Head 1

My name is Brittany Head, and I am studying to become a Secondary English teacher.

I have to admit that teaching was not my first career choice when I entered college. I

was determined to become a nurse until I began my first college Chemistry class and

realized that this was not the correct career path for me. What made me realize that I

wanted to teach were my experiences with my four younger siblings. I have a brother

in high school, brother in middle school, sister in elementary school, and a sister in

pre-school. You could say that I have been surrounded by all aspects of the school

system my entire life because even as I finished my own classes, I had to take on the

responsibility of tutoring my younger siblings. What I love about English is that you

can have a completely different take on what a piece means depending on how you can

support it. I am currently doing my internship at Lafayette High School working with

9th

grade Honors students and 11th

grade regular students and will continue my student

teaching there. I am passionate about making my curriculum as interactive and

interesting for students as possible. My time in the classroom so far has been a

wonderful experience, and I cannot wait to have my own classroom.

Head 2

Writer’s Theater

Miss Head

Freshman English

Rationale: Students constantly ask what the point of learning certain units and lessons is. I

would counter that when it comes to narrative writing the point is to use some risk and reflect on

things that we have never written about before. These do not need to be deeply emotional and

tragic; rather they need to be personal in the sense that they reflect what a student was feeling in

a moment, with sensory details, transitions, and concrete information. The students will be

required to write a narrative essay about a specific moment in their lives that meant something to

them. Upon finishing, the student will select a significant passage of the piece and the teacher

will create a script that members of the class will perform for another English class.

Summary: Students will have a week to work on their narrative essay, roughly two to three

pages in length. The narrative should include exploded moments, snapshots, and very specific

imagery and voice. Students will have a week to create a revise their essays. They will be graded

and the students will then select a passage that they consider meaningful. The teacher may also

suggest some other passages that would be useful. Students will turn in a copy of that passage.

The teacher will create a script with several groups performing specific portions. The students

will have the chance to look over and practice their sections of the script. Props are encouraged

as well as acting and feeling comfortable with the script. The students will get to read from the

script but they must show that they have read it before through how they emphasize the emotions

and feelings in the performances. Students may opt out of using portions from their writing if

they do not feel comfortable but they must still participate in reading the script. All writing in the

script will remain anonymous, and the students will perform their script in the theater in front of

another English class.

Objectives:

Students will write a narrative essay.

Students will work cooperatively to revise and practice a performance.

Students will perform their scripts.

Length of Curriculum: Including the writing of the narrative essay, the unit will last

approximately three weeks.

Materials and Resources:

School: time in theater

Teacher: schedule time with other class, scripts, handouts

Students: Essays, writing utencils

Formative Assessment: Students will be graded through participation and practice with groups.

Students will also be graded on their narrative essays and the effectiveness of incorporating

specific writing strategies such as snapshots and exploded moments.

Summative Assessment: The final assessments will be through the student groups performing

their scripts. Students will be graded individually on their performances and also cooperatively

as a group.

Head 3

“All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players.”

--Shakespeare’s As You Like It

Although writing in itself is very visual, we can truly bring it to life when it is spoken. Your task is to create a narrative essay about a specific meaningful moment in your life.

Upon completing and grading the essays, you will select the most meaningful selection from your essay to be used in a script that will combine your writing efforts and let you perform them on stage.

You will have one week to create your essay, one week to read over and rehearse your scripts, and then we will perform. Get creative with staging your group scripts

and have fun. These are your thoughts and feelings that you are representing!

Head 4

March 2012 SUNDAY MONDA

Y TUESDA

Y WEDNES

DAY THURSD

AY FRIDAY SATURD

AY 1 2 3

Introduce Project and Handout

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Work Time Rough Draft, Editing Session

Narrative Essay Due

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

B R E A K

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Script handed out. Groups formed

Practice Time

TKAM background

TKAM Chapters 1-2

Vocabulary Quiz

Practice

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

TKAM chapters 3-5 Final touches on prsentation

Theater Presentations

Head 5

March 2012 SUNDAY MONDA

Y TUESDA

Y WEDNES

DAY THURSD

AY FRIDAY SATURD

AY 1 2 3 Introduction to

Narrative Essay Project!

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Let’s Organize Our Ideas. Time to Write the First Draft

Ratiocination! Time to Edit!

Narrative Essay Due!

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

B R E A K

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Script handed out. Groups formed

Practice Time!

TKAM background

TKAM Chapters 1-2

Vocabulary Quiz

Practice!

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

TKAM chapters 3-5 Last Minute Touches for Presentations

Theater Presentations

Head 6

Freshman English

Lesson Plan #1: Introduction to the Narrative Essay and Writer’s Theater

Miss Head

Duration: 1 Blocked class period

Rationale: All students should have the opportunity to write a narrative/personal piece of writing

at some point in education, if not frequently. This first lesson will introduce the concept of the

Writer’s Theater and make sure there is consent from all the students. What the Writer’s Theater

will do is show how different students approached the same idea of writing about a specific

important moment in their lives. They will then be given a script with their passages to read for

the class in the theater.

Objectives:

-Students will create a narrative essay

-Students will brainstorm and use literary strategies

-Students will share and work in cooperative groups

Lesson Format: Initiating, Direct Instruction

Grouping: Whole group and small group discussions

Materials:

School- copies

Teacher- handout for unit and strategies

Students- writing utensils

Accommodation for Students with Special Needs: Literacy Strategies: Carousel Brainstorming, Nonstop Write, Bio poem

Phase One: The teacher will begin instruction by passing out the invite for the unit and

discussing writer’s theater. All students are advised to not choose topics that are tragic or that

they have written about in the past to encourage the generation of new ideas. To start the

brainstorming for the narrative essay, the students will complete a bio poem and share with the

class.

Phase Two: Students will then do a Carousel Brainstorming activity. Poster boards will be

placed around the room with topic ideas that class comes up with. Most likely: fear, joy, places,

sports, people, etc. Students will travel in groups from poster to poster jotting down some ideas

on what they could write about.

Phase Three: Upon finishing, students will then go back to their desk and do a Nonstop Write

for fifteen minutes about a specific idea, trying to insert as much detail and snapshots into the

writing as possible as well as focus on writing in the first person.

Formative Assessment: The teacher will check brainstorming sheets for participation and assign

the first draft of the essay. Students will turn in their bio poems after sharing them.

Homework: Students should come to class with a list of 5-10 ideas they may want to use for

their narrative essay.

Head 7

Freshman English

Lesson Plan #2: Organizing for the Narrative Essay

Miss Head

Duration: 1 Blocked class period

Rationale: After the first class session of brainstorming, it is important for students to insert their

ideas into a graphic organizer to see where they may need more information. This graphic

organizer will be useful when it is time to do an editing session because it asks students to

highlight specific portions of what they have written to ensure they have put enough information.

Students will also do a write around where they will discuss any questions they may have about

the assignment or talk about what they plan to write about so they can get feedback from other

students before they begin writing. From there, students will begin writing their first draft.

Objectives:

-Students will use a graphic organizer

-Students will brainstorm and use literary strategies

Lesson Format: Initiating, Direct Instruction

Grouping: Whole group and small group discussions

Materials:

School- copies

Teacher- handout for unit and strategies

Students- writing utensils

Literacy Strategies: Narrative Essay Graphic Organizer, Write Around

Phase One: The teacher will begin instruction by passing out the graphic organizer and going

over the various sections: an engaging introduction and thesis, events and details, and a strong

conclusion. It works in the same type of format as a speech: Tell Me What You Are Going To

Tell Me, Tell Me, Tell Me What You Told Me. Students came come up with various scenarios

that the class can work through together so everyone knows how to use the graphic organizer.

The class will then get to write for ten to fifteen minutes about their ideas on the graphic

organizer.

Phase Two: Once completed, the teacher will hand out a Write Around and ask the students to

write about any questions or concerns they have about their topic or idea or the assignment in

general. The paper will then be passed to three other students who will respond to the prompt.

The class can come together as a group and discuss what some of them wrote.

Phase Three: To close the class, students will have some time to work on their first draft of their

paper and ask the teacher any additional questions.

Formative Assessment: The teacher will check graphic organizers and ask that students hold on

to these to turn in with their final narrative essay.

Homework: Students will complete a first draft of their essay for a peer editing session. Final

narrative essay due next week. The teacher will show a sample essay on peer editing day.

Head 8

Freshman English

Lesson Plan #3: Writer’s Theater Scripts

Miss Head

Duration: 1 Blocked class period

Rationale: Once the scripts have been handed out, students will be divided into their groups to

start preparing how they want to do their presentation. Students must have a visual element to go

along with their script, preferably a media presentation or props, and must act some portions of

the script. The performance must look rehearsed but they do not have to memorize the script.

The Ten Most Important Words strategy can be used to narrow down specific areas of

importance that they want to focus on in the script.

Objectives:

-Students will work in cooperative groups and assign group roles.

-Students will prepare a scripted performance.

Lesson Format: Initiating, Direct Instruction

Grouping: Whole group and small group discussions

Materials:

School- copies

Teacher- handout for unit and strategies

Students- writing utensils

Literacy Strategies: Writer’s Theater Script, Ten Important Words

Phase One: The teacher will hand out the scripts for the four different groups and ask them to

come together and read through their scripts. The teacher will walk from group to group and give

guidance. The students will have to assign each other speaking parts and consider what props and

other visual elements they may need.

Phase Two: Students will then be asked to do the Ten Important Words strategy where they pick

out the ten words that they believe sum up the importance of their portion of the script. Once

they have done this, they may have more of the focus they need to determine what visual

elements they want to use.

Phase Three: Students will then be given the rubric and can ask any questions for further

clarification. The groups will do a read-through of their scripts while the teacher once again

walks from group to group to give some guidance for how they could approach certain portions

of the script.

Formative Assessment: The teacher will observe the class and determine who is participating

and who is not providing input. These observations plus peer grading for the project will factor

in to their grades.

Homework: Writer’s Theater will be in one week. Please start working and practicing. There

will be some in-class time to work on the project.

Head 9

Narrative Graphic Organizer

Tell Me What You Are Going to Tell Me:

Tell Me:

Tell Me What You Told Me:

Short Introduction & Hook

Thesis: ADDRESS THE QUESTION USING WORDS FROM THE PROMPT but don’t give the answer away.

(I never thought I could wakeboard.)

Thesis: ADDRESS THE QUESTION USING WORDS FROM THE PROMPT but don’t give the answer away. (I

never thought I could wakeboard.)

G

R

E

E

N

: First event…

------------DETAILS--------------------

Second event…

------------DETAILS--------------------

Third event…

------------DETAILS--------------------

Conclusion: Go back to the beginning and answer the question using the words from the prompt. (I did the

thing I thought I couldn’t do—I rode the wakeboard!)

Y

E

L

L

O

W

B

L

U

E

G

R

E

E

N

Head 10

BIO POEM

First name

(Four adjectives that describe the person)

Son or Daughter of (your parents names)

Lover of (three different things that the person loves)

Who feels (three different feelings and when or where they are felt)

Who gives (three different things the person gives)

Who fears (three different fears the person has)

Who would like to see (three different things the person would like to see)

Who lives (a brief description of where the person lives)

Favorite Quote

(last name)

Head 11

Your Name: ____________________

Group:______________

Use the space below to write about your comments and concerns regarding your group’s work on

the newspaper. You can talk about time management, your individual contributions, or anything

else on your mind.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

1st commenter:___________

Comment:__________________________________________________________________

2nd

commenter:___________

Comment:__________________________________________________________________

3rd

commenter:___________

Comment:__________________________________________________________________

Please return paper back to original owner.

Head 12

Biographical Narrative Essay Each category is worth 20 points.

Poor (0-9)

Fair (10-14)

Good (15-18)

Excellent (19-20)

Introduction Poor Background details are a random collection of information, or unclear, or not related to topic. Introduction boring and uninteresting

Fair Introduction adequately explains the background, but may lack detail and creativity.

Good Introduction creates interest and is fairly well developed. Contains some background information and detail.

Excellent Extremely well-developed introduction. It engages the reader and creates interest. Contains detailed background information.

Main points/body paragraphs

Poor Details are either uninteresting or lacking. The narrator is undeveloped and tells rather than shows, the story.

Fair There are clear points, but they lack detail. Points/action not very interesting.

Good Well developed main points directly related to action or point of the story. Detail is descriptive and interesting. There is a clear point of view.

Excellent Action/points in story is cleverly developed with colorful and lively description. There is a clear and consistent point of view used throughout the story.

Organization/structure Poor No discernable organization. Transitions are not

present

Fair Organization is clear. Transitions are present

Good Logical progression of ideas. Transitions are present equally

throughout essay

Excellent Logical progression of ideas with a clear structure that

enhances the story. Transitions are mature and graceful.

Style: sentence flow, diction

Poor Writing is confusing, hard to follow. Contains fragments and/or run-on sentences. Inappropriate diction.

Fair Writing is clear, but sentences may lack variety. Diction is appropriate.

Good Writing is clear and sentences have varied structure. Diction is consistent.

Excellent Writing is smooth, skillful, and coherent. Sentences are strong and expressive with varied structure. Diction is consistent and words well chosen.

Mechanics Poor Distracting errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization

Fair A few errors in punctuation, grammar, spelling, and capitalization.

Good Punctuation, spelling, grammar, and capitalization are generally correct with few errors.

Excellent No errors in punctuation, spelling, grammar, or capitalization.

Total: / 100

Head 13

Writer’s Theater Rubric

Group Members: __________________

Requirements: Point Poss. Points Earned

Visual Elements: -Must have at least one

acted out passage in

script.

-Include one of the

following as well:

Other visual elements

may include props,

background PowerPoint,

posters, etc.

10

Presentation: -Enthusiastic

-Well-rehearsed

-Effective timing,

especially during parts

where students speak at

same time.

- Proper tone when

speaking according to

tone of passages. EX.

Comical with funny

scenes, serious with

emotional passages, etc.

10

Total: / 20

Head 14

Writer’s Theater Peer Group Evaluation

Name & Group: __________________

Take the time to rate each of your group member’s contribution within the

group on a scale of 1-5. Make additional comments to explain your choice.

Name:______ Rating:_______

Comment:_____________________________________________________________________

Name:______ Rating:_______

Comment:_____________________________________________________________________

Name:______ Rating:_______

Comment:_____________________________________________________________________

Name:______ Rating:_______

Comment:_____________________________________________________________________

How would you rate your own work? Take the time to talk about your own

group contributions.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________