Lesson Design Template

Department of Teacher Education

Teacher Candidate:
Alexandra Boyd

Date:
11/30/15

Subject/Grade/Course
Sophomore English

Lesson Title:
Elements of Satire in Literature

STAGE 1 DESIRED RESULTS

Established Goals / P-12 State Content
Standards
What relevant goals (content standards,
professional standards, course or program
objectives, learning outcomes) will this lesson
address? Cite name of standards document,
numbers & text, using only the parts specific to
this lesson.

9.4.2.2 Determine a theme or central idea

of a text and analyze in detail its
development over the course of the text,
including how it emerges and is shaped
and refined by specific details; provide an
objective summary of the text.

9.5.6.6 Determine an authors point of view

or purpose in a text and analyze how an
author uses rhetoric to advance that point
of view or purpose.

Context

Why is this important for the learner? Justify your

reason for teaching this lesson.

This is the seventh lesson in a ten day unit on

satire. The unit takes place during the second
half of the school year, within a semester that
focuses on the effects of language and
communication in advocating for social change.
The lesson marks the second day that the class
will be looking at satire in literature, following a
lesson on Vonneguts Harrison Bergeron. The
essential questions for this unit remain what are
the benefits of approaching social criticism
satirically? What are the drawbacks? and why
is social criticism important? although this
lesson focuses more on the question of how can
a work of fiction change our perception of
society/ourselves? After this lesson students will
take what they learned about satire in literature,
history and everyday life and focus in on the
essential questions of the unit.

There are many good reasons to teach this

lesson, the most obvious of these being that
in planning a unit on satire for English class, it
seems like an oversight to spend fewer than
two days discussing satire in literature. In
reality, I should probably be spending more
time on literature, but I feel that looking at
satire in this way is less applicable to
students lives. Looking at satire with less of a
literary slant is meant to begin developing
media literacy and change advocacy skills. I
chose to focus this lesson on Pure
Language specifically because while it has
satirical elements, it is more subtle in its
satire than Harrison Bergeron. I think it will
be useful for students to be exposed to a
piece that is satirical at moments and serious
at others, and that is definitely making
statements about the world in which we live
(or the world in which we might live in the
near future).The very heartfelt, hopeful tone
in this story contrasts the bleak, exaggerated
version of the future we are shown in
Harrison Bergeron. Overall, teaching a
lesson focused on this short story exposes the
learner to a gentler hand in satire and gives
them additional practice in picking up on the
genre in literature.
Academic Language Objectives

Content Objectives
Students will be able to [SWBAT.]
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Rationale

Where does this lesson fit in the curriculum?

[consider big ideas/enduring understandings,
essential questions at unit level; What came before
this lesson and what will come after?]

Students will be able to ..[SWBAT]

What key knowledge and skills will students acquire

as a result of this lesson?

Students will be able to share interesting

points from their notes on Pure
Language
Students will able to form and defend an
opinion on whether Pure Language
should be considered a satirical work by
responding to a survey question
Students will be able to compare and
contrast some of the major points in
Pure Language with those in Harrison
Bergeron
Students will be able to write an short
piece of literary satire

What are the language

functions/vocabulary/syntax/ that students will
need to be successful in this lesson?

Students will recall the relevant points

they made in discussion the previous
day in class.
Students will be able to apply their
understanding of how satire is used in
a text to form an opinion on whether
Pure Language would be considered
a satirical story
Students will be able to analyze major
similarities and differences between
Harrison Bergeron and Pure
Language using textual examples
Students will develop their
understanding of satirical literature to
write a short original piece

STAGE 2 ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE

Students will show they have achieved Stage 1 learning objectives when
They are actively working with their small groups on the group-work portions of the lesson, they respond to the in class survey as well as being responsive
during whole class discussion questions Each student will complete a Venn Diagram individually during class using text based examples for the part of the
story they are examining. Students will also write a short piece of literary satire overnight.

Criteria for Evaluating Student Work

What criteria will be used when examining students products or performances to know if they were successful? What constitutes acceptable work? [rubric,
percentage correct, weighted parts]
Note: established criteria may not be applicable to every assessment measure above.

Students will produce a fair amount of work this lesson, though most of it will be evaluated on whether or not it is complete. For responding
to the survey:
Students will receive credit for their work being complete if they included a line or two of justification to back up their response
Students will receive an incomplete if they either do not fill out the survey or do not offer any justification for their response
For the Venn Diagram worksheet I will give students a summative grade out of ten based on the following criteria:
Students will receive full credit if they addressed their topic finding points in each story that were similar, points that were different,
textual evidence to support each and if they gave some thought to argument Egan is making in Pure Language
Students will receive partial credit (between 7-9 points) if they find comparing and contrasting examples for both stories but do not
include textual evidence for either their comparing or contrasting points OR if they do not address the question of Egans argument
Students will receive partial credit (4-6 points) if they included comparing and contrasting examples with no textual evidence OR if
they include one example of textual evidence but do not address the question of Egans argument
Students will receive less than half credit or less (1-3 points) if they come up with either points that just compare or just contrast, do
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not include any textual evidence AND do not address the question of Egans argument
If students do not do the sheet at all, they will receive no credit
The satirical pieces that students write for homework will be graded on the basis of length and completion. Since these are meant to be
another way for students to practice writing and using satire, it does not make sense to be too critical of the work that is produced.

STAGE 3 - LEARNING PLAN

What learning experiences and instruction will enable students to achieve the desired results? Is there tight alignment with Stages 1 and 2? Is the plan
likely to be engaging and effective for all students? Lesson Guide may be tailored to type of lesson [direct instruction, inquiry, science lab, mock trial, etc.]
Use bullet points or numbered items format. Include discussion questions.

LESSON GUIDE

TIME

LEARNING EXPERIENCE/EVENT

Opening//Motivation

3-5
mins

I will display the questions we got to in discussion the previous day. As a class, we will quickly review
some of the interesting points that came up in fishbowl discussions that students mentioned on their
exit tickets.

4-5
mins

Students will share a few of the notes they took the previous night with their group members and
respond to a survey question on Socrative, Based on the different satirical pieces we have looked at so
far in the semester, is it fair to call Pure Language satire? Why or why not? I will display the survey
responses.

4-5
mins

Groups will go around and mention one or two things that stood out to them about the story, anything
they did not understand about it and whether they all agreed on whether or not it should be considered
satire

Engage
Connect to prior
experience/learning
Communicate
learning goals,
expectations

Presentation/Instruc
tion

Teach/model/demo
the new
skill/strategy/concept
Scaffold
Use multiple
strategies

Structured Practice
Exploration/Inquiry
Model

Guide, interact
Question, think,
discuss
Explore key ideas,
issues
Check for
understanding

3-5
mins

8-10
mins

Guided
Practice/Feedback

Provide opportunities
for students to
rethink & revise
Tailor to different
needs, interests,
abilities
Correct

8-10
mins

As a large group, we will begin to fill out a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting Harrison Bergeron
with Pure Language. As a class we will do a compare/contrast example by looking at how a few of the
main characters are depicted, including relevant quotes from the text.
Students will then continue to fill out the diagrams in their small groups using examples from the text.
Each group looking at one of the following categories:
how technology is used in each story
how celebrity is viewed in each story
how families ties are represented
the tone of each story
what is being satirized (if anything)
Once students finish with their assigned category the will discuss the question of what argument
Pure Language is making and whether the author is advocating for any particular change in an
idea or behavior
As a class, we will go over students group responses in their Venn Diagrams and answer any additional
questions about the story

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misunderstandings
Check for readiness
to work
independently
Provide feedback

Independent
Practice/Application,
Transfer

Check for acquisition,

meaning & ability to
transfer learning
Allow students to
evaluate their work
and its implications

4-6
mins

We will also discuss what each group came up with for the second part of the question, and as a class
compare it to some of the discussion responses on whether Harrison Bergeron was advocating for
social change. Students who did not finish this question during group work can response on their
worksheets during full class discussion

4-6
mins

Students will spend the last few minutes starting their homework assignment, to write their own 1-2
page piece of literary satire

Closure

Review key
concepts/points
How will students
articulate their
learning?

STAGE 3 LEARNING PLAN

Equity Measures / Differentiation

What scaffolds and universal design elements have you included to ensure
ALL students meet high expectations?
This lesson starts out by reviewing the discussion points that stood out to
students from the previous class, giving them a chance to recall and more
fully grasp what their classmates were saying. After that, the bulk of the
class period is spent comparing and contrasting Harrison Bergeron and
Pure Language in a scaffolded format. The lesson models what needs to
be done, allows students to practice the strategy that was modeled by
working in small groups and then reviews the results of group work. The
work done to compare and contrast different elements of these two stories
is done using Venn Diagrams to support students who learn better when
information is represented graphically. Students will work on important
class questions individually, in small groups and as a whole class. Students
will respond to their survey question using an application, rather than
writing it out. Socrative also provides the means to share student
responses as a graph or chart. All directions will be represented visually via
Power Point as well as spoken aloud.

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Progress Monitoring

How will you monitor students progress toward acquisition, meaning, and
transfer during this lesson? What are potential rough spots and student
misunderstandings? How will students get the feedback they need?
Early in the lesson when I ask students to respond to the survey question, I
will be able to get a sense of whether or not they seemed to understand the
reading. Then, when they share what they discussed in small groups, I will be
able to guide groups who seemed to misunderstand the reading or the
question. During this portion of the class period, I will also encourage
students to ask about any of the content of the story. We will not go over the
events of Pure Language in great detail like we did with A Modest Proposal
or Harrison Bergeron but I still want to be able to clarify for students any
areas of the narrative that they had trouble with. As students work in small
groups I will be able to check in with them, giving special attention to any
groups who seemed to have trouble with the survey question or the modeling
exercises that preceded small group work. Finally, when we go over the
completed Venn Diagrams as a class, I will have one more opportunity to
check in with them about their learning. Each student will turn in a completed
diagram and if it still appears that they do not understand what I am
expecting of them, I will be able to talk to them about it the following class or
later in the week.

Grouping

Co-Teaching Model

Materials / Resources

Contingency Plan

Will students work individually, in pairs, small groups? How are these
determined and why?
Students will work individually, in small groups and as a whole class.
Students do not work in pairs at all this lesson. They will be working in the
same mixed-ability groups that they used in the previous lessons. In
working with these groups, hopefully students who have no trouble
grasping the compare-contrast concepts will be able to help their
classmates who are struggling with it.

What materials/resources/technologies will you need for this lesson? What

will students need?
Teacher needs:
Power point and computer hooked up to a screen
White board or chalk board
Internet access for Socratic
Venn Diagram worksheets
A list of major points from discussion the previous day
Exit tickets from the previous day
Students need:
Harrison Bergeron Text
Pure Language Text
iPad
Writing utensil
Notebook (to start their homework in)

Which co-teaching model(s) will be used [if applicable]?

Co-teaching models that might work well with this lesson would be parallel
teaching, so that each teacher would model and circulate between a
comparatively smaller group of students, or one-teach, one-support. The oneteach, one-support strategy would work well during the group work time
portions of this lesson. Additionally, I think the lesson could be modified to
allow for alternative teaching if some students seem to really be struggling
with the concepts. My fellow instructor could take a group of students who are
having the hardest time to another corner of the room and practice giving
them more support. Together they could answer the question of what
argument the author might be putting forth in this short story and fill out the
Venn Diagram. I would adjust the groups of remaining students to even them
out. It might be especially useful to use alternative teaching at this point in
the unit, since students who have fallen behind may need the extra
assistance in order to catch up.

What Is your plan for those who need additional time/finish early/need
support? Back-up if things dont go according to plan?
I added a range of time for each activity in addition to a space of flexible time
at the end of class which, ideally, students could use to start working on their
homework, but additional time for small group or full class activities can take
precedence over that if necessary. If I dont have my computer or internet
access I will have a printed out copy of my slides and will write instructions on
the board. Rather than having students take their quiz on Socrative, I will ask
them to stand up as I ask if they think Pure Language is satire, is not, or if
they are not sure. Then I will have them discuss why they stood at the point
that they did in their small groups and I will ask for volunteers. I will have less
of an opportunity to get student to engage with this question before they
begin discussing it, but it still gives them a chance to form an opinion, talk
about it with their peers and then with the larger group. Students can draw
Venn Diagrams in their notebooks or on scrap paper if I am short worksheets
or forget to bring them to class. If I do not get a chance to read through the
exit tickets after class that night, we can review important points of
discussion from my in-class notes. The goal of opening class in this way is
mainly to get students thinking back to the main ideas of the yesterdays
lesson as we continue to look at the uses of satire in fiction.

POST-INSTRUCTION REFLECTION
Strengths: What did you do in your planning and teaching to ensure your students would learn? To what extent did the whole class or group learn what
you intended them to learn?

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Opportunities for Growth: For whom did the lesson work best? What didnt work and for whom? What will be your next instructional steps?

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