Annotated Lesson Plan

Part 1: Lesson Plan Your name: Lauren Cooper Intended grade level for this plan: Second Grade Book title: Martin’s Big Words Author: Doreen Rappaport Publisher & year: Hyperion Books for Children, 12/18/2007

INTEGRATION PLANNING TEMPLATE CONTENT AREAS BEING INTEGRATED

Social Studies

English Language Arts

TEKS (1 TEKS FROM EACH CONTENT AREA) TO BE ADDRESSED

SS.2.4.C

(4) History. The student understands how historical figures, patriots, and good citizens helped shape the community, state, and nation. The student is expected to: (C) explain how people and events have influenced local community history.

ELAW.2.18.B

(18) Writing/Literary Texts. Students write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. Students are expected to: (B) Write short poems that convey sensory details.

LEARNING GOALS (1 for each of the TEKS) What do you want students to learn?

The students will write at least one way Martin Luther King Jr. influenced his local, state and/or national community for the better.

The students will write at least one way how Martin Luther King influenced his community for the better by creating a poem that conveys at least three sensory detailed words.

IDEAS FOR ACTIVITIES What kinds of learning experiences will help students to meet the learning

Materials Needed:

• The book Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport • Promethium board or chart paper (KWL Chart) • White board (children’s thoughts/ideas) • Sheet of paper for teacher to keep track of student

goals set for each content area?

participation • Chart paper (to model poem writing) • Notebook paper (for their poems) • Self-Assessment Sheet (for both language arts and social

studies)

[The teacher will start the lesson off explaining that the students are going to learn about Martin Luther King Jr. and that they will read the book, Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport as well as create their own unique poems towards the end of the lesson.] Teacher Notes The teacher will explicitly tell the students that they must participate with a meaningful response at least once during either the poem review or during the book reading in order to receive points at the end. First, the teacher will make a KWL Chart (what the students know, what the students want to know, and what the students have learned) onto chart paper. As a whole class discussion, the teacher will write down what the students know about Martin Luther King Jr., specifically what he has done for his community. They will also discuss what they want to know about Martin Luther King Jr. and the teacher will record that information on the chart paper during the discussion. [This is when students receive points and the teacher will keep track of who participates by writing their names down on a pad of paper.] Then the teacher will read the book, Martin’s Big Words, out loud to the class. After reading the story, the students know a little more information about Martin Luther King. Now return back to the KWL chart and fill in the answers to the questions. If any of the questions were answered after reading the story, record the answers below the learned column. After adding the new information some of the questions may not be answered (we will return to this later). Questions to be asked after reading the text to the class (this is when the teacher will grade for participation):

1. How did Martin Luther King Jr. change his community? (Inferential Question)

2. What types of things helped him achieve this goal? (Inferential Question)

3. What kind of leader was Martin? Strong, passionate, or caring? Explain. (Opinion-based Question)

4. What did you learn about Martin Luther King Jr.? (Opinion based Question)

5. How did he help others? (Inferential Question) 6. Have you ever done something nice or something that

helped someone without being asked to do it? (Relatable Question)

7. Why did you do it? How did this make you feel? Now the students will review how to write a poem. The teacher will explain the parts of the poem. For example, we must first write our name in the corner of our paper and then we must create a title for our poem. (The teacher will be modeling this on a piece of chart paper –she will write, Mrs. Cooper on the right side of the chart paper and write “Martin’s Influence” as the poems title). The teacher will tell the students that the title is their choice and that I chose “Martins Influence.” Then she will say we are writing a sensory detailed poem, so it is important to make sure to add sensory detailed words. So using sensory detailed words means to explain using what we see, hear, feel, taste, and smell. “What are some sensory detail words that we could use for Martin Luther King?” –She writes these down on the board so the students can use as a reminder later. (This is when the students respond to the question- also a time for participation points) Some of their responses might be pondered, worried, courage, stutter, blistering heat, and smoky air (words from the book might spark ideas) etc. The teacher will also go over the basics of using punctuation and exclamation points if needed. She will say that periods are used when you are stating something and exclamation points when you are indicating a strong feeling or expressing high volume in your words. For example, Martin Luther King is full of courage! (The teacher will say this sentence with a high volume and in a statement form) The teacher will remind the students to use the dictionary or the book as a guide for spelling. After writing all of their responses down on the board, the students will then listen about what else that needs to be included in a poem. *Teacher passes out the Self-Assessment Sheets at this time Now the teacher will explain to the students that in the content part of their poem they must add at least one way Martin Luther King Jr. influenced his local community to change for the better. In their poem the students must add at least three sensory detailed words. These are the two essential parts of the assessment and how they will be graded. After discussing what needs to be in a poem, the students are then asked to go back to their desks and to

think about some sensory detailed words as well as one way or Martin Luther King Jr. influenced his community that they can use for their poems. Now, the students will create their own poem explaining how the community changed because of Martin Luther King Jr. while adding sensory detailed words. The teacher can walk around to make sure that each student understands and is on the right track. If students are having trouble, encourage them to look at the book we read in the beginning of the lesson. Also lay out some other inspiring texts or books about Martin Luther King to spark any other ideas. *Give the students their self-assessment form after the poem review so they can use it as a guide to make sure they are doing the lesson correctly also for them to know what is expected of them, in terms of the assignment. On KWL chart (For the “W”, what the students want to know): *Go over the questions that may not have been answered on the KWL chart and have them look up the unanswered questions as a homework option for extra credit.

ASSESSMENT How will you determine if the students met the learning goals in each content area? (Student self assessment below)

Each student must contribute at least once during discussion time. Whether that is during the book reading or during the poem review. This is mentioned before the lesson. Teacher Rubric: 1. Does the student have at least one way Martin Luther King Jr. influenced his local community for the better? 45 Points 2. Did the student participate with a meaningful response during the poem review OR

Each student must contribute at least once during discussion time. Whether that is during the book reading or during the poem review. This is mentioned before the lesson. Teacher Rubric: 1.Are there at least three sensory detailed words? 40 Points 2. Does each sensory detailed word make sense in the sentence? 40 Points

during the book reading? 25 Points 3. Explain in detail how your poem relates to what Martin Luther King did as a community leader? To think about: Why did you choose those words? Why do those words work for Martin Luther King Jr. as a leader? 30 Points Worth a total of 100 Points Student Self-Assessment for both the language arts and social studies aspect (the project as a whole): Give a description of the project you have completed. What did you like about the project or activity? What were you able to do well ? Did you have trouble with this project/activity? Why or why not. Observation assessment: After the students fill out their self-assessments, the students will get into groups of 3 or 4 and discuss the following: 1.What did you learn during this lesson? 2. What did Martin do as a leader? 3. Share your poems with your group and share something you like about each person’s

3. Do they have all of their conventions? 20 Points

• Spelling • Punctuation • Mechanical Errors • Title • Your name

Worth a total of 100 Points

poem. 4.What if Martin Luther King Jr. did not make the “I have a dream speech”, what would have happened? Would anything have been different? Explain why in detail. 5.Discuss how Martin Luther King Jr. can help us become better people in our community. [Afterwards, reconvene and debrief as a class] [Observation Assessment-by the teacher] **Extra credit option (if there are any unanswered questions on KWL chart): Allow one point for each meaningful answer as well as the reference (where they found this information).

Name____________________ Date__________________ Student Self-Assessment

Give a description of the project you have completed.

What were you able to do well? Explain.

What did you like and not like about the project or activity? Explain.

Did you have trouble with this project/activity? Why or why not.

Part 2: Justification and Critique

1. How will this lesson build on the student prior knowledge, make knowledge visible, and/or address student misconceptions?

My social studies lesson will build on student prior knowledge since the first part of

my lesson incorporates questions about what the students know about Martin Luther King

Jr. In the KWL chart, the K stands for Know, which activates prior knowledge on the

topic, the W stands for Want, where students will ask questions about what they want to

know about this topic, and lastly, the L stands for Learned, which comes full circle for

the students. When students are asked to think about what they know about a topic, then

they are thinking about their thinking which entails prior knowledge and is also known as

metacognition (Bransford, 2000).

The KWL Chart helps the teacher see the prior knowledge the students may have and

if misconceptions are a part of their prior knowledge. KWL charts help address and

confront misconceptions (Bransford, 2000). If a student announces a misconception

about Martin Luther King Jr. then the teacher has the opportunity to eliminate that

misconception. For example, if a student said that Martin Luther King Jr. was the only

person who contributed to the civil rights movement, the teacher could interject and

explain that he was a big part of it but also pull in other historical figures. The historical

figures are actually a part of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, which is a major

part in Texas school’s curriculums. For example, Rosa Parks is a historical figure that is a

part of the TEKS. In the KWL Chart, the students have the ability to connect it to

analogies; for example, Martin Luther King is like Rosa Parks in that they both made a

contribution to the civil rights movement. Lastly, the KWL Chart helps the teacher see

what students understand the material. For example, if one student continues to give

information and ask questions that will be added to the chart then the teacher will be

aware that the student must be challenged during the poem writing.  

Carr and Ogle can justify that “KWL charts help students to be active thinkers while

they read giving them specific things to look for and having them reflect on what they

learned when they are finished reading.” The KWL chart can help students reflect after

the teacher reads the story, Martin’s Big Words out loud to the class. Also, Flavell will

argue, “in learning, metacognition involves the active monitoring and conscious control

and regulation of cognitive processes.” It involves thinking about thinking, self-

awareness, and self-regulation. When students are thinking about Martin Luther King and

what he did in order to promote positivity in his community, they are thinking about their

thinking and therefore activating their prior knowledge. For example, in the lesson I want

the students to think of things Martin Luther King has done for his community. One

student might say, “Well, last year my class read several books including one that talked

about him making a speech called I Have a Dream.” Another student might say, “In my

first grade class we learned that Martin Luther King Jr. wanted everyone to be friends.”

Also, some students might even know that Martin Luther King Jr. helped further the civil

rights movement.

The KWL Chart not only helps students activate background knowledge but also

combine new information as well as learn things that may were not included in the

original lesson plan. The use of the KWL Chart in the classroom helps students become

curious and more engaged in the learning process. The job of the students is to think and

come up with information and questions while the teacher acts as a scribe, compiling all

of their thoughts down in the correct categories. The KWL Chart activates students’

conversations and discussions, which accomplishes a powerful lesson that entails deeper

understanding.

2. How will this lesson promote mentally active learning?

My social studies lesson will promote mentally active learning since the students will

self-assess at the end of the lesson, which will help them reflect over as well document

their strengths, weaknesses, needs, and interests. Another part of the assessment includes

the students discussing questions with their peers while the teacher observes. Mentally

active learning means how to learn the information (Bransford, 2000). In the lesson, I

have the students discuss questions that promote mentally active learning in a

sociocultural environment, which is working with others to enhance learning

opportunities and increase critical thinking skills. Since they are thinking about their

thinking and talking about their opinions and ideas they are mentally active in their

learning.

Metacognition means when someone is thinking about their own thinking, which is

one strategy to learn new information (Bransford, 2000). At the end of the lesson, I ask

the students to answer the following questions within their groups including: 1) What did

you learn during this lesson? 2) What did Martin do as a leader? 3) Share your poems

with your group and share something you like about each person’s poem. 4) What if

Martin Luther King Jr. did not make the “I have a dream speech”, what would have

happened? Would anything have been different? and lastly 5) Discuss how Martin Luther

King Jr. can help us become better people in our community. In order to answer the

discussion questions, the students must have been paying attention, reflecting, and

thinking about their thinking throughout the lesson.

As a class, we start out in whole group discussion, move to independent work, and

then end with group discussion this gradually gives students more control on what they

want to create during independent work as well as allows them to discuss what they

learned.

3. Why is this lesson likely to promote transfer?

My lesson is very likely to promote transfer since my students have to connect it to

other situations other than educational ones. Transfer means when one is taught

information and then is able to connect it to other situations or contexts (Bransford,

2000). My lesson promotes transfer since at the end of my lesson the students’ get into

groups and talk about, “What if Martin Luther King Jr. did not make the I Have a Dream

Speech,” what would have happened? Would anything have been different? The teacher

walks around and observes and listens to what each group says. They are responsible for

discussing how Martin Luther King Jr. can help us become better community leaders.

Both of these questions give them opportunity to problem solve in other situations. If

students think outside of the learning context and into real life experiences they are able

to become a part of society and problem solve. For example, if students discuss the ways

to be a better community leader, a student might suggest local recycling. Another student

might bring up the issue of keeping fuel emissions low. As a group they are working

together through dialogue to participate as active leaders in the community. Also,

thinking outside of the box is a part of transfer. Instead of traditional answers to

problems, students have to use their imagination and problem-solving skills to explain

what might happen in Martin Luther King Jr. did not write his famous speech, “I Have a

Dream.” After this lesson, students will be able to apply this knowledge of Martin Luther

King to be a better activist in their community.

4. How is this lesson likely to promote the eventual development of expert

knowledge?

My lesson contains mentally active learning, prior knowledge, and transfer but does

not have enough room to allow development of expert knowledge. In order to have

expertise in one’s lesson, one must be able to teach in-depth, connect and organize

concepts, encourage application, and have rich subject matter (Bransford, 2000). These

are all things that could be added to this topic and to do so would require additional time

and more lessons. In a perfect situation, I would be able to create more lessons or a small

unit over community leaders, specifically Martin Luther King Jr. In order to make my

lesson have expertise I would first of all need more time to teach. With extra time, I could

add more to the lesson that could include a video or short clip, artifact boxes, a mini-field

trip, and/or individual research or a group research project. Any of these extra things

added to another lesson or as a part of a small unit plan would nicely contribute to

expertise. If I were to teach in-depth on this topic, one lesson would not suffice and

would not lead to effective learning. For expertise to be accomplished, I would need to

create multiple lessons.

An effective way to add expertise to my lesson is to bring my students on a

community-related field trip. The students could go to a homeless shelter or a recycling

center. Although this is not addressing Martin Luther King Jr. specifically, it is in fact

addressing the overall theme of this lesson, which is the importance of community

participation and contribution. The students would see how certain community projects

are performed and ways the students could be part of similar projects. For example,

volunteering at the homeless shelter or even talking to the people who live there. After

attending the field trip, I could have my students research a community issue of interest

and have them form groups of six people. In small groups, they would each have a job

and then later present ways the community could help to the class.

5. How will the assessment tool you created influence the ways in which your

students will come to understand the material? (Remember that the form of the assessment influences how students prepare for it.)

My assessment tool has two parts: a discussion with peers and a self-assessment. The

first assessment tool I created will help students reflect on the assignment by explaining

their strengths, weaknesses, needs, and interests in the project. In the assessment, the

student will answer questions and give a detailed explanation of the following: 1) Give a

description of the project you have completed. 2) Explain what you liked and disliked

about the project 3) Explain what you were you able to do well, and 4) Did you have

trouble with the project? Why or Why not. Each of these questions allows the teacher to

see each student’s strengths, weaknesses, needs, and interests so the teacher can monitor

progress in each project and activity completed in the classroom. This also actively

involves the student in the assessment process, encourages self-determination and self-

advocacy skills. This exercise increases responsibility for one’s own learning and

increases critical thinking skills.  

The second assessment tool will help influence ways in which my students will

understand the material in a meaningful way. As a second assessment, the teacher will

observe the students to make sure each student is participating and giving meaningful

answers. For my students to understand the material, they must know about Martin

Luther King, Jr. and the things he did within his community. After the students fill out

their self-assessments, the teacher will ask them to get into groups of three or four and

discuss the following: 1) What did you learn during this lesson? 2) What did Martin do as

a leader? 3) Share your poems with your group and share something you like about each

person’s poem. 4) What would have happened if Martin Luther King, Jr. had not made

the “I have a dream speech?” Would anything have been different? and 5) Discuss how

Martin Luther King, Jr. can help us become better people in our community. Students

must be able to think critically and in-depth to come up with opinions and explanations

for the given discussion questions. According to Bloom’s Taxonomy, my assessment tool

has synthesis because the students must be creative by forming opinions for the, “What

if” question. The assessment tool also requires them to think, “What if” and drawing

conclusions and relating the material to other community issues. My assessment tool

incorporates all aspects of the Bloom’s Taxonomy, including, evaluation. Evaluation is

the highest point in Bloom’s Taxonomy, which incorporates opinion, and being able to

discriminate between ideas and make choices based on reasoned argument (Bloom,

1956). Towards the end of the lesson, when the teacher returns back to the KWL chart,

this also highlights several of the big ideas the students learned in the lesson which is also

another form of an assessment that allows the teacher to know who understands the big

ideas and who may not understand.  

References

Bloom, B.S. (Ed.) (1956) Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification

goals: Handbook I, cognitive domain. New York; Toronto: Longmans, Green.

Bransford, J.D., Brown A. L., & Cocking R. R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn:

Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Using KWL in the Classroom. (n.d.).http://www.teachervision.fen.com/graphic-

organizers/skill-builder/48615.html. Retrieved January 2, 2013, from

http:/http://www.teachervision.fen.com/graphic-organizers/skill-builder/48615.html