Groupwork-Lesson+Plan+Genre+Study

The following activity will help you prepare to do a Unit Plan Genre Study (or a study of other genres with your own future students). In general, you'll look at several examples of the genre, derive characteristics you could use to make one, and develop criteria for what makes a good one. You'll also decide which one(s) you like the best, and why, thereby considering your own beliefs about ELA teaching.

Questions 1&2: Choose examples of the genre. Why did you choose these plans? (to facilitate our practice, I've chosen three plans from different sources) //Read, Write, Think// - NCTE's online database of resources for teachers includes lesson plans. [|An Exploration of //The Crucible// through Seventeenth-Century Portraits]

Awesome Library - An online database of ELA lessons and resources compiled by Dr. R. Jerry Adams [|The Junk Mail Explosion: Why You Buy and How Ads Persuade]

Media Awareness Network - Canadian online database devoted to ELA resources associated with critical thinking about media [|Hurricane Katrina and the "Two Photo" Controversy]

I chose these plans because they come from three different sources, address different grade levels, and include both classical and popular texts. However, all three similarly appeal to something familiar to students in order to teach required curriculum.

Question 3: Which do you like the best, and why? Crucible because it was structured like a lesson plan (not the third one because it didn't include lesson plan parts)

Question 4: What would you change or add, and why? (too much technology; how to assess student learning?; time management)

Questions 5-7: What structural characteristics do the plans have in common? How are they different? Why do you think this is? What are some criteria we could use to evaluate lesson plans? Good lesson plan: Organized (introduction/conclusion activities); Understandable for teacher/students know what's expected; Rationale; Standards; Specifications (target grade level, etc.); Resources; Technology; Diversity; Assessment linked to instruction (alignment); Objectives; Plan for flexibility

Bad lesson plan: Too much detail; No diversity (e.g., one learning style); Unproportioned grading scale; Not practical (time/equipment management); Assessment doesn't match instruction; Has to have lesson plan parts (purpose, point, goals).

Questions 8-10: What attitudes toward ELA teaching do the plans imply? How do these attitudes compare? Do you agree/disagree? Diversity Technology Equity

At the end of this, we should have a set of criteria for creating and evaluating lesson plans which you can use to create your own for our collaborative unit and your individual unit plans. You should also have a clearer idea about what's important to you as you create a lesson or decide whether to use someone else's.