Nate Green Lesson Plans Week of 9/16
9 / Standard / Goal / Access / New / Apply / GGGMon / No class
Tues / No class
Wed / I will apply my knowledge of Catcher to a quiz.
. / Post long answer question.
We can consider “Diary” a bildungsroman or a coming-of-age novel. When Junior looks back on his experiences in this book 20 years later, what will he remember as the biggest lesson he learned? Explain, using specific evidence from the novel to support your answer. / Brainstorm possible answers with students. Remind them to follow SEE format. / Give students about 20 minutes to write their own long answers. Then give them short answer questions. / Students evaluate their own long answer questions.
HW: Finish Catcher for next Monday.
Thurs / La3c Student will analyze character roles, emotional reactions and motives. / How might learning about Sherman Alexie’s life inform our reading of the text? / Quickwrite: Today we will an autobiography about Sherman Alexie. Based on the novel, what kind of person do you imagine he is? Why? / Pair-share.
Read autobiography, “Me and Superman” together.
Model good reading technique and check for understanding. / Write now: Sherman Alexie mostly writes stories and poems for adults. Why do you think he wrote “Absolutely True Diary?” / Share answers to quickwrite.
Fri / LA.1f Student will use precise and appropriate vocabulary.
LA.2c Student will increase vocabulary. / I will use new vocabulary from Unit 2 of Wordly Wise. / Drill students as they come into the room and continue with baseball drill. / Day 1: -Hand out new packet, go through list with students. -Students finish Sec A in class. Check. –Round the world game with new words. Finish B-D At home
Day 2: -Write story using vocab -Check B-D. Reading passage together with active reading skills. / Students answer comprehension questions. Review answers together. / Reiterate goal. HW: Test next week.
10 / Standard / Goal / Access / New / Apply / GGG
Mon / No Class
Tues / No Class
Wed / La1h Student will develop a main idea and supporting details. / I will apply my knowledge of Catcher to a quiz.
. / Post long answer question.
One of the themes of Catcher seems to be “growing up.” At times, Holden desires to be treated older than he is. But at other times, he seems to want to hold on to the innocence of childhood. How does the novel show Holden’s desire to preserve childhood? / Brainstorm possible answers with students. Remind them to follow SEE format. / Give students about 20 minutes to write their own long answers. Then give them short answer questions. / Students evaluate their own long answer questions.
HW: Finish Catcher for next Monday.
Thurs / La.2b Student will understand that written language represents a point of view / I will analyze Holden’s conflict between childhood and adulthood. / Many scholars consider Catcher to be a “bildungsroman” or coming-of-age novel. In a bildungsroman, the protagonist learns life lessons that help him become an adult. Twenty years later, when Holden looks back on the events of this book as an adult, what do you think he will realize he learned? Explain. / Pair-share.
Open discussion on Holden being stuck between childhood and adulthood.
Read together and analyze certain passages.
-At the nightclub
-Sunny and Maurice
-History museum / Write now: Describe a time in your own life where you felt pulled between childhood and adulthood. How did you cope with that?
Fri / LA.1f Student will use precise and appropriate vocabulary.
LA.2c Student will increase vocabulary. / I will use new vocabulary from Unit 3 of Wordly Wise. / Drill students as they come into the room and continue with baseball drill. / Day 1: -Hand out new packet, go through list with students. -Students finish Sec A in class. Check. –Round the world game with new words. Finish B-D At home
Day 2: -Write story using vocab -Check B-D. Reading passage together with active reading skills. / Students answer comprehension questions. Review answers together. / Reiterate goal. HW: Test next week.
11 / Standard / Goal / Access / New / Apply / GGG
Mon / No Class
Tues / No Class
Wed / LA2f The student will recall details from novels… / I will apply my knowledge of Cuckoo’s Nest to a quiz. / Post long answer question. Give students five minutes to look through book and find evidence to support their answer.
In the battle between RP “Bull Goose Loony” McMurphy and “Big Nurse” Ratched, it seems that McMurphy has gained the upper hand.
Describe how McMurphy has managed to storm into the ward and convert the other patients to defy the nurse. / Brainstorm possible answers with students. Remind them to follow SEE format. / Give students about 20 minutes to write their own long answers. Then give them short answer questions. / Students evaluate their own long answer questions.
Read through part 2 for next week’s quiz.
Thurs / La.3e The student will analyze character roles, emotions, and motives. / I will analyze how McMurphy has managed to win over the other patients. / Depending on time, still have groups need to present “press conference.”
Quickwrite: Some scholars have suggested that Cuckoo’s Nest is a sexist book. They say women, represented by Ratched, are portrayed as castrators. Why do you think they make this criticism? Do you agree with it? Why? / Pair-share.
Discuss the sexual battle and what Ratched and McMurphy represent.
Full class discussion and reading on most important scenes related to McMurphy’s ascendency.
Teacher poses questions based on passages. / Students discuss their ideas related to the battle of McMurphy and Big Nurse. / Reiterate goal.
Fri / LA.1f Student will use precise and appropriate vocabulary.
LA.2c Student will increase vocabulary. / I will use new vocabulary from Unit 3 of Wordly Wise. / Drill students as they come into the room and continue with baseball drill. / Day 1: -Hand out new packet, go through list with students. -Students finish Sec A in class. Check. –Round the world game with new words. Finish B-D At home
Day 2: -Write story using vocab -Check B-D. Reading passage together with active reading skills. / Students answer comprehension questions. Review answers together. / Reiterate goal. HW: Test next week.
12 / Standard / Goal / Access / New / Apply / GGG
Mon / No Class
Tues / No Class
Wed / LA2d student will analyze and evaluate films made from works of art. / I will analyze “Song of Myself”. / I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
These are the opening lines of Walt Whitman’s famous poem “Song of Myself.” What is your interpretation of these lines? What do you think the rest of the poem might be about? Why? / Hand out the poem while the students quickwrite.
Explain it’s a transition from Siddhartha to writing a personal reflective essay for college applications.
Read through Part 1 together, offering analysis of imagery, ideas, words. / Split students into three groups. They should write about their section, then talk about it in groups.
Read through part 2 as a class, each group providing analysis. / Collect journal entries later.
Thurs / LA2d student will analyze and evaluate films made from works of art. / I will explore topics for reflective writing. / Post the topics up around the room and ask students to take their journals and form small groups by each topic.
Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?
Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?
Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?
Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family. / Then, conduct a free-writing marathon. Have students free-write using the topic they are standing in front of as a starting point. Tell them they have five minutes and set a timer. At the conclusion of the time period, ask students to rotate to the next topic and begin free-writing. Repeat this process until students reach their starting point. / Open discussion by asking the following questions:
- Which of these topics did you find the easiest to discuss? Why?
- Which of these did you find difficult? Why?
- Which of these prompts did you want to continue talking (or writing) about?
Finally, share with students that these are the new essay topics for the common application essay and ask them what they think. Are these good topics? Is there something here for everyone? / Collect journal entries later.
Fri / LA2d student will analyze and evaluate films made from works of art. / I will consider the elements of an effective admissions essay. / What is the purpose of a college admissions essay? What do you think college admissions officers are looking for when they read student essays?
List responses on the board, and be sure to push the conversation beyond issues of mechanics and structure to content, voice and style. / Post example paragraph:
During the summer before my junior year of high school, I spent a weekend volunteering with the poor in post-Katrina Louisiana and realized that I am privileged. Most of what these people had had been ripped out from under them and life was very different there from my life in suburban Massachusetts. Amazingly, though, these people still seemed happy. I learned from this experience that money isn’t everything.
Hand out packet to students.
Read first sample student essay. What works in this essay?
Read news story about the importance of the essay in admissions. Ask questions, emphasize important points. / Write a letter to Mr. Green about your thinking of the admissions essay. Which question are you leaning towards? Why? What are some of the ideas you have? / Read letters later.