d.+Lesson+1+Julie


 * Stepping Into //The Things They Carried// **
 * 1.** **Purpose of the Unit/Concept (Long Term Goals)**

· Students will explore the social, ethical, and civic implications of war · Students will be able to develop an understanding of the art of story-telling · Students will be able to write their own story.


 * 2.** **Objectives for This Lesson (Short Term Goals)**

· Students will be able to identify elements and methods of characterization. · Students will be able to identify narration strategies and patterns. · Students will be able to explain connections between their personal lives and communities using the characterization methods discussed in class.


 * 3.** **Processes/Procedures for Students**

· Before the lesson begins, students will be able to briefly voice comments and questions regarding the reading of the first chapter, “The Things They Carried. -Students will take out their character worksheets (given to them the day prior). Two students will volunteer for the following envisionment-building activity. One student will be the “recorder,” and the other will wear the “backpack.” · As the teacher reads the text excerpt out loud (page 2 "the things they carried were largely determined..." - page 3 "...then to lift him into the chopper that took him away"), the teacher will put the items named (or representative substitutes) into the backpack that one volunteer is wearing. The other student will record the items on the board in a chart mirroring the character charts the students have in their packets. · The seated students will follow along with the reading in their books and copy the information on the board into their character charts. · After the teacher is finished reading the excerpt, students will be asked to comment on their impressions of this “second” reading (as they should have read the section for the first time as homework) and will be able to come try on the backpack in order to get a sense of the physical weight that the soldiers in the story carried on their backs.
 * Activity 1: Slow Reading/Envisionment-Building to “Step Into” the Novel; Modeled Use of Character Chart Worksheet**

· The class will be then broken up into six groups (with 3-4 students in each group), and each group will receive an excerpt from the chapter. · The students will work together to fill in the character chart in the way that was demonstrated on the board using the information in their excerpt. The students will also identify the “topic sentence” the author uses to categorize the items listed in each selection. One member of the group will be asked to write this information on the board. · Students will also work together to highlight the excerpt. They will use one color to indicate text where the author lists information (such as the items carried by the soldiers) and another color to indicate the text where the author tells a short story about the characters. Students will record short summaries of these stories in the appropriate places in their character charts and on the board. · Students will use the information in the chart on the board (provided by other students) to further fill in their charts. · After each group is finished, the teacher will collect the highlighted excerpts and tape them in a line across the board so that the students can visually see the pattern of the author’s narration tactics. · Students will be able to voice comments or questions related to these activities.
 * Activity 2: Working in Groups to Identify Elements of Characterization and Narration**

· Students will be called on to orally answer questions regarding chapter content (see “Processes/Procedures for Teachers”) · Students will receive separated overt instruction on characterization and the author’s use of personal items to imply character traits and values. · Students will be called on to orally answer questions regarding the author’s style and organization (see “Processes/Procedures for Teachers”) · Students will receive separated overt instruction on the author’s use of narrative tactics and patterns. · For homework, students will be assigned to make a “representative collage” of their “backpack” that they would take if they were going to war or on a long and difficult journey. The actual visual can be a collage of images, drawings, or any other type of visual representation. On the back of the collage the students will write a short paragraph naming the personal items they chose to take with them and briefly describing their reasons for choosing those items.
 * Activity 3: Scaffolded Discussion to Formatively Assess and Support Student Understanding of Author’s Characterization and Narration Strategies**


 * 4.** **Processes/Procedures for Teacher**

· As preparation before class: o The teacher will collect the items (or representative substitutes) that are listed in the excerpt to be put in the backpack. o The teacher will draw the character chart on the board as it appears on the worksheet. · As an introduction to class, the teacher will ask students to briefly voice comments and questions regarding the reading of the first chapter, “The Things They Carried” (read for homework). -The teacher will ask students to pull out their Character Chart. · The teacher will give separated overt instruction on how to fill in the Character Chart. · The teacher will ask two students to volunteer. One will be the “recorder” and another will wear the backpack. · The teacher will read the excerpt (see attached), and will instruct the “recorder” to fill in the Character Chart on the board with the information in from the excerpt. · The teacher will instruct the other students to follow along with the reading in their books and to fill in their own Character Charts. · As the teacher reads the lists of items found in the excerpt, she will place the corresponding items (or representational substitutes) in the backpack that the other volunteer will wear. · When the teacher has finished reading the excerpt, she will ask students to comment on what they have experienced in this second reading and while filling out the charts, and she will invite students to come up and try on the backpack to be able to physically experience the weight that the soldiers in the novel carry. · The teacher will also ask students to orally identify the intangible things named in the list that that the soldiers “carry.”
 * Activity 1: Slow Reading/Envisionment-Building to “Step Into” the Novel; Modeled Use of Character Chart Worksheet**

· The teacher will divide the class into six groups (of 3-4 students each), and each group will receive a different excerpt from the chapter (see materials). · The teacher will instruct the students to work together to fill in their Character Charts using the information from the excerpt in the way that was modeled on the board. · The teacher will identify the “topic sentence” from the excerpt that she read and will instruct students to find the “topic sentence” in each of their excerpts. · The teacher will instruct each group to choose a member to record their notes in the appropriate columns on the board chart. · The teacher will also instruct the students to will work together to highlight the excerpt. Using the excerpt that she has read, she will model the highlighting activity. She will use one color to indicate text where the author lists information (such as the items carried by the soldiers) and another color to indicate the text where the author tells a short story about the characters. She will instruct students to make the same distinctions on their excerpts and to record short summaries of the stories in the appropriate places in their character charts and on the board. · When the groups have all recorded their notes on the board, the teacher will instruct all students to fill in their charts using the information on the board chart. · The teacher will ask students to voice any comments or questions relating to this activity. · The teacher will then collect the highlighted excerpts (one from each group) and tape them in a horizontal (and chronological) line across the board so that the students can visually see the patterns of the author’s narration tactics.
 * Activity 2: Working in Groups to Identify Elements of Characterization and Narration**

· The teacher will call on students to orally answer the following questions regarding chapter content: o Which character does this chapter focus on? o Why do you think the author chooses to focus on this character in the first chapter? o How does the author categorize the things that the soldiers carried? o How could you categorize these things differently? o Why might the soldiers carry items that were not “necessary”? o What do the items reveal about the personalities of the soldiers? · The teacher will provide separated overt instruction on characterization and the author’s use of personal items to imply character traits and values. · The teacher will call on students to orally answer the following questions regarding the author’s style and organization: o Is the chapter as a whole more like a story or a list? o How does the chapter combine the use of stories and listing? o What effects does this combination produce? o What element or recurring theme does the author use to unify the chapter? o How can you describe the author’s narration pattern so far? o What might you predict to see in future chapters? · The teacher will provide overt instruction on the author’s use of narration tactics and patterns of organization. · For homework, the teacher will instruct students to make a “representative collage” of their “backpack” that they would take if they were going to war or on a long and difficult journey. The actual visual can be a collage of images, drawings, or any other type of visual representation. On the back of the collage the teacher will tell students to write a short paragraph naming the personal items they chose to take with them and briefly describing their reasons for choosing those items.
 * Activity 3: Scaffolded Discussion to Formatively Assess and Support Student Understanding of Author’s Characterization and Narration Strategies**

· Large backpack · Items in backpack (or representational substitutes) to correspond with: can opener, pocket knife, heat tabs, wristwatch, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C Rations, 2-3 canteens of water (15-20 lbs); canned peaches and pound cake, toothbrush, dental floss, bars of soap, tranquilizers, steel helmets (5 lbs.), standard fatigue jackets and trousers, jungle boots (2.1 lbs.), 3 pairs of socks, can of Dr. Scholl’s foot powder, dope (6-7 oz.),condoms, diary, comic books, illustrated New Testament, hatchet, flak jacket (6.7 lbs.), compress bandage, poncho (2 lbs.) · A blank character chart · Copy of excerpt to be read and highlighted by teacher (page 2 "the things they carried were largely determined..." - page 3 "...then to lift him into the chopper that took him away") · Copies of 6 excerpts to be read and highlighted by students (see attached) · 6 highlighters of one color · 6 highlighters of a different color · dry-erase markers or other tool for writing on the board · tape
 * 5.** **Materials Needed**


 * 6.** **Assessment**

The concepts introduced in this lesson will be quantifiably assessed through the creative representation of a “backpack” that the students will make and the paragraph that they will write accompanying their visual. The backpack will be graded on the following criteria: quality of visual representation: sufficient number of items included in representation, presence of one abstract concept visually represented, visible creative effort applied to assignment; quality of paragraph: explanation of objects and concepts represented, explicit connections made between personal values and objects, correct use of conventions. This grade for this assignment would not constitute a large percentage of the student’s grade, as the purpose of this activity is to make connections between what the student has learned about characterization and manifestations of personal and community values through objects.

Student understanding will be formatively assessed over the course of the lesson through the teacher’s monitoring of student comments, student work in groups, and student answers to the conceptual questions asked at the end of the lesson. The overarching aim of this lesson is to help students step into the story world of the book and to begin to prepare to meet the author’s unique and potentially unfamiliar narrative style. This lesson is therefore in many ways an extension of the introduction to the unit, and focuses on envisionment and inciting student curiosity and awareness in regard to the text.


 * 7.** **Accommodations**

This assignment at the end of the lesson is particularly designed to accommodate the expression of the multiple cultural backgrounds of the class community. Accommodations can be made for students with special needs during the group work section of the lesson. During this time the teacher will be able to individually assist those students who may be having difficulty with the assignments or concepts behind them. The visual demonstration at the beginning of the lesson will be helpful to ESOL students who might have difficulty with the specialized vocabulary. The teacher might explain to students that understanding every detail of every military term is not essential for understanding the concepts of the novel, and she might want to review strategies for using context clues to understand text sections with unfamiliar vocabulary. On an individual level, this sort of review would help a student develop confidence early on in the reading and prepare him or her for further readings in the unit. The teacher should be available to discuss the assignment with students at some point either before or after class or during lunch/break.


 * Sunshine State Standards Met**

LA.1112.1.6.2 - listen to, read, and discuss familiar and conceptually challenging text

LA.1112.1.6.4 - categorize key vocabulary and identify salient features LA.1112.2.2.3: The student will organize information to show understanding or relationships among facts, ideas, and events (e.g., representing key points within text through charting, mapping, paraphrasing, summarizing, comparing, contrasting, outlining)

LA.1112.1.5.1 Benchmark Description: The student will adjust reading rate based on purpose, text difficulty, form, and style.

LA.E.2.4.5 Student will analyze the relationships among author’s style, literary form, and intended impact on the reader.