Secondary English Language Arts: Revised ed:TPA Lesson Plan Template

Name: Amanda Willner

Lesson Title: Evidence Mini-Lesson and

Writing Activity The Things They Carried

Grade Level: Sophomore

Lesson Goals
Central Focus: Describe the central focus (of the unit) and explain how this lesson reflects the central focus.
To explore what we carry with us, synthesizing narrative strategies from mentor texts, and creating personal narratives and thematic
elements that reflect individual growth experiences. The lesson reflects the central focus because the students will be interacting with
the text in order to create short meaningful analysis from quotes.
List the title, author, and write a short description of the text(s) used in this lesson.
The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien follows the protagonist of the same name through the trials of the Vietnam War as he and his
friends from the Alpha Chapter attempt to cope with the unexplainable deaths Interspersed with pensive passages about telling war
stories, The novel uses a nonlinear plot and frequently addresses the audience about the way the stories are told.

Conceptual/Theoretical Framework (draw from research and readings in CI and English coursework:
Developed in Illinois Educational District 214, MEL-Con is a simplified structure for writing that is easy for students to remember and
use. Once the student understands this method of writing, they can build off of it and make their writing more intricate by adapting the
structure and adding more pieces of evidence. However, it is an excellent place to start teaching or review how to incorporate quotes
and resources into their writing through pulling quotes from the primary texts. The conceptual framework is based around the idea that
learning should be student-centered. A concept that is favored in the Danielson Framework, it encourages student choice and
exploration. This is why students are divided about what they write for part of the lesson, but then use the last part of the lesson for
collaborative revision.
Standard(s) Addressed (use examples from both the Common Core State Standards and the Illinois Professional Teaching
Standards):
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.1.A

Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that
establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
IPTS 4N) engages students in and monitors individual and group-learning activities that help them develop the motivation to learn
Recall your central focus and explain how the standards (above) and learning objectives (below), that you have identified, support
students learning:
CCSS W.9-10.1.A supports student learning because it requires students to think critically about a text and then apply it to an

academic argument by using the text for support. IPTS 4N ensures that students are actively engaging with the text and their peers.
Materials/ Instructional Resources:
Students and teacher will need a copy of The Things They Carried. Students require pen and paper, and the teacher a white board
and markers.
*Learning Objectives (Add additional objective boxes as
needed):

*Assessment (both formal and informal)- Evidence of Student

Understanding:

Objective 1: Students will be able to write a paragraph with a

partner using the MEL-Con method.

Related Assessment:
Write a paragraph with a partner

Explain the Assessments Alignment with the Objective:

The assessment aligns with the objective because students will use
The method taught in the mini-lesson on how to use evidence when
writing

Describe the form of Student feedback that accompanies

the assessment:
Objective 2: Students will be able to identify MEL-Con and its
appropriate usage.

Students will receive written feedback from peers and teachers.

Related Assessment:
Review and comment on peers paragraphs to revise their MEL-Con
Paragraphs.

Explain the Assessments Alignment with the Objective:

The assessment aligns with the objective because it is using
Student work to assess whether students understand the parts
Of the structure and how it should be used.

Describe the form of Student feedback that accompanies

the assessment:
Students will receive written and verbal feedback from peers.

Lesson Considerations
Pre-Assessment:
The previous day students interacted with the text and pointed to parts of it that made them react a certain way. This lesson is
expanding on that, teaching formal evidence based writing that is usually seen in formal texts to validate the author.
Prior Academic Learning and Prerequisite Skills: (Cite evidence that describes what students know, what they can

do, and what they are still learning to do.)

Because this lesson is being taught in March, the teacher knows that most students can read at grade-level and identify basic literary
conventions, as well as explain how they are important to the text. The teacher has gathered this information through class
discussions and previous writing assignments. Students are also capable of having discussions about a text, usually focusing on
character development, for at least a third of the class period, usually using the text to support their claims. They are still learning
how to explore the text in more depth and transforming their reactions into academic arguments about the characters and the ways in
which the text is working.

Personal, cultural, and community assets related to the central focusExplain what you know about your students
everyday experiences, cultural and language backgrounds and practices, and interests.
While the students are predominantly White, there are a few students who represent minorities. All of the students are bound for
college and the school will not allow students to drop out as a part of their college and career readiness goals- they work with
students rigorously to get them to where they need to be before they reach a point where they feel they need to or can drop out of
high school. There is a student who speaks French, as this student is Congolese. The high school as a whole has a community of
students who are recognized to have disabilities, representing about fifteen percent of the student population. In this class, there is
one student who is on the Autism spectrum. A majority of the students are involved in activities sponsored by the high school, but
know to expect at least six hours of homework a night between all of their classes. However, because The Things They Carried can
have a bigger emotional impact than the students are accustomed to, their reading load for this book is lighter than usual.
Misconceptions:
Students could have misconceptions about how to appropriately use evidence from a text in an academic context.

Language Objectives and Demands

Identify a Language Function:
The major language function for the lesson is to analyze. With the unit focusing on personal narrative, it is important that the students
understand how to find and use evidence that they can use in a variety of types of writing. They are becoming invested in the text
and being active readers.
Language Function. Using information about your students language assets and needs, identify one language function essential
for students within your central focus. Listed below are some sample language functions. You may choose one of these or another
more appropriate language function for this lesson.
Analyze

Argue

Describe

Evaluate

Explain

Interpret

Justify

Synthesize

Vocabulary:
The vocabulary used in the novel is at a level where all of the students can recognize and understand the words, especially since
they read at grade level. The student who speaks French could struggle a little bit since the student is one grade level below in their
reading level.

Learning and Linguistic Accommodations: Describe the instructional accommodations that you must make, as the classroom
teacher, in order to address the learning needs of students with special needs and students who are not English proficient or
students who use varieties of English.
Accommodations for students with Special Needs:
In this classroom there is a student who has Autism Spectrum Disorder. For this lesson, the accommodations for this student will
include keeping the classroom calm and comfortable, dim lights and low noise when appropriate, having a flexible time to read the
chapter and complete tasks, and telling the student what is coming next in the lesson. I will also consult with the Special Education
teacher to go over anything from an IEP or 504 plan.
Accommodations for students who are not proficient uses of Standard English:
I will consult the Bilingual/ESL teacher, and the student has a copy of the French version of The Things They Carried available to
him. He will be required to speak in English, and write in a way that is universally intelligible to his peers and teacher to understand
him, but will not be marked down because he is Bilingual. Supports throughout the year that are separate from individual lessons will
further his ability to write and speak English.

Explain your instructional decision-making and the way you plan to support student learning when using whole class,
small groups, and individualized assignments. In addition, explain accommodations for students who have
special needs and students who are not proficient users of Standard English as part of whole class and small
group arrangements
The class begins with think-pair-share because it offers students a low-stakes way to enter the classroom while still be active and
thinking about the overall concept for the lesson. It also supports students who might not have done the reading homework, and at
least they can get a summary from their peers. The partnered writing removes some of the focus on just writing to writing about how
they should be thinking about the text. It is an organic way for the students to both interact with the text and their peers, learning from
each other and about the possibilities that writing has, especially when trying to choose evidence for support. By not reviewing their
own work, they are removing themselves from their writing and can clearly look at another sample that could prove to have similar
places that excel and that need some work. By having them switch with a pair from the other side of the room, they also have the
opportunity to consider even more ways to support their answer from the prompt, which is another writing example that they have to
work off of. This activity supports the student who is not English dominant because he will be working with someone who is English
dominant and can write out their response, but he is still a part of the activity because he will be contributing to it.
Time

*Lesson Plan Details

3-5
min

Lesson Introduction
Utilizing think-pair-share, ask students to observe how they know if something is valid or correct in real life- for
example, if a facebook post is accurate or if you should trust an online review
Learning Activities
The teacher will give a small presentation, with an example, about the MEL-Con structure of writing- a tool to ensure
that an author is using evidence based writing to support claims. MEL-Con stands for Main idea, Evidence, Link, and
Conclusion. This can be applied to stand-alone paragraphs or to whole papers. First the teacher will outline the
method on the white board, modelling the structure of it and how it might be similar to other outlines that the
students could be familiar with. Then the teacher will use a neutral example ( i.e. explain how a cookie crumbles,
why should or should not our school have uniforms, etc), and work through an example, asking students for input
about what would go where in terms of organization and what type of evidence they should use. Within this minilesson, the teacher should also mention that sources of acceptable evidence vary by the type of writing, but for
academic assignments, examples from the text and scholarly journals are always appropriate. The following activity
will focus on finding quotes to support a literature prompt.
Students will then be split in half down the middle of the room. One side will be using chapter 4 and the other
chapter 5 to answer the same prompt. Working in partners, each side will look for evidence that will support their
answer to the prompt. They must find at least three pieces of evidence and explain how it answers the question, and
must do so using the MEL-Con structure and complete sentences. The prompt is: How does guilt move characters

35
min

7-10
min

to do certain actions- in other words, how does guilt motivate the action in the chapter?
Formal assessment is the writing assignment, which will provide direct evidence of students abilities to construct
meaning from the text. This is the first time that the students are doing a close-reading activity through writing and
finding appropriate evidence, so this will assess their ability to find useable quotes that adequately support their
response to the prompt.
Informal assessment of editing someone elses paper provides direct evidence of students abilities to construct
meaning from the text because they are being critical of the text and of their peers work. This combines writing skills
with reading skills that provides students with hands-on opportunity to work with the text but will also show whether
they understand how MEL-Con functions and how they can apply a prompt to it.
Closure
Pairs of students will trade their paragraph with a pair from the opposite side of the room. They will label the parts of
this paragraph according to the MEL-Con styled paragraph. The students will receive their paper back and will
reflect with their partner on how to improve their writing (most likely they can improve upon the linking parts of their
writing- or why is this important and how does it prove my point?)
Extension
Read the next two chapters that are for homework.

Resources and References (use APA or MLA listing the information from the conceptual framework above as
well as from any other categories where cited a source):
Danielson, Charlotte. "Evaluations That Help Teachers Learn." The Effective Educator 68.4 (2011): 35-39. Web. Winter 2015.

"MEL-Con Writing." MEL-Con Writing. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.