In Planning the Sequence of Activities, Consider the Following: What Is My Engagement Strategy?
April 22, 2007
Jeff Tibbetts
Unit Goals: NA
Daily Objectives: The students will create bookmarks to use during their reading, helping them to organize the text and make connections between the characters and events of the play.
Materials Needed (Handouts – Supplies – Equipment): Copies of Julius Caesar for the students. Bookmarks with homework page numbers and a tentative schedule for the unit, and blank sections to be filled in by the students as they read.
In planning the sequence of activities, consider the following: What is my engagement strategy? Is modeling present? Have I included time for guided practice? What about homework?
Activities/Allotted TimeWhat are students doing? What am I doing? How long do I anticipate it will take?
12:00 – 12:15: I will hand out the bookmarks and briefly explain them to the students. I will then show them a few examples from previous classes and pass them around the class for closer inspection.
12:15- 12:30: I will allow the students to fill out any sections that they already know a little about, and decorate the bookmarks to add a little personality to them. They can also use this time to look at the schedule for readings.
12:30 – 12:55: We will begin our readers’ theatre for the day, and I will stop periodically to model how I might add one or two things to my own bookmark, such as troublesome language or character details. We will continue reading and recording on the bookmarks for the remainder of class. / Objectives
What is the purpose of this activity? Why are we doing this? How does it support the lesson?
The idea behind the bookmark is threefold: on the one hand it acts as a schedule and a reminder for the homework, which is important in a play because the reading may stop halfway through a page in a strange spot, so I can be specific about the actual line that I want them to read through. On the other hand, it is a place where students can both organize their own thoughts and reading of the text, as well as record troubling sections or difficult vocabulary words. Shakespearian language can be difficult for readers at any level, so having something that’s always with them when they read gives them a one-stop solution to keeping their questions and responses handy.
These bookmarks are theirs, and I want the students to personalize them so they feel a sense of ownership, and are less likely to lose them. The students can also use this time to start filling them out, which should make some of them feel like they’ve accomplished something already, and give them confidence to tackle the text.
I want to model how I use the bookmark, to show them that experienced readers periodically stop themselves to ask questions and clarify/organize their thoughts. In a dramatic text, knowing which lines are attributed to which character can make the difference between total confusion and understanding, so it’s essential that they get to know these characters as much as possible even early on. Reader’s theatre may not always be the most exciting or original way to read Shakespeare, but for this assignment the focus is on getting the students to start using their bookmarks, not dramatic reading (although we’ll be getting there soon enough). / Assessments
How do I know that I am meeting my goals? How do I know that students are learning? How will I check for understanding?
I will be watching to see who is actually looking at the example bookmarks and who is simply passing them. I will also be checking their engagement while I introduce these tools.
As I move around the room, I will be paying attention to how thoroughly the students are inspecting and/or filling out their bookmarks. I will offer encouragement to students who are less engaged or seem confused.
I will make sure that those who are not reading are following along in their own book, which is important for those who have some trouble pronouncing some of the more archaic and unusual words, as well as showing respect for and solidarity with those brave enough to read the parts.
Differentiation This activity is a scaffolding assignment that scales with the student’s ability level. Those who are prepared to deeply analyze the text and characters are free to do so, while others may find that more surface-level or concrete details help them more. In either case, the bookmarks are a personal way to organize, so those who enjoy using imagery as opposed to text are free to do so, as long as it makes sense to them. The reading portion may be the most difficult for some students, but the readers’ theatre format (where the students volunteer to read) will give those who are less comfortable a chance to see how someone else does it first and read long while the words are read.
Reflection. Answer the following after preparing the lesson: What was the most difficult part of planning this lesson? What part are you most proud of? Most unsure of? What are you learning about yourself as a planner? Answer the following after teaching the lesson: How did the lesson go? What worked? What would I rethink next time? What did I learn from this lesson?