c.+Introductory+Lesson

Introductory Narrative

//Over the course of the school year, students have become accustomed to the close study of literary works. These works have included complex themes, dense prose, and controversial issues. Prior units have covered works such as The Grapes of Wrath,// //The Great Gatsby,// //The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and a poetry unit focusing on Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, and Emily Dickinson (among others). Students are accustomed to finding literary devices, addressing major themes, and doing written analyses of these elements. Students in this English class are used to the academic demands of frequent writing assignments, reflections, Socratic Seminar, and class discussion.//

Introductory Lesson Plan //By the end of this unit…// **-**** Students will be able to develop an understanding of the art of story-telling. ** **-**** Students will be able to write their own story. **
 * A. Purpose of the Unit and Concept (Long Term)**
 * -Students will be able to explore the social, ethical, and civic implications of war. **

//By the end of this lesson…// -Students will be able to begin to analyze images and sounds from the Vietnam War. -Students will be able to begin to analyze different perspectives of the Vietnam War. -Students will be able to begin to explore the way different perspectives of the Vietnam War are represented.
 * B. Objectives for this lesson (Short Term)**

-Students will pick up their journals when they enter the classroom. -Students will be told to write down words, phrases, questions, and notes in their class journals while watching a montage video about the Vietnam War. -Students will be asked to share their words, phrases, questions, and notes with the class (notes will be written on the board). -During this time, students will copy down their notes from the board into their journals (this can be added to their personal notes or put on a new page, according to the student preference). -Students will receive their copy of Tim O’Brien’s //The Things They Carried//. -Students will discuss their thoughts as a class for the 20 minutes about the montage, Vietnam, or war in general. -The conversation will be broken into a short discussion about their impressions of the images, the perspectives represented in the montage, and how those perspectives share different war stories. -With five minutes remaining, students will be given a unit calendar; character chart; and a dichotomy chart to use for the rest of the unit to help organize their thoughts.
 * C. Process / Procedures for Students**

//Before// -Teacher will organize a montage of songs and images from the Vietnam War era. -Teacher will upload the montage to a hosting website (youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SvKLyrCUjk). -Teacher will prepare the calendar; character chart; and dichotomies workksheet. -Teacher will make copies of these worksheets for the students. -Teacher will gather and bring the copies of //The Things They Carried// for the students (the book is in a school resource center for the English department)
 * D. Process / Procedures for Teachers**

//During// -Teacher will remind students to get their in-class journals at the start of class. -Teacher will tell the students they are going to watch a montage about war and that they should take notes. -Teacher will watch the video and take notes with the students to model good behavior and to generate their own list of first impressions. -Teacher will ask the students what war the montage was about (Vietnam) and ask how much, if anything, the students know about that war. -Teacher will ask the students to give some (any notes are acceptable here) of their first impressions and notes to write on the front board. -After about five minutes or a pause in the brainstorming session, the teacher will hand out copies of //The Things They Carried// and introduce the book – briefly – to the students. -Then, the teacher will tell the students to continue freely expressing their thoughts with the class in three separate and short conversations: 1) impression of the war images, 2) the various perspectives represented in the war, and 3) the differences that the various perspectives show about the sides of the Vietnam war.

//Closing / Summation// -After approximately 20 minutes, the teacher will stop the discussion about the three topics. -Teacher will then hand out the student calendar; character chart; and dichotomies worksheet. -Teacher will remind the students that they are going to be reading a complex work but that the unit is structured in a way to help them slow down and break down the parts of the text in an organized fashion. -Teacher will introduce the wiki website for students to discuss their thoughts and questions while answering questions for Socratic Seminar discussions -Teacher will end the class by assigning the homework (the first chapter of the book)

-In class journals -Video montage for Vietnam War -//The Things They Carried// -Character chart worksheets -Dichotomies worksheet
 * E. Materials Needed**

//Formative assessment for the teacher// Since this is an introductory lesson, this will be used mostly for the teacher’s knowledge of where the students are. The conversation will illuminate where students’ thoughts are about war, Vietnam, points of view, the differences in points of view, and different perceptions of war in general. There will be no formal grade for //this// lesson, this is just a way to open discussion to gauge the class’s level of understanding about a controversial topic and the themes that will be woven throughout this unit on //The Things They Carried//.
 * F. Assessment**

//Formative assessment for the students// -Whether they realize it or not, the students will be figuring out where they stand on these controversial issues and begin to formulate their opinions about it. This lesson is designed to reveal students’ current perceptions, thoughts, and issues about war and the controversy or, perhaps, conflict, that comes with it. The students will not be graded or asked to hand in any work, but their journal notes and discussion will illuminate this information for both the teacher and the student.

This lesson should cover all student abilities. There are visual, auditory, written, and oral components to allow students to express themselves however they feel comfortable or appropriate. Because this is an introductory lesson, this will serve as a benchmark for the issues that may arise with students who have special needs or accommodations in this unit, as visual, auditory, written, and oral components will be key aspects of it. Teachers can see the ways their students may struggle or need additional assistance. In this first lesson, the teacher will also open the lines of communication, offer added assistance in or out class, or provide additional time to complete assignments (if not altered assignments entirely) for students who have special needs or accommodations.
 * G. Modifications or Accommodations**