#4456. Night Compare Contrast

Literature, level: Senior
Posted Sat Nov 6 10:12:35 PDT 2010 by Donald Freese (Donald Freese).
Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
Materials Required: Samrtboard, Inspiration Software
Activity Time: 55-70 minutes

LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Student Teacher's Name: Donald Freese Date: 11/4/10

Grade Level 9 Topic/Unit: English- Night School: Monroe High School District: Monroe Public Schools

Content
This lesson is part of a Unit on Holocaust literature with a focus on the novel, Night by Elie Wiesel. The students have researched the era, read the book, and watched the movie Life is Beautiful, which also deals with the Holocaust. The lesson for today will be a compare/contrast paper focusing on the movie and the book.

Benchmarks
Students will be able to demonstrate the ability to interpret, synthesize and evaluate information by writing a compare/ contrast paper for Night and Life is Beautiful.
(ELA HSCE 1.4.4)

Learning Resources and Materials
Students will need a copy of the text as well as a copy of their notes from the movie. They will also need note taking materials. I will need a Smartboard with internet access, 30 copies of a handout, and Inspiration 9 software.

Development of Lesson
Introduction
Bellwork: Students will be given the first five to ten minutes to do a quick write about the movie. They will complete the following statement: I liked Night better because... or I liked Life is Beautiful better because...

During this time the students will write their answers and then discuss them with their friends. I will use this time to take attendance and observe the room.

Call to Action: After the students have completed their writing and discussion I will convene the group to have them share some of their responses. I will then be able to gage how specific the students were in their answers. Hopefully they gave specific examples, but, if not, we will work on that together.

Methods/Procedures
For this lesson I will attempt a constructivist approach. I will vary between large group and small group work. This will be a cooperative learning day. The essential question will be: How can two completely different approaches lead to the same outcome?

1. We will complete the aforementioned Bellwork and class discussion.
2. At the end of the discussion I will divide students into groups of 4 and, whenever possible, include one high achiever, one low performing student and 2 students who perform somewhere in the middle. The groups will fill out a graphic organizer that asks them to compare/contrast specific elements of the book and movie. Those elements include Tone, Characters, Message, Setting, Plot, and Emotional Response.
3. I will give them 15 to 20 minutes to complete the graphic organizer and then we will reconvene as a large group. I will then ask each group to give me al of the similarities they were able to find. As the group is giving me the information I will type it into the Inspiration Diagram. After each group has given me their similarities we will go around the room and repeat the process using differences. We will go in reverse order from the first time around.
4. After we have completed our class list I will ask each student to pick 2 similarities and 2 differences and write them down in their notes.
5. Once everyone has done that I will assign the paper that will be due a week from today. For the paper they will take similarities and differences that they have found and write a compare/contrast paper. They will be given class time to complete the paper, but will be expected to do some work at home. They may use up to 3 outside sources, but those sources must be cited using correct APA format. The paper will examine if or how the book and the movie can evoke similar responses through different approaches. Students must have a clear thesis statement and will be expected to present it to me before they begin writing the paper.
6. If time allows the students will be given the remainder of the class for pre-writing activities or to develop a thesis.
Accommodations/Adaptations
I will attempt to vary groups based on ability, mixing students high performing and low performing students. I will also allow EI, LD, and ELL to simply compare and contrast without a thesis or some other accommodation as needed.


Assessment/Evaluation
There will be multiple assessments for this lesson plan.
The assessment for the group work will be informal and count for a participation grade. I will evaluate performance through class discussion and by meeting with individual groups during group work time.

The assessment for the paper will be formal and based on to what extent they meet the requirements of a compare/ contrast paper. The elements will include: proper thesis, relevant and accurate supporting evidence, proper use of transitions, organization, grammar and spelling. The paper will count for 5o points. The students' performance on the paper will tell me whether or not the expectation has been met.

Closure
I will allow students to have 5 to 10 minutes at the end of class to ask me questions about the work from today and about the paper that will be due next week. Based on today's lesson I will be able to determine the reading and writing levels of my students, their ability to work together as a group, and the amount of time which should be given to a project like this.

Teacher Reflection