Sample Lesson Plan

Lesson Overview: This lesson is the opening "hook" lesson for a unit on Harper Lee's To Kill a
Mockingbird. Previous teachers have noticed students struggling to visualize the setting described in the
novel during the first seven chapters. The lesson is designed to provide a visual aid as a point of
reference when reading the novel and begins by asking students to use their prior knowledge of American
life in the 1930s. After the lesson, the photos will be displayed around the classroom.

CCSS:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-
10.10. Write routinely over
extended time frames for a
range of tasks, purposes,
and audiences.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-
10.1. Initiate and participate
effectively in a range of
collaborative discussions
with diverse partners on
grade 9-10 topics, texts, and
issues.
Objectives:
1. Students can use their
perception skills to notice
aspects of living from the
1930s. (See)
2. Students can make
thoughtful inferences about
the image they see. (Think-
Wonder)
3. Students can share out
their most interesting
discoveries.

Rationale:
The lesson's scaffolding
serves two purposes for the
future progression of this
unit. First, it will serve as a Class: English 10. 50 minutes
reference point as students
get used to the setting of Set-up/Materials: Display 1930s photo in classroom. See-Think-
TKAM. Images will be Wonder charts printed and ready to pass out to students. Photos
displayed in classroom after with context paragraph set up in media center for Image Walk.
the lesson. Second, after Arrange seats in the media center in a circle for group discussion.
doing this activity with
images, we will practice this General Practices: Each student receives their See-Think-Wonder
process to notice chart at the beginning of class. Image walk expectations are
descriptions from the text in modeled by instructor with help from students. Lesson follows I Do-
a similar way. We are We Do-You Do format. During discussion students explain their
moving from images to text observations beginning with "I saw…, I thought…, I wondered…"
using the same method.
Assessment:
In addition to my observations
as I rotate to the different
groups during the Image Walk,
a few students will be able to
share their observations. I will
encourage some of the students
I check in with during the walk
who were making insightful
inferences to share. I will also
allow volunteers to share and
will cold-call students after they
have a minute to prepare their
responses. We can discuss as
the conversation naturally
unfolds.
See-Think-Wonder charts will
be collected at the end of the
hour. I will assess their
observations and summarize
patterns in their observations for
the entire class the following
day.
Post-Lesson Annotation:
Students made clear and
thoughtful connections about
small town life and their own
small town, sharing these
thoughts during the whole group
discussion. Students used their
prior-knowledge of the 1930s to
aid their observations of the
images, which I observed when
checking in with each group.
Upon reviewing the charts,
students clearly moved from "I
see" to "I think" to "I wonder"
making more significant
observations as they went.
Making adjustments to either
the number of images or the
time spent at each image should
be considered next time.
Students remained engaged for
the 4 minutes, but often did not
meet the required amount of
entries.
Time Activities Teacher Thinking
10 min Modeling Activity— I Do
Students will turn their attention to
the projector and see a photo
taken during the 1930s to reflect This model will give
the setting of To Kill A students a chance to
Mockingbird. I will model the see a range of possible
thinking when filling out the chart entries they may make
for each of the three columns. during the Image Walk.
We Do
After a few entries, students may
chime in with what they noticed
from the photo.
5 min Instructions
4 min at each of the 5 photos. In I predict that students
that time, they must write a may struggle to stay on
minimum of 12 entries. task when in small
Students will be reminded of groups. I will circulate
independent work norms and to be among the groups and
mindful of their peers, giving help those who need
everyone equal chances to see the assistance.
photos.
25 min Image Walk— You Do The groups will be
Students will be broken into chosen randomly before
groups and directed to their first leaving the classroom
photo when they walk into the and heading to the
media center. At this time students media center. Once
will approach their first photo and everyone is at their
begin recording their observations image I will start the
in their charts. I will set the alarm time. It is important that
on my phone for 4 min. Students I circulate the room and
will rotate to the next image once push students to deeper
the alarm sounds. thinking.
8 min Group Discussion
For the last portion of the class, we
Giving students a
will come together and sit in a
moment to find an entry
circle to share out our discoveries.
they could share helps
I will instruct everyone to take a
alleviate anxiety about
minute and star or underline a
being called on to
couple things they thought were
speak. This completes
interesting or maybe didn't see
our final objective for
right away. Students will then be
the day.
prompted to share with the group.
2 min Wrap-up
I will turn students' attention back
to the objectives of the day (written
We've come full circle to
on board and verbally told to
connect back to our
students at the start of each class),
main objectives for the
explaining again that the See-
day. I will read through
Think-Wonder process can be
the charts and assess if
used as we examine TKAM. Tell
the objectives 1 and 2
students that I hope they now have
were met for the day.
a visual of the novel's setting.
Tomorrow's lesson will
be adjusted accordingly.
Collect charts for participation
points.
Sample Lesson Plan Materials

Here are a couple of the photos used during the Image Walk with contextual descriptions. Posted on
large poster board.
See-Think-Wonder Chart given to students to record their observation.