After thinking about what standards I want to use for the Unit Plan, I decided that I will incorporate the following standards in my lesson plan:
8.4.6.6 Analyze how differences in the points of view of the
characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created
through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects
as suspense or humor.
7.5.7.7 Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video,
or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each
medium’s portrayal of the subject (e.g., how the
delivery of a speech affects the impact of the
words).
I will use the poem "The Beast" by Gwen Strauss to teach this unit. The poem is about the Beast from the classic story "Beauty and the Beast." The ending of the poem is vastly different from the ending of the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast. I want to include media literacy in this unit plan, so I will show certain clips from the Disney movie after the students have done pre-reading activities for the poem and after they have read the poem. I want the students to compare clips of the movie and the poem and talk about various reasons why there are differences. Did the author and the Disney filmmakers have different goals in mind or different audiences that they wanted to reach? I also want students to think about how they would feel if they were the Beast in both scenarios. For an after-reading activity, I think it would be fun for the students to question whether the story would be different if the Beast was a woman and Beauty was a man. Their final project will be to create a story with pictures having gender roles reversed from the poem "The Beast" and the movie Beauty and the Beast. The students will work on this project in groups.
For this unit plan, I will need copies of the poem "The Beast" and access to a DVD player to play clips of the movie Beauty and the Beast. Students will also need art supplies, such as crayons and colored pencils, and paper to write their story.
Obviously, this is a very rough draft. If anyone has any more ideas about what I could do for a pre-reading activity or any other suggestions, please let me know. I am aware that this information does not contain enough materials for a five-day lesson plan, so if anyone has suggestions for other texts, I would appreciate it.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
The Magnificent Writing Process
While all of the different writing processes we discussed in class are important, I really liked Soven's approach to writing. Writing is a process, and usually it is never finished. Even after students turn their paper in and they have received their grade, there is always something that can be improved or added. On the day a paper is due, one of my college professors has the students get into groups and we discuss what we wrote about to our peers. Our peers give us feedback on our paper and then we write a one-page reflection on what we could have added to our paper and the ideas that fellow students had. As a student, it can be frusterating because you realize you could have added something that would have really enhanced your paper, but it is a good learning technique. I think this would be too advanced for a middle school classroom, but I think high-schoolers could do it.
One of the most important things about the writing process is to give students time. Students need time to think about what they are going to write about and time to actually write it. Usually, good ideas do not just pop into our head when the teacher gives the student a writing prompt. Sometimes it will take days to think of a topic to write about. Soven talks about freewriting, which I think is a wonderful idea, especially for students who are stuck and do not know what to write about. Peter Elbow, who is mentioned in Soven's chapter, Teaching the Writing Process, states that students should not stop for anything while freewriting and they should, "Never stop to look back, to cross something out, to wonder how to spell something, to wonder what word or thought to use...If you get stuck it's fine to write 'I can't think what to say, I can't think what to say' as many times as you want...The only requirement is that you never stop" (35). This pre-writing activity at least gets students to write something down on paper. Usually when students do not know what to write about, they just stare at a blank piece of paper. This usually will not help them come up with an idea. Teachers need to provide pre-writing activities for students who do not have an idea about what to write about.
Soven and Atwell also mention peer writing groups, which I think are an effective way for students to get feedback on their writing, as long as students are not only writing, "I liked your paper" and nothing else. As teachers, we need to provide students with the resources and tools so that students know how to be an effective editor. Talking about peer writing groups, Soven writes, "Students read their papers aloud twice while the other students in their group take notes. After the students reads, the group tells the author their reactions" (49). I also think it is important for students to write down their reactions and ideas to their peers' papers because some students may be too shy to tell the person what they thought of their paper to the rest of the group.
Writing is a long process and teachers need to provide activities for each stage of the writing process to help students generate ideas and revise their papers. Teachers also need to give students time to work on their paper. After students are used to the writing process, hopefully they will become more confident in their writing style and that they enjoy writing!
One of the most important things about the writing process is to give students time. Students need time to think about what they are going to write about and time to actually write it. Usually, good ideas do not just pop into our head when the teacher gives the student a writing prompt. Sometimes it will take days to think of a topic to write about. Soven talks about freewriting, which I think is a wonderful idea, especially for students who are stuck and do not know what to write about. Peter Elbow, who is mentioned in Soven's chapter, Teaching the Writing Process, states that students should not stop for anything while freewriting and they should, "Never stop to look back, to cross something out, to wonder how to spell something, to wonder what word or thought to use...If you get stuck it's fine to write 'I can't think what to say, I can't think what to say' as many times as you want...The only requirement is that you never stop" (35). This pre-writing activity at least gets students to write something down on paper. Usually when students do not know what to write about, they just stare at a blank piece of paper. This usually will not help them come up with an idea. Teachers need to provide pre-writing activities for students who do not have an idea about what to write about.
Soven and Atwell also mention peer writing groups, which I think are an effective way for students to get feedback on their writing, as long as students are not only writing, "I liked your paper" and nothing else. As teachers, we need to provide students with the resources and tools so that students know how to be an effective editor. Talking about peer writing groups, Soven writes, "Students read their papers aloud twice while the other students in their group take notes. After the students reads, the group tells the author their reactions" (49). I also think it is important for students to write down their reactions and ideas to their peers' papers because some students may be too shy to tell the person what they thought of their paper to the rest of the group.
Writing is a long process and teachers need to provide activities for each stage of the writing process to help students generate ideas and revise their papers. Teachers also need to give students time to work on their paper. After students are used to the writing process, hopefully they will become more confident in their writing style and that they enjoy writing!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Using Film to Enhance ELA Classrooms
I am a huge proponent of using film in the classroom to help enhance a lesson, especially in an ELA classroom. I think students can relate to movies because they probably have grown up watching them. As future teachers, it is important for us to provide relevant clips from films and to show the students how to actively engage while watching a movie. In order to do this, I am going to provide a few tips that I think are necessary for teachers to use:
1. Show Short Clips
As Rachel said in class, generally showing an entire movie is not the most active activity for students to do. Teachers should show shorter clips or show two different film adaptations of the same scene. The students can compare and contrast the two clips. If teachers do show the entire movie, they should pause the movie and ask the students questions and have them reflect on what they just watched.
2. Have an Assessment
Students should have a worksheet while they are watching the movie, or they should have to write a paper on the film (whether that is comparing the movie to the book, comparing the two clips from different film adaptations, etc.) Students need to know that they will be assessed somehow on the information in the film. Also, let the students know that watching a movie does not mean that it is nap time. Make sure the students are paying attention to the movie.
3. Teach How to Critically Watch and Write about a Film
Teachers should teach the elements of film, such as the sound, lighting, camera angles, character's movement and expression, etc., along with the proper terminology. Teachers also need to teach students how to write about films. Here is a website that provides some examples, along with some sample papers on movies that the students had to watch: http://www.cod.edu/people/faculty/pruter/film/literary.htm.
4. Ask Questions
While watching a film, students should be asking themselves questions. Whose voice is missing in the film? Which age demographic, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, etc., is left out of the movie. Students need to critically think while watching a movie or clip during class and I believe asking questions is a good way for students to do this.
Using film in the classroom provides many benefits for students. Students enjoy watching films in class. They are able to compare and contrast the book to the movie. The students can see different elements that perhaps they could not visualize in the book. Teachers need to be sure that the students are actively engaged and not just passively watching the film, like they would when they sit in front of the television at home. As long as films are used in the classroom effectively and appropriately, I think they are a great tool that teachers should take advantage of.
1. Show Short Clips
As Rachel said in class, generally showing an entire movie is not the most active activity for students to do. Teachers should show shorter clips or show two different film adaptations of the same scene. The students can compare and contrast the two clips. If teachers do show the entire movie, they should pause the movie and ask the students questions and have them reflect on what they just watched.
2. Have an Assessment
Students should have a worksheet while they are watching the movie, or they should have to write a paper on the film (whether that is comparing the movie to the book, comparing the two clips from different film adaptations, etc.) Students need to know that they will be assessed somehow on the information in the film. Also, let the students know that watching a movie does not mean that it is nap time. Make sure the students are paying attention to the movie.
3. Teach How to Critically Watch and Write about a Film
Teachers should teach the elements of film, such as the sound, lighting, camera angles, character's movement and expression, etc., along with the proper terminology. Teachers also need to teach students how to write about films. Here is a website that provides some examples, along with some sample papers on movies that the students had to watch: http://www.cod.edu/people/faculty/pruter/film/literary.htm.
4. Ask Questions
While watching a film, students should be asking themselves questions. Whose voice is missing in the film? Which age demographic, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, etc., is left out of the movie. Students need to critically think while watching a movie or clip during class and I believe asking questions is a good way for students to do this.
Using film in the classroom provides many benefits for students. Students enjoy watching films in class. They are able to compare and contrast the book to the movie. The students can see different elements that perhaps they could not visualize in the book. Teachers need to be sure that the students are actively engaged and not just passively watching the film, like they would when they sit in front of the television at home. As long as films are used in the classroom effectively and appropriately, I think they are a great tool that teachers should take advantage of.
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