ABSS Honors Lesson Plan
Background Information
Resource Title:Differentiating between appropriate and insightful ideas in writing
Subject Area/Grade Level (s): English I / 9th / Time Frame – 3 days
Common Core/Essential Standard Addressed:
RL – 1,2,3,4,5,8
W – 1 (a-e), 4,5,9
Additional Standards Addressed:
(integration across topics, within or across disciplines)
Brief Description of Lesson/Task/Activity:
(include how this lesson/task/activity fits with a larger context)
The task requires students to write two persuasive two-paragraph essays regarding issues arising from The Odyssey. Students are given class time to complete the first essay with a class discussion following. Students are given feedback whether the points and textual evidence they are providing is appropriate or insightful. Students then write the next essay for a summative assessment grade.
Type of Differentiation for AIGs (include all that apply)
X Enrichment X Extension Acceleration
Adaptations for AIGs
Content X Process X Product
Explanation of How Resource is Appropriate for AIGs
Standard students focus on getting the “right” answer where AIG students should concentrate on going beyond this basic concept. The extension from an appropriate answer to an insightful one is both challenging and meaningful to them when attempting to understand and evaluate complicated texts.
Needed Resources/Materials
Odyssey text
Document Camera
Smartboard
Sources (all sources must be cited)
TEACHER NOTES
Curriculum Resource Outline
Describe processes, steps, and materials needed at each stage of the lesson/activity.
STAGE ONE: EngageHook
Prior knowledge
Instructional input
Modeling
Description:
In regards to writing, the teacher instructs students that there are three tiers of ideas—inappropriate, appropriate, and insightful. A short discussion then follows concerning what denotations and connotations the word “insightful” has. In very general terms, insightful is defined as ideas that aren’t generally used by the average student and ones that indicate reasons beyond surface-level thinking.
A common example used is what word best describes modern-day American culture. Students are asked to make two columns, one labeled “appropriate” and one “insightful.” An appropriate answer may be “freedom,” one used so much it is expected and borders on the cliché. An insightful answer may be “illusion” or “progressive.”
Two common pitfalls some students may encounter is thinking that insightful equals “bigger words.” While a more sophisticated vocabulary does indeed help, it may just disguise appropriate thoughts. Furthermore, at times, students may confuse insight with obscurity. They try to find the most complex, potentially confusing point and believe it to be insightful. Insight looks deeper not fancier. These two pitfalls should be addressed with appropriate examples for each.
STAGE TWO: ELABORATE
Guided and independent practice
Guiding questions
Description:
Students write their two-paragraph essay on the following prompt:
Prior to his descent into Hades, Odysseus emerges as an admirable character.
Students write this essay within the class setting. Each paragraph should cover a specific textual reference, elaborating on why this makes or does not make Odysseus admirable. Once all students are finished, the class peer-evaluates one another based on the concepts of organization,
grammatical conventions, and of course insightfulness of ideas and elaboration.
After being peer-evaluated, three volunteer examples are placed on the document camera in order to get feedback from the class as a whole.
Students are then to complete a second two-paragraph essay at home on the following prompt to be graded:
Based solely on the evidence presented in the book, ancient Greek culture viewed women as inferior to men.
STAGE THREE: EVALUATE
Assessment
Description:
The above-mentioned essay regarding gender views is graded using the attached rubric with a large percentage of the grade. Not all categories are applicable (Works Cited Page), but the majority of the grade is determined by the insightfulness of the examples provided and the accompanying elaboration.
TEACHER NOTES: