Lesson Plan

LESSON PLAN

#3  

                                                        Class and Grade Level:

Title/Subject of Lesson: Symbolism and Character Development in Speak

Grade Level: 11-12th Grade

Learning Target(s): Students will be able to explain the symbolism of the Tree in Speak Students will be able to use the symbolism of the tree to show how the theme is developed in the story

Formative/ Summative Assessment(s): The analysis we will do together in class will help me know if students are understanding how symbolism shows character development, as well as the activity to show that they know the characters well.

State (or Common) Core Curriculum Standard(s):  “Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text”. ELA RL 11.3

Utah Effective Teaching Standards:

1.a Creates developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences based on individual student’s strengths, interests, and needs.

3.e Extends the learning environment using technology, media, and local and global resources.

6.c Differentiates instruction for individuals and groups of students by choosing appropriate strategies, accomodations, resources, materials, sequencing, technical tools, and demonstrations of learning.

7.g Supports content and skill development by using multiple media and technology resources and knows how to evaluate these resources for quality, accuracy, and effectiveness.

10.a Is responsible for compliance with federal and state laws, State Board of Education administrative rules, state assessment policies, local board policies, and supervisory directives.

Concept(s) to Be Taught:  Symbolism and how it represents characters in the book and how characters develop throughout the book and how we can see that through symbols. The complex set of ideas we will explore is focused on symbolism and we will be teaching students how to recognize symbolism in the book and how it mirrors character development. After seeing how to recognize symbolism and how it develops the theme and characters, they will practice on their own by reading a selection that shows the way Melinda is unable to speak in situations and how that theme develops throughout the text.

Materials Needed:  Computer, phone, or any device that can access Google Slides. Access to internet so that students can find pictures, songs, or quotes from Speak.

Scaffolds/Student Supports:  The examples and practices in class we do can be given out according to skill set. For more eager learners, there are longer paragraphs I can assign during group lessons. For English Language Learners or students with disabilities, I can give them shorter paragraphs that will be easier to digest and understand, as well as placing them with students who have a strong understanding of the text.

Lesson Presentation:   

           Preparing Students for Learning:  Brief introduction on symbolism. To begin, I will show this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vwek28P9Gk . We will then lead a small discussion about what symbolism means, first asking them to explain the definition to a partner and then asking students to share that definition with the entire class.

           Directing the Learning:  [learning activities]

            A) Modeling/Examples:  Begin by explaining that today’s lesson will be about symbolism. Read the first chapter that has the tree together as a class (page 12). Every time there is a way the tree is described, write it on the board. (Teacher notes: she described the tree as “Too easy”, “She learned how to draw it in second grade”, “her destiny”). Talk about ways to recognize these- point out that anything about the tree is helpful for recognizing the symbolism.

            B) Guided Practice: Divide students into groups and have them read the chapters on their own. Group 1: pages 30-32 (ways the tree in that chapter is described: nearly dead, almost alive, dark so you can barely see the tree, draws a second grade version. Says that drawing the tree is not a hard thing to do). Group 2: pages 102-104 (ways the tree in this chapter is described: that a kindergartner could have done better, her tree is frozen, she keeps ruining her chance to make a better one).

Group 3: Pages 152 (bottom paragraphs) to page 153 (ways the tree in this chapter is described: boring, hopeless, sucks, stiff, unnatural, an insult to trees everywhere, imperfect).

Group 4 pages 118-119 (inspiration from picasso- rectangles for branches, triangles for leaves. Mr. Freeman thinks it helps).

Group 5 pages 196-198 (tree is breathing, bark is rough, imperfect).

After group reading for 15 minutes, each group will nominate someone to come up to the board and write their findings. We will then have a discussion about how these descriptions of the tree are symbolic of Melinda. If students are unable to come up with answers to my key points, I will direct them with my notes that I wrote after the points. In addition, I can have the students turn to their partner and discuss at least one thing before sharing it to the entire class if there is little participation as a group discussion.

Key points:

• How does a nearly dead tree describe Melinda? How does this fit with the feelings someone may feel after they are sexually assaulted?
• The book also references birds a few times. What are the differences between these two nature symbols, a bird and a tree? (Teacher notes: trees are unable to move or speak, birds are free to sing and fly away from danger).
• How has Melinda’s drawings of the tree changed throughout the book? Compare the first group’s findings to group 5’s findings. (Teacher notes: dead tree vs. a tree that is breathing, an emphasis on perfection but life in the latter part of the book).

            C) Independent Practice Activity #1: since we are talking about character development and how symbolism helps us see their change, we will be creating slideshows together in class to represent a character. You and a partner will be creating a 3-5 slide powerpoint of a character, using images, songs, quotes, symbols from the internet of what you think represents that character. We will then present them in class and we will all have to guess what character it is. Depending on how much class time we have, we will either do a couple or all of them. In a class of 30+ students, partnerships would be turned into groups of four or five because there wouldn’t be enough time to show all slideshows together in class. After these small groups make their presentation, they will show it to another partnership and choose the better one out of the two. I would then show the best ones to the entire class and we would all together guess.  

This practice will enhance student learning by making them brainstorm what a symbol is and how to articulate the importance. Additionally, it is a good way for me to gauge how deeply the students understand the characters.

Backup plan if technology isn’t available: with a partner, come up with 5 different symbols of a character in Speak. These can be songs that describe this character, how you think they look/what they wear, how they talk, etc. After you come up with these, draw these characteristics on the clip art image of a person I provide.

Example: Andy from Speak. Melinda describes him as nearly monstrous and even calls him an “It” for the majority of the book so I would draw him with horns and an angry face.I would also draw a handsome face or maybe nice clothes because many of the girls at her school say he is attractive. I would put some earbuds in his ears and a cord that follows to his phone, which is playing “Monster” by Lady Gaga. Overall, I want him to look like a normal high school student but with aspects of a monster or demon because of what he did.

There are no limits to this activity, but have an explanation for every aspect of your drawing.

Assignment/Strategy or Skill Development:  After our class, go home and analyze one of the chapters assigned to you and note the theme of how Melinda can’t speak. Students will be assigned either pages 50-51 (closet space), pages 62-65 (“wishbone” selection), pages 121-123 (Riding Shotgun), or pages 182-184.

• Look for who speaks in these instances.
• Why does Melinda feel like she can’t speak in these instances?
• How does having someone to talk to or listen help?
• How is she able to eventually overcome her incapability to speak? What made the change or difference?

First, summarize the selection you were assigned. Then, come prepared for next class with an answer to each of these questions. Your answers should be one paragraph (5-6 sentences) all together. Bring your paragraph to class next time for a discussion on your findings.

I will be able to tell how successfully students answer these questions by seeing how much they write- these questions are easily answerable after reading the text but provoke deeper thought, so if students can’t write much, it is a good indicator that I need to explain more the connection between symbols and how they represent bigger themes in the text.

Activity to Avoid Wasted Time: We may not be able to present all of the student’s slideshows of the characters, so we will begin with a couple and if there is extra time, we will present more. I believe this will be interactive for the students and is a way to help students recognize characters from a different perspective. This will help me evaluate student success because if I see that students are using base level symbols of characters (for example, if a student just uses a clip art picture of a girl to symbolize Melinda, and their justification is that Melinda is a girl, I would know that the students have minimal understanding of the characters and that I need to explain the text better or guide their close reading).