Concept Unit Lesson Plan Template Unit Working Title: Dystopias and Utopias: Imagining a Perfect Society in an Imperfect

World Unit Big Idea (Concept/Theme): dystopian/utopian societies Unit Primary Skill focus: annotation Week 1 of 4; Plan #2 of 12; [90 mins.] Plan type: Summary Content Requirement Satisfied: Introductory Week Summary Lesson 1 Critical Learning Objectives (numbered) [from my Unit Preface], followed by Specific lesson objectives (lettered) being taught in this lesson: SWBAT: Cognitive (know/understand): 3. Students will understand that societies define their values and act in accordance with the rules they create. A. Students will know the classroom norms. B. Students will understand that rules change over time. (8.1b) C. Students will be able to contribute respectfully to a class norms list. (CCSS.ELALiteracy.SL.8.1b, CCSS.8.1d) D. Students will be able to interview and record information about school rules followed by family members. (8.1b) E. Students will be able to revise class norms. Affective (feel/value) and/or Non-Cognitive: 5. Students will exist as part of a classroom community. B. Students will know each others names. C. Students will feel respected and heard. D. Students will feel like they are part of a team. E. Students will be able to collaborate successfully and respectfully. (CCSS.ELALiteracy.SL.8.1b, CCSS.8.1d) F. Students will understand that purposeful and thoughtful rules create an effective community. SOLs: 8.1 The student will use interviewing techniques to gain information. b) Make notes of responses. CCSs:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly. - CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1b Follow rules for collegial discussions and decisionmaking, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed. - CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1d Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented. Procedures/Instructional Strategies Beginning Room Arrangement: Desks will be arranged in five small groups of four or five, maneuvered so all students can still see the board. 1. [5 mins.] Opening to lesson: I will have used students Divergent quizzes and student interest inventories to group them into small groups. Instead of putting all members of a faction together, I will have divided them up between groups. I will explain my rationale for this these groups are not meant to compete against one another, but to work together as a team and support each other. Team members may have differences with one another, but thats a good thing the best teams contain diversity and learn from each others strengths to develop a new perspective on teamwork and life. I will also explain the purpose of having teams, and that students will work together on peer revising, literature circles, and merely offering moral support if needed. 2. [10 mins.] Step 1: Team-building exercise Idea taken from this forum: http://www.proteacher.net/discussions/showthread.php?t=49316 Students will complete a team-building exercise in which they have ten minutes to build the tallest straw tower as a group without talking. Each group will receive 40 straws and a roll of masking tape. They cannot tape the straws to their desks or their floor. If they talk, one of their straws will be taken away. After the ten minutes are up, I will measure each tower to find the winner. When the process is complete, we will talk about the process in a whole-group discussion. What were some of each teams strengths? Weaknesses? What would they do differently if they had to complete a similar task as a team? Students will state their name before sharing so that everyone can learn it. I will stress process not results by ensuring students consider and discuss their process of working together. 3. [30 mins.] Step 2: Reconsideration of norms

Students will pull out their homework from the night before. I will project the class norms on the board. In their teams, students will discuss their interviews and their rethinking/possible revisions of class norms to see if there were any similarities. They will do this for about five minutes to give everyone a chance to share. Afterward, students will share in a whole-class setting. First, we will discuss the interviews. Is anything similar? Has anything changed drastically? What were some rules their parents struggled to follow? Do they correlate with our rules at all? We will discuss for about ten minutes. Then, we will turn back to the class norms list. I will stress that we are writing our class norms collaboratively because we want this to be a classroom that benefits everyone and treats everyone fairly. Though some rules may be difficult for us at times, we want to create rules that hold purpose and allow us to have a productive, warm community. Because the students have had time to reflect and revisit these rules, I will ask them if they want to make any changes. Students will state their name before participating so that everyone can learn it. I expect this to take about ten minutes, though it may take more if students spend time debating or revising. After students are satisfied with the norms, I will leave them on the overhead and have students independently consider them in a five minute writing exercise in their writing journals. What rule do they think is the most important? Are there any that they anticipate struggling with? I hope this exercise will encourage metacognition and solidify students understanding of the rules and their importance. They will turn their journals into me so I can see their thought processes as they considered the rules. 4. [15 mins.] Step 3: Group discussion and plan for accountability After writing for five minutes, students will discuss their responses in their teams. They will also consider their strengths and weaknesses and come up with a plan for accountability. That may mean telling each other to be quiet if theyre too loud or texting each other to remind each other of homework due. I will walk around during this assignment to provide encouragement and assistance if needed. I will also monitor team interactions. During this time, I will also encourage students to exchange phone numbers and email addresses. This will allow them to get in touch with each other outside if school, giving them a community of support that I hope will help carry them through this unit. 5. [20 mins.] Step 4: Choose a group adjective, symbol, and mission statement Next, students will mirror Divergent by choosing a group adjective that best fits their team, a symbolic representation of their team, and a sentence-long mission statement expressing the values they find to be important. I will walk around during this assignment to provide encouragement and assistance if needed. I will also monitor team interactions. As students are talking, I will print out a copy of the class rules for each student for them to keep with them. 6. [10 mins] Closure: Group and self-evaluation of how they met norms

After groups have finished the assignment, a group member from each team will share their plan, their name, their symbol, and their mission statement. Students will state their name before sharing so that everyone can learn it. We will then have a brief whole-class discussion about how we, as a class, did adhering to our classroom rules. If necessary, I will discuss what I noticed about team interactions during the day.

Methods of Assessment: I hope the team-building exercise and having students say their name before speaking aloud in class will help students learn each others names. (Objective 5B) As students complete the straw tower team-building exercise, I will monitor their teamwork and their participation in a whole-class discussion after the exercise. (Objective 5D, 5E) I will monitor student participation during this lessons whole-group discussions. Students will discuss editing class norms and consider how they met them during class, which will give me insight into how well they understand class norms and the importance of these norms. (Objectives 3A, 3C, 3E, 5F) The team plans created by the students to hold them accountable in meeting class rules will help me see how well students understand the norms and communal values. (Objectives 3A, 5D, 5F) The students team name, symbol, and mission statement will show me how well they are working together as a team. (Objectives 5D, 5E) Students collaborative revision of class norms will help me see how well they understand the essentials of structured class norms. (Objective 3A, 5C, 5F) Students will turn in their interviews so I can see how students understanding of school rules changed after hearing their older relatives perspective. (Objective 3A, 3B, 3D) Students individual consideration of the class norms in their journal will help me gauge their understanding of the importance of rules. (Objective 3A, 5F)

Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students: Again, this is currently uncertain. However, I will have divided students into groups based off of their survey answers and noticed behaviors. I will keep an eye on students today to see if further group rearranging must occur. Materials Needed: Overhead projector and class rules Student journals Paper for each group

Materials Appendix: (e.g., supplementary texts, Ppts, overheads, graphic organizers, handouts, etc.)