RUNNING

HEAD: REVISED LESSON PLAN

Revised Lesson Plan
Mystery Character
Comps
Amy Armstrong
University of Oklahoma

REVISED LESSON PLAN

Introduction

Originally, the lesson plan on Education World was posted for a variety of
ages: 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Both language arts and education technology were
considered to be the subjects covered by the lesson. By the end of the lesson,
students should be able to understand/identify the concepts of character traits.
Working cooperatively and using their knowledge of character traits, they should be
able to create a mystery character as well as a presentation. The presentation is in
the form of a PowerPoint.

Third graders are vastly different than twelfth graders and lesson plans
should vary significantly. Although many grades deal with character traits while
reading, I chose eighth grade. The standard for 8th grade is: 3.4.e Analyze character
traits, conflicts, motivations, points of view, and changes that occur within the story
(Oklahoma State Department of Education, 2014). The changes I made to the lesson
plan integrate technology while keeping the primary focus on analyzing character
traits.

Needs Analysis

When reading stories, whether it is someones blog or a novel you pick out at
the library, it is important to be able to understand the characters and how the
events might change them. If you can understand characters in stories, you could
also work to understand people in the real world. As eighth-graders, it is a
requirement to analyze character traits and watch how events change or mold them.

In todays society, with the digital world we live in, it is important people be
able to evaluate characters on and offline. Through the use of technology, students
will have the opportunity to evaluate character traits based on clues found within
social media. After analyzing the characters social media news feed, partners will
work to create a mystery character blog post as the mystery character.

Learning Standards/Objectives

The lesson is going to integrate reading, writing, and technology into 4
lessons stretched across most of the week.
1. Language Arts 3.4.e Analyze character traits, conflicts, motivations, points
of view, and changes that occur within the story.
Given a characters social media news feed, students will be able to
analyze character traits as well as conflicts they might be encounter at
80% accuracy.

2. Writing 2.1.b Create and develop a character(s), including comparisons, that
show the characters (s) beliefs and qualities.
Using their character analysis, students will be able to write a 5-7-
paragraph blog, post in first person, describing the character and a
conflict they might be facing in the story.


TECHNOLOGY

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3. ISTE 1 Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and

develop innovative products and processes using technology.
4. ISTE 2.b Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple
audiences using a variety of media and formats.
Given correction on their character analysis and writing, students will be
able to communicate and creatively display knowledge through a 5-7-
paragraph Kidblog.

Materials:
* Kidblog set up (with a
* Assignments in Google
link in Google class)
classroom:
*Chart paper or
* Rubric for writing
1. Analysis of character
whiteboard
task/blog post
2. Rough draft
* Google Classroom set up * Social Media newsfeed
3. Link for Blog post
(1 for example & 12 for
class)

Prior Knowledge
Reading. The students are required to make an inference of the character
traits based on the pictures; in order to do this they must have the background
knowledge on character traits. They should be able to identify possible traits found
in the stories. They need to be able to make inferences based on images or reading.
Students need to know about conflicts in stories.

Writing. Students are expected to know how to structure paragraphs and
sentences within an essay. They should know how to write in first person.

Technology. The lesson expects students to be comfortable with using
Google Classroom. Comfortable with using Google Classroom means they will have
used it for previous assignments in class. Within Google Classroom they will need to
be able to access assignments, work on assignments and turn assignments in.
Students will need to know and have used Kidblog before this lesson.

Lesson Overview and Schedule
55 minute class periods 4 class periods
Day 1:
1. (5 minutes) Bellwork On Google classroom, list character traits that you are
familiar with.
2. (10 minutes) Review character traits and go over the list the class created.
Have them share with partners then share as a whole class. As they share as
a whole class create a list on the board.
3. (20 minutes) Model/Apply to short Instagram feed and as a class break down
the character, explain traits and conflicts you might see in this character.
4. (5 minutes) Students will write a paragraph summarizing the Instagram feed
from today.
* iPads for students

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5. (15 minutes) Give the rubric and task expectations. Pair up students (Suggest
teacher pairs up before class time)

Day 2:
1. (5 minutes) Since expectations were gone over yesterday, bellwork today can
be for students to get out the iPad and find their partner and newsfeed. If
they have questions from yesterday, they can ask at this time.
2. (40 minutes) Have students spend class time sorting through the newsfeed
pictures and creating an analysis. They will need about 5 minutes after
bellwork to choose which feed they would like to study. Analysis must be
written because they will need to turn in as they leave class. Bullet form list
is sufficient.
3. (5 minutes) Make sure students submit analysis on Google classroom

Day 3:
1. (5 minutes) Bellwork Worksheet over character traits. Have on desks
when students enter the room.
2. (2-7 minutes depending on evaluation of yesterdays assignment) Help
students clear up any misconceptions they had from yesterdays analysis.
3. (45 minutes) Individually, students type their rough draft of a blog post.
4. (2-5 minutes) Submit in Google Classroom

Day 4:
1. (5 minutes) Review how to login and post to Kidblog
2. (20 minutes) Students type and publish their blog post along with the social
media newsfeed.
3. (20 minutes) Students comment on other students character analysis using
questions and comments. (Required to comment on 3 assign blogs to read 2
blogs, let them pick the third)
4. (10 minutes) Class discussion about differences they see in analyzing
characters, as well as inferences made.

Accommodations/Assessments

DAY 1
As students enter the room they will follow the morning routine of
completing the bellwork written on the board. The morning work on day 1 is to get
out their iPads and make a list of character traits. Use assignment one in Google
Classroom. Once students have made the list, have them turn and talk to the their
neighbors about the list. Once they have discussed with a partner, bring the class
together and have them share with everyone. Create a list on the board. One
student will take a picture of the list on the board and add it to Google Classroom.
Once a list has been made and any misconceptions of character traits have
been corrected, the teacher will bring up the short Instagram Newsfeed (Appendix
C) To start the discussion, have students share things they learn about people
through Instagram. Once the feed is up, the class will discuss the pictures posted

REVISED LESSON PLAN

and how the character might feel. Ask how the character might be feeling and what
the character is like. These pictures will include selfies and objects. Make sure to
point out the captions under the pictures and have students use those to guide the
decisions about character traits. Look at the first picture together. Do a think aloud
about what you would think about the character based on the picture. Looking at
the next few pictures, have students share some character traits they could infer
about the character. Finish looking at all the pictures and captions; then discuss
what you could say about the whole character.

Assessment
Once you have talked about the character as a whole, students should be able
to summarize the character into a paragraph. This is one paragraph using all the
pictures, captions, and class discussion from the day. The student will submit the
summary on Google Classroom under the assignment tab for the day. These should
be read before tomorrows class because if there are any misconceptions, the
teacher could catch and correct as he/she starts the next day.
Spend the last ten minutes in class going over and talking about the
upcoming project and expectations for the project. Use the rubric provided to guide
the expectations conversation. Pair up students before class is over.

Accommodations

If students are unable to form a list of character traits on their bellwork, it
might be necessary to add in a lesson on what character traits are before moving
forward. The eighth-grade standard expects students to have a prior understanding
of character traits so they can dig deep and do more analyzing.
For ELL students the pictures will be helpful in putting together the character
traits. There are basic feeling words the students would be more apt to understand.
Provide the students with a list of traits that are grouped under basic headings such
as nice, mean, and sad. (A list divided as such is provided Appendix A see separate
document.) If students struggle to understand the captions, read those aloud in a
small group. Students who need more time to finish their summary can finish later.
The activity is done together this day. Students who are hearing impaired
can be moved closer to the teacher.

DAY 2
Students enter the room and find instructions for getting their iPads out of
the cart and getting on Google Classroom. On Google Classroom they will find their
partner assignment along with all of the Instagram feeds. They can begin looking
through the feeds to decide which one they would like to analyze. After the class is
all in and things have settled down, stop the class, and answer any questions they
might have over the assignment. Remind them to make sure they give the reason
for why they picked the character trait they did. Send them back to work with their
group. The work time should last about 40 minutes. They need to take notes as
they are sorting through the feed with their partner. The notes will be turned in to
Google Classroom at the end of the class. The notes can be in bullet form or list.

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They can take them on paper then photograph them or just type them into the
Google Doc that is posted as an assignment.

Assessment
In the last five minutes of class, make sure students turn in the list they
created. The teacher will evaluate the lists of notes students made. This is an
informal list and not graded but should be reviewed to check for understanding.
Based on the information gleaned from reviewing the lists submitted, the teacher
should pull small groups and reteach something or address things as a whole class.

Accommodations

Provide students with the list of character traits that is broken into
categories. Pull them in a small group and talk about how you can see a trait on
someones face in a picture. Provide a mini lesson on facial expressions, having
them show when they are mad, nice, or sad.

DAY 3
Students will enter the room and complete the bellwork found in Appendix
D. This is a worksheet that has short paragraphs to read and then questions about
character traits. Students should complete this independently before spending time
in class going over it together. After going over the paper, this is the time to guide
any misconceptions among the students. Using the information gathered from the
informal assessment yesterday, make sure to help if students are thinking in the
wrong direction.
Students will work independently on writing a blog post in first person. The
blog post will be as the character they are describing. They should portray their
character traits. Review expectations for this portion of the assignment before the
students begin working on the activity. Give students about 40 minutes to write
their blog post. A rough draft should be submitted for review by the end of class or
at least before the next day. The rough draft should be typed on a Google Doc.
Spend the last few minutes helping students submit their activity in Google
Classroom.

Assessment

The assessment is the rough draft of the blog post. The teacher can review
the rough drafts and give feedback. The main focus of this writing assignment is to
check for understanding of character traits but the teacher will also encourage
correct grammar on the final post.

Accommodations

For students who take longer to write, they should be given more time.
Students who have a difficult time writing their words could use the app Dragon
Dictation to complete the rough draft. The app allows them to tell their story
verbally and the app transcribes it into written form.

REVISED LESSON PLAN

DAY 4
Students will follow the bellwork routine. They will be given someone elses
paper (the name will be removed) and they will read through the blog. As they read
through the blog they should provide edit and revision marks to the paper. After
time is up, collect the papers and match them to the correct student so they can see
the revisions they need to make. These are rough drafts that were posted on Google
(not the actual blog).
Review how to login to Kidblog and how to post the blog along with the
newsfeed. Since the documents are already typed and now they have editing marks,
they need to fix their papers before posting it to Kidblog. Once they get it posted to
Kidblog, the students will be required to read three different posts and comment on
the posts. When they comment they are to make comments pertaining to the
character traits found and explained in the first person narrative.

Assessment

The final publication of the blog and the three comments the students make
on other peoples blog will be the assessment and the final grade of the assignment.
This is what the rubric will be used for when grading their project. See Appendix D
for the rubric.

Accommodations

Students that need more time to complete the activity should be given extra
time. Editing marks will be given as review for the students that need to see those.
Students who might struggle to pick out errors in others writing might need to have
the teacher mark

Variations in the Lesson


Although this lesson was written specifically to accommodate a school using
Google Classroom and Kidblog, the same lesson could be done using other
platforms. As the teacher, choose the best resource to accommodate your
classroom.
Google Classroom works like Edmodo or even similar to Showbie. Any of
these three would be sufficient and just as efficient in getting the assignments out to
students.
Trends in social media are constantly changing. Although Instagram is
something middle school and high school students in our local area are using,
Snapchat might be the next big thing. Listen to what your students are using as you
plan this lesson and pick a format that resembles the latest fling in social media.
Templates for most social media can be found online or you can copy the format in a
word document.
There are other blogging sites out there for students rather than Kidblog.
Kidblog has been used at the elementary level all the way up to the college level. If
there is another site you prefer feel free. You could also have students post their
blog directly in Google Classroom as a public document in order for the other
students to see.

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Justification and Rationale

th

Motivating 8 graders to do schoolwork can be challenging. The activities in
this lesson were designed and carefully selected to intrigue students in analyzing
different characters.

Activating prior knowledge is vital as a new lesson begins. The bellwork on
day one was chosen to give the teacher an idea of what students remember about
character traits from previous years. Using the information, the teacher should gage
the direction she goes. After using the gage of character traits, the teacher intrigues
students with her knowledge of a Social Media they are using (this allows for
teachers to meet the need of relatedness found in Self-Determination Theory) (Ryan
& Deci, 2000). Not only does the quick discussion of the social media they are using
provide relatedness to the teacher, it also allows students to see a purpose in why
they should understand characters. When you give them a purpose in learning the
content, they value learning it more (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000). It also helps them to
become aware of how people perceive everything they post online. Using Social
Media to analyze characters shows students the importance of what they post online
and teaches digital citizenship. Teaching digital citizenship will benefit students as
they leave their digital footprint (International Society for Technology in Education,
2015).

Students were given a choice in the Newsfeed they wanted to analyze. The
feeds should have a variety of characters. The teacher should provide enough
structure for easy selection. Between the autonomy and support, the students will
find they are more motivated to be successful in class (Reeve, 2006). Autonomy
allows students to feel as though they have a say in their education. When they get
to choose a Feed that is similar to one of their friends, they might want to figure out
the type of character their friend is. The choice allows them a purpose in what they
are analyzing.

Although specific technology was chosen for this lesson, alternative options
were given because teachers should also have the freedom to choose what best fits
their classes needs. They also need to choose a technology they are comfortable
and familiar with when doing a large lesson such as this one.

In my school district, Google Classroom is becoming more and more popular.
I wrote this lesson using that platform because of how familiar I am with it. I also
choose Kidblog because it seems to be kid friendly and another one I have used at a
variety of levels. Every part of this lesson was thought out and planned to meet the
needs of students in an average 8th grade classroom.

Support Offered During Lesson Plan



Teachers like support while they are working on things, especially when it is
technology and new. Lessons that take a lot of preparation also require support for
the teachers because many times they do not have the time to put the lesson
together fully. As a support system for the teacher, there are many things I would
provide. One of the biggest ways to support teachers is to be a mentor to them as

REVISED LESSON PLAN

they plan and implement technology into their classroom (Papa, 2011). Being
available to the teacher is one way to mentor them. When you mentor and give
ideas rather than telling them how to do it, they feel as though they have more
ownership.

Make sure to review the technology that will be used with the teacher. Start
with Google classroom and check to make sure the teacher was able to post all the
assignments needed for the lesson. One way to do this is to give them the checklist
provided in Appendix B. The next technology that needs to be reviewed is Kidblog.
Help them find the link to post on Google Classroom as well as any tricks that might
make the technology run smoother. Google classroom is not the only tool to make
this lesson work. Some teachers might be using Edmodo and others might be using
Showbie. No matter what the teachers are using, reviewing the technology before
they begin using it or helping them troubleshoot issues that arise during the lessons.
Remind the teacher it is not about the actual technology used but more about the
process.

Some materials that might be difficult for the teacher to get ready include the
multiple Instagram Newsfeeds. Provided in the lesson is one feed but if I were
consulting with an individual, I would provide all the Feeds needed. It might even
be beneficial to make more than needed so teachers had the ability to choose which
feeds they used in their class.

Conclusion

The original lesson was generic enough it allowed for application to
standards in multiple grades. After choosing 8th grade to be the focus, a lesson plan
was rewritten and focused heavily on technology in order to apply to, connect with,
and engage students who use Instagram or similar Social Media. Character traits
can be applicable in all areas of life, not just reading literature. Because it is
applicable to a variety of areas, using social media to analyze allows students to see
the value in real life. The lesson plan is written specifically for Google Classroom but
can be easily applied to a variety of other platforms. The revisions to the lesson plan
are based on motivating students to do the work and making it applicable to real
life.

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References

International Society for Technology in Education. (2015). ISTE Standards for
Students. Retrieved October 24, 2015, from ISTE:
http://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards/standards-for-students
Oklahoma State Department of Education. (2014). Grade 8 - Integrated Curriculum.
Retrieved October 27, 2015, from OK.Gov:
http://ok.gov/sde/sites/ok.gov.sde/files/C3%20PASS%20Int8.pdf
Papa, R. (2011). Technology Leadership for School Improvement. United States: Sage
Publications.
Reeve, J. (2006). Teachers as Facilitators: What Autonomy-Supportive Teachers Do
and Why Their Students Benefit. The Elementary School Journal , 106 (3).
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000, January). Self-Determination Theory and teh
Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being.
American Psychologist , 68-78.
Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. S. (2000). Expectancy-Value Theory of Achievement
Motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology , 68-81.

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Appendix A
Bellwork Day 3

Assignment attached separately

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REVISED LESSON PLAN

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Appendix B
Assignment Checklist for Google

_______ Bellwork (Day 1): List of all character traits you can think of

_______ Summary (Day 1): Write a summary of the character we analyzed today
in class.

_______ POST Rubric for blog writing

_______ NOTE All Instagram feeds for class

_______ Feed Notes (Day 2): Turn in your notes you made during group analysis

_______ Rough Draft (Day 3): Attach/add to the Google Doc 1st person blog
rough draft

_______ NOTE Blog link & review directions for using

_______ NOTE Directions for analyzing other students Blog

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Appendix C
Instagram feed for Day 1 Whole class

KEY:
The character traits of this person:
Adventurous
Enjoys athletic
Passionate about animals
Generally happy person
likes a lot of things
Active

I love my team! #gameday #oufootball
Enthusiastic










Poor puppysomeone please adopt her!

#puppylove #treatdogsright










Awwww perfect weather for a hike!

#nature #friends











BASKETBALL season! Who is ready??

#spectator #KNIGHTS

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Attached separately

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Appendix D
Rubric for grading blog