EXAMPLES OF PERSUASION LESSON PLAN DAY 1

Objective: SWBAT use context clues to understand a word they do not know. 

Materials: Persuasion article (15 copies), highlighters (8 yellow, 8 orange), overhead of persuasion article

Adaptations/Modifications: Check for understanding frequently with all students due to ELL status. Kari (IEP) to pre-teach material, reinforce vocabulary, and extend time for homework up to two days. Erika (IEP) extended time, regular breaks, quiet setting for testing, and shortened assignments. Brianna has the option to test in an alternative environment.

Literacy: Students will be reading, discussing, and writing about a persuasive essay. They will be actively interacting with the text to gain understanding and apply previous knowledge.

Set: “Let’s begin today by reviewing all that we have learned so far about persuasion. Can anyone tell me what persuasion means?” “How about argumentation?” “What is the difference between a fact and an opinion? ” Power share with a partner about fact and opinion.(5 min)

Input: “Today we will be looking at written examples of persuasion. I’m going to be handing out examples of a written argument, but I know that there will probably be words in there that we do not know. What is one way you can identify a word that you do not know?”

Students will think-pair-share the various ways that we can discover a word that we do not know. The three examples I will cover in class include:

-Look it up in a dictionary

-Use context clues

-Ask for help (10 min)

I created examples on the white board for context clues, and had students help me figure out what the word meant. One example I used was: (writing on the white board) "That student produces exceptional work, I am going to show an example of her work to the class." If we read these two sentences on a test, how would we figure out what this word meant?

Application: As a class we will look at an example of a written argument. I will pass out the article to the students and also place one copy on the overhead. I will begin reading the first paragraph out loud, and stop when we come to a word that I don’t think most students know. We will walk through the process of using context clues to figure out what the meaning of the word is. The students will then, in pairs, read the remainder of the argument (10 min).

“I’m going to be handing out highlighters to you in your groups. Please look through the article again with your partner and highlight examples of facts in yellow, and examples of opinion in orange.” I will walk around to make sure that students understand what they are doing. “Next I would like you to highlight a word that you do not know, and discuss with your partner how to figure out what that word means. Go ahead and see if you can come up with a definition for one or two of the words.” I will continue to conference with groups who seem to be struggling. “Great. I’m going to put my copy of the article back up on the overhead. I’d like you all to help me highlight the facts and opinions in my article, and tell me the definition of the words that you found.” (15 min)

Students seemed very confused by what was expected. I decided to back track, after the students had finished reading the article, and show them an example of highlighting a fact in yellow and opinino in orange. The students spent a few minutes doing that, and then I modeled underlining a word I did not know, and trying to use context clues to discover the meaning of the word. Students spent a few minutes doing that. The rest of the time students were to finish higlighting the article, underlining words, and discovering the words meaning. I then walked around to help individual students and check for understanding.

Evaluation: Students will quick write in their journal to demonstrate understanding of the topics learned. “Please open your journal to a new page and answer the following two questions:

 #1 What is one way that you can find the meaning of a word that you do not know?

#2 Did you like the argument that we looked at today? Why or why not?” (5 min)

Closing: “Thank you all for your hard work today. Tonight, I’d like you to go home and make a list of five times that you use every day. For example: I always use my hairbrush, a toothbrush, toothpaste, my glasses, and my pillow. Please come with your list of items tomorrow. Please be creative. Try not to use any of the items that I listed as an example.” (5 min)

Reflection:

This article seemed to be longer than the student’s were used to reading. Also, students complained about who they were partnered up with to read, even though I assigned them randomly. Overall I found myself walking through the directions, step by step, with the article on the overhead projector. First I would give them the direction, then I would model, then I would give them time to do it. Then we would check in as a class. This method seemed to work much better for the students. I am noticing that due to this classroom being all ELL students, they really do need clear and specific instructions before being allowed to work on their own. I also need to set up expectations before assigning partners that I do not want to hear any complaining. If I were to teach this lesson again, I would be sure to set up the activity by modeling first, and then allowing students to practice on their own. This is what I ended up doing once I realized that the students did not understand initially, and it did seem to work better.