JamesE.BazzellMiddle School
Learning Experiences Organizer
Teacher: Long and Jackson Subject: Language Arts / Dates: 4 weeks – “No Bullies Allowed” Unit 1Hook: / How will you introduce the unit to generate curiosity & excitement and connect to prior knowledge?
What would our world be like without bullies?
Formative Assessments / Week 1
Pre assessment / Exit Slip / Exit slip
Day 1 / Target # 1 / Day 2 / Target # 4 - I can determine the theme or central idea of a text / Day 3 / Target # 4 - I can determine the theme or central idea of a text / Day 4 / Target # 6 – I can summarize without including my opinion. / Day 5 / Target #1 – I can infer. 2. I can find evidence to prove my inference. 3. I can cite that evidence.
Bell Ringer – Flip chart #1
Background info. Students answer questions about their experiences with a bully.
Introduce Essential Question – What is the impact of bullying?
Hand out Learning Targets for “No Bullies Allowed” unit and discuss each part with students.
HW – Title page for our unit “No Bullies Allowed.” Criteria – 1. Must have title on page 2.-Must have color 3. – Either opinions on bullies or illustrate / Bell Ringer - 1. Have you ever known that someone was upset with you even if they didn’t tell you? Explain how you knew. (Class discussion on “inference.”) 2. What was the theme or central idea of Goldilocks and the Three Bears? (Class discussion on theme/Central idea or main idea)
Classwork: Spider List – How do we figure things out without being told? (Infer) Possible answers:
1. How they look
2. Tone of their voice
3. What they say/don’t say
4. Body language
5. What they do/don’t do
Background on “The Red Shoes” – picture book about bullying. Book tells a story about how propaganda spreads and infects people’s minds.
View picture book. Stop at each page and infer what the page is showing.
Exit Slip – based on our inferences, what do you think the central idea of “The Red Shoes” is? / Bell Ringer – 1. Students review their exit slip from yesterday and make sure they still agree with what they said. 2. In pairs, look at theme and decide which one is best. Share in class about how most stories have multiple themes. 3. Move to groups of 4-5. Decide on best one and share out. Make a class list.
-Hand out “Thinking Strategies” and briefly discuss with students. Explain that there will be much more work on these in all classes.
-Annotating – holding your thinking on paper – having a conversation with the text. We annotate either in the margins of the text or on post its.
*Hand out “The Bully.” Gradual Release on annotating.
Each student gets 5 post its.
1. I model how to annotate a text. We are focusing on asking questions and making connections. I do one, and have them copy exactly what I do.
2. We read the next page and students call out what I should write as my question and connection.
3. Students work in pairs on the next page.
4. Students work independently. / Bell ringer - Review – What is the central idea or theme of “The Bully”?
Give One –Get One – students move around the room and find another them that they can add to their list.
Summary – Must include:
1. the main character’s name
2. the problem
3. the solution to the problem
NEVER put your opinion in a summary.
Give students a post it note and 4 minutes to summarize the story in pairs. Take volunteers and then choose as a class which one is the best.
Exit slip: 1. What does theme mean?
2. What are the criteria for a summary? / Bell Ringer – Contrast - How is a summary different than a theme, central Idea or main idea?
Which one does not belong? Explain why. –the main character
-your opinion about the story
- the conflict in the story
-how the conflict is resolved
Practice on Targets 1-3
Gradual Release - step one
1. Write down your inference
(Jason is afraid of the bully.)
2. Find evidence and cite it. (Cite means – write it down) On page 3, Jason is hiding in the bushes so the bully won’t see him.
3. Explain why what you cited proves your inference.
(The fact that Jason is hiding from the bully proves that he is afraid of him. If he were not afraid of him he wouldn’t be hiding from him.
Gradual Release step 2 – Class works together. Inference – Jason’s teacher is worried about him.
Gradual Release step 3 – Work in pairs - I predict that the bully will stop bothering Jason at the end of the story.
Step 4 – Individual - Jason feels horrible when the bully is bothering him.
Formative Assessments / Week 2
Day 6
Targets 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 / Target #1 – I can infer. 2. I can find evidence to prove my inference. 3. I can cite that evidence.
# 4 - I can determine the theme or central idea of a text. 6 – I can summarize without including my opinion. / Day 7
Targets 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 / Target #1 – I can infer. 2. I can find evidence to prove my inference. 3. I can cite that evidence.
# 4 - I can determine the theme or central idea of a text. 6 – I can summarize without including my opinion. / Day 8 / Targets 1, 2, 3,
4, 6 / Day 9
Target – 7 & 9 / Target #7 I can figure out the meaning of unknown words or phrases and use context clues or a dictionary todetermine meaning. Target #9 – I can use reference materials to find the pronunciation, meaning of a word, or its part of speech. / Day 10
Target - 8 / Target #8 – I can use Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to make word meaning.
Bell Ringer – Vocabulary Notebook:
Theme or central idea, infer, annotate, summary
Handout – “Don’t Laugh at Me” – Mark Wills and “The Incident” – poem. Students watch You Tube video and annotate in margins. Focus on asking questions, making connections, and reacting to the text.
1. Students determine the theme or central idea of the text. Share in groups. Create a class list of possible themes.
Read “ Incident” – Students annotate – focusing on inferring.
1. Release – step 3 – work in pairs - Infer – Countee’ Cullen was very excited when he first got to Baltimore. Students cite evidence and explain.
3. Step 4 – Individual Work
Inference - When Countee Cullen was called a racial name, it ruined his trip to Baltimore.
4. Students summarize the poem “Incident”
5. Students determine the theme or central idea of “Incident.” / Bell Ringer -
The Golden Rule – Students read information from several religions that all point to the golden rule and identify what is common with all of them.
Students discuss in groups: Is there a difference in what we say and what we practice?
Class work in pairs:
Shaq – in text book
“A Good Reason to Look Up”
1. Find proof that Shaq’s parents did not approve of his jokes. Cite it.
2. What is the theme?
3. Summarize.
Icy Hot - Oxymoron
Hand out pretest. Students add new answers to targets 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6.
Any students who have not mastered these concepts, need to work in a reteaching group tomorrow. / Pause Day – I will work with students who are struggling with targets.
.
Students research school shootings and the link to bullying.
Paducah
Create either a power point or flipchart to share with the class. / Bell Ringer – Students respond to this prompt. Bullying is just a normal part of growing up.
Give one –Get one – students circulate and collect two more ideas.
Enrichment groups present their projects and findings from research.
Vocabulary Notebook - context – the words around a given word in a text.
Students will be reviewed on the parts of a dictionary definition: pronunciation guide, part of speech, definitions, and country of origin.
Remind students about guide words.
Complete the dictionary page as a class.
Read the article “Some facts about bullying.” Have students to annotate article as it is read. Focus – connections and inferences.
Use gradual release to show students how to fill in the chart on the right side of the page.
Assign students to work with a partner on the next word, then complete the rest individually.
At the end of class, regroup students. Have them discuss at least one fact that they learned today from reading the article. / Bell Ringer - Vocabulary Notebook – root, affix
root – the main part of a word
ex. invisible – root is vis - comes from Latin – video – which means to see.
affix – one or more letters attached to the beginning or ending of a word that change the meaning of it.
Prefix – beginning of word
in – means not, Suffix – end of word, ible – means capable of
Put them all together to get invisible – “not capable of being seen”
Glue in charts.
Class work:
Greek/Latin Roots and Affixes
Students determine meanings of words using the Greek and Latin roots and affixes.
Exit Slip – Explain how knowing the meanings of some Greek/Latin Roots and commonly used affixes can help you figure out what words mean.
Formative Assessments / Week 3
Day 11
Target # 10 / Target # 10 – I can show understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances. / Day 12
Target # 5 / Target # 5 – I can explain how the author develops the theme in the text. / Day 13
Target #8 / Target # 5 – I can explain how the author develops the theme in the text. / Day 14
Target #10 / Target # 10 – I can show understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances. / Day 15
Target #10 / Target # 10 – I can show understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances.
Bell Ringer – Vocabulary Notebook – add connotation and denotation to your vocabulary notebook.
Which would you NOT want to be called?
a. intelligent b. bright
c. smart d. sly
Which would you want to be called?
a. stubborn b. inflexible
c. determined d. willful
Look again at “Incident” and “Don’t Laugh at me.” Have students pick out words that have a negative or positive connotation.
Thesaurus – find synonyms for these words and discuss which ones have a negative or positive connotation.
dead person small house
policeman bully
Homework - pg 235-237 Crosswalk Coach Annotate text and answer the questions that follow. Students predict what they think the theme might be.
. / Bell Ringer - TE – Three Way Tie: Theme , Summary, Inference
Handout: How authors develop themes: 1. They may choose specific title that helps make us understand the theme. 2. They may create situations where certain things happen to the characters to develop the theme. 3. There may be recurring images, events, or objects.
4. Setting often helps develop the theme. 5. Repetition of actions, words, etc. All of these work together to help you determine the theme.
Handout – What a Bully Looks Like
examine picture – discuss the picture versus what we commonly think a bully looks like. Why would the author choose this picture? Could this be a clue to the theme? Follow Reciprocal Reading Model to read article. Model for students what this is like: Use poster on wall to guide. Students annotate and discuss each chunk of text.
At the end, discuss the theme and what the author did to develop the theme.
Class discussion at the end.
Exit slip – What I’m taking away from this article is …….. / Bell Ringer – Fist List – Look at your notes from yesterday and create a fist list of how authors develop themes.
Read – “Is Facebook Making You Mean?”
Annotate in margins: Focus: Watching for how the author is leading us to the theme. (Look at chart of how authors develop themes.)
Model annotating in the margins Reciprocal Reading . Students work in pairs. Chunk text, read, annotate, and discuss.
Determine theme at the end. Also explain how the author led us to the theme.
TE –4-2-1 – Free Write
Students list the four big ideas from class today. Get with partner and narrow down to two. Groups of 4 narrow down to one. Free write on that one. – everything they know. / Bell Ringer – Metaphors – How is bullying like a robbery?
In groups, students come up with other metaphors for bullying.
-Vocabulary Notebook
simile, metaphor, imagery, personification, idiom, allusion
Simile – a direct comparison of two unlike things using like or as
ex. The detective was like a bloodhound after his prey. Roy is as huggable as a teddy bear.
Metaphor – comparison of two unlike things by saying that one is the other. ex. The cat’s eyes were two sparkling green jewels.
Imagery – language that appeals to our five senses ex. David poured the thick, sweet syrup over the steaming stack of buttery pancakes.
Personification – giving an animal, object or abstract idea human qualities. ex. Your plants are begging for water. Time can be your enemy or your friend.
Idiom – when a group of words have a different meaning than their individual words ex. Don’t spill the beans about our party
Allusion – indirect reference to a well known person, place, event, or object in history.
1. literary allusion. He is like Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde.
2. biblical allusion – After the fight Frank stood tall like David over Goliath.
3. mythological allusion – He thinks he’s Zeus, but he’s not.
-Read Chapter six of The Skin I’m In.
Students look for examples of figurative language and create a chart that shows the example and what the author wanted us to understand.
Example / Figurative
Language / What it means
sucking my lips off / Idiom / really kissing
slap her off of me “like a bug” / simile / She’s really
annoying
Maleeka.
/ Bell Ringer – Identify each one of these based on Figurative Language definitions from yesterday.
1. Julie was an angry tornado when she saw her messy room.
2. Her legs took her across the stage against her will.
3. Jeffrey quickly slurped the melting chocolate ice cream as it ran down his ice cream cone.
4. You may as well do what you’re told now, or you end up just like Jonah in the whale.
5. So now you think you’re a Huck Finn and don’t have to go to school?
6. Oh my. Aphrodite has put a spell on those two love birds.
7. My arms were like jello when I tried to lift the heavy tire.
8. We cheered when Lisa hit a grand slam.
Share figurative language examples from Chapter six and discuss their impact on the story.
Spider List – students create a spider list identifying 8 examples of figurative language from chapter 7. Phrase goes on top of the spider leg, and what it is goes below the leg.
Pause Quiz on Targets 5, 7, 8, 9, 10
Students redo their pretest on those targets.
Formative Assessments / Week 4
Day 16 / Pause Day / Day 17 / Day 18 / Day 19 / Day 20 / Test
Pause Day – I will work with students who are struggling with targets.
Enrichment group - work on a various projects about bullying
Choices:
1. Create a cartoon with at least 8 scenes and 3-4 characters.
2. Create a children’s story in which the theme is not to bully others.
3. Create a manual for parents on how to detect when their child is being bullied.
4. Write a poem about bullying. / Bell Ringer – Now that we’re almost through with our unit – what information do you think is most important to remember? What do teachers and adults need to remember? Give One –Get One
Students share their projects from Pause Day.
Watch portions of Dr. Phil tape from June, 2011 in which he discusses bullying in America.
Students are completing a double entry journal in which they are watching for facts, and then responding to those facts. / Bell Ringer – So What – Our BIG question from this unit – What is the Impact of Bullying?
Students work in writing section of their notebook to answer this question. They must include at least one inference and cite evidence from work we’ve done in this unit to back up their inference. / Team Game Tournament
Students are divided into teams and compete in teams using vocabulary cards from our “No Bullying Allowed” Unit. / Students will take a test on Targets covered in this unit.
1. Multiple Choice
2. Short Answer
3. Open Response