TOPIC FOR THE LESSON: Mountains Beyond Mountains Date: 01/30/12
Grade Level/Course: 12th Grade/Global Awareness
Unit: This book could be read throughout the course of an entire semester, so could span all of the units taught during that semester.
Lesson Objectives:
1) Students will analyze and discuss a chapter of Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder in class. This analysis and discussion will take place based upon reading and roles assigned to students about two days before the lesson takes place. (See “Literature Circle Roles”)
2) Students will develop their democratic citizenship skills through further developing their social skills, sense of responsibility, and readiness to be interdependent.
Social Studies Standards Met
1) Students will use close and critical reading strategies to read and analyze a complex text pertaining to social science [Reading and Communication: Standard P1.1].
2) Students will work to communicate clearly and coherently in writing, speaking, and visually expressing ideas pertaining to social science topics, acknowledging audience and purpose [Reading and Communication: Standard P1.4].
3) Students will engage in activities intended to contribute to solving international problems [Citizen Involvement: Standard P4.2.2].
Assessment Tools:
1) Students must complete and turn in their individual Literature Circle assignment.
2) Students’ participation in small group discussion will be observed.
Activities:
Initiation/Opening (5 minutes): When class begins, the students will be told to recount the most important details from the chapter prior to the one assigned for today with someone sitting next to them.
Teacher/Student Activities (30 minutes):
Teacher:
1) Transition from opening activity to Literature Circle groups.
Each student will have been assigned one of several Literature Circles roles about two days before this lesson. The roles include: Connector, Illustrator, Literary Luminary, Questioner, Researcher, Scene Setter, Summarizer, and Word Wizard. Each Literature Circle group includes about 1 of each of these roles.
2) Walk from group to group to observe participation and see if students have any questions.
3) Transition from Literature Circle groups to closing discussion.
Student:
1) Retrieve completed Literature Circle worksheet from backpack.
2) Participate in Literature Circle group discussion/sharing. (Each student fulfilled a particular role prior to coming to class today. It is the responsibility of each student to teach the other students in the group from the perspective of the role they fulfilled.)
Closure:
Class-wide reflection: What were 2-3 things your group found most interesting, surprising, etc about today’s reading and/or activity?
Pre-planning:
Materials:
1) Students must bring their completed Literature Circle worksheets.
2) Whiteboard and markers will be necessary for the teacher to write down important points raised by students during the opening and closing activities.
Instructional Strategies to be Used:
1) Cooperative Learning
2) Discussion
Assumptions:
1) Students can read and write at a 12th grade level.
2) Students have (at least somewhat) developed critical thinking and logic skills.
3) Students can communicate with one another in a small-group setting.