West Virginia State University

College of Professional Studies: Department of Education

LESSON PLAN FORMAT GUIDE
Teacher Candidate Jacqueline Lockard Date April 22,2015
School Scott High School Grade Subject English Language Arts
Lesson Topic: Poverty In America
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES/ STUDENT OUTCOMES

Conduct a short research project.

Synthesize multiple sources on the minimum wage and its relation to the cost of
living in our area.
Answer the question, How can a person get themselves out of poverty?
Students should reach the conclusion that it is very hard if not impossible to live
above the poverty line working a minimum wage job.

ELA.9.W.C11.1: conduct short, as well as more sustained, research projects to

answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem;
narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on
the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
NATIONAL STANDARDS
NCTE Standard 7: 7.Students conducts research on issues and interests by generating ideas
and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a
variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their
discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
Overall Time 90 minutes
Time Frame
5 min. Daily journals
15 min. Sustained silent reading
10 min. Lesson Introduction
45 min. Research activity
15 min. Share findings, lesson closure
STRATEGIES
Teacher lead discussion, Project/Inquiry learning
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION/ ADAPTATIONS/ INTERVENTIONS
To differentiate instruction I will allow more time for students to complete the research
activity. I change the lesson from one 90 minute lesson to two 90 minute lessons to give the
students two days to conduct their research and analyze their findings to answer the
question, How can a person get out of poverty?
PROCEDURES
Introduction/ Lesson Set
To introduce the lesson I will give students a handout that outlines the hardships of people
who work making only the minimum wage. We will discuss some life experience scenarios
from the handout.

Body & Transitions

Discuss cost of living in our area and if the minimum wage is enough to
provide for a family.
Break up in groups of 2-3 to research the cost of living in our area.
Students will research the internet to find a job and apartment to live in. They
will then calculate their expenses to make ends meet.
Students will write a short paragraph about the struggles of living in poverty
and how a person can get out of poverty.

Closure
We will regroup to review and summarize what we have found through our research.
Students will share their findings
ASSESSMENT
Diagnostic:

I will ask students what they think about poverty nationally and in our area. I will ask them
how a person who is living in poverty can get out.
Formative:
I will walk around each student to check their work as they are researching. I will ask
questions throughout the lesson to determine their progress toward the objectives.
Summative:
Students will share their findings in an oral form at the end of the class period. I will assess
each groups response and analysis of their research to judge whether or not they reached
the objective of the lesson. Students will also turn in a paragraph on what they have learned
through their research.
MATERIALS
Handout, paper, pencils, laptop, internet connection.
EXTENTED ACTIVITIES
If Student Finishes Early
If a student finishes early I will ask them to research the cost of attending college and ways
to pay for it other than using student loans.
If Lesson Finishes Early
If the lesson finishes early I will ask the whole class to research the cost of attending college
and develop a plan to pay for it other than student loans.
If Technology Fails
If technology fails we will use a local newspaper instead of the internet to find job listings
and apartments to rent. I will also give them the cost of living to budget.