Learning Skills II and Preparing for Midterms | 1

Lesson Plan For Week 6

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

Demonstrate effective study skills and strategies for success in the classroom
Explain the importance of active reading and effective note taking
Utilize instructor feedback
You will need:
LAS 101 textbook
Attendance record sheet and sign-in sheet
Homework record sheet
Classroom technology
Identity Pyramid Worksheet (enough copies for all students)
You will check:
You will assign:
Weekly Timetable Reality
HW: Read pp. 3-4 in the LAS 101 textbook
worksheet for Credit / No Credit on p.
Diversity Prewrite is due Monday 10/5 at
20.
midnight, submitted on Moodle
Identity Pyramid Worksheet due in class
You will collect: Any paper copies of
Week 7.
Group/Individual Evaluation. Turn in to your
TA at next 399 meeting. No grading.
You will remind students to:
Schedule a time for one-on-one meetings with you. These need to be completed by the end
of this week.
2 minutes

Check Attendance

Mark present students (P), absent students (A), and after 10 minutes anyone who
is late (L) on your attendance record sheet.
Collect sign-in attendance sheet.
Weekly Timetable Reality Worksheet Assignment (Starter Activity)

8-10 minutes

Starter Activity: Have students pair with a partner to discuss and reflect on the
following questions together. Have these questions projected on the board so that
all students are able to see them.
Homework Check: As the students discuss these questions, check the homework
and mark the assignment as Full Credit/Half Credit/No Credit on your homework
record sheet. Remember to input these grades into Moodle after your class.
Questions
1. Compare your proposed timetable to the timetable that reflects the reality of your
week. What factors altered your proposed schedule? (pp. 19-20).
2. Turn to the Priority Management--Fail page in your textbook (p. 21). Identify your top
three biggest distractors. Consider the action steps listed. Have you tried these action
steps to eliminate the distractors? What other action steps have you tried that have been
particularly useful in helping you eliminate distractions?
3. Midterms are upon us: they are either fast approaching or they have already begun for
some students. How will this/did this impact your schedule?
4. What midterms are you taking/have you taken, and how will you/did you prepare?
Fall 2015 LAS 101 College Success
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Learning Skills II and Preparing for Midterms | 2

Lesson Plan For Week 6

SPECIAL NOTE: Use questions 3 and 4 to segue into your own lesson plan for the week.

Pop Quiz

3 minutes

Have students answer the following 2 questions:

1. What are 3 ways maximize your learning?
2. What is one question you should ask to be a reflective reader?
(2 minutes) Students complete pop quiz silently
(1 minutes) Discuss answers and explain that the quiz is not for points
Maximize Your Learning

13 minutes

Have students open books to page 30-31

(3 minutes) Think, Pair, Share
o Have students pair up and talk about numbers 1-6.
o After 3 minutes come back together as a big group.
(5 minutes) In the big group, I will ask for a volunteer to give a short
explanation of what number 1/2/3 talked about. (Example: 1 talks about
understanding how your professor teaches. Students should pay attention
to verbal cues, projected main ideas, underlined/highlighted terms, etc.)
Then I will ask 2 people to share
o How they think this specific number will maximize their
learning?
o What parts of the section stood out?
Show a clip from a Spongebob episode (The Bully) depicting Spongebob
preparing for a boating school class and his behavior during class (2 minutes).
My students love watching videos and especially movies or TV episodes because
they feel like they can relate to the content and relate the emotions they feel to the
topic we are talking about.
http://www.mojvideo.com/video-spongebob-squarepants-thebully/53327d8429391dc94aa7 0:16-2:30
o (3 minutes) After the video, ask students the following questions:
o Was Spongebob maximizing his learning?
In what ways WAS Spongebob maximizing his
learning?
Possible answers could include: arriving
early on time to class, getting his notes out,
being attentive at the beginning of class, etc.
In what ways was Spongebob not?
Possible answers might include that
Spongebob was talking when the teacher
was talking, not paying attention to the
teacher, not being focused on the task at
hand, etc.
Fall 2015 LAS 101 College Success
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Learning Skills II and Preparing for Midterms | 3

Lesson Plan For Week 6

-This activity focuses on maximizing learning. It focuses specifically on the midterm studying
skill of taking control of your own learning. This activity looks at making students think about
the bigger picture when it comes to midterms. If students maximize the way they study and think
broadly about how they can better their studying habits, students may feel less overwhelmed
once it comes time to take the midterm. Students can use this to re-evaluate the way they have
been reading or taking notes for class which aligns with the first two learning objectives (study
strategies and importance of effective note taking/active reading)
- I chose this video because it shows study skills in a fun and non-conventional way. My students
respond well to videos because it helps them connect ideas from the video to their real life. This
makes discussion among students as well as bigger group discussions more open and sparks
students answers easier.
-I think for all of my discussion questions, the purpose is to help my students engage with the
lesson. They align with my strategies by helping students unpack what they just watched in the
video as well as help them discuss the important topics we are covering in class.
-I will be using the video on my laptop as an extra material.

Learning From Feedback (Group Activity/Discussion)

13 minutes
Split my 24 students into 6 groups of 4
Students will count off 1-6 so that students arent just grouping up with
their friends.
I will be able to see students participating in smaller groups if they feel
uncomfortable sharing in the large group.
(10 minutes) Each group will tackle one of the 6 bullet points on p. 39-40
(knowledge/preparation, time management, study strategies, memory, exam
performance, application).
(5 minutes) Each group will converse about the strategies in their
category
(5 minutes) Groups will be given roughly 1 minute each to present a
scenario to the class of how a student would use their specific part of the
checklist to learn from mistakes and feedback.
o Example: The knowledge/preparation group may focus on the I
did not fully understand the material I studied section. The
students come up with a scenario about a student named Bill who
did not do as well as he thought on a Chemistry test but decided
after seeing the test to go talk to their TA during office hours. The
TA told Bill to attend all classes, ask questions, look at the
textbook and review his notes before the next exam as well as
going into office hours if he is still having trouble.
(3 minutes) After each group presents their scenario, we will go back to a big
group discussion and I will ask the following question:
Why is it important to review an exam after its been graded?
o Possible answers from students can be found on page 38 such
as learning from mistakes, setting up a plan of action for the
Fall 2015 LAS 101 College Success
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Learning Skills II and Preparing for Midterms | 4

Lesson Plan For Week 6

next exam to correct the problem(s), and mastering old

information is key to understand new information.
-In this activity, students will mainly use aspects of time management (researching and
presenting the scenario) and knowledge/preparation (knowing the material well enough to
present the scenario). This activity connects with the learning outcomes by helping students
create scenarios that could really happen to them on campus and they will know how to deal with
those situations after this activity.
-I chose to do this activity because my students work much better in a group setting. The quieter
students talk more and the talkative students get to share their ideas without dominating the
conversation.
-The question I chose to ask for this activity matches my learning objectives by checking for my
students understanding of the topic we just covered and applying that knowledge to an open
ended question.
-I will not need any extra materials for this activity.
Wrap up for my part
1 minute
Ask students to shout out 3 important things they learned from this section
o Examples can be from both sections we covered or any of the reading
Preview Next Weeks Inclusivity Assignment

10 minutes

(5 minutes) Begin by introducing the topic of diversity, salient identity, and

inclusivity by reminding students of the following:
Diversity and inclusivity does not just mean differences in races, even
though race attracts a lot of attention.
Our varied characteristics (e.g. nationality, gender, economic status,
political background, native language, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability,
and age) as well as our special skills and talents (e.g. the kinds of
knowledge, experience, and characteristics an individual can gain from
military experience, or from being the oldest (or the youngest) child in a
family) all contribute to our diversity.
Inclusion allows us to value the differences in characteristics and special
skills and talents others bring to the table.
Hand out the Identity Pyramid Worksheet sheet to students and preview the
handout with students.
Define the concept of salient identity. Remind students that salient
identity is simply the dominant characteristic with which one sees
him/herself in light of various personal characteristics. These salient
identities may vary depending on the context of the situation. For
example, when people identify themselves as a strong athlete when they
are in a sports game, they may identify themselves as a reserved scholar in
the classroom.
Tell students to complete both sides of the Identity Pyramid Worksheet as
homework. Side one asks students to list their personal factors that
contribute to their uniqueness, personalities, and dispositions, while side
two asks students to describe their salient identities in terms of
location/situation.
Fall 2015 LAS 101 College Success
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Learning Skills II and Preparing for Midterms | 5

Lesson Plan For Week 6

Remind students that this handout will be play an intricate part in next
weeks lesson and that students must come to class with the handout
completed.
(5 minutes) End class with a diversity conversation based on a current diversity
related event or based on the Tacos and Tequila scenario provided for you in the
intern extra. Briefly explain the scenario and have students discuss the following
questions:
Discuss the facts of the case. What stands out to you about this case?
How does such a situation impact the culture and climate of U of I
campus?

If time permits, students may begin to work on the Identity Pyramid Worksheet
for next week.
1 minute

Wrap-Up

Remind students they must have the Diversity/Inclusivity Pre-write completed on

Moodle by 10/5 at midnight, and to bring the completed Identity Pyramid
Worksheet to class next week.

Fall 2015 LAS 101 College Success

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Learning Skills II and Preparing for Midterms | 6

Lesson Plan For Week 6

INTERN EXTRA
Tacos and Tequila (2006)
Gladys, M. (2007). Discrimination of another color. Retrieved from:
http://www.imprintmagazine.org/life_style/discrimination_another_color. Retrieval date: 3.3.2015.
Nunez, D. The blurred lines between racism and innocent depictions. Retrieved from:
https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ideals.illinois.edu%2Fbitstream
%2Fhandle%2F2142%2F3658%2FEthnography_on_Tacos_and_Tequila%255b1%255d.doc%3Fsequence%3D2.
Retrieval date: 3.3.2015.

On October 5, 2006, members of two fraternities and sororities at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign threw a party with a fiesta theme. The party was dubbed the Tacos and
Tequila party and portrayed Latinos using derogatory stereotypes, with students dressing up as
janitors, pregnant welfare moms, and wearing gardening gear. Soon, however, pictures of the
party ended up on Facebook and sparked a firestorm of criticism on campus. It also brought a
controversial issue to the forefront of the public eye: racism against minorities other than
African-Americans.
Nunez argues that members of the sorority and fraternity claim their intentions were not to be
offensive to any particular population, but to simply have fun, while critics of the event say the
event was based on malicious, racist notions about Mexican Americans. He further adds that the
white students who portrayed Mexican Americans in such light likely grew up in socially
economically privileged communities and likely had little to no contact with Mexican
Americans. Rather, they relied on media depictions and stereotypical of this population.

Fall 2015 LAS 101 College Success

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign