Instruction and Management Plan

Sequence and Organization

This unit is organized in order to create fluidity and cohesion amongst the
lessons rather than simply having a collection of separate lesson plans. To begin,
students will gather background information about Harper Lee, Civil Rights
Movement, The Great Depression, World War II, and race relations of the 1930s. By
doing this, they will use technological skills in order to increase their background
knowledge on the subject. This will create fluidity not only within the unit on To Kill
A Mockingbird, but also between the previous unit on rhetoric.
From there, students will take a pre-assessment test on the unit to allow
myself to determine where students are in their understanding of these issues and
how I can start to teach it. After the pre-assessment, the lessons are set up in a
way that starts basic and leads to higher-level thinking, questioning, and
understanding. We will start the novel by answering basic, surface level questions
regarding main characters, the plot, and major events within the novel. This will
allow students to adapt smoothly to the novel. We will also discuss the dialect and
how it may take some time to get used to the way that Scout narrates the novel. As
students adapt and become familiar with the basics of the novel, we will then move
into the higher level thinking questions. These discussions will be based around
several higher-level questions including how the novel is a reflection of our society,
how we can view the novel from a cultural perspective, how characters and setting
display and represent major themes and social perspectives, etc. As we reach the
end of our unit, students will then use their personal experiences and backgrounds
in order to form a solid, well-developed opinion of the novel as a whole. Overall, the
unit is set up in a way that allows fluidity and a transition from basic level thinking
to higher level questioning and understanding.

Knowledge of Content
This unit shows a deep understanding of my knowledge for the content.
Since I have adapted this unit plan from previous Education courses at CSU and
through my experience student teaching, I feel that it is a sold representation of
what I have learned over the course of the semester and my growth as an educator.
Along with this, I have read this novel multiple times which allows me to answer
student questions, look at the novel from different perspectives, and overall be
familiar and comfortable with the moral lessons and major themes that it
encompasses.
Integrating Literacy, Numeracy, and Technology
As mentioned previously in my Unit Goals, Objectives, and Standards, this
unit provides ways to incorporate several subjects including literacy, numeracy, and
technology. As far as literacy goes, in looking critically at To Kill A Mockingbird
students will be required to use specific textual evidence and background
information in order to form clear arguments and opinions regarding the novel.
Rather than just reading the novel, they will also be required to consider different
viewpoints, understand the relationship between racism, financial stability, and
status within a society. Students will also have to use literacy skills in order to
understand the cultural and societal relevancy.
Along with this, technology will be used regularly within the unit. Students
will have to use their individual laptops in order to perform research on background
and historical information. This requires them to use appropriate research skills in
order to find valid evidence. Students will also watch youtube videos, read articles,
and research current events in order to explore the themes and symbols within To
Kill A Mockingbird. We will also be watching segments of the movie To Kill A
Mockingbird and discuss how it compares and contrasts to the novel overall. The
smartboard and Document Camera will be used to discuss specific passages.
Students will be required to highlight, underline, and circle any key quotes,
passages, or phrases that they find necessary to understanding the novel. This
requires them to use technological skills in order to perform the task.
Numeracy, while seemingly difficult to incorporate into an English class, will
actually be incorporated fairly regularly. Students will be required to use numeracy
in order to perform assessment on themselves and their peers. This will look like
giving their peers or selves a standard grade and percentage based off of multiple
categories and components. When mapping out character traits or physical maps
of the setting of the novel, students will be required to use numeracy in order to
create an image that is laid out accordingly and respectively. This will include using
rulers, protractors, and other components in order to design an appropriate layout.

Instructional Strategies
1. Cooperative Learning: Students will work together in order to learn
together in a beneficial way. This will include small and large group
discussion, working with partners or small groups in order to complete
worksheets or identify and break down passages from the novel, working
with 4-6 peers on creating posters or timelines for the unit, and more.
Cooperative learning will be included in the class daily.

2.

Graphic organizers: Graphic organizers will be used in order to help guide

student learning and instruction. Students will either work individually or
in small groups in order to fill out these graphic organizers. These graphic
organizers include but are not limited to Character maps, What I know,
What I think I know models, Compare and Contrast organizers, and
Character Tree maps.

3. Differentiating Instruction: The most common way that differentiating

instruction will be used within the unit is between the two different hours
that this lesson is directed towards. For instance, 3 rd hour will be given
more time for oral reading where as 2nd hour will be given more time for
discussion of the novel. This is due to the differences in understanding
and learning between the two classes. While 2 nd hour is a Pre AP class, 3rd
hour is a class intended for lower-level students who have not performed
well on Reading and Writing tests and in previous classes. That being
said, the lessons will vary daily due to this. Within the classroom in
general, some students who struggle with concentrating and reading
silently will be pulled into the hall, students who have not done the
required work well work individually while the rest of class participates in
class discussion, students will be given opportunities to work individually
or with a partner, and much more. Differentiating instruction will be a key
component for making this unit work and be beneficial for all students.
4. Oral Reading: Oral reading will be a daily activity in both hours. While 2 nd
hour will work primarily to dig deep and perform deeper-level reading, 3 rd
hour oral reading will be used to ensure student understanding and
student involvement. Oral reading will fluctuate depending on the period
and the day. Some days, we will read an entire chapter of the novel as a
class. For instance, when looking a the court scene and the trial, 3 rd hour
will read the novel out loud in order to ensure that everyone understands
the complexity of the case. Other days, we will look specifically and just a
few selected passages and have students read them out loud in order to
hear the fluctuation in dialect and the overall mood that Scout, the
narrator, creates throughout the novel.

5. Guided Practice: Before we begin group or individual work, we will often

go through a question or activity first as an entire class. For instance, if
students are required to perform a close reading of a passage from the
novel, they will be guided through this first in order to ensure that all
students are clear with the expectations for the activity or assignment.
This will incorporate using the Document Camera or the Smartboard so
that students can actively and visually see how to perform a specific task.