Learning Letter

Dear Sean,

This course has been one of the more challenging courses I’ve participated in, during my time here at eastern. The workload was heavy, but the payoff came naturally. As we discussed complex texts, like pedagogy of the oppressed, the hard work that went into reading and comprehending the texts yielded some great and useful discussion that was tied into application in the real-world classroom. So I would say that the work my peers and I put in was worth it. The book talk assignment was useful in getting exposure from my peers to a variety of classroom intended texts. I enjoyed getting to share my thoughts about Fahrenheit 451 (we are a classroom of passionate readers after all). The mini lesson was something I was able to improve upon, but I ended up having less time that I thought, so I had to adapt and end the lesson early. The point I gather is that adaptation never stops in the classroom. Finally, the unit plan, which was a battle. It took a lot of serious effort on my part, and I still feel like I could’ve done much better. The unit plan was what everything prior seemed to connect to. I am proud of the work I did, but, being honest, having completed it shows me that I can do much more than what I turned in. I could explore less conventional methods. I could teach contemporary music as literature. And so on.

The theories and concepts we explored in our readings and discussions were eye opening, as they got me thinking critically about certain principles in the classroom. Discussing certain ideas of censorship, pedagogy’s of access and dissent, and other class practices gave me the language and voice for these ideas where once were only ideas and thoughts. Now I feel more informed about what I believe and why, and the implication of that in the classroom.

I find that my participation in the discussions, lessons, and activities of this course to have influenced my perception of myself as a teacher. I feel more apt and ready for teaching after the matter, and having started my student teaching, I find the research we looked at, the texts we shared, and the focus of my unit plan already having an impact of my role as a teacher here. This time I had more focus, I had my priorities better aligned to what I want to achieve here at eastern, towards the career I want to have as a teacher. Thank you, Sean, for your support in my education. Sincerely,

Justin Mitchell

Mini Lesson Plan

Poe Lesson Plan

1. Teacher Candidate	Justin Mitchell	Date Taught	3/01/17
Mentor Teacher	Stephanie Agnew	School/District	West Valley City School
2. Subject	English	Field Supervisor	Patricia Garrard
3. Lesson Title/Focus	Plot of Amontillado	5. Length of Lesson	30
4. Grade Level	5-8

6. Academic & Content Standards (Common Core/National)	CCSS RL.6.3 Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
7. Learning Objective(s)	I understand the plot diagram and the different parts of a plot that make up a story, as well as how the characters respond to the plot development. This connects to CCSS in that students are asked to examine the story’s plot and how the characters respond as the lot unfolds.
8. Academic Language demands (vocabulary, function, syntax, discourse)	Vocabulary- Exposition, Conflict, Rising action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution Function- Students, after seeing the examples of the story’s exposition and conflict, will work together in groups to find the story’s rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Syntax- Discourse-

9. Assessment

Students will work in groups on a handout, examining a specific plot component of the story, which connects to the standard and CSSS in that it will demonstrate their understanding of the plot diagram and the different parts of a plot. Students will also write and turn in an exit slip where they will write two to three sentences examining a specific part in the plot where character change occurs. This  exit slip connects to the learning objective and CCSS in that it demonstrates their understanding of how the character responds to the plot development.

10. Lesson Connections

This builds off of previous literature lessons, as wells as a lesson about plot, and connects to a work of fiction. Students have already seen the plot diagram, but have not connected it to character response. This lesson connects to a unit on romanticism, more specifically in the sub-category of dark romanticism.

11. Instructional Strategies/Learning Tasks to Support Learning
Teacher’s role (0:00) Welcome class and introduce todays lesson on plot in The Cask of Amontillado. Pass out the handout to the class. (1:00) Show the learning objective on the projector. Ask student to write it down on the back of their handout. Then ask for a student to reiterate the learning objective. Ask students to rate their understanding of the learning objective (1-5 fingers). (2:00) Introduce the YouTube clip they are about to watch and how it is a significant scene in the story. Play the clip. Then ask students to find the section in the books. Ask for a volunteer to read it outload. Instruct students to follow along. Then ask the students what is happening here, what feeling does the clip and the text evoke. (8:00) Then ask, “this is significant developing moment for the characters here, what change occurs in the characters?” (9:00) Explain how this fits into a specific section of the plot. Draw the plot diagram. Explain that we’ve talked on these before so I want you to now, in groups (four total), work on an assigned part of the plot. (12:00) Assign one part of the plot to each group. Show example from handout and instruct that students are to do the same with their plot section. (14:00) Give 10 minutes to do so, then refocus as a whole class and have each group share, while the other groups write it down on their papers. (24:00) Regroup the class and explain how, like in the video, the characters respond and change as the plot moves towards resolution. (25:00) Instruct that as an exit slip they are to write on their paper a moment, besides the video scene, where character change occurs and in what part of the plot that happens. Ask students to rate their understanding of the instructions (1-5 fingers). (29:00) Collect handout and dismiss class.	Students’ Role Collect handout. Write down learning objective. Read learning objective out loud. Discuss the clip and the text and the feeling that it represents. Consider and discuss  the character change represented in the clip and discuss that. Get into groups, four in total, ready to work on handout. Listen closely to instructions and observe the two examples. Work together with partners, still on individual handouts, to develop their plot part and what it signifies. Then share with the class what they found. Individually, write down a moment where a character develops in some significant way and the plot part that it takes place in. Turn in handout to be dismissed.
Student Voice to Gather Teacher will assess student understanding periodically via the finger test (1-5 fingers). Students will also share their thoughts and work from the handout with the whole class.

12. Differentiated Instruction

The handout has a visual for each section to give an idea of each plot component. There are verying ability levels among the students when it comes to literary analysis and understanding of plot components, shown from the previous lesson on plot. To help encourage every students success, students will work together in groups to foster mutual development of today’s topic.

13. Resources and Materials

I am using a comic type supplement that I discovered here: http://www.storyboardthat.com/storyboards/rebeccaray/plot---cask-of-amontillado I am using a video from youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoUPJId_AWk (11:00-13:00)

14. Management and Safety Issues

The comic could be distracting so I intend to keep the class focused by directing the attention to group work and class discussion. During whole class time I will focus on whole class management to keep the lesson focused. During group work I will anticipate group autonomy to keep on task, but I will work around the room checking in on groups to encourage productivity.

15. Parent & Community Connections

This lesson connects to a series culturally relevant works designed to give students a sense of the America 19th century to present. Parents are informed of the works in the unit via newsletter.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Sherman Alexie writes this first person novel about a Native American student that goes to an all white school off the reservation. This book is a great work of fiction for young adults as it deals with interracial issues in a school setting. This book includes elements of Alexie’s personal life growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. I imagine that Alexie did definitely draw from his own personal experience when developing the character of Junior. Alexie had to have had some transitions from growing up on an Indian Reservation to now living in Seattle WA.

The book also touches on subjects other than interracial relations. This book also touches on alcohol, poverty, bullying, violence, and sexuality. There are also tragic deaths of characters and swearing surrounding homosexuality and mental disorder. This book is banned for these reasons in some schools. I personally see this book as a great opportunity for students to get exposure to interracial issues, cultural identity, and a perspective outside of their own. I wouldn’t want to see this book banned, rather celebrated for such ideas.

The Graphic Cannon

I prefer the original version of a text, therefore I would never use the graphic cannon as a replacement, rather only as a supplemental text to help students see the work in a new and approachable way. The graphic cannon does feature a mixed media representation of many different texts, and they are done well. I really enjoy some of the art in the cannon and find it to be very well done. I could potentially see myself using this with future students to help demonstrate a works relevance, should other means using the primary text be not as successful.

Fahrenheit 451 Book Talk

Description: Fahrenheit 451 takes place in a dystopian future where books are banned. The main character is Guy Montag, a firefighter in which the profession is dedicated not to putting out fires, but destroying books. He and his co-firefighters get a call whenever someone is caught harboring books. It is there that Guy and the firefighters burn all the books being harbored, even burning the criminal if they resist. Otherwise, the criminal is arrested.

Guy is married to Mildred who is infatuated with their televisions, which are the size of the entire wall. She even has a television “family” that she watches and sometimes “interacts” with, capable due to technology. They both seem happy, as well as the entirety of the society shown here, but there are underlining things that heavily question this. Mildred at the beginning of the story actually attempts suicide by taking too many pills, and Montag finds her and calls the “emergency hospital” which sends a team of two who arrive with a machine that sucks all of her blood out, removes the poison and replaces the blood back into her body. She is out for a while, but reawakes and continues on with life ignoring the event entirely. In this society there is a superficial happiness that many belong too. This is made more evident when Montag meets Clarisse.

Clarisse introduces a new perspective of the world to Montag. She shows him for the first time the joy of simple natural things like catching raindrops in your mouth, and smelling the fresh air and flowers. This awoke in montage something that would radicalize montage completely. Montag began to see the brokenness in the society he lived in, how nobody else cared about such natural things in the world, the beauty in things real. Rather, everyone was consuming television and ignoring their depression and drug overdose’s with television families and feigned interest in social gatherings.

Books are illegal, free thought is limited, and people are complacently comfortable in some false sense of reality. Montag, after meeting Clarisse, begins to change. He encounters books in a different way. He sets to burn one, as is his duty, and ends up pocketing it. He reads it and see’s some of the same beauty that Clarisse showed him. This change in Montag propels him to seek out books and eventually become a criminal himself.

Rationale: I chose this text because I find it to be culturally relevant, considering our society’s own technological dependency, where some degree of social value and perception is held to ones success in social media platforms, i.e. facebook, instagram, snapchat. While our society is much different from that in Fahrenheit 451, there are some similarities to be made, and I think getting students to make those connections is very valuable in preserving Bradbury’s original intent for the work as a warning to our very own society.

I first read this book in school in 10^th grade which seems like an appropriate grade level for this book. However, I also worked with my first mentor teacher when this book was being taught to the 8^th graders. It seemed like a challenge to the students, but I saw evidence of their comprehension, and it was encouraging. I worked with a small group of students who needed some extra help and we read it and discussed it together. The students overall comprehension and critical thought of the book and its ideas were very good.

Teaching Ideas:

1. Have students read on their own and work in groups to discuss each section. Read with students who may be struggling.

            2. Assess their comprehension every 50 pages or so, to make sure they understand pivotal information.

            3. Pose questions that get the class thinking about how this book relates with our society; i.e. how similar, how different. Don’t give it away; encourage the students thought development of the books message.

Obstacles: This book has some controversy surrounding it for some minor profanity and the banning/burning of the bible. It is banned in some schools. (I bet Bradbury wouldn’t mind).