Erin McKee - University of Missouri–St....

Erin McKee

I decided I wanted to be a teacher at the ripe age of sixteen. After the abrupt realization at the age of fourteen that I could not follow in my father’s footsteps to become an attorney (primarily because I have absolutely none of the requisite personality traits), I spent two years drifting through a career-less ether. Finally, I happened upon an English teacher who pulled me from the miasma with her complete and total inability to teach a single good lesson. Finally, a mission! I would teach and mold young minds, unlike this dolt. I attended Truman State University and graduated a year early in the spring of 2011. After that, I moved on to the University of Missouri – St. Louis to pursue my teaching certification. I currently live at home in Kirkwood with my parents, brother, and four cats (no “cat lady” commentary necessary, as I’m already well aware of my status). I spent a good amount of my adolescence and early adulthood reading voraciously and writing short stories and poetry. For a time, I was also eagerly working on a fantasy novel. Many of my friends from middle school and early high school still ask me about my famed purple notebook, which housed over 100 handwritten pages about my fantastical world and its inhabitants. To this day, I still write poetry and the occasional short story (when a good notion strikes). I believe there is a good deal of power in creative writing, and I intend to bring that to my students.

“Not all those who wander are lost.” - Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Me on the Katy Trail Me and my brother at a local carnival

“Death of a Salesman” Unit English III Erin McKee Fall 2012

Overview Rationale: “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller is a very morose tragedy, an unhindered view of a man with a life of regret. In many ways, the play serves as a cautionary tale for not living life to its very fullest. The themes of the book (the American Dream, regret, and parent-child tension) are ones that today’s teenagers can already easily relate to. “Death of a Salesman” isn’t just an interesting play, but a raw look at a life full of wasted opportunities. Students should see the tragedy that is this life as a warning. Opportunities come in all shapes and forms, and students have a whole life of opportunities before them, simply waiting to be seized. Summary: In this unit, students will explore the intense, heavy themes prevalent in “Death of a Salesman”, including the American Dream, regret, and the tension between a father and son. Students will first begin with a careful, at times introspective analysis of the American Dream. They will read several news articles on the subject. Next, they will explore the idea of father-son tension by comparing what Willy wanted for his boys and what the reality was. Lastly, they will dissect regret by considering its effect on each of the main characters. They will also attempt to creatively portray the emotion in an art project using various art supplies, including paints, clay, colored pencils, markers, etc. To celebrate the end of a rather intense unit, we will watch the movie “Click” and draw comparisons between the movie, the play, and the themes we studied. Students will be allowed to cite the film in their essay, which gives them the opportunity to choose between three very different prompts. Objectives: Students will: analyze current American society; introspectively consider future goals; utilize art to portray complex ideas; focus on writing a good, explanatory essay heavily relying on an opinion-based thesis; seek various outside sources to support a thesis; refine writing skills. Length of curriculum: 8 block class periods (approx. 80-90 minutes) Materials and resources: School: computer; presentation materials (i.e. projector, screen, etc.); chalk/blackboard; copies of “Death of a Salesman”; internet access Teacher: various powerpoints; unit handout; various newspaper article handouts; movie “Click”; various art supplies Student: notebook; writing utensil Means of assessment: Formative: participation points for in-class discussions; occasional exit slips; 20 points for participating/turning in art project Summative: cumulative essay allowing students to choose from the following prompts: 1. Is the American Dream still alive? Is it currently collapsing? Or has it already collapsed? 2. What does Willy’s final act represent? Why did he do it? 3. What is your greatest regret? What would you change? How would that affect how your life had progressed?

Teacher Calendar

Day 5: • Art project on regret • What is regret? • Introduce paper HW: choose an essay topic and write a rough thesis. Also, come up w/ 3 points to support thesis.

Day 6: • Celebration! Watch

“Click” • Consider parallels HW: Build outline, including evidence

Day 7: • Finish “Click” • Review what a thesis

is and how to support it

• Small group brainstorming and self-help

HW: Rough draft

Day 8: • Work in class • Private conferences HW: complete final draft to be turned in next class period

Day 1: • Introduce book and

heavy themes • Introduce handout

and American Dream ppt.

• Character Fireside Chat

HW: read first half of Act I

Day 2: • NY Times and CNN

articles on American Dream

• Discussion HW: Finish Act I; gather 3 discussion q’s about American Dream

Day 3: • “A Dream Deferred”

brief discussion to warm up

• Discussion day on validity of American Dream

HW: read first half of Act II

Day 4: • Discussion on father-

son tension; what do their fathers want for them?

• Comparison want/reality chart for DOAS

• “That 70’s Show” clip HW: finish Act II + Requiem

Lesson Plan 1 DOAS

Heading Class English III Your Name Erin McKee Name of Lesson Attention Must be Paid Time Frame 90 minutes

Objectives 1. To prime students’ reading of text using a pre-‐book Fireside Chat 2. To introduce socially constructed concept of the American Dream

Reading Material

“Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller

Instructional * Framework

Initiating Constructing Utilizing

Grouping Whole Class Pairs Individuals Materials & Resources

School – projector and screen; computer; class set of text Teacher – various powerpoint presentations; handout Student – notebook; writing utensil

Phase One • Fireside Chat introducing book, author, themes and characters. o Themes: Regret; fall of the American Dream; father-‐son

tension; tragedy o Take care to point out the Woman and Ben; may benefit

many students to know prior to reading that Ben is not, in fact, a living character.

Phase Two

• Segue into introduction of American Dream o Give handout depicting child’s drawing of house with white

picket fence, red door, football player son with scholarship o Coldwell Banker website: “Fall in Love with the American

Dream!” What do they mean? Who is Coldwell Banker? What

are they qualifying as the “American Dream”? Phase Three • Explain what we will be focusing on in this unit using handout and

reminding of themes discussed earlier • Remind students that every book is chock full of other themes and

theories beyond what we discuss. Formative Assessment

N/A

Summative Assessment

N/A

Homework Assignment

Read first half of Act I

Lesson Plan 2 DOAS

Heading Class English III Your Name Erin McKee Name of Lesson Attention Must be Paid Time 90 minutes

Objectives 1. Students will look critically at a deeply engrained social construct and analyze it both within the context of a piece of literature and the world around them.

Reading Material

“Death of a Salesman”




School – projector; screen; computer; printer Teacher – handouts of CNN and NY Times articles Student – notebook; writing utensil

Literacy Strategies

Quick Write

Phase One • Show black & white clip from “That 70’s Show” S02E03, where Red visualizes what his American Dream entailed.

• Open conversation by raising question of validity of American Dream.

Phase Two

• Hand out newspaper articles o “Promise of the American Dream is broken” from CNN o “Death of a Salesman’s Dream” from New York Times

• Ask students to highlight anything they agree/disagree with, or anything they don’t understand.

Phase Three • Have students do a quick write simply stating their thoughts as of now about the American Dream.

o Ask them to consider all the media and literature we have seen to date.

Formative Assessment

Collect quick writes – 1 participation point. Do not grade for content!


N/A

Homework Assignment

Finish Act I; as Admit Slip, gather 3 discussion questions about American Dream. Questions must engender thoughtful responses, not simply yes or no.

Lesson Plan 3 DOAS


Objectives 1. Students will think critically about and analyze the social construct of the American Dream.

2. Students will respond thoughtfully and instantaneously to the remarks of peers.

3. Students will apply literature and media to a “real-‐world” issue. Reading Material





School – projector; screen; computer Teacher – Student – notebook; writing utensil

Literacy Strategies

Admit Slip

Phase One • Have students read “A Dream Deferred” on overhead to warm up and refresh their ideas/thoughts.

• Introduce discussion-‐based class and rules. o Be respectful and thoughtful. o Absolutely no mocking. o Obviously this is a conversation and interruptions happen,

but they should never happen intentionally. o Teacher will be present, but will be in a different part of the

classroom, simply observing, so address each other, not the teacher!

• Inform students that teacher will be keeping track of participation and grading as such.

Phase Two

• Assign two students to keep the conversation in check: don’t beat a dead horse; know when to bring in another topic.

• Have students reference their admit slips, the literature they’ve read so far, and the media they’ve seen so far.

• Allow students to discuss the American Dream for the entirety of the period.

Phase Three • Call on students to recap conversation with remaining time. Formative Assessment

Keep track of students’ participation, 10 points per student.


N/A

Homework Assignment

Read first half of Act II

Lesson Plan 4 DOAS


Objectives 1. Students will utilize creative outlets to attempt to portray a complex, intangible idea.

2. Students will explore their own artistic ability. Reading Material





School – at least one dictionary Teacher – various art supplies Student –

Literacy Strategies

N/A

Phase One • Briefly introduce paper and various topics. Hand out rubric. Take questions.

• Tell students about newspaper article about Arizona murderer whose final words before execution were “I regret nothing.”

• Introduce major theme of regret in DOAS. Brainstorm: o What is regret? o What does Willy regret? Linda? Biff and Happy?

Phase Two

• Introduce students to various art supplies, show them what is available to them.

• Invite students to use art supplies to create something answering the question: What does regret look like?

o Can be in context of their own lives or the play. • Also tell them that they are more than welcome to reference the

dictionary for the exact definition if they are not sure or if they feel stuck.

Phase Three • Allow students the rest of the period to construct/draw something representing regret.

Formative Assessment

• Walk around the room. Talk to students individually and ask what they are doing and why.

• Collect art projects and grade based upon their attempt and whether they were actively working on it in class. Do not grade on quality of art.


Unit paper

Homework Assignment

Consider which essay topic you would prefer and write a rough thesis sentence. Also, come to class with three points you might like to make to support this thesis.

Attention Must Be Paid.

Junior’s got a football scholarship, Dad’s got a great job, Darling is excelling in her dance class, and Mom makes a mean apple pie.

Things are going so well for the Smith family, the family was able to get a brand new car, and even Spot got a new bone!

_________________________________________________________ If you were a little kid, how would you draw the perfect life? Would it look a lot like what you see in this drawing? A mom, a dad, a son, a daughter, a pet. A white picket fence, a house, a car, a yard. Everything is… perfect. The American Dream is fickle. That’s what Arthur Miller is going to try to tell us in “Death of a Salesman”. He’s also going to warn us about the lasting effects of regret, inform us about the nature of a true tragedy, and show us both sides of the classic tension between a father and son, all through the eyes of Willy Loman. Miller is going to peel back the cheap wallpaper of the American Dream and show us what’s underneath. Let’s take a look.

Relationships: As we go through our Fireside Chat, please keep track of the various

relationships so that you recognize everyone when reading. This list is not comprehensive! Feel free to add to it as you see fit!

Willy Loman: ____________________________________________________ Linda: ___________________________________________________________ Biff: _____________________________________________________________ Happy: ___________________________________________________________ Ben: _____________________________________________________________ Bernard: _________________________________________________________ Charley: _________________________________________________________ The Woman: _____________________________________________________

Now: food for thought. “A Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore--

And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over-- like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Topic Sentences Thesis Paper Organization

Original Grammar Prompt Creativity

5 – Each body paragraph has a well-formed topic sentence that refers back to the thesis. 4 – Most topic sentences logically pertain to the corresponding paragraph and thesis. 3 – Each paragraph has a topic sentence. 2 – Some paragraphs lacking clear topic sentences. 1 – No clear topic sentences.

3 – Thesis makes a good argument that pertains to prompt and drives paper forward. 2 – Thesis advances argument, yet with flaws in logic. 1 – Thesis does not make an argument.

5 – Little to no grammatical errors. 4 – A few spelling errors or missing punctuation, but does not distract from essay. 3 – Spelling and grammar errors begin to distract from essay. 2 – Many spelling errors, and grammar errors make sentences difficult to understand. 1 – Spelling and grammar errors make essay difficult to understand.

5 – Paper is clearly organized, flows, and includes ample evidence. 4 – Paper is mostly organized and includes enough evidence to make point. 3 – Introduction and conclusion present, but paper does not flow well and lacks enough evidence. 2 – Organization is muddled and has little to no evidence. 1 – No clear organization, no evidence.

5 – Essay topic is argued interestingly and with some flair. 4 – Essay topic is given a personal touch. 3 – Essay topic is delivered as expected. 2 – Essay topic lacks personality. 1 – No real creativity to speak of.

3 – Adheres to prompt and sheds new light. 2 – Follows prompt. 1 – Does not seem to follow prompt.

Willy, Biff and Happy: Ultimate Father-Son Tension

What did Willy want for his sons? What was the reality of that? What’s something that one of your parents or your guardian wanted for you? Do you think you fulfilled it? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

“The Little Things” Unit English II Erin McKee Fall 2012

Overview Rationale: It is very easy to ignore the full outer reaches of literature in a conventional English class. When there’s hardly even time to include staples like The Scarlet Letter, how can one teacher expect to make time for exploration of other modes? It is because of this oversight that many students walk away from their English classes with an incomplete picture of literature, mouthing off things like how much they hate poetry because it doesn’t make sense or that they hate plays because “Romeo and Juliet” was hard to read. They have never read a nonfiction essay, never read modern poetry, never realized that a play can be much shorter than four complete acts and written by someone other than Shakespeare. They have never considered songs as a lyrical form or photographs as telling a story. This unit aims to introduce students to the wonderful world of Other-Lit, so that they may have a more complete image of literature. Also, by introducing them to so many forms, they may find something that calls to them more than Huckleberry Finn and its ilk ever could have. This unit is short, lasting only nine class periods, so if the rest of the semester/year was tightly planned, time for this unit could be made. In short, the purpose of this unit is to encourage students to reevaluate “literature” and to have fun with it for a change. Summary: In this unit, students will be exposed to six different “types”: short story, poetry, nonfiction essay, one-act plays, songs, and photography. Students will begin the unit with an introduction to our thematic framework of this unit, “The Little Things”, meaning the idea of how so much of literature focuses on something very small and seemingly inconsequential, but is truly about so much more. They will then move on to the short story piece, where they will act out one of the stories to highlight its big and small aspects. Next is a poetry jigsaw activity utilizing four different poems. After that, they will move on to nonfiction essays, during which they will do an in-class write where they will produce 1-2 pages on a single word or phrase that seems innocuous but carries a lot of weight. Next, they will act out a very fun, fast-paced play in class. Lastly, they will spend one day evaluating the “big/small” idea in three songs and a series of photographs. For their summative assessment, they will be given the opportunity to be creative by mimicking any of the types we studied in this unit. Objectives: Students will: expand reading skills into different genres; analyze various forms of literature based on a given thematic framework; teach; refine summary skills; quickly and succinctly gather thoughts on a given topic; act for peers; make a creative product showing understanding and mastery of a type of literature. Length of curriculum: 9 block class periods (approx. 80-90 minutes) Materials and resources: School: computer; presentation materials (projector, screen, program); chalk/blackboard Teacher: handouts; various powerpoints; bell

Student: notebook; writing utensil Necessary handouts (in order by unit): “The Yellow Wallpaper” – Charlotte Perkins Gilman “The Tale of an Hour” – Kate Chopin “The Flea” – John Donne “This Much I Do Remember” – Billy Collins “Some Days” – Billy Collins “A Work of Artifice” – Marge Piercy “The Inheritance of Tools” – Scott Russell Sanders “Irreconcilable Dissonance” – Brian Doyle “Trifles” – Susan Glaspell “Sure Thing” – David Ives lyric handout, including the following songs: “All Kinds of Time” (Fountains of Wayne); “Title and Registration” (Death Cab for Cutie); “Helter Skelter” (The Beatles) Means of assessment: Formative: participation points; admit slips; exit slip Summative: In-class write mimicking Brian Doyle’s “Irreconcilable Dissonance”; project utilizing any of the types studied within the unit 1. Short story or personal essay (3-5 pages) 2. Poetry (3-4 poems + 2-page explanation of process and thinking) 3. One-act play (5 pages) 4. Songs (2-3 songs + 2-page explanation of process and thinking) 5. Photographs (4-6 photos + 3-page explanation of images and thinking)

Teacher Calendar Day 1: • Introduce idea of

small to big • Slow motion

writing – explain • Write ½ - 1 page

about a moment that took less than a minute

HW: read “The Yellow Wallpaper”

Day 2: • Discuss what

happened in story • In groups, discuss

more to the theme • Share thoughts

with class • Exit slip: what

new light was shed on the story for you?

HW: none

Day 3: • Read “The Tale

of an Hour” • Quick write,

thoughts on story • In groups of 4-5,

figure out how to act out play, highlighting small/big

• Perform! HW: none

Day 4: • Complete any

unfinished performances

• Groups of 4, poetry jigsaw activity

• Groups will teach each other

HW: none

Day 5: • Finish jigsaw

activity • Introduce project HW: read “The Inheritance of Tools”; admit slip of thoughts

Day 6: • Discuss “Tools” • Read

“Irreconcilable Dissonance”

• Discuss • Write 1½ - 2 pages

on a single word or phrase

HW: Read “Trifles”; work on project

Day 7: • Image ppt for

“Trifles” discussion

• Act out “Sure Thing”

HW: admit slip: what’s this play about?; Work on project

Day 8: • Catch-up

discussion • Groups discuss

songs • Show photos,

groups discuss, then share what photo is really about

HW: work on project

Day 9: • In-class project

work time • Conference if

necessary HW: finish project

Day 10: PROJECT DUE!

Lesson Plan Template

Heading Class English II Your Name Erin McKee

Name of Lesson The Little Things Time Frame 80-90 min. Reading Material “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell (previous night’s homework); “Sure Thing”

(redacted) by David Ives

Instructional Framework



School – projector; screen; computer; powerpoint program; desks and chairs Teacher – powerpoint; handout of “Sure Thing”; bell Student – N/A

Literacy Strategy N/A Phase One • Have room set up with two desks with chairs at the front of the class

• PowerPoint displaying images related to “Trifles” (bird, sewing box, etc.)

o Going through images, have kids discuss what the play was about to make sure everyone got it

o Also have kids discuss little/big idea

Phase Two • Assign volunteers to him/her parts (separated into equal parts throughout the play) and the bell

• Hand out play (with clear breaks in sections marked) o Have actors highlight their section o Warn students that the play is meant to be very fast-paced, so

they will have to pay very close attention. o It will be approached like a relay: girls will stand down one side

of the “stage” in order, boys down the other side, and will run on as soon as their part begins.

Phase Three

ACT!

Homework Assignment

- Admit slip: digging deep, what is this play really about? - Work on project.

Rubric for “The Little Things” Project

For the short story, personal essay or one-act play assignments:

Needs work. Solid effort. Sublime!

Creativity Fairly predictable subject. Language lacks interest.

Good thinking. There is a personal touch, but it still feels a little removed. Language is fairly conventional.

Very different idea! Nice personal touch. Language is exciting and fun to read.

Adherence to genre Does not seem to understand chosen genre. (For play: layout is mostly incorrect and therefore difficult to understand and/or read.)

Loosely fits genre. (For play: layout is mostly correct and is still readily understood.)

Clear understanding of genre and how it sounds. (For play: layout is entirely correct with little to no errors.)

Mechanics Spelling and grammar distracts from story and/or makes it difficult to read.

Spelling and grammar errors are minor and are beginning to distract from story.

Little to no grammatical errors.

Length Significantly shorter than expected length.

Just under expected length.

At or slightly exceeds expected length.

Small-to-big idea Story does not seem to follow small-to-big idea.

Story is either about something small but the bigger idea is not clear, or the small thing is not particularly small (i.e. love or sadness).

Story focuses on something small, but it is clear through the writing that the story is about so much more!

Notes: __________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

Grade: _______ / 100

Rubric for “The Little Things” Project

For the poems, songs, or photographs assignments:

Needs work. Solid effort. Sublime!

Creativity Few details. Subjects are dull. (For songs and poems: language lacks color.)

Some good details. Subjects are moderately interesting. (For songs and poems: language is somewhat conventional.)

Unconventional subjects and interesting takes on them. Lots of good details. (For songs and poems: beautiful language.) (For photographs: different perspectives.)

Adherence to genre Does not seem to understand chosen genre.

Loosely fits genre, possibly over-uses creative license.

Clear understanding of genre and how it sounds/looks.

Mechanics (in explanations)

Spelling and grammar distracts from explanation and/or makes it difficult to read.

Spelling and grammar errors are minor and are beginning to distract from explanation.

Little to no grammatical errors.

Length Significantly shorter than expected length.

Just under expected length.

At or slightly exceeds expected length.

Small-to-big idea Pieces do not seem to follow small-to-big idea.

Pieces are either about/of something small but the bigger idea is not clear, or the small thing is not particularly small (i.e. love or sadness).

Pieces focus on something small, but it is clear through the writing that the subjects are about so much more!

Notes: __________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

Grade: _______ / 100

Annotation

• As I go through my internship, I realize certain things about teaching that they tell you about in classes, but that you couldn’t possibly know until you are in the classroom. Firstly, I have begun to notice just how off my idea of timing was. Students move remarkably slowly. In this unit, I wanted to really work on my timing. There’s not too much to do in each day, and the homework is relatively light and should be quite do-able. You can tell that I made this effort in this unit as opposed to the last: my last unit was very heavy, covered three different themes, involved reading an entire play, and included a movie. It took eight class periods. This unit is more light-hearted and should be more fun, and it took nine class periods.

• Also as my internship progresses, I find myself somewhat bored with the material. This is not

to say that I will be forever bored! I’m more bored with the limitations and the approaches to existing material. So even though I was thrown for a loop when this unit was introduced, I actually really warmed to the idea of using other types of literature. I think it’s really important that students not come away from high school with a hatred, for example, for poetry because all they read was Shakespeare and all they talked about with it was various kinds of figurative language (metaphor, repetition, etc.). It is for this reason, as I discussed in my rationale, that I leapt on the opportunity to include new forms of literature in the classroom. I brainstormed for a couple days about what all I could include, combed through old textbooks, ravaged through my music collection, and flipped through recent copies of “The Rolling Stone”. In fact, I ended up with too many artifacts.

• I really love my summative assessment. I knew going into it that it would be god-awful to

make rubrics for, and even worse to grade, but it’s different. It allows students to pick something, which they often don’t get much chance to do. And none of the options require analysis of anything but their own work!

• The texts I chose to use are intentionally adult. This class is aimed for high schoolers (I said

sophomores, but it doesn’t particularly matter). High school students hold the belief that they are adults, and quite often they are. Every so often, they deserve for that to be noticed. The most adult artifact is definitely “Sure Thing”, a one-act play by David Ives. It is essentially a quick-look at meeting someone for the first time with every intention of wanting to date them. It includes the ‘f’ word, which I would obviously redact from the text, along with any other unnecessary curse words. Despite that, I think the text is still appropriate for high schoolers, seeing as many of them have fallen deep in lust over the course of their 3-week relationships.

• At the outset of planning this unit, I had serious trouble varying my day-to-day lessons. I

used a jigsaw activity, had students act out a short story, and knew that later in the unit they would act out a play. I felt that after that, I had completely shot all my ideas. What had actually happened, however, is that I had been staring at the thing for too long. When I came back to it the next morning, I had fresh new ideas, as well as a new understanding that not every day has to be full of new magic. Sometimes it’s okay to discuss or to do an in-class write. I am very satisfied with the daily activities I eventually thought of.

Erin McKee - University of Missouri–St....

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