Lesson Plan #7

Unit Working Title: My Identity through Art

Unit Big Idea (Concept/Theme): Identity / Self-Expression through literature

Unit Primary Skill focus: Self-Expressive Writing

Week __2___ of 3; Plan #____7____ of 9; [90 mins.]

Plan type: _X_Full-Detail

Content Requirement Satisfied: Instruction that uses AT LEAST 1 short text as a model
1
(Note: Refer to the list in the document called Concept Unit Lesson Plans)

Unit Learning Objectives (numbered) [from my Backwards Design Unit Document],

followed by Specific lesson objectives (lettered) being taught in this lesson:

SWBAT:
Cognitive (know/understand):
1. SW understand that people can express their unique identities through creative
outlets.
a. Students will finish revising their identity journals and begin
working on their Found Poems.

Affective (feel/value) and/or Non-Cognitive:

2. Students will feel the power of art to convey identity.
a. Students will reflect on their experience writing their journals /
beginning their poems and how they have explored their identities while writing.

Performance (do):
3. Students will create and continue to work on pieces of art that show their own
identity.
a. Students will finish working their journals and begin turning them
into Found Poems.

SOLs:
6.7 The student will write narration, description, exposition, and persuasion.
6 c) Organize writing structure to fit mode or topic.
6
CCSs:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.5
With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as
needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. (Editing for
conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1-3 up to and including
grade 6 here.)

Methods of Assessment:
[How will you know if the intended learning occurred?] List all methods of assessment used in
this lesson or which are related to this lesson and come in a future lesson. After each
assessment, indicate in brackets the number(s) and letter(s) of the unit objective and the related
lesson objectives that the assessment is evaluating.

Diagnostic Formative Summative

Students will have The students will peer review The students will use their
completed journals and each others journals, which finished journals to begin
revision sessions before will inform the teacher as to working on their Found
this lesson that have whether or not their journals Poems for their summative
informed the teacher that are fully ready to move onto assessment.
they are ready to turn their being turned into poems (as
journals into Found Poems. they have been surveyed by
another person). They
teacher will circulate the
room as students work to
answer questions and inform
instruction, and the students
will fill out an exit slip about
Found poetry to let the
teacher know where they
need help during the next
lesson.

Procedures/Instructional Strategies
[Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.]

Beginning Room Arrangement:

Students will enter and sit in their previously assigned seats. They have been placed in base
groups of 4 students each, and are grouped together based on varying readiness level in
reading and similar interests (collected from interest surveys taken in the first week of school).
Students will be told as they enter and will see on the board that they should collect their in-
class journals. There is no Do Now today, as students will be writing for most of the period
anyway.

1. [_5_mins.] Bridge/Hook/Opening to lesson:

Hey, everyone! Thanks for being on time. Last time we met, we were working with our identity
journal entries. Who can tell me what exactly we were doing with our entries? [Allow students to
answer, looking for them to say that we have been revising them to be more concise, get rid of
extraneous sentences / words.] Right! We talked about how we can condense our writing to
make our thoughts a little more direct and accessible for our readers. Why is it important for our
thoughts to be concise in writing? [Allow for volunteers to answer, looking for them to say that
concise thoughts can our readers understand what we are saying and remain interested in our
ideas.] Great, guys. Today we are going to revisit the work we have been doing with our
journals with fresh eyes, and spend a little more time revising our thoughts.

2. [_30_mins.] Final Journal Revision with a peer

You all are going to work with your 12 oclock clock partner for this. Youre going to exchange
the journals you have been revising, and read through them for your partner to see if you catch
any rambly sentences or thoughts. Circle them in a green colored pencil so your partner can
see what you find! This is important because its an opportunity to see how another person
understands your writing, because sometimes its hard for an author to detect where what they
have written may be confusing for another person. Now, everyone take 20 seconds to find your
partners and move to sit next to them! [Allow students to move]. Now, read the passage all the
way through once, and then read it again, looking for and circling in green confusing or rambly
sentences. What questions do you all have about this peer editing exercise? [Answer questions
that come up.] Lets get started!

Allow students to work for about 10 minutes, circulating and answering questions as they arise.

Great work, guys. Now give your partner their journal and allow them to read through what you
have circled. If you have any questions about what your partner marked in your writing, feel free
to ask them about whatever confuses you! [Allow a few minutes for students to exchange
journals.] Now if you all could turn to where you have been rewriting this journal entry, go ahead
and incorporate the revisions your partner has suggested that you agree with and will serve to
better your writing. You will do this the same way we practiced revising last class, except this
time with your peers thoughts. What questions do you all have about this part of the process?
Great! Go ahead and start. [Allow students to work for about 10 minutes, circulating and
answering questions as necessary. After working, students will return to their base group seats].

3. [_45_mins.] Found Poem Model with Workshop integrated (so students can work
as they see the steps modeled)
Have ELMO set up with teachers modeled Journal Entry from lesson 3 (Appendix A). Pass out
Found Poem organization handout (Appendix B).

So, you guys remember how I told you yesterday we will begin making what are called Found
Poems? What is a Found Poem? How will we go about making them? [Allow for students to
answer, hopefully remembering the discussion where I introduced the assignment. Look for
answers that are about creating poems from their journals in order to convey their identity in a
different kind of art form.] Right! So art can take many different shapes, and Im going to show
you how I take my journal entry about my identity as a sister and turn it into a poem. First, Im
going to read through the piece and pick out lines that I find really striking and memorable.

[Read passage aloud, underlining sentences so students can see the process.]

I am a sister to two wonderful women. They have always been my best friends, from the day

each of us was born. I did not have to learn how to love them, because it feels like I always

have. They have taught me unconditional love in a way that I could never know otherwise. I

think there is something beautiful about the fact that we did not get to choose each other. We

have no choice but to extend each other our hands and our hearts when one of us is in need.

This has made me more responsible and more understanding, because no matter what

happens my relationship with my sisters must find a way to go on.

We grew up in the same house, with the same parents, with the same pets. We have seen the

same fights, felt the same family pains, and played in the same yards. We played the same

sports (though I was always the worst). There are no other people I could ever share my

childhood with, and there are memories we share that I could never fully explain to other people.

As a sister, I understand and I feel understood.

Now, Im going to take these lines and write them together in one column [pull out sheet with
this already done and put on ELMO for students to see (Appendix C)].

I am a sister

always been my best friends

I did not have to learn how to love

unconditional love

something beautiful about the fact that we did not get to choose each other

extend each other our hands and our hearts

no matter what

my relationship with my sisters must find a way to go on

same house
same parents

same pets

felt the same family pains

no other people I could ever share my childhood with

I understand and I feel understood.

So now Id like you to try this! Read through your journals and underlines sentences that are
really important to your writing and that you think are striking. Dont underline full sentences, but
rather small pieces of them like I did. When you are done, use the handout I gave you to copy
the lines you have picked from your journal. What questions do you all have about this? [Allow
for questions.] Great! Lets get started. [Allow students to work for about 10 minutes, underlining
and transcribing their chosen lines, circulating and taking questions as they arise.]

Great work, guys. Now Im going to try and condense my poem a little bit. Our Found poems
are going to be between eight and ten lines each. They will be Free Verse, which means they
dont have to follow any kind of poetic pattern, and should just feel good to you when you read
it. Im going to read through the lines I have chosen, and maybe see which ones can be
combined or omitted. For example, I will get rid of the line my relationship with my sisters must
find a way to go on because its really long, and doesnt flow well with the other lines. I will
combine the lines same house, same parents, same pets because they are all easily related
and make sense as one line. [Continue this process for the whole poem, showing students how
they can add additional words to make lines fit with each other, and how they can reorder lines
to flow nicely. Read the final product aloud.]

I am a sister.

I did not have to learn how to love,

Because they have unconditional love.

We did not get to choose each other,

But that is beautiful.

Extend each other our hands and our hearts

no matter what.

Same house, same parents, same pets

felt the same family pains.

I understand and I feel understood.

See how I took my journal and created something brand new? I think this poem is really special,
and makes me understand why its important to me that I am a sister to two awesome women.
Now you guys are going to do the same process of revising your poems. Its similar to how we
revised our journals, where we cut out and rearranged lines so they make more sense. Can you
guys see how that process was similar to what I just did? Great! What questions do you all have
about creating your poems? [Allow for questions.] Awesome, guys, lets get to work!

[Allow students to work on their poems, circulating and taking questions as necessary.]

4. [_10_mins] Exit Slip / Closure:

[As students finish working, pass out Exit Slip (Appendix D)]. If everyone could look up at me,
that would be awesome! Wow, guys, you all worked SO hard today. I cannot wait to read what
you have done with your poems. Tomorrow, we will finish working on these, and also turn our
second journal entry into another Found poem, if you have time. For now, Id like you to fill out
the Exit Slip I just passed around so you can tell me how todays lesson went for you. Thanks
so much for your hard work!

Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students:

Nicholas may have trouble getting started editing his journal into lines he can use for his poems.
I will conference with him individually and do a mini-modeling demonstration with him one on
one so he can see the process more up close. Rachel may have trouble getting focused in this
lesson (as there is a lot to do), so I will keep an eye on her during circulating to make sure she
is on task.

Materials Needed (list):

ELMO and projector
Teacher model Journal
Teacher model of identifying striking lines pulled from poem
Teacher model of Found poem
Exit Slip
Materials Appendix: (e.g., supplementary texts, Ppts, overheads, graphic organizers,
handouts, etc.)

Appendix A: Teacher Model Journal

I am a sister to two wonderful women. They have always been my best friends, from the day

each of us was born. I did not have to learn how to love them, because it feels like I always

have. They have taught me unconditional love in a way that I could never know otherwise. I

think there is something beautiful about the fact that we did not get to choose each other. We
have no choice but to extend each other our hands and our hearts when one of us is in need.

This has made me more responsible and more understanding, because no matter what

happens my relationship with my sisters must find a way to go on.

We grew up in the same house, with the same parents, with the same pets. We have seen the

same fights, felt the same family pains, and played in the same yards. We played the same

sports (though I was always the worst). There are no other people I could ever share my

childhood with, and there are memories we share that I could never fully explain to other people.

As a sister, I understand and I feel understood.

Appendix B: Teacher Model of identifying striking lines pulled from poem

I am a sister

always been my best friends

I did not have to learn how to love

unconditional love

something beautiful about the fact that we did not get to choose each other

extend each other our hands and our hearts

no matter what
my relationship with my sisters must find a way to go on

same house

same parents

same pets

felt the same family pains

no other people I could ever share my childhood with

I understand and I feel understood.

Appendix C: Teacher Model of Found Poem

I am a sister.

I did not have to learn how to love,

Because they have unconditional love.

We did not get to choose each other,

But that is beautiful.

Extend each other our hands and our hearts

no matter what.

Same house, same parents, same pets

felt the same family pains.

I understand and I feel understood.

Appendix D: Exit Slip

1. What is the purpose of creating Found Poems from our journals?

2. What did you enjoy about creating your Found Poem?

3. What questions do you still have about creating Found Poems?