Planning Cycle for Lesson Plan: Evidence of Student Learning

Part A: Topic, Learning Goal, and Objectives

This group of lessons was conducted in a standard-level English 10 class at Dundalk High School. It is
an inclusion class, with 4 of the 18 students having an active IEP. The ages of the students range from 15 to 17.
The setting of the class is in a classroom, with some desks in a U-shape around the perimeter of the room and
others in pairs in the middle of the U-shape. This class has a strong sense of diversity; several different ethnic
backgrounds, socioeconomic situations, and learning styles are represented.
The two MCCSC Anchor Standards that this unit focuses on are RL2 and RL7. They are as follows:

RL2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the
course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide

an objective summary of the text.

RL7: Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums,
including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Audens Muse des Beaux Arts
and Breughels Landscape with the Fall of Icarus).

The unit aligns with RL2 because it requires students to discover a theme in the novel Night by analyzing
various poetic devices, such as irony and symbolism. The unit also aligns with RL7 because it requires students
to look at several different mediums, such as poems, images, and pieces of art, and explain how they can be
connected through a common theme. The county curriculum also aligns with this unit, as Night is a book from
the curriculum and the lessons are loosely based on the county curriculum guide.
In terms of cultural and linguistic differences of the students in the class, many of the students share a
common background. With the exception of one student who is a refugee from Sudan and another who is from
Latin America, all of the students are American and come from a working-class culture. While those two
students are not native English speakers, they are both capable of articulating their thoughts in a clear manner.

Overall, the oral and written language development in this class is lacking. As with other standard-level
courses that I have been involved with, many of the students struggle to transfer information from their head to
their paper. According to assessment scores, the grade-level range of written expression goes from about 5
grades below average to on average. That being said, there is a wide variety of language development amongst
the students. I like to use this as an opportunity to strategically group students so that the stronger students can
help students who are still developing their written expression.
The specific learning goals and objectives for each lesson are embedded within the lessons themselves,
which will be attached to this document. Overall, they revolve around connecting different literary elements
(such as irony and symbolism) to theme.

Part B: Assessment Plan

The summative assessment for this unit is a PBA that requires the students to analyze three different
mediums: a poem, a painting, and a sculpture. For each of the three mediums, the students will summarize what
they see, come up with a possible them, support the theme with specific details, discuss what is emphasized, and
discuss what is absent in relation to the other mediums. Then, the students will find a theme that can connect all
three pieces of art. Finally, the students will pick which medium best represents the common theme and write
an essay to support their answer. This PBA aligns perfectly with both Anchor Standards RL2 and RL7 because
the students are not only summarizing a text and finding a theme for it, but also comparing it to several other
mediums with a similar theme. This will allow the students to synthesize information regarding theme and
apply it to different artifacts.
The pre-assessment was conducted through a combinations of informal discussions and journal entries,
which ask the students to demonstrate prior knowledge of theme and literary elements. During the informal
discussions, I went through the seating chart and rated each student on how well I think they understand the
concept. As you will see in my analysis section, the range of prior knowledge was broad. On the other hand,
the journal entries were graded as a part of each lesson. They were given points for completion since they are
pre-assessments, but I took a close look at the responses to gauge student understanding.
Aside from the pre-assessment and summative assessment, each lesson is filled with formative
assessment tools. At Dundalk, we like to use a Model-Lead-Teach format to our lessons, meaning that the
teacher should model new skills, let the students work collaboratively to gain understanding of the topic at
hand, and then have the students individually complete an assessment question that gives the students an
opportunity to show how well they learned the topic. This format will be evident in the lessons that are attached
to this document.
Each lesson is graded for accuracy. Depending on the length and/or rigor of the assignment, the points
earned for each lesson can vary. Overall, we weigh the individual assessment pieces most heavily, as they are
the most demonstrative of learning. The PBA was a two-part grade; the chart and questions leading up to the

essay were worth 50 classwork points, and the essay was graded using the county-wide PBA rubric, which has
an 11-point scale. While 11 points seems much less than 50, the essay was an assessment grade, which has
more of an impact on the students overall grades.

Part C: Instruction
Name: _________________________________________________

Date:

Irony and Theme

1. Objective: Students will analyze passages in Night in order to evaluate the effect that irony has on
theme.
2. Journal/Quickwrite: View the YouTube video about irony and record your reaction below. Questions
to consider: What is irony? What does it mean to you?
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3. Definition of irony:
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4. Irony in Night: Using the graphic organizer below, find different examples of irony in Night. Then,
explain what is ironic about the quote. Finally, choose a theme for each quote.
Quote and page #
Example: At the start of the

What is ironic?
The leader of Elies block

What is the related theme?

The theme is about how

third week, our Blockalteste

was removed from his

horribly the Jews were treated

was removed; he was judged

position because he actually

at the concentration camps.

too humane.

treated the Jews like normal

human beings.

Page: 44

I was nothing but ashes now,

but I felt myself to be
stronger than this Almighty to
whom my life had been
bound for so long.

Page #: 68

Page #: 81

5. Assessment: How can an author use irony to help develop a theme? Use at least TWO examples of
textual evidence (Hint: graphic organizer) to support your response.
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Name: _____________________________________________________

Date:

Poetic Devices and Authors Purpose

Objective: Students will identify and interpret poetic devices in Night in order to synthesize how they
contribute to an authors purpose.
Journal: How far do you think you could run if you were forced? What about if your life depended on it?
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Reading: Read pages 85-87 and 93-97. As you read, keep an eye out for Elie Wiesels use of poetic devices.
Then, pick THREE (3) devices that you noticed and complete the chart below:
Poetic Devices:

Quote with page #

Device and interpretation

Why did the author use it?

Visual Representation/Gallery Walk: Use the space below to take notes on the two visual representations that
most clearly emphasize the authors purpose for using a poetic device. Be sure to record part or all of the quote
and how it connects to the authors purpose.

Assessment: Why does an author use poetic devices in his/her writing? Refer to at least TWO (2) visual
representations from the gallery walk to support your answer.
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Name _________________________________________
Symbolism in Night

Date _____________

Objective: To analyze symbolism in a passage from Night in order to discuss their interpretations and

strengthen understanding.
2 Journal/Quickwrite: First, define symbolism:
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Then, draw a symbol in the box below that best represents your life. Provide a brief caption to go along
with your symbol that explains what it is and why you chose it.
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Read pages 29-37 in Night. As you read, think about what symbols you notice in the story.

Annotate the poem below, which can also be found on page 34 of Night (Hint: think about which
poetic devices you see). Then, write down what you think the theme of the poem is.

Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long
night seven times sealed.
Never shall I forget that smoke.
Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into
smoke under a silent sky.
Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever.
Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to
live.
Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my
dreams to ashes.
Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God Himself.
Never.

Symb
olism
in
Night:
What
does
night

Theme:

symbolize in the story? Use your definition of symbolism and knowledge of the story to construct a
paragraph.
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6

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Discussion: Now that you have your own individual ideas about what night could symbolize in the
novel, share your ideas in a full-class discussion. Takes notes as you hear classmates discuss something

that you hadnt thought of before.

After Discussion: After participating in the discussion, revise your answer from above. How did your
answer
change? If it

Notes from discussion:

did not
change, how
was your
initial answer strengthened?
What does night symbolize in the novel?
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Part D: Analysis and Instructional Decision Making

Overall, I felt that the students showed significant growth in mastering the concepts at hand. While not
every single student scored highly on the summative assessment, I am confident that the lesson objectives were
met through the assessment piece at the end of each lesson. Additionally, most students showed tangible growth
in the content area, which is represented in my data.
The chart below describes student growth from pre-assessment to summative assessment. For the preassessment, I rated each students prior knowledge on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest). This five-point
scale was converted to a percentage of understanding, which is displayed next to the starred rating. Since many
of the pre-assessments involved discussion, I thought that would be the best option. The essay piece of the PBA
is reflected in the second part of the chart. As mentioned, this piece was graded on an 11-point scale. In

parentheses next to the score is the letter grade that we deemed appropriate. Students with active IEPs are
highlighted.
Student
Jacai
Gracie
Stephanie
Jordyn
Valense
Roland
Tysheena
Gage
Nic
Juan
Kyle
Marvin
Shelby
Sukhpreet
Joe
Indyah
Kendall
Jordan

Pre-Assessment Score
**** (85%)
* (50%)
***** (90%)
* (50%)
*** (75%)
***** (90%)
** (65%)
** (65%)
**** (85%)
*** (75%)
**** (85%)
**** (85%)
**** (85%)
n/a (new student)

PBA Essay Score

7 (C) (75%)
7 (C) (75%)
9 (B+) (85%)
8 (B) (80%)
10 (A) (95%)
11 (A+) (100%)
9 (B+) (85%)
7 (C) (75%)
10 (A) (95%)
11 (A+) (100%)
10 (A) (95%)
9 (B+) (85%)
11 (A+) (100%)
n/a (new student)

Percentage Points
-10%
+25%
-5%
+30%
+20%
+10%
+20%
+10%
+10%
+25%
+10%
0%
+15%
n/a

Since the students were allowed to take home the essay portion of the PBA, there are still a few students
that did not turn it in, despite numerous efforts to encourage them to do so. Thus, there are empty spaces on the
chart. We are still working on having these students turn in the assignment despite it being late, as the PBA is
both a big part of their grade as well as an indicator of student progress.
For the two students who showed negative growth, I can pinpoint why. For Jacai, his IEP states that he
has trouble with written expression. Jacai is a student that can articulate himself quite well orally, but struggles
immensely to put his thoughts onto his paper. If I were to ask Jacai to orally express his knowledge instead of
write it, he would have scored much higher. I would have done that, but the PBA is county-wide and has to be
administered as it is written. For Stephanie, her negative growth was a matter of simply not having a great day.
As we know, many high school students have a lot going on outside of school, and sometimes that carries over
into the classroom. Stephanie is actually one of the strongest students in this class, but for whatever reason, she
was not having a good day during the PBA essay and was unable to put forth her best work.

Student sample of PBA classwork and essay:

Part E: Reflection and Self-Evaluation

Based on the fact that all but three of my students showed marked improvement from the pre-assessment
to summative assessment, I am confident that my instructional strategies helped student learning. By allowing
students to work in strategically-placed groups, they were able to gain new perspectives from one another and
thus enhance their learning. Additionally, by relating the material to their lives in discussions and informal
assessments, I was able to reach through to the students and have them synthesize the newly-learned
information by transferring it to another domain: their lives.
Based on the student data and varying linguistic needs of my students, I think one thing that I could do
differently moving forward would be to allow them to express their knowledge through another platform other
than just writing. If I were to give them options on how they could present their findings, I have a feeling that
the statistical growth for each student would be greater. However, it can be tough to do so when working with a
PBA that is supposed to be conducted strictly as it is written. Additionally, another thing that I would do
differently would be to give a more formal pre-assessment. By using informal, anecdotal notes and journal
entries as pre-assessments, it was harder for me to translate that into hard data. If I had used a more formal preassessment, the data would be more accurate and easier to work with.
The two CEC Standards that I can use for learning goals are the following:
1. 1.1 Beginning special education professionals understand how language, culture, and family background
influence the learning of individuals with exceptionalities.
2. 4.2 Beginning special education professionals use knowledge of measurement principles and practices to
interpret assessment results and guide educational decisions for individuals with exceptionalities.
I chose CEC Standard 1.1 as a learning goal because I feel that utilizing language, culture, and family
background is the key to connecting with students. Not only will it help establish a strong bond with students,
but it will allow them to synthesize the information that they learn and transfer it into their own lives. By
allowing students to put key concepts in their own terms, they will increase their learning and be more efficient.

Secondly, I chose CEC Standard 4.2 as a learning goal for myself because I need to continue to use hard data to
improve student achievement. As time goes on, I will become better at collecting data and using it to guide my
practices as a teacher. This experience has helped me jumpstart that process, and although it wasnt perfect, it
was helpful to get used to it and now I can use it to keep improving.