ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS RESOURCES

LANGUAGE ARTS :: SECONDARY RESOURCES :: RIGHT DIRECTION 2 :: PLANNING LESSONS AND ACTIVITIES

PLANNING LESSONS AND ACTIVITIES

In planning lessons and activities, teachers must consider many factors. Standard Course of Study objectives, district guidelines, student needs, past experiences, resources, time, etc. all play a role in the decisions teachers make. According to research conducted by the Southern Regional Education Board, "Teachers and school leaders need to keep in mind what promotes learning:

good instructional planning
a balanced use of student- and teacher-centered approaches
well-planned, teacher-centered instruction
various, proven, student-centered instruction
the use of technology to motivate, challenge, and engage students
classroom conditions that promote learning"

(Instructional Strategies: How Teachers Teach Matters, Southern Regional Education Board, www.sreb.org)

SREB further defines good instructional planning as including, among other elements alignment with course standards, high expectations, and active engagement of students. With the revision of the NCELASCS, teachers need to become familiar with new goals and objectives and consider which instructional practices will best fit student needs as they work to meet those standards. Activities throughout this document will provide samples to demonstrate those qualities.

The chart below illustrates some of the different aspects of lessons that teachers can consider as they work through their planning.

Chart

Adapted from Harvey Daniels, Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in the Book Clubs and Reading Groups and Susan J. Tchudi and Stephen N. Tchudi, The English Language Arts Handbook: Classroom Strategies for Teachers

Many activities and projects will progress through different stages. For example, at the beginning of the Novel Review Project (p 72), the teacher introduces the project with whole-class, teacher-directed review of several authors, then students individually select the authors they wish to investigate through author centers. As the project progresses, students have individual conferences with the teacher and have small group discussions with other students reading thematically similar works. A fishbowl discussion is viewed and critiqued by the whole class as students learn strategies for keeping discussions going.

In recent years, much discussion and professional development have centered on the issue of varying instruction for block scheduling. Teachers who have been most successful with extended periods usually report that the ability to divide the class period into different types of activities related to the content or skills studied. Yet oftentimes, this same approach works for the traditional period classroom as well. Below is a chart illustrating one teacher's approach to the same lesson in block and traditional classrooms. As you review the lesson, note the variety of activities that occur:

Imagery: Seeing Things Freshly

English I SCS Objectives: 1.02, 2.01, 5.01, 6.01, 6.02

The learner will identify images found in selected poetic passages and then discuss the effect of those images.

The learner will read selected poems and identify the images used and the emotional response conveyed through those images.

The learner will closely examine an object appealing to all the senses and write his/her detailed observations, creating a word list of all the sensory details.

Block Time (One 90 minute period)	Activity Description	Traditional Time (Two 50 minute periods)
Day 1 15 min.	Language Warm Up Ð give students the following kernel sentences and have them combine them for conciseness and fluency: Imagery is important. Imagery is part of poetry. Imagery helps readers. Imagery creates pictures. The pictures are in the mind. Imagery appeals to our senses. Our senses include taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell. Our senses help us remember. Our senses help us understand. (Block only Ð have students first share in pairs or small groups; peers can edit any grammatical errors in the sentences.) Have 3-5 student volunteers go to the board and write out their sentences. Discuss different approaches and, if applicable, different implications from the language.	Day 1 10 min.
Day 1 10 min.	Read a detailed explanation of the purpose and effect of imagery, like "Imagery: Seeing Things Freshly" by John Malcolm Brinnin. Have the students follow along, jotting down two to three ideas that define imagery based on what they understood as they read.	Day 1 10 min.
Day 1 15 min.	Place on a transparency poetry excerpts from such poems as Edwin Arlington Robinson's "The House on the Hill", Robert Frost's "The Black Cottage", or the entire poem "Lost" by Carl Sandburg. Treating each poetic passage separately, ask the following questions respectively: What images contribute to a feeling of loneliness in the lines from "The House on the Hill"? What do those individual images suggest-what emotions do they convey? What images project a feeling of life in "The Black Cottage"? What emotion do those images suggest? And, how do the images in "Lost" make you feel? What images contribute to that effect?	Day 1 15 min.
Day 1 15 min.	Using a bag of Dorritos-any object or series of objects that appeal to the senses would work here-give each student one, at first, and instruct them to write five columns in their notes, one column per sense. Have them record their sensory observations of the Dorrito, listing the details in the appropriate column. For sound, have them tap the Dorrito on the desk, their hand, their notebooks and record the different sounds it makes, and the sound it makes when they eat it. Then, when finished, give them more Dorritos to record more details, eat, and enjoy.	Day 1 15 min.
	Review and Language Warm UpÐ give students kernel sentences based on their observations from the day before (see samples below) and have them combine them for conciseness and fluency. Have students work in groups, one group per sense. Examples: Dorritos are crunchy. Dorritos are smelly. Dorritos smell like cheese. The cheese is sharp. Dorritos are yellow. Dorritos are orange. Dorritos leave colored dust. The dust is on your fingers. The dust can be wiped. The dust can be on your pants. Students should first combine the sentences on their own and then share with the group. The group picks one example to read to the class. After all groups have read their sentences, review definition of imagery with students.	Day 2 15 min
Day 1 10 min.	In anticipation of the poem, "Daily" by Naomi Shihab Nye, have students complete a journal write: make a list of the sounds, smells, tastes, textures, and sights from your daily life that make you happy (or sad). And explain why these daily details make you happy (or sad) as a whole. Students should write for 5 minutes and then discuss for 5 minutes.	Day 2 10 min.
Day 1 15 min.	Read the poem, "Daily." Have them in their notes write two columns, labeled "First Reading" and "Second Reading." Read the poem one time, then have them close their books or turn the poem over. They will record three images they remember from their reading, paraphrasing if they must. Then, for the second reading, have them record three new images from the poem they recall from the reading.	Day 2 15 min.
Day 1 15 min.	Once completing the reading, read it a third time and discuss what these images suggest about the poet, her attitude toward her daily routine, and the emotion(s) conveyed. Finish the discussion by having the students identify the literary device presented in the last two images of the poem, leading them in a discussion of what the metaphors mean and how the images enhance their impact.	Day 2 15 min.
Homework	Have students look for a picture or a photograph that either interests them or holds some personal value to them. In the next class, they will describe the scene using as many details that appeal to all the senses. This description will serve as the basis for an original poem they will write using images and any other literary devices they choose.	Homework

Within the field of English Language Arts, Judith Langer, in Guidelines for Teaching Middle and High School Students to Read and Write Well identifies 6 features of effective literacy instruction. Langer and other researchers associated with the National Research Center on English Learning and Achievement studied schools who "beat the odds" by having students who performed well consistently on standardized tests compared with similar schools whose students did not perform as well. From that study, the researchers discovered these features that successful schools and teachers share. For more detailed descriptions of the features, see the entire booklet at http://cela.albany.edu/. While most activities will include several of the features, the examples below offer some specific connections between Langer's research and the activities in this document.

According to Langer's research, "students learn skills and knowledge in multiple chartblesson types" (Guidelines, p 5). The Protest Against the Government Project (p 103 ) begins with a separated activity of students learning definitions of rhetorical devises. Then students engage in a simulated activity by identifying and analyzing those devices in revolutionary documents. Finally, in an integrated activity, students make their own documents using effective rhetorical devices. In Applying the "isms" (p 121 ), students again go through these types by first learning about different critical approaches, then applying them to a work as a whole class, before developing their own interpretations of another text. While these examples include all three lesson types to illustrate their application, teachers should evaluate student needs and consider the most appropriate types to meet them.

The second feature, integrating test preparation into instruction, is demonstrated by several activities. Annotating Text (p 11 ) and Color Coding (p 15 ) involve students closely reading texts commonly used in class to learn how to note diction, literary devices, tone, etc. and then analyze their effects. These skills will serve students well on the textual analysis portion of the English I End-of-Course Test. In Defining Through Verbal Charades- (p 18 ) and Issues Letter (p 70), students discuss and practice composing the types of writing that will be included on the Grade 10 writing assessment. Instead of isolating test preparation through the use of unrelated materials and activities, teachers can build skills during the normal course of instruction through activities like these and other mini-lessons that target student needs.

With the third feature, making connections across instruction, curriculum, and life, teachers engage students in looking at content with fresh perspective, helping them see meaning and value in their studies. In Survival Guide (p 48 ), after reading Lord of the Flies, students create survival guides for harsh climates. Here, students are connecting the literature they have read to geography, biology, and healthful living through their research into the climates and the survival tips and techniques. Additionally, the inclusion of technology in research and publishing as well as the connection to contemporary reality television shows increases students' interest and engagement in the project. Historical Context Argument (p 136 ) explores the need for understanding the time period, biography, and social influences on writers to appreciate their work. This activity allows the students to see how such information affects the reader's response to the text.

Teachers practice the fourth feature when they focus on strategies, process and metacognition rather than just assigning and assessing student work. Combining two aspects of strategies instruction, Read Aloud Reminiscence (p 83 ) focuses on reading and thinking aloud through a text which also serves as a model for the students' own later composition. Through the class discussions, thinking behind reading and writing decisions is made more obvious to students. Critical Review of Film: A Learning Center Approach (p 125 ) takes students through a process beginning with discussing the qualities they appreciate in films through reading sample movie reviews and developing their own class rubric for the movie review they will write. The scaffolding provided in activities like these allow students to build skills and confidence to handle more difficult tasks.

Encouraging students to become generative thinkers, feature five, involves extending discussions beyond understanding and even analysis to deeper explorations. In Controversial Issues Seminar (p 60 ), students research an issue such as non-violence and discuss their opinions in a seminar, finally composing an editorial. Students are encouraged to examine authors' purposes and possible biases, consider alternate viewpoints, and finally articulate their own informed views. In Banned Books (p 91 ), students read a challenged book (chosen from the American Library Association list) and then research the objections that were raised to that text. In their final product, students go beyond explaining the book and the challenge to form an argument for the school board that the book should or should not be banned, based on the text itself and their personal and community beliefs.

Students working in small and large groups, with teachers providing support and encouragement, fosters cognitive collaboration, feature six. In Multiple Choice Debates in Small Groups (p 28 ), students discuss their independent answers to study questions in a small group and use textual support to determine which answer is most correct. Because their group work will be assessed for its thoughtfulness and correctness, students are dedicated to listening to and learning from each other. Seminar activities, such as Seminar on Donne's Mediation 17 (p 142 ) provide excellent opportunities for such collaboration. Students discuss and respond to each other's questions, with questions to encourage them to reexamine prior beliefs, explore analyses, and develop new responses.

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