Concept Unit Day Eight

Context:
English 9
Ninth Grade
90 minutes
Lesson Plan Type: Full
Objective
AFFECTIVE
A. Value the
experience of
hearing their peers
work read to them
by the author.
B. Value the
feedback from
others after reading
their personal
works.
PERFORMATIVE
C. Read their
chosen works for
the class.
D. Articulate things
about students
work that they
enjoyed or learned.
E. Evaluate the
impact of reading
aloud and receiving
feedback in their
writing journey.

SOLs
The students
will make
planned oral
presentation
s
independentl
y and in
groups.
f) Evaluate
the impact
and purpose
of the
presentation
j) Use a
variety of
strategies to
listen
actively.

Assessment
DIAGNOSTIC
Students will describe their initial
feelings (positive or negative) towards
reading aloud during our initial
greeting, where I will circulate the room
and get a feeling for how prepared
students feel for the activity. (A, B, C, D,
E)
FORMATIVE
Students will demonstrate their
appreciation for other students work
during the positive comments section of
Open Mic Day [after each student
presents.] (A, D)
Students will demonstrate their
appreciation of the feedback received
from peers during the class discussion.
(B, E)
Students will practice reading their
works before the class during the
personal piece reading section of Open
Mic Day. (C)
SUMMATIVE
Students will demonstrate their
relationship with peer feedback and
personal performance in their final
reflections. (A, B, C, D, E)

Agenda:
1. Greeting
2. Open Mic Day!
3. Class Discussion: Final whole-class share about writing process and
performance aspect.
4. Homework: Final reflection and draft due next class.
Beginning Room Arrangement:
A podium will be placed at the front of the room. All desks and chairs will be
pushed to the side so that we can sit on the floor with cushions and blankets

(and whatever else students choose to use for comfort.) On one side of the
classroom there will be a small table with hot cocoa, marshmallows, cookies,
and other treats, as well as mugs for students to use and paper plates to keep
the classroom clean.
Instructional Steps:
1. Greeting [5 min]
As students arrive, I will take the opportunity to greet them, ask them if
theyre excited, or nervous, and to please take food and chocolate and find a
place where they feel comfortable. During this time I will check in quickly with
multiple students to get an idea of the feelings in the room about presentation,
particularly how they feel about presenting (nervous, scared, excited) and
provide reassurance accordingly. I will also ask if students are worried or
excited about possible comments from peers during this time. Questions I
might ask include:

Do you feel ready to present today?

Are you excited? How can I help you feel more secure?
What do you expect other students will say when they hear your work?
Do you think theyll contribute anything helpful?
Are you looking forward to hearing everyones work?

Once everyones had a chance to get comfortable, I will introduce the manner
of the proceedings. Students will come up and read their piece according to a
number they choose from a hat that will be prepared for this purpose. Once
the student reads, the rest of the class will perform a rapid-fire share of
positive things they felt while listeningwords that impacted them, or an
image, anything positive they have to say. When everyone has shared, the
writer will bow and we will clap for them, and whoevers next up will rise and
take their place at the head of the room. If no one has any questions, we will
proceed in taking names out of a hat and ask our first reader to step forward.
2. Open Mic Day! [70 min]
One by one students will go to the front of the room, read their piece, receive
their positive feedback, and go back to their seats. During the feedback
portion, the goal is for students to give feedback. If absolutely necessary (for
instance, if a student is very nervous or worked really hard on a piece) I will
also give positive feedback, but the goal is for students to speak. Possible
comments may include:

I really liked the way

It was great how you
I felt so
There was this moment that made me feel/think
I never would have thought to

3. Class Discussion [14 min]

Once all students have shared, I will thank everyone for their contributions
and congratulate them on having overcome such a stressful and difficult task.
We will then all move so that we sit in a circle (with me as part of the circle)
and have a short discussion about the writing process. Guiding questions will
include:

How did it feel, to publish your work by sharing it out loud?

How is listening to literature different from reading it? How does it
make one feel, to hear stories/poems/memoirs read aloud?
Is it different (reading) now that its stuff youve written? How does that
change the consumption of writing?
How do we feel about writing now? As opposed to before?
How has writing for ourselves changed the way we write? The way we
think about writing?
Would this be something youd be interested in doing again?
What kinds of things did we do that helped you write? What could we do
to make writing easier to do and to read? To perform?
What do you wish we could read/write more of?

The goal of this discussion will be for students to share their experiences,
their thoughts and feelings with the class. Because this can be intimidating,
Ive made sure to schedule enough time that students can get comfortable
before raising their hands, and provided a comfortable atmosphere to reduce
the pressure. In the case that some students still dont get involved, Ill make
sure to call on those that havent yet shared and ask them questions to prompt
them.
4. Homework Reminder
When one minute remains before the bell rings, students will be reminded of
the materials due last class and the appropriate method for submission
(printed paper copies.)
Materials
Hat with slips of paper
Hot chocolate, marshmallows, muffins, other treats
Paper plates
Mugs
Sentence starters (attached)
PowerPoint slide with questions
Accommodations
During our greeting, I want to make sure I check in with Simon and Rebecca
to make sure theyre prepared for the day ahead. Rebecca because its hard

for her to read her work aloud, and I want her to know Im here for her and
that we all want to see her succeed and are eager to hear the great things she
wrote so she shouldnt be scared. I want to check in with Simon because, for
all his jokes, he can be sensitive about his work, and I want to reassure him
were all happy to hear whatever he has written for us.
I also want to check in with Izzie before and after reading, as I know shes
sensitive to feedback. Ill make sure to ask her how shes feeling about
reading (before) and what it felt like to get so many positive comments (after)
so I can gauge whether she has built a comfort in my class and feels safe
going forward.
Finally, I made sure to prepare a handout of sentence starters for Rebecca in
case she struggles in giving feedback. I know its hard for her to think of what
to say, so I want her to be encouraged to say something, and if she has
somewhere to start, shes more likely to give it a try.

Positive Feedback Sentence Starters

I really liked the way

It was great how you
I felt so
There was this moment that made me feel/think
I never would have thought to
I enjoyed hearing this because
It was especially _____ when you
I liked the examples because.
The strongest part was
I was really touched by
I really liked when
It was helpful to hear about
I never knew you could
That was a great connection because
I laughed when you