Molly Igo
8th Grade English
Clark University Master of Arts in Teaching Program
Learning Activity Plan
I. Content: Describe what it is you will teach. What is the content?
Today we will be exploring Shakespearean sonnets through small poetic literature circles. We will start the activity with a little warm up so the students can practice reading a poem, responding then sharing out loud. The theme of the poems chosen today is appearance and how appearances can be portrayed in different poems. We have just finished Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and are now exploring his poetry. We’ve only had one lesson on sonnets so I’m hoping to make them more familiar with this type of poetry while having a little fun with it. The students will be translating lines of “Sonnet 130” and drawing pictures to go along with their translations. They will be working in selected groups and will be given assigned roles. They will be the couplet or “the turn of events” at the end of their activity to add a little drama and make them rethink the poem completely. I want to see if they can now take the literal meaning of the poem and see now what the poem may mean or represent. If time permits, they will also be able to share their ideas aloud to the class as we come together at the end.
II. Learning Goal(s): Describe what specifically students will know and be able to do after the experience of this class.
Students will be able to practice finding meaning in poems and translating poetry in their own way without being worried of whether it is right or wrong. Students will be able to then share with and bounce ideas off of each other to see different perspectives or to help them further their understanding of the poem with their group members’ help.
III. Rationale: Explain how the content and learning goal(s) relate to your Curriculum Unit Plan learning goals.
My Curriculum Unit Plan includes the goal of introducing the students to poetry and helping them to begin seeing both the technical side of it as well as the artistic side of it. One of my big questions is “How does poetry speak to you?” I also have a focus on being able to utilize each other to understand poetry which involves a lot of group work and bouncing ideas off of one another. In this particular lesson, I make sure I am introducing a familiar but also a new form of poetry for them to explore and doing so in a fun way. I want them to look at the poem “Masks” first on their own as a warm up to come up with their own interpretations and what the meaning is them. Then as part of the warm up they will bounce these ideas off of their group mates to open their minds to new interpretations and ideas before delving into Shakespeare. This short Silverstein poem will scaffold the lesson into the new sonnet format, “Sonnet 130” which is also on appearances. The drawing aspect is to get them looking at the poem in a visual and artistic way. Translating the sonnet in groups will allow them opportunities to bounce ideas off of each other. The group roles are supposed to aid them in their exploration of poetry, emphasizing the key points to interpreting a poem; a leader to push them forward and keep them focused, a word worm to look up unfamiliar words and a questioner to push ideas further and keep ideas flowing.
IV. Assessment: Describe how you and your students will know they have reached your learning goals.
I will collect and look at their journal entry to see where they are in deciphering poems as an individual. I also will collect the worksheet and questions to see where they are as a group. Walking around from group to group I will have an idea of how they are interacting as groups and whether everyone is contributing to discussions through their roles throughout the lesson. I also will collect the index card at the end to see where they ended up today with the poem.
V. Personalization and equity: Describe how you will provide for individual student strengths and needs. How will you and your lesson consider the needs of each student and scaffold learning? How specifically will ELL students and students with learning disabilities gain access and be supported?
I tried to scaffold the lesson so that poem and questions used in the warm up allow the ELL and IEP students time to look at an easier and shorter poem and think about it on their own while I walk around and answer questions or clarify the poem. I also scaffolded the questions so there were easier questions or more challenging questions if students get stuck or want to push themselves. Talking about it after as a group allows them to take what they read and wrote down and then learn from other interpretations. Later in the lesson when we look at Shakespeare sonnets, I made sure to put the ELL or IEP students with group members that could help out and support them. The group roles are to help each member contribute to the discussion so they can be a part of the discussion even if it is looking up an unfamiliar word as the “word worm.” I also already had them tape a small sonnet pocket guide in their notebooks to look back at if they need to. For those groups who finish before the other groups, I have an extension that reflects on group work and pushes more thinking about the sonnet.
VI. Activity description and agenda
a. Describe the activities that will help your students understand the content of your class lesson by creating an agenda with time frames for your class. Be prepared to explain why you think each activity will help students on the path toward understanding.
Time / Teacher Activity / Student Activity12-12:05 / Welcomes students, directs them to their assigned groups on the board, quiets them down and explains the warm up activity / Students take a seat with group, quiet down, take out notebooks and listen to instruction
12:05-12:10 / Reads poem to class, reads questions and briefly remind them of finding literal meaning vs. symbolism / Students listen to poem and refresh their memories on literal meaning vs. symbolism
12:10-12:15 / Time students and walk around answering any questions or asking if certain students need clarification / Students re-read the poems to themselves and respond to the questions for 5 minutes
12:15-12:20 / Instructs students to share what they wrote to their group members and to discuss the poem / Students share with group mates
12:20-12:25 / Have students share an interesting point their group members made to the class. Guide a brief discussion but do not confirm or deny what the poem is about. / Certain students can share an interesting point a group member made
12:25-12:27 / Hand out assigned group roles then give one minute of silence to remind themselves of the roles / Receive and review goals
12:27-12:30 / Explain activity to students and remind them about working as a team and sticking to their roles along with interpreting the poem. / Listen to activity directions
12:30-12:50 / Go from group to group assisting students, listening to group discussion and contributions and occasionally writing down high school ready behavior. Hand out extension to those who finish early. / Discuss the poem with group members, translate the lines of the poem and visualize the poem by drawing pictures. There is an extension if done early that reflects on group work.
12:50-12:55 / Stop students and have each group share out their three words. / Students can choose the 3 words on their own or as a group
12:55-1:00 / Introduce couplet and have students respond to the question given with the couplet / Listen to the introducing of the couplet and respond to the question
1:00-1:05 / Have students share out loud their index card and whether they noticed anything. / Students will have time to discuss this in groups and with time permitting, we can share aloud to the class.
1:05-1:10 / Collect index cards and Shakespeare worksheets. Remind them of homework due tomorrow (haikus from Monday) Make any separate announcements and dismiss students. / Listen for announcements and then are dismissed.
b. What particular challenges, in terms of student learning or implementing planned activity, do you anticipate and how will you address them?
One of my main concerns is time because we are on a tight schedule between transitioning between individual work, group work and class discussion. I do have some back up plans where I would cut the class discussion and leave it to group discussion only. Or I would cut the group discussion down and move it to class discussion. If for some reason we are short on time, I have one extension where the groups reflect on group work and the sonnet. I can always extend a class or give more time for a group discussion but just in case I need an alternative option, I also have an extension worksheet where the students can try out their own sonnet. I also worry some students may rely more on their group members to do the work which is why I have the group roles and if they get off task I will have them pause, read over their roles and go back to translating.
VII. List the Massachusetts Learning Standards this lesson addresses.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.1.D
Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.1.C
Pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers and respond to others' questions and comments with relevant evidence, observations, and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.1
Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.
VIII. Reflection
a. In light of all areas of planning, but especially in terms of your stated purpose and learning goals, in what ways was the activity(ies) successful? How do you know? In what ways was it not successful? How might the activity be planned differently another time?
b. What did you learn from the experience of this lesson that will inform your next LAP?
(ROUND REFLECTION ATTACHED)