Name: Patricia Saddler Grade: 9
Unit: ELA Literary Strategies
Time Allotted: 55 minutes
Lesson Topic: Comparison of Desiree’s Baby and The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
Reading Strategy Focus: Digital literacy and visualizing will be accomplished through viewing videos of the two stories. Vocabulary development and the use of context clues will be accomplished through reading the written stories online, annotating the text, and defining specific vocabulary words. Writing and graphic organizers will be used to make comparisons and analyze the story elements and/or characters.
Digital Literacy Focus: The students will engage with both stories online via video and as written texts. The students can download or copy and paste the text into a word processor so that they can annotate the text using their own words, thoughts, and research. Annotation activities on the written texts can be completed as a homework assignment. Questioning Techniques: The students can complete the following questions by doing online research and/or through the written and video narratives. The students will answer at least three of the fourteen questions to expand on the literary meanings of the stories.
Questions:
Type of Lesson: Developing
Context for Learning: The students may be familiar with Antebellum or late 19th century literature. If not, they should research literature written during those time periods. The students will explore comparing and contrasting the specific stories that are assigned, as well as learning to analyze literature using various perspectives such a feminist criticism, reader response criticism, and new historicism. It is important to study literature because history is important, and history is important because literature is important. The previous statement means that literature gives us a window into the past. Where would society be without remembering and recording history? For example, who could or would want to live in a futuristic society such as Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, where books are burned and abolished (Thomsen, et al., 2017)?
Classroom Setting: The classroom consists of twenty students. The classroom is a large, modern classroom with six rows of vertical windows across the front of the room. The classroom contains a smartboard and a whiteboard. The classroom is decorated with various posters in the windows and on the walls depicting vocabulary, reading and writing techniques, and literary methods. There is a large desk for the teacher and a smaller desk for any visitors or dedicated aides, who may visit the classroom. The walls are lime green and light blue. The doors are teal blue. There are four bookshelves in the room, one is white the other three are brown. There is a sink with two bottom cabinets and two drawers. There is a large storage closet in the back of the room for extra books and supplies. There are twenty desks for the students and two additional desks to allow for classroom expansion. The classroom is designed with a Zen Zone for students who may need a short break from the regular routine. The classroom has a total number of 20 students: 11 girls and 9 boys. The classroom is ethnically diverse, most of the students in the classroom are African American, Hispanic, Portuguese, and White, there are two mixed-race students, two special needs students, and two English language learners. One of the special needs students has a dedicated aide. Each student is assigned a laptop or tablet computer. There is a charging station in the classroom for the computers.
Curriculum Standards Addressed: Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for English Language Arts Grades 6-8
Craft and Structure: RL.8.5 Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style (MCCR, 2023).
21st Century Learning Standards: Media Literacy: Apply Technology Effectively: The students will be able to “Use technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate, and communicate information” (21st Century Learning Standards, 2019).
Common Core State Standards Initiative: English Language Arts Standards, Grades 9 and 10.Vocabulary Acquisition and Use:CCSS-Literacy.L.9-10.4.C “Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning, its part of speech, or its etymology” (CCSS, 2021).
Objectives: The students will focus on comparing and contrasting literary stories and on vocabulary development. The students will have an opportunity to interact with the text through visual and written formats. The specific skills for this lesson are learning how to compare literary elements and understanding what the author is trying to convey through symbolism, word usage, and inferences.
Materials: Student materials include handouts, pens, paper, writing journal, tablet or laptop computer, graphic organizer, vocabulary search or list. Teacher materials include a smart board and laptop computer and handouts for students.
Proactive Behavior Management: I will put students together in five groups of four students. During reading activities, the stronger readers and more advanced students will be able to assist the students who might be struggling readers. The desks will be arranged in clusters of four. Any students who do not work well together in a group will be switched to a new group. I can establish a private group with students who need additional assistance such as the special needs students and ELLs. A dedicated aide should be available to assist the student she works with. I will use walking the room as a strategy to interact with students to see how they are doing with their group work and individually. I will also use proximity as a method to control any behavior issues that might arise.
Provisions for Student Grouping: The groups will be heterogenous groups with students of varying abilities. Some groups will be homogeneous, depending upon the number of students who are attending class.
Lesson Plan Activities: Goals: The goal for reading short stories is to develop an understanding of an author’s purpose, techniques, and message. Short stories can also present historical issues in a different light. The goal of this ninth-grade lesson is for students to develop reading comprehension. The students will be able to analyze and interpret short stories. They will practice recognizing inferences, how to interpret literature through literary criticism, and will expand their vocabulary and general knowledge.
Warm-Up: (10 Minutes) To familiarize the students with the text, they will complete a printed word search of the stories “Desirees Baby” and “The Sory of an Hour.” Motivator/Bridge: The students will watch the online videos for “Desiree’s Baby” (13:45 minutes) and the Story of an Hour.” (6:01) minutes. (Franco, 2015) and (Stort Stories Café, n.d.)
Procedural Activities: We will discuss prior learning and background knowledge, specifically what the students know about the Antebellum Period and late 19th century literature. Students can do a quick Google search to familiarize themselves with those terms. (5 minutes). The students will complete vocabulary exercises to familiarize themselves with the words from the two stories. (5 minutes).
Literary Response Activity:Reader-Response Criticism is a literary criticism that focuses primarily on the reader's reaction to a text. How does the reader relate the text to his or her own life, knowledge, personal experiences, or feelings?
Feminist Criticism is literary criticism “based on feminist theories. It considers texts with the knowledge that societies treat men and women inequitably. Feminist criticism will analyze texts in light of patriarchal (male-dominated) cultural institutions, phallocentric (male-centered) language, masculine and feminine stereotypes, and the unequal treatment of male and female writers” (Andersen, 2022).
New Historicism “is a range of critical practices that examine works in their cultural and historical contexts. Practitioners of the critical movement developed it by examining a wide range of texts such as newspapers, advertisements, popular music, historical accounts, poetry, novels, and diaries” (Anderson, 2022). Practitioners of New Historicism “believe that works cannot be viewed in isolation from history and culture. A reading of a work must take into account its intention, genre, and historical situation” (Anderson, 2022). In their writing journals the students will write a response on one of the three literary criticisms that are given. They will write how they think the particular literary response affects the meaning and interpretation of the chosen story. (10 minutes).
Wrap-Up (5 minutes)
A 3-2-1 assessment will be used for the lesson wrap up. 3 indicates three facts learned from the lesson. 2 indicates two new words revealed through using context clues or two new vocabulary words that the student understood or received clarity on. 1 represents one question or part that was confusing. The students can write the 3-2-1 assessment on printer or notebook paper, and turn it in. They can also type their answers in a Word document and email the information to the teacher.
Lesson Plan Summary: Warm-Up (10 minutes) Bridge/Motivator – Videos (19:46 minutes)
Learning Activities: Google Search (5 minutes) Vocabulary Activities (5 minutes) Literary Response in Writing Journals (10 minutes) Wrap-Up (5 minutes) = Total Time (54:46 minutes)
Desiree’s Baby Word Search List.
References
Anderson, W. (2022). Types of irony. School Work Helper. https://schoolworkhelper.net/types-of-irony/ Anderson, W. (2022). Various types of literary analysis. School Work Helper. https://schoolworkhelper.net/various-types-of-literary-analysis/
Brit, J. (2022). 15 types of questions (with definitions and examples). Indeed. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/types-of-questions Common Core State Standards Initiative, (2021).
Vocabulary acquisition and use. English Language Arts Standards, Grades 9 and 10. https://www.thecorestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/L/9-10/
Desiree’s Baby. (n.d.). Owl Eyes. https://www.owleyes.org/text/desirees-baby/read/desirees-baby-1#root-219756-4 Franco, J. (2015).
The Story of an Hour. [Audiobook]. Bing. The Story of an Hour - Audiobook - Bing video Frank B. Farrell. (2004).
Why does literature matter? Cornell University Press. Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for English Language Arts Grades 6-8. (2023).
Craft and Structure. Compare and Contrast. https://marylandpublicschools.org/programs/Documents/ELA/Standards/Grades_6_7_8_MCCR_ELA%20Standards.pdf Thomsen, M. R., Kjældgaard, L. H., Møller, L., Rösing, L. M., Simonsen, S. & Ringgaard, D. (2017).
Literature: An Introduction to Theory and Analysis. Bloomsbury Academy. Shaut, S. (n.d.). Analysis of Desiree’s Baby. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZPddrEyTOM&t=1s Short Stories Café. (n.d.).
Desiree’s Baby. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxrMXJ26WQE&t=5s
The Codex Cantana. (2021). The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin: Short story summary, analysis, review. The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin - Short Story Summary, Analysis, Review - Bing video The Story of an Hour. (n.d.).
Owl Eyes. https://www.owleyes.org/text/the-story-of-an-hour/read/chopins-short-story#root-36
21st Century Framework. (2019). Media Literacy. Partnership for 21st Century Learning. Network of Battle for Kids. file:///C:/Users/saddl/OneDrive/Desktop/New%20folder%20(3)/P21_Framework_DefinitionsBFK.pdf