conflict. Student will know the following characters: Maclean family, Jessie's family, and Rawhide. Student will be able to see how in every situation in reality there are many people working "silently" behind the scenes to help solve a certain problem.

Maine Learning Results Alignment

Maine Learning Results: English Language Arts - A Reading A2 Literary Texts Grade 9 - Diploma A River Runs Through It Students read text within a grade appropriate span of text complexity, and present analysis of fiction, non-fiction, drama, and poetry, using excerpts from the text to defend their assertion. c. Explain how different point of view can affect the overall theme.

Rationale: This lesson will allow the students to learn about different points of view and how it affects all the literature around them.

Assessment

Formative (Assessment for Learning)

Peer Assessments: When the letters have been "handed in" the partners will use the teacher rubric and assess their partner’s blog site and hand it in.

Summative (Assessment of Learning)

Blog Site Letters: The students will have previously been assigned a character from the book. The characters are Mr. Maclean, Old Rawhide, Mrs. Maclean, Jessie, and Neil. I will have previously given the students a list of events in which the letters are going to be written about. The students are going to be writing letters to either Paul or Norman Maclean. I will assign which brother when I assign their character. The students are going to write letters on the blog site to their assigned brother in the voice of their assigned character about the assigned events. After this lesson the students are going pair up with a student who was assigned to the opposite brother. For homework the student is going to go to their partner's blog site and respond to the letters in their character's voice.

Integration

Writing: I will be tapping into the student's previous knowledge of writing by asking them to write well written and in depth letters.

Health/Family Ed: I will be tapping into the student's previous knowledge and family and healthy relationships when discussing all the characters. (Paul, Norman, Mr. Maclean, Mrs. Maclean, Rawhide, Neil)

Technology: BlogSite Letters: Students are going to have to create an account on a specific blog site and write their letters online. Then they will comment on someone else's letters.

Groupings

The students are going to receive a cluster/word web worksheet packet and they are going to fill it out on their own and turn it in for class work credit. They need to fill the packet out by themselves. The character's name is going to go in the box on the worksheet and then details about the character will go in the bubbles. If students would like to work with a partner or small group they may if they are being productive and quiet.

When most of the class is finished with the packet the students are going to pick their partners from the opposite brother from which they were assigned. When this is done the student's need to make sure they were not assigned the same writing character.

Differentiated Instruction

Strategies

Visual: I will show a movie clip or two from the movie so the students can actually see the characters in action. Verbal: The student's will be writing letters in the character's point of view and will be filling out the packet. Interpersonal: The letters that the student's are writing need to be written on their own. Intrapersonal: The student's can fill out the packet with a partner if they would like also the student's will be commenting on their partner's letters. Body: If the student's will they can use the computer to fill out the graphic organizer and they will also be using the computer to write their letters. Logical: The student's will be figuring out how each different character helps the conflict.

Modifications/Accommodations

I will review students’ IEPs, 504s or ELLIDEPs and make the appropriate modifications and accommodations.

Absent Students If a student is late for one reason or another it is their responsibility to consult another student, myself, and/or the class wiki to get a grasp on what they may have missed. A student must provide me with a complete missed class excuse form signed by an adult for all reasons other than doctor office visits stating why that student has missed my class. If a student missed my class due to a medical office visit, that student must have that office fill out a medical excuse form. If the appropriate form has been properly filled out and passed in, I am more the willing to give the student extra time to allow them to properly catch up with the rest of the class. I will consider assignment extensions based on length of assignment, reason for being excused, and how important the assignment is for upcoming class periods. If the absence is deemed unexcused the student will not be given an extension on any of the assignments assigned during that class period. That student is responsible to contact me or another student to find out what they missed.

Extensions

Students will be writing and commenting on letters written on a specified blog site. The student's will write their own letters and then comment on one of their peers. The letters are going to have to be about specific events and must be written in correct letter format.

Materials, Resources and Technology

Laptops Cluster/Word Web3 graphic organizer packet Blog Site Book: A River Runs Through It Pens/pencils Projector/Projector Screen - if SmartBoard unavailable SmartBoard - if available Class Wiki space

Source for Lesson Plan and Research

Research about characters: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3568566553/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105265/quotes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLU8ZyVmQ3E&feature=related http://www.customessaymeister.com/customessays/Expository%20Essays/4384.htm

Maine Standards for Initial Teacher Certification and Rationale

Standard 3 - Demonstrates a knowledge of the diverse ways in which students learn and develop by providing learning opportunities that support their intellectual, physical, emotional, social, and cultural development. Rationale: This lesson meets the Maine Standards for Initial Teacher Certification because students will have the chance to fill out the cluster/word web packet free hand or on the computer. This allows the students to assess the way they learn better and choose the medium that fits them best. When writing the letters to their specified brother the student's will have to have read the book to understand how the character thinks and what they might put down in a letter if given the chance. The student's are going to have to know how the culture and society worked in the time era the book takes place, this way they know how society works when writing their letters.

• Standard 4 - Plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, curriculum goals, and learning and development theory. Rationale: Students are going to read the book A River Runs Through It in order to complete the homework. If they do not the letters are going to lack fullness and it will be clear to me whether they have read the book or not. This task will allow the students to work on their writing skills and achieve a higher level of mastery of them.

• Standard 5 - Understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies and appropriate technology to meet students’ needs. Rationale: Students will be completing the cluster/word web3 graphic organizer packet by doing researching and reading about the different characters. Students will also be able to work with partners is desired. When creating their BlogSite the students will have to use good writing skills in order to complete the letters. Before students pair up there will be an allotted amount of time for the students to work alone on the cluster/word web3 graphic organizer packet. This will allow the student to think on their own and come up with their own information. After the students have worked alone on the cluster/word web3 packet the students will then pair up if desired and share their information and finish the rest of the packet. We will then have a class discussion following the student pair work session. If students wish to include sounds or music into their blogsite they may do so. Depending on the learning style of my class at the time I may or may not have music playing in the background to help the students focus.

• Standard 8 - Understands and uses a variety of formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and support the development of the learner. Rationale: During class and while they are writing their letters/commenting on their partner's letters, the student's will be completing a self-assessment, which will be handed into me with a print out of their letters. I will be using a set rubric, which the students will have a copy of, to assess their BlogSite letters. I will also be watching over the class during the alone research time and peer sharing time, to make sure students are staying on task and not digitally or verbally wandering. If wandering does happen I will make a note of it and make sure it stops.

Teaching and Learning Sequence:

Students will enter the room and take their seats. The seats will be arranged in desk or table groups.

Agenda:

Day One: Watch A River Runs Through It movie

Day Two: Finish movie Cluster/Word Web3 graphic organizer packet Alone research time Pair Up research time Class discussion break Class time to start blogsite commenting project.

Students will be watching the movie A River Runs Through for all of day one and then the rest of the movie will be viewed on day two. Students will read text within grade appropriate span of text complexity, and present analysis of fiction [and] non-fiction, using excerpts from the text to defend their assertion. Students will be able to understand how the different characters are all silently working together to help resolve the main conflict. Upon the completion of the lesson the students will be able to see how in every situation in reality there are many people working "silently" behind the scenes to help solve a certain problem What, Where, Why, Hook, Tailor: Visual, Linguistic, Logical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Body.

Students are going to learn about the following characters from A River Runs Through It: the Maclean family, Jessie's family, and Rawhide. I am going to pass out the cluster/word web3 packet first. Then the students will work on their own filling out information within the packet. The characters names are going to go in the square box in the center and then the details about each character will go in the bubbles surrounding each box. Students can work together or in small groups if they wish, however they need to be productive and quiet to allow other students to stay on task if working together. After everyone is finished, or almost finished, we will come together as a class and go over the information in the packet to make sure everyone has the information. At the end of class there will be free time to start working on the comments on someone else's blog letters. If the student's have not finished their letters, that were assigned at the beginning of the book and are due at the end of class, they can finish those if they need to. For extra credit the students can fill out another packet that has the conflicts in the boxes and the characters that are working together in the bubbles. Equip, Tailor: Visual, Linguistic, Logical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Body.

Students are going to fill out the cluster/word web3 mention in the above paragraph for a better portion of the class. Once this is complete the students will choose a partner who wrote letters to whichever Maclean brother they did not write to. They also must make sure that their partner was not assigned the same writing character as themselves. The students will then go to their partner's blogsite and respond to the letters their partner has written. The responses do not have to be as long as the letters but must be a detailed response to the letter. The responses are also going to be in the voice of their assigned character. Explore, Experience, Rethink, Revise, Tailor: Visual, Linguistic, Logical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Body.

I will provide in class feedback immediately when the class moves to the class discussion. If the students have an questions or comments at any point during the lesson they are free to ask me. I will try and answer the question that they ask honestly and truthfully. If I don't know I will offer to look up the answer or offer a bonus if they find the answer. Students will be filling out a rubric after they are complete, there will be a section for a personal response. In this section the students will write a small paragraph on why they thnk they got the grade that they gave themselves. I will also assess their BlogSite letters on a set rubric and leave comments along with the score. I am giving the students time in class to work so that they can ask me questions in class about certain aspects of their BlogSite letters. Evaluate, Tailor: Linguistic, Visual, Body, Logical, Intrapersonal, and Interpersonal.

Reflection:**

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