UbD Lesson Plan Template

Client Organization: Poudre High School

Main Contact: Chris Vanjonack

Telephone: 720-318-2894

Fax: N/A

Email Address: chrisvanjonack@gmail.com

Date: 9/24/2014

VITAL INFORMATION
Chris Vanjonack

Author

English

*Subject(s)

Unit 2: Revolutionary Literature

Topic or Unit of
Study

10th Grade American Literature

*Grade/Level

This lesson comes in the middle of the unit and is intended to teach students how to craft an effective position
statement
[95 minute class period]

*Summary

STANDARDS
*Standards

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the
text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text
leaves matters uncertain.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1a Introduce precise, knowledgeable claims, establish the significance the

claims, distinguish the claims from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that
logically sequences claims, counterclaims, reasons and evidence.

UBD (UNDERSTANDING
BY DESIGN) LESSON PLAN ELEMENTS REQUIRED:

STAGE 1 DESIRED RESULTS

Established Goals
Understandings
Overarching
Understanding
Related
Misconceptions
Essential Questions

Knowledge

Skills

Students will be able to write a position statement

Students will analyze political cartoons for persuasive elements

-Students will understand how political cartoons function as persuasive texts and deepen their understanding of
how to compose a position statement
-Students will understand how to compose a position statement.
-Students will identify their own misconceptions of how to begin a persuasive essay by bringing in their first drafts
of their introduction.

How do political cartoons operate as persuasive texts?

What is the greatest authoritative position from which to write for a specific purpose?
What can we infer from a political cartoon and how?

Deeper knowledge of Persuasive Texts as a genre

Greater understanding of how to compose a position statement.

Reading political cartoons

Identifying persuasive elements
Composing Position Statements

UBD (UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN) LESSON PLAN ELEMENTS REQUIRED:

STAGE 2: Assessment Evidence

Performance Task Description:

What authentic performance tasks will students demonstrate the desired understandings?
By what criteria will performances be judged?
Through what evidence (e.g. quizzes, tests, academic prompts, observations, homework, journals) will

students demonstrate achievement of the desired results?

How will students reflect upon and self assess their learning:
Goal To create a political cartoon in support of the position they are taking in their persuasive essay.
Students will then trade cartoons with a partner and write a potential position statement based
on what the cartoon seems to be saying.
Role Writer, Artist, Audience and Presenter (Both partners must participate in all three of these
roles.
Audience The students peers and teacher
Situation Activity and think-pair-share (20 minutes for producing and sharing )
Product/Performance A political cartoon that uses images and text to support the persuasive message they are
working on for their persuasive essay assignment.
Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.3 Evaluate a speakers point of view, seasoning and use
of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or
distorted evidence.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.10 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they

are used in a text, including figurative, connotative and technical meanings, analyze
the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g. how the
language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper. .

UBD (UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN) LESSON PLAN ELEMENTS REQUIRED:

STAGE 3: Learning Plan
What learning experiences and instruction will enable students to achieve the
desired results? How will the design:
Where are your students
headed? Where have they
been?
How will you make sure the students know where
they are going?

My students have been introduced to both the elements of persuasive writing

(including rhetoric, claims and support) as well as the persuasive essay, which
will serve as the culminating text for the unit. They have already picked a topic
and written an initial draft of their introduction. This lesson is intended to A) let
them evaluate and produce political cartoons as a form of persuasive writing and
B) let them practice producing position statements by trading political cartoons
based off of their topics and crafting a mock-position statement. This lesson is
designed to teach them how to produce and incorporate a position statement into
their draft. I will make sure that students know where they are going by directly
telling them at the start of the activity that they are practicing producing position
statements so they may be inserted into the draft.

How will you hook students at the beginning of the

unit?

I will hook students at the beginning of the lesson by showing them the New
Years Resolution political cartoon. This is a nonpartisan cartoon that features
political parties and politicians making New Years Resolutions, with a man in a
shirt labeled VOTER resolving to Be smarter than to believe everything
politicians say. I will ask students to write down questions they have about the
cartoons subject, message, and images. Students will then pair up with a partner
to discuss (10 minutes)

What events will help students experience and explore Students will first explore political cartoons as persuasive texts by viewing a
the big idea and questions in the unit?
number of them on the overhead as a full class and answering the following
How will you equip them with needed skills and
questions:
knowledge?
What is the artists bias?
How is that bias portrayed?
What about the image seems exaggerated or understated?
What are you seeing that suggests a particular opinion?
What position is the artist taking?
What might a position statement for the cartoon be?

-Students will then create a political cartoon for the topic that they are writing
about for their Persuasive Essay assignment. The cartoon should be advocating
the same point that they are seeking to make in their essay. (10 minutes)
Students will then trade cartoons with a partner. Using the same strategies that
we have been using for professional political cartoons, students will seek to
determine the meaning of their partners cartoon. Utilizing the position statement
handout, student will then create what they believe to be the position statement
of the cartoon. Some students will share. (10 minutes)
How will you cause students to reflect and rethink?
How will you guide them in rehearsing, revising, and
refining their work?

To reflect and rethink, I will have students take out their rough draft of their
introductory paragraph of their Persuasive Essay. Students will see where their
position statement might best fit into the paragraph. I talk about how the position
statement is one of the most important components of any persuasive essay. I
will tell students that they will be expected to include a clear, concise position
statement in their Persuasive Essay. Students will rethink and reflect in that they
will look back upon their draft of the introduction and realize where and how to
add the position statement. I will guide students here by being very upfront with
what I am looking for out of a position statement, and these tenants will be
displayed using the effective vs. ineffective position statement handout that will
be given at the beginning of class. (5 minutes)
How will you help students to exhibit and self-evaluate Ticket out the door: Students will be write a short ticket out the door in which
their growing skills, knowledge, and understanding
they write out how a position statement differs from a thesis statement, which we
throughout the unit?
learned about during the previous unit. (5 minutes)

How will you tailor and otherwise personalize the

learning plan to optimize the engagement and
effectiveness of ALL students, without compromising
the goals of the unit?

If students have not completed their introduction, they can work instead
on crafting a position statement for their own essay rather than pairing
up with a partner.
If students are having too difficult a time with analyzing the political
cartoons, we will do the two other examples as guided practice instead
of small group work.
To Extend: If there is extra time because students are truly
understanding political cartoons and position statements, I will allow
students to work on their own position statements.