Maitland Mann
Teacher Work Sample
EDCI 5744
1
Table of Contents
Section 1 – Contextual Factors……………………………………………………… pg. 3
Section 2 – Overview & Discussion Unit Learning Goals…………………………pg. 4-5
Section 3 – Design for Instruction: Daily Lesson Plans…………………………pg. 6-13
Section 4 – Analysis of Student Learning………………………………………pg. 14-16
Section 5 – Reflection on the Impact of Instruction……………………………pg. 17-22
Section 6 – References, Appendices, and Back Matter…………………………pg. 23-24
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Section 1: Contextual Factors
Intern Name: Maitland Mann
Class Period: 1-2 A
Grade Level/Descriptor: English 9 Honors
Number of Students Enrolled: 23
School and District Factors:
According to the Virginia Department of Education, the high school I am student
teaching in met the state accreditation for all students in English, Math, History, Science,
and the Graduation and Completion Index for years 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and 20142015. I have one student in Gap Group 2 (African American) and one student in Gap
Group 1 (economically disadvantaged). Under the Proficiency Gap Dashboard for
Federal Accountability, Gap Group 1 met AMO target in reading and math and Gap
Group 2 was too small, so the objective was not evaluated due to too few students.
Resources: I have a smart board available, a dry erase board, a projector, an Elmo
overhead.
Assistance: For this class, I have my CT available.
Student Diversity: There is one African American student and one Asian American
student in the class. They are both proficient in English, but it’s good to be aware of these
racial differences especially when studying texts that address stereotyping.
Patterns of Achievement: Below grade level: 1 At grade level: 4 Above grade level: 18
Implications for Instruction: Because my class is honors and has a high reading level, I
planned my unit to be dialogic and wanted to focus on the major themes in Lord of the
Flies so we could discuss them as a whole. I felt that that was one of the best aspects of
the novel that they could understand, which is why I focused heavily on this and used it
as a pre/post assessment. I also will consult with my CT since she already has experience
with these students to talk to her about what works best. I plan to talk with her about how
she has taught this novel in the past and where students may have had trouble with them,
what they enjoyed doing, etc.
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Section Two: Overview & Discussion Unit Learning Goals
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Binding Theme or Conceptual Framework:
Essential Questions: What is the importance of order and law to humanity? What is
the importance of knowing how one reacts when they are pushed to his/her limit? Do
we all have our own “beastie” within us? What does this say about humanity? What
happens to humanity when the structures of civilization disappear? How does gender
influence aggression? Is there evil in all mankind? How does this influence
humanity?
- These are all applicable to students’ lives because they directly reflect human
nature. The reason I highlighted these questions each lesson is because I realize not
every student will love reading, writing, and/or this novel. I want to try my best to
still make it useful for them. I think these are questions that people can relate to, or at
least grasp the importance of.
•
Unit Learning goals
Unit Goals: Students will be able to read and analyze William Golding’s Lord of the
Flies by examining:
1. main ideas (such as characterization and plot development)
2. making inferences and predictions
3. drawing connections
4. recognizing symbols and allegories
5. considering the larger themes this novel presents regarding human nature
4
•
Sequence, scaffolding, and dialogic qualities of the unit
I plan to try to use discussion questions after every section of reading. I want these to
cover the main points in the section, to clarify for students reading, but I also want
them to offer meaningful discussion to the class. This is where the themes come in to
play. I think that by giving these questions to students to answer as they are reading,
since the reading is done outside of the classroom, it scaffolds confusion. In fact, I
originally didn’t plan on giving the students questions because I hated these as a
student. I felt like they took away from the content that I was reading because I ended
up skimming the book to look for the specific answer. However, my CT said they
helped her students, so I decided to use them. For the second section of reading I
didn’t give them questions and most of the class said they preferred having them
because it helped them stay on track, so for the rest of the novel I assigned them.
They expressed this helps them stay on the right track when reading so they focus on
major points in the novel. As stated above, one of my learning goals is to promote
meaningful discussion and a logical thought process of the themes in LOTF. To do
this, I had the themes be on-going throughout the unit. I introduced the main themes
we would be discussing from the novel in the introduction notes, and every class they
would be underlying in our discussion. This was important to me because I wanted
students to see the progression of the themes in the book. We would focus on certain
themes over others at some classes, but we would always talk about at least one. By
the last class, where our main focus was the theme of the book, I felt like I had
already put the framework in place so that these themes weren’t new to the students,
but we were able to divulge further into what they meant for the book as whole, and
what they meant when extended beyond the novel.
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Section Three: Design for Instruction: Daily Lesson Plans
Virginia Tech—English Education
Lesson Plan Template
Name: Maitland Mann
Date: Day 1 - Friday Feb. 13th
Class Period: 1-2 A (9 Honors)
Cooperating Teacher’s Name:
Room #: H311
Overarching Concepts or Binding Theme: What is the importance of understanding context in the
world?
Unit Goals: Students will be able to read and analyze William Golding’s Lord of the Flies by
examining main ideas (such as characterization and plot development), making inferences and
predictions, drawing connections, recognizing symbols and allegories, and considering the larger
themes this novel presents regarding human nature.
Standards Addressed: 9.6 The student will develop narrative, expository, and persuasive writings
for a variety of audiences and purposes.
L) Make predictions, inferences, draw conclusions, and connect prior knowledge to support reading
comprehension.
Lesson Objectives/Goals: Students will be able to examine and recognize symbolism and allegory.
They will also apply connections from their own lives to the setting of Lord of the Flies, and will
understand background knowledge from the novel.
Materials Needed: Computer, projector, PowerPoint, paper, writing utensils, LOTF books, A
Cinderella Story clip
Technology: Computer, projector
Introduction/Hook: Show clip from A Cinderella Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqF4GyzShvc (start at 2:12). Discuss how the snow globe
symbolizes Sam’s “perfect” life with her dad.
Instructional Processes/Steps:
• We will begin our Lord of the Flies unit by doing our Anticipation Guide
o Students will be given a series of statements and will be asked to say if they agree or
disagree and write why.
§ People are essentially good at heart.
§ Society does not need police for people to behave with dignity.
§ Our environment greatly impacts the course of our lives.
§ Whenever groups of people coexist, there will be a struggle for power.
§ There is usually a clear-cut winner in most conflicts.
§ Hunting as a sport is an acceptable activity.
§ A good leader must have moral integrity.
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o After they are finished, I will read each statement allowed and those who agree with
go on one side of the room and those who disagree will go on the other and they will
be asked to explain why
o Once they are done, I’ll ask them to write down what they think some major themes of
the novel and we will discuss and go over: power, youth, innocence, civilization,
humanity, and rules/order.
A Cinderella Story clip on symbolism. Brief discussion about how the snow globe symbolized
her “perfect” life with her dad.
Go over PowerPoint with background information on WWII, prep school boys in England
during that time, Golding, and go over the meaning of symbolism and allegory with examples
and the difference between the two.
Short passages will be shown on the board and with a partner students will identify symbols
and what they may be symbolic of and share to the class.
Ch. 1-3 for homework, voc. 1 list due next class
Interdisciplinary Connections: A portion of this lesson addressed historical aspects of WWII
and what it meant to be a prep school boy in England at that time.
Assessment/Rubrics: I will assess student understanding of symbolism and allegory verbally by
the activity with their partners when they identify symbols and what they may represent. I will
also do an informal assessment of their knowledge of the major themes in the novel by looking
listening to our class discussion of the Anticipation Guide and collecting them to review.
*Note: Snow days for 2/16-2/24
Day 2 - Wednesday, 2/25
Overarching Concepts or Binding Theme: What is the importance of knowing how one reacts
when they are pushed to his/her limit?
Unit Goals: Students will be able to read and analyze William Golding’s Lord of the Flies by
examining main ideas (such as characterization and plot development), making inferences and
predictions, drawing connections, recognizing symbols and allegories, and considering the larger
themes this novel presents regarding human nature.
Standards Addressed: 9.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze a variety of literary texts
including narratives, narrative nonfiction, poetry, and drama.
l) Make predictions, inferences, draw conclusions, and connect prior knowledge to support reading
comprehension
Lesson Objectives/Goals: Students will have a better understanding of the characters in the novel by
examining their descriptions and personality traits in depth.
Materials Needed: LOTF books, reading questions, character chart, quiz, poster paper, markers
Technology: PowerPoint, projector
Instructional Processes/Steps:
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30 minutes – Students will be put in 5 groups (I will either have them number off or consult
with my CT about groups for this class period) and designated 1 character (either Ralph, Jack,
Piggy, Simon, or Sam and Eric) and they will fill out a Character Analysis chart in which they
use quotes from the text to describe the characters appearance, what they think about being on
the island, their actions, and relationships with others on the island. (**note, as they are
working I will go around and check off their reading questions for homework)
20 minutes – Students will then think of a way to creatively present their findings to the class.
They can do an interview where one of them plays a character and one plays the interviewer,
or they can make a visual and write the information down using markets and paper, or
something else they think of.
20 minutes – As a class, we will then discuss the reading questions they had for homework.
o Who is chosen leader? Why?
o What do the boys have that is the symbol of authority in the society they form?
o Do you see a struggle for power in the future? If not, why? If so, between who?
o What defense does Jack give for not killing the piglet? What do you think really
happened?
o Who are the hunters and what is their job?
o According to Ralph, what are the group’s two main priorities? How will they
accomplish these?
o How does Jack defend the fact that he spends his days hunting instead of helping
others? How has his personality developed during his stay on the island?
o What does Ralph say about people in general? What did he want to explain?
Hand out crossword puzzle for vocab list 1 for students to use to study.
HW: Voc. List 1 quiz next class, Ch. 4-7 due
Assessments/Rubrics: I will assess student understanding of the characters by their presentations and
character charts, as well as our discussion of their reading questions. I will also gauge their
introduction to some of the themes we discussed in the previous class from their discussion questions.
PLN Inspiration: I talked with my CT about a Character Analysis activity she had and she suggested
having students creatively present their character to the class.
*Note: Snow days for 2/26-2/27
Day 3 - Monday, 3/2
Overarching Concepts or Binding Theme: What happens to humanity when the structures of
civilization disappear?
Unit Goals: Students will be able to read and analyze William Golding’s Lord of the Flies by
examining main ideas (such as characterization and plot development), making inferences and
predictions, drawing connections, recognizing symbols and allegories, and considering the larger
themes this novel presents regarding human nature.
Standards Addressed: 9.3 The student will apply knowledge of word origins, derivations, and
figurative language to extend vocabulary development in authentic texts.
b) Use context, structure, and connotations to determine meanings of words and phrases.
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9.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze a variety of literary texts including narratives,
narrative nonfiction, poetry, and drama.
l) Make predictions, inferences, draw conclusions, and connect prior knowledge to support reading
comprehension.
Lesson Objectives/Goals: Students will gain a deeper understanding of the main ideas in this section
of LOTF and also learn more about the importance of symbols in our society.
Materials Needed: Quiz, blank paper, markers, PowerPoint, Ch. 4-7 discussion questions, LOTF,
Ch. 8-9 questions, vocab 2 list
Technology: Computer, projector
Instructional Processes/Steps:
• 15 minutes – Ch. 4-7 and vocab 1 quiz
• 7 minutes – this will be on a slide on the board: Consider this quote, “Yet there was a space
around Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which he dare not throw. Here, invisible yet
strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents
and school and policemen and the law. Roger’s arm was conditioned by a civilization that
knew nothing of him and was in ruins” (62).
o In a few sentences, write about the significance here. Apart from just Roger and
Henry, what does this say about the boys’ natural instincts? What do you predict will
happen as the novel goes on?
• 3 minutes – Share with a neighbor about what you wrote/ ask for volunteers to share aloud.
• 20 minutes – Students will work in 5 small groups and each group will be given 2-3
discussion questions. They will use the text to determine their answers to each question.
• 10 minutes – each group will share their answers, and the groups listening will fill in their
questions appropriately to use as a study guide.
• Show example of symbol in a story on projector à conch shell symbolizes authority
• 5 minutes – Each group will be given 5 blank pieces of paper and colored pencils/markers.
Each group will be instructed to draw a symbol, and on the back say what their symbols
represents.
• 7 minutes – each group will hold up their symbol and the other groups will write what they
think the symbol represents. Then, everyone will hold what they wrote up and share.
• Distribute Ch. 8-9 questions. These are due 3/6,9.
• HW: vocab 2 due next class.
Assessments/Rubrics: I will assess student understanding by the quiz given on the novel and vocab
terms. I will also assess students understanding judging by their small group discussions and the
symbol activity. I will assess student consideration of themes in the novel – particularly civilization,
humanity, and rules/order – by the quote response and brief discussion.
Day 4 - Wednesday, 3/4
Essential Question: Why is it important to understand the deeper meaning for objects?
Unit Goals: Students will recognize the symbols in LOTF.
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Standards Addressed:
9.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze a variety of literary texts including narratives,
narrative nonfiction, poetry, and drama.
d) use literary terms in describing and analyzing selections.
Lesson Objectives/Goals: Students will identify some of the main symbols present in LOTF.
Materials Needed: LOTF, symbolism chart, flyswatters, vocab 2 list
Instructional Processes/Steps:
• 40 minutes: Students will be given a symbol chart that provides many of the prevalent
symbols throughout the novel. I will split the class into two groups and one group will
work on the odd numbers and one group will work on the evens. They can work in
pairs with someone in their same group if they want.
• 20 minutes: Next, we will have two circle groups, one inner circle and one outer
circle in each. Odds will be on the outside and evens will be on the inside. I will
instruct each person to share (e.g. “odds, share #1 and evens share #2) and have the
inner circle click to the left in roughly 3 minutes.
• Next, we will review for their vocab 2 quizzes next class. They will already be in
teams (odds vs. evens) and I will have a slide up of all the words on the vocab list and
give each team a flyswatter. One person from each team will go up to the board with
the flyswatter. I will read the definition of a certain word and the first team to hit the
correct word gets a point for his/her team.
• HW: Ch. 8-9 due next class, vocab 2 quiz next class!
Assessment/Rubrics: I will assess student understanding of the symbols in the novel from
walking around the room while they complete their charts and also from hearing their share in
their circles. Many of these symbols center around the major themes in the novel (e.g. conch =
order/power).
*Note: Snow days for 3/5-3/6
Day 5 - Tuesday, 3/10
Essential Question: How does gender influence aggression?
Unit Goals: Students will examine characterization and consider the larger themes LOTF
presents.
Standards Addressed:
9.3 The student will apply knowledge of word origins, derivations, and figurative language to extend
vocabulary development in authentic texts.
b) Use context, structure, and connotations to determine meanings of words and phrases.
9.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze a variety of literary texts including narratives,
narrative nonfiction, poetry, and drama.
l) Make predictions, inferences, draw conclusions, and connect prior knowledge to support reading
comprehension.
9.5 The student will read and analyze a variety of nonfiction texts.
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g) Analyze and synthesize information in order to solve problems, answer questions, or complete a
task.
Lesson Objectives/Goals: Students will examine the larger themes LOTF presents and connect it
to scientific evidence in today’s world.
Materials Needed: Nonfiction article on male vs. female aggression in fruit flies, discussion
questions, PPT, vocab 2 quiz, 5 groups made
Instructional Processes/Steps:
• 15 minutes – Distribute vocab 2 quiz
o As they are taking this, I will go around and check off the Ch. 8-9 questions
• 7 minutes – I will put the students in 5 small groups and assign them each a discussion
question that they will be responsible for in our group discussion. They were supposed to do
this for homework, but need to make sure they collaborate together and find meaningful
quotes.
• We will discuss the questions as a class.
• 10 minutes – Next, I will have each group find an example of aggression in the text (I’ll give
each group a chunk of the text to look at)
o What do these examples imply about the society that is on the island? How would it
be different if there were girls present? What sort of society would you vision
unfolding if it were all girls? Talk amongst your group and we will share as a class.
• 30 minutes – Next, I will distribute the article and they will read in small groups and annotate
as they go.
o Questions for them to answer while reading (a student in each group should be the
note-taker and write these down):
§ What have scientists discovered about aggression in fruit flies? What are the
implications of their discovery for humans? What questions about aggression
remain unanswered by the research? What are the limitations of their
research?
§ Based on this article and what you have studied in LOTF, do you think the
argument can be made that aggression is gendered? Why or why not? Would
you argue that males are more aggressive than females?
o I will collect each paper through Google Classroom and count it as a group grade.
• Distribute Ch. 10-12 questions
• HWà Ch. 10-12 & questions due 3/16, 3/17 (M,T)/ Bring tablets next class!
Interdisciplinary Connections: The article overlaps with science because it discusses an
experiment with fruit flies regarding aggression.
Assessment/Rubrics: I will assess students’ critical thinking of aggression in males vs. females
by our group discussion. I will also collect their questions and answers, one per group, and assess
their level of critical thinking about the article and the connections to LOTF.
PLN: My CT used non-fiction articles with her book groups.
Day 6 - Thursday, 3/12
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Essential Question: Is there evil in all mankind? How does this influence humanity?
Unit Goals: Students will be able to read and analyze William Golding’s Lord of the Flies by
examining main ideas (such as characterization and plot development), making inferences and
predictions, drawing connections, recognizing symbols and allegories, and considering the larger
themes this novel presents regarding human nature.
Standards Addressed:
9.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze a variety of literary texts including narratives,
narrative nonfiction, poetry, and drama.
l) Make predictions, inferences, draw conclusions, and connect prior knowledge to support reading
comprehension.
Lesson Objectives/Goals: Students will examine the larger themes LOTF presents regarding
humanity and connect it to the references of Beelzebub and Lord of the Flies.
Materials Needed: Beelzebub worksheet, Google Classroom
Technology: Google Classroom, Tablets
Instructional Processes/Steps:
• Have students log in to Google Classroom
• 45 minutes – Access Beelzebub worksheet and complete à Turn in through Google
Classroom
o Students will research who/what Beelzebub is and the significance to LOTF and
Simon’s encounter with the Lord of the Flies. They will then write about what
Golding is trying to convey here regarding humanity. Students will also make a
prediction of what they think will happen as the novel goes on.
o Ask a couple students to share
• Fahrenheit 451 essay assessments with CT
• HWà Ch. 10-12 & questions due 3/16,17 (M,T)
Assessment/Rubrics: I will assess students’ ability to make predictions and analyze what Lord of
the Flies and Beelzebub mean to the novel by collecting their worksheets and reviewing their
answers to the questions given. This directly relates to the major theme we have been discussing
in the novel about humanity.
Day 7 - Monday, 3/16
Essential Question: What happens to humanity when the structures of civilization disappear?
Unit Goals: Students will examine and consider the larger themes LOTF presents.
Standards Addressed:
9.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze a variety of literary texts including narratives,
narrative nonfiction, poetry, and drama.
e) explain the relationships between and among elements of literature: characters, plot, setting,
tone, point of view, and theme.
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l) Make predictions, inferences, draw conclusions, and connect prior knowledge to support
reading comprehension.
Lesson Objectives/Goals: Students will examine the larger themes LOTF presents and create and
image that conveys their theme. They will analyze their strategies of placement.
Materials Needed: Dramatic Tableau handout, discussion questions, LOTF, Beelzebub
worksheet
Instructional Processes/Steps:
• 15 minutes: Retake Anticipation guide. This time write about how reading LOTF has
either changed your stance on the issue or strengthened it.
• 10 minutes: Students in groups of 5, briefly discuss Beelzebub worksheet and 2 assigned
chapter questions
• Share with class
• Assign groups theme to consider in LOTF: survival, power, savagery, loss of innocence,
human nature
• 15 minutes: brainstorm with your group about a scene that accurately conveys your groups
assigned theme.
• 10 minutes: on notebook paper describe the scene and explain why it is strategic. Create a
two-column chart. In the first column, list the roles/characters and positions that will be
presented in the scene. In the second column, note the reasons for these decisions (i.e.
what impact you are hoping to achieve with character X sitting on the floor beside his
mother’s bed?)
• 15 minutes: rehearse scene in remote locations
• Presentations - have students hold poses for 45 seconds each
• I will ask students in the audience for interpretations and why they thought the group
chose specific poses.
Assessment/Rubrics: I will assess students’ understanding of their assigned theme in the novel
by their tableau performance and their reasoning behind the scene in the paper they turn in to me.
I will also assess the classes understanding of all the themes by brief discussions from the
audience after other groups present.
PLN: My CT used this activity with her seniors when they were in book groups and analyzed
theme. I altered it slightly for my class because they were all reading the same book, so I assigned
them a theme to focus on. I also broke down time increments for them so they could organize the
class and had ample time for everyone to present.
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Section 4: Analysis of Student Learning
• Overall Unit Goals: Students will be able to read and analyze William Golding’s Lord of the
Flies by examining main ideas (such as characterization and plot development), making
inferences and predictions, drawing connections, recognizing symbols and allegories, and
considering the larger themes this novel presents regarding human nature.
Learning goal for this assessment: students’ view of themes in the novel will change or
strengthen after reading Lord of the Flies. The following are statements that students either
“agree” or “disagree” with. They center around the major themes in LOTF. By the postassessment, students’ view of the themes in the novel should change or strengthen after reading
LOTF, with their ability to give proof from the novel (or elsewhere, if applicable) to support
their opinion.
Assessment goals:
1. Take a stance by picking either “agree” or “disagree” for each statement that centers
around the themes we are focusing on in Lord of the Flies.
2. Give any kind of support for his/her reasoning.
3. Use specific examples, presumably from the text, when necessary to help support
students’ claim.
* Student names were changed.
Student
Juhoung
Devin
Josalyn
Nate
Jaci
Olivia
Ann
Chloe
Gabie
Sophie
Aubrey
Eliza
Maria
Courtney
Elsie
Aarati
Hannah
Risa
Holly
Ida
Kendall
Kweku
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
English 9H 1-2A
Lord of the Flies Anticipation Guide
Learning Goals Met (Marked with X if met)
1
2
Pre
Post
Pre
Post
Pre
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
3
Post
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
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Chris
X
X
X
X
X
1. Whole Class
This data shows me that, mostly, students were able to gain deeper understanding
of the questions posed in the Anticipation Guide as a result of reading Lord of the
Flies. Before reading, most students did not use specific examples to support
his/her claim. Every student was able to meet learning goal 1 by choosing a stance
for each issue. All but one student was able to meet learning goal 2 in the preassessment. After reading, 18 students used specific examples, many from the
text, to support his/her claim in each stance (meeting goal 3). 6 students were able
to meet the criteria for goal 3 for the pre assessment. Something that surprised me
was the number of students (many some of the stronger students in class) who
didn’t meet learning goal 3 for the post assessment. I felt like they knew it if I
were to have a conversation with them, but they may have misunderstood the
directions. They seemed capable enough to me judging from our discussions and
framework in the previous classes. I think what would have helped is if I gave
them more time to work on this (we were a bit rushed that day so they didn’t have
more than 10 minutes to work on this), and put the new directions (i.e. use
examples from the text) directly on the paper instead of verbally telling them.
*View attached LOTF Anticipation Guide in Section 6.
2. Diverse Learners
Kweku and Chloe are in gap groups in my classroom. This data tells me that I was
able to reach Kweku, as he met all three learning goals for the post assessment.
This data also tells me that Chloe improved, meeting goals 1 and 2 for the post
assessment, but falling short of meeting goal 3. This tells me that by the end of the
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unit, she wasn’t able to give specific examples from the text to support her stance
for each statement in the anticipation guide. She met goal 2, so she was able to
expand on her stance, but not give specific examples to support each stance. I’m
not sure if this was a direction-error as I suspect it may have been for some other
students, but it’s possible Chloe may have had a hard time understanding these
themes and connecting them to the novel. In the future I think I’m important for
me to become more aware of the gap groups in my classroom and keep a closer
watch on these students, checking in with them more frequently.
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Beginning this unit I felt prepared because I had my pedagogy unit from last semester
under my belt. I had no idea how different a hypothetical unit would be in comparison to
having a real class with individual personalities to take into consideration. I had a hard
time figuring out where to start. My original plan mostly had discussion questions that
centered on major themes in the novel, accompanied with plans for discussion and some
activities. However, my CT explained to me the importance of having a focus for each
class, which is why I tried to integrate these in my lessons (e.g. Day 2 was
characterization). However, I tried to apply the themes of the novel to each focus
throughout the unit and really focus on it on our last day discussing the novel (Day 7). I
definitely understand and am thankful for my CT’s advice because I think providing a
focus for each lesson helps the students relate it to their own lives. This is something I
plan to incorporate in future units.
However, apart from the unit as a whole, there were more specific adjustments I had
to make for each class. Most of the adjustments I made came from my discussions. Many
times I would find myself rephrasing questions when having a class discussion. Students
wouldn’t know the point I was trying to make because of some of my question phrasing.
For example, when talking about Simon’s encounter with the Lord of the Flies I ask,
“Consider when Simon meets the Lord of the Flies towards the end of Chapter 8. What is
going on? What is Simon talking to literally? What happens at the end?” I wanted to
highlight another example of Simon losing consciousness, but many students were
confused by what I meant here. I had to rephrase the question to say, “How does this
encounter end?” This helped clarify the instance I wanted them to focus on by the
question.
Looking back at my lessons, it’s clear to me which were effective and which were
not. The first discussion of chapters 1-3 proved to be ineffective in promoting dialogue in
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the classroom (Day 2). Maybe this was because it was the first time I lead the discussion,
or maybe it was because it was the first time we really discussed the events in LOTF, but
either way, it was like pulling teeth to get students to talk. When *finally* someone
would answer, it would a simple answer, not very dialogical. That day, I decided to alter
my future plans for discussions. From then on, I mainly focused on small groups and
many times had students in a group be in charge of a few questions. From here, they
discussed in their small groups, with evidence from the text, and then shared to the class.
This proved to be much more effective, which I’ve concluded for two reasons: 1) that
students can focus all their energy on to a couple questions, instead of all of them, and
know that they will have to share this will the class, and 2) this gives them a chance to
discuss in small groups and brainstorm together. This ended up promoting much more
discussion in the classes for the future.
Another lesson that proved to be ineffective was my March 10th (Day 5) lesson on
gender aggression. My CT told me initially to try to integrate nonfiction articles with the
texts we read, so I was excited when I found one that related to LOTF. This was a
scientific study on fruit flies and how male fruit flies have a gene that females do not, and
studies suggest it promotes aggression. I wanted to use this to lead in to the discussion of
if/how would the story be different if girls were present on the island, or if it were all
girls. I did make an announcement that I know this was asking them to generalize, but I
wanted them to be thinking about how the novel could be different if circumstances were
different, and the goal wasn’t to place blame on a certain gender. I also wanted them to
practice using a text as a piece of evidence to support their opinions. It was difficult
because groups ranged from saying that “girls wouldn’t be aggressive at all,” which
offended students, to “girls would be more aggressive than boys, but in a different way,”
to “it doesn’t matter because Golding wrote this a specific way and to convey a specific
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meaning about human nature, so he would have made the girls just as aggressive as the
boys to get his point across.” I did appreciate that one, but I think I failed at facilitating
this discussion because I wasn’t sure where to take it after these observations. I think that
I didn’t think this through as best I could. What really was the point of them discussing
this? Was this better as an individual writing assignment than a discussion? Was I just
trying to fit in a nonfiction article? It did make me reevaluate my lessons and think things
through more in the future. I think if I want to use this again I would need to have it more
structured. If it wasn’t then I would have students work individually and do a writing
assignment on it. I think what would have helped is to have them directly use both texts
(the article and LOTF) to support everything they said. This way, they would get into the
habit of using texts for support and also would refrain from making generalized and
seemingly unsupported assertions. I think it’s important for all lessons to be structured,
but lessons centering around sensitive and personal subjects need to be particularly
structured.
I also reflected back on lessons that I thought were particularly effective. One that
I consider effective was when we discussed theme on March 16 (Day 7). I put students
into groups and assigned them each a theme. From there, they were to create a scene (not
simply a scene from the novel, but an image to symbolize the theme they were given),
and instructed to hold it still for 45 seconds. I’ve realized through this experience that if
you can get students to create something of their own, they will most likely be more
excited to learn and participate. This was the case for this lesson. At first, I think they
were stressed, but I broke down the times for them (i.e. 10 minutes to brainstorm, 15
minutes to fill out the written portion to turn in, 10 minutes to rehearse *see attached
assignment sheet in section 6). The products ended up being really great. They made their
own props and the students in the audience were usually able to guess the theme from
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their image. I consider this effective because, assessing from their scenes and the writeups I collected, students conveyed their knowledge of the main themes in LOTF. Also,
they seemed excited about this activity and were able to put their own creativity into to,
while brainstorming with their classmates.
Another activity I felt was particularly beneficial to the students was the
flyswatter activity on Day 4. Their energy completely changed once they got into their
teams and turned things into a competition. This was one of the first times I saw this class
completely energized and excited to learn. Also, they did much better on this quiz than
the first one, where we used a crossword to review. I think making a competition and
giving students a reason to get up and get moving goes a long way. I want to try to
incorporate this more in my future lessons.
I also felt the discussion that fostered as a result of the Roger/Henry quote on Day
3 was very beneficial. I think providing students with an example from the text that
relates to the key themes we have been discussing helps them because it is a specific
example of certain themes being used in the book. Students often have a hard time
rationalizing why we talk about certain elements, but when I gave them this quote and
asked them to write about it, they were all capable and on task. I know it is important to
challenge students, such as instructing them to find a specific quote for me, but I think
sometimes by simply providing them with a quote and asking them to expand on it yields
great results. They didn’t have to take the time to consult with the text; instead they used
all the time to think about the questioned posed. This is what I was looking for with this
activity. This directly led them to consider these themes in the novel, without me telling
them. The quote was all I needed here. I wish I had done more of pulling quotes for them
to analyze. In the future, I definitely want to incorporate this more. I think perhaps having
them journal at the beginning of each class with a quote that coincides with a certain
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theme we will be working with would be beneficial because it would have them consider
these themes while seeing directly how it relates to the text and also providing a routine
for them.
Overall, I think I could have done a better job of having a daily routine for each
class. Ideally I could have a warm-up and closure of some sort. This is where I struggled,
but I also see many different ways I can achieve this in the future. I think using the quotes
as a warm up each day would work, and perhaps using exit slips or briefly talking in
small groups at the end of the day about something they learned specific to that focus
would be beneficial. I think it is important for students to have this type of structure in a
classroom so they know what to expect, on some level.
The amount I learned about myself and the teaching practice from this unit (and this
experience in general, but I’ll narrow it to this unit) is insurmountable. I learned what
lessons worked well, what lessons failed miserably, what adjustments to make for my
students, and what to take in to consideration when planning a unit. Starting out, I think I
focused too much on getting a plan down. I’m a planner, so I just wanted everyday
planned out for myself for the unit. What a great idea, right? Why hasn’t anyone thought
of that? It’s hard not to laugh at that idea now. It’s just not realistic for teachers to have
that. I know that this experience I was usually working right up until the last minute,
making constant changes from the lessons I had just finished to the lessons I had coming
up the next day. No matter how far in the future I tried to plan, this ended up happening.
Looking back, I’m not sorry that it did. It showed I was learning new things to change
everyday. It’s clear to me now what my students would find beneficial and what they
wouldn’t, what they would enjoy and what they wouldn’t, etc. However, it’s clear that all
of my classes won’t feel this way, so the changes won’t ever stop, but I’ve already found
myself more capable of adapting to these changes and becoming more comfortable with
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my plan of having no plan at all. Working to contour each lesson to my specific classes is
very time-consuming and difficult, but that’s teaching. It’s also rewarding, and that’s
teaching too.
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Section 6: References, Appendices, and Back Matter
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Mann
Name___________________
Date____________________
Anticipation Guide
Animal Farm
In the blanks provided please write A for agree or D for disagree while
considering the following statements. In addition, please state your
reasons for your stance below the statement.
1. _____________All people are created equal.
2. _____________Society would be improved if everyone earned equally,
and wealth was distributed equally.
3. _____________We should tax those who earn more according to their
ability, and distribute wealth evenly according to their need.
4. _____________Talented, intelligent, and ambitious people are the most
qualified leaders because they know best what people need.
5. ____________Your average person does not always know what is in
his/her best interest.
6. _____________I can trust those in positions of authority (such as
parents, teachers, principals, and politicians) to make decisions in my
best interest.
!
!
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