Title: Relating to Teresita: Superpower Partner Project

Katherine Mijal

CI 403-Professor Willis

Final Unit Lesson Plan A #4-Thursday, February 16, 2012

Title: Relating to Teresita: Superpower Partner Project

Time: 50 minutes

Setting:

This unit is being taught in a classroom in a western suburb of Chicago. The demographics of the entire school district are represented in the classroom, as 90% are Caucasian, 1% is African American, 4% are Hispanic, and 6% are Asian. The class is titled "Honors Advanced Composition: Multicultural Learning." Upon entering senior year, students were provided with a decision between various English classes; while this course requires a lot of reading and hard work, the students voluntarily chose to enroll. There are twenty five students in the English classroom, with thirteen females and twelve males. Two students are African American, three are Hispanic, three are Middle Eastern, and four are Asian. The remaining fourteen students are Caucasian. The students exhibit average, to above average intelligence and most have a strong work ethic. The majority of the students are higher-middle class. Within the classroom setting, the various Englishes that are seen include African American Vernacular, Standard English, Mandarin, and Spanish. When it comes to students with special needs, one has Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder and occasionally exhibits behavioral problems. In terms of the classroom, the desks are set up like tables in groups of four desks each. The chalkboard, overhead projector and computer are at the front of the room and the teacher’s desk is at the back of the classroom.

Theory into Practice Background:

For this lesson plan, I utilized Burke’s ideas on implementing creativity in the classroom. The lesson plan allows the students to use their creative sides in an activity that also involves collaboration and connecting them to the protagonist. “We sometimes resist the value and importance of fun, too often feeling insulted by the idea that we should be providing “edutainment,” competing with Hollywood or the Internet for students’ attention. But “creativity is inherently joyful, challenging and absorbing. It introduces laughter into what would otherwise be tedium. It engages attention and imagination and, when skillfully facilitated, it enhances communication”” (Caine and Caine 1994) (Burke, 7). I think that the way that I added the activity to the unit’s curriculum achieved what Burke and Caine reference to above. We want students to enjoy the learning process and understand that although some of the work may be tedious or grueling, there are also opportunities in the classroom for fun learning. This is one of those situations.

When thinking about language for my lesson, I began reflecting on the different socioeconomic levels of the students in my classroom. Since I created an assignment sheet and rubric for this lesson plan, I wanted something that would send a clear message to all my students. In “Pathologizing the Language and Culture of Poor Children,” Dudley-Marling writes“To succeed in school, children must learn the formal language of schooling. There is little to be gained, however,by pathologizing the language and culture of children living in poverty” (Dudley-Marling, 368). I think that while students must understand Standard English to succeed in the classroom, they also want to feel comfortable with the words being used. Because of this, I tried to make my assignment sheet easy to understand by bolding important words and using informal English that will make for easier reading. Hopefully, all of the students including the ELL ones will have no trouble grasping the assignment.

Objectives:

1. Students will further enhance their understanding of The Hummingbird’s Daughter by writing about literacy in the novel and how this is displayed in Teresita, Huila, and Gabriela.
2. Students will collaborate with another classmate to create a superpower and together, figure out a training plan.
3. Students will utilize their creativity when designing the superpower assignment and it will remind them of what Teresita is experiencing in the novel.

Background:

The students are currently working within a nine week unit; the major text is The Hummingbird’s Daughter and isaccompanied by the supplementary text, The House on Mango Street. Students are beginning the third week of the unit and have read approximately 200 pages of the 500 page novel, The Hummingbird’s Daughter. Not only is this unit reading heavy, there is major use of literature circles and small projects. The class has had the opportunity to research the Mexican Revolution and experience Mexican foods during a film day the first week. They spent a large portion of the previous week working on vocabulary and code meshing. This is relevant to the novel since many Spanish words are interspersed throughout the text. Earlier in the week, the students created Glogsters in their literature circles and presented them to the class. Theyalso began reading the supplementary text to the unit which isThe House on Mango Street. Today they will return to The Hummingbird’s Daughterand do partner work on a superpower project.

Materials:

-25 copies of The Hummingbird’s Daughter

-25 copies of the superpower project assignment sheet and rubric

-Chalkboard

-Each student needs a writing utensil and notebook

-Computer in class with projector to show large screen

-Wireless Internet connection

Preparation:

The room needs to contain 25 desks to seat each student and the desks need to be clustered into five groups of four desks and one group of five desks. Students need to be able to move the desks around so that they can work with their partner to complete the assignment. Students must be sure to bring their copies of The Hummingbird’s Daughter to class.The teacher needs to have the prompt for the free write prepared as well as the assignment sheet and rubric for the superpower assignment.

Procedure:

1. The teacher opens the class and explains the itinerary for the day. Students will spend the beginning of class doing a free write on the reading from the night before and then will spend the rest of the hour working on a superpower partner project. (3 minutes)
2. Students will be given the following prompt: “Teresita has now learned to write all the letters of her name. At first, Huila is angry about this but then asks to keep the letter, ‘H’ and seems to regret never having learned to read herself. We also learn that Gabriela has been away at school studying and her father says, “These are modern days. Women attend college.” Author Luis Alberto Urrea is introducing female literacy into his novel. How do the males respond to this? How does this cause Teresita and Gabriela to be viewed by The People? Do you think their education will progress as the novel continues?” The prompt will be posted on the board and students will be asked to write for the entirety of the time given. (10 minutes)
3. The teacher will collect the free writes and call on students randomly to share what they wrote about. This is an opportunity to call on students who do not participate as often. They should not be scared because they know the topic and know that they have already produced something regarding it. (6 minutes)
4. The teacher will explain that students will be spending the rest of the hour working with a partner on a small superpower project. The teacher will give each student a handout of both the assignment and the rubric (attached) and tell students they may choose whom they work with. Since there are 25 students, one group of three is allowed; preferably one of these students is an ELL student. (3 minutes)
5. Students work on the superpower project with their partner and the teacher circulates the room to ask questions and ensure students are working. (25 minutes)
6. The teacher closes the class by announcing that these are due tomorrow and they will be given a few minutes at the beginning of the hour to finish up. Homework for the night is to read Chapters 27-29 in The Hummingbird’s Daughter. (3 minutes)

Discussion Ideas:

1. What do you make of Don Tomás’ decision to tell Loreto that Buenaventura is his illegitimate son? Do you think he regrets this decision? What does this say about his morality and his logic in telling her? Is it for the right reasons?
2. Make a prediction about what will happen between Don Tomás and Gabriela in Chapter 27. If something does happen, how will this affect Teresita?
3. Do you believe that Tersita is actually a healer? If she does have this gift, can she be trained or is it all inherent?

Special Ed Accommodations:

This lesson may prove to be difficult for the student with ADHD because there is partner work and so the student is accountable to just one other student. To ensure that this student stays on task, the teacher can monitor this pair more closely than the others. The teacher will stand in close proximity to this student during the superpower activity so that the student is more likely to pay attention and not be a distraction. The teacher will also monitor the student’s behavior and pull the student aside if any problems seem to be arising. The student can receive a handout of the free write prompt and will be receiving a hard copy of the assignment sheet like the other students will.

Bilingual/ESL Accommodations:

There are many points in the lesson where there is opportunity to check for understanding. The ELL students will also be given a hard copy of the free write question with the question translated underneath it in either Mandarin or Spanish.The teacher can help these students translate words on the superpower assignment sheet and rubric. The ELL students will be allowed to include pictures with their superpower assignment as another means of expressing themselves. The ELL students are always welcome to meet with the teacher and go over difficult vocabulary or meaning in advance. Students are free to take notes in any language they wish as well as to speak parts of broken or informal English in the classroom. For formal writing assignments, the ELL students may have extended deadlines if they wish to write papers in their native language and then translate them into English.

Assessment:

The initial assessment that occurs is the free write. The teacher administers this so that she/he can learn whether or not the students are both keeping up with the reading and understanding the content and larger themes that are prevalent in the text. This is just to be done for completion points and to guide the teacher in student understanding. Therefore, the teacher will read through the free writes and give the students 5 points for completion. If a student is absent, then the student will have one night to write the response and receive full credit. The larger assessment comes in the form of the superpower project which will be due at the beginning of class the following day. The rubric is attached and the project is worth 16 points. The teacher will circulate the room during the partner work to make sure students are staying on task and contributing equally. This will be the teacher’s way of informal assessing through observation.

Extension Ideas:

A practical way to extend this lesson is to add more parameters to the project. Students could include a more detailed plan of training and could add in materials that may be used for training. They could add and describe other mentors that could prove to be helpful in the training process. The pairs could also collaborate with another pair to discuss what they have created and see if there is any cohesion between the two. Groups, who choose the same superpower could gather together, discuss ideas and present a final consensus to the class. Another way to extend the lesson would be to have students write a reflection on the assignment and comment on what they learned from doing this. Students also could write a letter to Teresita regarding her training and how prepared she now feels to help The People.

Source of Activity:

While I designed this lesson plan on my own, I was given Luis Alberto Urrea’sThe Hummingbird’s Daughter as the primary text for the unit. I came up with the superpower idea with the aid of Chelsea Hale and we decided it was a fun way for students to connect an experience that Teresita is having with their own lives. I utilized class instruction that I have learned from both Professor Mark Dressman and Professor Arlene Willis.

Resources and References:

Burke, Jim. The English Teacher's Companion: a Complete Guide to Classroom, Curriculum, and the Profession. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008. Print.

Daniels, Harvey. Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in Book Clubs and Reading Groups. Portland, ME: Stenhouse, 2002. Print.

Dudley-Marling, Curt, and Krista Lucas. "Pathologizing the Language and Culture of Poor Children." Language Arts86., no.5 (2009): 362-70. Print.

Rubistar.com

Illinois State Standards:

B.5d Use verbal and nonverbal strategies to maintain communication and to resolve individual, group and workplace conflict (e.g., mediation skills, formal and informal bargaining skills).

The above standard is met by both the teacher and the students. The teacher will use the nonverbal strategy of proximity and circulation to assure that the pairs are working productively and not getting into any arguments or heated discussions. The teacher will also verbally speak to the students if they need assistance with an idea. The students will utilize these strategies as they work through the project and handle any conflict or disagreement that may arise. The teacher wants students to become more comfortable working with others since they will be a part of many group projects both in college and their future careers.

4.B.5a B. Speak effectively using language appropriate to the situation and audience.

This standard correlates with the one above it and is about knowing how to work in a group and how to address the teacher if questions do arise. Like I mentioned, as seniors in high school, it is important for them to fine tune their communication skills. The students have been involved in a lot of group work this past week, but working with just one other person will force them to participate more. They need to know what language to use to successfully convey their thoughts.

Reflection:

This is to be done by Professor Willis.

Partner Superpower Project

In Chapter 36, Huila brings Teresita to Manuelitobecause Teresita wishes to be a healer. Manuelito agrees to teach her herbs and plants but warns Teresita that it takes one and half lifetimes to be a hechiero. She is determined, though, and he spends the next two weeks sharing with her what he can.

With your partner, choose a superpower that the two of you have been born with. Examples may be invisibility, ability to fly, x-ray vision, or superhuman strength. Be creative and be specific. After choosing your superpower, each partner writes their own paragraph rationale on why they chose this superpower and what benefits it will bring to society. Assume that you have recently discovered your superpower and like Teresita, are being sent away to train under a mentor for two weeks. Together, you will map out your two week training with activities to focus on each day. You have weekends off and so you must provide me with ten days of training activities before you are prepared to use your superpower. These may be written in either paragraphs or bullet points.

The Rubric is attached but you will be rewarded for being creative

Example: Day 1 of Flying Training

Today the mentor decided to see how much flying we had been able to do on our own. He brought us to a large field where no one would be able to see us. After flying around for a few minutes on his own, the mentor asked my partner and me to do the same. We both jumped into the air and immediately fell to the ground. I tried to take a larger jump but this resulted in another fall. The mentor provided a trampoline for us to jump on in hopes that this would ignite our inherent flying abilities. After more failed attempts, he decided that we better do some reading on the art of flying before any more injuries occurred. The rest of the day was spent reading texts from other famous fliers such as Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.

Superpower Rubric

Student Names: ______
CATEGORY / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Focus on Topic (Content) / There is one clear, well-focused topic. Main idea stands out and is supported by detailed information. / Main idea is clear but the supporting information is general. / Main idea is somewhat clear but there is a need for more supporting information. / The main idea is not clear. There is a seemingly random collection of information.