Instruction Reflection

Natalie Mares Lesson Plan Reflection CI 402 4/9/12 Ransom of Red Chief Lesson Objectives: CC.6.R.I.
3 Key Ideas and Details: Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).
CC.6.W.4 Production and Distribution of Writing: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 13 above.)
Procedure: 1. 1. Prior to beginning, ask students to define an expectation 2. 2. After hearing what students have to say, talk with students about how when things are unexpected they can sometimes be funny. Give an example how jokes are only funny when you havent heard them. If you know the punchline, then the joke is not as funny as the time when you didnt know what the other person was going to say. 1. Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side. 3. 3. Having completed this short introduction, pass out the short story, Ransom of Red Chief to the class. 4. 4. Tell the class that we will read this short story as a class. 5. 5. Using DRTA begin by analyzing the title. Make sure that students know what the word, ransom means. 6. 6. Continue using DRTA to work through the reading of the story. While reading, take moments to pause and make sure that students are comprehending the story and the characters. 1. A. Who has more power--the boy or the kidnappers? 2. B. Why do the kidnappers want to get rid of the boy? What about him drives them crazy? 3. C. Why are the kidnappers having difficulty getting the boy back? 7. 7. After the story has been read, ask the student to share what they liked or disliked about the story. 8. 8. For the second half of class, students will be working on writing ransom letters to each other. 9. 9. Students will work in small groups (3-4) with the students sitting next to them. Group names and information can be found below.
10. 10. Tell students that they are to write to a letter that includes the Who, What, Where, When 1. a. Who stole it 2. b. What was stolen 3. c. From where was it stolen 4. d. When did the stealing take place 5. e. Students should also include what needs to be given or done in order for the stolen object to be returned 11. 11. After they are finished with their ransom letter, they can have one messenger to deliver the ransom letter to the group that it is addressed to. 12. 12. Once the group receives a letter, they are to look it over carefully and come up with a short response. 13. 13. Collect student work.
Assessment: CC.6.R.I.3: Understanding of how the main character is developed throughout the story will be evaluated based on the students responses to the discussion questions about why the kidnappers want to get rid of him. Students should use specific examples from the text to support their answers. CC.6.W.4: The ransom letters produced by the students should reflect their understanding of the key components of a ransom letter (who stole it, what was stolen, from where was it stolen, when did the stealing take place, what is needed to be given or done to get stolen object returned) modeled from the ransom letter in the story. Group 1: The Swindling Singers Whom you stole from: The Devious Dancers What you stole: Their ballet shoes Group 2: The Devious Dancers Whom you stole from: The Burgling Baseball Players What you stole: All of their baseball bats Group 3: The Burgling Baseball Players Whom you stole from: The Criminal Cat-lovers What you stole: A cat Group 4: The Criminal Cat-Lovers Whom you stole from: The Kidnapping Karate Kids What you stole: Their black belts Group 5: The Kidnapping Karate Kids Whom you stole from: The Mischievous Mechanics What you stole: Their tools
Group 6: The Mischievous Mechanics Whom you stole from: The Swindling Singers What you stole: Their microphones Overall, I think this was a very successful lesson. The kids really seemed to enjoy the short story, The Ransom of Red Chief, even though it was a challenging read for them. We helped them work through a lot of the vocabulary words, allowing them to figure out the meaning of them, instead of just telling them the definition. At first only a few of the students volunteered to read, but once the shier ones saw that no one was judging their reading skills, they quickly volunteered to read aloud to the class. It was really exciting to observe their enthusiasm to read. Throughout the shared reading, we asked questions to ensure their comprehension. This was definitely necessary to keep everyone in the class engaged and following the text. They liked the writing activity equally as much, because it allowed them to be creative and work in groups. The group names were really silly, which made the activity more interesting. I encouraged the groups to take on the identity of their group names and write the ransom letters in that character. Everyone in the group had a job, for example one person was the scribe, one person was the messenger, and two people edited the letter and made sure all of the components were incorporated. This made all of the kids feel important and valued in their group. This was a useful activity, because it made them think about the audience of their letter, which is important in any type of writing students do.
While the lesson did go well, there were a few things we could have improved on. We did have the students analyze the title and make predictions about the text. However, I think it would have been a good idea to give them background information on O. Henry. They would have understood from the beginning that this was not a modern day text, but was actually written in the late nineteenth century. I think the time period of the text threw a few of them off at first. Knowing information about the author can also help students put the story in context before reading it, which can improve comprehension. In addition, the introduction to the writing activity was probably our biggest weakness. I made the mistake of assigning their groups before explaining the guidelines for their ransom letters. The students immediately began getting up, moving around, yelling that they didnt like their group, and talking to their friends. It took probably about five minutes to get the students back on track and we had to explain the writing activity to each group individually, instead of to the whole class. Next time, I will explain the activity before assigning groups and passing out the group sheets. This will improve my classroom management and ensure that I have their undivided attention.

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Natalie Mares Lesson Plan Reflection CI 402 4/9/12 Ransom of Red Chief Lesson Objectives: CC.6.R.I.

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