“There are obviously two educations. One should teach us how to make

a living and the other how to live”

John T. Adams

As an educator, I hope to impart students with both an appreciation for literature as well

as helping them develop the practical writing and reading skills they will need long after their

high school years. My desire to work as an English teacher stems largely from my time at Drake

University, where my interest in literature and writing was cultivated. I graduated from Drake

with a BA with a major in Writing and a second major in Religion as well as a minor in

Environmental Science. I had originally planned to attend Washington University in St. Louis for

law school after taking a year to work and save money, but several factors caused me to

reconsider my career path, the most notable of which was coaching high school track. It was

shortly after my experience coaching track that I decided to enroll at UMSL to become a high

school teacher. During the past three years I have worked for the city of Clayton, where I have

had the opportunity to supervise about thirty high school students in the workplace, an

experience which has been invaluable as I prepare for student-teaching and beyond. Balancing

work and school has been a challenge at times, though I feel that this challenge will also prepare

me for the demands of teaching. I also look forward to coaching high school cross country and

track. These are extracurricular activities that I believe are beneficial in helping students develop

time management skills and self-discipline that will benefit them long after their high school

years have ended.

“As a teacher, it is my responsibility to help each and every student meet

their potential. As such, I will strive to create a classroom where every

student is challenged and engaged by the curriculum.”

Unit: Debate and Dialogue

Class: 10th

Grade English Composition

Teacher: Mr. Drew White

Date: Spring 2013

Rationale: In an age where formal business and academic communications are increasingly

disseminated through written mediums, such as e-mail, students must develop the ability to

articulate their thoughts in a persuasive manner. The importance of writing skills and abilities in

modern society also reinforces the importance of students developing research skills and critical

reading skills. The importance of the written word in modern society has also been accompanied

by a more unfortunate trend that is documented and verified by academic studies; an increasingly

polarized and hostile environment in which individuals feel that it is acceptable for written words

to be far more vitriolic than any words they would actually say in the presence of another

individual. This unit seeks to help students develop a professional, effective writing and speaking

style by having them pick a relatively controversial social or political topic and creating several

meaningful pieces of work based on this topic. This unit should help students develop the critical

reading, writing, speaking and research skills that they will need in both college and the

workforce, as well as in their personal lives to be critical consumers of information.

Summary: Students will be introduced to the concept of argumentative writing at the beginning

of the unit when the teacher presents a list of pros and cons for making the distribution and

manufacturing of tobacco products illegal. Students will think through the pros and cons and

learn about how to objectively argue for or against a wide variety of ideas and issues. Students

will break into pairs of two to pick a topic of their own from a preapproved list created by the

instructor. One student will argue for a topic while another will argue against. Students will

move through the writing, thinking and research process by creating pro/con ideas on their own,

conducting research and creating an annotated bibliography, writing a short paper, and finally

participating in a debate against the individual who has the opposite side of their topic. The

debate should help students develop important speaking skills and increase their level of civility,

two important skills that young people today and in the future will need to master. The debate

will be relatively freeform and will encourage students to use technology and/or other creative

tactics.

Objectives: This unit should foster a sense of community within the classroom by having

students engage in a civil discourse and dialogue. Generally speaking, this unit should also

prepare students for college by helping them develop research and formal writing skills. This

unit should help prepare students for the workforce by forcing them to think through complex

issues, a challenge present in virtually any career. This unit pays special attention to the

Common Core Standards requirement that students develop “the ability to produce logical

arguments based on substantive claims, sound reasoning, and relevant evidence” as well as

performing “in depth research”.

Length of Curriculum: Three weeks/seven ninety minute block periods.

Materials and Resources: The instructor will need a working computer and projector to display

the pro/con list about outlawing tobacco products. The instructor will also need a list of pre-

selected academic and print sources about smoking and tobacco use for the lesson on conducting

research and how to select sources. Students will need their laptop computers (required at the

school I am in) to conduct research, write their papers, and create and visual and/or auditory aids

for their debate. If this unit were to be conducted at a school where students were not required to

have laptop computers, the instructor would need to reserve extensive time in the computer lab.

Literacy Strategies: Carousel brainstorming, entry slip.

Means of Assessment:

Formative: 1. Entry slip. Students will spend five to ten minutes at the beginning of the second

class completing an entry slip about what arguments they think they will be making in their

paper and their debate, and what counterarguments they expect the opposition to present. This

will help the instructor guide students as they conduct research and craft their papers and

debates. 2. Annotated bibliography. Students will find at least five and no more than seven

sources, at least one of which must be print, and write one to two paragraphs summarizing the

content of these sources. This will help students prepare for their final paper and debate after

completing their research. Students will have a chance to work on this in class and complete it

for homework.

Summative: 1. Final paper. Students will use the sources they cited in their annotated

bibliographies to write an argumentative essay about their particular topic (ie why the legal

driving age should or should not be raised to eighteen). The essay should be a minimum of four

pages, and truly outstanding essays will address and refute opposing viewpoints. 2. Debate.

Students will present a strictly timed seven minute presentation about their topic. Students will

have five minutes to state their case and two minutes to make a closing statement after both

students have made their initial presentations. Students will be allowed and encouraged to use

audio and visual ages.

Class: 10th

Grade English Composition

Teacher: Mr. Drew White

Date: Spring 2013

Teacher’s Calendar

Calendar is based on a block schedule in which classes alternate between Tuesday and Thursday

one week and Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the following week.

Week 1:

Tuesday: Students will be introduced to the unit as they explore and discuss an instructor

created list about making the manufacture and distribution of tobacco products illegal. This will

culminate with students picking a side to this debate and creating a short, informal paragraph

articulating their viewpoint with other individuals in the class who share their opinion (carousel

brainstorming). Students will then pick from a list of topics about which there will be ample

reputable sources (having a mandatory draft, the death penalty, social security reform, etc.) and

pick the side they support. Only one student may pick each side of the debate and there will be

only enough potential topics so that none will be left over after all students have selected so as to

avoid logistical issues. Students will then be assigned to the side of the debate that they do not

agree with. The due date for the paper will be assigned during this class period.

Thursday: Students will complete an entry slip about what they know about their topic

and what kinds of arguments they think they will be making in their paper. The instructor will

then conduct a direct instruction lesson about gathering and citing sources and what type of

search engines students may wish to use. The instructor will then demonstrate how to make an

annotated bibliography once again using the topic of tobacco products. Students will have the

remainder of class to work on their annotated bibliography, which will be due at the beginning of

the next class period.

Week 2:

Monday: The instructor will introduce the argumentative essay and model and

breakdown an example with students covering the topic of tobacco products once again. Of

particular importance will be the introduction paragraph, as it will serve as the foundation for the

rest of the essay. The instructor will also touch on appeals to the ethos, the pathos, and the logos.

Students will then use their annotated bibliographies to create an introductory paragraph of their

own. Students will then e-mail their paragraphs to the instructor and those who volunteer will

have their work scrutinized by their fellow classmates and the instructor in a class discussion

where strict behavioral expectations will be enforced.

Wednesday: Students will come to class having written their introductory paragraph as

well as a body paragraph. Students will have this class period to conference one-on-one with the

instructor about their paper. Because the instructor’s attention will be devoted to this

conferencing, students will have this period to work on their essay.

Friday: The instructor and another faculty member will stage a debate regarding the

legality of tobacco products. The instructor will then point out some of the tactics used in this

debate via a class discussion in which students are forced to think through what elements of the

debate they found effective or ineffective. Students will have any remaining time to work on

their debate presentations and to consult with the instructor.

Week 3:

Tuesday: Students will begin debating their topics after submitting their essays. The order

of topics will be chosen at random at the beginning of the class period. Which student goes first

in the debate will be decided by a coin flip. The student who speaks first will also make the first

closing statement. Students must speak for at least six minutes and no more than seven minutes.

Four to five minutes should be devoted to the main presentation with another two minutes spent

on the closing argument. The class as a whole will spend a few minutes discussing which side of

the argument they agree with and why in a civil fashion. Four or five full debates must take place

in this time period, depending on class size.

Thursday: Students who did not engage in their debate in the previous class will do so

following the guidelines presented above. Based on class size and class period length, there

should be roughly thirty minutes remaining after all debates have been completed. This time will

be used for an open-ended discussion about the tone and rhetoric students found in their sources

and if they perceive American society today as being polarized and how they can be effective

writers and speakers while still maintaining a high level of civility and respect for others.

Lesson Plan 2 of 7

Heading Class: English Composition

Your Name: Drew White

Name of Lesson: Arguing without yelling

Time Frame: 90 minutes

Rationale To be prepared for the types of assignments they will see in college, students

must develop the research skills necessary to write formal papers. They must

also develop the critical thinking skills necessary to discern which of the

sources they will come across are reliable enough to be used in their

academic work. This lesson should help students develop these skills.

Further, the ability to select the best research sources from many potential

sources is a skill that should serve students well outside of the classroom as

virtually all work places involve situations where individuals must choose

between several options where the “best” outcome is ambiguous and

numerous pieces of evidence must be weighed (ie whether to use red or grey

brick on a building structure or whether or not to teach a formal lesson on

grammar).

Objectives By the end of class, students will be able to identify what sources are

acceptable to use in academic essays and why. They will also be able to

apply this knowledge to their own annotated bibliography by selecting

germane sources regarding their own topic. Students will also be able to

create an annotated bibliography by learning how to succinctly summarize

the information contained in the sources they find.

Reading Material Sources brought up on the computer by the instructor and whatever sources

students find on their own.

Instructional *

Framework

Initiating

Lesson Plan *

Format

Direct Instruction

Grouping Whole Class AND Individuals

Materials &

Resources

School – Projector and internet network for students to access

Teacher – Laptop computer with several websites about tobacco use saved

to the browse history for easy access and Microsoft Office Word to write an

example annotated bibliography

Student – Laptop computer (required at the school I am in)

Literacy

Strategies

Entry Slip

Phase One Students will spend five to ten minutes completing an entry slip about what

they know about their topic and what types of arguments they plan on

making in their paper. The instructor will then lecture on the importance of

bringing outside sources into the argumentative essay students will be

writing and what type of sources students should use. The instructor will

note the superiority of .edu and .gov websites and articles from large news

outlets (New York Times, Time Magazine, etc.).

Phase Two

The instructor will then display some good and bad sources about the topic

of the legality of tobacco on a projector displayed at the front of the class.

The instructor will explain what makes a few of these sources strong and a

few weak. The instructor will then display some more sources and have

students figure out if these sources would be strong or weak sources to use

in a paper.

Phase Three Having determined which of the sources that have been displayed would be

suitable for a paper, the instructor will make and display an annotated

bibliography for students. The instructor will walk students through his

reasoning for each sentence of the first annotated source he creates, and then

shift the onus over to students to tell him what to include for the next source.

Students will then apply this knowledge by finding sources about their own

topic and creating an annotated bibliography about these sources. Students

will have the remainder of class to work on this annotated bibliography with

instructor assistance and will complete the annotated bibliography for

homework.

Formative

Assessment

Entry Slip, Annotated Bibliography

Summative *

Assessment

N/A (the annotated bibliography will build to the summative assessments of

the paper and debate).

Homework

Assignment

Complete Annotated Bibliography

Argumentative Essay and Debate

Mr. White

Spring 2013

Your Name:

State your case!

This assignment gives you the opportunity to pick a hotly contested political or social issue and

make your best argument for or against a topic of your choice. Some of the topics available to

you include the legality of the death penalty, the reinstatement of a mandatory military draft and

increasing the legal driving age to eighteen. We will begin by examining the legality of tobacco

products, a topic that you will not be able to select.

As we go through this unit, you will progress from coming up with ideas about your topic on

your own to creating a formal paper and engaging in a structured debate. One of the key

takeaways from this unit will be how to select research sources and how to argue and debate in a

powerful, effective style without devolving into insulting your opposition or engaging in a

shouting match. We will progress through this unit by

1. Thinking through the legality of tobacco products

2. Selecting a topic of your own.

3. Learning how to select and use outside sources.

4. Creating an annotated bibliography.

5. Writing a formal essay arguing for your side of your topic.

6. Engaging in a formal debate with another member of the class who has selected the

opposite side of the same topic as you.

7. Debriefing on what you have taken away from this process.

Persuasive Essay

Teacher Name: Mr. White

Student Name: ________________________________________

CATEGORY

9-10

Above Standards

8

Meets Standards

6-7

Approaching Standards

0-5

Below Standards Score

Thesis

statement

The thesis

statement

names the topic

of the essay and

outlines the

main points to

be discussed.

The thesis

statement names

the topic of the

essay.

The thesis statement

outlines some or all of

the main points to be

discussed but does not

name the topic.

The thesis

statement does

not name the

topic AND does

not preview

what will be

discussed.

Support for

position,

first body

paragraph

Includes 3 or

more pieces of

evidence (facts,

statistics,

examples, real-

life

experiences)

that support the

position

statement. The

writer

anticipates the

reader's

concerns, biases

or arguments

and has

provided at

least 1 counter-

argument.

Includes 3 or

more pieces of

evidence (facts,

statistics,

examples, real-

life experiences)

that support the

position

statement.

Includes 2 pieces of

evidence (facts,

statistics, examples,

real-life experiences)

that support the

position statement.

Includes 1 or

fewer pieces of

evidence (facts,

statistics,

examples, real-

life

experiences).

Support for

position,

second body

paragraph

See above See above See above See above

Support for

position,

third body

paragraph

See above See above See above See above

Closing

paragraph

The conclusion

is strong and

leaves the

reader solidly

understanding

the writer\'s

position.

Effective

restatement of

the position

statement

begins the

closing

paragraph.

The conclusion

is recognizable.

The author's

position is

restated within

the first two

sentences of the

closing

paragraph.

The author's position is

restated within the

closing paragraph, but

not effectively or

extremely abruptly.

There is no

conclusion - the

paper just ends.

Grammar &

Spelling

Author makes

no errors in

grammar or

spelling that

distract the

reader from the

content.

Author makes 1-

2 errors in

grammar or

spelling that

distract the

reader from the

content.

Author makes 3-4

errors in grammar or

spelling that distract

the reader from the

content.

Author makes

more than 4

errors in

grammar or

spelling that

distract the

reader from the

content.

Sources All sources

used for quotes,

statistics and

facts are

credible and

cited correctly.

At least five

sources are

used.

All sources used

for quotes,

statistics and

facts are

credible and

most are cited

correctly. At

least four

sources are

used.

Most sources used for

quotes, statistics and

facts are credible and

most cited correctly.

Only two or three

sources are used.

Many sources

are suspect (not

credible)

AND/OR are not

cited correctly.

Only one or no

sources are used.

Sentence

Structure

All sentences

are well-

constructed

with varied

structure.

Most sentences

are well-

constructed and

there is some

varied sentence

structure in the

essay.

Most sentences are

well constructed, but

there is no variation is

structure.

Most sentences

are not well-

constructed or

varied.

Annotation

As I created this unit, I wanted to make something that would be useful in preparing

students for both the more advanced academic challenges they will face as they enter their final

two years of high school while simultaneously encouraging “real world” critical thinking skills

that will be useful to them in both the workplace and in their personal lives. Recognizing that I

am teaching at a college preparatory school, I tried to make the unit fairly rigorous and make it

move at a fast pace. While I did want to include real world skills, I felt that given that 100% of

the students in this class will be expected to go to a 4 year college directly after high school, I

should try and begin introducing foundational humanities and academic concepts (research,

essay structure, debate) to these students as they prepare for their junior and senior year of high

school. The general thrust of the unit was for students to eliminate any biases and preconceived

notions that they have and to look at a topic as objectively as possible. I wanted them to do this

by taking a topic they had some strong feelings about, though not necessarily strong knowledge

of, and dragging this idea through scrutiny and research before presenting a polished product. I

thought that walking students through this process step by step and then giving them a chance to

do some work of their own in class with an opportunity to ask questions would be a good way to

develop the ability to write the more complex analytic research papers they will be accountable

for in the future. In short, I wanted them to be able to start from scratch and finish with a

polished, developed piece of writing that was grounded in reputable sources, something any

student will have to do many times during college no matter what their course of study.

Another important issue that I wanted this unit to address was civility and respect.

Although I think this is a big part of this unit, it is more implicit than explicit, as it is somewhat

difficult to quantify, categorize and measure concepts like respect and civility. By having

students argue for something that they initially disagree with, I believe that they will be forced to

see how to respect and even appreciate a point of view that they themselves do not hold. When

teaching this lesson, I also plan to find examples of sources that display overt bias, disrespect and

hostility and compare them to more objective and reliable sources and have students tease apart

why the belligerent sources are less effective than the more evenhanded ones. I also hope to

show some sources that are so extreme that they are self-satirizing and comical. I think this

approach will work much better than simply lecturing on being nice and respectful, something

that runs the risk of quickly devolving into an elementary school level lesson that students will

take virtually no interest in.

Throughout this unit, I tried to incorporate the seven core concepts we have discussed in

class. I tried to foster a sense of community through numerous opportunities to converse about

the sources they would be using and what they think makes for good sources and through the

opportunity for students to have a civil debate. I encouraged construction by giving students a

simple topic to work with such as “why the military draft should/should not be reinstated” and

giving them an opportunity to create several pieces of work in which they were limited only by

how much effort they chose to put in. I tried to encourage negotiation by having them

acknowledge that their opposition may have some valid arguments but to find rebuttals to those

arguments. I felt that process was probably the most important concept, as this unit basically

amounts to a guided tour on how to break down and create arguments and conduct research. This

unit also emphasizes connections between the humanities and the social and natural sciences as

students are forced to find research from numerous fields (depending on their topic) and find a

way to transform this information into a persuasive argument. By touching on a huge variety of

topics that intersect with a number of career fields (journalism, legal, medical, political) students

may happen to find an occupation of particular interest to them in this unit.

My Last Duchess

Heading Class: Methods

Your Name: Drew White

Name of Lesson: My Last Duchess

Time Frame: 22 minutes

Rationale Browning’s My Last Duchess is filled with numerous subtle references to

issues which students (and adults) find themselves facing today, such as

classism, egocentrism, and issues of identity. The poem can be a useful

springboard to a discussion of these timeless issues. In figuring out the

connections between this poem and these issues, students will also learn the

critical reading skills necessary to find and create meaning from dense texts.

Objectives By the end of the class period, students will be able to identify the reasons

the speaker of My Last Duchess ordered the execution and provide some

defensible reasons for what his justification of this was. Students should

then be able to use what they have learned to connect these types of

behaviors to events in their personal lives or in the news.

Reading Material Students will come to class having read My Last Duchess and should also

bring a copy of the poem to examine. This discussion will also be used to

transition into the novel students will be reading next; Tom Wolfe’s The

Bonfire of the Vanities.

Instructional *

Framework

Constructing

Lesson Plan *

Format

Discussion

Grouping Whole Class (Discussion)

Materials &

Resources

School – UMSL classroom

Teacher – 7 Copies of student handout and a copy of My Last Duchess

Student – A copy of My Last Duchess

Literacy

Strategies N/A (Abbreviated Discussion Sample Lesson)

Phase One The instructor will lead students into the discussion by reviewing the basic

meaning of the poem and what we know about the speaker and his last

Duchess. The instructor will scaffold students to get them to discuss some of

the implications of the basics of the poem and to try and prod the psyche of

the speaker of the monologue.

Phase Two

After the set has been established, the instructor will ask students if they

know about the recent case of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman. The

instructor will then ask if the students see any parallels between what is

going on in the poem and that specific case. This should lead students to

build some connections between the work and the case; that is, to “create

meaning” from the poem.

Phase Three Once students have discussed the case of Trayvon Martin and George

Zimmerman, they will be challenged to think of some other instances where

perception of people and events played a large role. They will then be

challenged to think about how this is similar to or different than issues in

Browning’s time. They will also receive their student handout and

homework assignment during this time.

Formative

Assessment

N/A

Summative *

Assessment

N/A

Homework

Assignment

Begin reading Wolfe’s The Bonfire of the Vanities.