Lesson Plan Template

ETECH 5203

Your Name: Sarah Mallette

Lesson Title: Making Reading a “Virtual” Reality

Introduction: (Short description to introduce the lesson.) This lesson uses virtual reality to
explore fiction texts. Students will each have their own headset and will access different
texts using a pre-downloaded application on the headset. This app will allow students to
explore the different scenes and chapters from the novels they are reading. This technology
will be used in a fifth-grade language arts classroom where students are beginning to read
the story Holes by Louis Sachar. Using virtual reality, students will be able to experience
first-hand the scenes they are studying along with the content of focus, including figurative
language and inferencing. This three-day unit discusses figurative language within the first
chapter of Holes and allows the students to not only visualize but make connections
between the text and the virtual reality setting. On the first day, the students will read the
first chapter from Holes and discuss with their groups what they read in the text. They will
use their notebooks to stop, think, and jot figurative language components that they see,
their thoughts about this chapter, and what mental images they have created from the
description. The second day allows the student to take their notes from the previous reading
day and create a sketch of what they think Camp Green Lake looks like. Finally, on day
three, the students will quickly review the components of figurative language that they are
looking for and put on their virtual reality headsets to explore Camp Green Lake. This will
allow the students to make comparisons to what they have drawn and see how the
vocabulary and language create a setting for the story.

Grade or Age Level of Student(s): 5th Grade students. Approximately 10-11 years old.

Objectives:
Day One: The students will read the first chapter of the novel Holes and discuss
figurative language components with their table partners.

At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to identify figurative language
components within the text.

Day Two: The students will use their notes and prior knowledge of figurative
language to visually represent their “mental image” of Camp Green Lake.

At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to make text connections and use
their understanding of grade appropriate vocabulary and figurative language.

Day Three: The students will explore components of figurative language using
virtual reality headsets.

At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to evaluate the details of the text in
the virtual reality headsets and use text evidence to support their comprehension of the
virtual reality setting. The students should also be able to understand the grade appropriate
vocabulary in more than one way, which encourages metacognitive growth.

Integration Decision Number One: An integration decision that I made was for this
lesson, I only wanted to do the virtual reality headsets for one day out of the three. Since
this will be the first time that the students use this tool and because of their age, I did not
want to do three long lessons all on the virtual reality headset. Once the students become
acclimated to the technology, I will consider using the technology for longer amounts of
time. Additionally, since the first chapter does not contain any dialogue, I felt that the
students would get bored of the technology if I used it every day. Therefore, I wanted to
build their schema and metacognition towards creating mental images and making
connections by having that be the focus for two days. This would allow the students to enter
the virtual reality lesson with a solid foundation and understanding of the text.

Standards Addressed:
5th Grade ELA TEKS

(6) Comprehension skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple
texts. The student uses metacognitive skills to both develop and deepen comprehension of
increasingly complex texts. The student is expected to:

(E) make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society;

(F) make inferences and use evidence to support understanding;

(G) evaluate details read to determine key ideas;

(7) Response skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts.
The student responds to an increasingly challenging variety of sources that are read, heard,
or viewed. The student is expected to:

(D) retell, paraphrase, or summarize texts in ways that maintain meaning and logical
order;

(E) interact with sources in meaningful ways such as notetaking, annotating, freewriting, or
illustrating.

Timeline: Three Days

Materials:
Holes by Louis Sachar
Reading Journals
Manila Construction Paper
Virtual Reality Headsets
Pencils/Markers

Grouping Strategies: When students are at their desk, they will be seated in groups of
five, allowing for think-pair-share strategies as well as peer tutoring. There will be a 1:1
student to virtual reality headset ratio but students will work in groups of 4 so students can
discuss the concept at different parts of the lessons and unit.

With the headsets, students will be randomly grouped with achievement level playing a
factor. Special education students and ESL students will be randomly mixed in groups with
higher performing students in order for peer tutoring and guidance to take place. Since the
classroom will contain twenty-five virtual reality headsets, there should be no more than
four students in a group. The groups are as follows:

Group 1: Nathan, Alexis, Kevin, and Jonathan

Group 2: Natalie, Rodrigo, Alyssa, and Ahad
Group 3: Ahnaf, Lina, Camryn, and Zoe
Group 4: Janae, Alejandro, London, and Harry
Group 5: Hannah, Torrey, Natalia, and Mahricia
Group 6: Alanna, Danika, Rachel, and Michael.

Integration Decision Number Two: I decided to place the students in groups of four to
encourage collaboration between them, even though they will be using the headsets and
interaction will be somewhat limited. Although the students will be using the headset
independently, I did not want to create a sense of social isolation. Therefore, the students
will stay in their group and use the headsets. When the students take breaks from the
technology, they will collaborate and discuss with their assigned teams.

Learning Activities:

Day One: When the students enter the classroom, the teacher will ask students if they
have ever been to a lake before. Once students respond, the teacher will ask them to
describe the lake that they have been to. When the introductory hook is finished, after
approximately eight minutes, the teacher will pass out the novel Holes to all of the students.
The teacher will begin the lesson by discussing figurative language and how the students
will use what they know about figurative language components to make sense of the text.
This novel will be the focus for the next two weeks. The teacher will give the students
approximately twenty-five minutes to independently read the first chapter from the novel.
Throughout this twenty-five-minute period, students are to stop, think, and jot about what
they are reading, what figurative language components they have identified, and how this
language is helping them create a mental image in their mind. Students can also list any
words that may seem confusing or phrases that were interesting to them. After the twenty-
five-minute period, the teacher will allow the students to join in their table “book club”
groups, where they discuss the first chapter. The students will be given twelve minutes to
discuss the first chapter and the results of their stop, think, and jot. While the students are
discussing the chapter and sharing their journal entries, the teacher is walking around and
using a checklist to determine how well the students did. The teacher needs to walk around
to each table and ensure that she listens to every conversation. Once the twelve minutes
are up, students need to pack up their supplies to switch classes.

Day Two: Once the students take their seats and get out their reading journals, the teacher
will lead the students in a ten-minute review over what they discussed yesterday. The
students will be able to share their thoughts about the chapter and identify any figurative
language components. Once the review is over, the students will receive a sheet of manila
construction paper, pencils, and markers. The students will be asked to draw what they
believe Camp Green Lake looks like based on what they read and the “mental image” that
the figurative language provided them. The students will have thirty minutes to complete
this task. While the students are working, the teacher should be walking around with a
clipboard and a teacher-generated checklist to determine what the students are drawing.
The teacher should be looking to determine if the students have followed what the figurative
language has described or if they are misinterpreting the vocabulary. Once students have
completed their drawing, they will have five minutes to share their drawings with their
table, discuss similarities and differences, then pack up their materials to switch classes.
Day Three: When the students come in to class, they will be divided into six groups of four.
The students will interact with the teacher for approximately ten-minutes reviewing what
the text was about, what the students think the author wants us to learn from this chapter,
and how the text has painted a mental image for them. Then, the teacher will introduce the
concept of using virtual reality for the lesson. The teacher will spend a few minutes
discussing the rules for using the virtual reality headsets, since this will be the first time the
students will be using the headsets. After the teacher explains that the students will be
putting on the headsets to explore Camp Green Lake, the students will put on their
headsets. The students will spend approximately twenty minutes exploring Camp Green
Lake and seeing the figurative language “in action.” The teacher will allow for brief breaks
during the twenty-minute session in order for students to get acclimated to the technology.
These brief breaks will allow for teachers to ask probing questions about what they see and
how it compares to their drawing. Once the students have finished with their virtual reality
experience, the students will have fifteen minutes to create a one and a half minute Flipgrid
video describing their experience and the scene they saw in the headsets, how the virtual
reality brought the vocabulary and language to life, and how the setting could possibly
affect the rest of the story. Once their video is recorded, they are to leave feedback on at
least one other students’ video. After this fifteen-minute time frame, the students need to
pack up their belongings and get ready to switch classes.

Integration Decision Number Three: Because the students are using the technology for
the first time, they are only given twenty minutes on the headset. However, the teacher will
break up the twenty-minute session into four five-minute intervals, allowing for students to
adjust between reality and the virtual reality headset. I did this in order to ensure that the
students learn the difference between reality and the virtual world and give them time to
acclimate to the new technology. I am expecting for some students to become motion sick
due to the technology and will have the nurse on stand-by in the event of a student needing
assistance.

Diversity: Students will be grouped by achievement level.

For ELL students, sentence stems will be provided as well as vocabulary cards with the
picture or example and name when they are discussing the figurative language components.

To help students with learning disabilities, they will have the text read to them. They will
also have peer tutors to assist with the virtual reality headsets and discussions. The drawing
will be independent.

As an extension activity, students can predict how they think the setting of Camp Green
Lake will affect the rest of the story.

The teacher may provide students with access to the virtual reality world with content and
language supports, depending on the students’ individual accommodations.

Assessment:

Day One: Students will be informally assessed by a checklist. The teacher will be walking
around joining groups to discuss what they have read and ask probing questions about the
text. The teacher will also assess how well students work with others and mark that in the
checklist as well.

Day Two: The students will draw an example of what they think Camp Green Lake looks
like based on the figurative language. They are to draw their mental image using their
understandings of the metaphors, similes, and descriptive vocabulary words to help create
the scene. This will be assessed using a checklist and will not be taken for a grade, since
some students may have difficulty understanding the vocabulary until it is reviewed in the
virtual reality headsets. An example of a potential drawing is seen below.

Day Three: The students will make comparisons of what they saw in the virtual reality
headset to the drawings that they made. The students will use Flipgrid to create a one
minute and thirty second video describing the scene they saw in the headsets, how the
virtual reality brought the vocabulary and language to life, and how the setting could
possibly affect the rest of the story. This will be graded by a rubric. Students will be
expected to respond to at least one other students’ Flipgrid video.

References:

L, C. (n.d.). Spaghetti book club review: Stanley yelnats survival guide to camp green lake.

Retrieved December 9, 2018, from

http://www.spaghettibookclub.org/review.php?review_id=11684

L, C. (n.d.). Stanley Yelnats [Digital image]. Retrieved December 9, 2018, from

http://www.spaghettibookclub.org/review.php?review_id=11684

Sachar, L. (1998). Holes. New York, NY: Penguin Random House.

Smith, F. A. (2018, January/February). Evaluating the options for virtual reality in literacy

instruction. Retrieved December 9, 2018, from

https://www.questia.com/magazine/1P4-1989485555/evaluating-the-options-for-

virtual-reality-in-literacy