Michael Harvey Lesson Plan A #1 Day 1 Of Week 5 Time The class meets every day (Monday-Friday) for 50 minutes.

This unit involving one major text and excerpts from another text will take nine weeks to complete. Setting This unit will take place in a junior level English literature class. The students in the class self identify as 13 White , 6 Hispanic, 3 Black, and 2 other. There is one student with Aspergers Syndrome and one student in ESL whose first language is Spanish. Theory into Practice This specific lesson is meant to examine the ideas of what it means for something to be wrong versus being illegal. This is presented through Juan trying to set up a place to make whiskey in order to give his family. The specific section being covered today opens up with an examination of racism in society through Juans struggle to find a house in a predominantly White neighborhood. This particular section allows me to focus on the themes of discrimination and to connect historical occurrences to conditions in todays society. Many times in class we have talked about the way in which classroom discussion provides students a chance to engage and learn through their peers while requiring a certain amount of structure to ensure that students remain on task. Facilitated discussion is one idea that I think gives students a fair amount of ownership through reading a text, especially a non-fiction book where it is the story of a family coming into America as is the case for the authors parents. Using the same concepts from the non-fiction portion of our syllabus it becomes important for the class to understand that this story

did happen and then putting that into a context of US history. Burke explains this nothing really well through a example in the section Reading for Appreciation in which a student states that there is a story line behind everything and everyone nothing is out of order from beginning to end (Burke, 55) I think this is extremely important to keep in mind as students go through this book because I struggled with it myself with some of the less exciting parts. It is important for me to show that although this is a long story, it has a meaning to it as the history of a family. Since this lesson covers the half way point of the book it is important for students to be able to relate the instances from earlier in the book to later and also to be able to keep specific instances in mind so that they can remember them later. For example todays reading mentions a neighbor watching Juan moving into a home to set up his bootlegging operation and how later that same woman directs the authorities to his home. This is also an important part about showing how out of place Juan is in the white area of town and can lead students to discuss how the story would differ if the characters were something other than they are another gender or race (Burke, 502). This is shown when Juan pretends to be a Greek and is immediately shown to a nice house and allowed to buy it instead of being turned away again. Objectives By the end of class students will have worked on their ability to discuss and take concepts from literature and apply them to modern times. In order to assess this connection process I will need to pay close attention to students discussions and look at what each presents as an example of comprehension. Students should also be able to thoroughly explain the concept of legality and recognizing where rules come from whether they are written (class rules), un-written (clothing), or legal (Prohibition). Materials

1) 30 copies of Rain of Gold by Victor E. Villaseor 2) English Notebooks (for students) that they bring every day 3) Display of various ethnic neighborhoods in Chicago (http://www.wordsinspace.net/urban-media-archaeology/2010-fall/2010/10/20/mapcritique-radical-cartographys-chicago-boundaries/chicagodots_race_big-360/) Preparation Before class have the following written/projected onto the board/screen: Where do rules/laws come from? This question is designed to get students to think about the nature of laws and although they could have discussed bootlegging in previous classes. Students should be able to move their desks into small stations of four. Since students will be reading in class for some time make sure to have extra copies of the book available in case they forget their own copy. Either be able to display on a projector or hand out pictures of Chicago that show the various area demographics and to discuss the ideas of ethnic neighborhoods. Procedure Opening Activity: The lesson begins with students walking in and seeing the question Where do rules/laws come from? This activity is meant to get them to start thinking not only about power and where it comes from but also as a way to begin to think about how power operates in an area and what it takes to get respect/power in a society that is trying to hold someone back. (5-7 minutes to write while taking attendance and doing any housekeeping) Discussion of Responses: Students will actively discuss the ideas of rules with the class and will categorize the rules within their note books under what they said under three different categories: law, written, unwritten. Specifically take the classroom rules or school rules and explain where and who comes up with each one (teacher, administrator, state, etc.). This activity examines what

causes people to adhere to societal norms and maintain the status quo through day to day life while examining where they come from. The focus of this discussion is for students to develop a sense of what had to be done for Juan to make sure that his family could survive in this new country before but now is seeing a chance to commit one last crime in order to get out of the life. The amount of time this takes depends largely on the students contributions to the discussion but should not take longer than 15 minutes at most (ideally 12-15 minutes). Ethnic Neighborhoods: After students talk about the status quo and going along with what is expected by society ask the class if anyone know what an ethnic neighborhood is? At first look for a definition and then once that is generally accepted ask students for examples that they can think of (Chinatown, Little Italy, Barrio areas, Boystown, etc.) Include pictures of various areas that you can either pass around or have projected and have students point out what shows that something is an ethnic neighborhood. Students should be able to understand that there is a perceived feeling of safety or sameness being in an area with people who are like you. This directly leads to the reading and how Juan Villaseor is terrified of going into a white neighborhood and being treated as a second class citizen. (10 minutes) Reading: The students will then take out their books and open up to Chapter 17 as I begin reading out loud. Make sure students are able to understand just how nervous Juan is about going into a different area of town and talk about how that relates to the discussion from ethnic neighborhoods. When you get to the part about being afraid to ask about sugar talk about what is it that he was afraid of? Looking suspicious or approaching a white man? This can be argued either way by the class but the important part is that they form the idea and then reading through the discussion with his mother about the hotel deal. When arriving at this point the class will make predictions about the hotel deal and whether or not he will go through with it. (20 minutes)

Discussion Ideas 1) Where do rules come from? 2) Are rules meant to deter negative behavior or reinforce good behavior? 3) Why is Juan treated better when he says he is Greek? 4) What is Juan really afraid of when talking to the baker? 5) Would you go through with the hotel deal or back out and why? Bilingual/ESL and Englishes Accommodations 1) For the student that speaks Spanish predominantly there is a Spanish language version of the text available at Barnes and Noble. 2) The lesson is kept rather accessible by being more about themes than actual language, making it easier to connect to the students. 3) Discussion in general permits students to use their own voice as opposed to writing and the fear of being judged on the mastery of writing. 4) Give the students time to ask questions after class and also ask the teacher and other students for help during class. Special Education Accommodations 1) Writing what students thoughts are before sharing can reduce social anxiety. 2) Keeping example questions short reduces worrying about long/ difficult explanations. 3) This specific lesson does not force students to interact in a 1:1 basis so my student with Aspergers does not feel forced to participate. 4) The fear of approaching someone is an issue that my students can connect with.

Assessment This activity does not have a formal assessment already built into it but one accommodation that I can make to the lesson would be participation paper clips. I could either hand out paper clips each time a student contributes or collect one from them when they answer a question. The good thing about this is that it gives the students something to measure their participation with and to see that it is recognized by the teacher. Another thing that might be simpler is a checklist on which I have all my students names and each time they say something related to the class I give them a check. One other possibility I could insert into the lesson would be a take home question/journal about respect and what Juan is trying to teach his nephews which is something they would read for homework. That section is one that I would rather have them read on their own since it gives them a chance to reflect on it alone and to come to a realization what respect is for Juan. For grading journals I think it is important for them to simply be graded for completion because otherwise you are telling the student you are evaluating their ability to communicate their ideas to you instead of thinking them through. I would expect a journal to be between - of a page and to directly answer either: -What is Juan trying to teach his nephews about respect and power? -Would you go through with the hotel deal or not and why? Extension Ideas I think that this lesson is able to really get the reader to identify with Juan because everyone has been afraid to do something at some point. It also really pushes the question of how far is someone willing to go to protect/secure something for their family. These questions could even be part of a bigger assessment that could be themed off of the question How far are you

willing to go to protect your family? I find this to be one of the most appropriate ways to talk about how laws can be viewed as either holding people back or pushing people to do what they view as necessary. This concept is one that I know fascinates me and therefore could be examined by students in order for them to further look into their ideas about the text. Within the class I think this could be a productive time to actually examine the rules of the classroom/school and to really see what they are supposed to do and what the reasoning behind them is. Source of Activity This lesson takes a lot of ideas that have come up through numerous sources and classroom activities. I would like to credit: Mr. Searby and Ms. Steele for showing me how discussion can be used to teach students to learn for themselves. CI 403 showed me an even deeper understanding of this, especially when it comes to difficult topics such as race and discrimination. SPED 405 for having an assignment in which we craft classroom rules in order to better understand what they imply to students and to point out the restraining nature of most rules. Resources and References Burke, Jim. The English Teacher's Companion: a Complete Guide to Classroom, Curriculum, and the Profession. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008. Print. "Urban Media Archaeology Chicagodots_race_big-360." Words in Space | Shannon Christine Mattern. Urban Media Archaeology at The New School, Aug. 2010. Web. 08 Dec. 2011. <http://www.wordsinspace.net/urban-media-archaeology/2010-fall/2010/10/20/mapcritique-radical-cartographys-chicago-boundaries/chicagodots_race_big-360/>. Villasenor, Victor. Rain of Gold. New York: Tandem Library, 2003. Print.

Illinois Sate English Language Arts Goals

2.A.5a Compare and evaluate oral, written or viewed works from various eras and traditions and analyze complex literary devices (e.g., structures, images, forms, foreshadowing, flashbacks, stream of consciousness). This work is written relatively recently but the important thing to understand about it is that it is about a family coming into a new country and adapting their old lifestyle to their new home. Also students will make predictions in this lesson and also be exposed to forms of foreshadowing that they might not realize at this point of the novel. 2.A.5b Evaluate relationships between and among character, plot, setting, theme, conflict and resolution and their influence on the effectiveness of a literary piece. As I stated I struggled with the way in which this book is presented as non-fiction while telling a story that is so hard to believe. Unfortunately this calls into question the actual story and if it is all true but it shows students how details and plot elements contribute to the overall perception of a literary piece. 2.B.5b Apply knowledge gained from literature as a means of understanding contemporary and historical economic, social and political issues and perspectives. This lesson uses a social lens to examine not only what it is to be a part of immigration, but also what culture does in order to shape the world around us. This is examined through the discussion on rules and also the definition and examples of ethnic neighborhoods. 1.B.5a Relate reading to prior knowledge and experience and make connections to related information. Specifically the activity in regards to ethnic neighborhoods has students consider what they already know about different areas of a city. One other thing is how students always hear about the law and rules but do they actively search to understand the effect they have on their lives and actions.