Becky+Polzin

 ** Daily Lesson GAME Plan ** ** ISTE NETS-S ** **Instructional Objective**: Students will determine the theme of a literary work, explain how the author presents the theme, and connect the theme to their own experiences. Students will also share their ideas with others. ** Action ** This lesson will begin immediately after students finish reading Edward Bloor’s //Tangerine//, so all students will already have copies of the novel. 1. Review theme and inference using SMART Board slides and asking students to recall examples from previous novel units. Explain that students will now need to make inferences about the author’s purpose in showing various characters’ actions in //Tangerine//. They will also decide what they believe is the novel’s overall theme and how the characters and theme are connected.
 * Lesson title**: Investigating Inference and Theme in //Tangerine//
 * Grade level**: Seventh grade reading/language arts
 * Unit**: //Tangerine//
 * Goals Content Standards** :
 * Identify the defining features and structure of literary texts, such as conflict, representation of character, and point of view
 * Analyze the effect of characters, plot, setting, language, topic, style, purpose, and point of view on the overall impact of literature
 * Evaluate the themes and main ideas of a work considering its audience and purpose
 * Write for a variety of readers, including peers, teachers, and other adults, adapting content, style, and structure to audience and situation
 * Prepare and conduct interviews
 * Present a coherent, comprehensive report on differing viewpoints on an issue, evaluating the content of the material presented, and organizing the presentation in a manner appropriate to the audience
 * Choose words purposefully and evaluate the use of words in communications designed to inform, explain, and persuade
 * Creativity and Innovation
 * Communication and Collaboration
 * Research and Information Fluency
 * Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
 * Technology Operations and Concepts
 * Technology use** : For much of this lesson, students will need access to the computer lab. Students will use internet for research, Microsoft Word for creating their codes of ethics, and PowerPoint or SMART Notebook software for creating their presentations.
 * Instructional activities** :

2. Present the following central question to the students: What is ethical behavior for student athletes and other involved in school activities? Discuss examples of ethical and unethical behavior by students. //This central question is relevant to my students because most of them are involved in school activities of some type. They also see frequent examples of unethical behavior by high-profile athletes and other celebrities. Further, these students will be in high school in two years, where they will face increasing pressure to engage in various unethical (and sometimes dangerous or illegal) behaviors; many high school students are disciplined for violations of extracurricular codes.//

3. In small groups, students develop a code of ethics for extracurricular activities. Students should create a code that most teens will respect and support. To do this, think about the actions of characters such as Erik, Arthur, Tino, Victor, Antoine, Shandra, Joey, Coach Warner, Coach Bright, and others; decide where they display ethical or unethical behavior. For an easy-to-understand sample code, see []. For additional ideas to incorporate, each group member should interview at least one local person involved with the extracurricular code, such as the principal, athletic director, older students involved in sports and other activities, and the police liaison officer.

4. All groups will present their codes to the class, explaining where they incorporated ideas that Bloor presented in //Tangerine//. Students may wish to visit websites that discuss //Tangerine//. Two examples are [] (a page on Edward Bloor’s website) and [] (a page at the Scholastic website). Students will also discuss how Bloor’s characters’ actions contribute to the overall theme of the novel. Presentations may use either PowerPoint or SMART Notebook software. ** Monitor ** **Ongoing Assessments:** Use exit slips to ensure that all students understand the terms //theme// and //inference// and the word //ethics//. Provide students with a timeline for accomplishing the various tasks of the lesson and check that they are up to date. Have each group create an outline of its final presentation and receive approval before creating the actual presentation. Assign mixed ability groups; students with special needs can be assigned to less challenging interviews, such as the school principal or an older sibling who participates in school activities. They can also be provided with a page listing specific interview questions, followed by lines for writing responses, or they can be allowed to record their interviews, rather than writing the responses. Students with special needs can also be assigned to evaluate the more obvious behavior of characters from the novel; more subtle characters can be assigned to advanced readers. If appropriate, students with special needs can have smaller speaking parts in the presentation. Tasks within the small groups, such as researching, typing, and proofreading, can be distributed based on students’ strengths. If necessary, students who struggle with reading can be paired with stronger readers for research. ** Evaluation ** The first evaluation will be the student’s analysis of his/her character(s). This can be a holistic evaluation based on thoroughness and accuracy. The second evaluation will be the student’s interview. This can be a holistic evaluation based on thoroughness and relevance. As noted above, each group’s outline will be evaluated for completeness and organization before students begin creating their presentations. Final evaluation will be based on a rubric that will include clarity of the proposed code of ethics, inclusion of concepts from the novel in the presentation, explanation of how those ideas support the theme, inclusion of local ideas, teamwork, meeting deadlines, and overall quality of the final presentation.
 * Accommodations and Differentiation**

Becky: You have a great lesson here! Kudos! I like the fact that your PBL has an authentic connection for you students. This will surely help them understand the book better while giving them a memorable experience. Furthermore, I think you could take this a step further by having students also create consequences for not following their code of ethics. I think one of the most controversial as well as difficult tasks is establishing rules and the consequences for breaking them. Just a thought. Excellent work! Christina Mills