New York University
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
Department of Teaching and Learning
ENGED-UE 1600.001—Integrating Reading and Writing with Adolescents I (4 credits)
Fall 2011
Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:30 to 5:10 p.m.
Location: 194 Mercer; Room 301
Professor: Pat Juell
Office and mailbox: 6th Floor East Building; 239 Greene Street
Office Hours: contact Pat for appointments
e-mail: [email protected]
NYU POLICY: Any student attending NYU who needs an accommodation due to chronic, psychological,
visual, mobility and/or learning disability, or is Deaf or Hard of Hearing should register with the Moses
Center for Students with Disabilities at 212-9988-498/240 Greene Street/www.nyu.edu/esd.
Purpose:
In the environment of a workshop for teaching, the purpose of our course is to enable you to
teach secondary school students (grades 6-12) using an integrated multi-genre approach to the
language arts and literacy skills. Your preparation will include designing (as teachers) and
experiencing (as students) units of inquiry (including The Writing process in nonfiction; the
short story; poetry and one Shakespearean play) while reflecting/revising from the results.
Goals:
1. To work respectfully and collaboratively with colleagues to create and sustain a supportive
environment which includes listening to others, articulating your own point-of-view, and
negotiating differences of opinion with colleagues.
2. To use best practices teaching/learning theories to inform, guide, and support your practice
deepening your understanding of how to construct and enact a curriculum for a variety of
literacy skills.
3. To deepen your understanding of the four teaching genres each centered around a thematic
“inquiry question while:
(a) enabling students to sense their own intentions for reading and writing;
(b) enabling students to develop well-supported & innovative responses to reading;
(c) enabling students to produce meaningful expository and/or creative texts around the
thematic inquiry question;
(d) enabling students to revise writing effectively.
4. To use the research of others as well as your own experience to guide, develop, and revise
your theory and practice of teaching-learning the language arts.
5.
To develop your emerging philosophical stance regarding the teaching of reading and
writing while recognizing the contributions of others’ perspectives.
6. To develop an awareness of the needs of ELL students and provide strategies for their
language development in reading and writing through differentiated instruction.
I. Required Texts:
1. Burke, Jim. The English Teacher’s Companion, 3rd ed. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008.
Important: purchase only the Third Edition.
2. Frosch, Mary, ed. Coming of Age in America: A Multicultural Anthology. New York: The
New Press, 1994.
3. Student membership in the National Council of Teachers of English, which includes a
subscription to the English Journal. NCTE.org to join online or fill out form from class.
II. Required web pages as resources and references:
•www.ncte.org [National Council for Teachers of English--the professional organization of
teachers in the language arts. NCTE membership resources, publications, current news in the
field, etc.]
•www.poets.org [source for poets, poetry, essays on reading, listening, teaching poetry]
•www.loc.gov/poetry180 [poems from Billy Collins book Poetry 180]
•www.readwritethink.org[ lessons, student materials, web resources, standards, literary
engagements]
•www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/ela/pub/elalearn.pdf [source for NY State standards–look for the
detailed standards for each grade in reading, listening, speaking, writing...
•www.corestandards.org/the-standards/English-language-arts-standards–National
Common Core standards for English Language Arts.
III. Supplementary Texts for Teaching Teams (starred texts below are particularly helpful).
Appleman, Deborah. Critical Encounters in High School English: Teaching Literary Theory to
Adolescents. Williston, Vermont: Teachers College Press, 2000.
**Atwell, Nancy. In the Middle: New Understandings About Writing, Reading, and Learning.
(Second Edition). Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Heinemann, 2002.
**Brewbaker, James and Dawnelle J. Hyland, eds. Poems by Adolescents and Adults: A
Thematic Collection for Middle School and High School. Urbana, IL: NCTE. 2002.
Christel, Mary T. And Scott Sullivan, eds. Lesson Plans for Creating Media-Rich Classrooms.
Urbana, Illinois: NCTE, 2007.
Claggett, eds. al. Teaching Writing: Craft, Art, Genre. Urbana, Illinois NCTE, 2005.
Christensen, Linda. Reading, Writing, and Rising Up: Teaching About Social Justice and the
Power of the Written Word. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools Publication, 2000.
Dean, Deborah. Strategic Writing: The Writing Process and Beyond in the Secondary English
Classroom. Urbana, Illinois: NCTE, 2006.
**Fu, Danling. Island of English: Teaching ESL in Chinatown. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann,
2003.
Freeman, Yvonne S. And David E. Freeman. Closing the Achievement Gap: How to Reach
Limited-Formal Schooling and Long-Term English Learners, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann,
2002.
Golden, John. Reading in the Reel World. Urbana, Illinois: NCTE, 2006.
**Heard, Georgia. For the Good of the Earth and Sun: Teaching Poetry. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann. 1989.
**Heard, Georgia. The Revision Toolbox. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2002.
Hillocks, George Jr. Teaching Argument Writing: Supporting Claims with Relevant Evidence
and Clear Reasoning. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2011.
**Isaac, Megan Lynn. Heirs to Shakespeare: Reinventing the Bard in Young Adult Literature,
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2000.
**Kirby, Dan, Tom Liner and Dawn Latta Kirby. Inside Out. 3rd ed. Portsmouth, NH:
Boynton/Cook Heinemann, 2004.
**Milner, Joseph and Lucy Milner. Bridging English (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:
Merrill/Prentice Hall, 2008.
Moon, Brian. Studying Poetry: Activities, Resources, and Texts. NCTE Chalkface Series:
www.chalkface.net.au, 2001.
Purves, Alan; Theresa Rogers and Anna Soter. How Porcupines Make Love III: Readers, Texts,
Cultures in the Response-Based Literature Classroom. White Plains, NY: Longman, 1995.
**Somers, Albert B. Teaching Poetry in High School. Urbana, Illinois: NCTE, 1999.
Tomlinson, Carol Ann. How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms 2nd ed.
Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD, 2001.
Weaver, Constance. Teaching Grammar in Context. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook
Heinemann, 1996.
**Wiggins, Grant and Jay McTighe. Understanding by Design. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Merrill/Prentice Hall, 2001.
Note: Refer to the extensive helpful bibliography available to you in our text: The English
Teacher’s Companion, 3rd edition.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Attending all class meetings as a constructive and responsive participant.
2. Complete all Blackboard responses on readings in Burke. Post your responses by 11:00 a.m.
on the day the reading is due. No late response will be accepted. Respond to at least 10
ideas from each assigned reading in Burke. Before class, read all the posted responses of
your peers and be able to respond to two of them in class.
3. IMPORTANT: Completing all course assignments (please submit two copies of all writings
on 8 Ω x 11 paper—typed, double-spaced, and STAPLED TOGETHER). For your
teaching team assignments, include 3 copies. You are expected to complete in a
committed and timely fashion all assignments given by each TEACHING TEAM.
Failing to submit these assignments to your peer teacher and the professor will affect your
final grade.
4. Actively contributing to the planning and teaching effort of one of the 4 teams according to
the following schedule:
Team
Unit
Starting Date
1
Short Stories
2
Poetry
September 30
September 30
3
Shakespeare
November 8
4
Writing Process-Nonfiction
November 8
Ending Date
November 3
November 3
December 13
December 13
5. In shaping the curriculum of each of these units, particular attention will be devoted to
student writing including: generating ideas, developing drafts, revising (both re-thinking
and editing a draft, based on feedback regarding content/ideas, style, and mechanics), and
publication (sharing and celebration). Attention to these phases of writing will also be
useful data for your case study.
6. Responding to Burke readings assignments on Blackboard no later than 11 o’clock the day
when assignment is due. [You may respond earlier] Responses should include what you
consider the main concepts of the chapter, what issues you want focus on, and any questions
you have. As a second part of your Blackboard assignment, respond to one other student’s
response no later than 2:00 the day the reading is due. (There are 2 responses=your original
and response to a peer). You will get credit for these two responses and their
thoughtfulness. No late entries will be accepted or given credit.
Evaluation and Grades:
•Your final grade will be based on all your ongoing work based on the goals of the course, as
well as a well-developed and reflective case study and your end-of-the semester reflective
evaluation.
•A grade of B or better is required for teacher certification. No incomplete grades will be
given. You have a commitment to your team and the other students to attend all classes.
Any absences or attendance issues (tardies, leaving early) must be cleared in advance with
both your team and the professor. Abuse of this policy will affect your final grade.
•Thus, students who fail to attend class regularly (or consistently arrive late); and/or reflect on
teaching/learning in a cursory fashion; and/or do not help equally in developing and teaching
the team’s curriculum; and/or do not help to create and sustain a collaborative professional
community in our classroom can expect a grade of C.
•Students who attend class regularly; reflect on and improve their understandings of the specifics
of teaching/learning in the language arts; and supportively work toward establishing our sense
of community in the classroom can expect a grade of B.
•Students who attend class regularly and complete each team’s assignments; reflect on and
improve their understandings of the specifics of teaching/learning in the language arts;
articulate their understanding in the wider contexts of theory and their future teaching; and play
a major role in shaping our collaborative work together can expect a grade of A.
•Final grades will be an holistic assessment based on the professor’s professional insights from
the work you have submitted, your case study, and your constructive engagement.
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Session
Date
Teaching Strand 1 (3:35-4:15) 40 minutes
plus 10 minutes for debriefing
1
T Sept.6
Introductions: Burke and foundations
2
TH Sept. 8
Burke: xiii-page 27 #1&2 [planning unit]
3
T Sept. 13
Burke: Chapters 4&9 BB
4
TH Sept. 15
Burke: 8, 10 BB [planning unit]
5
T Sept. 20
Burke: 7 BB
6
TH Sept. 22
Burke: 17, 18, 19 BB [planning unit]
7
T Sept. 27
Burke: 16, 11, 12,13 BB [planning unit]
Curriculum Outline [Paper #4 due]
8
TH Sept. 29
1. Unit I begins: Short Story
Curriculum Package Due: Paper #5
Unit II begins: Poetry
9
T Oct. 4
2.
2.
10
TH. Oct 6
3.
3.
11
T. Oct. 11
12
TH Oct. 13
4. Hand out assessment questionnaire
4. Teams 3 & 4–preliminary curriculum
13
T Oct 18
5.Reflection and Revision Session
5.
14
TH Oct. 20
6.
6.
15
T Oct. 25
7.
7.
16
TH Oct. 27
8.
8.
17
T Nov. 1
9. Hand out assessment questionnaire
9.
18
TH Nov.3
10. Final day for short story and
assessment
10. [Paper # 5 Teaching Plan due
(teams 3,4)
Final day of Poetry and assessment
19
T Nov. 8
1. Shakespeare–Unit III part I begins
Curriculum Package Due: Paper #5
1. Writing Process/Nonfiction begins
20
TH Nov. 10
2.
2
21
T Nov. 15
3.
3.
22
TH Nov. 17
4.Hand out assessment questionnaire
4.
23
T Nov. 22
5. Reflection and assessment
5.[Case Study paper #6 for teams 1-2]
24
TH Nov. 24
THANKSGIVING
Thanksgiving
6.
6.
7.
7.
25
T Nov. 29
26
Teaching Strand 2 (4:25-5:10) 40 minutes
plus debriefing
Reflecting on Genre [Paper #1 due]
[planning unit]
Selecting Texts-Ranking [Paper #2 due]
Review of giving useful feedback
[planning unit]
[Paper # 3–lesson plan due]
NO CLASSES
TH Dec. 1
14
15
27
T Dec. 6
8.
8.
28
TH Dec. 8
9.Hand out summative assessment
questionnaire
9.
29
T Dec. 13
10. Reflections on teams III/IV
10.
15
30
TH: Dec.15
Fri. Dec. 1621
Reflections on Assessing our Teaching
and Learning for the semester
revisit Burke, chapters 1&2 and your
questions
Last day of our class: December 15th
[Friday, December 16th is the last day of
NYU classes]
Case study due for Teams III and IV
Contact Pat for more info.
*Addendum: Please read and complete assignments listed in both columns, for both teams.
As a team, please set up a meeting with Pat early in the planning stages [within the first week]. This
early consultation can be invaluable in helping you avoid some of pitfalls in group curriculum
development.
Guidelines for Assignments
Paper #1—REFLECTING ON GENRES: Type one full page (detailed) for each of the four units on
your past experiences relating to the “focus” of each: Short Stories, Poetry, Shakespeare, and
Writing Process/Nonfiction. Be sure to submit 3 copies of each of these four experience papers,
each genre typed on a separate page, so that each team will have a complete set to use when
planning the unit’s curriculum. In addition, provide one set of stapled copies for Pat; the rest of the
copies that will be given to the curriculum teams should not be stapled.
This assignment is crucial to providing specific information for the teaching teams. The more
detailed you are in relating your experiences, the more the teams have to develop relevant units.
Paper #2—DEVELOPING CRITERIA FOR THE SELECTION OF TEXTS AND MATERIALS:
For this analytical response paper, you will be asked to read five stories: “Bastard Out of Carolina”
“Where It Is Written ,” “ Going to School,” “Jump or Dive.” and “ Eyes and Teeth.” First: explain
your responses/understanding/analysis of each story. Second: rank order the stories with 3
dimensions in mind. a)What were your most to least favorite stories and why? b) Which do you
view as the most to least appropriate stories for teaching adolescents at ages 15-17? Articulate the
reasons for your judgment. c) How do you think your own reading preferences influenced the
choices you’ve just made for students? Note: All stories are in Coming of Age in America: A
Multicultural Anthology.
Paper/Activity #3–Lesson plan practice using one of the short stories from our text. Details for this
assignment will be explained in class.
Paper #4—CURRICULUM UNIT PLAN:
The purpose of this assignment is to develop a vision over time of your unit. Along with consulting
with the professor, use the New York State Learning Goals as a general guide for developing unit
goals. Also refer to New York Standards for Language Arts found on website:
http:/www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/ela/elacore.pdf.
This curriculum map should include a cover page with the inquiry question and the names of your
group members, curriculur decisions based on what you know about your students and your over-all
unit goals. Please explain your rationale on this cover sheet based on what your students said on their
genre papers. You will make curricular decisions based on what experiences students have conveyed.
Follow with the actual map which includes daily goals (what you want students to learn for that
lesson), activities with materials that promote those learning goals, and method(s) for assessing
students’ achievement of the goal(s). See example in this packet.
As you collaborate together, include the following in your planning:
• diagnose students’ needs and concerns based on the “genre paper.” This forms your rationale.
• guide and shape your team’s planning based on this diagnosis.
• identify desired end results before planning the individual learning experiences [backward
design process Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins.].
• develop segues/links/relevance from one lesson to another rather than separate discreet lessons.
• consider how your team will launch the unit (how will you get students involved and connected
to the unit–to the inquiry question)?
• provide references to or attach examples of texts and materials you plan to use. These may be
revised as you actually teach your unit but you should have a strong grasp of the material.
Consider the relationship of these texts to your goals. How do these texts help determine and
shape your teaching strategies?
• provide overall unit learning goals and their rationale to be reflected in specific lesson goals.
• develop ten 40 minute lessons in your unit: two of these lessons will be “reflect & revise” and the
final summative assessment.
• Important:Please submit two copies of your typed lesson plan for the “reflection and the
summative assessment” teaching day. An assessment lesson also involves teaching and
preparation.
Paper #5: CURRICULUM Package containing FOUR PARTS [lesson plans; course syllabus for
your students; tracking chart for attendance and student progress; formative and summative
assessments]
Part One: On the day your team begins the unit, please submit to the professor 2 typed copies of your
lesson plan (make another copy for yourself). On each of the following days you will continue to
submit 2 typed copies of the lesson plan plus one copy for yourself. I’ll return one copy with
comments at the end of every class session you teach. On the copies you give to Pat, please leave
one side blank for Pat’s feedback; do not print back to back.
Each member of your team should teach at least two lessons. The remaining lessons may be
team-taught. Each lesson should build from the past and segue into future lessons
(transitioning & scaffolding). Avoid lessons that are “islands” and not connected integrally with
the preceding lesson. Collaborate together on planning the unit and the individual lesson plans.
As a team you need to be talking and planning each day, altering a revising based on how the
day’s lesson went.
LESSON PLANS (40 minutes):
[VERY IMPORTANT: Refer to a complete lesson plan format in the Appendix for more detail]
Part Two: Course Syllabus: On the first day of the unit, give each student and the professor a copy of
your syllabus with goals and assignments for each day. Plan enough time at the end of the unit
for the students’ presentation of their final project.
NOTE: Nothing is carved in stone and as you begin to teach and reflect on what is happening for your
students, you will be revising/adjusting lesson plans and assignments, keeping in mind what your
initial unit goals are. On the day you teach, submit a revised lesson plan to the professor–[“revised”
from your curriculum map; you will not be writing detailed lesson plans until you teach].
Part Three: The Tracking Chart for Teachers: Collaborate in designing charts to reflect each student’s
attendance and participation, assessing both quality and promptness of assignments. Upon
submission please highlight your case study. You will hand in a copy when you begin your unit
and then submit a completed form at the end of your teaching unit. Everyone on your team
should be taking attendance for the whole class, not just an individual case study, on their own
form.
Part Four: Formative (mid-point) and Summative (concluding) Assessments for Students: Halfway
through your unit you will ask students to fill out a formative assessment questionnaire of your
unit so far. Then at the end of the unit you will provide a final assessment form for students to
complete.
In developing skills in authentic assessment, you want to pay attention to students’ learning each
day. For these questionnaires, ask your students to make judgments about the ways they have
been engaged. How do they think teachers and lessons have enabled them to extend and enhance
their understanding of texts and issues through writing and conversation? Also, how have you
prompted them to revise their thinking and writing, not just editing? It will prove helpful if
students fill out assessment sheets at the UNIT’S mid-point and conclusion. These could include
questions regarding what they’ve learned and how they feel you have conducted your lessons.
Please provide a brief recap of the learning activities you have provided in your lessons at the top of
the page. (Summative Assessments may be developed later, once you know students and the
UNIT’S flow better).
Important Questions for Assessment:
As you develop these assessments, pose questions that elicit the information you need, avoiding yes or
no answers. Use words such as “how, “why,” “what,” “when,” “describe,” “tell.”
Paper #6: The Case Study (includes 3 parts): Please submit your 14-15 page paper in spiral
spine bound with a cover & Table of Contents. Refer to example shown in class. Include an extra
copy of Parts I and II separate from the bound copy. Insert it (unbound) in the front of your case
study.
The case study will include 3 parts: 1. Case Study Analysis of your student; 2. Reflection
assessing how the unit’s goals/lessons served your students and to articulate your emerging
pedagogical principles/priorities; 3. Detailed Appendix.
PART I: Case Study Analysis ( 8-10 pages): It is important to monitor continually the learning and
achievement of your students. Thus, during this unit, we ask that you develop and submit a case
profile for one student.
Procedure: Begin by informing the student you are studying. In order to understand your
student’s experience, you will need to establish a relationship. Therefore, you should
sustain on-going communication with the subject of your case study by having conferences
(at least one in-person) as well as having e-mail contact and/or telephone calls.
COMPLETE YOUR INITIAL INTERVIEW WITH YOUR CASE STUDY WITHIN 2
WEEKS OF YOUR UNIT, NOT AT THE END OF THE UNIT. VERY IMPORTANT.
Also, you must give student written feedback in response to all of his/her major
assignments. (Keep copies of this feedback for your appendix). After all, you will be
responsible for enabling student’s revisions and a deeper understanding of the unit genre.
Synthesize your gathered data by analyzing and assessing the kinds of learning, writing
progress, and understandings that he/she explored or exhibited during the unit. Tell the
story of getting to know, teach, and assess your student. Ideally, your case study will
document your student’s “progress” over time, citing specific behaviors
(listening/speaking, reading/writing, participation/involvement, attitudes/reactions) that
reveal his/her learning. Since students may not change in all areas, it is crucial to pay
attention in order to spot where shifts of any sort occur. Therefore, be sure to take NOTES
either during or just after class in order to document your observations, ones that you
include in and quote from the Appendix.
Additionally, compare/contrast in depth one sample of writing from your case study
subject to one from 2 other students. Reflect on all student papers’ substance of ideas,
style, and structure/mechanics, to gain perspective on these 3 writing samples. (Samples
must stem from the same assignment.)
In order to support all of your findings /opinions, you must quote from the data in the
Appendix. Also include in the analysis any observations and insights you’ve discovered
while working with this student. See Appendices.
Approaches to Synthesizing Case Study Material in Analysis: Organize the story of your case study
subject’s learning experience into at least 3 sections:
1. Communication/Getting to Know Subject includes references to your conferences (one of which
must be in-person), E-mails, and telephone conversations as well as to both formative & summative
evaluations.
2. Subject’s Class Participation–after having taken notes on subject’s participation in all classes,
refer to your observations from at least 3 lessons: contributions to discussions, workshops,
activities and/or role plays.
3. Subject’s Writing for Unit–includes references to and analysis of 3 major pieces of writing, one
of which will be discussed in comparison to samples from two other students’ work.
Also, be sure to do the following:
• After providing the background on your student’s learning history, tell the story of your
subject’s experience in the Unit chronologically. Include information from the genre paper.
• Refer to the Appendix when making general references, but remember that it is more persuasive
to integrate quotations into your own sentences, still being sure to cite the Appendix section and
page number from which evidence is taken.
• Create both a Cover & detailed Table of Contents to identify page numbers for your analysis,
reflection, and data in Appendix.
• Number pages continuously from the beginning of your case study analysis through to the end of
your Appendix/Appendices. Please do this for easy reference.
• Use standard MLA conventions for your annotations within your text.
PART II: Reflection-Assessment of Unit & Emerging Principles (approximately 4-5 pages). You
should address the following 2 areas in concluding your case study.
1) What is your assessment of the unit’s goals/lessons? How has this changed/affected your
future teaching stance/role? In assessing your unit, reflect on how your goals and lessons served
your student’s learning. Refer specifically to the subject of your own case study for insights.
Then cite at least two lessons you taught, describing in detail how they were implemented and
suggesting how you would adapt or revise these lessons for future high school students as well as
your rationale for such change. Of course, you may also recount a lesson that you found
particularly successful but be sure to explain why. How would this unit and its individual
lessons address the needs of ELL students in your class? How have you differentiated your
instruction to include opportunities for ELL students to experience success in reading and writing?
2) What are your emerging pedagogical principles/priorities? What have you learned about
yourself as a teacher and about teaching from your students? What have learned about teaching
by participating as a student in other teams’ units? Finally, articulate a few of your emerging
pedagogical principles/priorities, referring to your teaching/being a student experience this
term in order to explain how or why these have crystallized. You may also recall examples of
teachers or educational events from the past that exemplify your ideals and/or represent their
antithesis. Cite two texts that have inspired and influenced your thinking. Include a
Bibliography or Works Cited Page using MLA conventions.
PART III: APPENDIX: Case Study Data Gathered and Addressed in Analysis
Include the following in your appendix:
• Portfolio of all the student’s writing: including genre paper, journals, all drafts and revisions of
major paper(s), and all short assignments.
• Your written feedback to student’s written work. Students should have received this feedback
in timely fashion.
• Notes highlighting conferences with your student: conferences, E-mails and telephone
conversations.
• Your notes on student’s participation in class: during discussions, group involvement, and
reactions to daily lessons.
• Student’s formative and summative unit assessments.
• Writing Samples (on same assignment) from 2 other students (only 1 sample from each student).
• Two Charts tracking ALL students’ attendance and assignments (both quality and timing),
being sure to highlight your subject’s name for reader’s easy reference.
• Copies of all (from the entire unit) the original Lesson Plans with the professor’s comments.
Appendix A
Components of a lesson plan
[Note: sample lesson plans and curriculum map will be provided]
These typed 40 minute lesson plans should follow this format in outline form:
State your unit/lesson’s Essential Question as the title for your lesson plan
I. Setting Up Context for the Lesson: Describe in a brief statement what has occurred in the
previous lesson and identify homework assignment due for this class. If you are teaching the initial
lesson, what background are you setting for the students to launch the unit?
II. Goals of the Lesson(s)
These are questions that establish your goals for your unit and for individual lessons in that unit:
What do I want my students to learn? What are you including in this lesson that requires
writing, reading, thinking/habits of mind goals? Articulate for each lesson the learning
goal(s) for that day making sure your priorities are consistent and focused with the unit
goals. How are these goals connected to the previous lesson?
How have I considered materials and learning in topics of personal growth, issues of
cultural/gender heritage, and skills in the language arts?
III. Rationale: Why am I teaching this lesson at this time? How does it fit into the unit plan
and what was taught yesterday?
IV: New York State Standards/National Common Core Standards: What standard does my
lesson fulfill? Cite the standard and the page number. How are you addressing students with
special needs and ELL students?
V: Materials and Texts: Identify what you might use and include copies. Since you always
want to have a Plan B, include a back-up text or materials, choosing more materials than
needed for alternative plans.
What resources do students need for this lesson? (texts, etc.)
What resources do I need?
If I have equipment, do I know how to work it? Is it set up before class? What is Plan B if
the equipment doesn’t work or is not delivered to my room?
How do these materials determine my methods for teaching/learning?
How do my methods determine which materials I will choose?
How have I considered differentiated materials and instruction for ELL students?
(Questions I ask? Issues I raise? Reading, writing, movement, creative dramatics,
art, music, information, discussion, projects, individual and group work, response,
journals, drawing and constructions, performance, “found texts and objects.”)
VI. The Lesson Sequence:
This section of your lesson plan should indicate your plan for implementing your goals;
list in order the detailed sequence of your approach. Include questions for discussion and
directions for activities. Your lesson plan should be detailed enough so that another
teacher can teach the lesson. Think of your lesson plan as a script to internalize but not
memorize. Lesson plans are guides for your teaching but might be altered somewhat when
you actually get into the classroom. Include the specific ideas, strategies, adaptions that
you will be modeling in particular lessons from The English Teacher’s Companion, 3rd ed.
Include the chapter and the page numbers. When you teach an English Teacher’s
Companion lesson (or adaption), let the class know.
The following are guiding questions for your consideration as you plan your lesson.
How do I want to engage students at the beginning of the session? Remember they have
just spent 40-45 minutes in another class, spent 4 minutes getting to this class with
another teacher, another “rhythm,” another pedagogical approach perhaps,
another set of classroom dynamics, and another physical/architectural
environment.
How do I want to connect to what we did and learned in class yesterday? [this is called
“developing transition”]
What will constitute useful talk and useful writing to think/writing to learn in the
English classroom? (about texts and other matters?)
What do I know about my students and how am I thinking about that as I construct this
lesson? Have I remembered shortened periods, a pep rally, special assembly? Is it
Friday or Monday? What has happened in the community that may be affecting
the students?
What is the sequence of the lesson? How are you scaffolding your lesson and
transitioning from one part to the next? “Scaffolding” means you are building on
the skills and insights developed in the previous lesson.
Have I given students enough time to work through a question or assignment? Have I
considered the positive aspects of “silence” after a question is asked? How much
“silent” time am I comfortable with?
Have I considered a reservoir of materials, questions, etc. that I might use if necessary?
What do I have in case the lesson goes in a direction I have not anticipated—i.e.
options B, C, or D?
What have I provided for the ELL student and enabled that student(s) to develop
reading and writing literacy?
Have I given myself a “dialogue” margin in my lesson plans to reflect on: What
happened? (Or some other way to keep an on-going, systematic way to reflect on
my teaching?) What questions and concerns did the students have? How I might
teach the lesson (or portion of it) differently? What didn’t I anticipate?
VII. Assessment: Identify how you will assess what your students are learning. Put the
assessment into questions based on your learning goals in the lesson. How are you paying
attention to each student in your class?
Although formative assessment as well as students’ performance on assignments and during
discussion, will provide information (to be used in the case study), consider other ways for
collecting data more immediately–such as jotting notes on students’ participation, ongoing
conferences in person and through e-mail. Also note that the “tracking chart” is another
assessment tool.
Important questions for on-going assessment:
How do I know what students have learned? What is my evidence/data? How do I know
where they are in the process of their learning? What questions do they have?
What problems are they having? How am I considering the ELL student and
providing experiences for her/his literacy growth? How will I use this information
in planning tomorrow’s lesson? Do I need to review? Clarify? Appreciating and
supporting ambiguities in a reading that students missed?
What is the method for my assessment? (Formative)
How is this assessment different from a later summative evaluation?
How are students involved in the negotiation of their assessment?
VIII. Homework Assignments: Articulate in the clearest language possible what the
homework assignment is. Set aside time during lessons for students’ questions. Generally,
students understand assignments better when they written either on the syllabus or handed out
before the due date.
While journal writing can be a useful tool, remember that your students also should be
submitting formal typed assignments on which you, the teachers, write feedback.
Important questions to consider for homework assignments:
What are the ways and means I can give homework assignments? (Some suggestions:
writing them on the board, handing out a sheet with the assignment, using
Blackboard email to clarify assignments)
Have I allowed enough time in the lesson to give the assignment and clarify possible
student questions?
Have I been able to adjust the assignment based on what happened in class today?
How am I going to incorporate the homework assignment into tomorrow’s lesson?
What are my plans should students not complete the homework assignment? (hopefully
that will not be the case in this class)
Have I written out the assignment clearly on my lesson plan to make sure it is not
ambiguous?
APPENDIX B
Responding to Student Texts: Questions and Considerations
I. Questions for the teacher before responding to the student text:
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Why did you assign this piece of writing?
What did you want your students to learn by doing this assignment?
What was your prompt (or prompts) for the assignment?
How did you facilitate (teach) toward this assignment? Was the paper just assigned or
did it follow goals and expectations you helped negotiate with the students during
preceding lessons?
What draft is this text?
Do you expect students to revise from this draft? Or is this the final draft for
assessment? If so, on what criteria will you assess the text? Have you discussed the
criteria with the class?
What do you know about the student's writing history?
II. Questions to consider during and after the teacher's response:
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What is your relationship as a responder to the writer? A critic? A supporter trying to
understand where the writer is headed in this work? Are you interested in the writer's
intention?
Does your language/voice help students revise? Do you ask questions? Do you make
suggestions? Do you give directives? Have you appropriated the student's text?
How are you reading? Do you have goals for the assignment? Are you looking for the
center of gravity, the evidence/detail, the sequence of ideas, the shape and organization,
the voice of the writer in relationship to the audience? Are you the only audience?
How are you reconciling the goals of the assignment with what the student has actually
written? Are they in conflict? Do you consider them equally important?
What part do grammar and writing conventions play in their relationship to meaning?
How have you helped your students move to another level of engagement and thinking
in their writing?
How much are you writing? Is that amount intimidating? Have you been discussing
with your students how you respond to a text?
Where are you making your comments on the student's text? In the margins, within
the text, at the end?
How have you personalized your response?
How are you expressing what has worked in the text? What areas need more attention
in the next draft? Does your discourse allow and invite students to hear your feedback?
What are the grammar lessons that are coming out of reading this set of papers? How
might those lessons help students write more clearly? How might you help them apply
this particular grammar/writing convention to their writing?
Note: Don’t put this page in the syllabus
Appendix C for E11.1600
Table of Contents
1. Handout of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning
2. Sample from ReadWriteThink.org from NCTE
3. Format for Curriculum map cover page and the daily map
4. Sample of Curriculum map
5. Lesson Plan examples: strong and weak examples.
6. Sample of TC Model: lesson plan with inquiry question
7. Habits of Mind handout for solving problems and making decisions
8. Sample of 9th grade Writing and Reading grade-specific performance indicators (New
York State Standards...please refer to the complete standards on line)
NOTE: ALSO INCLUDE TO THE APPENDIX
The National Core Standards and the lesson template for Understanding by Design
ENGED-UE- 1600
CHECK LIST REMINDERS FOR PLANNING GENRE UNITS:
ë Your unit plan includes a range of poets and authors representative of gender and
ethnicity
ë Include a variety of student experiences in lesson planning and your curriculum map:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Authentic talk
Writing to explore, investigate, discover, learn, analyze, imagine, create
Writing through process to final piece
Reading based on a range of NYS standards
Listening based on a range of NYS standards
Habits of mind [look at Bloom’s Taxonomy of thinking]
ë Provide a final project assignment with no more than 3 equal alternative choices allowing
students to apply and demonstrate their learning from the unit.
ë Consider how each lesson plan will adapt in the high school or middle school classroom.
Include approaches to incorporating differentiated materials for ELL students.
ë For each lesson incorporate activities from The English Teacher’s Companion citing the
name and the page number in your lesson plan.
ë Complete reading in your genre from supplementary texts, The English Teacher’s
Companion, and handouts/suggested websites.
ë Provide two copies of your lesson plan, curriculum map, and unit syllabus to Pat. Print
on one side only. You will need a copy of your lesson plan for yourself as well.
ë If you are a student for the genre team’s unit, provide 3 copies of your responses to the
genre teams’ assignments, giving one of those to Pat.
ë Make copies of papers you have responded to for your case study and to include in your
case study appendix.
ë Keep copies of your case study interviews and emails for your case study appendix.
ë Contact Pat if you are not receiving assignments from your case study. It is very
important not to let this problem get out of hand.