Lesson Plan: Finding Your Voice
Name: Beth Custer
Length of Time: 90 minutes
Grade: 6-8, Common Core Standards - Writing Standards
Grade 6 students: Grade 7 students: Grade 8 students:
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 introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
c. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another.
d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to convey experiences and events.
e. Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.
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, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
c. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another.
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
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.
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
5. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grade 6 on page 52.)
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
5. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grade 7 on page 52.)
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
5. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grade 8 on page 52.)
Content Concepts:
Students will be able to hear an author’s voice in selected readings. Students will tune their unique voice, expressing themselves from the power base of their culture and language and experiences, and use their voice to connect with readers.
GLO’S: Self-directed Learner, Effective Communicator, Community Contributor, Complex Thinker
Objectives: Student will be able to identify different voices in selected readings, and will be able to identify how voices change in different rhetorical situations. Students will identify stylistic devices commonly found with a variety of emotions.
Assessment(s) and or Evaluation:
Papers are not graded, due to the quickly done 1st draft activity. However, papers can be collected and positive examples underlined to share with the class the following day.
Resources:
Browne, Anthony. Voices In the Park. New York: DK Publishing, 1998
Kirby, D., Kirby D.L., Liner T. Inside Out: Strategies for Teaching Writing. Boynton/Cook Publishers, Inc., 2004
Galdone, Paul. Henny Penny. New York: Clarion Books, 1968.
Wattenburg, Jane. Henny Penny. New York: Scholastic Press, 2000.
Beginning Procedures (lesson, objectives)
Lesson Introduction: Voices In the Park
Objectives: Students will identify different voices in selected readings, will visualize physical traits of characters from their voice, will describe personality of characters from their voice, will hear their own voice, and will adapt their voice for different purposes and audiences.
Middle Procedures (Learning Activities)
Mad Talk, Soft Talk, Fast Talk quick writes.
Groups will be given directives on their 5 minute freewrite. They write and then share with group and discuss what they hear in the different voices to match each rhetorical situation. Volunteers share and we discuss how voices change and differ in each situation. On chart paper divided into 3 columns we list stylistic devices used in each kind of writing.
Closing Procedures:
Talking Back to Yourself. Students will write a dialogue in which they say something and talk back to themselves, for 10 minutes. Volunteers share. Discuss how point of view changes and register shifts.
Support activities:
Teachers can read two versions of Henny Penny. Lead discussion comparing the two books. Point out that the stories and characters are the same, but the tone, or voice, of one of the books is markedly different from the other.
Modifications for Diverse Learners:
Students may not be at grade level. The teacher will monitor these students through conferencing and positive reinforcement and will encourage those students to set appropriate goals. Teacher could model Mad Talk with beginning writers, provide support with Soft Talk, and have student write Fast Talk independently.
Review objectives.
Exit pass.
Overall I think the lesson went well. I think there were definitely strengths, and areas I might modify if doing again. I do thank everyone for their active participation and attention! Mahalo
11 comments:
6/23/11
Finding your voice
Dear Beth
I LOVED you hook with Voices in the Park!
Best practices:
Changing up the groups
Working independently
Group work
Review of read
Student scribe
Student artist
Anger/soft /quick talk was awesome!
This would be a great lesson for my kids on character and use of imagination. They would really enjoy this for a book like the Paper Bag Princess or other picture books. When we could guess what the character looks like and see if the illustrator did a good job meeting our expectations.
Thank you Beth!
Aloha, Beth!
(FINDING YOUR VOICE)
6/23/2011
What a great book, great introduction to your lesson!
I observed
* active involvement of class members -- individually and in group settings
* using student talents/skills
* review what was read/re-read and revise response
* opportunities to practice and analyze how different language purposes may look in print
* role-play of situations
What a fun way to get students involved, keep them thinking, etc. I could see using this as a method of conflict resolution and as a way to explore current events with students.
Mahalo for a fun and engaging lesson.
jeanne
Dear Beth,
Amazing lesson! I loved how you incorporated reading, writing, art, and drama!
Best practices that I saw:
*Mixing up groups ahead of time so that we would get out of our comfort zones and pay better attention.
*The hook at the beginning of the lesson that drew us in before you taught us the standards.
*The talk time with groups before sharing out whole group.
Thanks so much. I can see this used in my classroom in many ways. I would probably spread out each type of writing over a few days for my students' level.
Thanks again,
Shawna
6/23
Finding your voice
Aloha Beth,
I thought this was a really good lesson. I can tell that you are a really great teacher. You really belong in the classroom. You made the lesson engaging and was executed great. I can definitely use this lesson with my high schoolers.
Best practices:
group work
changing groups
highlighting student talents
checking for understanding
discussing and reviewing objectives
Keep up the good work.
Mahalo,
marissa
Interesting lesson, Beth. I never thought of the different voices we use to convey our writings.
It's also interesting how we see images in our mind and how they compare to the actual figures in a story.
Three Lens Letter for Feedback for Teaching Demonstration:
Aloha e na College
Date: 6/ 23 /11
Title of Lesson: finding your voice
This lesson made me feel fantastic to find the different voices in the characters of the stories being read and then doing them.
List of best practices:
1. The activity was terrific and try this with kindergarteners? Yipe but with the engaging in the reading of the book. WOW LOL
2. This might work with theater reading in other grades as well Jess and Robin awesome play.
3. Why not play with the kids. Give them self esteem because they have the confidence to talk or practice talking.
My thoughts on this lesson could be applied in other contexts such as other reading areas such as reading theater.
Mahalo for your time and effort, on developing this lesson that we may use your ideas to enhance our way of becoming a life long learner.
June 23, 2011
Teacher Beth,
Thank you for your lesson on voices. It was fun that we got to work together in groups, the way we used our senses, and even the kinesthetic activities. Who knew that voice could effect writing so much? You exhibited many of the best practices within your teaching: allowing group work, identifying objectives (both before and after lesson), including literacy, integrating different techniques, etc. This was a very fun lesson! I would love to adapt this and use it in my classroom… of course not as advanced. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Kristi
Dear Beth,
June 23, 2011
Voice
What a fantastic lesson! I think love how you started and where you went with it. It was obvious that you had put a lot of thought into it. I was engaged the whole time and really enjoyed following along. I’m sure that your students would feel the same way!
You did a great job of keeping us on track, focused with well written charts and you took us back to our original goals.
I would love to use this in class and have students describe the author by listening to their voice.
Thank you so much!
aloha e beth,
6/23/11 on finding voice
great job!!! that was fun the way you had us go through w/o any prep. we had to figure it out along the way.
3 types of voice exercise was also awesome! experimenting with different voice and trying to picture whose who. yeah, colleen w/ the artwork
organization & prep
mahalo nui loa, beatrice
Dear Beth,
June 23, 2011
Interpreting Voice
Thank you for your inspiring lesson. The different character depictions from “Voices” were excellent platforms for critically examining a text from multiple perspectives. I liked the fact that your lesson included both visual as well as kinesthetic elements.
Brainstorming, collaborative groupings, and dramatic interpretations were just some of the best practices I observed. Thank you for engaging us with your lesson!
Sincerely
Jessica Dahlke
Aloha Beth,
Excellent lesson on VOICE.
Lots of best practices:
Changing seats, introducing check-sheet then
checking off when completed at end, identifying
voice first by listening and writing characteristics
of character, then drawing out physical traits based
on these, playing with MAD, soft, and Fast talk, and
culminating with improvisation/theatre. Awesome
scaffolding and sequence, very engaging. You made
it FUN! Mahalo.
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