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led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and
expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.2
Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text,
including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.8.5.A
Interpret figures of speech (e.g. verbal irony, puns) in context.
Procedures/Instructional Strategies
[Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.]
Beginning Room Arrangement:
Students in groups of 4. Seating chart on the board- same seats as week 1
[Changes in this arrangement that become necessary later will be noted in the plan]
1. [2 mins.] Bridge/Hook/Opening to lesson:
Welcome back class! As you remember last time we finished class with a mini-research project
on Johnathon Swift- the author of the piece we are going to be reading today. While you all
research and presented a lot of great information, I am still going to provide a brief introduction
to the piece.
2. [5 mins.] Step 1: Introduction to the piece
The title of the piece we are reading today is called A Modest Proposal, published in 1729.
The Modest Proposal was a response to the worsening conditions some of you researched last
class- Ireland was suffering through a terrible famine made even worse by crowded conditions
and freezing weather. Since Swift, as you discovered last class, was a part of politics and a
writer, he wrote his opinion on the issue-a thus A Modest Proposal was born. But what makes
this piece relevant to our humor lesson is that it is a satire. Thus Swift wrote A Modest
Proposal to call attention to abuses inflicted on the Irish Catholics by the English Protestants.
He believed England was exploiting and oppressing Ireland.
3. [8 mins.] Step 2: Read-Aloud Model
Today we are going to do read the piece aloud in partners. To help me demonstrate and explain,
Mrs. Smith from next door is going to come in and were going to read the first few paragraphs
of the text and model the activity. First let me hand out the essay- please do not start reading
right away. Teacher hands out copies of A Modest Proposal. Let me explain the activity. As you
and your partner read aloud to each other after every few paragraphs or so you will see a red
dot at the end of a paragraph. When you reach this dot, stop reading, and you will then discuss
with your partner. The next paper I am going to hand-out is the guidelines for the activity.
Teacher hand-outs of say-something prompts and projects the rules on the board. So the
activity goes like this- once you reach the end of a paragraph with a red dot you and your
partner each complete one of the following prompts I provided to you on the hand-out I just
passed out. While you each have to speak, you do not have to use all the prompts, or even one
from any category. Just make a statement and discuss the statement with your partner, and vice
versa. If you cannot complete one of the five prompts then you need to reread. If you have
questions hold them for now and wait until after Mrs. Smith and I demonstrate.
4. [10 mins.] Step 3: Model Say-Something
Class, you know Mrs. Smith from next door, give her a warm welcoming. Mrs. Smith and I are
going to now model the say-something activity for you. We are going to read up until the first
red dot on the copy of A Modest Proposal I handed out.
Me: Would you like to start reading aloud Mrs. Smith?
cannot help him with. The next part of the lesson is also oral and allows for whole class input.
The lesson also tailors to supporting Raul in that there is a lot of modeling.