Kaylyn Julian

Individual Lesson Plan

Grade Level: 8th
Topic of the lesson: How to Relate the Setting to the Novel
Context: The class is comprised of twenty students total with 2 ELL students with a level four proficiency level
in a STEM magnet school located in a upper-middle class city of Palm Harbor, Florida. The two ELL students,
Julieta and Luis, are twins from Brazil, who have come to the United States with their parents and older
siblings. Julieta has mastered English slightly better than Luis, so she is able to help him in the classroom when
he struggles. When these two students immigrated form Brazil they were tested and were proficient in their L1.
Julieta and Luis live with their father who is an architect who is fluent in both Spanish and English. Their
mother is a stay at home mom who is currently learning English and is also level 4 proficient. The twins
practice English with their mother at home to help them both get better at speaking the language. Their parents
try their best to be involved in the twins education, but their father is not home very often and their mother is
still learning as well. Julieta really enjoys reading and writing as is very motivated to become the best she can
be at English in these two areas, but she is shy and tends to be weaker in speaking the language. Luis on the
other hand is very outgoing and loves to speak English but sometimes struggles with his writing skills such as
grammar. The twins are usually put in the same group so they can help each other in the classroom. Both of the
twins are motivated to learn and hope to move up to level five proficiency after this year.
State Standards:
LAFS.8.W.1.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique,
relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator
and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection, to develop experiences,
events, and/or characters.
c. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence, signal shifts from one time
frame or setting to another, and show the relationships among experiences and events.
d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action
and convey experiences and events.

e. Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events.
LAFS.8.SL.1.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacherled) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others ideas and expressing their own
clearly.
a. Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that
preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under
discussion.
b. Follow rules for collegial discussions and decision-making, track progress toward specific goals and
deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.
c. Pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers and respond to others questions and comments
with relevant evidence, observations, and ideas.
d. Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own
views in light of the evidence presented.
LAFS.8.L.1.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing
or speaking.
a. Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) in general and their function in
particular sentences.
b. Form and use verbs in the active and passive voice.
c. Form and use verbs in the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive mood.
d. Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood.
Content Objectives:
*These are clearly posted on the white board at the front of the room. [SIOP Feature #1]
1. Students will be able to analyze major characters from the novel Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie.
2. Students will be able to create a narrative writing piece from the point of view of a character from the
novel.
3. Students will be able to identify important character traits and incorporate these into a narrative writing
piece.
Language Objectives:
*Clearly written on the board for the students to see. [SIOP Feature #2]
Based on proficiency level

1. Students will be able to read and understand the novel Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie.
2. Students will be able to discuss important character traits from the novel.
3. Students will be able to write a narrative blog post from the position of a character from the novel.
*Content concepts are age appropriate. [SIOP Feature #3]
Pre-assessment:
The teacher will have a brief discussion on the novel that the students are currently reading. The students
will be asked to take out a sheet of paper and write down their favorite character and why, because todays
lesson will be placing them in the mind of the characters. This will get the students to start thinking about the
characters from the text, which is what they will be focusing on for the narrative writing piece that are creating.
Procedures:
Materials:
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie (copy for each student)
White Board
Smart Board
Projector
Computer
Pen/Pencils
Poster Paper
Markers
Laptops (one for each student)
ILit (available for the ELLs)
Language Dictionary (available for ELLs)
*Supplementary materials are being provided to ELL students. [SIOP Feature #4]

Time (Minutes)

Students are doing:

Teacher is doing:

5 minutes

Students are coming into class and

sitting down in their seats. They are
asked to take out a sheet of paper
and something to write with. The
students are then writing down
what their favorite character is and
why from the novel they are
reading. Students will have the
opportunity to share their response
to the class if they would like to.
Students who are not sharing are

The teacher is taking attendance as

the students walk into the
classroom. The teacher has placed
the prompt on the smart board for
the students to begin responding to.
After the students have finished
writing the teacher will lead a very
brief discussion where the students
will be asked if they would like to
share their response with the class,

sitting quietly, and listening to their

classmate. (The ELL students will
have access to the language
dictionaries and ILit in order to
help them in necessary)

but this is completely voluntary.

Key vocab is on the board.
Character, narrator, diary
*Key vocab is emphasized. [SIOP
Feature #9]

2 minutes

Students will not be getting in preassigned groups and wait for

instructions from the teacher. (The
two ELL students will be placed in
the same group so they may help
one another)
*Content is adapted so the ELL
will be more comfortable speaking
in front of others. [SIOP Feature
#5]
*Pre-assigned groups [SIOP
Feature #13]

The teacher will project the list of

groups on the smart board so the
students know where they are
going. Once in their groups the
teacher will give the instructions:
In groups, the students will
receive a character from the novel.
The group will be responsible for
making a poster that represents
important qualities, words, quotes,
etc, that represent that character.
Students will then begin use the
poster as background information
to write a narrative writing piece in
the form of a diary entry from the
character they were assigned.
[SIOP Feature #8]This narrative
story will then be posted to the
students online writing blog as
take-home work.
*When giving instruction the
teacher should speak at an
appropriate pace with clear
pronunciation. [SIOP Feature #10]

15 minutes

Students will now begin working

on this assignment. They will draw
their characters along with
characters traits, quotes, words, etc.
on the poster board. This activity
will require the group members to
work together, which will use,
speaking, writing, listening, and
reading skills. [SIOP Feature #15]

The teaching will walk around the

room to make sure all of the
students are working together on
this activity. The teacher is
answering any questions the
students may have, and reminding
them of how much time they have
left.

5 minutes

The students will then have the

opportunity to present their poster
to the class to allow all students to

When the students begin presenting

the teacher is assessing each group
of the poster as well as how they

see the representations of all the

major characters. (The ELLs will
be speaking in front of the class in
a group to allow them some
comfort that comes with not being
alone)

present and speak in front of the

class. This will allow the teacher to
assess understanding of how the
students feel about character
analysis.

15 minutes

The students will now begin

working on their narrative writing
pieces. Each student will be writing
a diary entry from the point of view
of his or her assigned character.
The students will still be sitting in
their groups to allow them to
collaborate and share ideas,
because this is a new skill they are
learning. (The ELLs will be sitting
next to one another to allow them
to help each other if necessary. ILit
and language dictionaries will be
available to help them).

The teacher is monitoring the

students as they begin writing their
narrative stories. He/She is
answering any questions the
students may have.

3 minutes

The students are finishing the

sentences that they are working on
and going back to their seats. The
students will continue working on
their narrative writing pieces if they
are not done, and will post them to
the online classroom blog on
blackboard tonight when they get
home. The students are asking any
questions they have and are
participating in a debriefing
discussion about todays activities.

The teacher is telling the students

to finish writing the sentence they
are working on and to return to
their seats. The teacher is
reminding them to finish and post
to the online blog. He/She is then
leading a debriefing discussion,
which is asking the students to talk
about todays activities as well as
asking any last minute questions.

*Assessing students throughout the

lesson. [SIOP Feature #17]

*Students will be given sufficient time for all activities. [SIOP Feature #14]
Review and Assessment:
The following day, before students have the opportunity to share their narrative writing pieces, the class
will have a question and answer session to make sure the students are up to speed on the novel and everything
that has been discussed in class thus far. The teacher will ask guided questions or order to check the students
understanding and to get the students discussing their thoughts on the novel to practice their speaking and textself connection skills.

The assessment for this lesson will be a formative assessment for the narrative writing blog post. This
will be done by the teacher on the students understanding of the prompt and integration of the novel as support
for the writing piece.
Follow-up Home Learning Assignment:
The students will be responsible for posting their narrative writing diary piece online as their homework.
The students will then be expected to read at least one blog post of a fellow classmate and create a comment for
that blog post. This will allow the students to practice reading for a purpose as well as responding appropriately.
Students will be using their reading comprehension skills as well as writing skills in order to complete this
home learning assignment. Students will also gain perspective into how their fellow students wrote their
narrative writing in order to allow them to make connections to their own, and prepare to make revisions in the
future.
Rationale:
This lesson is allowing students to use a text in order to create a narrative piece of writing. Students are
learning how to focus on character analysis and how to use this as a link to narrative writing. Students are
learning this new skill, and providing them with characters allows them some background knowledge for their
diary entries. This activity requires students to use reading, writing, speaking, and listening, as they are working
in groups and individually. This lesson fulfills the objectives that need to be met in order for the students to
meet the state standards. Students are learning peer support as well as collaboration through the group activities.
The students are also practicing their speaking skills through the group presentations, which provide a safe way
for students to speak in front of others. Overall, this will provide students with a well-rounded lesson in which
they are using background knowledge from characters they have read about in order to create a new piece of
narrative writing they extends on what they already know in a creative way.