Kim Mathews

ENG 3402
Murray
4/27/16
Mini Lesson: Cubing

1. Time needed: 10 minutes

2. Materials needed: Cube, writing instruments, paper
3. Class: Freshmen 9th grade English
4. Learning objectives: The class will better understand the process of higher
order thinking through cubing the topic of genetic engineering.
5. Assessment: The class will engage in cubing and discuss in small groups and
as a class for me to audibly and visually assess them.
6. Personal objective(s): I will utilize my time efficiently.
7. Procedures:
a. 2 minute: introduce topic of cubing
i. Explain what it does, how it functions, model it by cubing a
pencil
ii. State that this activity will be used to introduce the text
Frankenstein, students will be cubing the topic of genetic
engineering/modification
1. “As you all know from the syllabus, today we’re going to
start reading Frankenstein, one of my favorite books.
One of the main kind of moral dilemmas we see come
up a lot is experimenting on people and a sort of form of
genetic engineering or modification. To get us in the
right mindset to start thinking about Frankenstein,
we’re going to cube the concept of genetic engineering.”
2. “Cubing is a really fun and easy activity. I have this cube,
and on each side is a different action to do. We’re going
to take 30 seconds per side and you’re going to write
 according to the instructions (state each of the 6 actions
on the cube). I’m going to show you a super fast version
of cubing with a pencil.”
b. 3 minutes: 30 seconds for each of the 6 sides to write
c. 1.5 minutes: get into small groups and compare answers
d. 2 minutes: go over answers as a class, calling on groups and randomly
choosing a side of the cube for them to answer
e. 1.5 minutes: close discussion, ask students to answer how this activity
made them think about the topic
8. Closure:
“So, the process of cubing a topic or an idea is pretty simple and can
be applied to a lot of different areas, even outside of the classroom, and I hope you
all remember this and apply in a lot of other places and situations!”