Learning Experience Plan: Semantic Feature Analysis Subject: Religion Unit: Sacraments Theme: Vocabulary: Associating

Learning Experience Outcomes

Grade level: 7th Day/periods: n/a Date(s): n/a

Learning Experience Goal To use prior knowledge to categorize words in order to explore their relationships and distinct meanings.

Students will: Put vocabulary terms into categories depending on which sacrament they are most related to Break into groups to then further classify these related terms by their distinguishing characteristics Identify how these words are related but unique

Differentiation: For the Do Now, students will work independently. For the activity, students will be grouped in threes with one student being from each ability level. For the application follow-up, students will break back into their ability groups, while I work with the approaching level group. Approaching On-level Beyond Kelly, Cooper, Cristina, Jonathan, Nicolas, Michael, Gabby, Ryan, Mari, Sinead, Kyle L., Nicolas, Kyle H. Sade Katie Materials/resources/ Procedures: Technology Do Now: each student will be given two sticky notes, each containing a vocabulary term written in bold ink. They will need to Religion binders- vocab go up to the board and stick each under the sacramental heading they section feel it best fits under. Discussion of Do Now, specifically addressing why each term best Semantic Feature relates to the sacramental heading above. Analysis Matrix handouts Focus Question: (put this question on the board for consideration from Ellery and throughout the class) Why can investigating words relationships Rosenboom (2011) help us better understand what they mean? Brief review of this units vocabulary words, focusing on the Sticky notes sacraments Activity: Pass out ditto Semantic Feature Analysis Matrix. Break into heterogeneous groups. Each group will be assigned one of the five sacramental headings from the board, meaning they must investigate each vocabulary term listed below. Using the matrix, they will discuss and explain the similarities and differences between the words that all fit within one sacramental heading. They will pay special attention to the relationships between these words. Come back to whole group to discuss the work; pay special attention to the relationships between terms. Break students into homogeneous groups to work on a follow up activity, in which the groups will explore one of the other two remaining sacraments using the terms from their binders and new Matrix sheets.

 Students will compose an Outcome Sentence in their notebooks regarding the Focus Question stated at the beginning of class, giving them the chance to reflect on what they have learned and express an answer to the FQ. Follow-up Activities Students will need to complete the final sacrament for homework using an additional Matrix handout. They will also need to compose a one-paragraph description of any one of the sacraments using all of the words categorized under the chosen sacrament. This paragraph must especially display an understanding of the relationship between these terms and their mutual involvement in the sacrament chosen.

Learning Experience Plan: Somebody, Wanted, But, So Subject: English/Language Arts Unit: Reading Comprehension Theme: Summary
Learning Experience Outcomes

Grade level: 7th Day/periods: n/a Date(s): n/a

Learning Experience Goal To practice summarizing skills in order to build reading comprehension. Lesson Justification In order to form summaries, students must be able to recognize and identify main and supporting details within a text. Literate readers, who summarize constantly while reading, readily distinguish between important and extra details that are less crucial to the plot. By definition, a summary should be shorter than the text itself, so this type of judgment with regard to details is necessary. Not only does the skill of summarizing foster reading comprehension, it also provides an opportunity for practicing already developed comprehension skills.

Students will: Examine how understanding character and their motivations can help narrow down main ideas within texts Discuss how literary conflicts steer the plot of a text and can thereby be used to form accurate, focused summaries Discover how narrowing down details into categories of main, supporting, and extra can aid in forming concise summaries

Differentiation: Groups of three will be formed using one student from each of the levels to form heterogeneous ability groups. I formed the groups drawing upon individual strengths. For example, Hannah (AL) is very organized and extremely neat but has low comprehension and is very shy. She will work with Kyle who is a natural leader but gentle in teamwork; Kyle (OL) is also very analytical and capable of reading between the lines. Michael (BL) will also work with them; he is almost as quiet as Hannah, but he is extremely strong in comprehension and has an amazing memory for character details. Their skills will lend toward positive teamwork and help them grow from one another. Approaching On-level Beyond Hannah, Emma, Brendan, Matt, Kyle, Connor, Tommy, Meghan, Michael, Georgia, Owen, Reilly, Sampson, Myles, Jesse Zoe, Philip, James Grace, Helen, Mariah Materials/resources/ Procedures: Technology Do Now: (students will see the following question on the board when they come in) If you are feeling especially brave, Im looking Bronx Masquerade by for volunteers to attempt to summarize the plot of Bronx Nikki Grimes Masquerade in 30 seconds or less. If youd like to volunteer, please stand quietly next to your desk . . . on one leg! SMARTboard displaying Students who chose to stand will try to summarize the plot while the SWBS chart timer counts down. After each summary, the rest of the class will lend constructive criticism regarding what was missing or what was Somebody, Wanted, But, included that did not need to be. So charts (21) Focus Question: (put this question on the board for consideration throughout the class) What aspects of literature can help us form Classroom timer strong, concise summaries? Introduce the Somebody, Wanted, But, So charts. Explain that the Somebody aspect refers to characters names, the Wanted aspect Creating Strategic refers to the characters motivation, the But category reflects the Readers by Valerie Ellery conflict, and the So category represents the resolution with regard to that character. Review literary conflicts and character motivations (if necessary) Blue Student Composition Tell students to break into groups based on who has the same Notebooks characters on their charts. The twist is, they must do so in complete silence. First group to their seats, sitting completely quietly with their hands raised (the ready signal in our class) gets a homework pass for Friday. Students will work together, using their texts, to full out their charts. Each group will focus on five characters. I will walk around and help groups. At the end of the exercise, we will share these charts as a class, focusing on the ways in which reading these characters SWBS charts, when read across, provide summaries. We will note how the main characters SWBS charts most appropriately reflect the plot. Groups will choose one chart from the group to have me copy for the class. In their blue literature composition notebooks, students will form an outcome sentence to reflect on the lesson, specifically answering todays FQ.

Follow-up Activities

In days and weeks to come, we will practice using other summary techniques such as shrinking notes and plot maps. We will try many different methods to forming strong, concise summaries. On the book assessment test, students will choose one of these methods (SWBS included) to provide a summary of the text.

Learning Experience Plan: Rewriting a Story Subject: English/Language Arts Unit: Reading Comprehension Theme: Synthesis
Learning Experience Outcomes

Grade level: 7th Day/periods: n/a Date(s): n/a

Learning Experience Goal

Students will: Read The Lady or the Tiger by Frank Stockton Discuss possible endings for the story drawing from contextual skills Compose a two-three paragraph ending for this cliffhanger, maintaining tone and narrative point of view Orally present and support their choice of ending with specific clues from the text

To synthesize prior knowledge and textual understanding to create and express new ideas and build comprehension.
Lesson Justification Synthesizing is one of the highest of Blooms levels of learning and questioning. As such, it utilizes higher level thinking skills. When synthesizing, students must combine existing knowledge with texts to form new ideas of their own. From a comprehension standpoint, this gives students the chance to test theories, check reading comprehension, clarify understandings of authors purpose, and reflect upon their own ideas.

Differentiation: Students will be invited to work in teacher-guided small groups after school on

the homework assignment rather than completing it individually. Students on a modified program stay for after-school tutoring anyway, so we will work together at this point. On the day of the writing, students on a modified program will be allowed to use their laptops for writing. Above-level students may only write two paragraphs, pushing them to be succinct put powerful in their writing (something we constantly work on as they tend to be overly verbose and become unfocused in their writing).
Approaching On-level Beyond Hannah, Emma, Brendan, Matt, Kyle, Connor, Tommy, Meghan, Mariah, Georgia, Owen, Reilly, Sampson, Myles, Jesse Zoe, Philip, James Grace, Helen, Michael Materials/resources/ Procedures: Technology Do Now: (for students to answer in their blue composition notebooks) What do you like/dislike about cliffhangers? How do The Lady or the Tiger by you figure out the ending if an author doesnt provide one? Frank Stockton We will review the idea of a cliffhanger, which fits the ending SMARTboard displaying the text Copies of the short story (21) Creating Strategic Readers by Valerie Ellery Blue Student Composition Notebooks Laptops

of this story. We will discuss answers to the Do Now.

Focus Question: How can synthesizing what a text tells us and

what we already know allow us to demonstrate reading comprehension? As a class we will then conduct an oral reading of The Lady or the Tiger by Frank Stockton. The author also specifically prompts the reader to think about the ending, and as we read I will guide students to noticing these elements and their purpose.
I will also steer the focus to the authors use of tone and narrative point of view so that this can be duplicated in their writing later. For homework, students will use the back of their sheets to decide whether they think the lady or the tiger came out from behind the door the princess gestured toward. They must form three proofs for this statement based on the text and three proofs based on their own ideas and knowledge. In class the following day, the students will be composing a two/three paragraph ending to the story using their homework notes. They must maintain the tone and narrative point of view established by the author. They must also include their proofs, since this is a strategy used by the author. Students will then share their endings and we will vote on the best one. The best ending from each standpoint (lady and tiger) will have their work copied for the class to staple onto the short story. In their blue literature composition notebooks, students will form an outcome sentence to reflect on the lesson, specifically answering todays FQ.

Follow-up Activities

For summer reading this year, these students will have a very similar assignment. They will be writing a five paragraph 'extra chapter' or 'alternate ending' to one of their four assigned books (Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt for boys; Sources of Light by Margaret

McMullun for girls; Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson; Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse; Monster by Walter Dean Myers). Just as with this activity, they must also provide justification for these new or additional plot points, maintain proper tone and narrative point of view, and incorporate characters and themes from the chosen book.

Resources Bloom, S. D. (ed.). (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. (Vol. 1). New York, NY: McKay. Ellery, V. (2009). Creating Strategic Readers (2nd ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Grimes, N. (2003). Bronx Masquerade. New York, NY: Speak. Stockton, F. (1882). The Lady or the Tiger. The Century. Van Allsburg, C. (1991). The Wretched Stone. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.