Akers-Pecht 1

Syntax Lesson: Dialogue

Week

of 3; Plan # 7

of 9; [90 mins.]

Plan type: ____Full-Detail ____Summary

Content Requirement Satisfied: Syntax instruction and instruction that uses at least 1 text
passage as a mentor text
(Note: Refer to the list in the document called Concept Unit Lesson Plans)
Unit Learning Objectives (numbered) [from my Backwards Design Unit Document],
followed by Specific lesson objectives (lettered) being taught in this lesson:
SWBAT:
Cognitive (know/understand):
2. Students will know that character development tracks the changes in a character throughout
the course of a literary work.
c. Students will understand that authors use dialogue as a way to indirectly show
character changes and interactions.
d. Students will know the punctuation and syntax rules for writing dialogue in order to
develop a character.
Affective (feel/value) and/or Non-Cognitive:
6. Students will value one anothers personal identities, opinions, and backgrounds.
e. Students will feel that their peers are providing them with respectful constructive
criticism on their personal narrative rough drafts in a workshop setting.
Performance (do):
8. Students will be able to analyze the development of themselves and a literary character.
d. Students will be able to analyze dialogue that shows character development within a
mentor text.
e. Students will be able to analyze the use of dialogue in a peers personal narrative.
SOLs:
Reading 8.5c Explain how authors use characters, conflict, point of view, voice, and tone to
create meaning.
CCSs:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues,
building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Procedures/Instructional Strategies
[Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.]

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Beginning Room Arrangement:
Students desks will be grouped in pairs so that they will be ready to discuss one anothers
personal narrative rough drafts in the writing workshop portion at the end of class.
[Changes in this arrangement that become necessary later will be noted in the plan]
1. [5 mins.] Bridge/Hook/Opening to lesson: Journal entry
As students enter class, they will see directions on the board to go to their class bin and get out
their journals for a do now journal writing activity.
Good morning! Welcome back to class! Today, our goal is going to be to talk about dialogue.
When we read Fish Cheeks by Amy Tan, we talked some about how the dialogue in the story
let us, the readers, know about the main characters personality and her relationships with other
characters. We encountered even more dialogue last class, especially in the essay written by
Jason that you all had read for homework.
I want you all to spend about five minutes writing in your journals about the importance of
dialogue. Why should you include it in writing, and how is it going to help readers understand
your personal narrative? After you answer these questions, I want you to write a sample line at
least one, but you can write more of dialogue, using punctuation. These directions are on the
board for you to reference as you write. The students will write independently for about five
minutes.
As students write, I will make sure to get cameras to any of the students who informed me last
class that they had changed their minds and would need a camera after all. I can pass these out to
students as they write their journal entries and record the number on the camera each student
borrows on my clipboard if necessary.
2. [15 mins.] Step 1: Sharing journal entries / whole-class discussion of dialogue
Okay, so now that weve got those down, lets tackle the first couple of questions. Who can tell
me why dialogue is important for us to include in our writing? I will call on students with their
hands raised to share. Expected responses include that dialogue shows a characters personality
and development, interactions and relationships between characters, as well as makes writing
more interesting to read and more realistic to everyday life.
Now lets talk about the examples of dialogue we wrote in our journals. Can I have three
volunteers share their examples on the board? Dont forget to include all of your punctuation
marks, because well specifically be focusing on mechanics and grammar rules to use when
writing dialogue later today. I will call on volunteers to come up to the board and write their
dialogue. As a class, we will look at all three examples and talk about their use of punctuation.
An example might look like the following:

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So Sally wrote: Hey, you! Get off my lawn! yelled the old man. So what punctuation marks did
she use to let us know the old man was talking? Students will likely respond with quotation
marks. Thats right the quotation marks signify the beginning and end of when the old man is
speaking or yelling at her. And where does the exclamation point go here? Students will likely
respond Inside the quotation marks. The conversation will continue for each of the three
examples, me making any changes or corrections to their sentences as needed and explaining
why they need to be changed.
3. [10 mins.] Step 2: Modeling It Says/I Say with dialogue
Now were going to look at a text that uses a lot of dialogue. This short story is called
Names/Nombres by Julia Alvarez, and is based on the authors real experiences immigrating
to America as a young girl. Youll find that this story is really similar to Fish Cheeks because
it involves a main character who belongs to two different cultures.
Im going to read the story aloud to you all first. As I read, I will pause periodically for you to
fill out an It Says/I Say sheet. Ill do the first couple for you so that you can see how this is
done. I will pass out these It Says/I Say sheets to the students. I will read up to the end of the
second paragraph and then pause. So now Im going to choose an example of dialogue to put in
the first column of my graphic organizer. It asks me to choose a line of dialogue from the story.
Im going to pick when the man at the hotel tells Julia, Hey, little girl, stop riding the elevator
up and down. Its not a toy. Now in the I Say column, Im going to talk about how the way
the author wrote the dialogue impacts my understanding of whats going on. So first of all, I
notice that some of these words are in italics both not and toy. So this tells me the man is
emphasizing these two words its NOT a TOY. So Ill write this in the I Say column here
that I hear these two words more harshly in the sentence because theyre written in italics and
stand out to me on the page. Because of the way its written in italics, I think that this man
sounds pretty rude it sounds like hes gotten an attitude with Julia or is angry or annoyed with
her.
I will record my thoughts in the I Say column and use think aloud strategies to explain my
reasoning to students. Then I will keep reading and pause again to model another example to
students, once again using think aloud.
4. [10 mins.] Step 3: It Says/I Say in pairs
Okay, now that weve gotten through the first page of the story with me modeling how to fill out
the graphic organizer, I want you all to work on the next page in pairs. I will keep reading the
story aloud, and when I pause, I want you to work with your elbow partner to come up with
another piece of dialogue you want to focus on. I will begin to read aloud and pause every couple
of paragraphs. As students work in pairs at this time, I will circle around and monitor their
discussions. I will point out examples of dialogue/certain elements of this dialogue as students
write. (For example, Alvarez frequently uses dialect and spells things incorrectly to represent the

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way they are pronounced Portorikko for Puerto Rico, for instance.) I will point out these and
other unique elements that Alvarez incorporates in her dialogue.
5. [10 mins.] Step 4: It Says/I Say individually
Now that weve gotten onto the last page of the story, Ill keep reading aloud, and now each time
I pause, I want you all to fill out an additional line in your It Says/I Say charts individually.
You have a couple of rows left, so use the time where I pause to fill out the remainder of the
graphic organizer. Keep in mind as you work that were going to share some of these examples
with the class so that we can look at this dialogue and its punctuation and style more closely. I
may call on you, so be ready to share! I will begin reading and pause after every few paragraphs
so that students can fill out two more rows on their charts. I will circle the class to stop by
students who seem at a loss for what to write about. In doing so, I will repeat some of the
strategies / point out the same sort of elements in Alvarezs writing that I discuss in step 4.
6. [15 mins.] Step 5: Whole-class discussion of It Says/I Say dialogue examples
Now that you all have written some examples of dialogue youve come across in
Names/Nombres, lets talk about them together in terms of their punctuation and writing style.
Jane, would you like to share one example you wrote down by yourself? Jane will share an
example with the class. Using the overhead projector, I will underline this example and color
code different punctuation marks so that students can see how quotation marks are used (I could
highlight these in yellow), how ending punctuation is used (maybe highlight these in green), and
how other elements such as italicized words or dialect are used (to be highlighted in additional
colors).
7. [20 mins.]: Step 6: Writing workshop in groups with focus on dialogue
So weve now seen how Alvarez uses dialogue to tell her story of moving to America. Weve
discussed how her dialogue helps us to envision characters and their personalities and feelings,
to show relationships between characters, and to make the story more interesting and realistic to
us as readers. Youve brought in your rough drafts of your personal narratives for homework;
Id like you to quickly and quietly get those out of your folders now. Students will retrieve their
drafts from their class folders. As they do this, I will put some new questions on the overhead
projector to help students with this part of the lesson.
With your elbow partner who youre seated with, Id like for you to look at their drafts and
especially focus on their use of dialogue. Ive posted some questions on the overhead projector
you might want to consider: Does my partners dialogue follow the grammar and punctuation
rules weve discussed today with our examples? If not, what does my partner need to change? (I
suggest that you circle these on their papers and explain these needed changes to your partner.)
What does my partners dialogue tell me about the characters? And finally, you might want to
consider this: Does my partner need to add dialogue in some places? Would dialogue make

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some parts of his or her narrative even stronger? The students will work in pairs annotating and
discussing their partners drafts with them. As students work, I will circle around and provide
guidance for how students might edit their dialogue, where they might add some in, and how
they can use it to tell their story in the way that they want to express it to readers.
8. [<5 mins.] Closure: Thumbs up/down
Im very impressed with what Ive seen so far of your use of dialogue in your drafts! If youre not
feeling so great after your discussion with a partner, dont worry you all still have some time to
revise before your personal narratives are due on Friday. On Wednesday, were going to take
more time in workshops to strengthen our papers even more, so make sure you have full drafts by
then.
Id like to get a quick idea of how you all are feeling about your narratives. Im going to ask you
all a few questions, and I want you to put your thumb up if you agree or feel comfortable with
something, put it down if you disagree or dont feel good about something, and to the side if
youre in the middle. As I go through these hand signals, I will model each of them for students
so that they know what they look like. I want you all to feel free to express how youre really
feeling, so I want you all to put your heads on your desks so that you cant see anyone elses
responses. Students will put their heads on their desks and respond with their thumb signals to
the following questions: How do you all feel about the It Says/I Say activity and finding dialogue
in a story? How do you all feel about explaining what dialogue contributes to a story, or how it
helps a story be told? How do you all feel about the dialogue you use in your own personal
narratives? Would you like to work some more on dialogue? I will take notes if I see that the
majority of students have their thumbs down or to the side about something. I may need to
complete another mini lesson on writing dialogue or analyzing it in text if students do not feel
comfortable with these tasks.
Okay, now you all can open your eyes! I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day!

Methods of Assessment:
[How will you know if the intended learning occurred?] List all methods of assessment used in
this lesson or which are related to this lesson and come in a future lesson. After each assessment,
indicate in brackets the number(s) and letter(s) of the unit objective and the related lesson
objectives that the assessment is evaluating.
Diagnostic
Students will reveal their prior knowledge about using dialogue in writing by:
o Completing a journal entry about why dialogue is important and writing their own
example of dialogue using punctuation marks. [objectives 2c and 2d]
Formative
Students will exhibit their understanding of using dialogue in writing by:

Akers-Pecht 6
o Locating dialogue within a mentor text and articulating its impact on the literary
text both in writing and in discussion settings. [objectives 2c, 8d, Reading 8.5c,
and CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1]
o Providing constructive criticism and analyzing a peers personal narrative for its
use of dialogue. [objectives 6e, 8e, and CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1]
Summative
In a future lesson, students will show their understanding of the use of dialogue in writing
by:
o Creating a final draft of a personal narrative that uses dialogue to express
character development. [objectives 2c and 2d]
Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students:
(This is where you identify specific aspects of this lesson which have been differentiated in order
to address the needs of one or more of your profiled studentsidentify them by name)
For Jessica, a gifted student, I will need to provide some anchor activities in the case that she
finishes her individual and paired work more quickly than other students in the class. I may
provide her with extra examples of dialogue, or ask her to take one of her examples from
dialogue in Names/Nombres and recreate Alvarezs style in a line of dialogue of her own that
she might use in her personal narrative. (For example, if Jessica were interested in Alvarezs use
of dialect in her narrative, she might want to reproduce this style for a character in her narrative
who has an accent.)
For Karen, who has trouble being respectful and waiting her turn to speak in discussion settings,
I will likely provide her with a list of sentence starters to help her focus her ideas during
discussion and keep her tone positive. These sentence starters will help her to reach the lessons
objective of providing helpful constructive criticism to peers. Additionally, she may need
additional instructions typed out for her to reference during an activity in case she misses a detail
as to what she is supposed to do.
For Chris, who as an eighth grader reads at a sixth grade level, I might provide him with
footnotes or guiding questions on his copy of Names/Nombres so that he can better
comprehend the story. However, it will be helpful to him that I am reading the story aloud. I will
ensure that Chris is reading along with the story as I read aloud so that he is able to pair the
words on the page with my pronunciations.
For Ral, an English language learner, I think that Alvarezs immigration story will hold special
interest and relevancy for him. He may choose to incorporate Alvarezs instances of dialect and
Spanish words in her dialogue into his own personal narrative, and I will encourage him to do so.
I will likely provide Ral with a helpful list of the rules for writing dialogue for him to refer back
to as he assesses a peers paper as well as writes on his own in preparation for the final draft.
Additionally, I can pair Ral with someone like Jessica who has a high readiness level for
writing dialogue, as she can likely help him with his writing and explain to him the rules.
Another English language learner or Spanish speaking student with a higher readiness level in

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grammar would likely help Ral very much, as they could explain the rules of dialogue to him in
both Spanish and English.
Materials Needed:
Copies of Names/Nombres by Julia Alvarez
It Says/I Say graphic organizers
List of sentence starters for workshop session
Overhead projector connected to a computer
Students will need their journals (located in a class bin)
Materials Appendix: (e.g., supplementary texts, Ppts, overheads, graphic organizers,
handouts, etc.)

Akers-Pecht 8

NAMES/NOMBRES
By Julia Alvarez
When we arrived in New York City, our names changed almost immediately. At
Immigration, the officer asked my father, Mister Elbures, if he had anything to declare.
My father shook his head no, and we were waved through. I was too afraid we wouldnt
be let in if I corrected the mans punctuation, but I said our name to myself, opening my
mouth wide for the organ blast of a, trilling my tongue for the drumroll of the r, All-vabrrr-es! How could anyone get Elbures out of that orchestra of sound?
At the hotel my mother was Missus Alburest, and I was little girl, as in, Hey, little
girl, stop riding the elevator up and down. Its not a toy.
We moved into our new apartment building, the super called my father Mister
Alberase, and the neighbors who became mothers friends pronounced her name Jewlee-ah instead of Hoo-lee-ah. I, her namesake, was known as Hoo-lee-tah at home. But
at school I was Judy or Judith, and once an English teacher mistook me for Juliet.
It took me a while to get used to my new names. I wondered if I shouldnt correct
my teachers and new friends. But my mother argued that it didnt matter. You know
what your friend Shakespeare said, A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
My family had gotten into the habit of calling any famous author my friend because I
had begun to write poems and stories in English class.
By the time I was in high school, I was a popular kid, and it showed in my name.
Friends called me Jules or Hey Jude, and once a group of troublemaking friends my
mother forbade me to hang out with called me Alcatraz. I was Hoo-lee-tah only to Mami
and Papi and uncles and aunts who came over to eat sancocho on Sunday afternoons
old world folk whom I would just as soon go back to where they came from and leave
me to pursue whatever mischief I wanted to in America. JUDY ALCATRAZ, the name on
the Wanted poster would read. Who would ever trace her to me?
My older sister had the hardest time getting an American name for herself because
Mauricia did not translate into English. Ironically, although she had the most foreignsounding name, she and I were the Americans in the family. We had been born in New
York City when our parents had first tried immigration and then gone back home, too
homesick to stay. My mother often told the story of how she had almost changed my
sisters name in the hospital.
After the delivery, Mami and some other new mothers were cooing over their new
baby sons and daughters and exchanging names and weights and delivery stories. My
mother was embarrassed among the Sallys and Janes and Georges and Johns to
reveal the rich, noisy name of Mauricia, so when her turn came to brag, she gave her
babys name as Maureen.

Akers-Pecht 9
Whyd ya give her an Irish name with so many pretty Spanish names to choose
from? one of the women asked.
My mother blushed and admitted her babys real name to the group. Her mother
in-law had recently died, she apologized, and her husband had insisted that the first
daughter be named after his mother, Mauran. My mother thought it the ugliest name
she had ever heard, and she talked my father into what she believed was an
improvement, a combination of Mauran and her own mothers name, Felicia.
Her name is Mao-ree-shee-ah, my mother said to the group of women.
Why, thats a beautiful name, the new mothers cried. Moor-ee-sha, Moor-eesha, they cooed into the pink blanket. Moor-ee-sha it was when we returned to the
States eleven years later. Sometimes American tongues found even that
mispronunciation tough to say and called her Maria or Marsha or Maudy from her
nickname Maury. I pitied her. What an awful name to have to transport across borders!
My little sister, Ana, had the easiest time of all. She was plain Anne-that is, only
her name was plain, for she turned out to be the pale, blond American beauty in the
family. The only Hispanic thing about her was the affectionate nicknames her boyfriends
sometimes gave her. Anita, or, as one goofy guy used to sing to her to the tune of the
banana advertisement Anita Banana.
Later, during her college years in the late sixties, there was a push to pronounce
Third World names correctly. I remember calling her long distance at her group house
and a roommate answering.
Can I speak to Ana? I asked, pronouncing her name the American way.
Ana? The mans voice hesitated. Oh! You must mean Ah-nah!
Our first few years in the States, though, ethnicity was not yet in. Those were the
blond, blue-eyed, bobby-sock years of junior high and high school before the sixties
ushered in peasant blouses, hoop earrings, serapes. My initial desire to be known by
my correct Dominican name faded. I just wanted to be Judy and merge with the Sallys
and the Janes in my class. But, inevitably, my accent and coloring gave me away. So
where are you from, Judy?
New York, I told my classmates. After all, I had been born blocks away at
Columbia- Presbyterian Hospital.
I mean, originally.
From the Caribbean, I answered vaguely, for if I specified, no one was quite sure
on what continent our island was located.
Really? Ive been to Bermuda. We went last April for spring vacation. I got the

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worst sunburn! So, are you from Portoriko?
No, I sighed. From the Dominican Republic.
Wheres that?
South of Bermuda.
They were just being curious, I knew, but I burned with shame whenever they
singled me out as a foreigner, a rare, exotic friend.
Say your name in Spanish, oh, please say it! I had made mouths drop one day
by rattling off my full name, which, according to the Dominican custom, included my
middle names, Mothers and Fathers surnames for four generations back.
Julia Altagracia Mara Teresa lvarez Tavares Perello Espaillat Julia Prez Rochet
Gonzlez. I pronounced it slowly, a name as chaotic with sounds as
a Middle Eastern bazaar or market day in a South American village.
My Dominican heritage was never more apparent than when my extended family
attended school occasions. For my graduation, they all came, the whole lot of aunts and
uncles and the many little cousins who snuck in without tickets. They sat in the first row
in order to better understand the Americans fast-spoken English. But how could they
listen when they were constantly speaking among themselves in florid-sounding
phrases, rococo consonants, rich, rhyming vowel?
Introducing them to my friends was a further trial to me. These relatives had such
complicated names and there were so many of them, and their relationships to myself
were so convoluted. There was my Ta Josefina, who was not really an aunt but a much
older cousin. And her daughter, Aida Margarita, who was adopted, una hija de crianza.
My uncle of affection, To Jos, brought my madrina Tia Amelia and her comadre Ta
Pilar. My friends rarely had more than a Mom and Dad to introduce.
After the commencement ceremony, my family waited outside in the parking lot
while my friends and I signed yearbooks with nicknames which recalled our high school
good times: Beans and Pepperoni and Alcatraz. We hugged and cried and
promised to keep in touch.
Our goodbyes went on too long. I heard my fathers voice calling out across the
parking lot, Hoo-lee-tah! Vmonos!
Back home, my tos and tas and primas, Mami and Papi, and mis hermanas had a
party were many gifts-that was a plus to a large family! I got several wallets and a
suitcase with my initials and a graduation charm from my godmother and money from
my uncles. The biggest gift was a portable typewriter from my parents for writing my
stories and poems.

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Someday, the family predicted, my name would be well-known throughout the

United States. I laughed to myself, wondering which one I would go by.

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It Says
Write a quotation using dialogue
from the story.

I Say
What does this dialogue tell you
about one of the characters?

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Sentence Starters
Ask a Question:
-

Do you think
Why do you think
What makes you say
How does this relate to

Make a Comment:
-

I see where youre coming from, but I think it means

I understand why you would say that. However, I think
I like that idea, and it also reminds me of
I appreciate your comment/feedback. Thank you for

Clarify Something:
-

Im hearing you say this Is that what you meant?

Im sorry, could you repeat that?
Im not sure I understand your point.
Could you please repeat what you said? I didnt quite hear it.

Remember to:
Provide wait time. Let others in your group think for a while before you jump in.
If there is someone in your group who hasnt spoken, ask him/her for his/her opinion.
Be respectful to others opinions and backgrounds as we discussed during our class
norms.

Akers-Pecht 14
Writing Workshop
Week

of 3; Plan #

of 9; [90 mins.]

Plan type: ____Full-Detail ____Summary

Content Requirement Satisfied: Writing
(Note: Refer to the list in the document called Concept Unit Lesson Plans)
Unit Learning Objectives (numbered) [from my Backwards Design Unit Document],
followed by Specific lesson objectives (lettered) being taught in this lesson:
SWBAT:
Cognitive (know/understand):
2. Students will know that character development tracks the changes in a character throughout
the course of a literary work.
e. Students will understand how to use character development to establish themselves as a
character within their own writing.
Affective (feel/value) and/or Non-Cognitive:
4. Students will feel that their own experiences and background with identity formation are
respected by their peers.
b. Students will share and respond to these personal experiences using constructive
criticism and our class norms for discussion.
5. Students will feel that their own lives and experiences have relevancy to the topic of identity
crisis and to the texts at hand.
c. Students will write about their own experiences with identity crisis in a writing
workshop format.
Performance (do):
9. Students will be able to create a representation of their own struggles with identity formation.
a. Students will be able to create a draft of an experience with identity formation to share
with and receive feedback from peers and the teacher.
SOLs:
Writing 8.7 The student will write in a variety of forms, including narration, exposition,
persuasion, and informational.
CCSs:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues,
building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Procedures/Instructional Strategies
[Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.]

Akers-Pecht 15

Beginning Room Arrangement:

Students will be seated in groups of four so that they are prepared to dive in to our writing
workshop session today. I will group students with varied readiness levels in regards to writing
and the concept of character development as shown by students formative assessments across
previous lessons. In heterogeneous groups, students can assist one another with the different
revisions they need to make within their narratives.
[Changes in this arrangement that become necessary later will be noted in the plan]
1. [10 mins.] Bridge/Hook/Opening to lesson: Do now questions for writing workshop
As students enter the classroom, a do now activity will be written on the board: List some
questions you want to ask your classmates about your rough drafts. You can look over them as
you decide what you need more help with. Here are some ideas to get you started: dialogue,
actions, thoughts, and character traits; representation of internal and external conflicts; reflecting
on your experience with identity crisis and how it changed you. I will allow students to look
over their printed narratives while they write. They can also refer back to their rubrics of the
assignment which I handed out on the very first day of the unit. If they do not have them still, I
will make extra copies just in case.
2. [10 mins.] Step 1: Instructions for writing workshop
I will let students know that they will be working in their groups of four on their narratives. They
can first switch papers with the person sitting next to them (their elbow partner) and then for the
second stage, switch with the person sitting across from them. (Desks will be arranged in squares
of four.) I will provide students with checklists of things that they should look for in one
anothers narratives, including the things that I mentioned in the previous step of the lesson for
the do now activity. Additionally, I will give students guiding questions to help them focus
their conversations, including things like, How might I use more
dialogue/actions/thoughts/character traits to better develop my character? Is it clear to you how
this event changed me? Can you tell what attitude or tone I have toward this event in my life?
etc.
I will remind students to use their annotation skills that they have practiced throughout the unit,
both when they read poetry and songs. They will treat one anothers narratives as works of
literature that they are annotating to try and figure out character development (the writer as the
developing character) and how he/she experienced identity crisis. I will let students know that
after they annotate, they can use the schools laptops (which I will have reserved for today) to
make any changes. Additionally, they can use the laptops after they finish annotating to upload
their photos or drawings and email them to me so that I can compile them on our class website. I
will also let students know that they need to email their narratives to me as well; students can
come to me if they will need computer access between now and the day after tomorrow when the
narratives are due.

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3. [60 mins] Step 2: Writing Workshop

Students will first switch with these first partners, read silently for a few minutes, and then
discuss with one another, addressing each persons concerns listed in the do now activity and
the checklist elements that they are missing or need to expand upon. I will alert students as to
how much time they have left with their first partners when their time is almost up. (I will give
students thirty minutes with each partner.) Then, they will switch with the partner sitting across
from them and repeat the process. If students finish early, I will let them know that they can use
the remainder of their time to write independently and make the revisions that their peers
suggested.
4. [60 mins., simultaneous with Step 1 as students workshop] Step 3: Conferences
As students workshop, I will conference with them one-on-one to address the concerns that they
have. They can ask me the questions that they created during the do now activity, or come to
me with additional questions or concerns that were raised while discussing their drafts with their
peers. I will review the assignment checklist with them (this is the same checklist that they were
given before workshopping in the previous step) to ensure that they have all of the elements of a
personal narrative with character development signifiers that weve talked about throughout the
unit.
I will leave students with one area to specifically focus on while polishing their final drafts for
next class. This area will be highlighted or otherwise marked in their drafts with my comments. I
will also make sure to give students feedback on the general voice and tone of their work and
give them compliments on their strengths as well as constructive criticism for an area that could
be improved (and could practically be improved by the time that they present next class, the day
after tomorrow).
5. [5 mins] Step 4: Final questions
Following students time spent in workshops for the majority of class today, I will allow them
five to ten minutes at the end of class to voice any unanswered concerns or questions that were
raised while they were talking with their peers about the expectations for this written assignment.
I will answer any questions students have during this time. If students have more concerns than I
anticipated, I will allow this question and answer session to continue for the remainder of the
block. (I want students to feel confident going into their final revisions, and these questions will
take top priority in helping them to feel ready for the next class presentation day.)
6.

[5 mins] Closure: Self-reflection rubric

Akers-Pecht 17
Students will take this time to fill out a rubric on how well they participated in discussion today.
The rubric will ask them to focus on how well they adhered to class norms, how much
constructive criticism they gave, and how well they listened to peers. I will take up these rubrics
and use them as part of students participation grade, but will emphasize that they can answer
honestly without getting any points taken off. Once I finish looking them over, I will return them
to students for them to use again in the future when we have writing workshops in subsequent
units and lessons.
Methods of Assessment:
[How will you know if the intended learning occurred?] List all methods of assessment used in
this lesson or which are related to this lesson and come in a future lesson. After each assessment,
indicate in brackets the number(s) and letter(s) of the unit objective and the related lesson
objectives that the assessment is evaluating.
Diagnostic
Students will reveal their prior knowledge about character development, identity crisis,
and other unit concepts by:
o Completing a do now activity where they pose questions to peers about the
effectiveness of these concepts in their own writing, to be reviewed and answered
during writing workshop [2e]
Formative
Students will exhibit their understanding of unit concepts by:
o Giving constructive criticism on the effectiveness of character development
techniques and the portrayal of identity crisis in peers writing [2e, CCSS.ELALiteracy.SL.8.1]
o Using these character development techniques and portraying an incident of identity
crisis in their own writing [2e, 9a, SOL Writing 8.7]
Students will exhibit their understanding of class norms for discussion by:
o
Respectfully sharing constructive criticism with peers and reflecting on this
process via a rating rubric [4b, 5c, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1]
Summative
In a future lesson, students will show their understanding of unit concepts and their
ability to apply these concepts in writing by:
o
Finalizing and submitting their personal narratives using character development to
portray an instance of identity crisis [2e, SOL Writing 8.7]
Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students:
(This is where you identify specific aspects of this lesson which have been differentiated in order
to address the needs of one or more of your profiled studentsidentify them by name)
Grouping students strategically based on readiness levels will allow me to give students the
opportunity to share their different strengths with one another during the writing workshop
process. Raul will likely benefit from someone who can help him to translate his ideas into

Akers-Pecht 18
English, perhaps a more advanced English language learner in the classroom who also speaks
Spanish. Additionally, Raul could be placed with a student like Jessica who is advanced in the
topics at hand. She could also adopt the role of a more knowledgeable other to help Raul with his
word choices and character development techniques like dialogue.
Karen typically has trouble working with others, and so I will provide her with her sentence
starters again; these will be shortened to those that I notice she is still having trouble with toward
the end of the unit. I will try to group Karen with students who are typically on task in the hopes
that she will attempt to keep up with these students. During my one on one conferences that
coincide with the writing workshop session, I will call on Karen to speak with me early on so
that I can also check in with her about her sentence starters and whether she is adhering to our
class norms for discussion. If I provide her with this reflective opportunity early on, she may be
more likely to work well with her group for the remainder of the class.
For Chris, who reads two grades below the 8th grade level, I will encourage all students to
underline any unknown words that their classmates use and ask them to clarify these. By asking
the whole class to take part in this process, I will not be singling out Chris or anyone else who
may have trouble comprehending their peers more advanced vocabulary. I will make sure to
group Chris away from his two close friends who most frequently encourage him to become off
task.

Materials Needed:
Do now prompt to be written on the board
Guiding questions for students as they participate in writing workshop discussions
Index cards
Exit slip questions to be written on the board or projected on the overhead
Materials Appendix: (e.g., supplementary texts, Ppts, overheads, graphic organizers,
handouts, etc.)
Guiding questions for writing workshop copies for all students

Akers-Pecht 19
Finale: Sharing Personal Narratives
Week

of 3; Plan #

of 9; [90 mins]

Plan type: ____Full-Detail ____Summary

Content Requirement Satisfied: Embedded technology
(Note: Refer to the list in the document called Concept Unit Lesson Plans)
Unit Learning Objectives (numbered) [from my Backwards Design Unit Document],
followed by Specific lesson objectives (lettered) being taught in this lesson:
SWBAT:
Cognitive (know/understand):
1. Students will know that identity crisis can result in a change in self-image or self-identity.
b. Students will reflect upon their own changes in identity through writing.
Affective (feel/value) and/or Non-Cognitive:
4. Students will feel that their own experiences and background with identity formation are
respected by their peers.
c. Students will respect their peers experiences with identity formation as they share
their personal narratives.
Performance (do):
9. Students will be able to create a representation of their own struggles with identity formation.
b. Students will write and reflect upon personal narratives that represent their individual
struggles with identity formation.
SOLs:
Writing 8.7 The student will write in a variety of forms, including narration, exposition,
persuasion, and informational.
h. Use computer technology to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writing
CCSs:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues,
building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Procedures/Instructional Strategies
[Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.]
Beginning Room Arrangement:
Desks will be arranged in a large semicircle today so that students can all face each other as they
discuss their personal narratives following their online feedback session. Students can choose to

Akers-Pecht 20
sit wherever they like for today; there will be a note to this effect up on the board as students
enter the classroom.
[Changes in this arrangement that become necessary later will be noted in the plan]
1. [5 mins.] Bridge/Hook/Opening to lesson: Do now journal entry
When students enter the classroom, they will see a note up on the board to retrieve a laptop from
the front of the classroom when they come in, but not to open them just yet. First, students will
respond to the following journal entry, which will also be seen up on the board as they enter the
classroom: Does an identity crisis have to result in a change in identity? When responding,
think back to our class texts as well as to your own personal narratives and experiences. I will
also post a list of all of the class texts that weve studied this unit to jog students memories as
they write.
2. [40 mins.] Step 1: Sharing and annotating personal narratives
I will let students know that we will be able to discuss their journal entry responses after we read
and respond to one anothers narratives. I will ask them to keep the journal entry question in
mind as they read one anothers stories. Prior to this class, I will have randomly assigned each
student to three of their peers narratives. I will pass out index cards with students names, as
well as the names of the three classmates whose narratives they are to respond to. The website on
which all of their stories and photos are compiled will be written up on the board now as I tell
students to open their laptops and access it. Using one students as a model, I will show students
how to leave a comment under someones post. I will pass out sentence starters as well to help
students respond to each other. These will include some of the following: Start on a positive
note: I really like that you or What I most liked about your story was or Your
dialogue/characterization was really strong because Then, some other sentence starters could
include I wish you had added more, I wish you had talked more about.
As students respond, I will monitor everyone in the semicircle to see if students are following
class norms by listening actively and respectfully to one another. I will make a note to work on
any specific norms or with any specific students later if I see violations of our class norms. These
notes will go on the clipboard that I have used throughout the unit to monitor norms and
behavior. After sharing, I will briefly let students know that they can expect to see my feedback
and their grades on their personal narratives within a week. I will provide them with written
feedback and share the highlights of this feedback with them during one-on-one conferences;
they are more likely to listen to spoken feedback, and this may encourage them to continue
reading the rest of my notes.
3. [20 mins.] Step 2: Reviewing feedback
After providing feedback to their peers, I will allow students to quickly skim their peers
feedback and respond to these comments online if they wish. During this period, I will remind

Akers-Pecht 21
students to keep our class norms in mind to keep their conversations civil. (The mnemonics to
help us remember class norms are still posted up in the front of the classroom.) I will circle
around to monitor students conversations; additionally, I can monitor these comments made on
my own computer, where they will all be compiled to the same site and I can watch these
conversations going on in real time.
My sentence starters will also include hints for responding to feedback, including statements
such as, I really appreciate your comment about my and it really made me realize that I
should have, and civil ways to turn down suggestions such as, I see where youre coming
from, but I dont really want to change my because Thank you for commenting though.
4. [20 mins.] Step 3: Line-up survey
After giving the students a round of applause for their work on their narratives, I will introduce
students to the instructions for the final activity of our unit on identity crisis. Posted on each end
of the classroom, I will have one sign saying agree and one sign saying disagree. I will let
students know that I will project different statements on the overhead projector, and they must
either agree or disagree to each one. The students will line up across the classroom according to
whether they agree or disagree with each statement. Students can also stand in the middle if they
dont feel strongly either way. After explaining instructions, I will allow students to stand up. (If
we have to move some desks in the semicircle back to make room, then we will do this.)
I will project each statement on the overhead using a PowerPoint presentation. Statements will
include the following: I would rather change to fit in than be who I really am and stand out.
My family/friends/society has more say in who I am than I do. (These will be three different
statements, with family for the first question, friends for the second, and society for the
third.) An identity crisis can be a good thing. Identity crisis does not have to result in a
change in the person experiencing it.
After students move to each statement, we will briefly respond to our reasoning for agreeing or
disagreeing with each. I will call on one person from each side to explain why they gravitated
toward that particular side of the room, encouraging students to think about the class texts weve
read as well as their own writing about identity crisis. After discussing all of the statements, we
will come to a conclusion about identity; I would like to leave students with an empowering
message based upon their responses so that they can remember their experiences during this unit.
5. [5 mins.] Closure: Exit slip
Before leaving, I will ask students to reflect on the last three weeks as a whole and give me some
feedback for future planning purposes in the form of an exit slip. I will request students to sit
back down in their semicircle as I pass out index cards to everyone. On the next slide of the
PowerPoint presentation, I will have listed a couple of questions about the unit on identity crisis.
I will ask students to list things they really liked about the unit, as well as things that they did not
like and how these could be changed. Students will take the last few minutes of class to respond.

Akers-Pecht 22
Before the bell rings or as they exit the classroom, they can leave their exit slips in the yellow
exit slip tray on my desk.
Methods of Assessment:
[How will you know if the intended learning occurred?] List all methods of assessment used in
this lesson or which are related to this lesson and come in a future lesson. After each assessment,
indicate in brackets the number(s) and letter(s) of the unit objective and the related lesson
objectives that the assessment is evaluating.
Diagnostic
Students will reveal their prior knowledge about the concept of identity crisis and their
reflections on class texts by:
o
Completing a do now journal entry on whether identity crisis has to result in a
change, using their knowledge from class texts and their own experiences [1b]
Formative
Students will exhibit their ability to adhere to class norms for discussion by:
o
Actively and respectfully listening to one anothers personal narratives [4c]
Students will exhibit their understanding of the concept of identity crisis and will reflect
upon their knowledge gained throughout the unit by:
o
Participating in a line-up survey reflecting upon their opinions about identity
crisis and using knowledge from class texts and personal experiences to support
these opinions [4c, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1]
Summative
In this lesson, students will show their understanding of identity crisis and their ability to
reflect upon this concept by:
o
Writing and sharing a final draft of their personal narratives detailing an
experience with identity crisis and reflecting upon how it changed them [1b, 4c,
9b, SOL Writing 8.7h]
Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students:
(This is where you identify specific aspects of this lesson which have been differentiated in order
to address the needs of one or more of your profiled studentsidentify them by name)
As students comment on one anothers papers, I can group them strategically; I will likely group
them heterogeneously based on readiness so that students can get feedback from peers who are
more skilled in the aspects of narrative writing that we discussed during this unit, including
dialogue and character development.
For Raul, an English language learner, I will provide him with the statements to be used in the
line-up survey in advance, at least one class before this one. This way, he can review them ahead
of time and make sure that he understands them before the line-up activity in class, which will
likely be fast-paced and may not give Raul enough time to process each statement before he has
to respond. I can also do this for Chris, who reads a couple of grades below the 8th grade level,

Akers-Pecht 23
although he should not have a difficult time with this activity because I will also read the
statements aloud.
For Karen, who has difficulty adhering to our class norms, I will likely provide her with her last
few sentence starters again, especially during the line-up activity where we respond to and
explain our own opinions on statements about identity.
For Jessica, a gifted learner, I think that the line-up activity will encourage her to think outside of
the box; her potentially creative interpretations of some of the statements will likely encourage
other students to think in multiple ways as well. (For example, in response to the statement
Identity crisis does not have to result in a change in the person experiencing it, students might
say that you dont have to change in response to an identity crisis; you can choose to stay who
you are. Jessica might add another dimension to this argument in saying that choosing to stay
who you are makes you stronger, which in some way does change you for the better.)

Materials Needed:
PowerPoint presentation containing statements for line-up activity
Signs reading agree and disagree for line-up activity
Index cards for exit slips
Index cards with students names and the names of their peers they will respond to
Materials Appendix: (e.g., supplementary texts, Ppts, overheads, graphic organizers,
handouts, etc.)
PowerPoint presentation
Agree and disagree signs