Number the Stars UnitBy: Kelsey Bostic

6th grade Language ArtsWest Millbrook Middle School

Mrs. Hooker

Part I: Unit Title: Number the Stars

A. Introduction: For this unit I will be teaching a 6th grade language arts classroom at West Millbrook Middle School. My cooperating teacher is Mrs. Hooker and she has been an amazing help to me throughout this whole unit plan process. I will be teaching 1st period, 3rd period, 4th period, 5th period and 7th period. 2nd period is my planning and 6th period is guided study. My 5th and 7th periods are higher-level students; there are many AG students in these two periods so I will make the work a little more challenging for them. My focus will be on the novel, Number the Stars. My school does not have enough of these novels for every student in all of my classes to have a copy so they will not be able to take their novels home. Since they will not be able to take them home, we will have to do a lot of reading during class time. I collaborated with three of my peers during this unit plan: Michelle Parker, Stephanie Doss and Mary Weeks. I also collaborated with my cooperating teacher, Mrs. Hooker. Mrs. Hooker was an amazing help with this unit plan. Crystal, Clarice and Dr. Young also all helped me a tremendous amount, without all of these people, this unit would not be as effective as it is.

B. Organizational Principle: Theme: Doing the right thing, Making Choices is the theme that I have selected for my unit. I have chosen this theme because throughout the novel, Number the Stars, some of the characters are having make choices and they usually do what is right. Students need to hear more about making right choices because at this age they are very vulnerable and will do what they think is cool instead of what is right. Teenagers are making choices every day so this unit will help them to see what choices benefit you and which ones do not. I will use my journal questions to focus on the consequences of choices and I will hit on a few more themes throughout the journals as well.

C. Primary Subject Matter Focus: Number the Stars. This novel is during the Holocaust and it focuses on two little girls and their friendship through this. I will relate a lot of our readings to the Holocaust so this can actually be cross curriculum unit to an extent. I think that this including some social studies will be great for the students because this can either be a review for them or it will give them a heads up for what is coming when they learn about the holocaust.

D. Organizing Questions: What are we willing to give up in order to gain what we think we need?

What control do we have in making choices? How do we solve problems? What impact do our choices have?

E. Goals: By the end of this unit students will be expected to be proficient in the following:

Recognize the consequences that follow making the wrong choices Recognize the rewards for making the right choices

F. General Unit Objectives:Cognitive:

1) Understand the novel and all of its parts1.1 Recognize the plot of the story1.2 Identify the climax, rising action, falling action, theme, etc.1.3 Understand a character’s point of view

2) Develop skills in capitalization and punctuation2.1 Identify words or phrases that need punctuation and capitalization 2.2 Correct words or phrases that have punctuation or

capitalization errors3) Analyze the use of figurative language

3.1 Distinguish between literal language and figurative language.3.2 Identify figurative language3.3 Analyze the effectiveness of figurative language

4) Understand Short Stories and all of its parts 4.1 Engage in discussion about short stories 4.2 Comprehend what they are reading

5) Understand the use of Greek/Latin Roots 5.1 Identify words that have Greek or Latin roots in them 5.2 Define words by using the root that the word has

6) Identify sequence of events in the novel 6.1 Place the events in the correct order 6.2

Affective:

7) Participate in Literature Circles7.1 Define roles for each member of group7.2Participate in the roles that they are assigned

7.3 Participate in-group discussion7.4 Listen attentively to others 7.5 Respond appropriately to others opinions

8) Develop community in the classroom 8.1 Share ideas and insights with the class 8.2 Respond to the ideas and questions of others in class. 8.3 Listen to others’ responses

Performance:

9) Compose original writing9.1 Write a Poem9.2 Write an argumentative or persuasive essay9.3 Revise all writings

10) Present material orally 10.1 Share pieces with the class

10.2 Use effective speaking skills 10.3 Share journal responses

11) Design a poster using technology 11.1 Use computers to make a glogster 11.2 Create a unique movie poster.

Common Core Standards:

1. CCSS-RL-(6)- 2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

2. CCSS-RL-(6)- 7 Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version of the text, including contrasting what they “see” and “hear” when reading the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch.

3. CCSS-W-(6)-1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

4. CCSS-L-(6)-1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

5. CCSS-L-(6)-3: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when

writing, speaking, reading, or listening

6. CCSS-RL-(6)-4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.

7. CCSS-RL-(6)-9:Compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres (e.g., stories and poems; historical novels and fantasy stories) in terms of their approaches to similar themes and topics.

8. CCSS-SL-(6)-5: Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images, music, and sound) and visual displays in presentations to clarify information.

9. CCSS-SL-(6)-1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly

G. Possible Unit Materials & Supplementary Texts:

Carol Pope’s Small Group Discussion Worksheet * Literature Circle Role sheets * 240 Vocabulary Words 6th Grade Kids Need to Know Workbook Sheets Kozol’s “First Person” Literature Circles sheet * Bridging English Textbook

H. Possible Activities/ Instructional Strategies:

Daily Journal questions * Read Number the Stars * Free writes * Literature circles * Analyze a poem Write an “I Am” poem in the perspective of a character * Write and argumentative or persuasive essay * Read a short story that goes with the novel and annotate it *

Reading comprehension strategies * Small group discussion sheet for novel (Carol Pope) * Greek/Latin Roots tied into journals. Flipbook activity and magazine activity Greek/Latin root oral quiz * Capitalization through journal entries * Annotation on current event or article related to the novel * Review figurative language when applicable Glogster poster made for novel (technology) * Facebook page (paper) made for a character of choice * Reading/work days * Capitalization Station Activity *

I. Unit Map/Narrative Overview

Day One: On my first day we will start with a journal question, the question for today will be, “Would you ever be willing to risk your life for someone? Under what circumstances might you take this risk? ” I will then give them time to share. Then I will introduce myself through a power point and I will introduce my classroom rules and the way I will manage it. After we finish this and I take questions from the students we will transition to introducing the novel we will be reading. I will introduce Number The Stars through a you tube video that is like a book trailer. After this we will do an activity on the author. I will pass out a reading log for each student as well and they have to keep track of what page they are on as we read along. This will be turned into me on the last day of our novel discussions. Homework will be for students to take home worksheet I give them on an introduction to Number the Stars, they will need to read it and bring me three interesting facts or takeaways from what they read to class tomorrow and we will discuss them.

Day Two: Today we will start with a journal question. The question will be, “Have you ever needed to be brave? If so, write about the situation you were in.” The students will share their journals if they want to and then we will discuss our takeaways from the worksheet we read last night. Then I will introduce Greek/Latin roots and then we will do a flipbook activity. I will then explain how to do the flipbook and let them do this until they finish up. I will then proceed to pass out words to the students that we will use tomorrow for another activity dealing with magazines. I will go around and write down the word that each student was assigned just in case they forget their word tomorrow. If there is time left in class I will begin reading the novel to the class aloud until the class ends.

Day Three: No journal today. We will then transition into our Greek/Latin root magazine activity. I will get the kids to remember what their word was from yesterday and have them write it on the paper that I provide them, they can write it however they want. This will be like a collage but it will be of words that use the Greek/Latin root that they are given. They will search for these words in magazines

that I will provide them and they will make a collage on their paper. After they are finished I want them to go get a dictionary and look up all the words and write a brief definition under each word on their paper. This will probably take up the whole class period but if it doesn’t than I will read some of their novel to them.

Day Four: On day four we will have a free write at the beginning of class. (This will go in their journal) They will get to choose between four topics to write about. The topic page would be in my references section if I had written a lesson in this day. After they have had 10-12 mins I will let them share if they chose to. After this we will transition into sharing our magazine activities to the class if they choose to. I will take the activities up as they finish sharing so that I can give them a participation grade or letter grade (have not decided what kind of grade yet). After they finish we will read a loud for the rest of the class period. Their homework for the night is to study their roots for the oral quiz tomorrow.

Day five: We will start today off with another free write but they will have to pick from the same topics but pick a different one than they did yesterday. After giving them 10-12 mins I will let them share if they chose to. I will then let them review their roots for a few minutes and then we will take an oral quiz on roots. I will call out the root word and they will have to write down the definition and an example of how this root can be used (a word using the root.) I will then take up the quizzes and we will have a discussion about the novel and what is going on so far, I will answer questions about the book and we will discuss the theme and some of the characters so far. After this we will read the novel with the time remaining. Their homework for tonight will be a worksheet on the novel.

Day six: Another free write will be done today, they will choose from the same list but it will be a different topic, they should only have two to choose from now. After giving them 10-12 mins I will give them a chance to share if they wish. I will introduce the essay that they will be writing for me today. We will discuss what type of essay it will be and the topic that they will be writing on. I will then teach them about the parts of an essay, like the thesis statement. After I have assigned the essay and they are finished asking questions, we will read some of our novel. Their homework for the night is to brainstorm some essay topics.

Day seven: Today we will start off with a journal question but this will be more of a D.O.L. It will be a paragraph and they will need to correct all of the capitalization mistakes. I will have the students tell me some of their corrections. We will then transition into a capitalization activity. I will set up stations and at each station there will be a capitalization rule. The rule will not be given, there will examples of the rule on a piece of paper and the student will have to figure out what rule is being given. The students will be in groups of three to four. Each student will have their own worksheet where they have to fill out the rule that they think it is and provide their own examples of each. They can choose to collaborate with their group or they can figure out the rule on their own. This will take up the time in the period but we

will come together after they have gone through all their stations and we will discuss why they thought certain stations were certain rules. [Reference: Capitalization activity adapted from Andrea Wallenbeck, 6th grade teacher at Exploris.]

Day eight: On day eight we will start off with a journal question, another D.O.L involving capitalization. We will then share the corrections made. We will then move into an activity dealing with our novel in groups. This activity will be one that Dr. Pope assigned us in class, it is a handout that goes through questions about the book. An example would be, what would this story be like if the main characters were of the opposite sex? It will get the students thinking and help them to dig deeper into their novel. They will not be finished with the novel yet but they will still be able to answer these questions. If they think that they cannot I will get the students to think about how they think it ends and use their own imagination to answer the questions that they are having trouble with. This will take up the whole class period so we will come back tomorrow and share our answers as a group and have a discussion.

Day nine: No journal question today. We will begin our class with sharing our small group activity that we did yesterday, this will lead into many discussions so this will probably take up a lot of the class period. If we do have time I have a fall back plan and we will read a short story that relates to our novel and we will annotate it and compare and contrast the novel and short story by using an anchor chart on the board. I will have an annotation hand out for the students. If we do not have time in class, I will pass out the short stories and they will take them home and annotate them for homework. We will discuss our annotations tomorrow in class.

Day ten: We will not have a journal question today, we will start with our quiz. We will have a quiz on the novel we are reading. After we have finished the quiz we will start working on an “I AM” poem. We will first read one and then we will make our own in the eyes of one of the characters in the novel. (I have an outline).

Day eleven: We will start off with a journal question. The question will be, “Who is the character that you identify with most and why?” And then I will let the students’ share if they chose to. We will then transition to annotating an article that goes along with our novel we are reading. We will discuss the article and the annotations that each of us have made. After this we will read our novel for the remainder of the period.

Day twelve: No journal question. We will discuss the characters in the novel and our favorites and some of the traits that these characters portray. We will then transition into making a fake Facebook page for any character in the novel that we are reading. I will have a fake Facebook page ready for the students, they will need to pick a character and then fill out the page the way that they think their character would. We will start to share our pages when everyone is finished but we will finish

sharing tomorrow.

Day thirteen: Today we will not have a journal; we will begin by sharing the rest of the Facebook pages. After we are finished with the pages, it will be a workday. The students can work on their essay or read their novel. There are no other options to work on.

Day fourteen: We will be in the media center today. We will be making a glogster for our novel. This is a poster made online and it should be advertising the novel for people who have not read it. Make it appealing and make it neat, there will be a rubric and it will be for a grade. This will incorporate technology into my unit plan. The glogster site has many different things to make a poster look nice and unique so I expect my students to put some thought and creativity into it. Homework will be to work on glogster if you have not finished. You should be finished after today though.

Day fifteen: Today we will be having our novel test. I will also take up their journals and their reading logs. Their reading logs should have all of the activities that we did on the novel in it. I will have a sheet that tells them all the materials that should be in their log. They will be graded on completeness but also on some individual assignments all we will do today is the test, I will give them the whole class period to work on it and if they finish early we will just talk about the test and the novel.

Next Unit Possibility:

The next unit theme is “What’s your point?” We will explore how characters make their point. A possible novel for this unit could be The Hunger Games. Katniss makes a point to prove to the capital that she is not a piece in their game. We could do many things with this book using this theme.

PART II: The Daily Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan Day One

Unit Title: Number the Stars

Lesson title: Introduction to self and novel

Plan Number: #1

Context: To begin this lesson I will use a PowerPoint to introduce myself, my rules and my procedures that I will be bringing to this classroom. I want them to know that Mrs. Hooker’s rules are still in place but we will be doing them a little differently. I will also introduce the novel we will be working with called Number the Stars through a you tube video and then a meet the author worksheet. This will jump start our novel unit.

Primary Instructional Objective: SWBAT

Cognitive Understand the use of Greek/Latin Roots

5.1 Identify words that have Greek or Latin roots in them 5.2 Define words by using the root that the word has

Affective Develop community in the classroom

8.1 Share ideas and insights with the class 8.2 Respond to the ideas and questions of others in class. 8.3 Listen to others’ responses

Performance Present material orally

10.1 Share pieces with the class 10.2 Use effective speaking skills

10.3 Share journal responses

Common Core Standards:

CCSS-RL-(6)-7: Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version of the text, including contrasting what they “see” and “hear” when reading the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch.

Materials/ Technology Resources Required: Journals

Pencil Introduction PowerPoint You Tube video on Number the Stars Meet the Author worksheet for all students Smart board Introducing the Novel worksheet (homework)

Time: 50-minute class

Instructional Procedures/Steps: Journal (5-7 mins)

o Journal Question: Would you ever be willing to risk your life for someone? Under what circumstances might you take this risk?

o I will tell students to feel free to ask me questions about the prompt and I will answer them.

o I will then give the students 5-7 minutes to write their responseso When time is up I will ask for volunteers to share their responses with

the class. Introduction PowerPoint (10 mins)

o I will have my PowerPoint on the smart board.o This PowerPoint will be introducing myself to the class and

introducing my procedures and how I expect them to act while I am their teacher.

o This will also go over how I will manage the classroom.o I will take questions from students after I finish my PowerPoint

because I know that they will be anxious to ask. We will then transition into our book trailer.

Introduce novel and show a You Tube video about Number the Stars (20 mins)

o While I am bringing up the video the students are to be quietly discussing the novel with their fellow classmates, have they heard of it before, what do they think it will be about? Etc.

o I will then show a video that is a little over two minutes long on the novel we will be reading.

o I will then ask the students what they know about the Holocausto We will briefly discuss Holocaust facts and what they know about it

already. I will pass out the reading logs to the students.

o The reading logs will be a simple folder. The students will need to put their name and their class period on the folder. I will then tell them about how they need to keep everything that they do that involves the unit in this log because it will be taken up for a grade on the last day of our novel and novel test.

Activity on Introduction to Number the Stars o I will have a worksheet about the author for the students to read

o The students will need to write at least two questions that they would want to ask the author before reading this novel and hand them in as they leave or finish for homework.

Evaluation: Students will hand in the questions to the author and this will tell me

If they actually read the article or not and it will help me to see how well they understand what is going on in the reading. Their homework for tonight will also show me if they understand what the novel is going to be about.

Students participated in class discussion Students turned in their questions to the author

Accommodations: My 5th and 7th periods have AG students in them so I would make their work a little more challenging. There are no special needs students that I have to make accommodations for.

In Reflection: To be edited upon completion of teaching this lesson.

Appendix of Materials Needed:

Introduction PowerPoint

Intro to Number the stars through you tube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zr-2EglM9U&feature=share&list=PLC02933807B05044E

Meet the Author Worksheet (Glencoe Literature Library) Introducing the Novel Worksheet (homework) (Glencoe Literature Library)

Lesson Plan Day seven

Unit Title: Number the Stars

Context: This lesson will focus on capitalization and our novel. We will work on capitalization skills through our journal, which will be in D.O.L form (Daily Oral Language.) We will have a brief discussion on the importance of capitalization and I will try to pull out prior knowledge from the students during this. We will correct sentences together as a class and then discuss why we corrected the things we did. We will then use the rest of our period as a reading workday, they will all need to read their novels, we will take a vote to see if we want it read a loud or silently.

Primary Objectives:Cognitive:

Develop skills in capitalization and punctuation2.1 Identify words or phrases that need punctuation and capitalization 2.3 Correct words or phrases that have punctuation or

capitalization errorsAffective:

Develop community in the classroom 8.1 Share ideas and insights with the class 8.2 Respond to the ideas and questions of others in class. 8.3 Listen to others’ responses

Performance: 10.1 Share pieces with the class

Common Core Standards: . CCSS-L-(6)-1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

Materials/Technology Needed: D.O.L passage Figure out the capitalization rule activity Novel

Time: 50 minutes

Procedures/Steps: We will begin our day with a journal question but it will be in D.O.L form

instead of an actual question. The passage that they will be correcting is a passage from our novel and it is on page 22. Passage is provided at the end of this lesson. (5-7 min) (Lowry, 1989)

o Students that choose to will then share their corrections and we will talk about why they corrected it and why it is right or why it is wrong. I expect students to get some of the corrections wrong, this will give me a chance to teach them the right way to do it. (5-7 mins)

We will then transition into a capitalization activity [Reference: Capitalization activity adapted from Andrea Wallenbeck, 6th grade teacher at Exploris.]

The remainder of the period will be a reading workday; students will need to only be reading their novel. We will take a vote whether to have the book read aloud or silently. (20-25 mins)

o While reading I will model the Think Aloud reading strategy. This means that while I am reading I will pause and say thoughts that are in my head about the part we are reading, this will help the students to see my thought process and hopefully trigger their thinking skills as well. This will help them to also pause and think about what has been read or is being read. Students can share their thoughts during this time as well.

Evaluation: I will evaluate my students today through their D.O.L journals and through

the sentences that we correct as a class. This will show me if the students know what they are supposed to capitalize.

Students will correct their D.O.L paragraphs Students will correct sentences with the class Students will take turns reading novel aloud

In Reflection: To be edited upon completion of teaching this lesson.

Appendix of Materials Needed: D.O.L. Passage to correct Figure out the rule activity

D.O.L for Day 7

Version that should be corrected by students:

Annemarie jumped out of bed, and kirsti grunted in her Sleep. Peter! She

hadn’t seen him in a Long time. There was something frightening about his being

here at Night. copenhagen had a curfew, and no citizens were allowed out after

Eight o’ clock. It was very dangerous, she knew, for peter to visit at this time. But she

was delighted that He was here. Though his visits were always hurried- they almost

seemed secret, somehow, in a way she couldn’t quite put Her finger on- still, it was a

treat to see Peter. It brought back memories of happier times. And her Parents loved

peter, too. They said he was like a Son.

Version from book and how it should be written:

Annemarie jumped out of bed, and Kristi grunted in her sleep. Peter! She

hadn’t seen him in a long time. There was something frightening about his being

here at night. Copenhagen had a curfew, and no citizens were allowed out after eight

o’clock. It was very dangerous, she knew, for Peter to visit at this time. But she was

delighted that he was here. Though his visits were always hurried- they almost

seemed secret, somehow, in a way she couldn’t quite put her finger on- still, it was a

treat to see Peter. It brought back memories of happier times. And her parents loved

Peter, too. They said he was like a son.

Passage is on page 22 in Number the Stars. (Lowry,1989).

Stations for Capitalization Rule Activity:

Station 1: Rule: Capitalize a proper nounEx: Golden Gate Bridge, North America, and George Washington

Station 2: Rule: Capitalize a person’s title when it precedes the name. Do not capitalize when the title is acting as a description following the name.Ex:

Chairperson Petrov Ms. Petrov, the chairperson of the company, will address us at noon. Mayor Arnold. Professor Carol.

Station 3: Rule: Capitalize points of the compass only when they refer to specific regions.Ex:

We have had three relatives visit the South. Go south three blocks and then turn left. We live in the southeast section of town. (Southeast is just an adjective here

describing section, so it should not be capitalized.)

Station 4: Rule: Always capitalize the first and last words of titles and publications regardless of their parts of speech. Capitalize other words within titles, including the short verb forms Is, Are, Be.

Exception: Do not capitalize little words within titles such as a, an, the , but, as, if, and, r, nor or prepositions, regardless of their length.

Ex: The Day of the Jackal Number the Stars

Station 5: Rule: Capitalize the names of specific course titlesEx:

I must take history and Algebra 2 I do not like math but I love Language Arts.

Station 6: Rule: Always capitalize the beginning of a sentenceEx:

My mother told me to go to the store. Listen to the teacher and you will get a good grade. Everyone needs to go and watch that movie.

Station 7: Rule: Always capitalize the word, “I” when it is by itself.Ex:

I am going to go to school now. Leslie and I had a lot of fun today at ballet. I went to the library today and I found a really cool book.

Capitalization rule activity sheet

Name: Date:Station 1 rule: Your ex:

Station 2 rule: Your ex:

Station 3 rule: Your ex:

Station 4 rule: Your ex:

Station 5 rule: Your ex:

Station 6 rule: Your ex:

Station 7 rule: Your ex:

Lesson Plan Day Eight:

Unit Title: Number The Stars

Plan Number: 8

Context: Today we will be focusing on our novel through small group discussions. The sheet that I will be handing out will have questions on it that students don’t normally get asked about their novel that they are reading. This will help them to reach different levels of their comprehension with the novel. We will also briefly go over capitalization again during out journal time; it will be another passage from our novel. This will tie into our lesson from yesterday; it will be like a review on capitalization.

Primary Instructional Objectives:

Cognitive: 2.1 Identify words or phrases that need punctuation and capitalization

2.2 Correct words or phrases that have punctuation or capitalization errors

Affective:

7.1 Define roles for each member of group7.2Participate in the roles that they are assigned7.3 Participate in-group discussion7.4 Listen attentively to others 7.5 Respond appropriately to others opinions

Performance: Present material orally

10.1 Share pieces with the class 10.2 Use effective speaking skills

10.3 Share journal responses

Common Core Standards:CCSS-SL-(6)-1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Materials/Technology Required: Journal D.O.L passage to be corrected

Small group discussion sheet Pencil Paper Smart Board

Time: 50-minute class

Instructional Procedures/ Steps: Journal: (10 mins)

o We will begin our day with a journal question but it will be in D.O.L form instead of an actual question. The passage that they will be correcting is a passage from our novel and it is on page 22. Passage is provided at the end of this lesson. (Lowry, 1989)

o Students that choose to when then share their corrections and we will talk about why they corrected it and why it is right or why it is wrong. I expect students to get some of the corrections wrong, this will give me a chance to teach them the right way to do it.

Move into our small group discussions (all class period) o I will pass out the sheet that goes into detail about the small

discussion groups. [Reference: Adapted from Carol Pope]o Students will then get into groups and will begin to pick out their

questions and assign roles.o This will probably take the whole class period.

Evaluation: Students will be evaluated in the journal, which is another D.O.L. They will also be evaluated through the small group discussions. They will share their questions and responses with the class tomorrow.

In Reflection: To be edited upon completion of teaching this lesson.

Appendix of Materials Needed:

D.O.L for Day 8

Version that should be corrected by students:

“Do you really think anyone will come?” ellen asked nervously, turning to

Annemaire in the bedroom. “Your Father doesn’t think so.” “Of course not. They’re

always threatening stuff. they just like to scare people. “ Annemaire took Her

nightgown from a hook in the closet. “Anyway, if they did, it would give me a chance

to practice acting. i’d just pretend to be lise. I wish I were taller, though.” Ellen stood

on tiptoe, trying to make herself tall. She laughed at Herself, and her voice was more

relaxed.

Corrected Version:

“Do you really think anyone will come?” Ellen asked nervously, turning to

Annemarie in the bedroom. “Your father doesn’t think so.” “Of course not. They’re

always threatening stuff. They just like to scare people.” Annemarie took her

nightgown from a hook in the closet. “Anyway, if they did, it would give me a chance

to practice acting. I’d just pretend to be Lise. I wish I were taller, though.” Ellen

stood on tiptoe, trying to make herself tall. She laughed at herself, and her voice was

more relaxed.

Passage is from Number the Stars on page 40 (Lowry,1989).

Small group discussion Each member of your group must have read the same book

Directions for getting groups together: Decide who will be the recorder for your group; this person will record the

discussion. Decide on a facilitator who will keep the discussion going

Decide on a timer who will keep the group on task and within the assigned time.

Decide on a reporter who will report to the whole class.

Discussion Process: Each person will share his or her personal opinions, feelings, and reactions to

the book. The group will choose five or more, or even all questions from the list below

to discuss conclusions.

Questions:1) What would this story be like if the main character were of the opposite

sex?2) Why is this set where it is?

3) If you were to film this story, would you use black and white or color? Why?

4) If you could not use all the characters in the film, which could you eliminate?

5) How is the main character different from you?6) Would this story make a good television series? Why?

7) What one thing in the story has happened to you?8) Reread the first paragraph. What is in it to make you want to read on? If

nothing, why did you continue?9) If you had to design a new cover for this book, what would it look like?

10)What does the title tell you about the book? Does it tell the truth?

Target Answers

1) Males in the class could say that it is easier to relate to if the main character was of the opposite sex. A female’s answer could vary with this

question.2) Many of the answers should deal with the fact that this novel took place

during the holocaust. 3) These answers could vary depending on the opinions the students have.4) This is another opinion question so the answers will vary for each group.

5) This question is a personal question so this will vary from student to student.

6) Some will probably say that it would be a good series because students enjoy watching television a lot more than reading.

7) This will definitely vary because some situations will relate to some students more than others.

8) This is another opinion question so there could be multiple reasons why students kept reading. My guess is that they will say that they had to for

their class. 9) The answers for this question will vary as well.

10) Students will probably give a summary of the novel that relates to the cover. Answers will vary.

Lesson Plan Day Ten

Unit Title: Number the Stars

Plan Number: 10

Context: Today we will start on poetry. We will be reading and writing an “I Am” poem today. The purpose of this is to learn to write our own poetry and to see different perspectives because they are choosing a character from the novel.

Primary Instructional Objectives:Cognitive:

Identify sequence of events in the novel 6.1 Place the events in the correct order

Affective: Develop community in the classroom

8.1 Share ideas and insights with the class 8.2 Respond to the ideas and questions of others in class. 8.3 Listen to others’ responses

Performance: Compose original writing

9.1 Write a Poem

Common Core Standards:

CCSS-L-(6)-1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

CCSS-L-(6)-3: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening

Materials/Technology required: Journal Pencil Quiz “I Am” poem outline “I Am” poem examples “I Am” poem rubric

Time: 50 minutes

Instructional Procedures/Steps: Quiz on Number the Stars

o We will start our class off with a quiz on our novel, Number the Stars.o Students will need to use their novels as a cover sheet.o After they finish, they need to bring it to the front of the class where I

am and turn it upside down on my desk. “I Am” poem (Reference: Adapted from Ms. Reinert’s Class Blog)

o We will then transition into creating our poems. o I will put an example of an “I Am” poemo Then students will need to choose a character from Number the Stars.o They will use this character and write from their perspective for this

poem.o I will hand out the outline to the poem and they will need to follow it

exactly the way it is. I will also pass out the rubric for the poem and have the students sign the bottom of it after they have read it and I will take them back up. The signature at the bottom will be proof that they read and understood the way that their poem will be graded.

o The students will have the remainder of the class period to work on the poem and they can take it home for homework and bring it back tomorrow completed. They will need to present their poems tomorrow.

o They can decorate their poem however they see fit, creativity is on the rubric so the more creative they are, the better. The creative options are endless.

o Tomorrow, they will be presenting their poems and they will be graded on their oral and visual presentation. They need to make sure that they bring it back to class with them tomorrow or they will receive an incomplete.

Evaluation: I will be evaluating them on their poems. They will present them tomorrow and I will have the rubric with me while they present. This will show me that they understand the character’s point of view and that they understand how to write and “I Am” poem.

In Reflection: To be edited upon completion of teaching this lesson.

Appendix of Materials needed:

Name: Date: Period:

Number the Stars Quiz

Directions: Put a 1- 6 beside the events. Put these events in order of the way they happened in the novel.

______ Mrs. Hirsch disappears

______ Soldiers stop Annemarie and Ellen

______ The soldiers come to the Johansen's house and they pretend that Ellen is Lise.

______ Ellen, Kirsti, Annemarie and Mrs. Johansen go to Uncle Henrik's house to visit him.

______ Mr. Johansen tells the story about the king

______ Ellen's parents are taken to a safe hiding place and the Johansens are hiding Ellen in their house.

Short Answer:

1. Who is Lise and what happened to her?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Why does Ellen spend the night with Annemarie?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Create an I Am Poem

Follow the outline below to create an “I Am” poem in the point of view of one of the characters in the novel that you choose.

First StanzaI am (two special characteristics your character has)

I wonder (something your character would actually be curious about)I hear (an imaginary sound your character might hear in his/her head)

I see (an imaginary sight your character might see in his/her head)I want (an actual desire of your character)

I am (repeat the first line of your poem)

Second StanzaI pretend (something your character might actually pretend to do)

I feel (a feeling about something imaginary your character might have)I touch (something your character would like to touch, or imagine touching)

I worry (something that would make your character very sad)I cry (something that would make your character very sad)

I am (repeat the first line of your poem again)

Third StanzaI understand (something that your character knows is true)

I say (something that your character would believe in)I dream (something that your character would actually dream about)

I try (something that your character would really make an effort to try)I hope (something your character would actually hope for)

I am (repeat the first line of your poem for the last time

Poem example:

I AM

I am a hard working teacher who loves to laughI wonder how my students will do this year

I hear their brains clickingI see the light in their eyes

I want them to want to succeedI am a hard working teacher who loves to laugh

I pretend I am always in controlI feel like I’m swimming in quicksand sometimes

I touch the hearts and minds of othersI worry that I am not good enough

I cry when one of my family is in painII am a hard working teacher who loves to laugh

I understand I cannot save everyone ignorance and apathyI say I still need to try

I dream of being the best teacher I can beI try to make my classes interesting

I hope I never stop caringI am a hard working teacher who loves to laugh

--Art Belliveau

Excellent Satisfactory Poor Unsatisfactory

Creativity Showed an immense amount of creativity in creating their poem. A lot of thought went into it.

4

Showed a good amount of creativity in creating their poem. Little amount of thought went into this poem.

3

Showed little amount of creativity in creating their poem. Very little amount of thought into it.

2

Showed no amount of creativity in creating their poem. No thought went into this poem.

1Grammar Grammar

usage was excellent. Little to no grammar mistakes.

4

Grammar usage was satisfactory. A few mistakes in the poem.

3

Grammar usage was very poor. Too many mistakes in the poem.

2

Grammar usage was unsatisfactory. There were too many mistakes in this poem.

1

Poem Structure

Poem structure was followed precisely. Student used and followed the outline given.

4

Poem structure was somewhat followed. Did not follow the exact outline of the poem.

3

Poem structure was not followed well. Did not use the outline the way they should have.

2

Poem structure was non-existent. The outline given was not used at all.

1Oral Presentation

Spoke clearly, made eye contact.

4

Spoke clearly, had some eye contact.

3

Spoke too softly and did not have eye contact.

2

Poor speaking skills, eye contact was not given.

1Visual Presentation

Visual presentation was excellent. Neat, and eye-catching.

4

Visual presentation was good. Neatly put together.

3

Visual presentation was poorly put together.

2

Visual presentation was non-existent.

1

Total Points: ____/ 20PART III: Evaluation:

Our reading logs will be the culminating experience project. These logs will include every activity that we did involving the novel. After they finish each assignment they should put it in their log, if I take something up, I will pass it back eventually and you still must put it in your log. I will take up the log on the last day of the unit; we will also be having a novel test on this day as well. I will have a sheet for them telling them exactly what needs to be in their log so that they can try and find everything before I grade it. This will evaluate them; it will show me what they learned from the novel and what they learned about other subjects that I taught that we tied together with the novel. I think that this is a great way to evaluate them because it shows all their work but different types, I will be able to tell what they are best at and what they need work on by looking at all of their work. Things that should be in the log would be meet the author sheet and their questions to her, introduction to the novel and the annotations on it and also the takeaways. The “I Am” poem, their character Facebook page, their glogster and many other things. I will have a whole list on the last day; I may want to add a few things so I do not have the complete list yet.

Novel quiz The novel test will also evaluate them Greek/Latin oral quiz Journal questions and free writes

Evaluation is important, many students need special attention but you may never know until you get an assignment from them that challenge them. I plan to pay close attention to every assignment that I get back so that I can learn my students and they way that they think, write and create. I believe that my evaluation method for this unit is a good one because it involves many different kinds of assignments and works well with Bloom’s taxonomy. I think that most of his levels are covered in my unit, if not all then most of them are.

Part IV: Works cited list &Reflective Addendum

A. Works Cited list: I referenced multiple activities in my lesson plans and my narrative

overviews.

Lowry, Lois. (1989). Number the Stars. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Glencoe, McGraw-Hill. Study guide for Number the Stars. Retrieved from

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/number_the_stars.pdf

B. Reflective Addendum:

Dear Reader,

I decided my theme and unit focus after discussing it with my cooperating

teacher. My teacher always wanted to teach Number the Stars but had not been able to

so she gave me the option of doing it. I thought it would make for a great unit novel so I

told her I would do it. My process has been slow but steady, there has been many

changes in my unit but I think it has come together well. The strengths of my unit are

probably my activities, I feel that they are creative and will interest my students. I am

concerned about my standards because I am still not comfortable with the common

core. I would like to learn more about standards and would have loved to have more

time to. The limitations I had were ones that my cooperating teacher gave me, she told

me the things that I should teach during my time with her. This helped me but also

limited me to an extent. I would probably do the same in my classroom; she is a very

good teacher and has very good advice. On a scale of 1 to 4, I would say that my unit is a

3, it is good but it is not my best and it probably won’t be until I get into the field and see

how units really work. Finally, I would like to tell future students who have to do this

project that they should start soon and do work little by little. Do not wait until last

minute because it is hard and it will not be organized the way that is should be, it takes

research to find good materials. I am so glad that I started my unit as easy as I did. Even

though I started early it still took me a long time to finish it. It also works well if you

work with your fellow classmates, they have good suggestions and they help so much

because they are going through the same thing that you are. Get together with the

people in your class. Some of the people in my class have become some of my closest

friends and working with them has helped me tremendously. They give me good and

honest advice and so I highly recommend trying to become friends with you classmates.

Sincerely,

Kelsey Bostic

PART V: Process Materials:

Here are a few questions that I asked Dr. Young. I am in black and Dr. Young

is in red. He helped me a lot with these Reponses; I was a little confused

before this.

QUESTIONS!!!!Ok 1) I have multiple things going on in my unit like making a poster or writing and essay and creating a Facebook page. I do not know if this is what you are looking for a culminating experience project? If so then how can I make this my final project?

We have discussed thinking about the unit almost as a narrative -- not only beginning, middle and end, but also the ideas of an introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution and transition to the next unit.  It sounds like rather than one culminating experience you might have

multiple ones, which is fine if that is the case. Or, you might think about whether your unit lends itself to weighing one of these activities more than the others so that the others are activities along the way while one is more of the main activity.  In my unit example, I provided examples of choices students had for their culminating project -- students could choose one of the options I developed. Keep in mind that the culminating experience doesn't necessarily have to be a project -- it might be experiential in nature. Hope this helps. 2) I am having a hard time finding common core standards for some of my lessons, like for day one I am having a journal then introducing myself through a powerpoint then introducing the novel through a book trailer and then we are reading about the author and they are writing down questions that they would ask her.I do not know what standard I would put for this. any suggestions?

Keep in mind that standards don't necessary reflect the activities you're doing in the classroom. Instead, they reflect what it is you want students to know or to know how to do or to be able to know or do as a result of your instruction. You may need to be a little more broad in your thinking in terms of finding a fit for a CCSS. 3) When we cite, how should we do our internal citations? Like we would in a novel, (Pope, 2012)? 

The model lesson plan provides examples of this, but yes, you've got it -- (Ref.: Pope, 2012) or (Ref.: Beers, 2006) etc.   4) When you say transitions how do you suggest we go about this? I read your corrections for michelles lesson plan and I am not sure what you want us to do for transitioning things! 

As mentioned in class, on the Guidelines, and on the rubric, you want your daily plans to flow from one another in a way that makes sense and is clear and you want the steps within a lesson plan to progress from one to the other in a way that makes sense.  Think about it like you would a narrative or writing in general. You want your reader to understand how you're moving from point a to point b throughout your daily narrative overview and also in your individual lesson plans. Sorry so many questions, I am just super stressed about this right now and want to make sure I am doing this write.-Kelsey

No problem, Kelsey. Don't stress -- you're almost there. Breathe and keep on plugging.

Hope this helps. Good luck finishing up.