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Teacher: Jennifer Owen & Christine Bebout

Date: 02/11-12/15
School: Walt Clark Middle School
Grade Level: 8th
Content Area: English Language Arts
Title: Civil Disobedience
Lesson #:_7_ of _11_
Content Standard(s) addressed by this lesson: (Write Content Standards directly from the
standard)
Standard 4: Research and Reasoning
Concepts and skills students master: 1. Individual research projects begin with information
obtained from a variety of sources, and is organized, documented, and presented using logical
procedures
Students can:
b. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search
terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote
or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and
following a standard format for citation. (CCSS: W.8.8)
i. Differentiate between primary and secondary source materials
ii. Document information and quotations; use a consistent format for footnotes or
endnotes; and use standard bibliographic format to document sources
iii. Write reports based on research that include quotations, footnotes or endnotes, and
a bibliography or works cited page

Understandings: (Big Ideas)


Students will be able to use a graphic organizer to brainstorm and outline argument before
writing begins and verify sources meet credibility criteria.
Students will be able to locate credible sources and use evidence when building their
arguments.
Inquiry Questions: (Essential questions relating knowledge at end of the unit of instruction,
select applicable questions from standard)
1. What does it mean to advocate?
2. How can my voice make a difference?
3. How do I compose a creative argument that can persuade others to take action for
change?
4. How does using graphic organizers help me with the writing process?
Evidence Outcomes: (Learning Targets)
Every student will be able to: Utilize a graphic organizer to brainstorm and organize their
thoughts prior to beginning the writing process and use it to begin their persuasive argument
claim in their Peaceful Protest speeches, advocating for themselves and their education.
I can: Compose a creative, persuasive written speech prepared on a graphic organizer using
credible sources and persuasive language.

This means: Using a graphic organizer to prepare for the writing of my Peaceful Protest
speech.
List of Assessments: (Write the number of the learning target associated with each
assessment)
1. We will monitor progress as students search for credible sources to ensure they are able
to locate them as discussed during class.
2. Students will turn in guided notes taken during classroom lecture to demonstrate their
understanding of material.
3. Students will show completed graphic organizer to instructor prior to beginning the
writing of their Peaceful Protest speeches. We will review the details to ensure
students are adequately completing the graphic organizer and are prepared to write their
arguments before writing begins. This will be assessed to ensure the arguments are
valid and supported with the evidence presented.
4. Students will turn in a reflection at the end of class as a Ticket out the Door describing:
what they are writing about and the sources that they will be using from their graphic
organizers.

Planned Lesson Activities


Name and Purpose of Lesson
Should be a creative title for you
and the students to associate with
the activity. Think of the purpose
as the mini-rationale for what you
are trying to accomplish through
this lesson.

Approx. Time and Materials


How long do you expect the
activity to last and what materials
will you need?

Civil Disobedience
To discuss creative ways to be responsible members
of society and advocates for themselves in regards to
their education. To compose a speech that allows
them to discover their voice, utilize their knowledge of
persuasive language and appeals to get others to
take action.
Approximately 90 minutes
Students will need:
A writing utensil
Daily writing journal
Copy of graphic organizer handout (teacher
provided)
Credible sources handout (teacher provided)
Writers notebook
Assignment sheet w/ rubric (teacher provided)
Copies of text materials: Ghandi (text), Nelson
Mandela (clip), JeffCo article and images,
I Am Malala (clip), (teacher provided)

Anticipatory Set
The hook to grab students
attention. These are actions and
statements by the teacher to relate
the experiences of the students to
the objectives of the lesson, To put
students into a receptive frame of
mind.

To focus student attention on


the lesson.

To create an organizing
framework for the ideas, principles,
or information that is to follow
(advanced organizers)
An anticipatory set is used any
time a different activity or new
concept is to be introduced.

Class will start with our daily warm up in their daily


writing journal. Todays prompt will be:
Gossip columnists collect the latest dirt on celebrities.
Write a paragraph about the latest scandals in the
headlines or around the school. Use the breathless,
ditzy tone of a gossip columnist. (The Daily Spark p.
93).
This will take approximately 8 minutes, 4 for writing
and 4 for discussionboth partner and whole-class
We will then have our weekly grammar writing
workshop on Alliteration (see attached mini-lesson).
This will take approximately 15 minutes.
We will begin the lesson by asking students to
participate in a Hands Up activity, where students
raise their hands if they agree with or can answer the
following questions:
1. Who knows what civil disobedience is?
2. Can you think of an instance of civil
disobedience?
3. Any in recent history?
4. What is the difference between being
civilly disobedient versus rioting?
Introduce students to topic of Civil Disobedience
before getting into history and background instruction
and introduction of concepts. 5 minutes

Procedures
(Include a play-by-play account of
what students and teacher will do
from the minute they arrive to the
minute they leave your classroom.
Indicate the length of each
segment of the lesson. List actual
minutes.)
Indicate whether each is:
-teacher input
-modeling
-questioning strategies
-guided/unguided:

1. We will begin class with our daily warm up in daily


writing journals 8 minutes, individual practice
2. We will then do our weekly grammar writing
workshop on alliteration 15 minutes, teacher input,
modeling, group and individual practice
3. Once we start with our lesson, we will begin with
the anticipatory set (Hands Up) calling for student
participation 2 minutes, whole class participation
4. Provide a brief history/background of Civil
Disobedience 3 minutes, teacher input
5. Introduce the topic of civil disobedience and hand
out guided notes sheet. Students will follow along
their guided notes as we explore histories of Ghandi

-whole-class practice
-group practice
-individual practice
-check for understanding
-other

(text), Nelson Mandela (Clip), JeffCo (article and


images), I am Malala (clip) 20 minutes, teacher
input, modeling, individual practice
6. Discuss Peaceful Protest speech assignment and
hand out assignment sheet and rubric to students,
answering any questions about expectations or
guidelines 5 minutes, teacher input, guided
7. Hand out and discuss graphic organizer and
credible sources tool to use in preparation for the
writing process 5 minutes, teacher input, modeling
8. Students will begin brainstorming topics, locating
research, and filling out their graphic organizers 30
minutes, teacher input, questioning strategies,
modeling, individual practice
9. Wrap up Have students do a quick 2 minute
Ticket Out the Door 2 minutes, individual
practice, check for understanding/progress

Closure
Those actions or statements by a
teacher that are designed to bring
a lesson presentation to an
appropriate conclusion. Used to
help students bring things together
in their own minds, to make sense
out of what has just been taught.
Any Questions? No. OK, lets
move on is not closure. Closure is
used:

To cue students to the fact


that they have arrived at an
important point in the lesson or the
end of a lesson.

To help organize student


learning
To help form a coherent picture
and to consolidate.

We will do a quick debrief to determine where


students are in their graphic organizers and planning.
We will then ask students to participate in a Ticket
Out the Door, addressing what they think is the
overall moral of the short story. This will be individual
practice and a check for understanding

Differentiation
To modify: If the activity is too
advanced for a child, how will you
modify it so that they can be
successful?
To extend: If the activity is too

Students who are struggling with the concept can take


additional time to work on their assignment sheets
and may finish the graphic organizer as homework or
during the following class period writing day. During
circulation, we will assist students who are struggling
with concepts in order to offer additional instruction

easy for a child, how will you


extend it to develop their emerging
skills?

and modeling.
For students who have already grasped the concept
and finish early, they can begin writing their Peaceful
Protest speech.

Assessment
How will you know if students met
the learning targets? Write a
description of what you were
looking for in each assessment.

Monitoring the class, we will be able to stop and not


only answer questions, but also quickly review
students comments on their guided notes and graphic
organizers. We will also monitor participation in class
discussion during modeling and inquiry while reading
the short story. Our Ticket Out the Door will allow us
to see if students were able to determine which
sources were reliable and where they are in the
planning process. We will also be looking for the use
of persuasive language in the thesis, sources that
support the argument, and a general knowledge of the
subject. The guidelines will be met and graphic
organizers will be checked by at least one instructor
before students will begin writing to ensure they are
ready and secure in understanding of concepts.

Post Lesson Reflection


1.
To what extent were lesson objectives achieved? (Utilize assessment data to
justify your level of achievement)

2.
What changes, omissions, or additions to the lesson would you make if you
were to teach again?

3. What do you envision for the next lesson? (Continued practice, reteach
content, etc.)

Daily Prompt

Gossip columnists collect the latest dirt on celebrities. Write a paragraph about the latest
scandals in the headlines or around the school. Use the breathless, ditzy tone of a gossip
columnist.

Peaceful Protest: Persuasive Speech


(50 points)
Advocating for your rights and those of others is an honorable thing. Like Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr.,
and Nelson Mandela, standing up for the rights of others will leave a mark on society. You, too, can
make a differencecan have a voice. In light of recent events throughout Colorado and the nation, this
is your opportunity to advocate to injustices within the education system that affect the way you learn.
You will begin this assignment, in light of our discussion of civil disobedience, by thorough researching a
topic in education that currently concerns you. It is then your mission to create a speech you would give
at a peaceful protest or rally to supporters.
The guidelines are as follows:

Include three credible sources (you can determine if your sources are credible by referring to
the Credible Sources handout given in class)
Use persuasive language with careful attention to audience and purpose
Utilize at least three of the following persuasive tools effectively and accurately
o Ethos, Logos, Pathos
o Repetition
o Parallelism
o Personal Narrative
o Examples
o Statistics
Include citations and bibliography
Include hook to draw audience attention to your argument

Be sure to keep in mind who your audience is and use appeals that will draw in support to your claim.
Some topics to consider (but are certainly not limited to) include:

Standardized testing
Changes to class scheduling (length of classes, reduction of passing periods)
Use of technology (or lack-there-of)
Common Core curriculum
Expectations placed on students
Extracurricular activities

You will be assessed based on the writing workshop rubric as well as your ability to effectively
incorporate all elements above into your writing. Please keep the three persuasive appeals in mind as
you form your argument.

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