Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Ender's Game Lesson Plan by Caleb Friend

Second Lesson Plan Assignment
Caleb M Friend
Ender’s Game
Standards/Objectives
Writing Standards 9-10
3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
a. Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events.
b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
c. Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole.
d. Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

For the sake of continuity, I will assume that each class period will be 80 minutes long.  This is a similar bell schedule at the school I am doing my field placement.  While not a high school, the bell schedule they use does allow for students to learn subjects more comprehensively.


Procedure
1.      Arrange the desks into groups of four in circles with the blackboard clearly visible. 
2.      Assign a student to each desk using a name card.
a.       Give each group students with different levels of literary comprehension.
3.      Have a writing prompt already on the board.
a.       “Imagine Earth in the distant future after a massive alien invasion has been defeated, but only after a large part of the world’s population was killed.  What might change? What would your life be like as a student? How would society change?”
b.      Ask the students to write (10 minutes)
                                                              i.      Walk around the classroom providing feedback and answering questions.
1.      Encourage creativity! Stoke their creative flames!
4.      Have students share their ideas.  Perhaps one per group depending on the class size. (10 minutes)
5.      Explain that the new book they will be reading, Ender’s Game, takes place in such a world.
6.      Hand out copies of the book
7.      Have the students begin reading the book in their groups.  At this point in the lesson you should have at least 40 minutes left to work with.
8.      As they progress through the book have them stop periodically to discuss what is going on in the book.
a.       Use a model similar to reading circles. (A full lesson plan for reading circles can be found online at http://www.readwritethink.org/about/bio/lisa-storm-fink-24.html.  For this lesson plan, I am assuming the idea has already been introduced earlier in the year)
                                                              i.      Give each student a role to play in reading.
1.      Discussion director to lead discussion
2.      Vocabulary Enricher to explain tough vocabulary
3.      Two Literary Luminary to point out important passages to plot or theme
9.      Ender’s game is a short novel and the goal if for the students to have read until chapter 5 (roughly 28 pages). 
10.  If they have not finished those pages have them finish it for the next class period.
a.       Assume that most will not, but the easy prose and the gripping story should entice many of them to read on their own.
11.  For the next class have the students arranged in the same way.
12.  Have a writing prompt already on the board.
a.       “What if you were on the shuttle with Ender? What if you were chosen to go into space to learn to be a battle commander?  What would you be feeling? How would you see the events that happen in the book?
13.  Have the students discuss in their groups what happened in the reading
a.       This is mainly to refresh the students on the plot and to fill in those that did not do the reading. (5 minutes)
                                                              i.      Walk around the classroom to make sure no one is too behind and facilitate discussion.
14.   When they are done rehashing the reading, point out the prompt on the board and explain that they will be doing this for the entire book.  Each student will write about the events as if they were a character in the book.  When the class is done reading the book, they will make their writing assignments into their own retelling of Ender’s Game. (10 minutes)
a.       Explain that this is very relevant to Ender’s Game because Orson Scott Card, the author, did just that writing a second novel about the same story from another character’s perspective.
15.  Have the students return their writing assignments to you for feedback and editing.
a.       Grade this largely for participation, not for grammar, punctuation, and the like.  This will be reserved for the final product once students have had the opportunity to edit their work.
16.  This general lesson plan will be repeated until the book is complete.  Each student should have completed their personal retelling of Ender’s Game at this point.
17.  Once this is done, have each student print out all of their papers together and trade them with one another.  Have students give feedback and edit for grammar and punctuation.
18.  Have students fix whatever is needed and add or remove what they want in response to the teacher’s feedback and their peers feedback.
19.  Ideally each student will have produced something resembling a small novel made up of chapters from each writing assignment.
20.  This is what the students will be evaluated on.
21.  Bind each “book” for the student to keep.
Assessment
1.  Evaluate students’ understanding of the text through their discussion of it.
2. Evaluate students’ understanding of the text through their writing assignments
3. Evaluate students’ writing through their writing assignments and provide feedback.
4. Evaluate students’ ability to be critical of other’s writing through their critique of other students’ work.
5. Evaluate students’ ability to revise and take criticism through the changes they make in their final draft.
6. Evaluate students’ writing ability on their final draft.
Standards
By writing about Ender’s Game from their own perspective inside the story, students fulfill writing standards 3a-d.
By writing a story in chapters and in a narrative form students writing standard 4
By responding to feedback on initial writing attempts, students fulfill writing standard 5.

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