PROJECT OUTLINE AND DESCRIPTION BY: ALLIE CALDERON ED 370 MARCH 16, 2014 Lesson Plan on The Book Thief

 TIMELINE & OUTLINE TIMELINE & OUTLINE  CLASSROOM CONSIDERATIONS CLASSROOM CONSIDERATIONS  ACCOMMODATIONSACCOMMODATIONS  ASSESSMENT & EVALUATION ASSESSMENT & EVALUATION  DISCUSSION DISCUSSION Menu

SUBSECTIONS:  TIMELINE CALENDARTIMELINE CALENDAR  OUTLINE – DAY 1 OUTLINE – DAY 1  OUTLINE – DAY 2 OUTLINE – DAY 2  OUTLINE – DAY 3 OUTLINE – DAY 3 Timeline & Outline

Timeline Day 1 – Introduction to Novel Day 2 – Setting Day 3 – The Meaning of Words

Outline – Day 1 Word Map & Brainstorm  As a class, students will create a word map of the book's title on the front white board. The discussion will be teacher guided but student generated. Possible brainstorm topics include predictions, connotations, denotations, etc. of the title of the book. This activity is meant to be open, discussion based. (20 min) Read Prologue  The class will read the prologue aloud together. The teacher may choose to begin first, and then have student volunteers carry on reading. (Approx. 30 min)

Outline – Day 2 Setting – Photo Activity  Using Google Earth and other images, show students pictures of 1930s and 1940s. The purpose of these images is to contextualize the setting for students (these images should be pre-selected before class time). (10 min)Google Earth Free Write  Give students 10 minutes to free write in as much detail as possible about one of the images they saw from the selection that they think is powerful, interesting, etc.; they may also choose to create a list of word associations with an image. Word Sort  Preview this activity with a brief discussion of the terms "connotation" and "denotation." Then, using a list of words (either teacher pre-selected words, words from the students' free write, or a combination) ask students to rate words according to their connotation as they view them; that is, as positive, negative, or neutral. Students should do this individually on a piece of paper and then share with the class. Take 5 minutes to "rate" the words and then use 10 minutes to talk about it as a whole class. (3o min total)

Outline – Day 3 “The Sneetches”  Watch a 4 minute video clip from Dr. Seuss's The Sneetches. Then host a brief class discussion.  In groups of 3-4, students will compare words from the video to words we use in contemporary times that have power. Return to Menu Written Conversations  Students will have the last 10 minutes of class time to reflect on the reading thus far. They also have the option to write about the connections they saw between the video and class discussion and the reading. These prompts should be expressed verbally or written on the board if needed or requested.

SUBSECTIONS:  STUDENTSSTUDENTS  TECHNOLOGY NEEDS TECHNOLOGY NEEDS Classroom Considerations

Students Students are 10 th graders in a public high school. The setting is assumed to be a cross-over somewhere between urban and suburban. This classroom consists of a diverse student population, including a fair representation of English Language Learning students. Students also come with a variety of skill sets and abilities. Prior knowledge to the extent of recognition of World War I is assumed; however, brief background information is provided in the lesson.

Technology Needs Because of the situation of an urban/suburban school, technology availability may be an issue. This classroom does not have access to student sets of iPads, Chrome books, or laptops. However, I am assuming that there is at least one teacher computer with internet access and connected projector. One activity and assessment method does require students to have access to an internet-ready computer outside of school hours. Return to Menu

SUBSECTIONS:  DAY 1 DAY 1  DAY 2 DAY 2  DAY 3 DAY 3 Accommodations

Accommodations for Day 1 For this lesson plan, I imagine that accommodations may be needed for students who struggle with reading, especially out loud, that may be either dyslexic, special needs, or ELL. To accommodate one or any of these circumstances, I will not require each student to read out loud during the class reading of the Prologue. If using the popcorn model, I will allow students the option to "pass" if called upon by another classmate.

Accommodations for Day 2 For this lesson plan, I imagine that accommodations may be needed for ELL students who may not have a strong grasp on a word's denotation, let alone the connotations. To accommodate these students, I will provide each ELL student with a list of the words' definitions and common connotations so that they may better able to understand and participate in the activity.

Accommodations for Day 3 For this lesson plan, I imagine that accommodations may be needed for ELL students. To accommodate this, I will provide these students with hard copies of the book The Sneetches (preferably checked out from a school district library) so that they can read along with the video and/or refer back to the story line. ELL students may need to work together to share the book copies if there are more students than books available. For the written conversations, it is likely that some students will not own a family computer. To remedy this, students may use public library or school library computers. If possible, these students will be able to check out or rent laptops from the school. Return to Menu

SUBSECTIONS:  DAY 1 ASSESSMENTS DAY 1 ASSESSMENTS  DAY 2 ASSESSMENTS DAY 2 ASSESSMENTS  DAY 3 ASSESSMENTSDAY 3 ASSESSMENTS Assessment & Evaluation

Assessment of Day 1 I will assess whether my students have met the learning objectives of this lesson through listening to their comments and observations about the book's title. Since this activity is a class brainstorm, it will allow me to identify which students are able to engage with the words in the title and draw assumptions on them based on their knowledge of those words. Additionally, the class discussion after reading the prologue will further allow me to measure their ability to engage in conversation over a text.

Assessment of Day 2 One way that I intend to assess students is by reading their free write entry. In addition, the activity on denotations and connotations will help students understand the difference between these two terms. In order to also assess students' complete integration of these terms' meanings, I will ask students to offer reasoning for why they associated a word with one connotation over another.

Assessment of Day 3 Students will begin their online written conversations through a Google document. Students will be paired with a fellow classmate. Student pairs will write responses on class activities and/or the reading to each other. The Google document will also be shared with the teacher so that she/he may monitor and assess students’ thoughts, writing, and participation. These online “journals” would be continued throughout the course of reading the novel. Return to Menu

THIS SECTION WILL ADDRESS THE POTENTIAL USE OF INTERACTIVE POWERPOINT SUCH AS THIS IN FUTURE CLASSROOMS AS INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS. Discussion

Interactive PowerPoint in the Classroom… While this would be a great instructional tool to present the material that sometimes loses student interest but must be covered nonetheless, I like the potential it has as a form of assessment or performance task for students. In particular, I like the idea of using the action buttons on PowerPoint as a form of interactive research project. I think that this usage of it has a lot of possibilities: in any subject and with many assignments and topics. Students can research just about anything, but instead of always writing the traditional research paper, they can present their findings and learning in a presentation that is both engaging for the audience and presents an improved way for students to demonstrate what they know. This would work really way as an alternative book report, science project, author/poet bio, historical era research, or even debate presentation. Return to Menu