Hashem, Lesson Plan 5

Lesson Plan #5 Digital Genres

I. Setting the Stage:
A. Curriculum Framework Standards:
MA.RL.11-12.5 - Analyze how an authors choices concerning how to
structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choices of where to begin or end a
story, the choices to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to
overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
MA.RI.11-12.7. Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information
presented in different media or formats (e.g. visually, quantitatively) as well as
in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
MA. L.11-12.3 Apply knowledge of language to understand how language
functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style,
and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
B. Generative Topic:
The focal concept of this lesson is to explore genres in digital realms, building
modern literacies and incorporating an appreciation for multimodality into our
understanding of genre.
C. Measurable Objectives:
Students will consider how authorial choices in digital realms contribute to
structure and meaning to achieve a particular purpose in a particular context.
Students will integrate and evaluate samples of digital writing from multiple
sources in order to perform a genre analysis on that writing.
Students will apply knowledge of language, including language specific to
digital writing, in different contexts and digital platforms in order to
understand how language is used in digital writing genres.
D. End of Lesson Assessment:
The end of the lesson assessment will be the completed classwork assignment
that we worked on together. The graphic organizer will be emailed to me and
evaluated for insightful reflection on digital genres with a consideration of any
multimodal aspects in the selected genre.

II. Content of the Lesson

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A. Content and Skills:

This lesson will ask students to compile a list of digital writing genres. I will
expect the list to include at least the following
o Blogs generally social and casual, featuring comments at the bottom
of each post. The posts are generally informative or personal. The
tone is somewhat conversational. Diction depends on the field in
which the blog operates. Format and layout of blogs are usually
simple, clear, and easy to navigate.
o Tweets 140 characters, can be directed at a specific individual with
an @ symbol or at a group of readers with a # symbol. These tend
to be casual, witty, brief, and informative. Grammatical correctness is
very low priority.
o Facebook writing on Facebook can either be a status post, a message,
or a comment. While each has their own specific genre characteristics,
the tone on Facebook is very conversational and casual. It is unusual
to conduct formal business on Facebook. You can use @ or # tags.
o Emails the tone here varies fairly widely based on purpose. Emails
can be professional and formal, in which case the format will read
more like a business letter. They can also be friendly and
conversational, in which case they read like a personal letter. They can
also be brief and informative, in which case they often lack headings
or signatures and read more like a text message.
o Texts tend to be brief and casual. The tone is usually conversational
and informal. Grammatical correctness is low priority. Words and
phrases are often abbreviated in order to avoid having to type
unnecessary characters.
o Instagram the captions on instagram photos do not have a character
limit, but you cannot place links in them. The captions can use @ or #
tags. Comments are allowed.
o Forums this depends on the nature of the forum, but the general
genre works in that an initial author posts a prompt or a question and
then readers collaboratively discuss and argue in an attempt to come to
a more complete understanding of the initial post. Assertion of
personal knowledge is big in this genre, as the authors want their post
to be taken seriously over others, who may not be as qualified to
answer.
o News articles- these function much like newspapers; however, they
publish for an online readership. They feature lots of multimedia, with
hyperlinks and photos to supplement their articles
Authorial choices with regard to genre characteristics are slightly different in
digital realms than in print realms, so we will be considering multimodality,
design, and layout in our conversation.

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Students will choose a particular digital genre, collect different samples of that
genre, and then draw conclusions based on those different samples, integrating
information from different sources.
Students will apply knowledge of language to their investigation of the
characteristics, uses, and effectiveness of digital genres. They will also
develop language skills to help them navigate a clear discussion of those
digital genres.

B. Rationale:
Digital writing is a skill of growing importance for todays students; writing is
becoming an increasingly screen-based activity (Lauer 3). Writing
instruction is expanding: the curriculum of composition is widening to include
a literacy of print and a literacy of the screen. In addition, work in one
medium is used to enhance learning in the other (Losh 61). The NCTE
Definition of 21st Century Literacies stresses that active and successful
modern writers must have a proficiency and fluency in writing technology,
multimedia texts, and globalized writing environments. This lesson is
intended to help students develop the technical skills required to write
digitally, the language to discuss relevant digital literacies, and the awareness
to insightfully navigate modern, digital compositions according to the
National Writing Projects definition of digital writing.
III. Preparation for the Procedures:
Book the Computer Lab
Materials:
Laptop or computer hooked up to a projector or large screen.
Printed hard copies of the class assignment to hand out to students.

IV. Sequence of Teaching-Procedures

A. Beginning of the Lesson (10 minutes): Review Homework
I will briefly remind students of the ongoing homework assignment they
should be working on from the prior lesson, which is a piece of writing from a
literary genre accompanied by a reflection paper explaining which genre
norms were followed, which were not, and why those choices were made.
Explain that we will be using the next class to workshop the assignment, so
students need to bring in whatever they have done so far to the next class.
They will need to have completed at least the following by the next class:
o A rough draft of the piece they are working on
o A list of the genre norms they are adhering to and that they are
deviating from
o A brief explanation for each genre norm on the list

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Give a moment for anyone to ask any questions about that homework
assignment if there is any confusion.

A. Journaling (20 minutes):

We will now have a brief journaling prompt.

I will project or copy the following definition of digital writing up on the
board:
Digital writing can be defined as compositions created with, and often
times for reading and viewing on, a computer or other device that is connected
to the Internet. -National Writing Project
We will take 3-5 minutes to journal on this, making a list of as many digital
genres as we can think of, including emails, texts, blogs, Facebook messages
etc.
After around 3-5 minutes, I will ask for examples from the lists and we will
collaboratively make a list on the board of examples of digital writing genres.
I will describe these different genres as we write them up in case any ELL
students are unfamiliar with the terms. I will also have my computer hooked
up to a projector so that I can look up examples of the digital genres as we list
them. Be sure to include brief discussion of the multimodal aspects of many
of these compositions, such as Instagram (photo + caption), texts featuring
emojis, and blog post design and layout choices.
After we do this for awhile and come up with a list of more traditional digital
writing genres, I will prompt students to consider audio genres, like podcasts,
audiobooks, audio dramas, radio shows, etc.
o
o
o
o

Are these still forms of writing?

Do they occur in response to rhetorical situations?
Do they have genres of their own?
Can we still consider tone, diction, and format in audio genres?

Add these genres to the list on the board.

B. Genre Scientists Activity (55 minutes)

Hashem, Lesson Plan 5

Give directions for this assignment and then go to the school computer lab in
order to complete this activity. Hand out printed copies of the assignment for
the students to refer back to. Take around 10 minutes to go over this
assignment and answer questions.

In this activity, we are going to be Digital Genre Scientists and the Internet is our
laboratory. We are going to be collecting samples of a digital genre and then
making observations on those samples. You can choose any digital genre you
like; we just made a list if you need some help thinking of ideas. You can also
choose one that is not on the list if you can think of one. You will need at least 5
samples of that digital genre from different sources.
You may work in pairs of your choosing. At the end of class, each group will
complete the following graphic organizer that I will email out to everyone:

Names:

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Which digital genre did you choose?

Include some background information on this genre.

Where did you collect your genre samples from, generally?

What genre norms usually accompany this genre of digital writing?

Sample 1

Sample:

Where did this sample come from specifically?

On what date did you collect this sample?
On what date did the author publish this sample?
Discussion of Sample:

Sample 2

Sample:

Where did this sample come from specifically?

On what date did you collect this sample?
On what date did the author publish this sample?

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Discussion of Sample:

Sample 3

Sample:

Where did this sample come from specifically?

On what date did you collect this sample?
On what date did the author publish this sample?
Discussion of Sample:

Sample 4

Sample:

Where did this sample come from specifically?

On what date did you collect this sample?
On what date did the author publish this sample?
Discussion of Sample:

Hashem, Lesson Plan 5

Sample 5

Sample:

Where did this sample come from specifically?

On what date did you collect this sample?
On what date did the author publish this sample?
Discussion of Sample:

So each pair will email in the filled out graphic organizer, which asks for the
following:
-

a brief statement on which digital writing genre you chose, some background
on the genre chosen, and where the genre samples were collected from, either
generally or specifically
a list of genre norms that are generally observed with this digital genre
images or excerpts from your 5 samples. You can include screenshots of your
samples or you can copy and paste it the text. If you choose to do an audio
genre, please include a link to where the audio clip can be found and clearly
indicate to me where your sample is. Choose a sample of whatever you think
most accurately captures the genre. Each sample should include the source of
the sample, the date you collected it, and the date it was published by the
author.
A discussion of each individual sample. Discuss the purpose of each sample.
What was the author hoping to achieve? What choices did he or she make to
achieve those purposes? What genre characteristics are seen? Consider tone,
diction, and format. Does the composition use things other than words, such
as emojis, pictures, hyperlinks, sounds, or other features?

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We will go to the computer lab as a class, choose partners or decide to work

alone, and work on this in class. I will circulate and answer questions, help
students brainstorm, and guide the process. I will keep track of time to make sure
that everyone is staying on track to finish in time.

I will make sure to stop by the ELL student computers in order to define words
that might have given them trouble in the class discussion of the assignment,
paying particular attention to the technical terminology used (Word document,
screenshot, caption, emojis, hyperlinks).

C. Extension and Enrichment Activities during Class Time

Students who finish this quickly can be asked to do one of the following
o Add additional samples to their collection, particularly a sample that
deviates in some way from the genre norms discussed. Discussion of
that deviation should be included under the sample.
o Lengthen the list of genre norms identified in the graphic organizer
o Compose a sample of the digital genre under study as a demonstration
of the genre norms explored in class.
D. End of Lesson (5 minutes)
Make sure students are finishing up. Answer any remaining questions. Have
students email me their completed graphic organizers.
Remind everyone again that tomorrow is the day to workshop our literary
compositions, so they need to bring it what they have done so far.