Influential Writers

By Megan VanHorn

12th grade/English Language Arts

Common Core Standards:

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and
quantitatively, as well as in words.

Range of Reading and Level of Complexity

10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

Lesson Summary:
For this assignment students will assemble a collection of writers whom they believe are the most
influential of the twentieth century. Each student will have time to research writers during class. Following
the research portion of the assignment, students will then construct a prezi which contains a timeline of at
least 8 influential writers. For each writer, the student will include information pertaining to the writer such
as year of birth and death (if applicable), noteworthy literature produced, and any other achievements
deemed notable by the student.

Estimated Duration:
This assignment will span over the course of five 50 minute sessions. The sessions can be used at the
students disposal for either conducting research on writers or compiling their prezi.

Commentary: This assignment will follow the previous discussion of several influential twentieth century
writers. By the time of the assignment, the students will be familiar with the era and certain authors from it.
This assignment will grant them freedom to research additional writers independently. I believe the
independent research and the assembling of a creative prezi will grab the students attention.

Instructional Procedures:
Day 1: This assignment will begin with a review of the twentieth century authors that we have discussed in
class thus far. I will do so by using a prezi created by myself. This prezi will serve as an example to the
students of the one they will make. This review will take approximately 20 minutes. The remaining 30
minutes of class will serve as an introduction and explanation of prezis.

Day 2: The entire 50 minutes of class will be dedicated to research. Students will use computers and ipads to
research writers. I will walk around to individually assist students with research.
Day 3: Students will continue to research and begin to construct their prezis during the 50 minute class
session.

Day 4: Students will finish up research and dedicate most of the session to constructing a prezi. I will
continue to assist students.

Day 5: Prezis will be completed during this final 50 minute session and will be submitted to me for review.

Pre-Assessment:
Prior to this assignment, I will lead a class discussion during which we will recall twentieth century authors
and discuss their relevance. We will also discuss their noteworthy works and what makes these writers
relevant to the world of literature.

Scoring Guidelines:
I will use my subjective discretion to determine whether the students demonstrated adequate
understanding of the subject matter.

Post-Assessment:
Following the assignment, I will evaluate the completed prezis I will look at the creativity of the prezi as a
whole, the writers selected, the titles selected for each writer, and the additional information provided.

Scoring Guidelines:
This assignment will be worth 50 raw points. I will deduct points if all of the basic criteria for the
assignment are not met. Additional points may be deducted at my discretion depending on the
creativity and overall display of the prezi.

Differentiated Instructional Support

Describe how instruction can be differentiated (changed or altered) to meet the needs of gifted or accelerated
students:.

Accelerated students will have the opportunity to create a more in depth prezi and add additional information
should they choose to do so. They can also mentor students who are struggling with the assignment.

Discuss additional activities you could do to meet the needs of students who might be struggling with the
material:
I will personally provide additional assistance to students who are struggling with the assignment. I will also
pair them will accelerated students who can assist them.

Extension
http://wordables.com/10-most-influential-authors-of-the-20th-century/
Wordables provides the student additional examples of influential writers. The student may draw from this
source but cannot copy all 8 writers from wordables.

Homework Options and Home Connections

While homework is not a necessary part of this assignment, the student will be encouraged to conduct
additional research or devote extra time to constructing their prezi at home.

Interdisciplinary Connections
History/Politics: To select influential writers the student must be familiar with the time period and the
political factors that make each particular author socially relevant.
Art: The student must use creativity when designing their own prezi.

Materials and Resources:

For teachers Computer, prezi, smartboard, google

For students Computer, ipad, prezi, google

Key Vocabulary
20th century, writers, authors, influential, social and political significance

Additional Notes
Students will be encouraged to be as creative as possible with their prezis and to think outside the box!