Just Mercy Lessons Park

Grace Park
Week 3 Lesson Plans

DAY ONE: Pre-Literacy
CENTRAL FOCUS
How do we look at intent vs. impact as an important question when addressing who should be
convicted for their crimes and how long; additionally, how do we look at intent vs. impact in
regards to people’s expressions of their heritage or culture if it inherently oppresses other
people?
TIME
50 minutes (1 class period)
OBJECTIVE/S
- I will be able to use specific evidence to support my opinions/arguments
- I will be able to engage in class discussion with others who have different perspectives
than I do
- I will be able to make predictions in a text based on the information I have gained from
previous readings.
SETTING
https://justmercy-elaunit.weebly.com/classroom-demographics.html
Prior academic knowledge:
- Students will have engaged in issues around incarceration and racial injustice with
several books in their curriculum, but particularly in reading “To Kill a Mockingbird,”
learning about racial disparities in conviction and sentences to death.
- Students will have read non-fiction texts before, whether in novel form or through
articles, scholarship, research, etc., and will have some understanding of the
differences/similarities in analyzing non-fiction vs. fiction
Personal/cultural/community assets:
- Some of these students will actually have family members, friends, or even themselves
been incarcerated. This includes students who understand that immigration detainment
and detention of both undocumented and documented immigrants is also a form of mass
incarceration that still disproportionately targets particular racial groups. They can speak
to those experiences, as well as general relationships with police in the school and the
larger community.
- A lot of these students, whether or not they themselves are students of color, have
personal experiences or have known or read/heard about people of color who have had
traumatic experiences with unwarranted police attention and threat.
- Some of these students come from different states and may have knowledge about the
death penalty, which is illegal within Illinois, but still legal in several states, including
Texas.
CONCEPTUAL/THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
“In academic contexts, students and teachers have a right to express their views on any matter
relevant to the curriculum” (NCTE Intellectual Freedom, 2014).
- Students (and teachers) are encouraged to share their opinions-- this is what makes this
Take a Stand activity so engaging for students. Even if students have opposing or
problematic views, they still contribute to the conversation and can be redirected by their
peers or their teacher. Because these opinions need to be supported by evidence, students
are able to express their views in a way that is ultimately founded in something, and all
their differing perspectives can contribute to a fuller analysis and reading of the text.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Background content:
- Students, at this point, have read nine chapters of “Just Mercy.” They will have some
immediate background knowledge on the author, the book, and the issues around the
death penalty discussed so far.
- Students will have learned about some issues regarding mass incarceration and racial
injustice, particularly in the criminal justice system.
Linkage to past/future lessons:

- This lesson continues to strengthen and build students’ skills of analyzing texts, finding
or asserting a claim, supporting it with evidence, then explaining how the evidence
connects to the claim through reasoning (CER analysis), which students have done in
every single unit that they’ve had last semester in Junior English.
- Students will have had a lesson on capital punishment and what that looks like in the
context of the death penalty.
- Students will have had diagnostic lessons in their previous units where they’ve had to do
Take a Stand activities and engaged in class discussion around their opinions.
- The Prediction part of this lesson’s activity is to scaffold students’ understanding of an
author or person’s perspective on an issue based off of the evidence that students have
seen-- students will be doing a lesson, two days from this one, in which they must write a
piece of poetry that is from the view of Walter, and they must write a rationale explaining
their choices based off of Walter’s personality and perspective from what they’ve seen in
the book.
MATERIALS
- Take a Stand worksheet (24 copies)
- Extra copies of “Just Mercy”
- List of pre-assigned groups for small group discussion
- Extra writing utensils
- Fidget cube
PREPARATION
- The small groups must be pre-assigned before class begins. Take into account ability
level, English language proficiency, learning level/speed, and personality as groups are
being created.
- Make sure to bring the fidget cube for the student who needs help focusing by keeping
their hands busy.
- The groups which have students who have emotional or behavioral disabilities will be
notated on the list, collaborating with the co-teacher (special education teacher) so that
they are aware of which groups to work more closely with.
PROCEDURE
Greet students as they come in the door, remind them to pick up the Take a Stand worksheet in
the bin at the front of the class.
- Ask students to settle down, then go over course objectives and activity for the day,
reminding students that this activity is in preparation for reading through Chapter 10 of
“Just Mercy,” and that they WILL be turning these worksheets in at the end of class time
(1-2 min).
Split students into pre-assigned groups of no more than 4 people, ask them to move their seats
once everyone knows which group they’re in-- 6 groups total at most (5 min).
Ask students to get their TAS worksheets out, remind students that this is an activity that they’ve
done before; read off instructions at the top to clarify for students.
- Explain to students that in their small groups, they will be discussing their responses to
each statement, then sharing out to the larger class.
- If any groups finish early, let students know they can start working on the “Prediction”
part of the worksheet (2 min).
Let students fill out and discuss their answers for any and all of the statements, in whichever
order they choose; walk around and make sure students are all engaging in discussion (15 min).
When discussion begins to die down for the majority of the groups, bring the students’ attention
back and start going through each statement, pausing after each one to give time for students to
respond (13 min).
- Let students know that not everyone has to share from the group, and students can also
volunteer their group mates or their group mates’ responses if they think the responses
are particularly compelling (1 min).
- Model what answering the prompt may look like by sharing some of the teachers’ own
responses to one or two of the statements.
As class discussion wraps up, give students some time to work on the Prediction portion of their
worksheet (8-10 min).
Remind students to turn in their worksheets as they exit, as well as start reading Chapter 10 that
night, and bid the class a good rest of their day (1 min).
DISCUSSION IDEAS
- Why did you say that you (insert SA, A, D, or SD here) with that statement?
- How do you think Bryan Stevenson would address this statement?
- When we think about freedom of expression of one’s culture or heritage, what happens if
it has a history of specifically oppressing certain people groups? (ex. Nazi swastika)
- How do we see mental illness or people with mental illness in society?
PLANNED SUPPORTS
The pre-planned groups will be split up so that students have a balance of ability levels, language
skills, and personalities. This is intentional, so that students who may have a more difficult time
in articulating their thoughts can be encouraged by students who are more comfortable speaking
and expositing.
The adaptation of this activity to be small group is a planned support for students who have
anxiety or other emotional disabilities, since speaking in smaller groups will help take off a lot of
pressure that they may feel when they speak in front of a bigger class environment. They can
also partially depend on their peers who will encourage them to share their opinions, or if
extremely averse to sharing, can share their opinion for them.
LANGUAGE ACCOMMODATIONS
All of the worksheet is translated, directions and statements, so that students who are Spanish
dominant can participate in the exercise. Students are encouraged to practice writing in English
to improve their literacy skills-- if the prediction ends up being a mix of Spanish and English,
then translation can be further done later on. In discussion, the two Spanish-dominant students
will be in a group together with two other students who are somewhat fluent in Spanish. The
students will be encouraged to speak in English to help them practice and grow their speaking
literacy, but if they wish to share with their group members in Spanish or mixed
Spanish/English, the group discussion can still carry on.
Students who are AAVE dominant may use whatever dialect they feel comfortable speaking and
writing with, as the worksheets are graded on completion and content, not on grammar/syntax.
SPECIAL EDUCATION ACCOMMODATIONS
For the students who have emotional disabilities, the co-teacher (special education teacher) will
sit next to them and hop from group to group if support is needed.
For the student with Attention Deficit Disorder, we will have a fidget cube for them to hold in
their lap and engage their hands as they focus their mind on the discussion. Additionally, the
Additional supports for the students with anxiety are above in planned supports.
ASSESSMENT
Formative Assessment
The Prediction part of the worksheet
Alignment with objectives
I will be able to make predictions in a text based on the information I have gained from previous
readings.
This objective is accomplished by the students legitimately doing exactly as the objective says.
Students are going to make predictions about “Just Mercy,” specifically in Chapter 10, based off
of the previous nine chapters they have read thus far, knowing a few of the concepts/issues that
will be addressed in this particular chapter.
Evidence of Student understanding
Students’ responses, whether or not they made predictions that align with what they’ve seen in
the book so far, whether or not they used specific pieces of evidence from the book, will give a
good understanding of whether or not they are actually reading and comprehending Stevenson’s
authorial voice and opinions.
Language Accommodations
The worksheet’s directions have all been translated into Spanish. Additionally, students are able
to use whichever language(s) or dialect(s) they feel comfortable using.
Special Needs Accommodations
Students are simply writing this section to share with the teacher, not sharing with their peers
unless they would like to. Students who have a difficult time focusing will be given a small
fidget object to hold and use in one hand as they complete the worksheet.
Student Feedback
These worksheets will be graded quickly and handed back within the next day. Giving good
feedback includings asking students further questions about their responses, like “Is there a
similar section in the book that Stevenson addresses an issue like this?” providing page numbers
(hint: look on pg. 24) for students to actually go back and re-read certain parts so that they can
improve their comprehension/understanding of the book.
Summative Assessment
TAS worksheet (the TAS part of the worksheet)
- I will be able to use specific evidence to support my opinions/arguments
- I will be able to engage in class discussion with others who have different perspectives
than I do
Again, the worksheet and activity do exactly what the objectives ask for. Students are required to
give specific evidence to support their opinions/arguments as they circle SA, A, D, or SD for
each statement given to them. Additionally, students are asked to participate in both smaller
group discussion, as well as larger group discussion, with their peers who have differing opinions
from them, dialoguing about the issues raised by the statements.
These worksheets will be collected at the end of class. They will be graded for completion as
well as content, so if students were able to articulate their opinions with supporting evidence, not
just circling the different opinions, this is good evidence that students understand how to apply
that analytical skill.
The worksheet’s directions and statements have all been translated into Spanish. The students
who are Spanish-dominant will be together in a group, in addition to a couple of peers who are
able to understand and speak Spanish to some degree.
For students who have emotional or behavioral disabilities, they will be placed in mixed groups.
The co-teacher (special education teacher) will be sitting with those specific groups, hopping
from one group to the other to monitor and facilitate the conversation, as well as sitting with
students if they need additional time to complete the worksheet.
For the student who has ADD, they will be given a small fidget object to hold discreetly in their
hand to occupy them as they engage their brain and fill out the worksheet.
EXTENSION IDEAS
One of the issues addressed in the abstract by the TAS worksheet, as well as explicitly in Chapter
10 of “Just Mercy” is around the symbolic impact of the Confederate flag. Students could read
through this Washington Post article:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-confederate-flag-a-150-year-
battle/2018/10/23/622ae7e2-d179-11e8-83d6-
291fcead2ab1_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.70b49bba4ec2, which provides a concise
timeline for the history of the Confederate flag in U.S. (and international!) context. Students can
then, after reading the article, fill out another Take a Stand worksheet, this time comparing and
contrasting their opinions before and after reading the article, indicating why or why not their
opinions have changed, using specific evidence. This is another pre-literacy activity they can do
before reading through Chapter 10 of “Just Mercy,” in which Bryan Stevenson looks a LOT at
what kind of effect the Confederate flag has on him, particularly because of its long oppressive
history.
SOURCE OF ACTIVITY
This Take a Stand activity was modeled off of the TAS activities that I did in my observations
with my co-op, Becca Fundator, and co-teacher, AJ Scarlett. I tweaked the worksheet, adding
“Prediction,” rather than “Reflection,” as to give it a more reciprocal teaching purpose, as well as
changing all the statements and translating everything into Spanish.
RESOURCES AND REFERENCES

NCTE. "Position Statement: Principles for Intellectual Freedom in Education." NCTE,
2014, http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/principles-intell-freedom.
Stevenson, Bryan. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. Spiegel & Grau, 2014.
Link to TAS worksheet (it’s in landscape, so it can’t fit on this document because of formatting
issues):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_lBFKTIrwnqgvE03IDsLS8BYvvNLHfxKtY3FJHNowP
Q/edit?usp=sharing
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (9-12), addressed:

CC.11-12.R.I.1 Key Ideas and Details: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support
analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including
determining where the text leaves matters uncertain
This is the Prediction part of the worksheet, where it asks students to think about how Bryan
Stevenson would respond to a couple of these statements based on past evidence from reading
previous chapters in the book. By this point in the book, students will have read enough to have a
fairly good understanding of Stevenson’s personality and experiences, as well as have a variety
of places in the text to pull from to make a thoughtful, evidence-based prediction.
CC.11-12.W.1 Text Types and Purposes: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of
substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
This is the majority of the Take a Stand worksheet, everything that is not the Prediction part.
Students look at the ways in which they have opinions on each statement, in which they are
asserting a claim, and the directions asks students to back their opinions up with evidence, either
from their own experiences in life and/or some factual evidence that they’ve read or learned
about before.
GRADING LIST/RUBRIC
Grading list for statement (per statement), also applies to Prediction section:
0 points 1 point 2 points 3 points
Student did not write Student circled Student circled Student circled their
anything for opinion and opinion and provided opinion, providing
reasoning, only summarized their some evidence or detailed, specific
circling their opinion. opinion, providing no reasoning. evidence and
evidence or thorough reasoning to
reasoning. support.
DAY TWO: During-Literacy
CENTRAL FOCUS
How do our predictions and opinions change or stay the same as we gather more evidence
through the texts we read?
TIME
OBJECTIVE/S
- I will be able to engage in independent reading silently.
- I will be able to support or refute/adjust formerly-made predictions in a text based on the
information I have gained from previous readings.
- I will be able to summarize the text and what I have learned from the author’s claims and
evidence.
SETTING
- Students will have learned about the Confederacy and Confederate flag’s symbolic
meaning regarding racial segregatino because of their past U.S. History courses and units
on the Civil War. Students also have understanding of how other symbols, like the Nazi
swatstika, were used as symbols of oppression in history and proudly worn by many.
- Students will have people in their life, family, friends, or even their own selves who have
been diagnosed with mental illnesses of varying severities. They will be able to
understand on a personal level, as well as their knowledge of how media and news
portrayal of people who have mental illnesses, particularly those who have committed
crimes, are treated and perceived by the public and larger criminal justice system.
- Students additionally are living in a society in which the rise of the alt-right is prevalent,
so they will have seen things like Confederate flags and swastikas in their own
communities and potentially even at the school. They can speak from personal experience
as to how this has affected them or others that they know, and how the community or
school administration has dealt with these expressions of hateful ideology.
“We see no place for neutrality and urge each member of NCTE to educate as many people as
possible about the ways that systemic racism affects all of us in negative ways” (NCTE: There Is
No Apolitical Classroom, 2017).
- We understand that as we talk about mass incarceration, the death penalty, and police
brutality, that these systems function off of racism, disproportionately claiming the lives
of Black and Brown people, along with the added intersection of criminalizing those who
are poor or mentally ill. Mass incarceration is an extension of the racist structure that
originally put slavery in its place and was attempted to be sustained through the Civil
War and Confederate ideology. As teachers, we do hold student opinion and multiple
perspectives; however, we make it clear that these systems are not functioning without
acknowledgement of racial, class, and ability difference and exploiting it. We also
understand that while freedom of expression is important, the expression of hateful
ideology is not just expression-- it is genuinely hurtful and oppressive to people who have
historically been targeted by those expressions.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Background content:
- Students, at this point, have read nine chapters of “Just Mercy.” They will have some

- Students will have had a lesson on capital punishment and what that looks like in the
context of the death penalty.
- The Prediction part of this lesson’s activity is to scaffold students’ understanding of an
author or person’s perspective on an issue based off of the evidence that students have
seen-- students will be doing a lesson, two days from this one, in which they must write a
piece of poetry that is from the view of Walter, and they must write a rationale explaining
their choices based off of Walter’s personality and perspective from what they’ve seen in
the book.
MATERIALS
- Students’ completed TAS worksheets (24 copies)
- Exit slips (24 copies)
- Extra copies of “Just Mercy”
- Audiobook version of “Just Mercy”
PREPARATION
their hands busy.
- The students who have emotional or behavioral disabilities will be known by the co-
teacher (special education teacher), so they can sit next to students who may need the
support.
- Have the folder of students’ turned-in work to pass out to them individually while they
read (so that their grade privacy is protected).
PROCEDURE
Greet students as they come in the door, remind them to pick up the “Exit slip” in the bin at the
front of the class.
reminding students that this activity is to assist them in reading through Chapter 10 of
“Just Mercy,” and that they WILL be turning these worksheets in at the end of class time
(1-2 min).
Read off directions on the Exit slip. Explains that students will be doing the worksheet in two
parts and that unless they are completely done reading through Chapter 10, they should not start
the second part (1-2 min).
Allow students to get their music ready and their books out, give them the rest of the class period
to work on their Exit slips and read through Chapter 10. Students should already have read some
of Chapter 10 last night (45 min).
Let students know that if they are finished reading Chapter 10, they may work on the second part
of the exit slip (brief reflection), as well as start reading Chapter 11 (1 min).
- Remind students to turn in their worksheets as they exit, as well as assigning reading
Chapter 11 that night, and bid the class a good rest of their day (1 min).
DISCUSSION IDEAS
N/A
(Students will not be engaging in discussion while they have an silent, independent reading day)
PLANNED SUPPORTS
For students who have difficulty reading through long passages of text at a time, they will have
extended time to finish reading in class, as well as chunking particular parts of the text, rather
than asking them to read through the entire chapter.
Additionally, students will have this audiobook version, narrated by Bryan Stevenson himself:
https://www.audible.com/ep/title/?asin=B00O4FH8E8&source_code=GO1GBSH09091690EE&
device=d&ds_rl=1262685&ds_rl=1263561&ds_rl=1260658&cvosrc=ppc.google.just%20mercy
%20audiobook&cvo_campaign=1021783810&cvo_crid=256019654131&Matchtype=e&gclid=
CjwKCAiAu_LgBRBdEiwAkovNsGkbiLnFnMWFcUwhvPWnp4tZt1ZNYOcWpy29n0B6abLq
z6r0gepSzhoCMKIQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
This audiobook will help students read along, listening to Bryan Stevenson speak, rather than
just read the words off the page.
Students will be allowed to listen to music on their phones as long as their phones are not out,
screens not visible, and they are reading the entire time.
All of the worksheet is translated, so that students who are Spanish dominant can participate in
the exercise. Students are encouraged to practice reading and writing in English to improve their
literacy skills-- if their writing ends up being a mix of Spanish and English, then translation can
be further done later on. Students will also have a word/concept bank for any particularly
difficult parts of the passage that they come across and cannot infer based on context. Students
can also access the audiobook, as hearing the words in English sometimes facilitate better
comprehension than just reading them off of the page.

sit next to them and hop from person to person if support is needed.
their lap and engage their hands as they focus their mind on the reading.
ASSESSMENT
The prediction modification part of the exit slip.
- I will be able to support or refute/adjust formerly-made predictions in a text based on the
information I have gained from previous readings.
Students are going to adjust their previous predictions about “Just Mercy,” specifically in
Chapter 10, based off of the evidence that they are reading in that chapter.
Students’ responses, whether or not they are able to show the ways in which their predictions
conflict with or align with what they’ve seen in the book so far, whether or not they used specific
pieces of evidence from the book, will give a good understanding of whether or not they are
actually reading and comprehending Stevenson’s authorial voice and opinions.
The worksheet’s directions have all been translated into Spanish. Additionally, students are able
to use whichever language(s) or dialect(s) they feel comfortable using.
Additionally, students will have the audiobook to access to help them focus on reading the words
as they follow along in their books to help facilitate their English literacy skills.
Students are given extra time to read and a later due date for the article if need be. Students who
have a difficult time focusing will be given a small fidget object to hold and use in one hand as
they complete the worksheet.
as they follow along in their books.
Student Feedback
These worksheets will be graded quickly and handed back within the next day. Giving good
feedback includings asking students further questions about their responses, like “Is there a
similar section in the book that Stevenson addresses an issue like this?” providing page numbers
(hint: look on pg. 24) for students to actually go back and re-read certain parts so that they can
improve their comprehension/understanding of the book.
The reflection part of the exit slip.
- I will be able to summarize the text and what I have learned from the author’s claims and
evidence.
Again, the worksheet and activity does exactly what the objectives ask for. Students are asked to
summarize what a couple of Stevenson’s main points were in the chapter, as well as looking at
specific evidence that supports those points, and what they personally found most interesting or
impactful from the chapter.

These worksheets will be collected at the end of class. They will be graded for completion as
well as content, so if students were able to articulate their opinions with supporting, specific
evidence, and not just writing how they felt or thought about Chapter 10, this will show that
students have a good understanding of what is going on in the book.
The worksheet’s directions and statements have all been translated into Spanish.
For students who have emotional or behavioral disabilities, the co-teacher (special education
teacher) will be sitting with those specific students, hopping from one to the other to monitor and
support the student,
Students are given extra time to read and a later due date for the article if need be. Students who
as they follow along in their books.
EXTENSION IDEAS
Students can then, after reading the chapter, fill out another, modified Take a Stand worksheet,
this time comparing and contrasting their opinions before and after reading the chapter,
indicating why or why not their opinions have changed, using specific evidence. They can even
do an additional column for how Bryan Stevenson would respond to each of the statements
(besides the couple that they completed for the TAS worksheet the class before).
SOURCE OF ACTIVITY
This activity was modeled off of independent reading activities that I have observed in both of
my placements, as well as some DR-TA-esque strategies of prediction and prediction adjustment
that I used for a previous lesson plan in my CI473 classroom. This activity was a combination of
these sources, in addition to my own ideas.

NCTE. "There is No Apolitical Classroom: Resources for Teaching in These Times" NCTE,
2017. http://www2.ncte.org/blog/2017/08/there-is-no-apolitical-classroom-resources-for-
teaching-in-these-times/
Audiobook:
https://www.audible.com/ep/title/?asin=B00O4FH8E8&source_code=GO1GBSH09091690EE&
device=d&ds_rl=1262685&ds_rl=1263561&ds_rl=1260658&cvosrc=ppc.google.just%20mercy
%20audiobook&cvo_campaign=1021783810&cvo_crid=256019654131&Matchtype=e&gclid=
CjwKCAiAu_LgBRBdEiwAkovNsGkbiLnFnMWFcUwhvPWnp4tZt1ZNYOcWpy29n0B6abLq
z6r0gepSzhoCMKIQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Students will be doing this as they modify their predictions on the worksheet, indicating whether
or not their predictions were correct (or to what degree they were), citing specific textual
evidence to support these claims.
The reflection portion of the Exit slip cal allow for students to indicate any parts of the text that
were unclear to them or interesting ideas that were made by inference from the text.
Name:______________________ Junior English
Prediction Modification/Exit Slip

Part I. Fill out each box below. Make sure that when you are giving specific textual evidence,
that you give at least two or more pieces of evidence and cite the page number that they come
from. No need to write in complete sentences for the middle columns.
Complete cada casilla a continuación. Asegúrese de que cuando presente evidencia textual
específica, proporcione al menos dos o más pruebas y cite el número de página de donde
provienen. No es necesario escribir en oraciones completas para las columnas del medio.
The original Your original Was it correct? To Specific textual
statement prediction what degree? (very, evidence to
somewhat, not really) support/refute your
La frase original Su predicción original original prediction
¿Fue correcto? A que
grado (muy, algo, no Evidencia textual
realmente específica para
apoyar / refutar su
predicción original
1.
2.
Part II: Reflection.

In at least 7-8 sentences, name 2-3 different takeaways you had from reading Chapter 10. This
can be things you found shocking, moments that resonated with you, points of disagreement that
you have with the author, questions you still have.
En al menos 7-8 oraciones, nombre 2-3 tomas diferentes que obtuvo de la lectura del Capítulo
10. Esto puede ser cosas que le parecieron impactantes, momentos que le resonaron, puntos de
desacuerdo con el autor, preguntas que aún tiene.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
GRADING LIST/RUBRIC
Grading list for statement (per statement), also applies to Reflection section (multiply by two for
Reflection):
0 points 1 point 2 points 3 points
Student minimally, if Student explained Student explained Student explained
at all, filled out the why their prediction why their previous why their previous
worksheet. was correct/incorrect, prediction was prediction was
providing no correct/incorrect and correct/incorrect,
evidence or provided some providing detailed,
reasoning. evidence or specific evidence and
reasoning. thorough reasoning to
support.
DAY THREE: Post-Literacy
CENTRAL FOCUS
How can we use our understanding of characters and their development to inform our
understanding of their perspectives?
TIME
OBJECTIVE/S
- I will be able to use specific evidence to support my authorial choices
- I will be able to produce a piece of poetry that employs specific, poetic devices and as an
appropriate theme
SETTING
- Students will have learned about poetic and literary devices in previous units, having
analyzed them and learned key definitions and concepts
- Students will have people in their life, family, friends, or even their own selves who have
been, particularly those who have committed crimes, are treated and perceived by the
public and larger criminal justice system either while they are imprisoned, or afterward as
they re-integrate into society. Students can use this knowledge to inform their poetic
writing.
- Students additionally are creative people, there are many students who find that
expressing themselves through a more narratorial manner actually frees them up
significantly, as compared to having to write non-fiction.
“We are always teaching new students in a world rich with evolving stories and ideas”
(Gallagher & Kittle, 2018, 4).
The stories around mass incarceration, the death penalty, and police brutality have changed so
much, even within the past four years since the time of “Just Mercy”’s publication. As we teach
this unit, we understand that there will be continuous change, as these systems do not stop
functioning while being taught in our curriculum. Our students will come in with different
experiences and relationships to these issues, and we want to remain flexible in our
understanding that “Just Mercy,” although situated in a particular time period, is interacting with
students’ and their stories and the world’s stories dynamically. We want to draw out those
different, evolving ideas, and a wonderful way to have students add to the epistemology around
imprisonment is actually having them create work that addresses and is inspired by issues of
mass incarceration.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Background content:
- Students, at this point, have read ten chapters of “Just Mercy.” They will have some
- Students will also have knowledge on what poetry is, what some poetic devices are and
how they are employed to what effect on the reader.

- The Prediction part, as well as the Prediction Adjustment activity the past two lessons
were to scaffold students’ understanding of an author or person’s perspective on an issue
based off of the evidence that students have seen-- students will be doing a lesson now, in
which they must write a piece of poetry that is from the view of Walter, and they must
write a rationale explaining their choices based off of Walter’s personality and
perspective from what they’ve seen in the book.
MATERIALS
- Poetry writing prompt (24 copies)
Extra copies of “Just Mercy”
- Chromebooks (extras if needed)
PREPARATION
their hands busy.
- The students who have emotional or behavioral disabilities will be known by the co-
teacher (special education teacher), so they can sit next to students who may need the
support, continuously circling around to sit next to students and help them through the
writing process.
- Bring extra Chromebooks and chargers, placing them at the back of the class for students
to pick up if needed.
PROCEDURE
Greet students as they come in the door, remind them to pick up the writing prompt in the bin at
the front of the class.
reminding students that this activity is one that they will START today and finish
tomorrow (Friday).
Read off directions on the writing prompt. As the teacher reads through the directions, ask
students a question about naming some poetic devices and examples of them (simile: her eyes
are like stars; metaphor: I flapped my wings, perching on the edge of the fence; alliteration:
Abby’s apples arrived already). (5-7 min)
Allow students to get their music ready and their Chromebooks out, give them the rest of the
class period to work on their poems and/or read through Chapter 11 if they have not. Students
should already have read some of, if not all of Chapter 11 last night (45 min).
- Walk around the classroom and check in on students, particularly the students who might
be struggling writers, answering any questions they may have. Keep students focused and
remind them that they must write a short poem IN ADDITION to explaining and
justifying their poem’s content and use of poetic devices based off of what they have read
in “Just Mercy” Chapter 11, and/or the overall book thus far.
Remind students that if they are not finished, they need not worry since they’ll continue writing
in class again tomorrow, and bid the class a good rest of their day (1 min).
DISCUSSION IDEAS
- What are some poetic devices that you’ve seen before? What are some examples?
- I see you’ve used (insert poetic device here). Why did you choose to do that?
- How do you think your poem relates to Walter’s experience on death row?
- What are some of the themes that your poem is exploring that we’ve seen in “Just
Mercy?”
PLANNED SUPPORTS
Students will be allowed to listen to music on their phones as long as their phones are not out,
screens not visible, and they are writing the entire time.d
Students will be writing on Chromebooks, rather than with a paper and pen/pencil; this will also
be important to support students in giving feedback in real time and make it easily accessible to
students.
Students will also have two model poems that are fairly short that they can look at to help them
figure out some of the conventions around poetry.
All of the writing prompt is translated, so that students who are Spanish dominant can participate
in the exercise. The links to additional poetry are also translated. Students are encouraged to
practice reading and writing in English to improve their literacy skills-- if their writing ends up
being a mix of Spanish and English, then translation can be further done later on. Students will
also have a translated word/concept bank for all of the poetic devices.

sit next to them and hop from person to person if support is needed.
their lap and engage their hands as they focus their mind on the reading.
ASSESSMENT
Author’s Statement
- I will be able to use specific evidence to support my authorial choices
Students are going to analyze their own poetry and explain why they made the authorial choices
that they did, connecting it to larger themes and characterizations and experiences of Walter’s
throughout “Just Mercy.”
Students’ responses, whether or not they used specific pieces of evidence from the book to create
poetry that actually reflects Walter’s experiences and feelings, will give a good understanding of
whether or not they are actually reading and comprehending Stevenson’s authorial voice and
characterizations of Walter.
The worksheet’s directions have all been translated into Spanish, as well as the model poems
themselves. Additionally, students are able to use whichever language(s) or dialect(s) they feel
comfortable using.
Students are given extra time to read and a later due date for the poem if need be. Students who
Student Feedback
These poems will have running feedback in the form of comments on their Google documents
before they are turned in. Giving good feedback including asking students further questions
about their responses, like “Is there a similar section in the book that Stevenson addresses an
issue like this?” providing page numbers (hint: look on pg. 24) for students to actually go back
and re-read certain parts so that they can improve their comprehension/understanding of the book
and apply it to their analysis and justification.
The poem.
- I will be able to produce a piece of poetry that employs specific, poetic devices and has
an appropriate theme
Again, the worksheet and activity does exactly what the objectives ask for. Students are asked to
produce poetry that employs specific, poetic devices and has an appropriate theme in accordance
to what has happened to Walter in “Just Mercy.”
The poems will be graded for completion as well as content, so if students were able to articulate
their opinions with supporting, specific evidence, and not just writing how they felt or thought
about Chapter 11, this will show that students have a good understanding of what is going on in
the book.
The worksheet’s directions and statements have all been translated into Spanish.
For students who have emotional or behavioral disabilities, the co-teacher (special education
teacher) will be sitting with those specific students, hopping from one to the other to monitor and
support the student,
Students are given extra time to read and a later due date for the poem if need be. Students who
EXTENSION IDEAS
Students wrote poetry from the perspective of Walter, but they could also choose to engage
Walter’s perspective in different formats. Students could act as Walter, writing several letters to
the person or people students think are most important to Walter. Students could also do a more
multi-modal project, in which they took or drew a picture, then wrote a caption that fits the
length of a Facebook post, as Humans of New York have done here:
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/tagged/inmate-stories. Students can imagine what it would
be like if they were interviewing Walter during or after his time on death row, citing specific
pieces of evidence as to why they wrote what they did, as well as the choice of photo that they
used.
SOURCE OF ACTIVITY
This Take a Stand activity was modeled off of the many poetry writing assignments that I had for
CI 403, adapted for the purposes of this particular lesson. Additionally, my co-operating teacher,
Becca Fundator, and her co-teacher AJ Scarlett, had a similar creative writing project with
similar guidelines for students to follow as they wrote short stories/poems.

Gallagher, Kelly and Penny Kittle. 180 DAYS: Two Teachers and the Quest to Engage and
Empower Adolescents. Heinemann, 2018.

CC.11-12.W.3.d Text Types and Purposes: Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and
sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
Students will be intentional about the specific words/phrases/details and sensory language that
they choose to use in their poems so that they can convey particular feelings and/or experiences
that Walter may have at the time of his release.
Students are encouraged to think about how Walter would respond to his experiences on death
row based on past evidence from reading previous chapters in the book. By this point in the
book, students will have read enough to have a fairly good understanding of Walter’s personality
and experiences and the way Stevenson characterizes him, as well as have a variety of places in
the text to pull from to make a thoughtful, evidence-based justification of their authorial choices.
Name:____________________ Junior English
Just Mercy: Poetry Writing Prompt
The last words of Chapter 11 are Walter’s “‘I feel like a bird, I feel like a bird.’” Using this as
your first line, write a poem that is at least 10-14 lines long expressing some of the thoughts,
feelings, joys and fears, expectations, that Walter might have after his release from death row. (If
all of your lines are only 3 words long, this does not count unless you can justify this as an
intentional, artistic choice.) If you have writer’s block and just don’t know where to get started,
you may look at these two poems as models for your own:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48989/caged-bird
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42889/hope-is-the-thing-with-feathers-314
In addition to writing your short poem, you must write a thorough Author’s Statement. This will
be 1-2 paragraphs of you analyzing your own poetry and explaining why you made the choices
you did, in tone, form, the poetic devices you used, etc., and how that connects to evidence in
“Just Mercy.” Your paragraphs should be at least 7-8 sentences long.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Las últimas palabras del Capítulo 11 son las de Walter: "Me siento como un pájaro, me siento
como un pájaro". Usando esto como su primera línea, escriba un poema que tenga al menos 10-
14 líneas y exprese algunos de los pensamientos y sentimientos , alegrías y temores,
expectativas, que Walter podría tener después de su liberación del corredor de la muerte. (Si
todas sus líneas tienen solo 3 palabras, esto no cuenta a menos que pueda justificar esto como
una elección artística intencional). Si tiene bloqueo de escritor y simplemente no sabe por dónde
empezar, puede mirar esto. Dos poemas como modelos para los tuyos:
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=es&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.poetryfoundati
on.org%2Fpoems%2F48989%2Fcaged-bird
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=es&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.poetryfoundati
on.org%2Fpoems%2F42889%2Fhope-is-the-thing-with-feathers-314
Además de escribir su poema corto, debe escribir una Declaración de Autor completa. Esto
consistirá en 1 o 2 párrafos en los que analizará su propia poesía y explicará por qué hizo las
elecciones que hizo, el tono, la forma, los dispositivos poéticos que utilizó, etc. Los párrafos
deben tener al menos 7-8 oraciones de largo.
Author’s Statement Scoring Guidelines:

Point Value/Criteria 0-1 1-2 2-3
Connection to There is little to no There is some There is textual

textual evidence (x2) textual evidence to textual evidence to evidence to support
support the author’s support the author’s the author’s choices
choices. choices, but there is and clear analysis
a lack of a clear linking the evidence
analysis linking the to the author’s
evidence to the choices.
author’s choices.
Use of Participant identifies Participant identifies Participant identifies

Poetic/Literary little to none of the most, but not all, of all of the
Devices poetic/literary the poetic/literary poetic/literary
devices used in their devices used in their devices used in their
project. project. project.
There is little to no There is only some There is detailed
explanation of how explanation of how explanation of how
the poetic/literary the poetic/literary the poetic/literary
devices are used to devices are used to devices are used to
affect the audience. affect the audience affect the audience.
Conventions The reflection is less The reflection is two X
than two paragraphs; or more paragraphs;
grammar and there are little to no
spelling errors grammar and
demonstrate little to spelling errors.
no proofreading.

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Week 3 Lesson Plans

Linkage to past/future lessons:

RESOURCES AND REFERENCES

Common Core English Language Arts Standards (9-12), addressed:

DAY TWO: During-Literacy

Linkage to past/future lessons:

SPECIAL EDUCATION ACCOMMODATIONS

Evidence of Student understanding

RESOURCES AND REFERENCES

Common Core English Language Arts Standards (9-12), addressed:

Name:______________________ Junior English

Prediction Modification/Exit Slip

Part II: Reflection.

DAY THREE: Post-Literacy

Linkage to past/future lessons:

SPECIAL EDUCATION ACCOMMODATIONS

RESOURCES AND REFERENCES

Common Core English Language Arts Standards (9-12), addressed:

Name:____________________ Junior English

Just Mercy: Poetry Writing Prompt

Author’s Statement Scoring Guidelines:

Connection to There is little to no There is some There is textual

Use of Participant identifies Participant identifies Participant identifies

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