william ste. marie educational portfolio2

Part 1 Ste. Marie 1

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Educational Portfolio

Planning, Learning, Reflecting

William Ste. Marie

Part 1 Ste. Marie 2

Table of Contents

1. Personal Statement

a. b. Reflection (English in the Classroom & Beyond

2. Knowledge of Community and Parental Outreach

3. Classroom Management Action Plan

4. Professional Development/ Reflections

a. Standard 9 (Professional Development/ Personal Metaphors)

5. Philosophy

a. Standard 1 (Constructivist Learning Theory, Problem Solving, and Transfer and

Understanding Student Differences)

b. Reflection (Reflecting on Foundations of Learning)

c. Standard 2 (Interdisciplinary unit plan)

6. Interdisciplinary Unit Plan

7. Non Fiction Forensics Unit Plan Teaching Project

Part 1 Ste. Marie 3

To whoever possesses this portfolio,

What you are holding is a body of work that was complied over my entire pedagogical education. These exhibits will

serve as a sort of time capsule and chronology that charts my progress as an up and coming teacher. The contents

herein are the foundations of my beliefs as a professional. I am dedicated to the cause of providing equal opportunities

for education that is both rigorous and engaging. I will do everything within my power to ensure that all students are

challenged to not only think critically, but to think metacognitivly. This will ensure that all students value their education

and garner real world skills from my instruction. I believe that self-efficacy is the gateway to success and that I must

facilitate an environment where students believe in their abilities as individuals. I know successful instruction is borne in

classrooms with positive environments and I will strive at all times to mirror these attributes in my classroom. I value

routines and structures as I know they are integral to student success and comfort in the classroom. Informed by my

educational coursework, I am bound to the belief that co-construction of information must be present in the classroom.

I will ensure that meaning is dispersed throughout the classroom and that all my students feel they are viable sources of

information. All students—including English as second learners and students with disabilities—must be provided a

quality education. It is my duty to assist these students in any way possible by collaborating with special education

teachers and paraprofessionals to implement their IEP’s. In short, I pledge to continually implement all elements of

successful practice held in this portfolio and adapt all instruction that feel short. Ultimately this portfolio exists as my

foundation for pedagogical knowledge, preferred practice and reflective dispositions.

Sincerely,

William Ste. Marie

Part 2 Ste. Marie 4

Knowledge of Community and Parental Outreach

INTASC 10: School/Community Involvement

Parent Coordinator: Mrs. Williams

So what is being done to establish family involvement in the school, does the school have any programs in

place?

Oh yes, all day. We are constantly communicating with parents. We have many academic pep rallies where we

invite parents to come and support their children as they receive awards for academic achievement. All the

events we do are geared towards parental participation. We invite parents to every event we do here. We have

our arts day where students hold performances for their parents and the larger community. We also have many

programs for home improvement and outreach. We want to make sure if the parents are having trouble

supporting for their child that we support the parents. We are constantly providing parents with resources. We

have a program to help f those formally incarcerated receive their GED. We have career workshops, and inform

parents of important government resources that may help them with their financial problems. We even have a

program for those who have little technology at home acquire computes. We assist parents with getting eye care

for their children as well. We have a company come and perform tests and administer eye glasses to the

students. It’s great, these glasses are great quality glasses, and what's really impressive is if they feel the student

needs to be further evaluated they'll refer the student to an eye doctor free of charge. We also help parents by

many parents express difficulty visiting and getting information on the high schools their students are interested

in. So we bring the schools to them by inviting representatives from different high schools to our school to

speak to the parents and students.

What about the larger community—what is being done to connect with and involve the outer community.

We do a lot of community outreach here. We have some of 7th

and 8th

graders help younger children to read in

many K-5 schools in our community. We also have healthy living Zumba classes that are open to the

community. We have many open house arts shows where we invite the outer community to watch our shows.

We have a big heritage day on thanksgiving where we give out food and celibate different heritages, we don't

call it thanksgiving but it happens on the day of Thanksgiving Day.

What are some barriers in communicating with parents? What is being done to address these obstacles?

The biggest thing about getting parents involved is for them to actually show up. A lot of the parents express

interest in their child's future and will speak on the phone, but when it comes time to actually attend a show, or a

PTA they may not show up. It use to be that food would be good enough incentive for the parents to show up

but now it doesn't always seem to work. It sounds funny, but you'd be surprised what a difference food makes.

Other barriers revolve around struggling parents. Many parents are afraid to admit that they have financial

problems and or trouble supporting their students and will avoid seeking help. We try to communicate that we

Part 2 Ste. Marie 5

have the resources; they just have to ask for it. We are not mind readers here. Some accommodations are made

for those parents who struggle financially and may be working too many jobs to show up as often as they may

like. Constant communication on the telephone and letters home help to keep them informed, but we still stress

that they need to show up whenever possible.

8th

grade Lead ELA teacher: Mrs. de Melo

What do you do to foster communication with your student's parents?

In the beginning of the year I established a weekly letter home to students' parents keeping them informed of

what they learned, how they have been performing and what will be expected of them for the upcoming week.

This worked out great especially for quality review, because when I was asked how often I communicated with

students I could honestly say every week. A few of my students' parents are directly involved with the school.

One of my student's mothers has a program that honors high academic achievement in the school with cool

incentives. I keep in touch with the parents through En Grade as well. Students and parents can email me

questions through Engrade, but I haven't gotten many emails. I think it’s really important to have parents

involved, and caring about their child’s progress.

7th

grade ELA teacher: Mr. Berry.


I think parental involvement is huge. Much of the order in my classroom has come with careful consideration of

individual students. I have worked hard to develop those individual relationships and winning the parents over

was a big part of that. I do a lot of positive phone calls home. I have fun with it sometimes and even have the

students script the phone call and I’ll recite whatever ridiculous praise they want. Sometimes it is difficult to

call home because many of the children at the school live in foster homes and may alternate guardians if moved.

I also worry at times that the students' parents may have a harsh reaction to negative phone calls home and

complicate the issue.

8th

grade Math teacher: Mr. Lewis.


I'd say I have built a relationship with just about every parent of my students this year. It’s been a big part of

what I do. I usually don't go about solving a problem without including the parents in the situation. I find out a

lot about what's going on with my kids through the parents. Usually many things can be traced back to the home

or if not the parent has some sort of idea of what's happening in school that I don't. I think it’s important to keep

the parents on board so that you have a team. Especially with math—it takes a lot of positive reinforcement the

kids definitely someone close to them in their corner.

Parental Involvement Plan

Step One

Part 2 Ste. Marie 6

Is to establish communications. I would like to adopt the weekly letter home informing parents what their

student learned and how they performed. On this letter would also be a place for parents to leave comments. I

would also like to utilize some sort of online communication which would partially depend on what program

the school is using e.g., Pupalpath, Engrade. I will also give out my email for parents who struggle using the

software

Step Two

Is to establish positive relations with parents and make sure they know their involvement is necessary and

valued. This will include meeting or speaking with parents proactively to predict possible challenges students

may face when learning new material. This will also include cooperating together with parents create

individualized goals for each student. This will also include giving positive phone calls home and informing

parents when students are meeting the goals we have identified.

Step Three

Is to sustain these positive relations by routinely celebrating a student’s success as well as monitoring their

struggles. Opportunities will be made available for students to publish their work by performing it in front of

parents and displaying it in the class room and hallways. Parents will be encouraged to make suggestions or

leave comments in homework assignments

Part 3 Ste. Marie 7

Part 3 Ste. Marie 8

Classroom Management Action Plan

I am Identifying Michael’s lack of respect towards other classmates as a classroom management problem

1. Michael’s lack of respect can be described as being very abrasive and rude to other students. Michael

refuses to work with many students and provides mostly negative feedback to his peers. He is quick to

point out other’s mistakes and becomes hostile when other students point out anything wrong he is

doing. Michael reacts very poorly to being chastised in any way by the teacher and his behavior must be

calmly addressed or he becomes enraged. Because of this, many students do not even want to sit

anywhere near Michael and have asked to move their seats.

Michael’s background is very troubled. He just recently came back from a lengthy suspension for

assaulting another classmate. Much of the school’s staff has reason to believe that he is gang affiliated

and his parents have been in and out of work. In order to devise a management strategy the

circumstantial evidence of gang relations and family problems must be validated by contacting parents

and perhaps obtaining police reports. It may also be beneficial to look up his academic performance in

ARIS to confirm whether his behavioral problems are linked to failures in school. It is also important to

collect records of his attendance to see how often he is at risk of being unsupervised or on the streets.

Many people will have to be involved to help create an effective intervention plan. The guidance

councilor can help provide Michael with some of the resources that he may need to deal with the

emotions that may lead him to his behavioral problems. The councilor may also collaborate with his

parents to figure out if his parents need help finding work or supervising Michael. The police may also

have to be involved. They may be able to provide Michael with programs that feature ex criminals

speaking out against crime.

2. In examining Michael’s behavioral problems, his issue falls under, “Domain 2, Component 2a: Creating an

Environment of Respect and Rapport” of Danielson’s Framework for Teaching rubric.” Michaels behavior

is particularly damaging to the classroom environment, as the rubric recognizes that, “as important as a

teacher’s treatment of students is, how students are treated by their classmates is arguably even more

important to students.” The rest of the class’s unwillingness to sit near Michael demonstrates the rubric’s

idea that, “poor treatment causes students to feel rejected by their peers.” Michael’s harsh feedback and

comments has resulted in a mutual rejection between him and his classmates. This is exactly in line with the

rubric’s identifying, “Some students refusing to work with other students,” as an example classroom

environment issue of Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport. The rubric rates the way I am

addressing the situation as “basic,” because, as a teacher I, “respond to disrespectful behavior among

students with uneven results.” And because my attempts to address Michael’s behavior can be described as,

“attempts to make connections with individual students, but student reactions indicate that the efforts are not

completely successful or are unusual.”

Part 3 Ste. Marie 9

What When Result

1. Identify at least one

student who shows

willingness to work

with Michael in group

work and pair them

together. Observe

Michael’s progress

working with partner

for at least 3 to 4 days.

2. Invite Michael to a

group advisory session

on providing effective

feedback and dealing

with, “bad attitudes”

Call Michaels parents

explaining the

importance of him

attending the advisory

session.

3. If Michael shows

progress working with

partner, indentify a

handful of students

who are willing to

work with Michael.

Include Michael in

larger group setting.

Make positive phone

call home if Michael

does well.

4. If Michael handles

group work well, move

Michael’s seat next to

other students. Monitor

if he can handle being

around other students.

If Michael misbehaves,

hold an after class

discussion and explain

to Michael that you

would like him to sit

next to students, but

First period on 3/7/2012

6th period during an advisory

3/9/2012

First period 3/14/12

Michael made some

inappropriate comments, but

the student didn’t react, most of

the group work was done.

Michael was abrasive to the

group, but agreed with some of

the methods of dealing with

“bad attitudes.”

TBD

Part 3 Ste. Marie 10

will have to move him

back, and will consider

seating him next to

students if his behavior

improves. Make

positive phone call

home if Michael does

well.

5. Arrange for a Criminal

intervention workshop

to be held at the

school, assign class

with a written

reflection assignment

on the program.

Communicate to

Michael’s parents the

importance of every

student attending

school on that day.

3/20/12

TBD

TBD


TBD

*TBD-To be determined.

5. The main adjustments that I made to my routines in the classroom involved the paring of students.

Normally turn and talks involved students talking to the student next to them ,but because of Michael’s

isolation, I had to pick students who were willing to travel to work with him. I would normally, prefer

students have different partners with each activity, but I made an exception with Michael when he first

started working with a partner, as I wanted to build off of the positive interacts he had with his partner in

order to make sure he was ready to work with additional students. Because of Michael’s large impact on

the classroom environment, the advisory session was also specifically geared towards Michaels needs as

opposed to general advice towards the students.

Many interventions were made towards Michael and the rest of the class. I had to change the culture

of the class being afraid to work with Michael by slowing integrating him into classroom activities. The

positive phone calls home helped give positive reinforcement towards Michael’s progress. The

interventions addressed Michael’s withdrawal from classroom activities by slowing bringing him back

into the activities. Michael’s issue of providing mostly negative comments and feedback was addressed

by the advisory session on Peer feedback. Hopefully the workshop on crime helps Michael with his gang

involvement as he will see the grimmer side of crime. Although many of the interventions appear to

have been successful, some of the steps are yet to be implemented, and I will not truly know if he has

improved until he is seated next to other students.


Part One:

First Week and Current Level of Engagement: Record each student’s name, their first week level of engagement (copy from the Midpoint Student

Achievement Plan or from your data tracker) and their current level of engagement in class. 1 = These students show the least amount of engagement and effort. They are disengaged for parts of the lesson or are disruptive.

2 = These students are engaged for at least 80% of the lesson, but they may show off-task behavior a few (2-3) times during class.

3 = These students are engaged for almost the entire lesson. They show off-task behavior less than one time and are never disruptive. They are able to focus despite distractions and

demonstrate an eagerness for learning.

Academic Indicator: What percentage of your whole class and small group objectives has this student mastered (mastery = 80% or higher)? Indicate

the number of objectives assessed versus the number of objectives mastered to calculate the percentage (e.g. 10 objectives mastered/15 objectives

assessed = 67% mastery of objectives).

Summary: Summarize each student’s progress from week one until now (4-5 sentences per student). Address both academic and behavioral

progress in your summaries.

Student Name First

Week

Level

Current

Level

Academic Indicator Student Progress Summary

Foli, Christopher 2 3 62% Christopher was a high energy student from day one. In the first weeks he had a wealth of

misplaced energy. In the following weeks, I engaged him in the lesson by giving him classroom

responsibilities such as being my scribe. Weeks later, Christopher often helps assist passing out

papers and with calls to attention. Academically, I have given Christopher the opportunity for

some “Vegas” by having him earn credit for performing in activities. This differentiation has

helped Christopher to express himself while earning extra credit

Bookman,

Marques

2 3 62% When I first arrived, Marques was disinterested, absent, and had a pending court case on his

mind. Marque’s attendance has since improved dramatically, and when he tries, he has earned

many 100’s in class. Improved. Because of his vast potential and general background

knowledge (he has read nearly almost every independent reading book in the class) I have

involved Marques as much as possible in the class. discussion I have had success using

techniques like “Cold Call” to elicit responses from him. Marques has also shined throughout

with the “Vegas” technique, in fact he just recently came in second place in a jeopardy review

activity. Using the “what to do,” technique has made his behavior less aggressive, but he still

struggles focusing and will sometimes disappear from class.

Using Data Driven Instruction/Data Tracking Endpoint Student Achievement Plan and Rubric: Working with a Small Group

Apprentice Name: Session Leader Name:


Smith, Roget 1 3 25% Over the course of my time with him, Roget went from being hostile and hardly getting any

work done to finishing most of his assignments and joking lightheartedly with me. Using the “J

factor,” has made a big difference in our rapport. Although some of his questions become a

little too personal, he seems interested in building a positive relationship. His classwork has

shown the vast improvement. Overall, Roget has had a lot of success due to the “challenge

technique. By prodding him to think deeper, Roget has been more activity involved in class.

Adams, Tishelle 2 3 37% My first experience with Tishelle involved her ripping her papers up and refusing to do work.

While she still fights doing work, I was recently pleasantly surprised that she wrote me a letter

explaining why she didn’t want to do the forensic science unit. Her maturity in expressing

herself in general has developed leaps and bounds. Our rapport has vastly improved, after

using the “J Factor” she often says “what’s popin’” and laughs when I fail to say it cool like her.

Her engagement and completion of classwork has improved overall, but she still needs to work

on not completely tuning out when she doesn’t like the subject matter.

Ramirez, Sabrina 3 3 62% Overall, Sabrina’s improvements have fluctuated. She was trending more towards a four, but

has recently dropped back down again. Despite the dips in her performance and engagement,

she is on an upward path. Again, like many other students the “J factor” has made huge

improvements in our rapport. We have an inside joke about ice cream, and it has become our

standby to signal that she is off task. The “what to do,” technique has also had a lasting impact

on Sabrina. She was very quick to argue and engage in the past, and now although she may

look frustrated when corrected, she does not challenge me. Her grades are sporadic and she

often needs to be reminded to finish assignments, but she has consistently given her work a

second effort.

Part Two:

Analyze the data above and your Small Group Data Tracker. Reflect and respond to the guiding questions below (~500 words) to create an action

plan for your ongoing development into a highly-effective middle school teacher.

o Positive Impact: Based on your analysis, what do you feel was the greatest positive effect that you had overall on your small group? What

was the greatest positive effect that you had on an individual student? What student achievement data can you use to support your

responses? What specific actions did you and your students take that enabled you to achieve these results? Describe how certain

techniques you used were effective specifically in a middle school setting, and explain why you think these techniques are effective when


working with middle school students.

o Greatest Disparity: Based on your analysis, what student or students struggle the most to make gains in achievement? Why? What specific

actions could you have taken or would you like to take to better support these students in accomplishing their goals?

o Development Areas: Based on the data that you have collected and the greatest disparity that you have identified, what do you see as your

greatest development areas in moving and motivating all middle school students to reach higher achievement levels? What specific next

steps will you take to gain the knowledge, skills, resources, or habits of mind that you need to improve within your identified development

areas? What is your timeline for your next steps?

Throughout my experience two things have really stood out: establishing a classroom culture that is positive, and individualizing behavioral and academic strategies. I am most proud of my contributions in establishing a positive rapport in both whole group and individual settings. Despite the struggles I have had developing effective discussions with the small group, I believe I have ingrained a sense of value to student’s opinions. Through a class participation points system and positive reinforcement , many students who were previously introverted have fought to have their voice heard . All of a sudden I am now hearing comments like, “why didn’t I get 5 points today? I answered some questions.” and, “Student X was distracting me, that’s why I couldn’t participate.” Tishelle’s progress from ripping up papers—to writing letters to express herself—speaks to empowerment students gain from instruction that values their voice. Getting to this point involved utilizing student evaluations of discussion techniques, as well as many strategies such as the “popcorn” technique and the “Pepper” technique. These strategies were vital in building students’ respect for one another, as the increased pace and tighter nit structure cut down on opportunities for heckling. This improvement was evident as many of the objectives students’ mastered in the data tracker are tied to the students success in respecting their own voice as well as others. Because off their sporadic performance, It is difficult to determine the longevity of the impact of these strategies on students like Marques and Sabrina. Although techniques like the “J factor” and “Vegas” were at times effective, I have learned that boundary issues come attached. Too much joking around may curtail your leadership role as a teacher and appear as double standards to those students who respond to strict techniques like “No Warnings.” In the future, It would be helpful to set more strict and consistent expectations and boundaries associated with those techniques on the warmer side of things. I have also observed the necessity to build on success and to catch students from regressing into old habits. Thinking back, if I were more diligent in celebrating Sabrina and Marques’s progress they may not have had such sporadic academic and behavioral progress. Perhaps involving students in their behavior and academic plans would allow students to more effectively and tangibly track their progress. As a whole, I find that I need to make many of the techniques I have recorded my own. I feel that my current application of some of the techniques squash my personality rather than highlighting it. Despite some of the success I have experienced with techniques like “ what to do” and the “no warnings,” I find myself feeling unnaturally robotic. I agree with the sentiment behind positive framing of telling students what they should be doing rather than what they shouldn’t, but I need to implement it in a way that feels more personable to me. I believe this internal debate I am having has resulted in the boundary issues I have had with Sabrina and Marques . Finding the balance between warm and strict is a key area that I need to advance in. While I have had success with both sides of the technique, knowing when to feature each side is the next step. Continuing to be aware of what I buy into as a teacher will allow me to approach the techniques more effectively and in way that feels natural. I think role playing, video demonstrations, workshops, and observations will help to exemplify how these techniques can be personalized.


Reflections/Philosophy


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Educational Portfolio

Planning, Learning, Reflecting

[Pick the date]

William Ste. Marie


These three reflections on the theatrical concepts of Constructivist Learning Theory, Problem Solving, and Transfer

and Understanding Student Differences, are at the heart of my knowledge of learners and human development. Not

only do they demonstrate the theoretical foundations behind the developmental stages and differences of learners, but

they also highlight my real world experience witnessing these concepts. Through the field work observation component

of this assignment exists a candid and valuable assessment of how this knowledge of development and learning styles is

addressed in the classrooms I have witnessed. The assignment’s task to assess, evaluate, and provide meaningful

answers to these developmental questions allowed me to synthesize my knowledge of these theories and begin my

future as a reflective Practioner.

The completion of this assignment essentially requested that I shed the theatrical fog that had often clouded my view

of these theories in favor of a real world revelation. Upon reflecting on Constructivist Learning Theory, Problem Solving,

and Transfer I was shocked at the lack of emphasis on meaningful connections in school. I was truly disturbed when I

observed a teacher dismiss a student’s comparison of Lenny from Of Mice and Men to its Warner Brother’s cartoon

representation. This exchange, among many others, impressed upon me the importance of valuing student’s prior

knowledge and experience. On the lighter side of things, the assignment also confirmed my studies on the importance of

constructivist learning, as I witnessed the wonderful transformation a class had when it moved from teacher as

facilitator to student centered learning. My observation of the effectiveness of ill-formed (open ended) questions

enriched my appreciation for classrooms with high cognitive demands and rigor.

The creation of my reflection on “Theories of Psychosocial and Cognitive Development” fostered my awareness of

development processes. Concepts like “Indentify vs role” became more three dimensional as I was able to contextualize

them in common culture. This has since sparked my interest in determining the effect of social and gender roles on

instruction. My observation of a student writing in class that, “he hopes a sports jock and a sped cartoonist” can get

along still informs my belief that many students are well aware of their role in the classroom. The assignment also

allowed me to witness how student’s schemas can be accessed more efficiently by certain teaching methods such as


chunking or active reading. This also engendered the importance of allowing students assimilate knowledge to their

schemas by providing them opportunities to build on prior knowledge and make connections to new information. The

value of student’s co constructing knowledge was all made very apparent to me, as I witnessed the positive effects

students gained from not having to feel chastised by their peers or teacher for arriving at a wrong answer.

My piece on “Understanding Student Differences” revealed many equity issues in a classroom. I was deeply affected

by struggling students that were failed by strictly direct instruction based classrooms. Whereas witnessing the success

students had when they were in environment of differentiated instruction left a positive impression on me to search and

exploit students’ learning styles. As a result theories such as “Gardner’s multiple intelligences,” were forever engrained

in my repertoire of tools to engaging students.

Ultimately these three reflective pieces mark the transition from theory to application in my development as a

teacher. Looking back, I cannot imagine stepping into a classroom without considering the most important resource

available in the room—the students. Completing this activity has instilled my core belief that it is absolutely necessary to

know my students and to artfully plan and teach based on student differences, and developmental processes. Seeing

Gardner’s theory Multiple intelligences in action has had a direct effect in my teaching as I plan to continue

administering learning style surveys. And my observation use of “open ended” questions and constructivist learning has

inspired me to resist the temptation to rely solely on direct instruction in the future.


Standard 1: Knowledge of Subject Matter

Goal 1, Objective A: Knowledge of Subject Matter

William Ste. Marie


This unit embodies my understanding of my major, English Writing, as it builds on the knowledge I have of the writing

process and literary interpretation to effectively teach students. Because of its focus on the Harlem Renaissance, this

unit specifically showcases my expertise in poetry. The topic of Harlem Renaissance highlights my awareness of how

artistic movements affect genre and style of writing. The research portion of the unit highlights my experience

conducting and facilitating literary research. The unit’s emphasis on connecting writing to the real world, demonstrates

my ability to speak to the importance of literary and artistic expression in everyday life. Its interdisciplinary aspect shows

my capability to connect literary content to the larger context of historical and social movements.

The creation of this unit allowed me to envision what generative writing might look like in an everyday classroom.

This provided me with the opportunity to apply many of the theories I studied about the writing process to lesson

planning. My struggle at times facilitating meaningful writing exercises allowed me to navigate the challenge of

integrating activities and content successfully. Creating this unit was invaluable practice implementing material that is

engaging and connected to the students’ experience. Through its many engaging activities, I was also able to implement

my knowledge of writing and literary analysis. My exploration of the essential question, “How can we develop a voice

through culture?” contextualized massive concepts like multiculturalism and student experience. Out of this, simple

ideas like students writing about their neighborhood, and the history of New York were born. This experience has

provided me with an essential touchstone for how to engage students through personal and cultural avenues.

Because of the limited time frame of ten classes, I was truly challenged to do more with less content. This instilled an

appreciation for close readings of texts in order to allow students to have a thorough rather than cursory understanding

of content. The amount of skill-based and interconnected teaching objectives that I was able to fit in such a short

amount of time was truly inspiring. This has laid the foundation for my appreciation for the value of instructional time.

After carefully planning the unit, I witnessed the value of eliminating unnecessary activities and implementing

timesavers such as student monitors for passing out papers and having materials and groups already out and organized.

The interdisciplinary aspect of the unit revealed the necessity to bridge what students are learning in different

subjects. I was surprised to discover all the ways Art, History, and English could be interwoven to scaffold students’

learning. This, by design, provided students with differentiation even at the curriculum level. Students often tune out if


the unit’s topic is not of interest, but approaching it from different disciplines increased the propensity for student self-

efficacy. Perhaps the student who would normally shut down because they are low performing in English would be

uplifted by the aspects of History in the unit and vice versa. The variety of an interdisciplinary focus made the unit more

pliable and provided opportunities for text to world, self, and text connections.

After assessing the effectiveness of this unit plan and reflecting on the feedback I received, the main thing I will take

away is the necessity of modeling activities. As ambitious as this unit is, if I were to plan it in the future I may cut down

on some of the activities in favor of a more consistent routine. With the sheer amount of different activities that I was

implementing in this unit, I am not sure I would have had the proper amount of time to successfully model how each

should be completed. Much like how the creation of the unit taught me that you can do more with less content, I believe

you can do more with fewer activities. The importance of becoming efficient and comfortable with different procedures

and activities is essential to students’ learning of material. In the same vein, students’ journals and double columned

response logs needed to be implemented more predictably and consistently, this would allow for a smoother and more

organic experience with generative writing. Although—after spending more time in front of the classroom—I have

gravitated more towards direct instruction, and reading this unit plan has refreshed my knowledge of student generated

discussions and discovery learning. In the future, my instruction needs to meet in the middle of these two styles,

perhaps more modeling, but less teacher-led discussions.

On the other hand, this unit has also blazed the trail for continuing to use my specific knowledge or poetry and

writing to design engaging and effective unit plans. Although the different amount of activities may have been

unrealistic, it demonstrates the variety of ways I can implement my knowledge of literature and poetry into the

classroom. Writing prompts and group poems are very connected to what I have studied as English major, and my first

hand experience learning through these tools will give me insight into teaching students.


Planning: Interdisciplinary Unit Plan

Topic/Title: Birth of a Voice: The Harlem Renaissance

Grade Level and Demographic Information:

10th grade

New Dorp School is a high school with 2323 students from grade 9 through grade 12.

The school population comprises 19% Black, 20% Hispanic, 54% White, and 7% Asian

students. The student body includes 6% English language learners and 10% special

education students. Boys account for 51% of the students enrolled and girls account for

49%. The average attendance rate for the school year 2006-2007 was 91.6%. The

school is in receipt of Title 1 funding with 38% eligibility.

The school was redesigned in September 2006 into eight small learning communities.

Lesson Timeframe: Ten 45-minute periods.

Context:


Students have previously engaged in many writing activities aimed at integrating common figurative techniques

specifically mood, tone, irony and metaphor. The unit prior engaged students in many generative, informal writing

exercises. Some of the featured activities were a, “Then and Now” memory activity about their house 6 years ago and

now, as well as a “listening to a place activity,” where students went to favorite neighborhood spot and recorded

conversations and sensory details. Students have also engaged in generative writing geared towards tuning and

developing their voice. One of the featured activities was, “Who Owns the voice?” where students wrote a brief

character piece in the voice of someone known to the whole class. Students also engaged in the activity of, “Trying on

Other Voices,” as they all imitated a long time favorite author, or an author that they have read previously in class. The

teacher has modeled how to properly keep a double-columned response log and students respond in it regularly as well

as in their less formal writing journals.

The unit Birth of a Voice: The Harlem Renaissance builds on the previous unit’s introduction to voice by providing the

students with a unique and culturally relevant avenue to foster their voice. Students will be inspired by both their local

surrounds and history to become a New York writer much as the artists of the Harlem Renaissance were. Manhattan’s

particularly artistic roots will provide relevant and accurate examples of texts written with a distinct artistic voice. The

unit will use History and Art as interdisciplinary scaffolds to show the varied ways in which voice is connected to culture.

The unit will prepare students for the type of personal voice necessary for the next portion of the class which will focus

on students’ creating a nonfiction memoir as well as longer creative works.

Rationale:

It is vital for students to feel what they’re saying is valid. Otherwise students are not emotionally or intellectually

engaged in their work. Developing a voice is central in a student’s engagement in any form of writing. Students

frequently have difficulty relating to school subject matter. Often, especially in culturally diverse classrooms, they may

feel as though their particular background or life experience is unworthy for academia. The Harlem Renaissance provides

a unique opportunity to illustrate the value of both voice, and culture. By studying an artistic movement born out of


culture and background, students are encouraged to see the value of their own life experiences. The movement’s roots

in New York City specifically appeal to student’s specific local culture.

At the same time, the movement will provide students with an opportunity to learn about a culture different from

their own. Because of the local connection students have the unique opportunity to see a close connection between

past and present. Students can further understand the world around them through past depictions of it. They can also

learn about the past through their knowledge of present day New York City. The history and themes of the Harlem

Renaissance demonstrate the importance of finding an artistic voice. The social acceptance garnered by African

Americans as a result of the “new image” they created through their art is an empowering example of real life

importance of artistic expression. Because of the range of prominent artwork, students can develop their analytical skills

as they form connections between the various forms of art. The lack of a clear cut, easily defined genre during the

Harlem Renaissance will offer the students a chance for exploratory learning, as they attempt to navigate the period.

Key Concepts and Learning Goals for Students:

How can we develop a voice through culture?

How can we learn about the past through the present and vice versa

How can the same genre manifest in different artistic forms?

Standards Addressed:

Standard 5 is addressed as students will participate in workshops as well as revising their own work.

Opportunities for revision are given during, “Being the Thing activity,” and with the culminating, “My New York”

Text as student response partners provide feedback.


Standard 7 of the ELA Writing standard “Research to Build and Present Knowledge,” is addressed as students are

instructed to pose a self generated question about a local destination or landmark of their choice and research

it.

Standard 9 is addressed through the in class activity of, “Creating a Political Motto.” Students analyze and

evaluate the validity of the political message in Claude McKay’s “If We Must Die,” as well as Langston Hughes’s

“Harlem.”

Standard 1 of the Common Core ELA “Speaking and Listening Standards,” is addressed in the Unit plan

particularly parts A, B, and C. In the “Being the Thing activity,” Part A is addressed as the response partners are

to have already done the work and research necessary to create a short poem based on an object in their

neighborhood. The teacher modeled guidelines for effective response groups prior to the activity addresses Part

B of the standard. Part C is fulfilled as the teacher requests students to prepare questions about their piece in


advance to be discussed by their response partner. The standard and the parts specified prior are also adhered

by the Response pair activity for the culminating assessment of the student created, “My New York Text”

Standard 2 is also addressed by the response partners during the, “Being the Thing activity,” as well “My New

York Text”, as students will be assessing and discussing a variety of different texts e.g., poems, visual

representations , paintings.

Standard 4 is addressed during the activity, “Clippings of The Rider of Dreams,” as students must use context

clues Sterling Brown’s “Slim Greer in Hell,” to interpret the slang in the poem.

Standard 5 is addressed in the activity, “Creative Dialog ,” as the students must grasp the figurative concept of

characterization found in Sterling Brown’s “Slim Greer in Hell,” and provide examples of slang words with

similar connotations in their nuanced translations.


History Standards

Standard 4 is addressed by the activity , “Create a Political Motto,” as students’ will analize and evaluate the

politically charged poems “Harleem” by Langston Hughes, and “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay.

Standard 6 is adressed throughout the unit as a whole as students look at the period of the Harlem

Renaissance through different perspectives and art forms.

Standard 10 is addressed throughout the unit. Students have the opportunity to write over an extended period

of time as they will revise and edit their, “My New York” text in response to the Harlem Renaissance. Students

will also engage in a variety of short in class writing activities that cover a variety of tasks.


Resources:

Poems

Slim Greer in Hell, Sterling Brown

Juke Box Love Song, Langston Hughes

Harlem, Langston Hughes.

If We Must Die, Claude McKay

Dawn in New York, Claude McKay

On Broadway, Claude McKay

Broadway, James Papastamos

Broadway, Kira Ulch

Silence (over Manhattan) by Paula Bardell

Howard Horowitz’s “Wordmap 1997.

Short Play (clippings)

The Rider of Dreams, Ridgely Torrence

Art

Palmer Hayden, Jeunesse.

Archibald J. Motley, Nightlife.

Aaron Douglas, Aspects of Negro Life #62: Song of the Towers.

Aaron Douglas, Crucifixion, 1927, oil on canvas.

Aaron Douglas, Study for Aspects of Negro Life: The Negro in an African Setting .

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/juke-box-love-song/

http://www.wordmaps.net/#manhattan

http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au%3ATorrence%2C+Ridgely%2C&qt=hot_author

http://www.artic.edu/artaccess/AA_AfAm/pages/AfAm_6.shtml

http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/a/images/africamer_douglas_crucif_lg.jpg

http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/O.html#anchor5764039

http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/C.html#anchor1600318


James Lescesne Wells, Negro Worker.

Where'd You Git Them High Top Shoes?, Palmer Hayden.

Lapeyrouse Wall 2004, Peter Doig (British, born 1959).

Jenny Beorkrem’s “Manhattan” 2003.

Here is New York (Selected Photographs from the gallery).

Detailed Instructional Plan:

Week One

Day One (Monday)

SAMPLE LESSON PLAN

Prep: Before class teacher displays 5 copies on a desk of the poems “Juke Box Love Song” by Langston Hughes, Langston

Hughes’s Harlem , Claude McKay’s, “If We Must Die,” Claude McKay’s, “Dawn in New York,” and Claude McKay’s, “On

Broadway,” on a group of desks for the “Shopping for Poetry activity.”)

Learning Goals

Students will interpret and interact with five main poems of the unit.

Students will demonstrate one example of how they experienced the history of the Harlem Renaissance through the

poems.

Aim: What does the Harlem Renaissance have to do with New York pride?

Housekeeping – attendance, students copy Aim off board. (2 minutes)

Teacher shows slides of selected 911 photographs from the Here is New York exhibit. (5 minutes)

http://www.uwrf.edu/~rw66/minority/minam/afr/AAA/fig25.jpg

http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=8087

http://www.orkposters.com/manhattan.html



- Teacher asks, "how many of you remember 911?” Teacher then states, “It’s hard not to talk about what

happened on the day of 911, where you were ect., But I want you to do just that; I want you to talk

about the coming weeks after 911. What are some of the images you saw? What were some of the

things you heard? How did the people of Manhattan react?” Teacher calls on some volunteers.

Teacher then asks, “who here had heard about how all the different people of all ethnic backgrounds

bound together?”

Teacher then switches gears, “it wasn’t always like that, many immigrants weren’t accepted.” Teacher then

asks, “How many students have heard about the Harlem Renaissance ?” (3 minutes)

- Teacher takes student volunteers. Teacher speaks about how many African Americans gained their

political and social voice as a result of the acceptance garnered through their artistic voice.

Activity “Shopping for Poetry” (2 minutes)

- Students select a poem from the poems that are laid out on a desk in the far side of the classroom.

Teacher organizes groups based on numbers one through which poem the students pick. Students do a

“Jig Saw” activity. (10 minutes)

- Students meet with their expert groups and discuss some of the important elements of their

particular poem. Some of the questions students will be addressing are, “What literary techniques

is the poem using? What can you infer about Manhattan culture at the time of the Harlem

Renaissance based on the poem?”

Teacher gives students numbers assigns students numbers 1 through 5 in each expert group and directs

students to disband from their expert groups and to the group with their number. (10 minutes)

- Students discuss the different poems they have analyzed in their expert groups with the home

group. Teacher asks them to address the questions, “What is different about the poems? What is

alike? Are there any common themes in the poems? What common literary techniques are

employed in the poems?”


Teacher asks each group to report their findings to the class adding that each person from each group

should speak. (15 Minutes)

- After each group responds, the teacher uses remaining time to have a whole class discussion.

Some of the points of discussion are the political themes of the poems and Manhattan as a setting

in the poems. The topic of characterization of urban slang is also discussed.

HW: Pick three quotes from the poems you have read today respond to them in your double- column response log. Ask

questions. What do you want to know more about? Respond emotionally. Can you think of something you’ve seen or

felt that’s similar?

Week One

Day Two (Tuesday)

Aim: A voice in the neighborhood: How is urban slang a part of characterization?

Teacher collects response logs.

Teacher hands out copies of, “Slim Greer in Hell” and reads it with the class, asking students to pick out

words that they don’t know.

Teacher calls on student volunteers to translate the slang in the poem. Teacher then asks the students if

they can think of how their friends might say the same thing.

Activity “Intro Clippings”

Teacher asks students to pick from numbered clippings of Ridgely Torrence’s The Rider of Dreams,

teacher then puts students into groups based on the number on the clipping. Students must interpret the

Clipping from Rider of dreams and translate it to both modern day standard English and modern day



slang. The teacher asks students to keep in mind how the slang in the play helps to characterize African

Americans. “How the modern day is similar how is it different from the slang in the clipping?”

Students share their findings with the class; class discusses Urban slang and its affect on the Harlem

Renaissance as well as how local culture informs characterization in general.

Activity “Short Creative Dialog”

Students return to working with their groups to create a short creative dialog of a page of two current

day characters speaking in slang that is indicative of their local culture.

Students share their creative dialog with the class, Teacher collects .

Week One

Day Three (Wednesday)

Aim: How can we develop a voice through politics?

Teacher hands out “Harlem” by Langston Hughes. Teacher asks students to record any morals, themes, or

political stances they feel is present in the poem in their writing journals.

Teacher takes student volunteers; students share their notes. Class discussion develops based off student

reactions.

Teacher puts students into groups based on numbers 1 to 5.

Students analyze the political message of, “If We Must Die” in their groups. Some questions they will

address are: “How does the Harlem Renaissance work as a political tool for activists. How is this done

today? Do you agree with this message?”

Groups report their findings.

Whole class discussion on how the seeds of Blacks developing a political voice were planted in their

politically charged poems.

Activity “Create a political Motto.”


Students return to working with their groups. Teacher ask students to find a current political issue that

they believe affects their particular local culture and come up with an inspiring motto, much like in “ If

We Must Die.”

Week One

Day Four (Thursday)

Aim: How to get more connected to art through research?

Teacher asks students to take out their double-column response logs that they responded in for

homework on Monday’s class.

Teacher asks students to volunteer some of the questions they asked about the poems, in the, “I want to

know more,” portion of their homework.

Class tries to answer some of the individually volunteered questions as a group.

Activity “Newspaper interview”

Teacher selects interview partners. Students imagine that they are news reporters from the time of the

Harlem Renaissance, they must interview one of the authors and ask questions about the meaning of his

work and why they wrote it.

HW: Answer the questions you have posed in your group interviews individually through research at home.

Week One

Day Five (Friday)

(Prep: Teacher puts print outs of all the poems read previously in stacks on a desk in the far side of the class room.)


Aim: How can we express our voice in different genres?

Teacher asks students to present some facts about the poem and or author they researched.

Teacher shows slides of Palmer Hayden, Jeunesse Archibald J. Motley’s, Nightlife Aaron

Douglas, Aspects of Negro Life #62: Song of the Towers Aaron Douglas’s, Crucifixion,

1927, oil on canvas. Aaron Douglas’s, Study for Aspects of Negro Life: The Negro in an African Setting,

and Palmer Hayden’s Where'd You Git Them High Top Shoes?, Palmer Hayden

Activity “Paring Genres.”

Students are to work in pairs of two and select one poem and one painting that they feel are similar in

some way. Students will answer questions: “What aspects of the painting characterize it as a Harlem

Renaissance piece? How might the painting be changed to more accurately reflect the poem or vice

versa?”

Teacher puts the categories, cultural characterization, political overtones, and sound (particularly jazz

music) on the board, and explains that, “these are guides and we will add categories as we discuss your

groups findings.”

Students will report their findings to the class. Class will discuss the common aspects of the poems and

paintings. Class will discuss how each poem and painting fits into the categories on the board, adding

whatever categories come up in discussion.

Class is asked to split from their group. Students select a painting that they do not believe is related to

any of the poems and will create their own short poem based on it. Students are asked to include at least

one of the common traits of Harlem Renaissance: cultural characterization, political overtones, sound, or

any others included from the class discussion.

Teacher collects poems.






HW Using one of the Harlem Renaissance paintings, modernize the location so that it looks more how it would today.

What’s changed? What’s the same? In what ways did the original painting influence people’s perception of New York

Culture? Create a modern club, or redo Broadway. At this portion of the class we will be creating a working portfolio,

please bring in an empty folder tomorrow and I tell you which pieces to include in your portfolio as we get to them.

Week Two

Day Six (Monday)

SAMPLE LESSON PLAN

Aim: How can my neighborhood inform my voice?

Learning Goals

Students will demonstrate their knowledge of how local culture informs voice through the creation of a text that reflects

their local neighborhood artistically.

Students will make at least one connection in their journal as to how location can act as a symbol or theme.

Housekeeping – attendance, students copy Aim off board. (2 minutes)

Students present their modern day representations of the locations they read about from the Harlem

Renaissance as well as their portfolio folders. (3 minutes)

Teacher hands out modern day versions of poems about Broadway, as well as other Manhattan inspired

poetry. Pieces include: “Broadway” by James Papastamos, “Broadway,” by Kira Ulch, and, “Silence

(over Manhattan),” by Paula Bardell

- Teacher asks for student volunteers to read each poem. (2 minutes)

Teacher instructs students to reflect in their writing journals if their more modern artistic depictions of

Manhattan relate to the modern poems about Manhattan in the same way they did in the “Pair Genre”

activity from the previous class. (5 minutes)


- Students will answer questions: “How is your picture similar to the modern poems we read?

How is it different? Are there any common themes or symbols present in both artistic

representations? In what ways is your view on the location unique?” Students will also reflect on

how both their representation and the modern poems are similar and different from those of the

Harlem Renaissance.

Students report their findings. Building off students’ answers to the question, “In what ways is your

view on the location unique?” The discussion will focus on how artists develop a unique voice by their

interpretation of their local culture including their neighborhood. Students’ responses to the question,

“Are there any common themes or symbols present in both artistic representations?” Will also focus the

discussion towards location as a symbol. (4 minutes)

- The teacher states that, “Where you come from, even what neighborhood, can become a huge

part of your voice as a writer. Some artists have used their neighborhood as a symbol of who

they are. Not only can it inform the language you use as we’ve seen in, “Slim Greer in Hell,” and

in your Creative dialogs, but where you come from can also serve as the setting of your poem,

and in some cases it can be the poem itself. (2 minutes)

Teacher hands out Howard Horowitz’s “Wordmap,” and Jenny Beorkrem’s “Manhattan.”

Teacher explains how “Word Map” is actually in the shape of Manhattan (if the students haven’t

noticed). Teacher explains that also the location of the words actually reflects the real life location in

Manhattan. For example, when Horowitz is talking about Battery Park in the poem, the words Battery

Park in the poem are located where Battery Park would be on a map. (2 minutes)

- Teacher reads part of “Word Map” and asks students to follow along with the poem making

note of any locations they recognize within the poem. ( 2 minutes)

Students report their findings; class discusses some of their favorite places from their neighborhood. (2

minutes)




Teacher then asks students to look at Jenny Beorkrem’s “Manhattan.”

- Teacher asks, “It is a bit more straight forward, but how is this also using Manhattan as a means

of expressing the author’s voice? In what ways is the artist using Manhattan as a symbol? How

does New York City culture inspire both pieces?” Class discusses these questions. Teacher then

asks the class, “How is this similar to the works during the Harlem Renaissance? How is it

different?” (3 minutes)

Activity “Graphical Representation”

Teacher asks the students to create their own graphical representation of their neighborhood,

- Students are organized by borough (if student lives somewhere out of state they have a choice of

going into a group of their choice to learn more about the borough, or working individually to

create their own neighborhood graphical representation). They must include specific locations of

spots that interest them. Students are encouraged to have the visualization of the map reflect the

places they chose. Teacher states, “ if it’s a sketchy place, make it look dangerous, put some

spooky handwriting, or draw something intimidating. If it’s a place that you think is really

beautiful, make it look beautiful give it some style on your map.”

(10 minutes)

Students present their graphical representations to the class, each student will pick one location that

they contributed and explain why it’s significant. (10 minutes)

Teacher instructs to put both the graphical representation piece as well as their modernized location

piece in their working portfolio.

HW Pick a place either from the texts in class, or one of the prominent places in your neighborhood that you listed in

your graphic organizer. Make perditions on why it is what it is today. What might it have been previously? Record

notes in your writing journal



Week Two

Day Seven (Tuesday)

Aim: How can we incorporate figurative language in our local voice?

Teacher asks students to refer to the poem “Dawn in New York,” by Claude McKay that they have

previously read.

Teacher explains to the class that, “we will be creating our own sort of “Dawn in new York” poem as a

class.

Activity “Class poem”

Students will create a class poem In response to dawn in New York, it must be set in New York, each

line will start with, “today in the big city,” students will each individually create one line in their

writing journals the

Teacher calls on volunteers to and writes the first 10 lines on the board.

The teacher calls on volunteers to finish the next 10 on the spot.

Activity “Being the Thing”

Teacher asks students to individually start a poem pretending they are something in their neighborhood.

Teacher instructs students that each line must start with “if I were.” Teacher suggests that students may

want to write a poem on whatever location or thing they wrote about in their journals for homework the

previous night.

Teacher hands the “My New York” and reflection assignment and introduces it explaining that, “Revise

a work of art from their working portfolio (either your Being the Thing poem, Modern Image piece or

your Graphical Representation of Manhattan. You will also write a one page reflection on how your


piece is similar or different to the works of the Harlem Renaissance, you must make at least two

connections to two specific pieces of the Harlem renaissance, one of the sources must be visual one

must be literary. Things you want to start thinking about are literary devices such as characterization,

political overtones, and Manhattan (or whatever location) as a symbol.

Teacher instructs the students to put the “Being the Thing” poem in their working portfolio.

HW: Think about what artwork you want to revise, and its possible connections to the Harlem Renaissance. Be prepared

to discuss your choice tomorrow. Bring in your, “Being the thing” poem tomorrow along with some questions you

would like to ask about your poem e.g., “Does this make sense? How else could I say this more creatively?”

Week Two

Day Eight (Wednesday)

Aim: Collaborative revision.

Teacher goes over guidelines to feedback and hands. Some of the guidelines include: reframing from

harsh and or judgmental remarks, focusing on the piece and not the writer, and responding to the piece

as a whole first before analyzing it. Students are also encouraged to make suggestions for additions and

or improvements in the piece.

Activity “Response Partners”

Students are grouped in teacher selected pairs.

- Teacher asks the class to give their partner a chance to make any comments about their poem

before the partner reads it.

- The teacher then directs the groups to switch poems.

- Teacher directs the class to read their partner’s poem and provide written feedback both in the

margins and on the bottom of the poem.


- Teacher directs class to ask their questions about their piece that they did for homework to their

partner.

- Teacher directs class to switch feedback. And instructs students to ask questions about their

partner’s feedback.

Teacher calls on students to have conferences on their “My New York" piece. Students bring their

portfolio (including their “ Being the Thing piece) with them and discuss which piece they’d like to

revise and how it connects to the Harlem Renaissance

- Teacher instructs students who are not being conference to select another piece from their

portfolio that they’d like their partner to provide feedback on. Teacher says, “ if you are done

providing feedback, start working on your reflection”

HW: Start working on your revisions that we have talked about in our conferences, as well as your reflection. Bring in 2

copies of your rough draft of your reflection for tomorrow’s class make sure you have a copy at home as I will be

collecting the reflection as well as the “My New York” piece.

Week Two

Aim: How does “My New York” piece connect to the Harlem Renaissance?

Day Nine

Teacher instructs students to note in their writing journal some of the best connections they made in

their reflection of how their artistic piece connects to the Harlem Renaissance.

Teacher calls on student volunteers asking students to please tell us about their piece, (hold it up if it’s

artwork) and to explain how it reflects their local culture as well as some of their examples of how their

piece connects to the Harlem Renaissance.


The teacher asks the class if they’d like to volunteer any advice or ideas about each student's piece.

Teacher asks students to find their response partner from last class and explains that they will workshop

both their reflection and their “My New York,” in the same way they did their response partners for

the “Being the thing activity .

Activity “Response Partners”

- Teacher asks the class to give their partner a chance to make any comments about their piece

before the partner reads it.

- The teacher then directs the groups to switch reflections.

- Teacher directs the class to read their partner’s reflection and provide written feedback both in

the margins and on the bottom of the reflections.

- Teacher directs class to ask their questions about their piece that they did for home work to their

partner.

- Teacher directs class to switch feedback. And instructs students to ask questions about their

partner’s feedback.

- Teacher walks around the room checking in on the progress of feedback.

- Students repeat process with their “My New York” pieces.

Teacher collects Students copy of their reflections and “My New York” pieces

HW: Review your feedback for your “My New York” piece. Make a second rough draft incorporating the feedback. Come

ready to workshop more tomorrow.

Week Two

Day Ten (Friday)

Aim: Finishing up!


Teacher hands back first rough draft with feedback.

Activity “Response Partners” (with some variation)

Teacher instructs students to meet again with their response partners with a slight variation of the

feedback procedure.

Teacher instructs students to immediately switch papers.

Each feedback partner is to respond to the teacher’s feedback by answering the questions: “in what

ways could your partner address my feedback if they haven’t already in their second draft? Do you

have any questions about the feedback that might help with your own My New York piece?

While students are working with their response partners, the teacher calls up students for final

conferences on their, “My New York Piece” and their reflection.

At the end of class, the teacher requests students to ask any questions about the feedback that they

discovered while working with their response partner if they were not addressed in their conference.

HW: Reflection and “My New York” piece due on Monday. Also note that these will be published in the classroom so if

you want to add any decorative parts go right ahead.

Assessment Plan:

Informal

- Students are assessed informally through their double-columned response logs. Teacher encourages

students to ask questions about the material which allows the teacher to gauge which content needs

more explaining. Students are also assessed based on the student generated discussions that develop

from their writing journals. Two conferences are held to assess students’ progress in their culminating


“My New York” piece. Teacher will also assess student progress during their response partner activities,

as the teacher will check in with groups.

Formal

Students are assessed formally throughout the unit as they will compile a portfolio of works that reflect

their understanding of the concepts of the unit. Various student generated texts will be included into the

portfolio including: a Graphic representation of Manhattan, a “Being the Thing,” poem, and a “Modern

visualization of an old place” to assess their progress in the key concepts, “How can we develop a voice

through culture?” How can the same genre manifest in different artistic forms? How can we learn about

the past through the present and vice versa? The culminating “My New York” piece and reflection piece

assess student understanding of all of the key concepts of the unit. The “My New York” piece tests

students’ grasp of how they can use local culture to develop their voice, as their piece must reflect their

local culture. The reflection piece also tests students understanding of how history informs the present

and vice versa, as students must explain how their “My New York” connects to the Harlem Renaissance.

The reflection piece also tests students’ understanding of the different types of genres as students are

required to connect their “My New York” piece to both a non-print and print source. Students will also

be assessed on some of the day by day learning goals as many of the activities they complete will be

collected. Students will also be assessed on their grasp of Characterization as their “creative dialogs”

will be collected and reviewed. Students will be assessed on their grasp of the political overtones of the

Harlem Renaissance, as their “Political Mottos” will be collected and reviewed. Student’s work in their

response groups will also be assessed as their feedback will be submitted through emails.

From Theory to Practice:


The unit’s main topic, the Harlem Renaissance involves students learning about local culture, “in order to establish a

sense of pride” (Smagorinksky 141).

The unit’s design of connecting the texts and concepts to the student life also makes the unit, “relevant to the student

interests and personal situations” (Smagorinksky 145). The unit’s goal of fostering the development of the students’

voice also prepares students for their future schooling as well as their self expression throughout life. (Smagorinksky

145).

The general process used throughout the unit of the teacher leading the discussion to the students working in big groups

then moving to smaller groups to eventually independent work is recommended by Smagorinsky in Teaching English by

Design in his chapter Providing Scaffolds for Student Learning. This model of learning can be seen most specifically in his

modeling of instructional scaffolding (Smagorinsky 23). The double-column response log used throughout the unit is also

recommended as an instructional scaffold (Smagorinsky 23). The frequent opportunities for students to write are

inspired by the idea of providing opportunities for students to develop “fluency” (Inside Out 16). The unit also plans for

students to have their work published upon completion (Inside Out 22). Many of the activities in the unit are directly

adopted from inside out. The activity where students created a poem as a class based off of their response to “Dawn in

New York is an example of “Class Poetry” (Inside Out 163). The activity where students write a poem pretending to be

something from their neighborhood is directly from the “Being the Thing,” exercise (Inside Out 164.) The unit’s

“response partners” activity and the guidelines for feedback are also directly inspired from Inside Out’s, “Developing

Effective Response Groups” (111). The, “shopping for poetry” activity and the, “interview an author activity” are also

suggested in Inside Out (Inside Out 182). Many of the activities throughout the unit are applications of Smagorinsky’s

ideas of Alternatives to Teacher Led Discussions. The student-led discussion based on students’ written response to what

morals they find in Langston Hughes’s Harlem demonstrates “informal writing as the basis for discussion” (Smagorinsky

34). The activity based on creating a Graphical representation of Manhattan , and the activity where students create a

modernized location from the Harlem Renaissance relate to Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, specifically

spatial intelligence, as students create an image (Smagorinsky 16). The activities “A Creative dialog,” and “Being the


Thing,” also encourage the students to use their linguistic intelligence (Smagorinsky 16). The unit also incorporates

Bloom’s taxonomy (Pohl 7). The students’ production of, “creative dialogs” and a, “Being the Thing” poem involves the

“creating” stage of Bloom’s taxonomy (Pohl 7). Students are also “evaluating” in the, “Make a political Motto” activity

as they consider whether the political statements of the poets are valid (Pohl 8). Students are also “applying” what they

know about the techniques of the Harlem Renaissance artists as they create their “My New York” piece that must

incorporate techniques that students have studied from the Harlem renaissance (Pohl 7). The creation of the double-

column response log also prompts students to use the comprehension strategy of making inferences while reading

(Harvey, Goudvis 19). The unit’s focus on New York culture in general and in students’ own local neighborhood in

particular in the “My New York” and “Being the Thing activities employs the theory of text to self (Harvey, Goudvis 19).

The unit also incorporates, “entering-text activities that inspire curiosity and create a climate of inquiry,” during the

presentation of Here is New York slides, of photography from 911 (Landay 46).

Reflection:

The main challenge of teaching the unit plan is the freedom students have in choosing what their “My New York”

piece is. While this provides the opportunity for the students to navigate the different works they have completed in

their portfolio, it may also create some confusion for the students. The conferences are vital in guiding the students in

their creation of their piece. As with any collaborative work, there is a risk of a slight bit of chaos, as such the guidelines

for feedback and the teacher’s mediating of the different parts of the feedback are key. I also recognize that the unit’s

local foundation may present challenges when teaching students who live out of state. It is important that the texts from

the Harlem Renaissance and the student produced texts provide enough information about New York to scaffold the out

of state students. Extra attention must be given to these students to communicate that some of the concepts of local

culture in the unit are universal and can be applied to their hometown as well. I also feel that it may be challenging for

students to grasp the concept of the two way nature of present and past, as such I feel this concept needs careful

attention.


Creating a unit plan is always a learning experience. After I crafting my unit I am reminded that teaching is in fact a

job. Unit plans always feel like some hodge-podge creation of both art and science. Adhering to all of the different

requirements, be it, state, theoretical, and even a touch magical, is the epitome of the fine line we sometimes walk as

teachers. I will come away from this experience thinking about this balance between art and science. I have certainly

learned in creating this unit that I must truly be passionate about the unique choices I make in my unit plan, because for

every step you take out of the box, their is more explaining to do. I have learned that if an activity or task sounds a bit

strange, people will be skeptical, and I owe it to my audience to explain why in fact I am taking their students on this

wild ride that is the unit plan.

Appendices:

Handouts

My New York Piece and Reflection

Revise a work of art from their working portfolio (either your Being the Thing poem, Modern Image

piece or your Graphical Representation of Manhattan. In revising, pay careful attention to your piece’s

connection to your local culture as well as the techniques used during the Harlem Renaissance. You will

also write a one page reflection on how your piece is similar or different to the works of the Harlem

Renaissance, you must make at least two connections to two specific pieces of the Harlem renaissance,

one of the sources must be visual one must be literary.

Things to consider are literary devices such as characterization, political overtones, and Manhattan (or

whatever location) as a symbol.


Rubric:

Criteria 4 3 2 1

Connection

to

Harlem

Renaissance

Student creatively

and effectively

provides many

statements and

examples of how

their piece is

connected to the

Harlem Renaissance

Student makes

many supporting

statements to

explain how their

piece is connected

to the Harlem

Renaissance.

Student makes few

supporting

statement as to

why his piece is

connected to the

Harlem

Renaissance

Student does little

to demonstrate

connection of how

his piece connects

to Harlem

renaissance

Incorporation

of local

culture.

Student provides

convincing and clear

examples and details

of how their piece is

connected to their

local culture.

Student provides

many clear details

and examples of

how their piece is

connected to their

local culture. Some

may be irrelevant.

Student provides

some vague details

as to how their

piece is connected

to their local

culture.

Student makes

little mention of

how their piece is

connected to their

local culture.

Technique

and theme.

Student connects

the theme or

techniques used in

their piece to one

print and one non

print text associated

with the Harlem

Renaissance

Student connects

the theme or

techniques used in

their piece to two

texts associated

with the Harlem

Renaissance but

both texts are

either are non

print or print

Student provides

one example of a

technique or

theme in their

piece from either

print or non print

that is associated

with the Harlem

Renaissance

Student provides

little to no

evidence of use of

any of the

techniques or

themes associated

with the Harlem

Renaissance


Personal

connection

Student provides

clear examples of

how the piece as well

as how local culture

at large relates to

them

Student provides

clear examples of

how the piece

relates to them.

Student provides

some examples of

why the piece

relates to them,

but only gives

vague cultural

reasons.

Student provides

little to no

examples of how

the piece relates to

them personally


Keeping in mind the artistic style of both Horowitz and Beorkrem, design a graphical

representation of Manhattan. Fill in Your own favorite or notable locations into the blank

map, or create your own completely different representation.


ART

Palmer Hayden, Jeunesse


Where'd You Git Them High Top Shoes?, Palmer Hayden


1 Archibald J. Motley, Nightlife




Aaron Douglas, Aspects of Negro Life #62: Song of the Towers.

http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/a/images/africamer_douglas_song_lg.jpg


Aaron Douglas: Study for Aspects of Negro Life: The Negro in an African Setting


Aaron Douglas, Crucifixion, 1927, oil on canvas.





Lapeyrouse Wall Peter Doig (British, born 1959)

http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=8087


Graphical Representations


On the left, Howard Horowitz’s “wordmap” 1997, on the right Jenny Beorkrem’s “Manhattan”




Photographs from Here is New York Gallery


Poems

Slim Greer in Hell, Sterling Brown

Slim Greer went to heaven;

St. Peter said, "Slim,

You been a right good boy."

An' he winked at him.

"You been travelin' rascal

In yo'day.

You kin roam once mo';

Den you come to stay.

"Put dese wings on yo' shoulders,

An' save yo' feet."

Slim grin, and he speak up,

"Thankye, Pete."

Den Peter say, "Go

To Hell an' see,

All dat is doing, and

Report to me.

"Be sure to remember


How everything go."

Slim say, "I be seein' yuh

On de late watch, bo."

Slim got to cavortin'

Swell as you choose,

Like Lindy in de Spirit

Of St. Louis Blues.

He flew an' he flew,

Till at last he hit

A hangar wid de sign readin'

DIS IS IT.

Den he parked his wings,

An' strolled aroun',

Gittin' used to his feet

On de solid ground.

Sterling A. Brown

Juke Box Love Song, Langston Hughes

I could take the Harlem night

and wrap around you,

Take the neon lights and make a crown,

Take the Lenox Avenue busses,

Taxis, subways,

And for your love song tone their rumble down.

Take Harlem's heartbeat,

Make a drumbeat,

Put it on a record, let it whirl,

And while we listen to it play,

Dance with you till day--

Dance with you, my sweet brown Harlem girl.

Langston Hughes

Harlem

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/slim-greer-in-hell/

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/slim-greer-in-hell/




BY LANGSTON HUGHES

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore—

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over—

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

If We Must Die

by Claude McKay

If we must die—let it not be like hogs

Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,

While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,

Making their mock at our accursed lot.

If we must die—oh, let us nobly die,

So that our precious blood may not be shed

In vain; then even the monsters we defy

Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!

Oh, Kinsmen! We must meet the common foe;

Though far outnumbered, let us show us brave,

And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow!

What though before us lies the open grave?

Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack,

Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/langston-hughes

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/25


Dawn in New York

The Dawn! The Dawn! The crimson-tinted, comes

Out of the low still skies, over the hills,

Manhattan's roofs and spires and cheerless domes!

The Dawn! My spirit to its spirit thrills.

Almost the mighty city is asleep,

No pushing crowd, no tramping, tramping feet.

But here and there a few cars groaning creep

Along, above, and underneath the street,

Bearing their strangely-ghostly burdens by,

The women and the men of garish nights,

Their eyes wine-weakened and their clothes awry,

Grotesques beneath the strong electric lights.

The shadows wane. The Dawn comes to New York.

And I go darkly-rebel to my work.

-Claude McKay

On Broadway

About me young careless feet

Linger along the garish street;

Above, a hundred shouting signs

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/dawn-in-new-york/





Shed down their bright fantastic glow

Upon the merry crowd and lines

Of moving carriages below.

Oh wonderful is Broadway -- only

My heart, my heart is lonely.

Desire naked, linked with Passion,

Goes trutting by in brazen fashion;

From playhouse, cabaret and inn

The rainbow lights of Broadway blaze

All gay without, all glad within;

As in a dream I stand and gaze

At Broadway, shining Broadway -- only

My heart, my heart is lonely.

-Claude McKay

Broadway

Ah! The power of dreams! !

New York harbor

Tickles the feet of Broadway, with

Waves of obscurity who ride her

Broad shoulders with narrow visions of

Living big on so small a budget

Neon signs radiate their seductive lure

Inviting, enticing...anticipating

The arrival of sudden impact, while

Skyscrapers shadow the lights of Broadway,

Its windows to reflect the glamour and

Glitter than only mid town can offer

42nd street rips through Manhattan

Like butter through Broadway

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/on-broadway/




http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/broadway-5/



Bed and breakfast at the Edison,

Dinner for two at the Y

America, I cried, give us your poor,

Your humbled masses, learning to

Broaden their perspective, as only

Broadway might dare as much

James Papastamos

Broadway

Someone told me you had made it on Broadway

Working a stage

Many had walked before

Those who had tossed caution to the crowd

Taken their chances

Who had lost their dreams

Seduced by the glitz and glam

And had walked away hollowed, some broken

And some changed at having tried for the glory at that center spotlight.

Someone told me that you had made it on Broadway

Raving your reviews

Daring to rework a historical tragedy,

A plagiarized script by my signature hand

And I wondered, how bold are you

But when did this become a war of wills?

Upon that stage, I was told

You had won the hearts of the cold critics

Had mastered their shortcomings

And had attracted the crowds in droves

Someone told me you had made it on Broadway

And I hadn’t believed them.

To see with my own eyes

I had walked down that street to your theatre

Over cracked side walk ruts and rainbow graffiti, trash in the gutters

Had stared at the ticket box closed, wooden slats nailed shut tight

Saw your name shining bright in burned out bulbs and cracked lettered signs

Performing a dramatized act upon an empty stage

And I had wondered, who was the audience?

Someone had told me that your life was Broadway

That if I go there again I can watch from first row as you dance








Watch them dance, a partnered twisted tango

But no, I’ll leave you to your puppets

Let you maneuver their strings

Let you listen to your adoring silent crowd

As they applaud from balconies high

I understand the lure of the lights and how the curtain can call,

So take your bow,

The show must go on.

Kira Ulch

Silence (over Manhattan)

by Paula Bardell

A black September shadow cloaks the dawn,

The City’s once white teeth now rotting stumps,

Midst choking dusty embers ether-borne,

Its shrunken soundless heart now barely pumps.

Infernos upon retribution rise,

Fanaticism maddening the flames,

Its once imposing deities abscise,

As the faceless antagonist proclaims:

A consummation sweet but unfulfilled,

A penetrative burst without regret,

A zealous passion never to be stilled,

An earthly instinct powerful, and yet -


This bitter loathing blowing from the East,

Curtailed but could not kill the feisty beast.

Manhattan

By HOWARD HOROWITZ Published: August 30, 1997

The island's tip was sliced by a ship canal that tamed the Spuyten Duyvil shoals, but severed Marble Hill from Inwood. Medieval

tapestry unicorns grace the Cloisters; a flag-pole and stockade mark old Fort Tryon. Lofty crags overlook the broad Hudson River as

bedrock & history anchor the Heights to the George Washington Bridge. Walk east toward the Bronx across High bridge; gaze to the

south from Sugar Hill, where trumpeters and tap dancers stepped up into the sun. Ages ago Iapetus (an older Atlantic Ocean) closed;

the kiss with Africa heated a melting pot. Lava was injected in veins of rock and coagulated to form Palisade cliffs. The legacy of

Algonquian life is hidden in our place names and our meals. The newcomers (first the Dutch, then English, African, Irish, German,

Italian, Jewish, Chinese, Greek, Ukrainian, Armenian, Puerto Rican, Pakistani, Cuban, Dominican, Haitian, Filipino, and all) have

shed blood in a thousand places, but millions live. Legends of Gotham: Father Knickerbocker, Boss Tweed, Emma Lazarus, Fiorello,

the roar of the el, the blizzard of '47, Giants at the Polo Grounds. Offshore, barges ply swirling brown water near North River sewage

pipes, as striped bass and shad swim up ''the river that flows both ways'': a tidal reach of the sea all the way up to Albany. Brownstone,

bodega, ball court & bus stop: on warm nights in Harlem, noisy streets and quiet rooftops. Kids splash around a hydrant as lovers

embrace on a Riverside Park bench and rush-hour traffic in stalled on the Triborough Bridge. Some uptown options: gospel choir on

Sunday, sooty Grant's Tomb, hiphop the Apollo, ribs at Sylvia's, law at Columbia, mangos in El Barrio, peace garden in the Cathedral,

rowboat on the Meer, pub-crawl the West Side, listen to poetry at the 92nd St. Y, nosh at Songbirds alight in leafy woods as a turtle

lays eggs near a pond in Central Park. Grand museums flank the green with dinosaur bones and Egyptian tombs. When it snows, we

ramble out to Sheep Meadow & the Great Lawn; in sunshine, to Strawberry Fields, the Lake, & the Zoo. Buy hot dogs from pushcarts

near Madison boutiques, or subways. (Take the A train, ride the Lexington line, or change at 59th Street for the IRT. Catch the F out

to Queens.) Gneiss but full of schist, the bedrock sparkles with mica. It bears the weight of midtown; Skyscrapers at Columbus Circle,

Fifth Avenue, and Park Avenue. Attend concerts at Carnegie, ice skating shows at Rockefeller Center, Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Our eyes are drawn up to a blue slice of sky as vertical walls enclose us. 100 gridlocked taxis honk at police blockades as Fidel speaks

at the U.N. Revelers jam Times Suqare on New Year's Eve, to jostle and sing as the ball drops. Buses come in (the Lincoln Tunnel) to

Port Authority, trains to Grand Central. The lion-flanked public library was once a reservoir; we love the Art Deco classic Chrysler

spire. From Hell's Kitchen walk to broadway, buy tickets for ''Showboat'' or ''Cats'' - hey, the Knicks won at the buzzer in the Garden!

See Macy's flat parade, then gape from atop the Empire State, where mighty Kong took a fall. Diamond jewelers join fur-clad window

shoppers as herds of jaywalkers cross against the light in the Garment District. Graffiti-scrawled boards near the Flatiron Building

enclose pits of unconsolidated sediment Consolidated Edison must dig. Workers repair Gramercy Park cables, reroute Chelsea steam

pipes, plug a burst main flooding streets by Union Square. (Tap water flows down from the Catskills in deep tunnels; garbage is

hauled to a landfill at Fresh Kills.) The riverfront was filled for barnacle-crusted piers, and Minetta Brook wetlands became lots in

Greenwich Village. A sweatshop horror: 146 locked-in women lost their lives in the Triangle Shirtwaist fire. Watch skateboard

demons cavort among panhandlers as old men play chess near the arch in Washington Square, N.Y.U. students, art film fans, coffee

drinkers, & East Village poets crowd smoky joints on Saturday night; some cross (the Holland Tunnel) back out to New Jersey. Cheap

gallery space is a memory in SoHo; cast-iron lofts rent high, as do TriBeCa warehouses. A bag lady seeks warmth huddled over a

sidewalk grate on the Bowery, where Stuyvesant's farm once spread in old New Amsterdam. The original steal (this island, traded for

$24 in beads) lies plastered in muth and concrete, obscured like the African Burial Grounds. A Lower East Side delicatessen sells

good chicken soup; enjoy zuppa di pesca at the Festival of San Gennaro, or bird's nest soup in Chinatown. Marchers to City Hall cross

the Brooklyn Bridge to demonstrate, as tourists at South Street Seaport eat lunch with a view. The Fulton Fish Market is mobbed


before dawn. Precambrian stocks bond the upper crust with solid foundations below the Trade Towers, Trinity Church and Wall

Street. Ferryboats to Staten Island, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and Governor's Island depart from wind-swept docks at Battery

Park.

Clippings from The Rider of Dreams, Ridgely Torrence

I'll get youah'n an' Book's fix dat way

too. I goin' to have plenty society grub in me

all de time.

Don' tech me. I'm a flame of fieh an'



I'll singe you sho'.

an' what does I find? [I

finds she's a fine fat roll er bills,

I done got my ear-string bus' now an' dem

preachah wu'ds can't fool me no mo'

Madison, dat's de wrong kin' of trash fo' dis

baby to heah. Go lay down, honey. Tek de

bowl wif you.


Planning Non-Fiction Forensic Unit

GRADE LEVEL: 8

LENGTH OF UNIT: 2 weeks (10 teaching days)

CONTENT: English Language Arts

Reading Genre: Non-fiction

Theme: Forensic Science

Writing Genre: Argumentative Essay

UNIT OF STUDY/THEMATIC UNIT:

Essential Questions: “How do we determine the author’s central idea in a text?”

How does persuasive writing apply to every day life? Why is it important to compare & evaluate different mediums of information? “What does a strong argument look like?”

Guiding Questions: How do I know which information is valid and trustworthy and which is not? How can distinguishing between irrelevant and relevant information make me a more effective reader? How can I effectively and insightfully compare and contrast text and video How can I develop a voice that's appropriate for a given audience? How do I utilize rhetoric to enhance my argument?

Goals: SWBAT:, to compare and contrast video and text formats, identify author’s purpose, Utilize opposing views to strengthen main argument. complete final works on 3 Forensic Science books.

Standards: Common Core- Reading Standards:

RI 7: Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a

particular topic or idea.

RI 8: Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text assessing if evidence is relevant and sufficient.

RI 9. Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts


disagree on matters of fact or interpretation.

Common Core- Speaking and Listening Standards:

SL 4: Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid

reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

SL 2: Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate

the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.

Common Core- Writing Standards:

WS 1.A-E: Write arguments to support claims with reasons and evidence, provide a concluding statement or section

WS 4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and

audience.

WS.10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting

or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Mini-Lesson Teaching Points: SWBAT: Analyze and Identify how rhetoric is used to support an argument. SWBAT Analyze mediums of information by comparing text to video. SWBAT Evaluate the validity of information by determining relevant and irrelevant details SWBAT Write with a formal voice. SWBAT Evaluate and compare opposing arguments. SWBAT Support arguments with effective rhetoric.

Reading Comprehension Skills: Reader’s Purpose, Author’s Purpose, Determining Irrelevant and Relevant Details, Making Inferences.

Shared Reading / Read-Alouds / Mentor Texts: Publisher: Compass Point Books

Level T

Forensics: Chemistry and Crime 15 copies

Author/Series: Navigators Science Series

Publisher: Compass Point Books

Level U

Eyes for Evidence: Have you got what it takes to be a forensic scientist 30 copies

Author/Series: On the Job

Publisher: Compass Point Books

Level X

Forensic Science 15 copies

Author/Series: Cool Science

Publisher: Lerner Publications

Fingerprints and Talking Bones


Writing Skills: Writing a persuasive essay. Using effective rhetoric and appropriate voice.

Vocabulary: Common non-fiction vocabulary. Subject specific scientific and legal language. Examples: Forensic, larceny, preliminary, odontologist, fraudulent, inadequate, insufficient, fabricated, languished, exonerated…

Differentiated Instruction: Work designed for learning styles. Varying levels of questioning.

Tier One: Independent reading Level T. Questioning strategies to build from Bloom’s “knowledge” to “evaluation.” Exit slips based on “knowledge “comprehension” and “application” level

Tier Two: Independent reading Level U Questioning strategies to build from Bloom’s “application” to “evaluation” Exit Slips focusing on “application” “synthesis” and “evaluation” level.

Tier Three: independent reading Level X. Questioning strategies to build from Bloom’s to “evaluation” Exit Slips focusing on “application” “synthesis” and “evaluation” level.

Assessment: Initial Formative Culminating Pretest on unit skills, multiple intelligences survey

Exit Slips, graphic organizers, question checks for understanding, student reflections and evaluations of activities, conferencing.

Persuasive essay, student portfolios, Student Court Case Presentation.

Types of Homework: Reading short articles prior to class discussion.

Resources: Technology: Overhead, ELMO, LCD, internet, Videos from CSI NY, Law and Order, My Cousin Vinny.

Trips / Arts: Poetry reading pending.

Other:

Power Reading Standards:

RL/RI1. Using evidence to support claims and make inferences

RL/RI2: Identify theme and summarize a text

RL/RI4: Determine meaning of words and phrases in a text (using context clues)

RL/RI10: Read and comprehend literature on grade level (comprehend grade level vocabulary)

Part B Ste. Marie 79

Connection to Standards

RI 7: Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to

present a particular topic or idea.

o The unit addresses this standard in several of the activities. Students are evaluating the difference between text and

video as they analyze the disadvantages and advantages of forensic science in Lessons 1 and 2. This is also

addressed as students reflect on the difference between reading court case transcripts and watching the CSI NY

episode in lessons 3 and 4. It is also addressed in lessons 7, 8 and 15 as students are analyzing and evaluating the use

of rhetoric and courtroom procedures through watching My Cousin Vinny as compared with their reading.

RI 8: Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text assessing if evidence is relevant and sufficient.

o This is addressed throughout the Unit and specifically through the lesson 2 and 4’s teaching point, “SWBAT

Evaluate the validity of information by determining relevant and irrelevant details.” Lessons 1 and 2 specifically

address this as students have to decipher relevant and irrelevant details from a CSI NY episode case transcript as

well as the episode itself. This is addressed in students’ formal writing exercise where they have to argue whether to

fire ten scientist or police officers using relevant information from supplied articles. This is also addressed in the

Unit’s court case presentation, as students must object to one example of irrelevant information.

RI 9. Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the

texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation.

o The unit addresses this standard in several of the activities. Students are evaluating the argument of whether more

forensic science is helpful or harmful for the justice system. They are watching a video and reading articles to

analyze the disadvantages and advantages of forensic science in Lessons 1 and 2. This is also involved as students

will evaluate who they believe out of the opposing arguments of the prosecution and defense in the court case

activity.

Common Core- Speaking and Listening Standards:

SL 4: Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound

valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

o This is addressed by students’ court case performance, as the whole class has to present a case that emphasizes

relevant details in particular and given the limited time and scope of the activity the students also have to pick well

chosen and focused details to make their case.

SL 2: Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and

evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.

o This is addressed by lessons 1 and 2 as the students will be evaluating the motive behind each position in the video.

Common Core- Writing Standards:

WS 1.A-E: Write arguments to support claims with reasons and evidence, provide a concluding statement or section

o This is present throughout the unit. This is addressed in detail during the rhetorical writing activity where students

have to write a text to self themed argumentative paragraph that must include valid evidence (ethos). This is also

emphasized by the court case activity, as students are writing closing statements for their “argument” or case.

WS 4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose,

and audience.

o This is expected of students throughout the Unit. It is particularly emphasized when students are writing their formal

writing essay on whether to fire 10 forensic scientists or police officers. In this task students are being graded for

formal writing style in particular


WS.10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a

single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

o There are consistent writing opportunities throughout the unit. Many of the do knows in the lesson plans involve

students reflecting on their learning or making text to self connects in short written pieces. This standard is

specifically addressed by the opening and closing statement portion of students’ court case performance as students

will have an opportunity to evaluate their own work and to complete check lists that request them to review their

writing. Writing is incorporated in most of all activities throughout the unit. Students also have to address different

audiences particularly in the formal to informal conversion writing activity where students have to change their

voice to address formal and informal audiences.


Lessons 1-2

Topic/Title: Persuasive Forensics: Introducing a New Unit

Date 4/22/12

Grade Level 8th grade

Lesson Timeframe: One 45-minute session

Learning Objectives:

SWBAT: Evaluate two opposing arguments based off of analysis of videos on forensics.

SWBAT: Evaluate and establish methods for effective discussion.

Using Data to Drive Instruction:

Because the new unit is focused more college preparatory than anything the students have worked on,

some of the skills may be new to them. I plan to consistently collect data to update my assessment of the

students’ abilities. A pretest will be given at the beginning of the lesson in order to provide data on

students’ potential to learn the new skills.


Standard 8 of the Common Core ELA Reading Standards for Informational Text is also employed.

Students evaluate the validity of the arguments found in the forensic evidence video.

Standard 7 is engaged, as students are evaluating both text and visual sources of information in the

lesson...


Standard 1 of the Common Core ELA Speaking and Listening Standard is addressed, as students

engage in a variety of effective collaborative discussions from teacher led-to student group discussions.

I

Assessment Plan: There are many formal and informal assessments present in the lesson. The “Pre test” will be

collected to determine student participation and understanding prior to the lesson. Exit slips will be collected to assess

whether students have achieved mastery of the skill of evaluating arguments. Discussion evaluations will also be

collected and reviewed Informal assessments will include circulating the room to check for students understanding as

well as monitoring students’ answers in class discussion.


FIRST PERIOD

SWBAT: Evaluate two opposing arguments based off of analysis of videos on forensics.

SWBAT: Evaluate and establish methods for effective discussion.

Do Now:

7 minutes Students complete survey (pretest).

5 Minutes: Students complete multiple intelligences survey

5 Minutes: Teacher has students complete word map of Forensics on the board.

1 Minutes: Teacher has students write down working definition of forensics.

Guided practice

4 Minutes Teacher models evaluation forms & introduces previewing part of the lesson

- Teacher explains that the word map was one of 4 discussion techniques that class will be

previewing and evaluating.

5 minutes Teacher previews a Whip Around discussion

- Teacher asks students to read an article on disadvantages of forensic science underlining a word, a

phrase, and a sentence that stands out to them.

4 minutes Class discusses in a Whip Around format.

2 minutes Students evaluate activity.

6 Minutes Students preview “The Yarn” technique.

- Teacher first models the technique

- Be prepared to discuss what the positives and negatives of Forensic Science.


- What are some positive and negative aspects of forensic science

- Which video did you find more convincing why?

- Students watch video on what can go wrong with Forensic Science

5 minutes: Students share out

1 minutes Students evaluate activity.

- Ask for observable signal for completion of evaluation, “hold it up in the air when done.”

Exit slip:

5 minutes: 1. What is Forensic Science? 2. Name one benefit and one disadvantage to Forensic

Science


Lessons 3-4

Topic/Title: Knowing What’s Relevant: Determining relevant and irrelevant details.

Grade Level 8th grade

Lesson Timeframe: Two 45-minute sessions

Learning Objectives:

SWBAT: Evaluate the validity of information by determining relevant and irrelevant details

Using Data to Drive Instruction:

Based on the results of the pre-test given at the beginning of the unit, only roughly half of the students

have achieved mastery of the skill determining relevant and irrelevant details. Based on these findings, I

have devised a lesson geared towards engaging and providing students with a unique look at relevant

and irrelevant details.


Standard 8 of the Common Core ELA Reading Standards for Informational Text is employed

throughout lesson. Students having to read the statements from a transcript of a CSI episode and decide

which evidence are relevant and which is irrelevant.

Standard 7 is engaged, as students are evaluating both text and visual sources of information in the

lesson to answer their prediction of who committed the crime.


Standard 1 of the Common Core ELA Speaking and Listening Standard is addressed, as students

engage in a variety of effective collaborative discussions from teacher led-to student group discussions.

Assessment Plan: There are many formal and informal assessments present in the lesson. Students’ Do Now’s will be

collected to assess their entry level ability to distinguish relevant details. Formal assessments such as discussions will be

held to check understanding and students’ reasoning for their selection of relevant and irrelevant details. This will also

include circulating the room during pair work. Student’s graphic organizers will also be collected to assess students’

progress in group work.


FIRST PERIOD

4/29/12


Do Now:

2 minutes Students look at a picture on projector and write 3 most important details.

2 Minutes: Students share out one detail in Whip Around format.

o Teacher sets stopwatch and says they want to see how much participation they can get in 2

minutes. Teacher pushes questioning by eliciting students to explain why.

Mini Lesson

3 Minutes Teacher defines relevant and irrelevant details.

- Teacher models example of irrelevant details in a picture description by doing a Think Aloud.

Guided Practice

3 minutes Teacher shows another picture description of irrelevant details and explains that they will be

doing a Whip Around discussion.

- Teacher asks class to read the description and determine whether details are relevant or irrelevant

2 minutes Students share out in a Whip Around format only saying relevant or irrelevant.

2 minutes Teacher cold calls using Popsicle sticks with students names and asks them to explain their

answer. The teacher then asks another student if they agree or disagree.

4 minutes Teacher models court case activity

Independent Practice


20 Minutes Students work in pairs to pick a suspect based off the cop’s and suspect’s statements.

Students must record which details were relevant and irrelevant in making their decision into the first

page of their graphic organizers.

3 minutes: Students share out there suspects and one relevant detail in Whip Around format .

SECOND PERIOD


2 Minutes Teacher explains that when watching the episode students are to cross out any details they

thought were relevant but weren’t. “Once we know who the suspect is, you’ll be filling out the back of

graphic organizer based the relevant and irrelevant evidence.”

40 minutes Students watch CSI episode and complete other side of graphic organizer.

o When the killer is starting to become revealed pause video and tell class to start looking to fill

out back of graphic organizer.

3 Minutes Students finish up graphic organizers.


Lessons 5-6

FIRST PERIOD 8:52-9:37

5-2

SWBAT: Analyze and identify how rhetoric is used to support an argument.

Do Now:

30 minutes Independent Reading

o If you are close to being done with book log raise your hand.

o Last 5 minutes put people’s folders in the bins.

5 Minutes: Students share out one detail in Whip Around format.

o Class shares out one detail they have read in the book in Whip Around format.

10 Minutes Explain folders/ class participation system.

- Teacher models example of rhetoric

SECOND PERIOD 9:37-1020

Class 803

SWBAT: Analyze and identify how rhetoric is used to support an argument.

Put what we learned so far this week. Celebrate student success.

Do Now:

2 minutes Rhetorical questions on the board.

2 Minutes: Students share out their matching statements.


2 minutes Teacher goes over the agenda for the day.

Mini Lesson

1 Minutes Teacher makes connection from Do Now.

5 Minutes Teacher defines rhetoric, provides examples.

- Teacher models examples of rhetoric.

Teacher hands out rhetorical strategy forms and asks class to record them as they’re watching. Teacher

also reminds students that they will be calling out

6 minutes Shows clip one of My cousin Vinny rhetoric.



6 minutes Shows second clip one of My Cousin Vinny rhetoric.



Model Activity

10 Minutes Students work in pairs to determine rhetoric examples.

5 minutes: Exit Slip


Lessons 7-8

5-7

FIRST PERIOD 801

803 8:52-9:37 801 12:37-120

Desks Grouped for jeopardy teams

SWBAT: Synthesize knowledge of Rhetorical strategies by writing an argument with effective rhetoric.

Do Now:

3 minutes Do Now

4 Minutes: Teacher picks students to share out with popsicles

o Just one rhetorical strategy for each person then asks another student to explain what it is.

Mini Lesson

1 Minutes Teacher comments on class’s behavioral performance

2 minutes Teacher introduces participation system.

3 Minutes Teacher Answers Do Now makes connection to the day.

5 minutes Teacher Models looking for rhetoric in IR.

- Teacher shows class what rhetoric might look like in the context of their readings.

- Teacher wants students to record at least three examples of rhetoric on sheets.

Guided Practice

15 minutes Students do IR and look for rhetoric.

- Students will be highlight examples of rhetoric in their independent reading articles.


5 minutes Teacher picks students to share out with Popsicle sticks.

5 minutes Teacher explains Jeopardy game

- Rules.

SECOND PERIOD

SWBAT: Synthesize knowledge of unit by competing in a Jeopardy game.

45 minutes Students compete in jeopardy game to review for unit.


Lessons 9-10

FIRST PERIOD

801 11:07-1150 801 12:37-120 Desks Grouped individually

SWBAT: Synthesize knowledge of Rhetorical strategies by writing an argument with effective rhetoric.

Do Now:

20 minutes Midpoint assessment.

10 minutes Independent reading of articles .

o Go around the room switch books if necessary.

Mini Lesson

5 Minutes: Teacher introduces and models informal rhetoric writing assignment.

15 minutes Students work in pairs to write introductions that use rhetoric

o Extension work, write a script to argument.

5 minutes Call on volunteers to act out their argument.

SECOND PERIOD

SWBAT: Synthesize knowledge of rhetorical strategies by writing an argument with effective rhetoric

5 Minutes: Teacher introduces and models formal rhetoric writing assignment and culminating

assessment.

20 minutes students work in pairs to write introductions that use rhetoric.

5 minutes Students complete exit slips.

10 minutes Independent reading of articles

o Go around the room switch books if necessary


Lessons 11-12

5/9/12

FIRST PERIOD 801

801 12:37-120

Desks Grouped in pairs

SWBAT: Analyze use of author’s voice to appeal to different audiences.

Do Now:

3 minutes Do Now

o Students will determine which statement a person is talking to a friend and which is a statement

talking to a boss.

4 Minutes: Teacher picks students to share out in Whip Around format

o Students are only saying whether they agree with the labeling of the statements in the Do Now,

yes or no.

Mini Lesson

5 Minutes Teacher Models what a formal voice is.

- Teacher provides definition and examples of the same statement said in formal and informal

voice.

2 minutes Teacher asks for volunteers to translate one sentence into formal and formal voice

3 Minutes Teacher models Informal to formal conversion activity.


15 minutes Students complete Informal to Formal conversion activity.


- Students must take examples of informal voice and convert it to formal voice and vice versa.

- Teacher circulates room helping to clarify activity .

Guided Practice

12 minutes Students do IR and highlight examples of formal language in their reading and compare

short excerpt from Wikipedia about forensic science to their independent reading book.

SECOND PERIOD

SWBAT: Synthesize knowledge of formal voice by writing an introduction to an argument using formal voice.

5 minutes Teacher models formal voice writing assignment.

- Teacher demonstrates effective use of formal voice by showing students completed paragraph

that uses appropriate vocabulary and organization format.

- Teacher models peer review demonstrating which words to highlight and effective comments to

give partner.

25 minutes Students write paragraph using formal voice. Students must write as lawyers representing

their client who is accused of robbery but was on vacation at the time of the incident.

- Teacher circulates to monitor students’ progress.

5 minutes Students peer review each other’s paragraphs checking for use of formal vocabulary and

voice.

5 minutes Teacher asks for volunteers to share out their paragraph.

5 minutes Students complete exit slip asking them what formal voice is and to provide an example


5-10-12Lessons 13-14

801 12:37-120


SWBAT: Analyze courtroom procedures and objections.

Do Now:

3 minutes Do Now

o Students will recall what formal voice is.

4 Minutes: Teacher picks students to share out in Whip Around format.

o Students are only saying what they think formal and informal voice is.

5 Minutes Students complete court vocabulary fill in the blanks sheet.

3 Minutes Students share out their answers

o Teacher reveals right answer for each of the vocabulary words.

Mini Lesson

5 Minutes Teacher models different types of objections.

- Teacher provides definitions of the four common objections of conjecture, malarkey, irrelevant

information, and badgering the witness. Teacher provides examples for each type of objection

Teacher has class all shout out the objections at the end of each example.

2 minutes Teacher asks for the class to figure out which objection should be called in four examples

and to shout it out as a class.

3 Minutes Teacher models graphic organizer for the different types of objections showing students to

pick which objection and why.



15 minutes Students complete objection activity together.

- Students must pick the correct objection to given statements and give a reason why.

- Teacher circulates room helping to clarify activity


5 14 Lessons 15-16

FIRST PERIOD

803 :8:52-937 801 12:37-1:20

Desks Grouped individually

SWBAT: Analyze courtroom procedure of final assessment by filling out Question and answer graphic organizer.

Do Now:

10 Minutes Student’s read short article about courtroom procedure.

o If students are done they can do additional book log for Extra credit- Introduce that in general!

1 minutes Teacher has monitors hand out folders, Gives shout outs for students who did a good job on

classroom points and class work.

5 minutes Students List people who are present in courtroom.

2 Minute Teacher does Whip Around asking each student to name someone who’s present in a

courtroom.

Mini Lesson

2 Minutes Teacher shows list of people present in courtroom and their jobs.

5 Minutes: Teacher introduces and models final assessment

2 Minutes Teacher models question and answer sheet


10 minutes Students fill out question sheets

Students Switch papers


5 minutes Partners try to answer each other’s question in writing

SECOND PERIOD

803 9:37-1020 801 1:22-2:05

SWBAT: Understand courtroom procedures of final assessment by analyzing a video of courtroom procedure.

Mini Lesson

3 Minutes Teacher explains that we first have to know how the trial proceeds models how to fill out

courtroom example worksheet.

3 Minutes Rules of the courtroom (when people can talk when people can make objections) what each

part is. Points system.

25 minutes Teacher shows clip from My Cousin Vinny stopping it and asking the class what part of

the trial procedure we’re talking about.


Lessons 17-18

FIRST PERIOD

801 11:07-11:50 803 1:22-2:05

Desks Grouped in Paris

SWBAT: Synthesize their knowledge of rhetoric and formal voice by creating opening statements for their

court case.

10 Minutes Student’s read question and answer sheet from yesterday about opening statements.

Students read court case scenarios.

1 minutes Teacher has monitors hand out folders, gives shout-outs for students who did a good job on

classroom points and class work.

Do Now:

5 minutes Students activate prior knowledge about opening statements

2 Minute Teacher does popsicle stick cold call for answers

Mini Lesson

5 Minutes Teacher presents example of opening statement that uses rhetoric and formal voice


15 Minutes: Students work in paris to write opening statement for defense and prosecution (801 for

first 5 minutes read over cases)

o Complete evaluate check list for rhetoric and formal voice

15 Minutes Students complete closing statements of case.


o Complete evaluation check list for rhetoric and formal voice

10 minutes Students fill out question sheets

Students switch papers

5 minutes Partners try to answer each other’s question in writing

SECOND PERIOD

801 12:37-1:20 803 2:07-2:50

SWBAT: Synthesize knowledge of relevant and irrelevant details and Forensic Science by creating witness

testimonies to apply their knowledge

Mini Lesson

5 minutes Teacher models what witness statement should look like.

20 minutes Students fill out eyewitness testimony in question and answer format

o Must include one irrelevant detail.

20 minutes Students fill out Forensic Scientist Witness Question and Answers

5 Minutes Rules of the courtroom (when people can talk when people can make objections) what each

part of the case entails. Points system.


Lessons 19-20

5/16/12

FIRST PERIOD 803

801 11:07-1150 801 12:37-120


SWBAT: Students will evaluate their knowledge of rhetoric, irrelevant details, formal voice, and forensic

science by completing checklists and Jury evaluation forms.

.Do Now:

5 minutes Students answer questions about the roles of each classmate during the court performance.

Mini Lesson

5 Minutes: Teacher demonstrates the different responsibilities of each court member.

5 Minutes: Teacher models jury’s evaluation sheet.

10 minutes Teacher asks students to look at each of the different roles worksheets to become familiar

for what’s expected of them.

10 minutes Teacher asks for student volunteers to model their completed court case by performing each

part of the court case assignment for the class.

o Teacher also involves the whole class in the court case by asking for volunteers to play different

roles in the court and by having students fill out Jury Evaluation sheets .

5 minutes Teacher asks class to share out their evaluation sheets.


10 Minutes: Students work with their court case partners to complete assignment check lists and jury

evaluation sheets on their own court case to ensure they have completed all parts of the assignment

thoroughly .

10 Minutes Students will than peer edit each other’s court cases .

Exit Slip

5 minutes Students complete exit slip asking them to recall the different parts of the court case

assignment.

SECOND PERIOD

SWBAT: Synthesize knowledge of rhetoric, irrelevant details, formal voice, and forensic facts and procedure by

performing a court case that emphasizes each of these skills.

5 Minutes: Teacher hands out jury evaluation forms and restates procedures for the court case activity

and expectations for particular roles in court.

30 minutes students perform court cases.

o Students will be graded on court case presentations in pairs, but the case will be presented the

case as a class. The student pairs are only responsible for performing the defense and

prosecution lawyers; the rest of the class will play the following roles, the Judge, the Bailiff, the

court reporter, The witnesses, sketch artists and the remainder of the class is the Jury.

o Students who are part of the Jury will be evaluating classmates based off of their use of rhetoric,

irrelevant and relevant details, formal voice and forensic science facts.

5 minutes Students complete evaluation forms on their classmates.


Part C

Rubrics/ Assessments

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Pre Test/ Survey

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Midpoint

MS 57 NAME:___________________

Class:_________ Date:_____________________

Mid Unit Assessment

1. Forensic Science is:

a. The study of the courtroom to prove new techniques for solving crime.

b. The study of law, order, and justice.

c. The science of looking at things close under the microscope.

d. A variety of sciences used to answer questions for a court of law or to interpret clues.

2. irrelevant details are

a. Details that explain the text.

b. Details that are completely untrue and inaccurate.

c. Information about the author.

d. Details that are unrelated or off topic to the main idea.

3. Relevant details are:

a. Details those are interesting and exciting to read.

b. Details those are completely untrue or inaccurate.

c. Details that prove your point.

d. Details those are significant and related to the main idea.

4. If you are looking to answer a question, relevant details are_____________ in finding the answer,

whereas Irrelevant details are ______________ to finding the answer.

5. Your suspect, a construction worker who is known for rolling his own cigarettes, is accused of

murdering someone. Based on what you know about him, which piece of evidence would be most

relevant to proving he committed the crime.

a. The body was found on the east river burned to death.

b. The murder must have been wearing gloves when he killed the victim.

c. The victim was found in a restricted area that only building crews have access to and we found

tobacco everywhere.

d. We found a cigarette and a hammer at the scene of the crime.

6. Your suspect, an Olympic weight lifting champion, is being accused of breaking into a store and stealing

up to 10K (thousand) in cash. Which details are most relevant in proving he committed the crime?

a. People who saw the crime said it was someone famous who they recognized & whoever broke in

ripped a 400 pound door right off its hinges.

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b. People said they thought they might have seen the criminal fleeing the scene ultra fast like a

track runner

c. The suspect came in at exactly 3:01a.m and used an industrial sized bolt cutter.

d. The criminal most have known somebody inside the store, because they knew the security codes

for the front door.

7. Rhetoric is:

a. The art of confusing people.

b. The skill of getting people to listen to you.

c. The skill of using language persuasively and effectively.

d. The skill of using language to craft lies.

8. Using Rhetoric can_______________ your argument by appealing to____________ the three rhetorical

strategies are__________________ and____________

9. Ethos helps to persuade by:

a. Building the speakers own image and credibility.

b. Using very detailed evidence and facts.

c. Appealing to emotions, e.g.,(for example) sympathy and guilt.

d. Using hyperbole.

10. Pathos helps to persuade by:




d. Using forensic evidence.

11. Logos helps to persuade by:



c. Tricking the audience into believing the opposite argument.

d. Appealing to emotions, e.g.,(for example) sympathy and guilt.

Write a short paragraph to argue why you should be able to watch movies all the time in

school.

In your argument be sure to include one sentence that uses, Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

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1 2 3 4

Arguments Thesis is unclear, or

supported by 1 or less

arguments. There are

not specific details

backing up argument. No

use of rhetorical

strategies

Thesis is clear, at

least 2 strong

arguments. Some

arguments are

supported by

details some aren’t

Thesis is clear, at

least 3 strong

arguments. Specific

details support

most arguments. At

least one rhetorical

strategy is used

Prompt is answered

completely thesis is

clear. Argument is

supported with 3

details and student

used 3 examples of

rhetoric effectively

Voice & Style Essay repeats, uses

informal language.

Student fails to use

rhetoric to engage the

reader

Essay does not

repeat but uses

informal language.

Fails to Use rhetoric

to engage the

reader.

Essay does not

repeat, has either

formal language

and engaging use of

rhetoric, but does

not have both.

Essay does not

repeat, includes

formal language

and engaging use of

rhetoric

Structure Essay does not follow

the “intro, 3 body

paragraphs, conclusion”

and Thesis, 3 Arguments,

3 details” Structure.

Essay may be

missing more than

one part of the 5

paragraph essay

format.

Essay may include

all parts of the

essay, but does not

have well organized

transitions.

Essays has five

essay formats and

uses well organized

transitions.

Mechanics Many errors in sentence

construction, issues with

clarity. Many sentence

beginnings are not

capitalized. Many

spelling and grammar

problems.

All sentences are

capitalized. Some

errors with

sentence

construction and

issues with clarity.

Grammar and

spelling problems

make it somewhat

unclear.

Very few errors

with spelling, but

essay may include

many grammatical

errors such as

sentence

fragments.

Sentences all begin

with capital letters.

There are few to no

grammatical errors

and or spelling

problems.

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Adapted Instruction

After giving John and Jen their pre-tests I realized that Jen was struggling with persuasive writing and John

was struggling with relevant and irrelevant details. After giving multiple intelligences survey, I determined

that John was an interpersonal learner and Jen was a visual learner. After discovering the student’s difficulties

and their particular learning styles I enacted many scaffolds for the students.

For Jen when it came time to do the rhetorical strategies portion of the persuasive writing focus I made

sure I printed out a copy of the model I had on the board of the triangle of Rhetorical strategies, Ethos Pathos,

and Logos. I also color coded all of my slides and made special attention that her copies were in color, despite

the scarcity of color copies available to me. When it came time for Jen to write an argumentative paragraph

that utilized rhetorical strategies, I designed a bulleted worksheet that broke the essay up into workable,

visual parts. I also made sure to engage the Jen and visual learners in general by including short video

demonstrations throughout e.g., including CSI NY episodes to demonstrate forensics and irrelevant details and

My Cousin Vinny and Law and Order to demonstrate effective rhetoric. I also made sure to keep a visual

representation of her progress in the class both academically and behaviorally by recording points awarded

and retracted for positive classroom interactions. This allowed students like Jen to have a visual, tangible view

of their academic and behavioral performance. I also made sure to constantly incorporate graphic organizers

in with all the activities to allow students like Jen who have strong visual/special intelligence to organize their

thoughts. These graphic organizers were not limited to T charts; I also incorporated sequential charts and flow

charts to visualize the process involved with an assignment. I also made sure to use shading and borders to

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help distinguish different portions of the assignment. All teacher models were numbered in numerical steps to

assist visual learners as well.

The scaffolds for John were quite different. As an interpersonal learner, he often struggled to maintain

focus and avoid constant communication with classmates. I fostered his learning style by creating many

opportunities for him to interact with the class. He was often picked as a monitor to handout work and as a

scribe to write students’ responses on the board. He was also used for “call to attentions” where he was

responsible for saying certain quiet signals for the class. I designed many opportunities for interpersonal

learners to perform for the class. These included giving interpersonal learns opportunities to present their

work as student models in “teach the class” activities. I also made sure to encourage John to get up in front of

the class and read pre-screened Do Now’s and independent work to the class. Many of the activities involved

pair work that engaged interpersonal learners by using their social skills to develop effective arguments

together with students. I allowed John to be the group leader in the Jeopardy review for the midterm and he

utilized his interpersonal abilities to pull his team together and come in second place in the tournament! The

learning objective of students’ utilizing rhetoric to improve their arguments also proved to be a great

opportunity for John to shine. I made sure to incorporate various text to self writing activities where students

could reflect and built on their own personal experience. John was able to use his knowledge of social

interactions to write interesting and well written argumentative essays based on his personal experience. I

also consistently provided opportunities for John to play speaking roles in the court case activity. He was able

to act as the judge, witness, and bailiff. In order to help John learn irrelevant details I allowed him to take the

lead on the objection activity, he reveled in the opportunity to yell out objection, irrelevant details! This little

bit of spot light made the somewhat dry topic of relevant and irrelevant details particularly engaging for John.

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Part H

Materials for Lessons 1-20

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Part F Ste. Marie 117


MS 57 NAME:___________________

Class:_________ Date:_____________________

CSI Investigation Activity

Directions Read the transcript of CSI’s investigation of a crime. Based off of the statements

from the suspects and police officers, who do you think committed the crime? Put your prediction

in the arrow labeled “My Suspect.” Record three pieces of evidence that are relevant (or

necessary) in picking your suspect and three pieces of irrelevant evidence that was not important

in picking your suspect.

After Video Write CSI’s perpetrator and write which evidence from the statements was relevant

and which was irrelevant in their search.

Relevant Details Irrelevant Details

Evidence #1 Evidence #1


Evidence # 3 Evidence # 3

My Suspect____________


``

Relevant Details Irrelevant Details



Evidence # 3 Evidence # 3

CSI’s Perp ____________

Your Suspect

_____________

Part E Ste. Marie 122

Materials Lesson 5 and 6

MS 57 NAME:___________________

Class:_________ Date:_____________________

Ethos Logos Pathos

#1 Example of Ethos

This is ethos because:

_____________________

_____________________

#1 Example of Logos

This is Logos because:

_____________________

_____________________

#1 Example of Pathos

This is Pathos because:

_____________________

_____________________

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Extension Work

#2 Example of Ethos

Foot Note number ___

This is ethos because:

_____________________

_____________________

_____________________

_____________________

#2 Example of Logos



_____________________

_____________________

_____________________

_____________________

#2 Example of Pathos



_____________________

_____________________

_____________________

_____________________

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Challenge What you Know about Rhetoric

1. I do not need to resort to techniques like exaggerating evidence, or having theatrics—an honest lawyer

never does.

This is an example of__________ because:

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Bam the door slammed, everyone was trembling when this murderer carelessly discarded these young

men’s future!

This is an example of__________ because:

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

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Materials: Lesson 7 and 8

Jeopardy

10 Facts about

forensic science

from IR reading

Relevant and

Irrelevant details

Rhetoric, evidence. Forensic

Procedures &

Techniques

Pros and Cons

of Forensic

Evidence

20 True or false:

Identical twins

have the same

fingerprints.

True or False:

Relevant details

are

Related to the

main idea of the

text.

What is the goal of

persuasive writing?

True or false:

Shoe prints are

more unique

than fingerprints.

True or False:

Forensic

Science is

always right?

40

True or false

Forensic science is

the of science in

order to answer a

question for a

court of law

These details are

unrelated to the

main idea .

True or False:

Rhetoric is the art

of lying in order to

prove an

argument.

This is a vital

piece of

evidence can be

found in people’s

hair, skin, and

blood.

True or false:

Mislabeling

and Human

error in

Forensic

science result

in wrongful

convictions

based

50 True or false there

are: Three different

types of finger

print patterns.

True or false

Irrelevant details

are wrong and

untrue.

Rhetoric can be

broken up into

these 3 categories.

This type of

forensic science

studies poison

and harmful

chemicals.

True or false

New York

State is

ranked 3rd in

the USA for

wrongful

convictions

60

80 What is trace

evidence?

True or false

relevant details

are the most

interesting details.

This rhetorical

strategy involves

appealing to

people’s emotions.

True or false a

person’s DNA

changes when

they get older?

True or False:

More people

have been

freed by DNA

testing then

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convicted.

100 This process

involves obtaining

the fingerprints

from a crime

scene.

You are

investigating a

robbery and your

suspect is a mail

man. Is finding a

carrying case at

the scene of the

crime irrelevant

or relevant to

solving your case?

What type of

rhetoric is used in

the following

quote,”

I have been a

Doctor for 40 years

and in my expert

opinion she

needed to go to a

mental health

facility”

These forensic

scientists obtain

and analyze data

in order to solve

computer

related crimes.

Forensic

Science has

been

responsible

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Materials Lessons 9 and 10

MS 57 NAME:___________________

Class:_________ Date:_____________________

Mid Unit Assessment

12. Forensic Science is:

a. The study of the court room to prove new techniques for solving crime.

b. The study of law, order, and justice.

c. The science of looking at things close under the microscope.

d. A variety of sciences used to answer questions for a court of law or to interpret clues.

13. irrelevant details are

e. Details that explain the text.

f. Details that are completely untrue and inaccurate.

g. Information about the author.

h. Details that are unrelated or off topic to the main idea.

14. Relevant details are:

e. Details those are interesting and exciting to read.

f. Details those are completely untrue or inaccurate.

g. Details that prove your point.

h. Details those are significant and related to the main idea.

15. If you are looking to answer a question, relevant details are_____________ in finding the answer,

whereas Irrelevant details are ______________ to finding the answer.

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16. Your suspect, a construction worker who is known for rolling his own cigarettes, is accused of

murdering someone. Based on what you know about him, which piece of evidence would be most

relevant to proving he committed the crime.

a. The body was found on the east river burned to death.

b. The murder must have been wearing gloves when he killed the victim.

c. The victim was found in a restricted area that only building crews have access to and we found

tobacco everywhere.

d. We found a cigarette and a hammer at the scene of the crime.

17. Your suspect, an Olympic weight lifting champion, is being accused of breaking into a store and stealing

up to 10K (thousand) in cash. Which details are most relevant in proving he committed the crime?

a. People who saw the crime said it was someone famous who they recognized & whoever broke in

ripped a 400 pound door right off its hinges.

b. People said they thought they might have seen the criminal fleeing the scene ultra fast like a

track runner

c. The suspect came in at exactly 3:01a.m and used an industrial sized bolt cutter.

d. The criminal most have known somebody inside the store, because they knew the security codes

for the front door.

18. Rhetoric is:

e. The art of confusing people.

f. The skill of getting people to listen to you.

g. The skill of using language persuasively and effectively.

h. The skill of using language to craft lies.

19. Using Rhetoric can_______________ your argument by appealing to____________ the three rhetorical

strategies are__________________ and____________

20. Ethos helps to persuade by:




d. Using hyperbole.

21. Pathos helps to persuade by:




d. Using forensic evidence.

22. Logos helps to persuade by:


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c. Tricking the audience into believing the opposite argument.

d. Appealing to emotions, e.g.,(for example) sympathy and guilt.

Write a short paragraph to argue why you should be able to watch movies all the time in

school.

In your argument be sure to include one sentence that uses, Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Materials Lessons 11 and 12

Differentiated Worksheet for the low performing students in rhetoric.

MS 57 NAME:___________________

Class:_________ Date:_____________________

I picked______________________________________

(Ethos)_______________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

(Pathos)______________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

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(Logos)_______________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

Insert formal informal Graphic Organizers here

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Independent Reading Hand out

MS 57 NAME:___________________

Class:_________ Date:_____________________

Forensic science (often shortened to forensics) is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of

interest to a legal system. This may be in relation to a crime or a civil action. The word forensic comes from the

Latin forēnsis, meaning "of or before the forum."[1] In Roman times, a criminal charge meant presenting the case before

a group of public individuals in the forum. Both the person accused of the crime and the accuser would give speeches

based on their sides of the story. The individual with the best argument and delivery would determine the outcome of

the case. This origin is the source of the two modern usages of the word forensic – as a form of legal evidence and as a

category of public presentation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forensic_science

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Forum

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In modern use, the term "forensics" in the place of "forensic science" can be considered correct as the term "forensic" is

effectively a synonym for "legal" or "related to courts". However the term is now so closely associated with the scientific

field that many dictionaries include the meaning that equates the word "forensics" with "forensic science".

1. How is this different than the writing in your Independent reading books?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What type of audience do you think this excerpt is trying to reach? What is its purpose? How do you know?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synonym

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Materials Lessons 13-14

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Insert Objection Activity here

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Steps of the Court Case

Each Court Session will have a:

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Must include one example of Ethos Pathos & logos In opening statement

One witness must be a Forensic Scientist

Must have at least one objection for an irrelevant detail.

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Types of Objections

•Badgering the Witness: annoying or intimidating the witness. Repeating questioning.

•Irrelevant: Facts that are unrelated to the main purpose of the case.

•Pure Conjecture: Guess work, making statements based off of opinions

•Malarkey: Exaggerated or foolish talk, usually intended to deceive:

Jury Must fill out check list. They must also record one example of Ethos Pathos and Logos

MS 57 NAME:___________________

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Class:_________ Date:_____________________

Question I have about Assignment Answer I got About the Assignment

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MS 57 NAME:___________________

Class:_________ Date:_____________________

Question I have about Assignment

1. Example of Opening Statement:

2. Example of Oath:

3. Example of Direct Examination:

4. Example of Cross Examination:

5. Example of Defense Direct Examination:

6. Example of Closing Statements:

7. Example of Jury Deliberation:

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Materials 17-18

Prosecution’s Witnesses

Forensic Science: Mrs. Markman, forensic scientist. Hired to figure the cause of the destruction of Mr.

Wiley’s house. Specializes in Forensics Engineering.

Eye Witness: Leslie, Paperboy carrier, witnessed boys fleeing the scene of the crime

Defense’s Witnesses

Forensic Science: Mr. Lux Hired Forensic Scientist. Specializes in forensic Engineering

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Eye Witness: Jamal Goodland, Mr. Wiley’s neighbor. Claims that Tony could not have thrown it from where

he was standing.


Forensic Science: Mr. Tillman Private investigator. Hired to figure out Drug problems in school.

Specializes in Cyber Forensics

Ali’s flash drive was left at the scene of the crime

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Eye Witness: Matt, Alli’s classmate who was also searched


Forensic Science: John Carmen Hired Forensic Scientist. Specializes in forensic toxicology

Eye Witness: Rob, Alil’s cousin was there when he bought the backpack.

State V. Crimson

Samuel Crimson is being accused of first degree murder of Julia Reynolds. Samuels is a former cop and

currently a security guard for local, Parking lot 12 on Bedford & Empire Blvd, Brooklyn NY. Julia was found shot dead

Monday 5/14/12 in the parking lot after it what appears to be forced entry to her car. Samuel’s gun is traced to the

crime, but he claims it was stolen from his security booth Tuesday morning 5/14/12. Her body was found 3 days after

she was killed.


Forensic Science: Mrs. Lock, private investigator and forensic scientist. Specializes in Forensic

Entomology.

Eye Witness: Business manager who worked on the 20th

floor of office building right next to

parking lot.


Forensic Science: Raul Caltini Hired Forensic Scientist. Specializes in Forensics Engineering

Eye Witness: Bob Gulberts Samuel’s partner and security officer.

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MS 57 NAME:___________________

Class:_________ Date:_____________________

Forensic Scientist Witness Answer Sheet

Witness’s Name____________

Answer #1

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________

Answer #2 Must include Forensic Evidence and must relate to their Forensic Specialty.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

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_______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Answer #3

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

MS 57 NAME:___________________

Class:_________ Date:_____________________

Eye Witness Answer Sheet


Answer #1

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________

Answer #2 Must have irrelevant details if they are not in the question already.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

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_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Answer #3

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

MS 57 NAME:___________________

Class:_________ Date:_____________________

Forensic Scientist Witness

I am the____________ Lawyer.

Question #1

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________

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Question #2 Must relate to Forensic evidence and the Scientist’s Specialty (For example: Forensic Toxicology,

Cyber Forensics )

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

______________________________

Question #3

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

MS 57 NAME:___________________

Class:_________ Date:_____________________

Forensic Scientist Witness


Answer #1

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

Must relate to

Forensic

Scientist’s

Specialty

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________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________

Answer #2 Must include Forensic Evidence and must relate to their Forensic Specialty.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Answer #3

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Opening Statement

Must write an opening statement of at least five sentences to explain why the defendant is either innocent or guilty.

Must have:

At least 3 examples of the Rhetorical Strategies of Ethos Pathos & Logos.

The use of a formal voice.

Evidence from the case.

The correct format including a welcoming and a request for innocent or guilty

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__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

MS 57 NAME:___________________

Class:_________ Date:_____________________

Closing

Must write an opening statement of at least five sentences to explain why the defendant is either innocent or guilty.

Must have:

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At least 3 examples of the Rhetorical Strategies of Ethos Pathos & Logos.

The use of a formal voice.

Evidence from the case.

The correct format for closing a case including exit request to find the client innocent or guilty

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

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MS 57 NAME:___________________

Class:_________ Date:_____________________

Bailiff

1) Names of students in pair who are performing their case.

Prosecutor___________ Defense_____________ Court case___________

2) As a Baliff you will be responsible for Opening the trial by reading the parts that say Baliff.You

will read off of the pair who is performing’s sheet. They already will have the blanks filled out

except for the judge is whoever is playing the judge.

- The top of their court case sheet will look like this except they will have these parts filled in

for you:

3) You are also responsible for escorting the witnesses to and from the witness stand.

Prosecution’s Witnesses:

Witness Name ______________ Student performing it______________


Defense’s Witnesses :



Whoever is playing the judge

Whatever case the pair picked.

whatever the pair wants

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MS 57 NAME:___________________

Class:_________ Date:_____________________

Judge

a) Names of students in pair who are performing their case.

Prosecutor___________ Defense_____________ Defendant_________ Court case___________

b) As a judge you will be responsible for Opening the trial by reading the parts that say Judge.You




for you:

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MS 57 NAME:___________________

Class:_________ Date:_____________________

Court Reporter



The judge___________ The Baliff___________ The Sketch Artist__________







2) Record each part of the court case

Opening Statement Prosecution.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Opening Statement Defense.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

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Part E

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MS 57 NAME:___________________

Class:_________ Date:_____________________

Sketch Artist


Prosecutor___________ Defense_____________ Court case___________ Defendant ___________

2) Make a sketch sequence that tells the story of the case. Try to capture what happened in the court case in order of each part of the court

case.

1. Opening Statements 2. Cross Examination/ Direct Examination 3. Closing Arguments/ Jurys

Vedict

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MS 57 NAME:___________________

Class:_________ Date:_____________________

Bailiff



2) As a Baliff you will be responsible for Opening the trial by reading the parts that say Baliff.You




for you:

3) You are also responsible for escorting the witnesses to and from the witness stand.







Whoever is playing the judge

Whatever case the pair picked.

whatever the pair wants

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A. Student learning goals and standards addressed by unit B. Lesson plans for unit C. Rubric(s) and other assessment instrument(s) used in unit D. Samples of focal student(s)’ work assessed with rubric/assessment instrument E. Summary of how you adapted instruction for focal student(s) F. Reflective paper on how your unit demonstrated INTASC Standards 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 (see below) G. Supervisor’s feedback form based on observation(s) during teaching of project

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Reflections

The creation of this teaching project put many of my teaching skills to the test. The skills emphasized in

INTASC Standards 3, 4, 6, 7, were all necessary in creating this project. Throughout the teaching project, I constantly

employed multiple instructional strategies and adapted the strategies to address the needs of focal students and

different learners. My skills utilizing communication and Technology and Instructional Planning were particularly at

work in designing the engagement pieces of the teaching project’s lessons. The project was also filled with informal and

formal Assessments.

INTASC 3 of adapting instruction is present in many parts of the teaching project. The project involves using many

activities that address different learners’ needs. By using a gardeners’ multiple intelligence survey I was able to include

many activities and even direct instructional parts of the lesson that were differentiated. For the auditory learners I

made sure to consistently read out loud Do Now’s, models and examples. I also engaged in some Read Alouds of articles.

I also provided many opportunities for extended discussion of important facts in case the auditory learners didn’t pick

up on my PowerPoint’s. I included whole class call and responses as well so as to reemphasize information. I also

engaged kinesthetic learners throughout the teaching project by allowing them opportunities to go up and write on the

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board. I also made sure to include a sketch artist during the court case performance as well as a judge role that involved

banging a gavel. Kinesthetic learners were also given opportunities to act out their informal rhetoric activities. This

adaptation is particularly emphasized in section E, as I employed various strategies to adapt my instruction to address

the needs of the focal students. This involved identifying areas that these students struggled in and determining their

style of learning. Many scaffolds and forms of differentiation were used to address these focal students’ needs. Adding

charts, color coding, video clips, graphic organizers were only some of the ways I modified my instruction to meet the

needs of my struggling visual focal student. Adding opportunities for student involvement in classroom procedures also

helped address my struggling interpersonal focal student. This included having classroom monitors, “teach the class”

activities and various performances. The student body in general is very low performing and many of them have difficult

home situations. I made sure to provide as much engagement as possible for the unit including video clips and episodes

set in their hometown Brooklyn. I made sure to incorporate various texts to self writing activities where students

could reflect and built on their own personal experience.

INTASC standard 4 was also addressed consistently throughout the unit. Many of the Do Now’s and exit

slips in the lessons had blooms taxonomy built in. The first questions were usually at the understand or

knowledge level while the second usually involved applying or analyzing what students’ were learning. The last

question would usually involve synthesis or evaluation often asking students to be metacognitive about their

learning. These questions might look like, “what is rhetoric” (knowledge) “What part of this statement involves

rhetoric “(analysis) why do you think it is effective to use rhetoric in an argument, or “which rhetorical

strategy do you think is most effective? Why?” (Evaluation). Students were also encouraged to be

metacognitive about their use of language in their formal to informal conversion activity. This gave students a

chance to “code switch” between their slang and academic/formal jargon. I also consistently used the triad

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response technique whereby one student had to agree or disagree with another than a third student would

have to evaluate the prior students’ points.

Many of the lessons involved opportunities for students to write responses to the questions in the lesson thus

encouraging them to go deeper. Student’s problem solving skills were addressed in many unique ways. The

irrelevant and relevant CSI NY activity fostered students’ problem solving skills as they literary had to do

detective work to determine whether details were relevant or irrelevant. Other parts of the lessons such as the

Do Now of formal writing lesson involved having students determine what was wrong with an already labeled

answer and how to fix it. In student’s informal rhetorical writing assignment students had to use the power of

rhetoric to convince readers’ of their solution to common problems they had in their school such as equity of the

school’s classes. Students were able to provide solutions for problems like, “all the other classes get to go

outside except mine.” For those students who need to feel competition or challenge I also provided

opportunities for them to increase their performance by competing in a jeopardy review for a midpoint

assessment. I also encouraged students’ classroom performance by keeping a chart of positive classroom

performance.

INTASC 6 was employed throughout the teaching project in many ways. The discussion piece of the class

was aided by many different discussion formats. Many of the lessons involved high energy participation

techniques such as Whip Arounds where every student was expected to share in rapid succession all away

around the room. I consistently cold called on students objectively by pulling out Popsicle sticks with students’

names which allowed students who are hesitant to share to speak on a consistent basis. I also cold called without

the Popsicle sticks in order to check for understanding. I developed a points system to reward class

participation and published students’ scores who made positive contributions to class. I also used a triad

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response technique assisted by passing around a yarn ball. Students who had the yarn would have to speak then

pass it to a student who would have to explain why they agree or disagree with what the previous student said.

I also gave students many opportunities to provide feedback to each other and to the teacher. Evaluation

forms were given out for students to rate how they enjoyed certain activities and even discussion styles.

Students also peer reviewed each other’s work effectively during their court case activity when they filled out

their jury evaluation forms based on their classmates’ performance. Student’s questions were encouraged

throughout as the unit provided many reflective opportunities for students to evaluate their work with check lists

and to ask their peers questions. The introduction of the court case activity also provided students with an

opportunity to ask step by step questions about the assignment before they would be working on it. Maybe non

verbal methods of communication were established. Signals for completed work were established such as

students putting their hands on their head their done. Non verbal behavioral reminders were also utilized to keep

management issues objective.

INTASC 7 was featured throughout the teaching project in a variety of ways. Much thought was put into the

students’ current experience when planning the unit. Considering the fact that the students were completely over

worked from studying for the ELA and Math exams I made sure to voice my sympathy for their situation and to

provide engaging materials. Because the student body of the school are struggling students’ I made sure to

provide as much engagement as possible. I also made sure to celebrate students’ success consistently by

offering genuine positive reinforcement whenever I could as well as publishing students’ work. Also through

the class participation system I designed students would receive “shout outs” when they for making positive

contributions to class discussion or general improvement in their work. Considering the students’ in my class’s

interest in court and police I implemented as much content around these themes as possible. Also considering

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the strong Arts and dancing program in the school I provided students with an outlet to perform in the

classroom during their court case performance activity.

Though it was difficult, I employed the curriculum goals of students reading a variety of non-fiction texts

and supporting arguments with evidence throughout the unit. I balanced these non-fiction writing goals with the

highly fictional content through a consistent Independent reading routine. To foster engagement and to tie it

close to forensics I shaped content such CSI NY Law and Order and My Cousin Vinny around the writing and

learning objectives. This involved cutting video clips and encouraging a close and focused viewing of the clips.

All of the videos were directly tied into the students’ activities. I also considering students difficulty with some

of the vocabulary of forensic science I made sure to encourage students to develop a vocabulary list as a class

from their independent reading books as well as their experience with the video clips and reading articles. I also

knew students had very little prior knowledge about the court system procedures so I provided many

opportunities for students to learn about the procedures individually through independent reading focused on the

courtroom procedures and class room discussions based on courtroom procedures. I also allowed students to

interact with the topic by writing down all of the people they could think of working in a courtroom and

identifying all the different people and procedures of the courtroom by showing the class a video of court

procedure.

Standard 8 was implemented in many forms throughout the teaching project. I implemented many formal

and informal assessments throughout the unit. From the start, students completed both a pretest and a multiple

intelligences survey to determine their entry level abilities and particular learning styles. These formal

assessments provided me with data to base my initial instruction off of. The majority of lessons throughout the

unit included exit slips to assess students’ mastery of objectives on a daily basis. The exit slips were designed

to assess different levels of mastery by asking students a range of questions aligned to Bloom’s Taxonomy.

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These exit slips often determined the nature of the next class’s Do Now, as I would determine whether students

needed a more thorough review of the previous lesson. Out of these exit slips also came extension work and

scaffolded worksheets. After determining that some students had mastered all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy on

the exit slip I would then design extension work and side projects to foster and build on their high achievement.

After reviewing exit slips, some lessons would need to be re-taught based and differentiated to the level that the

students scored on their exit slips. I also included a jeopardy review to assess how students would do on their

midpoint assessments and to provide last minute tips mini-lessons and reminders. The midpoint assessments

also provided me with great data on how to close out the unit and which skills to address again. It also served as

a cut off point for what I could teach by the end of the unit and after looking at the midpoint I opted to teach

less content in favor of providing students with a deeper understanding of the skills. The rubrics and final

assessments provided me with an objective and standard based criteria by which to judge students’ work.

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Knowledge of Subject Matter

Part E

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H. Student learning goals and standards addressed by unit I. Lesson plans for unit J. Rubric(s) and other assessment instrument(s) used in unit K. Samples of focal student(s)’ work assessed with rubric/assessment instrument L. Summary of how you adapted instruction for focal student(s) M. Reflective paper on how your unit demonstrated INTASC Standards 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 (see below)

Standard 3:

Adapting Instructional Strategies

Goal 2, Objective B: Skill of Teaching. Implement effective teaching/learning strategies.

Standard 4:

Multiple instructional Strategies

Goal 2, Objective B: Skill of Teaching (SEE ABOVE)

Standard 6:

Communication

and Technology

Goal 2, Objective B: Skill of Teaching (SEE ABOVE)

Standard 7:

Instructional

Planning

Goal 1, Objective B: Knowledge of Pedagogy. Design and implement instruction that

demonstrates an understanding of the discipline, its central concepts, principles, and

process of inquiry.

Goal 2, Objective A: Skill of Planning. Plan instruction using various strategies that

reflect an understanding of the cognitive, affective, and physical characteristics of each

learner.

Standard 8:

Assessment

of Learning

Goal 2, Objective D: Skill of Assessment. Assess the relationship between instruction and

student learning and adopt assessment practices that result in meaningful feedback and

student accountability for learning.

N. Supervisor’s feedback form based on observation(s) during teaching of project

william ste. marie educational portfolio2

Education

weinvite parents

knowledge of community

lot of community outreach

eye glasses

interdisciplinary unit

outer community

parental outreach intasc

foundations of learning