Kelly+Lesson+Plans

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**This isn't perfect, but it's the basic plan.**

How to Tell a True War Story (Lesson One, Day One)
 **A. Purpose of the Unit and Concept (Long Term)** //By the end of this unit…// - Students will be able to explore the social, ethical, and civic implications of war. //By the end of this lesson…// - Students will be able to identify elements of a story in a medium other than literature. - Students will be able to analyze common themes and patterns of a particular genre. - Students will be able to use the text to develop criteria for telling a true war story. - Students will be able to identify an author’s unique opinions and style in comparison with the conventions and messages of traditional stories. - Students will be able to collaborate in small groups to discuss patterns of a text. - For homework the night before, students will read “How to Tell a True War Story.” They will also think about war stories that they know—from movies, T.V., family tradition, cultural heritage, etc. They will be prepared to share one of these stories. - Students will begin by watching a montage of clips from famous war movies and think about common themes and patterns. - Students will participate in an informal class discussion about common themes in the war stories we watched as well as what they brought to share with the class. - Next, the students will break into five groups of four. They will use their books and collaborate to make a list of what Tim O’Brien says makes a war story true or false. Each group will be assigned four pages of text. - After making the group’s list, one member from each group will write the group findings on the board. - Students will continue small group discussion to analyze Tim O’Brien’s criteria for a war story in comparison with the themes of war stories discussed at the beginning of class. - For homework, students will write a reflection on how their opinion of war stories was affected by the reading and class discussion.
 * -** Students will be able to develop an understanding of the art of story-telling.
 * -** Students will be able to write their own story.
 * B. Objectives for this lesson (Short Term)**
 * C. Process / Procedures for Students**

//Before// - The teacher will find a montage of war movie clips to show to the class. The montage will demonstrate an array of war movie scenes that will help students in their envisionment building process of how war is often depicted. - The teacher will prepare notes about different common themes of war stories demonstrated in movies or in cultural tradition to help scaffold class discussion if the students have difficulty. - The teacher will do a close reading of “How to Tell a True War Story” and make a list of Tim O’Brien’s criteria for a true war story. //During// - At the beginning of class, the teacher will tell the students to think about common themes and patterns as they watch a montage of war movie clips. - When the montage is over, the teacher will ask students to share what they noticed about the war movies in the video and their own war stories they thought about for homework. As the students share their ideas, the teacher will write notes on the overhead of what they say and help students to clarify their opinions. If students are having trouble, she will be prepared to scaffold the students with questions, and possibly share her idea of a war story and its themes. - Next, the teacher will ask the students to break into groups of four. She will assign four pages from the chapter for each group to look at and find what Tim O’Brien says about what makes a true war story. She will tell the students that when they have found everything in the four pages, one representative from each group can write the group’s findings on the board. She will walk from group to group to see what they are finding and make sure that the groups are on track. - After each group has written their findings on the board, the teacher will tell the class to stay in their small groups and compare Tim O’Brien’s criteria with the characteristics and themes of traditional or popular war stories. - As the groups discuss, the teacher will walk from group to group. She will listen to what the students are finding, if they need help she will ask some guiding questions to spark student discussion. //Closing / Summation// - With about five minutes left of class, the teacher will assign homework. For homework, students are to write a short reflection paragraph about how their opinions on war stories and whether they have changed during the class discussion. She will tell them that to get an A, they must include what we discussed in class as well as their personal opinion.
 * D. Process / Procedures for Teachers**

- Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried - Dry Eraseboard - Overhead - Pen/Pencil - Paper
 * E. Materials Needed**
 * -** War movie montage ([]) to stop at 2:40.

- Students will be assessed through discussion—as usual, students will be graded on their participation through the day with their professional attitudes and their verbal participation. Students who are shy can demonstrate participation in the small groups and through their professional attitudes. - Students will also be assessed with their reflection paragraph, which is due the next day. The paragraph will include the differences between Tim O’Brien’s criteria of a war story with the traditional themes of war stories as well as the student’s opinion.
 * F. Assessment**
 * -** Formative assessment will occur throughout—as the teacher stimulates discussion she can assess that students are able to make the comparisons between common war stories and Tim O’Brien’s story.

- This lesson involves a lot of scaffolding and collaboration, which will support learning for students with special needs and ELLs. - Shy students will be able to discuss in smaller groups, thus hindering embarrassment that they may have sharing in front of the entire class. - Students with special needs and ELLs will receive extra time to do the homework and will also be urged to ask the teacher for assistance after class, at lunch, before school, or by e-mail. - ELLs will have access to dictionaries to support learning. they affect meaning; - LA.1112.1.7.7 -  compare and contrast elements in multiple texts; and - LA.1112.2.1.4 -  analyze the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or   comment on life, providing textual evidence for the identiﬁed theme;
 * G. Modifications or Accommodations**
 * -** Students will be asked to speak about traditional war stories—these can be from their culture, their family, fables, or movies. This will allow ELLs to bring in traditional war stories from their culture to add to discussion.
 * H.** **Sunshine** **State** **Standards Met**
 * -** LA.1112.1.7.2 -  analyze the author’s purpose and/or perspective in a variety of text and understand how

Teacher’s Notes: - common themes in traditional war depcitions: o epic, friendship, camaraderie, tragedy, morality, love, a definite good and a definite evil, hope, leadership, freedom, pride, glory, beauty, muscles, death=victory, bravery, fantasy - examples of war stories: o paul revere o braveheart o inglourious basterds o mulan o king Arthur o - Tim O’Brien’s Criteria: o A true war story is never moral. o It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done. o If a story seems moral, do not believe it. o Does not uplift o No virtue o Allegiance to obscenity and evil o Difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen o Cannot be believed… must be at least skeptical. o Often the crazy stuff is true and the normal stuff isn’t o You can’t even tell it—it’s beyond telling. o It never seems to end. o If there’s a moral, it’s a tiny thread that makes the cloth, you can’t tease it out or find meaning without unraveling deeper meaning. o You might have no more to say than maybe “oh.” o Makes the stomach believe o Does not generalize, abstract, analyze o Nothing is ever absolutely true. o Often there is not a point that hits you right away… o Never about war.

How to Tell a True War Story (Lesson Two, Day Two)
//By the end of this unit…// - Students will be able to explore the social, ethical, and civic implications of war. **-** Students will be able to develop an understanding of the art of story-telling. **-** Students will be able to write their own story. //By the end of this lesson… - Students will be able to practice different writing styles through modeling. - Students will be able to identify elements of language and description. - Students will be able to explore multiple meanings of words and the implications of word choice. - Students will be able to explore the connotations of words. // - Students will listen while the teacher reads the paragraph on p. 80 out loud. Two students will also read it out loud. “War is hell, but that’s not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love. War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead.” - Students will collaborate with the teacher and the entire class to make a chart on the board about the connotations of Tim O’Brien’s words. - Students will choose a one word topic or concept and free-write for five minutes about it. - Next, the students will write a generalization poem in the style of Tim O’Brien’s paragraph. They will work for the rest of the class period on their poem and finish it for homework. It will be due in two days with some sort of illustration or decoration. - At the beginning of class when it the poems are due, students will be able to tie up any loose ends about the subject—students could volunteer to read their poems, share an epiphany that came from writing the poem, or ask a question. **D. Process / Procedures for Teachers** //Before - The teacher will explore the connotations of Tim O’Brien’s paragraph in preparation to do the same with the class. - The teacher will prepare a list of a few words that students who cannot think of an idea or concept to write about could use for inspiration. //During - The teacher will open to page 80 and tell students to listen as she reads the paragraph out loud. Next she will ask the students to open to the page and choose two students to read the same paragraph out loud. - The teacher will make two columns on the board labeled “positive” and “negative.” She will ask students to label the connotations of Tim O’Brien’s words in the paragraph. She will lead the students to discussion. For example, she will ask for the connotation of the word “mystery.” When a student explains one connotation, she will ask if anyone had another view. From here, the class will understand that most words can have multiple meanings and connotations. - The teacher will tell students that they are going to make their own “generalization poems” modeling the style of Tim O’Brien’s paragraph. She will ask students to think of a one-word idea, or concept to write about. She will give examples of a few different words, concepts, or ideas that students could use to help scaffold their thought process. - The teacher will tell the students to free-write for five minutes about their words. She will remind them that this really is a free write—they must write the entire time. They can write words or phrases or anything that comes to mind. - After the free-write, the teacher will tell them that for the rest of the period, they are to create a generalization poem following the format of O’Brien’s paragraph. - She will tell them that the final version of the poem is due in two days. It will have to be in Tim O’Brien’s style, neat, and illustrated in some way. - As the students write, she will be available for questions. She will also walk around to offer assistance and help students with their writing. //Closing / Summation - With five minutes left in class, the teacher will remind students to finish their poems for homework due in two days. She will remind them that it must be neat and illustrated in some way. As usual, she will say that if anyone needs assistance, they can meet with her before or after school or during lunch. - At the beginning of class on the day that the poem is due, the teacher will ask students to share any new ideas or lingering questions. She will also offer this time for students who wish to share their poems with the class to do so. // - pen/pencil, paper - dry erase board - imaginations - colored pencils, pens, magazines, construction paper (anything students might need to illustrate) - Formative assessment will also occur as the students are working on their poems. The teacher will walk around the classroom make sure that students are on the right track. - Students will be assessed with the final poem products. The poems will be graded partially for completion, partially for quality. The poems must follow Tim O’Brien’s format, neat, and illustrated in some way. - Students with special needs, ELLs, and struggling readers who might feel barraged by the vocabulary will thrive as we break down the paragraph, word-by-word, to discuss connotation. - Scaffolding and brainstorming will support learning for all students—especially students with special needs and ELLs. - As students are given time to work on their poems in class, the teacher can provide individual assistance to ELLs and students with special needs. - When students turn in their poems and tie up loose ends, students with special needs or ELLs will have an opportunity to share ideas that they may not have come to before. - Students with special needs and ELLs will receive extra time to complete their poems, as long as they ask the teacher (I do not foresee this happening, as students will have time in class as well as two days to work on it). - ELLs will have access to dictionaries to support learning.  - LA.1112.1.6.4 -  categorize key vocabulary and identify salient features;  - LA.1112.1.6.9 -  determine the correct meaning of words with multiple meanings in context;  - LA.1112.3.1.1 -  generating ideas from multiple sources (e.g., brainstorming, notes, journals, discussion, research materials or other reliable sources) based upon teacher-directed topics and personal interests;  - LA.1112.3.2.3 -  analyzing language techniques of professional authors (e.g., ﬁgurative language, denotation, connotation) to establish a personal style, demonstrating a command of language with conviction of expression. Teacher’s Notes: Words:
 * A. Purpose of the Unit and Concept (Long Term)**
 * B. Objectives for this lesson (Short Term)**
 * C. Process / Procedures for Students**
 * E. Materials Needed**
 * -** Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried
 * F. Assessment**
 * -** Formative assessment will occur throughout as the teacher engages in discussion. If the teacher feels like the students aren’t understanding through their discussion, she will be more active in leading the discussion.
 * G. Modifications or Accommodations**
 * -** Students with special needs, ELLs, and struggling readers will be able to listen to Tim O’Brien’s words. As they listen, they will be able to focus on the story instead of using all of their conscious energy to figure out how to read the words.
 * H.** **Sunshine** **State** **Standards Met**
 * -** LA.1112.1.6.2 -  listen to, read, and discuss familiar and conceptually challenging text;

Teacher’s Notes: Words: - hell: negative - mystery: ambiguous—mysterious things can be good, like miracles or magic tricks or waiting to find out what’s inside of a wrapped present. Mysterious things can be negative—an unsolved murder or a cheating spouse - terror: negative - adventure: positive - courage: positive - discovery: ambiguous—Christopher Columbus discovered the “new world,” but his discovery was bad for almost all of the natives… - holiness: positive… or maybe ambiguous? - Pity: negative - Despair: negative - Longing: ambiguous… you can long for something good or something bad. Sometimes, even if you’re longing for something good it can become an obsession and then become bad - Love: ambiguous… sometimes we love the people we’re not supposed to… sometimes love can hurt - Nasty: negative - Fun: positive - Thrilling: ambiguous… it could be thrilling for a soldier to protect himself by killing someone, but then he might feel guilt… and he took someone’s life Sample possible words/ideas/concepts: - love - family - detention - school - soccer - church - sisters - dogs - airplanes - peace

Speaking of Courage (Days One and Two)
**A. Purpose of the Unit and Concept (Long Term)** //By the end of this unit…// - Students will be able to explore the social, ethical, and civic implications of war. **-** Students will be able to develop an understanding of the art of story-telling. **-** Students will be able to write their own story. **B. Objectives for this lesson (Short Term)** //By the end of this lesson…// - Students will be able to apply a psychological critical lens to a text. - Students will be able to describe one of the important psychological issues affecting veterans. - Students will be able to explore literary devices and their implications. **C. Process / Procedures for Students** -  **D. Process / Procedures for Teachers** //Before// - The teacher will prepare a handout about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to give to each student. The handout will include basic facts, statistics, and symptoms of PTSD. - The teacher will do a close reading of “Speaking of Courage,” looking for literary devices and techniques that represent symptoms of PTSD. - The teacher will create a chart for the students to fill in using the text and what they know about PSTD. It will have space for the literary device or technique, examples, psychological aspect, inferences and questions. //During// - The teacher will distribute the PTSD handouts to students. She will ask any students who know about PTSD to share what they know. Next, she will have students take turns reading the page out loud. She will point out the statistic about PTSD and Vietnam veterans and compare it to the average percentage of men with the disorder. - The teacher will overtly instruct students on what a psychological critical lens is and how to apply it to a text. The teacher will ask students to consider PTSD as a way to psychologically analyze “Speaking of Courage.” - Next, the teacher will distribute the Psychological Lens chart to the students. She will then model an example of what the students can do when they separate into groups of three and fill out the chart. - She will ask the students to take their time and to be as thorough as possible—the students will have the rest of the period today and more time to finish it in class tomorrow. - As the students work in groups, she will walk from group to group to assess progress and understanding. With about fifteen minutes left in class, she will ask each group to share one technique or device that they noticed—this will help other students to see what other techniques they can look for and let the teacher formatively assess the group. - The next day, students will continue working on their charts and the teacher will continue to walk from group to group offering assistance, asking important questions. - The teacher will judge how far the students are on their chart and in their understanding. About halfway through class, she will ask students to share one thing they’ve found in detail. As each group shares something that they found, the entire class will be urged to ask questions or make comments, jumping off of the other groups’ work. //Closing / Summation// - With about five minutes left of class, she will assign homework. Each student is to individually use the chart to write a focused, sophisticated paragraph about one of O’Brien’s literary techniques and how it could be a psychological expression of PTSD. She will explain that this is not a full-blown essay, it is one paragraph that shows a detailed examination of one literary technique or device. She will ask the students for questions, and explain that it will be due the next day. **E. Materials Needed** **-** PTSD handout and slide - Overhead projector with Psychological lens slide - Psychological lens chart slide - Pscyhcological lens chart handout for each student **F. Assessment** **-** Students will be formatively assessed as the teacher models how to fill in the chart with the students. As they share ideas of what to write where, she will be able to assess their understanding and decide whether to move forward or spend more time modeling. - As the teacher roams the class and checks on progress, she will also assess where the students are in understanding. When she pauses midway through to have each group share one device/technique, that is another way for her to assess understanding to see how much assistance the groups need. - Students will be assessed through their psychological lens charts. They will receive credit for completion, and students who filled out the entire chart extremely well will receive a few bonus points. - Students will assessed for their individual understanding through their paragraphs. The paragraph must be stylistically sophisticated and clear. It must examine one literary device or technique and how it could be a psychological expression of PTSD. **G. Modifications or Accommodations** **-** All students will be scaffolded throughout this lesson. The teacher will let the students think on their own, but will help to guide them through difficult territory with modeling. - As usual, ELLs and students with special needs will be allowed extra time to complete their work as long as they talk to the teacher before or after school, or during lunch. - ELLs who speak the same language will be paired together if they wish so that they can translate meaning in their home language and help each other to reach understanding. - MORE **H.** **Sunshine** **State** **Standards Met** **-** LA.1112.1.7.2 -  analyze the author’s purpose and/or perspective in a variety of text and understand how they affect meaning; - LA.1112.2.1.4 -  analyze the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, providing textual evidence for the identiﬁed theme; - LA.1112.2.1.7 - analyze, interpret, and evaluate an author’s use of descriptive language (e.g., tone, irony, mood, imagery, pun, alliteration, onomatopoeia, allusion), ﬁgurative language (e.g.,  symbolism, metaphor, personiﬁcation, hyperbole), common idioms, and mythological and literary allusions, and explain how they impact meaning in a variety of texts with an emphasis on how they evoke reader’s emotions; - LA.1112.3.2.3 -  analyzing language techniques of professional authors (e.g., ﬁgurative language,   denotation, connotation) to establish a personal style, demonstrating a command of language with conviction of expression. - LA.1112.6.1.1 -  explain how text features (e.g., charts, maps, diagrams, sub-headings, captions,   illustrations, graphs) aid the reader’s understanding;