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Lesson Plan- The Cask of Amontillado

Grade Level: 10th
Number of Students: 21
Number of students individualized education programs (IEPs):
Instructional Location: Hillcrest High School
Date:
Lesson Goals
Central Focus of Lesson:
Students will use their prior knowledge, regarding author’s message, genre, plot, and character, to work in pairs
during peer review to help create an outline of their creative story.

Standard(s) Addressed
 Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation, establishing one or multiple
point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or
events (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3.a)
 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
(CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.1)
 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-
led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing
their own clearly and persuasively (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1)

Lesson Objectives and Demands

Content Objectives/Performance Expectations – By the end of the lesson, students will collaborate with peers to begin
creating an outline for their creative stories which will display their understanding of author’s message, plot, genre, and character.

Language Objectives – Students will write one word to describe their desired tone and after they have declared their intended
tone, students will craft bullet points that convey generalized scene ideas that will support their tone.

Vocabulary – Outline, plot, character, message, and genre.

Academic Language – In pairs, students will begin completing their drafted outline. Their outlines must contain a revised
genre, author’s message, detailed plot, & characters. Students are not required to use vocabulary from the text to complete their
drafts.

Lesson Considerations
Materials –
 Google Doc
 Google Classroom
 Dry Erase Board
 The Cask of Amontillado
 iPad/Chromebook
 Pen/Pencil
 Notebook Paper
Prior Academic Learning and Prerequisite Skills –
 Students will need to know what elements make up a gothic novel
 Students must understand literary devices, author’s message, tone, and mood
 Students must understand the fundamentals of peer review groups

Use of Instructional Technology (including the use by students)

 iPad/Chromebook
 Google Doc
 Google Classroom (Submission of comment for classwork)
 The Cask of Amontillado (PDF)
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Procedures
Lesson Introduction – ‘
Instructor greets the class and outlines the subject materials and activities for the day. The instructor requests that
students open Google Classroom and answer the Bell Ringer. The Bell Ringer will ask students to provide at least
four facts, in total, about their protagonist and antagonist. The facts don’t have to be lengthy; they can merely cover
the age of the characters or the reason they hate each other. Two facts must be given about each character. A timer
will be displayed on the board and once expired, students can share information about their characters with the class.
Once some students have shared information about their characters, the instructor will guide open a Google Doc, to
start the lecture.
Learning Activities –
 Lecture: The instructor will open a Google Doc that contains the headers for the homework over the past
week. The first will be homework from Day 1 which had students summarize 3 ideas that they want to write
about. The next comes from Day 2 which had students create at least 2 messages that they may want their
story to focus on. The following comes from Day 3 which had students state a genre and the desired tone that
they will be using. While also, briefly explaining three scenes that will support the tone of the story. Finally,
on Day 5, they had to summarize the plot of their story and explain who their protagonist and antagonist
would be. The teacher will then go down each category and make one selection from each one. The teacher
will show how taking parts from each category helps develop the story. For instance, from Day 1, the
instructor will select an idea and connect it to the message generated on Day 2. Once both have been
established, the power of the message can be strengthened by the genre and tone set on Day 3. The final piece
of the puzzle comes into play on Day 5 with the summarized plot and characters. Since students will have the
foundation, in groups they will begin to work on the draft outline of their story. The draft outline consists of
generating a nearly finished plot and showing at least 2 characters, that the story will focus on. Students will
be assigned partners based on who the teacher picks. The teacher will assign partners based on two criteria.
The first is the genres and the other is the student’s level of understanding. Strong writers will be partnered
mostly with writers that are at the midway point. While midway writers will help struggling writers. On a rare
occasion, a strong writer can help an ELL student, unless the student needs to work with the teacher. Peer
groups will be encouraged for ELL students since they can bring their culture into their writing and there is
no limitation.
 Class Discussion: Before breaking off into groups, the teacher will ask students to share questions they want
their peer reviewer to ask them. These questions will be written on the board as talking points. If students
have specific questions, they want their reviewer to focus on, then they will be encouraged to write them
down. After a list of at least three questions have been written on the board, then they will be informed to
break up into their groups. As students are moving into pairs, they will be told to focus on the question and if
they need to, then to remember to use the sandwich technique. An example will be written on the board,
while covered in a previous class, will show an opening with a compliment, critique, then a closing
compliment.
 Partner Author Writing Pre-writing: Once with their partners, the instructor will explain that students are
to use the first few minutes to speak about what they have selected and provide their reasoning for each
selection. The pre-writing stage is broken into two parts. The first part allows partner A to speak about their
selected material and once they finish talking then partner B will provide their thoughts. Their answers
should focus on one of the questions on the board or a question that was given to them by their peer.
 Lecture: The instructor will ask the students to think momentarily about the feedback they were given.
Students will not have to share anything out loud. The student will inform students that it is good to keep an
open mind about the information they were given by their peers. Before going back into their pairs, students
will submit on a comment section, in Google Classroom, their selected author’s message, genre, and
generalized story idea. If they feel want to edit any section, they may, but those 3 sections must be completed
before the end of class. For the remainder of the class, the teacher will inform students that they will start
outlining their draft. The draft template will be displayed on the board. The draft consists of several parts:
revised genre, author’s message, detailed plot, & character. The author’s message, genre, and generalized
story idea are the exact same things they have submitted to Google Classroom. Students will remain in pairs
as they complete this outline.
 Partner Author Writing: Students can ask each other for help while they are in groups. The teacher will
walk around and ask students about what they are working on. The teacher would not have walked around
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during the pre-writing stage to encourage students to ask each other for guidance and help. During this stage,
students can ask the teacher for further guidance and the teacher can ask them questions for clarity. A
question that a teacher may ask will include talking about the target audience. Are they writing a story for
their peers, someone younger, or older? They will still be encouraged to speak with each other. Based on the
audience the student picks, the teacher will ask questions that could help the student deliver the message they
are striving to share.
Closure –
 Exit Slip: Students will answer an exit slip. The question will ask students to state the age of their target
audience and explain why they picked this age group. They are to talk about their target audience in at least
two sentences. An example of how to answer the question will be displayed for them to see. For instance:
When I am writing my story, I want readers that are between the ages of 14-18 to read my story. I picked this
age group because my story deals with teenage drama.
Assessment –
 Before the end of class, students were told to submit to Google Classroom, their selected author’s message,
genre, and generalized story idea. This information will allow the teacher to see if the student is on track,
while also getting a sense of their story since the foundation will have been laid. Their revised plot should
look different after the feedback that they received from their peer partners.
 Walking around and speaking with students during peer reviews allows the teacher to listen and offer mild
critiques for areas that seem confusing to the student. Listening also allows the teacher to see if the peer
groups are working in the sense that students are strengthening each other. If partners must be switched, then
the teacher could take note of these interactions.
Assignment/Extension –
 Homework will be for students to complete most of their outline. The outline must contain a revised genre,
author’s message, detailed plot, & characters. Since the outline requires a detailed plot, students will be given
two days to complete this assignment. If students are struggling, peer groups can be held during the next class
to ensure students are able to complete their outlines.
Accommodations –
 Dictation.io
 Notability
 Ivona
 MiniReader

Professional Considerations
Resources: Texts, Research, and Professional References – The end goal of this unit is to get students to create a
creative writing piece. Everett notes in “Creative Writing and English” that the creative writing process “provide[s] alternative
ways of expressing and demonstrating learning” (Everett). The goal is not just to get students to create a creative piece but for
them to show an understanding of the material that was covered throughout the unit. Working in pairs challenges both students’
knowledge of the content. When looking at this day, the focus was on getting students to work together. While it would have
been easier for students to write a topic and submit it to the teacher, it does not build up their confidence or help them learn new
skills. In Creative Writing and Creative Composition, Freisinger noted that “I want students to arrive at their own conclusions
from a study of peer writing, not have them dictated by me from behind a lectern” (Freisinger). That was the goal of creative
writing using the peer review process. Ensuring that the teacher didn’t step in pushed students to work together. It encouraged
them to look to each other and to hold deeper thinking by challenging each other. By not going for the typical, strong to weak
pairing, it enabled the class to rise as one. The student would not feel less when paired up and could pull each other up without
feeling overwhelmed.
Reflection/Self-Evaluation – After looking over the breakdown for this unit, I realized that it may expand into either
a 6th or 7th day. Working in peer groups for two days on the final process will ensure that students have a full
understanding of the material. It enables them to create a relationship with each other and allows them to show their
knowledge on classroom content. I don’t want to rush the activity since I have seen in classrooms that units go past a
week, even when they are mini units. A lot of teachers have shown and even told me that units are not dictated by the
day but move based on classroom knowledge. I can still move the unit forward, but at the same time see where
students are struggling. Having them work in groups or pairs, allows me to closely monitor a student’s progression.
That way when I am creating pairs, I know which students to partner with each other.