Half Hollow Hills School District

Independent Formal Pre Observation

Id

Teacher

Building

Department Cert Type

4786 Courtney Freer West Hollow (053) ENL

Tenure Date Opened Observation Date Observer

Professional Tenured 11/17/2016

1/18/2017

Date Closed

Lori Campbell 1/10/2017

Lesson Plan Content

Briefly describe the students in this class, including those with special needs? How have you used this information to plan for this lesson?
(Component 1b)
The sixth period class that Miss Clark and I co-teach is comprised of 22 students in total. There are 12 females and 8 males in this class. Five of
the 22 students are ENL students, whom I work to assist and accommodate their needs, as well as adapt materials to assist each
appropriately such as translating and making accommodations to tests, quizzes, and alternate assessments. Of the 17 other children in the
room, they function on varied levels. One of the females who is not an ENL student is a read-to for all assessments, and one other male and
one female who are non-ENL students are classified as Special Education students and who have 504 accommodations and IEP plans.
This is a great group. Because it is an ENL class, the grouping is fluid and changes depending on the lessons that we are teaching. No matter
which groups we create, the children work well with one another and have formed respect for us as well as each other.
They are hard-working, and eager to learn.This particular group of ENL students is extremely hard-working and have a tremendous work ethic.
They are eager to learn, and most attend extra help weekly and are willing to go the extra mile to learn and catch up with their peers.
The group is delightful to teach, watch, and be a part of. I think that you will enjoy watching them interact, particularly with this lesson. Taking their
needs into account, we made sure that the groups that we created were well-balanced as figurative language can be challenging for English
speaking students, and even more difficult for ENL children to understand. We have placed the ENL students in groups that can support their
learning, and balanced the needs equally.

Why are these goals suitable for this group of students? (Component 1c)
We are currently beginning to read our novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis. The story is fictional and set in
both Flint, Michigan as well as Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. To summarize, it is about a young African American family who is struggling with
the normal family challenges while living in the north during a particularly tumultuous time in our nation's history for African Americans. The
children are unaware of the circumstances that plague the South, but their parents are very much aware considering that they lived in
Birmingham in their youth. The family decides to take a trip to visit their grandmother, whom Mrs. Watson, the mother in the family, has not seen
in ten years. During their travels, they encounter some of the racism that pervaded the South, and encounter several tragic and near fatal
events while in Birmingham, particularly when the youngest character Joetta Watson is at the 16th Street Baptist Church on the day of the
historical and tragic bombing that took place on September 15, 1963. The story teaches tolerance, acceptance, and reminds us that we should
never take anything for granted. However, our students do not have the background knowledge of the modern civil rights movement that took
place between approximately 1953-1965. While it is apparent that they have extensive knowledge of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and
the color barriers that challenged black athletes of the time, they are truly unaware of the peoples' movement we are refer to as the modern
civil rights movement. Courtney and I have basically gone back to the beginning of our nation's history in 1776, and have had the daunting and
emotional task of explaining how hatred of African Americans has existed in our nation for many years. We covered the Civil War, the
amendments associated with the change in laws, which has proven most challenging trying to explain how even if laws changed, it didn't
necessarily change the way people behaved. We covered segregation, as well as some of the efforts of the people including watching the
documentary "The Children's March" which opened up an amazing conversation with a student's grandmother in our 5th period class who was a
13 year old participant in the march and who was arrested as a result. It's been eye opening for the students. Therefore, the goals of this
lesson are suitable for our students because it is a lesson that is part of a larger unit that will require synthesis of the previous lessons and
their content, as well as the ongoing conversation all year about text analysis and literal and figurative language and the impact figurative
language can have on the plot and development of a text.

How does this lesson support district priorities and state standards?
This lesson was designed in response to the unit that includes the novel we are reading as mapped on our Sixth Grade English Language Arts
Curriculum. This lesson includes but is not limited to the following Common Core Standards as defined by the Common Core Curriculum which
has been adopted by the HHH District:
R1 6.1 Following instructions which provide information about a task or an assignment. Listen respectively and responsively to peers.
R1 6.2 Response to imaginative text or videos in class and in small group discussions.
R1 6.3 Being able to analyze and evaluate information.
L.6.4 Use context as clue to a meaning or a phrase.
L.6.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
L.6.5A Interpret figures of speech in context.

How do these goals relate to broader curriculum goals in the discipline as a whole or in other disciplines? (Component 1c)
These goals certainly relate to broader curriculum goals in our discipline as this lesson centers upon a song written by the popular band, The
Beatles, during the time of the modern civil rights movement and contains elements of figurative language such as symbolism to make a direct
connection to the events that center upon this important time in history in which the novel we are reading is based. We have been working all year
on text analysis, as well as learning to read like "writers" while continuing to engage as readers as well. We have been annotating text all year,
analyzing for deeper meaning, and working on developing essays which center upon theme as well as traits. This unit supports the figurative
language work we have been doing all year as well, and will hopefully provide a link to popular culture as well. It supports the Social Studies
Curriculum as well, as we have done a fair amount of teaching the background of the modern civil rights movement as well.

Half Hollow Hills School District

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What difficulties do students typically experience in this area, and how do you plan to anticipate these difficulties? (Component 1a)
In most cases, the difficulty with this lesson will center upon the figurative language that the students will encounter. Most students are very
literal, and while the song literally means one thing, its symbolism is difficult to grasp, especially at this age. We have set up groups that are
well-balanced, while working to support the ENL students as well, who will likely struggle more with this than the non-ENL students. We will be
working with the groups to support them, and have designed lessons in the days before in which we analyze different songs that have similar
meanings and ideas, as well as extensively discussing and learning about the movement in general in order for the students to make text to
world connections and hopefully, see the bigger picture.

What instructional materials or other resources, if any, will you use? (Attach sample materials you will be using in the lesson.) (Component
1d)
For this lesson, a PowerPoint, and student guide were created which will support the students while they are working in groups. Prior to this
lesson, a review of the modern movement and students have watched the documentary of the "Children's March". Also included in the PowerPoint
are several videos to help students understand the subtleties of the song, as well as the movement in general. Students have also practiced
analyzing texts many times, in different genres. Students will also complete a cloze activity which was created to summarize the key ideas of the
march, and will complete a reflection activity for homework as well.

If applicable, describe how the planning of this lesson reflects recommendations made during prior informal/formal observations and
professional conversations.
This lesson is a result of some professional conversations that had with fellow ELA teachers, in addition to Miss Clark. Miss Clark, Mrs. Rossi, Mrs.
Domozych work hard to try to develop lessons that support the overall theme and message of this book, and have always found it challenging to
discuss some of the many difficult realities of the civil rights movement. Together, they have been teaching this book for 12 years, and although our
main lessons are used each year, we often change due to the current events that surround the movement. This is my second year working on this
unit and delicate subject. The only problem lies in the idea that American History is not really taught until 7th grade, which requires us to do
extensive background on the movement itself. It is also a difficult challenge for ENL students because they are even more unfamiliar with the topic.
This lesson is a direct result of those conversations and realizations, and it is our hope that the students will find it challenging, as well as
interesting.

Teacher Comments
Teacher comments pertaining to observation setting. List any items you might want to call to the attention of the Administrator.
We worked very hard to establish a warm and welcoming environment that supports learning, collaboration, and respect. We pride ourselves on
the rapport that we have developed with our students. The room is fairly decorated not only with student work but with inspirational posters as
well as quotes around the room. Miss Clark recently worked with some children who were moved by the Children's March to develop a bulletin
board chronicling the events of the modern movement. A board was also developed that showcases photos from the movement, as well as very
inspirational and important quotes from the epilogue of the novel, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963, that tie in directly to what we have
been teaching the children with regards to respect, tolerance, and the movement.

Observational Focus (optional):

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