Category Archives: Common Core

Feb 23 2016
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American Literature, AP Lang, AP Lang and Comp, AP Language and Composition, Common Core, English III, Grammar, Instructional Delivery: Plan and Progress, Language Strand, Teaching, Uncategorized, Writing

Week 8 – Writing Workshop

One thing is for certain: Writing can always be improved.  This week, we are going to be making a short stop to focus on the rhetorical analysis writing in detail, one part of the paper a day.  The goal is to remind students of the elements of strong responses so they are prepared to build this into their essays as a whole. Ideas? As always, I’m open to your thoughts.

 

MONDAY

Bell Ringer (15 minutes): Through the study of Litte Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

  • Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)
  • Etymology (L11.4-6)
    • G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner
    • Share outs (based on pacing)

Multiple Choice Monday: Through the study of an AP MC reading selection (Prestwick The Scarlet Letter AP Test Questions 1-10), students will be able to correctly answer the question, including justification for the selected answer.

  • Student are given 13 minutes to read the text and answer the questions.
  • T will give correct answers and percentage of students who correctly answered the question. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions about what is unknown as needed.
  • Students will review answers and write corrections with argumentative stemFOR HOMEWORK if they desire earning back the missed points.
    • Frame: I chose ___ because ____. That is wrong because ____. The correct answer is ___ because ____. 

Writing Workshop: Through the review of the rhetoric précis, the student will be able to write a thorough introduction including a thesis with vocabulary from the prompt.

Note: Student essays are evaluating the rhetorical strategies that Paine employs to accomplish his purpose.

  • Students will review the outline completed over the weekend.
  • Students will review elements of an effective introduction by looking at seven examples from released AP exams and identifying strategies for an effective introduction.
  • Students will finalize the introduction paragraph using the sentences from their outline and critical attributes from class today.
  • Peer Review (Time Permitted): Students will review the introduction paragraph for grammar, usage, and mechanics.
  • Submitted paragraphs will be reviewed by the teacher and appropriate written feedback will be returned to students during class tomorrow.

HWK: Students will write two body paragraphs using information from their outlines.

 

TUESDAY

Bell Ringer (15 minutes): Through the study of Litte Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

  • Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)
  • Etymology (L11.4-6)
    • G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner
    • Share outs (based on pacing)

Thesis Statement Tuesday: Through the review of the three types of thesis statements, students will identify what their thesis statement is and use this to organize their paragraphs.

  1. Highlight your thesis statement. What type of statement is it? Are your main points clear? How could you improve it?
  2. Syntax Evaluation: How would you label the syntax of your thesis?

Writing Workshop: Through the review of TIQA and incorporating quotes, the student will be able to write body paragraphs for the analytical essay.

Writing Workshop:

  1. The class will sit in a circle and pass their first paragraph to the person on the left for peer review.
  2. Students will return their paragraphs and evaluate the quality of feedback before deciding what revisions should be made.

NOTE: Short share out for T is track common errors on the board.

  1. What is TIQA? Look at paragraph 1. Highlight AUTHOR’s words in green, direct quotes from PAINE in red, and paraphrases from PAINE in yellow. What color should be most common on your page? Why?
  2. For body paragraph 2, students will look for the errors discovered in part 1 and make those changes on their own. Additionally, students will evaluate TIQA in their own writing.

Reflection Closing: What errors do you commonly make? How can you work to correct these errors in the future? What TIQA-related changes did you make? How can this process help you writing the final body paragraph?

 

HWK: Finalize the body of your essay.

 

WEDNESDAY

Bell Ringer (15 minutes): Through the study of Litte Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

  • Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)
  • Etymology (L11.4-6)
    • G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner
    • Share outs (based on pacing)

Writing Wednesday: Through the study of The Art of Styling Sentences and the specific review of patterns 1-3, students will be able to write thorough and concise sentences.

  1. Students will identify the sentence parts of the given sentences.
  2. Students will label the pattern of the given sentence.
  3. Students will create an example for each of the sentence patterns in their paragraphs. (Ex, one pattern per paragraph.)

Cohesive Conclusions: Through the study of concluding paragraphs from actual AP essays, the students will be able to identify critical attributes of an effective conclusion and demonstrate mastery by writing an effective conclusion.

  1. Students will review and BAT a released AP writing prompt.
  2. Students will review sample released AP conclusion paragraphs for the prompt in order to identify critical attributes of the conclusion paragraph.
  3. Students will share the CA and evaluate them as a class to create guided questions.
  4. Students will write their conclusion paragraph.

Time Permitting, students will peer review the conclusion paragraph.

Closure: Finalize your essay to submit before class tomorrow.

 

THURSDAY

Bell Ringer (15 minutes): Through the study of Litte Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

  • Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)
  • Etymology (L11.4-6)
    • G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner
    • Share outs (based on pacing)

Tutoring Thursday: Through the study of AP Rhetoric, students will be able to correctly identify and explain the given device in the task cards. (Mastery 8/10)

I: Student are given 10 minutes to review the academic vocabulary associated with the excerpts on the task cards. This is designed to help reteach missed skills, and definitions of unknown words are encouraged for learning outside of class.

D/Ap: Students will rotate through stations to complete a minimum of ten task cards each for a grade. Mastery = 8 of 10.

Visual Rhetoric: Through the study of comics and visuals found on released AP exams, the student will be able to analyze the image to create a logical conclusion.

  1. T will model the process of see, infer, and conclude again for students.
  2. Class will discuss the depth of the responses.
  3. T will model taking the conclusion and creating a sentence using the designated pattern.
  4. Students will apply the model process to analyze the visual rhetoric and track conclusions in a variety of sentence patterns.

 

HWK: Take a break. If you did not submit your essay today, you BETTER have it tomorrow morning.

 

FRIDAY

Bell Ringer (15 minutes): Through the study of Litte Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

  • Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)
  • Etymology (L11.4-6)
    • G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner
    • Share outs (based on pacing)

Free Response Friday: Through the review of the student-created essay, students will finalize and submit the rhetorical analysis essay.

  • Students will type the finalized essay with Google Docs.

Sunday News, Monday Views: Through the study of current events, students will be able to rhetorically analyze a chosen article from the weekend news.

  • Students will pick an article and complete the analysis.
  • Monday: Ss will share to raise awareness of current events and build background knowledge to help prepare for the AP exam.

~Note: This assignment is weekend homework due at the start of EVERY Monday.

 

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Feb 21 2016
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American Literature, AP Lang, AP Lang and Comp, AP Language and Composition, Common Core, English III, Instructional Delivery: Plan and Progress, Reading Informational Texts, Teaching, Uncategorized, Writing

Week 7 – Here’s how it went…

Monday – President’s Day: No school for students.

Tuesday – I was out, but the students had an amazing Zaption lesson to complete.  Have you used Zaption? Seriously. Best. Ever.  There is a cost, but if you open a trial through my account you can get two FREE months of the professional version.  This is WAY better than the normal trial.  Join Zaption for FREE with your TWO MONTH account – even just to explore – by clicking this link http://zapt.io/ruem93kaf .

Students review the Zaption  video lesson and take notes on the rhetorical devices they have been missing in class, including a compare and contrast of the devices they are commonly confusing.

Activity: Assessment is built into the Zaption lesson, but students are to review the three devices labeled in “The Declaration of Independence” and increase the total number to 8.  However, they may NOT use diction (because it is modeled in the video) and they may not repeat any device.

Wednesday

Bell Ringer: Through the study of Litte Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

Hidden Agenda: Building background for allusion

Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)

Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

Quick Review: Through the review of Rhetorical Devices in the text, the student will be able to analyze specific examples of rhetorical devices.

Review:  I will set the timer for 10 minutes to review the devices found in the text. ONLY DEVICES MENTIONED BY STUDENTS WILL BE DISCUSSED. The purpose is to help where needed, not to give the answers.

Syntax: Through the study of Syntax 101, students will be able to identify and analyze the syntax of “The Declaration of Independence”

Syntax 101:

O: Ss will REVIEW syntax definitions in order to understand what is being evaluated with the term “syntax” is given.

D/App: Students will practice identification throughout the scaffolded lesson.

Model: Syntactic Analysis of “The Gettysburg Address”

You Do: Students will analyze the syntax of “The Declaration of Independence” by applying the guided questions from the lesson.

Closure: Think about your answers and T’s answers. What do you notice? What did you do well? What changes might you need to make?

 

Reflection Closure: Thinking about the week’s learning on syntax. How does the learning that results from Writing Wednesdays connect to syntax? How does this affect the audience?

 

Thursday

Bell Ringer: Through the study of Litte Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

Hidden Agenda: Building background for allusion

Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)

Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

Tutoring Thursday: Through the study of USA Test Prep’s personalized ACT review lesson, students will be able to show growth of 10% in a student-selected testing strand.

Note: This activity is mandated by the school for the 60 minute study block of Tutoring Thursday.

Cycle 3: Through the study of The Crisis, students will be able to identify and analyze rhetorical strategies in “The Crisis”.

  1. Students will have ten minutes to read and annotate the text.
  2. Students will use FIRST TURN, LAST TURN to discuss the text with the assigned group.

HWK: Students should identify and analyze 8 different rhetorical strategies within the text.

 

Friday

Bell Ringer: Through the study of Litte Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

Hidden Agenda: Building background for allusion

Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)

Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

Essay Review: Through the review of the elements of an essay, the student will be able to create an outline for a rhetorical analysis of the text.

Activity: Students will review the Zaption video to review components and complete the assessment over what goes in an essay and how to ensure sufficient, relevant, and thorough evidence.

  1. Students will complete a BAT review of the prompt and write a thesis statement.
  2. Students will review the rhetorical precis and create one for the essay.
  3. Students will review TIQA and create the outline for the body paragraphs that analyze specific rhetorical strategies of the text that help Paine reach his purpose.

HWK: Have a thorough, full-sentence outline at the start of class Monday.

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Jan 10 2016
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American Literature, Assessments, Common Core, English III, Grammar, Instructional Delivery: Plan and Progress, Pacing, Starting a New Semester, Uncategorized, Writing

AP Lang: Plans for Week 2

As should be expected, I had to make some modifications to the first week.  Alas, here’s the set for this week.  As you look at my plans, please keep in mind that this is the first time I’ve taught this course — the first time in 7 years it has been offered in my school — and I’m literally starting from scratch.

I welcome your feedback as I help prepare my students for success.

  Standards/Objectives Detailed Agenda
W2

M

 Bell Ringer: Through the study of fairy tales, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

Hidden Agenda: Building background for allusion

 

 

Multiple Choice Monday: Through the study of an AP MC reading selection, students will be able to correctly answer the question, including justification for the selected answer.

 

 Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)

Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

 

Multiple Choice Monday: Released AP Exam 2007 MCQuestions from Joyce Carol Oates passage

I: Student are given 15 minutes to read the text and answer the questions.

(Ss may select one final answer or one of two for half credit.)

D/Ap: Students will review answers and write corrections with argumentative stem. (15 minutes)

 

Reflection Closure:

1. What do you notice about the MC testing? What will be a strength to help you? What will be an area to work on before the test?

2. How does last semester’s learning seem to fit into what you now know about this course?

 
W2

T

 Bell Ringer: Through the study of fairy tales, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

Hidden Agenda: Building background for allusion

 

Thesis Statement Tuesday: Through the study of an AP MC reading selection, students will be able to correctly answer the question, including justification for the selected answer.

 

Diction and Tone: Through the overview of diction and tone, students will be able to identify and analyze denotation and connotation of specific text examples.

 

 Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)

Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

 

Thesis Statement Tuesday: Released AP Exam 2007 from Joyce Carol Oates passage

I: Students are given a writing prompt to analyze and describe the task in his/her own words.

2. Students will identify possible evidence for the prompt.

3. Students will write a thesis statement for the prompt.

 

Diction and Tone Overview (Practice 1/2)

O: Ss will REVIEW diction and tone as literary devices supporting effective rhetoric.

D/App: Students will practice identification throughout the scaffolded lesson.

Closure: Think about your answers and T’s answers.   What do you notice? What did you do well? What changes might you need to make?

 

 
W1

W

 Bell Ringer: Through the study of fairy tales, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

Hidden Agenda: Building background for allusion

 

Writing Wednesday: Through the study of The Art of Styling Sentences, students will be able to write thorough and concise sentences.

 

Diction and Tone: Through the overview of diction and tone, students will be able to identify and analyze tone of specific text examples.

 

 Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)

Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

 

Writing Wednesday: Sentence Pattern 1

O: Ss learn sentence pattern one through short writing lecture.

D/Ap: Ss will create sentences using the pattern by arranging groups of words and when starting from scratch. Mastery 2/3 in each group.

 

 

Diction and Tone Overview (Practice 3/4)

O: Ss will REVIEW diction and tone as literary devices supporting effective rhetoric.

D/App: Students will practice identification throughout the scaffolded lesson.

Closure: Think about your answers and T’s answers.   What do you notice? What did you do well? What changes might you need to make?

 
W1

Th

 Bell Ringer: Through the study of fairy tales, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

Hidden Agenda: Building background for allusion

 

Tutoring Thursday: Through the study of AP Rhetoric, students will be able to correctly identify and explain the given device in the task cards. (Mastery 8/10)

 

Cycle 3: Through the study of The Crisis, students will be able to rhetorically analyze a given AP article, including analysis of diction and tone.

 

 Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)

Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

 

Tutoring Tuesday: AP Figurative Language Task Cards

I: Students are given 10 minutes to review the academic vocabulary associated with the excerpts on the task cards.   This is designed to help reteach missed skills, and definitions of unknown words are encouraged for learning outside of class.

D/Ap: Students will rotate through stations to complete a minimum of ten task cards each for a grade. Mastery = 8 of 10.

 

Vocabulary Assessment: Students will take a multiple choice assessment matching examples to the figurative language terms.

 

Diction and Tone Analysis

1. Students are given the text of “The Crisis” to look for 4 examples of diction that support the tone.

2. Students are to write a response describing the tone and providing textual evidence.

 

 

 

 
W1

F

 Bell Ringer: Through the study of fairy tales, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

Hidden Agenda: Building background for allusion

 

Free Response Friday: Through the study of The Art of Styling Sentences, students will be able to write thorough and concise sentences.

 

Sunday News, Monday Views: Through the study of current events, students will be able to rhetorically analyze a chosen article from the weekend news.

~Note: This assignment becomes weekend homework due EVERY Monday.

 

 Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)

Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

 

Free Response Friday: Students will respond to an essay question as much as possible with a 15 minutes time frame.

1. Students will review the prompt and thesis from Thesis Tuesday.

2. Students will create a quick outline.

3. Students will begin writing their essay.

 

Sunday News, Monday Views:

O: Ss will learn the assignment expectations. (10 minutes)

D/App: Students will pick an article (5 minutes) and complete the analysis (15 minutes).

E: Ss will share with a partner for feedback (5 minutes each) and make revisions before submission (6).

 

HWK: Students will use the article from Mr. Goff to prepare for ethics overview.

 
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Jan 08 2016
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American Literature, Common Core, English III, Grammar, Instructional Delivery: Plan and Progress, Motivating Students, Pacing, Reading Informational Texts, Teaching, Uncategorized, Writing

End of the Week Update 1/7

Screen Shot 2016-01-08 at 12.05.43 AM

We actually did fairly well with pacing and made it through the plans as I had them set. Sort of. We had class meetings called, so I had to cut something. I decided to cut out the extra part of the class designed to fit the weekly structure.

The Caught ‘Ya bell ringer and etymology system is still working fantastically.  I love this system. As long as I teach, I will never, ever, ever use another system. The data speaks volumes.

We did, however, find time for a task card review of the definitions of the primary elements of figurative language that I want them to have mastered. I made them from scratch, and I promise I will put them in my TPT store and link them here this weekend.  Right now it is just the term and definition, but it will grow into identifying the examples and creating their own examples through the next few weeks. After all, you have to start somewhere.

For instruction, we did a SOAPSTone analysis of “Tribute to a Dog” as planned.  You can find this text at the website below.  We were able to read and annotate the text, move into a discussion about what he said, how he said it, and how it affected the audience.  Then, we completed a SOAPSTone analysis.  First, I had them complete the analysis individually. Next, they shared and compared with a partner.  Then, I had them write a paragraph to explain the differences in the student work and what changes they thought they might need to make to increase the quality of their analysis.  Then, I did what I think was the most powerful part: I showed them my answers and we discussed each of them in detail.  Why did this matter? Well, it allowed the students to see the expectations for college-level responses over the minimalist approach they normally take.

Text Resource: http://pne.browardschools.com/teachers/FOV1-00157D17/Tribute%20to%20the%20dog.pdf

In looking at student work, I needed them to focus on thesis statements and topic sentences, so I added the instruction of using the prompt as a sentence starter for the response into the lesson for tomorrow. And tomorrow we are going to watch a clip from The Colbert Report and do a SOAPSTone on that.  This will allow me to address satire, parody, and mockery in a quick blurb about a topic that is relevant to them.

Considering the learning regarding the depth of the SOAPSTone itself, I’m going to model it, but then I’m going to have students do it individually so I can collect that before I show them my answers.  For closure, they are going to complete a reflection on the quality of their work and how it has changed during the week. They will list differences in their work and my work in order to create a plan for achieving at a hirer level in the coming weeks.

Hopefully, this was as effective in the long terms as it appears to have been for the last few days.  If not, I’m sure they will get it. They are going to SOAPSTone the crap out of EVERY SINGLE TEXT WE READ. #sorrynotsorry #youllthankmeoneday

.

Jul 10 2015
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Common Core, English III, TN Ready, Uncategorized

What will I teach this year?

“So think of the SPIs as the trees.  They are the base. They give us the Tier 3 Academic Vocabulary.  And think of Common Core as the forest.  That’s what TN Ready is doing for us.”

That’s a quote from the TNReady Training I attended last week.  In a room full of people, I specifically asked what we were to teach, and that answer is quite complex.  Basically, we are to teach the Tennessee State Standards (look it up – they are the same as the Common Core Standards but changing the name seems to have appeased the public), but the skills of the SPIs are “a great starting point” for the skills still needing to be addressed with our students.

If our training had a team name, I think it would have been “NYD” for “not yet determined” as that seems to have been the answer for a vast majority of the questions asked.  So that begs the question: Is Common Core really that bad?

In short, no.  The concepts of Common Core are, in my humble opinion, very similar to the instruction in an AP class… Very similar, in fact, to the education I received.  I had the pleasure of attending this training with my English teacher from when I was in high school.  We spoke about the standards, and I questioned why I felt like she held us to such a high standard.  I explained that when I started teaching some of the same things she expected us to do, none of the students could reach proficiency of the skills being assessed by the task.  She agreed – she’s had to lower her standards and water down the curriculum because of student inability based on a serious lack of foundational skills.  Thanks to Common Core, she explained, she was going to be able to raise the academic bar once again.

But what specific skills are the teachers going to teach the students? Take rhetoric for example. Students need to be able to analyze speeches with effective rhetoric.  How many rhetorical devices are there? And which ones should I teach my students? Which ones are going to be assessed? Normally, I would look over the standards and the test samplers, but there isn’t much in the way of test prep for our students this year.  But that’s okay… Because as our presenter explains, “Good teaching involves critical thinking and problem solving, not an entire course on test prep.”  Too bad my effectiveness is based on this test.

But I’ve been teaching using the Common Core standards for three years now, and my students are doing fairly well.  I will say this: Students will meet the bar you set. They will walk the line and try to see what you will let them get away with.  Keep your expectations high.  Foster relationships. Build motivation.

Alas, the big questions seem to be about the test because we are all indoctrinated to teach the test even though we all know that one test on one day doesn’t really show student mastery of the course as a whole.  So what has been released about the testing?  I’ll tell you what little we know.

First, the “Tennessee State Standards” are the same as Common Core Standards.  While the name on the state page changed, the adoption date from 2010 did not.

Next, TNReady is the assessment piece, and it is broken into two separate parts.

Scoring: More details will follow (and be released from the state as they are determined), but the big thing to know is that you will only get one score set back and it will not be until AFTER both parts have been completed and scored into the final grade.

Part 1: This part is the written component of the test. For the high school setting, this might be argument, informative/explanatory, narrative fiction, narrative nonfiction, or informational. While there will be two actual prompts, one is scored and the second is intended as a field test.  This section is planned to be scored by human beings, but who will grade it or how it will be done is not yet determined.  What we do know is the rubrics will be the same as we have been using the last two or three years with the exception that the categories for Focus and Organization and Development will be doubled and represent a total of 8 points each (instead of the four in the rubric the way it is written). This section of the test is intended to be taken at 70% course completion, and it will be mathematically combined with the score from Part 2 for a total score. Alone, the written component of the exam offers a total of 31 score points and 34% of the test itself.

Part 2: This part is the select-the-answer part of the test. Maybe I should call it the objective part of the testing. Either way, it’s a bit different from what the students have come to know and love.  Considering the types of questions, there will be some that are multiple choice (answer choices will have a circle to select), multiple multiple choice (answers will have multiple correct answers to select and these will be a square), evidence-based selected response (two-part MC questions where students find the correct answer about a question in the text and then have to select the evidence that best supports the correct answer from the first part), and “technology enhanced items” (which might include drop boxes, drag and drop, or highlight options).  Walking away, you need to get on MICA so you know it and you need to get your students on MICA so they know it.  Considering make-up of the test, there is supposedly going to be 5-7 reading passages with 8-14 questions per passage.  Testing categories are divided in such a way that Conventions are 7 items with 7 point (12% test total), Reading Literature is 12-15 items with 16-20 points (18-22%), Reading Informational Texts is 22-25 items worth 29-33 points (32-37%), and Vocabulary with 4-8 items carrying a value of 9-12 points (10-13%).

Confused?  Don’t be. This may be accurate as of today, but chances are some part of it will change in the very near future.

Sep 17 2013
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Accountable Talk, American Literature, Common Core, English III, Instructional Delivery: Plan and Progress, Reading Informational Texts, Teaching, Uncategorized

Transitioning to the American Revolution: Patrick Henry and Ben Franklin

As we move toward the close of the module, we find ourselves looking to the birth of the new nation. For this, we needed to set the stage of the historical settings, so we worked to make it fit.

1. Speech(es) to the (Virginia) Convention and a look at rhetoric.
To start this lesson, students were given a short historical hindsight lesson (notes) with a focus on rhetorical appeal. We reviewed them quickly and I realized students were able to define the appeals without fail but the recognition of them in text was something we would work on throughout the day. Additionally, I wanted them to start evaluating the rhetoric from both perspectives – those who would agree and those who would disagree – and make a call as to whether or not the rhetoric was effective overall.

I modeled this process with the first two sentences from each text.

For this task, the class was divided in to teams. One team focused on Henry’s Speech to the Convention while the other focused on Franklin’s Speech to the Virginia Convention. This worked well to make sure students were an expert on the first text. The neat thing was how the teams were decided…

First, we took a private notecard vote on whether to fight for independence or to try to just get along. Those who voted to get along were assigned to read Henry. Those who wanted to fight were assigned to Franklin.

Once the texts were assigned, the students were given their reading guide. (Find a free copy of the reading guide at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/HenryFranklin-Speech-to-the-ConventionVirginia-Convention-Reading-Guide-877412)

Students progressed through the reading guide at their own pace and then moved to partner with a person on the opposite text. In the end, student discussion was guided by an author comparison section of the handout right before completion of the writing prompt on comparing author ideas. This wasn’t intended to be a formal essay, but more of a constructed response as we are working hard on developing paragraphs with cited evidence from the text.

Alas, let me know your thoughts so I can work to improve this lesson before the next implementation. It felt a little slighted because there was so much I wanted to get into with the text (and limiting the teacher-talk on such an amazing series of texts was really challenging!).

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Sep 15 2013
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American Literature, Common Core, English III, Instructional Delivery: Plan and Progress, Reading Informational Texts, Teaching, Uncategorized

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

Here’s the news flash – students just don’t care for Puritan Plain Style.

For today’s lesson, I started out with reading the text several times and thinking about what it is that makes his sermon effective. Once again, I wanted to reiterate the elements of breaking down complex sentences, but then I wanted to bring in the rhetoric used in the lesson. I decided to model it after my thinking and have students look at the complex sentences before thinking about the rhetoric which makes the sentence matter.

For modeling, my questions became:
1. What is he saying?
2. How is he saying it?
3. Is he effective in getting his message across?
4. What is it that makes it effective?

For skills, I wanted to look at rhetorical devices, but the first step was looking quickly at ethos, logos, and pathos. I was quite fortunate in that the majority of my students were able to look at a blank triangle and put in the terms. I asked to students to tell me what they remembered, and I didn’t have to go into the detailed lessons reteaching the basic appeals.

At this point, I followed the suggestion of the text and looked at specific rhetorical elements of metaphor, simile, imagery, appeal to fear, and antithesis.

Here, I moved directly through the reading of the text and had students complete the reading guide.

At the end of the lesson, I wanted students to be able to identify and evaluate rhetorical elements in a speech in terms of what the speaker is saying, what he means, and how he wants it to affect the audience. In the end, I’m not sure students were able to get antithesis and implied metaphor.

Fortunately, these skills can be revisited as we move on through the next few readings so the students will be ready for the module assessment in two weeks.

Also, I will post the reading guide and a link asap. It will probably be free and just the reading guide because I’m not ready to post the PPT as I feel it needs some revision. (Link: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sinners-in-the-Hands-of-an-Angry-God-Text-Dependent-Questions-Reading-Guide-875141)

Suggestions? Let me know.

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Sep 03 2013
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Accountable Talk, American Literature, Common Core, English III, Instructional Delivery: Plan and Progress, Poetry, Teaching

Huswifery – A Brain Break with a Poetic Discussion

So far we have spent a solid two days on everything we have read. There is no way we can legitimately cover all of the biggies from American Literature in one tiny little semester. Such a tragedy in trying to narrow through the texts to find the biggest bang for the bucks. As an added bonus, if we skip too much time we have to teach students about the historical gaps because they don’t have the background needed to really comprehend the literature and the affect of the literature without a idea of the historical standpoint. Of course, I’m not sure I would have had all I needed to know either at that point in my educational journey, but at least we had a year to get through the curriculum.

Alas, if a module is 4 1/2 weeks, we are only a week behind. That can be justified since we did a Common Core Workshop during the first week to really take time to introduce expectations to the students (materials are free at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/American-Literature-Common-Core-Workshop-Reading-Info-Text-and-Writing-Task-844323; the blog entry is found at http://kirkscorner4commoncore.com/2013/08/24/english-iii-hybrid-tn-eocccss-course-what-is-it-to-be-american/).

So, we decided the students needed a break with a short task which could be accomplished in one day’s lesson. As an added bonus, we needed another practice with Accountable Talk stems. Huswifery, as old as it may be, provided exactly what we needed. What, then, did I do to prepare and how did it go?

First, I read the text and made notes. In my notes I noticed I was paraphrasing each part, so that became the reading skill for the students. This lesson was based on Accountable Talk, so I only needed to provide a quick reading support to build content knowledge and then scaffold a discussion. Just in case the conversation lulled, I knew I needed to have some discussion questions. Since I also want students to build critical thinking and self-directed, high-level questioning, I wanted them to created questions as well.

At first, students read the poem and took notes on what it made them think of and what they thought it was about. Next, I had them watch a video with a few images and the text of the poem. Here lies one thing I would change: If I were to do it again, between the individual reading and the video I would have the students share out with a shoulder partner to build knowledge and confidence. But the imagery served the purpose just as well. (You can find the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIod7xpO7jc.) After reading, paraphrasing the first stanza was modeled. Then, students were asked to summarize the paraphrase to get the main idea of the text. As a “We Do” the class was guided through the paraphrase process through questioning before completing the stanza summary. Students independently paraphrased and summarized the final stanza. To verify their thinking, I had students share out their ideas and then synthesize the point of the poem as a whole. From here, each student was given a post-it to create a short answer question pertaining to the text.

I collected all post-its and secretly pulled out the weak ones and added in a few I prepared in advance. All students were then given a post-it to start the discussion. I put Accountable Talk Stems on the board and set a timer for thirty minutes. From there, we had a great conversation about the text. A few students were taking notes on the poem, and I need to find a way to make more students do that.

After our discussion, we reviewed the process of close reading and paraphrasing/summarizing stanzas only to lead into a short answer writing question pertaining to the poem: What does Huswifery tell you about life during the time period? Apply what you know from previous readings to this response.

Nice.

So how did the answers turn out? I think I need to do a short lesson on how to formulate a constructed response this week. Oh… And we are going to focus on support and elaboration for the writing aspect.

If you replicate this process, please let me know how it goes for you!

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Sep 02 2013
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American Literature, Assessments, Common Core, English III, Instructional Delivery: Plan and Progress, Motivating Students, Reading Informational Texts, Teaching

Of Plymouth Plantation… and the inner city attention span

plymouth 1

As we gear up for the new week, the students gear down because they cannot be less interested in Of Plymouth Plantation. Well, they do have one question they seek to answer: What is Americanism? What does it mean to be American? So as they formulate their ideas, we study American Literature. And, this week, we transition from Pilgrims and an active, benevolent God to Sinners and an Angry God. Boy… I can feel the good vibes now!

Since the students completed the Common Core Workshop successfully, I feel confident in their ability to closely read a text, and, thanks to my intense written feedback, the quality of their text-evidence in response to TDQs has increased tremendously. In fact, for many of them, the reading guide worksheet isn’t enough room and they are writing their answers on another page.

The first step in planning this lesson was to think about anticipated difficulties. Thanks to the first sentence, I didn’t have to think very hard. The Puritan Plain Style might have been easy to Puritans, but thanks to the evolutionary writing style of a few hundred years’ writings, those complex sentences even gave me a headache! I began planning with the idea that if the students could break down the complicated structures of the key parts of the paragraphs (or sections), maybe they could understand enough to work through answering some of the text-dependent questions. However… I needed to model this one for the students too.

Thus, a reading guide was created and designed to focus on breaking down complex sentences in terms of 1. Who? What? 2. Action. Then, I divided the excerpts into major sections and created TDQs for those sections. This made the reading guide look long (5 pages), but I wanted each section to have a visual separation from the other sections and then I needed to add some pretty visuals to keep the students happy. You’d be surprised how happy a different font, cute clip art, or shaded boxes can make the students when they are looking at a complex text they wouldn’t have been interested in otherwise.

From there, I created a reading quiz modeled after the FEW samples of multiple choice PARCC questions that have been released. This is a pretty important step because my students are used to teachers giving completion credit rather than accuracy credit. Also, apparently in some classes if most of the students don’t do the work the teacher makes it extra credit for those who did it and does not penalize those who don’t do it. To combat that, mean as it may be, I have the homework for grading and the reading quiz for grading. Students can retake any reading quiz after scoring a perfect score on the homework if they so desire, but this technique has shown students I’m serious about them completing some work outside of class. After all, my job is to prepare them for college.

If you are interested, you may find this lesson plan bundle at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Common-Core-Of-Plymouth-Plantation-Lesson-Plan-Reading-Guide-PPT-with-KEY-844835

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Aug 24 2013
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American Literature, Common Core, English III, Instructional Delivery: Plan and Progress, Reading Informational Texts, Teaching, Uncategorized, Writing

English III Hybrid TN EOC/CCSS Course: What is it to be American?

cc workshop 1

Ah. The hybrid year. Last year we piloted all that is Common Core while being assess by the TN EOC. Alas, this year we implement Common Core while being assessed by both the TN EOC (with a few supposedly dropped SPIs) and PARCC. Add in that the PARCC assessments are on a yearlong plan while our course is a semester and you have a world of differentiation and 80 hour work weeks. But me… I honestly did not get into teaching to get rich. I got into teaching so I could make a difference and do my part to make the world a better place. So I’ll take it: 80 hour work weeks, Common Core, EOCs, TRIPOD, TVAAS, and whatever else you throw at me. But I’m going to help my students get it even if there is no 15-16 year old of the inner city volunteering to read these texts.

So what’s the spin for buy in? Well, the essential question becomes “What does it mean to be an American?” Now, this isn’t so far fetched – we are American and they call out their freedoms on a regular basis. So I tied in a personal stake: I know a true American.

1. After the boring syllabus review and all that jazz, we watched a video to spark a conversation. (Find this video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75Ku4RhZwC0&list=UUTCWtGoGyBSUHzI9dTw3Q1w) Students felt a connection because I’m not the only teacher at the school with a loved one who died in a very public service-related situation, and they saw those families. Then, we invited them to bring in the picture of anyone they knew who was willing to defend what it meant to be American. From there, a living bulletin board was created.

2. We built in a Common Core Workshop using Prothero’s “Introduction” from his text “The American Bible.” We actually used only an excerpt, but the idea worked very well to introduce students to the power of words. We spent a week with this text, thoroughly modeling the process of close reading, text-dependent questions, and the dreaded writing task. In all, the point was modeling the process, and I gave a tremendous amount of written feedback to each student for every single question. Amazingly the students thought they would get credit if they just wrote something in the answer slots. Amazing. Apparently some teachers do that so often the students expect it as the norm and were genuinely surprised by their grades and the feedback. They could not believe I read, scored, and responded to every single question for every single student. Once I realized they were not used to teachers carefully reading and grading, I intentionally went overboard in providing feedback. I plan to do this intensively for a bit here – as long as I can practically keep it up – until I have them well trained. I can understand having some completion grades, but these guys make it seem as if that was all they ever had for “practice” category work. Unreal.

You can find the PPT and student documents at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/American-Literature-Common-Core-Workshop-Reading-Info-Text-and-Writing-Task-844323

Interestingly, I found where someone has posted the Introduction for free on scribed. You may access that file at http://www.scribd.com/doc/95184410/American-Bible-Intro-Excerpt.

And with that, it was time to begin the textbook selections.

Welcome to Module 1: Early America to 1800.

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