Concept Unit

Lesson Plan Template

Unit Working Title: Why Do I Care?
Unit Big Idea (Concept/Theme): Value Systems
Unit Primary Skill focus: Reflection
Week 1 of 3; Plan # 2 of 9; [90 mins.]
Plan type: Full-Detail
Content Requirement Satisfied: Writing Instruction, Model text, Mentor Text
Unit Learning Objectives (numbered) [from my Backwards Design Unit Document],
followed by Specific lesson objectives (lettered) being taught in this lesson:
SWBAT:
Cognitive (know/understand):
1. Students will know that their values come from their experiences.
a. Students will know the definition of a value.
b. Students will know what their own values are.
d. Students will understand how their values connect to past experiences.
e. Students will be able to identify significant moments from their pasts.
f. Students will be able to explain what their values are.
g. Students will be able to reflect on past experiences in order to understand their
influence on their values.
h. Students will be able to use different brainstorming techniques.
Affective (feel/value) and/or Non-Cognitive:
3. Students will value reflection and understanding where they come from.
b. Students will understand that reflection helps gain insight on prior experiences.
c. Students will feel connected to experiences from their past and the impact they had on
them.
g. Students will be able to create artistic representations that reflect their memoir story.
h. Students will be able to articulate the significance of their representation in a
statement.
Performance (do):
5. Students will be able to reflect on the value systems of another person or community.
d. Students will be able to articulate the values presented in another persons work.
SOLs: [List with numbers portrayed in the SOL document]
6.7b Use a variety of prewriting strategies including graphic organizers to generate and organize
ideas.
CCSs: [List with numbers portrayed in the CCS document]
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop
and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new
approach.
Methods of Assessment:

[How will you know if the intended learning occurred?] List all methods of assessment used in
this lesson or which are related to this lesson and come in a future lesson. After each
assessment, indicate in brackets the number(s) and letter(s) of the unit objective and the related
lesson objectives that the assessment is evaluating.
Diagnostic
While You Wait1a, 1h

Formative
Watermark events brainstorm- 1e, 1g, 1h, 3b,
3c
Topic Blast brainstorm- 1a, 1b, 1d, 1f, 1g, 1h,
3b, 3c
Humans of New York post reading and
creation- 1g, 3c, 3g, 3h, 5d

Summative
Closing review- 1a,
1d, 1g, 1h

Procedures/Instructional Strategies
[Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.]
Beginning Room Arrangement: The class will be arranged into tables of desks, with four
desks pushed together to create a table group. There will be five different desk groupings/tables
in the classroom.
1.

[7 mins.] Bridge/Hook/Opening to lesson: While You Wait worksheet

Greet students at the door as they come in, welcoming each student into the classroom. Have
the While You Wait available at the stop-in table by the front of the door for students to pick up
as they enter. When greeting students remind them to look at that table for any worksheet they
may need for the day. When all students have entered, instruct class to begin on While You
Wait.
Good morning class. I hope everyone is having a great day so far, and we are in for an
interesting class today. I think I reminded everyone, but just make sure that youve picked up
the While You Wait worksheet from our stop-in table by the door. We are going to be working
on the concepts of brainstorming and values in class today, so it is important that we all know
what they are before we do that. This worksheet will help us to think through what we know and
come to a cohesive understanding.Take a few minutes to fill it out, and if you finish early then do
some silent reading at your desk. For now, only fill in the first four questions; we will get to the
ones that start with table a little later. If you did not get the worksheet, do that now.
As students work on the While You Wait, circulate the room and observe what students are
writing. Get an idea as to what students know about brainstorming and values and use their
answers to shape the discussions later.
2.

[10 mins.] While You Wait discussion

After a few minutes when it seems everyone is done, have students discuss in their table
groups.
Ok everyone, now that youve worked on your own I want you to go ahead and share what you
wrote with your table groups. When everyone has had a turn, decide as a group on one
definition of brainstorming and one example that you want to share with the rest of the class.
Also, pick the definition of value that you think describes it best and be ready to share that as
well. Write these down on the last 2 parts of your worksheet.

Give students some time to discuss amongst themselves. Circulate the room and listen to what
students are talking about. Ask guiding questions as appropriate, such as:
How did you come up with that definition?
Where have you seen these terms before?
Why did you choose that as the best definition?
Ok everyone, eyes back up front please. Who would like to share what they came up with at
their tables?
Go around the room and have each group share their definitions. Do not instruct too much, just
let them share. When everyone has given their definitions for brainstorming and values, lead
into next part of lesson.
That was great, thanks for sharing everyone. You all seem like you know a lot about these
topics already. As I mentioned, we are going to be working with the concepts throughout our
lesson today. We actually began our work with these ideas yesterday. Do you remember the
lists we made for our writing territories? That could be considered brainstorming. And remember
how we thought about what is important to us and wrote the I Am poems? Those have a little
to do with values! Lets go ahead and get started on our lesson so we can dig further into these
terms.
3.

[3 mins.] Brainstorming definition and importance

Pull up PowerPoint to slide 2.

I liked the definitions you all came up with, but just for clarification here is a definition of
brainstorming that we can all use. Who can read it for me? Allow student to read definition: An
informal way of generating topics to write about, or points to make about a topic. Great, thank
you. Does anyone need clarification on what this means? Basically, brainstorming is a time
when we write down all the ideas we can think of in regards to a topic we want to write about.
After coming up with all the ideas, then you go back and select which ones work best for what
you are trying to do. You all gave some great examples earlier, and brainstorming can take
many forms. You could do a topic blast, a list, a think aloud and more. We are going to try one
out today for a writing piece that you all will be working on throughout this unit.
4.

[2 mins.] Watermark Events description

Go to PowerPoint slide 3.
Today, our brainstorm is going to be on Watermark Events (taken from Write Like This page
47, Kelly Gallagher). When you go to the beach, you may notice sticks or piers that are darker
on their bottom half than the top, just like in this picture here. This happens when the tide rises
up and leaves a watermark on the wood. When the tide goes back down, the water is no longer
there but the watermark still remains. Similarly, we all experience events that leave their mark
on us even when they have passed. Our goal today is to generate a list of those events from
our lives, and maybe think of some we would want to write about.
5.

[10 mins.] Watermark Events modeling

Switch to Elmo projector, and write below it for students to see your work projected on the
board.
Before you guys start on this, I wanted to demonstrate how this brainstorm could be done by
creating my own list of watermark events. Pay attention to the types of events I am thinking
about, and why they could fit this watermark category.
Create a list on the board for students to follow. Talk through each one, describing why I thought
of it and when it happened. List will look something like this:
Little brother being born
Being in my first play- Annie
Car accident where I broke my pelvis
Legally Blonde play senior year
Losing my grandfather
Attending the Colts vs. Broncos game
Winning Prom Queen
First day teaching
First big fight with my mom
Fight with former best friends
6.

[10 mins.] Watermark Events brainstorm

Ok, now its your turn. Take the next 10 minutes to think about all the things in your life you think
could be considered watermark events. You wont be sharing this with anyone, so dont worry
about anyone else seeing it. Just write down every idea you can think of. If you get stuck, try
thinking about each year of your life and what may have been significant about each one. Im
here if you need any help.
Play soft music in the background while students brainstorm. Try to walk around room to make
sure students are on task, and help those who have questions or need guidance. In the last few
minutes tell students:
As you finish up, go back and put stars next to 1 or 2 of the events that you came up with that
you would most like to write about. We will be doing a big writing project using one of the events
you choose, so make sure it is something you can write a lot about and is something that really
shows some values you have developed. If there is only 1 you think you could do thats fine. If
you dont think any would work, then quickly try to generate one you would like to work with.
Give students a one-minute warning, then wrap up their work by saying:
Hopefully everyone was able to come up with some watermark events they have experienced. I
cant wait to see what you all choose to write about.
7.

[5 mins.] Values definition and examples

Go to PowerPoint slide 4.
Now that we know all about brainstorming and have tried it a little ourselves, lets skip back a
little to the other topic we discussed at the beginning of class; values. Again, you all had great

ideas but here is a definition we can all use together. Who can read it for me? Allow student to
read definition; A persons principles or standards of behavior; ones judgement of what is
important in life. Thank you. A value is essentially a quality or moral that we believe is
important to have in our lives. Do you remember how we talked about what was important to us
yesterday? Some of the things you wrote on your I Am poems could probably be considered
values.
Go to PowerPoint slide 5.
Here are some common values that people think about when they decide what is important to
them. Who sees something on this board that they would also consider a value to them?
8.

[7 mins.] Topic Blast modeling

Now what we are going to do is take the one or two events you chose, and connect them to
values they may have taught you. You can watch how I do it first, then you all will get to try. Who
wants to pick one of the events for me to think through?
Use Elmo projector to show a Topic Blast worksheet. Pick a student to choose an event from my
list and do a topic blast on the values it taught me. For example, if my car accident was chosen
the values would include:
Positivity
Family
Friendships
Patience
Strength
7.

[10 mins.] Topic Blast brainstorm

Now that you all have seen me do it, go ahead and try on this Topic Blast worksheet that I am
passing out with the two watermark events you chose. I will leave this list of values up, but if
you get stuck feel free to pull out your computers and try to google more lists of values to see if
anything sparks your mind. Also, if you can describe what the event taught you I can help you
come up with the word for that value. Go ahead and get started.
Give students about 10 minutes to work. Give students a one-minute warning when it is almost
done.
9.

[10 mins.] Humans of New York reading

Now that you all have chosen some significant life events and the values that have developed
from this event, we are going to look at a short example of how someone else describes an
experience theyve had. Does anyone here follow Humans of New York on Facebook? Well, if
you havent seen it youre in for a treat. A man from New York goes around the city and talks to
complete strangers. He talks to them, takes their picture, and shares a little about their life story
on Facebook. It is really interesting to see all the different experiences people have been
through. Some are heartbreak; others are inspiring. They are a good reminder that we dont
always know what another person has been through.

Today we are going to look at one of these Humans of New York posts. Follow along on the
screen while I read the caption out loud.
Turn to PowerPoint slide 6. Read caption out loud to the class.
From this short caption, we know this man was a soldier. He fought in a war and came under
attack at least once. While they laughed it off at the time, he recognizes that this event still
affects him today. Those are the basic details. Who can tell me what may lie under the surface
of this reading? What do we think could be some things this man now values from this event?
Allow students to volunteer answers. Look for suggestions like safety, protection, appreciation,
life.
10.

[10 mins.] Humans of New York creation

Now that you all understand what a Humans of New York post looks like, I want you to try and
make your own. Take the watermark event from our earlier brainstorm that you are most
interested in writing about, and come up with a short caption summarizing that event. I will leave
this example on the board so you can compare how you are writing with the way this man
describes his event. Make sure to include a part about how this event affects you now. In the
box above, draw a picture of yourself either posing or a picture from the event you describe.
Give students time to work on their fake posts. Circulate the room and help students who are
stuck or struggling with how to summarize their event. Get an idea of the types of events
students will be writing about.
11.
[6 mins] Closure:
Before we leave, I want to do a quick review on what we discussed today. Who can share some
ideas about why they think brainstorming is an important technique for writers?
Take some student answers.
Great, thanks for your input. Now, who can tell me some things we can think about when trying
to discover our values?
Take student answers.
Great work on that class. Not only did we learn about brainstorming and values, but we even
did a brainstorm ABOUT values! You have each generated a great start to our writing project
for the unit, and I cant wait to see how your stories play out.
Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students:
(This is where you identify specific aspects of this lesson which have been differentiated in
order to address the needs of one or more of your profiled studentsidentify them by name)
During group discussion times, I will make sure to circulate to the group where Andrea sits and
ask her to share what she has written. I will provide encouraging feedback and reassure her that
her thoughts and ideas are valid. I will make sure I am paying special attention to her during
these tasks in order to be sure she is completing them correctly. She will also be sitting next to a
peer who is helpful and doesnt mind assisting her with the directions for the tasks. Furthermore,

when asking for volunteers to read something I will call on her if she volunteers so that she can
participate without getting something wrong.
Materials Needed (list):
While You Wait worksheet
PowerPoint
Elmo projector
Paper and Pencil
Topic Blast worksheet
Facebook Post worksheet
Materials Appendix: (e.g., supplementary texts, Ppts, overheads, graphic organizers,
handouts, etc.)
PowerPoint

Name: ___________________
Date: ___________________
Block: ___________________

While You Wait

In todays class, we are going to be discussing 2 important topics- brainstorming and values.
First, I want to know what you already know! Dont worry about being exactly correct as we will
go over the terms, but for now do you best to describe what YOU think these terms mean.
MY BRAINSTORMING DEFINITION:

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MY BRAINSTORIMG EXAMPLES:

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MY VALUE DEFINITION:

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MY VALUE EXAMPLES:

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TABLE BRAINSTORMING DEFINITION:

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TABLE VALUES DEFINITION:

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Name: _____________________

VALUES TOPIC BLAST

Name:______________________ Date:___________________ Block:_____________

HUMANS OF NEW YORK FACEBOOK POST

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