Ms. Hannah Dr.

Sassi 03/02/2011 The lesson I taught today was on the short story The Frog Who Wanted to Be a Singer by Linda Goss. My focus for this lesson was on moral message, as well as focused on reinforcing their understanding of dialogue and nouns. To assess the students understanding of the moral message of the story, I would stop at pre-selected spots in the story to discuss what the students thought was happening. I asked questions such as, How do you think Frog felt when no one believed in him? After reading the story and having a brief discussion on what the moral message of the story was, I ended with giving them the remainder of the class period to complete one of two activities. One of the activities asked the students to illustrate a CD cover, title the CD, and create a playlist of 6-8 songs. These songs needed to be based of popular themes or moral messages within the story. Along with the CD, they needed to compose a Thank you letter written by Frog, and then identify the nouns they used within their song titles and letter on the corresponding worksheet. The other activity was similar in the activity portion of creating the CD cover; however the students needed to create an interview for this activity. The interview needed to be between Frog and a reporter from a newspaper and needed to have questions that related to the story. The students who did this activity also needed to identify the nouns within their interview and CD songs. 1.) I felt comfortable and confident with the material I was teaching. Because the reading was meant for a seventh grade classroom, it was easy for me to read as well as identify various elements within the story as well. Dr. Sassi was the one who made me realize the importance of differentiating instruction and emphasized the importance of tiered assessments for the end of the lesson. Im glad I had a couple of different activities for the students to choose from, because if I wouldve just given them one option they may have not liked the one I selected. I liked the concept of giving my students a choice in what project they wanted to do, because I felt that they would gravitate towards the one where they could exercise their strengths most. 2.) One thing that did not work with the students today was splitting them up into groups before I gave them instructions. Due to this, I had to explain the activity numerous times because the students were busy conversing with one another. One other thing that didnt work out as I had planned was that the vast majority of the students chose to do the activity with the letter and CD cover. Only one group out of the class decided to do the interview with the CD cover. If I were to teach this same lesson plan for the next class period, I would have a certain amount of students do one activity and the other group do the other. After letting the students choose their groups, I noticed that some individuals do not work well/productively with one another. Bella and Jason were in a group, and they were the only ones who did the interview activity. There was a lot of conversation going on between the two; however, I was constantly going back to their group trying to keep them focused on the task as they got sidetracked very easily. At the end of the class period, they were not even halfway finished with the project. I would also give the instructions to the students before splitting them up into groups as well. I did notice, however, that the students seemed to understand the moral message concept very well. When I asked students at the end of the story what they thought the

moral message was, they all had an answer. Many of the students had different ones which was nice to see. As I walked around the room during the activity, I noticed that the students did very well on the noun worksheet as well. They identified the nouns that they had used as well as labeled them correctly. I think that the amount of discussion we had at particular spots during the short story helped them predict and form ideas to better understand the moral message. 6.) If I were to teach this lesson again, I would make the activity sheets less wordy and have them listed in bullet points so that the students can better understand and read what is on the worksheet. I would also make sure to explain the activities before splitting them up into groups as well. If I had the opportunity to teach this to a couple of different classes, I would try both giving the students the freedom to choose their groups as well as select their groups for them. Also, I would give the students both a choice as to which activity they got to do or assign half the class one activity and the other activity to the remainder of the class.

Ms. Hannah Class Title: English Grade: 7th Short Story: The Frog Who Wanted to Be a Singer Common Core Standards: 3. Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters of plot). Focus: Dialogue and Moral Message. Learning Objectives: Discuss how the dialogue in the story creates a particular feeling or setting for the story (e.g., is the dialogue formal or informal? Why do you think so?). Explore the moral development in the story. Have students discuss and relate personal thoughts and feelings that they have with a particular character in the story as they create a conversation between a reporter and Frog in groups of two. Review what nouns are, and have students accurately identify the nouns within their assignments. Bell Work: Write the question, What is the moral of a story? If you do not know, what do you think the moral of a story is? What are some moral themes within a story you have read? on the board. Have the students take a few minutes to write their responses while Ms. Helm reads the announcements. After giving them a few minutes, ask the questions that are up on the board and have a few students respond to them. o Write the students responses on the board. (If students have not learned what moral of the story is, explain that the moral of a story is what the reader thinks is the life lesson learned from reading the story or what message the author is trying to convey through this story. Write examples of morals of stories such as, believe in yourself, pursue your dreams, do what is right, etc.) (5 minutes). DOL: wow i have a lot of homework said pam. i have way more homework than you said tim. Learning Activities: Reading: Hand out a literature book to each student. If there are not enough books for each student, have some/all the students pair up. Once the books are passed out, inform the students that they will be reading a story called, The Frog Who Wanted to Be a Singer. Tell the students they will be reading this story aloud in a Popcorn fashion (One student will start reading, and then when they say stop say, Popcorn, and then the name of another student.) After explaining how they will be reading the story, explain to the students that this story has been told in many different versions as a folktale to represent a lesson of morality. Meaning, the common morality theme of this story is that individuals should follow their dreams and never give up. Continue by explaining that because there are a variety of characters and dialogue within the story, that they should read it with some excitement/drama to make the story come alive. Further explain to students that while they are reading they should be thinking about if they agree with the moral of the story or/and if they can think of any other ones. (5 minutes).

Reading: Begin reading the short story. Once the class has begun to read the story, stop at previously marked spots so that there can be discussion on what is going on in the story. At each particular stop, students will be asked questions like, What is happening in the story? Would you be angry if you were the frog? Has there ever been a time when you felt like Frog or experience someone like Fox? What would you have done differently in this instance if you were the frog? (25 minutes). Quick Discussion: After reading the story, ask the students what they thought about it; What character are you most like in this story? What would you have done differently if you were the Fox or the Birds? Then, divide the students into groups of two (if there is an odd number amount of students, have students get into groups of 3). Option A for Interview/CD Cover Activity: Tell the students who choose this option that they will be writing a conversation between an animal (the students can choose any animal like, Mr. Hippo, Ms. Giraffe) reporter from the Jungle Boogey Forrest Weekly, interviewing Frog about his difficult journey to accomplish his singing goals and on his performance last night. Have the students designate one individual as the reporter, and one as Frog. If there is a group of three, have two students be the reporter and have one be Frog. Tell them they will write an interview based on anything they saw important or found interesting in the story. Inform them that they need to use proper grammar and to be effective in writing in a dialogue form since this is a conversation between two animals/individuals. Hand out the list of questions you would like the reporter to ask Frog through their interview (See below). Encourage the students to use their imagination when writing these conversations and that they can also include other things various animals may have said to Frog (i.e. what animals encouraged him, who didnt believe in him, did his parents support his decision, and what his future goals are.) Let the students know that they will need to identify the nouns within their interview questions and responses and post them underneath the Brainstorm Cloud. Inform the students that they will be given 25 minutes to complete this conversation and to write the nouns under the rain cloud, so they need to be mindful of the time so that they can end the interview in a complete and finished way that will make sense to the reader reading this. (25 minutes). o NOTE: Remind the students that Every time someone different speaks, its a new paragraph, and Make sure the reader knows who is talking. John, I dont understand this, said Blair. John replied, Dont understand what? ALSO Remember to punctuate. Option B for Interview/CD cover Activity: For the students who choose this activity, they will need to illustrate a CD album cover for Frogs new album that will be releasing soon. The students will need to illustrate the CD cover, give the CD a title, write a short Biography or Thank you about or from Frog that will be included in the CD, and will also need to compile a list of 6-10 songs based off of things that happened in the story or the students interpretation of what happened in the story (hand out plain square piece of paper). These students will also need to record nouns that they include in their Biography/Thank You and their song titles underneath the Brainstorm Cloud. (25 minutes). Once adequate time has been given for the students to complete their selected activity, have any group who would like to share their album or interview with the rest of the

class (If there are no volunteers the instructor will select a group). Have them read their interview or share the scene they drew on the album cover and the songs on the album. After each group has shared, have the students turn in their interviews and the album cover. (10 minutes). o If there is not enough time in class for each group from each activity to share, have the groups share until the class period runs out and then tell the students to hold onto their work until tomorrow so that they rest of the students can share. Assessments: o There will be no formal assessment for this lesson. The students will be graded on their ability to accurately write a dialogue that represents their understanding and interpretation of the story according to the rubric. Their interview or album covers plus their Brainstorm Cloud will be their participation points for the day as well. Rationale: This assessment will help students prepare in a few different ways. By working collaboratively within a group to generate an interview or album cover using accurate dialogue, the students are also thinking about the moral messages within the story and are participating in the creative process. Considering how to write an interview as well as considering what the moral message(s) of the story are will help the students create their CD cover and song list as well. Working within a group not only helps the students feel more comfortable sharing their ideas and opinions with their peers, but also allows them to share and obtain new ideas and perspectives in order to complete the assignment. Having the conversation and discussion will benefit auditory learners, and the visual learners will be interested in the creative process of illustrating the CD cover. The questions that the students will be required to incorporate in their interview will also help them create a deeper level of critical thinking.

Jungle Boogey Forest Weekly Interview Rubric: 15 points total Students wrote the dialogue with accuracy and minimal errors, as well as answered the four required questions that need to be answered in the interview. The students identified the nouns within the interview with 90% accuracy. Effort and thought were put into the interview, and the students incorporated insightful elements of the story into their interview. Total

5 5 5

Jungle Boogey Forest Weekly Album Cover, Song List, and Biography/Thank You Rubric: 15 points total 5 5 5 Students created the album cover with seventh grade maturity and put thought and effort into it. The song titles are appropriate for a seventh grade classroom and include no usage of profanity or swear words. The students identified the nouns within the Biography/Thank You and the song titles with 90% accuracy. Total

List of questions that need to be answered in the interview:

1. How did you feel when no one would believe or listen to you that you could really sing? 2. What was the hardest part about getting on stage in front of the other forest animals that doubted you? 3. What were you feeling right before you got on stage? 4. What have you learned from this experience? 5. What advice would you give to other individuals going through the same thing you went through?

Other ideas for questions: o Who encouraged you along the way? o Who didnt believe in you? o Did your parents support your decision? What did they say to you? o What are your future goals?

*SUGGESTION: I recommend that if you are the reporter, you introduce yourself to Frog and tell them what newspaper you are from.

Its A Brainstorm! On the lines below the cloud, write the nouns you included in your interview or song list activity in The Frog Who Wanted to Be a Singer. Label if its a person, place, thing, or idea.

NOUNS