UMF Unit-Wide Lesson Plan
Template
Name: Program: SMED ENG Course: Student
Maggie Pomerleau Teaching
Lesson Topic / Title: Conspiracy Theory: Formatting
Lesson Date: Lesson Length: 80 minutes Grade/Age: 8th
2/13/20 Grade
Learning Objectives & Content Standard Alignment - Selects, creates, and sequences learning
experiences and performance tasks that support learners in reaching rigorous curriculum goals based on content
standards.
Learning Objective(s) Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
● Students can differentiate between ● Students will be able to use arguing as
evidence-based claims and false claims. a life skill outside of the classroom, so
● Students will know the following terms: hook, it is important that they learn how to
background information, thesis, topic sentence, argue in a controlled and academic
body paragraph, claim, counterclaim, setting.
call-to-action. ● In a world filled with false
● Students can complete a properly formatted news—specifically online—it is
MLA works cited page. important for students to become
● Students will create evidence based arguments responsible digital citizens.
using all the elements of an argumentative ● In order to understand the format,
essay, which include, but are not limited to: students need to know these terms.
hook, background information, thesis, claims, ● To avoid plagiarism, students need to
evidence, in-text citations, counterclaim, and a know how to properly cite their
call-to-action or other final sentiment. sources.
● Students will use reliable sources when crafting ● In middle school standardized testing
their essays. and in high school, students will need
● Students can create a properly formatted outline to know how to use the format of an
argumentative essay and how to use
information in their favor.
● Planning writing ahead of time is an
essential skill for high school and
college writing. It also helps students
to develop organizational skills.
Content Standard(s) Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
Writing: While students will not be meeting each of
these standards this lesson, they will be starting
5. With some guidance and support from peers and the process of completing their outlines, which
adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed from will hit all of these standards. The outline
planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new shows planning, which meets the target for
approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience writing 5. They will be required to pass in a
have been addressed. works cited page along with their outline,
which will allow them to meet the writing
8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and standards 8 and 9, since they will be using
digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess evidence to support their claims.
the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote
or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while
avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for
citation.
9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to
support analysis, reflection, and research.
Assessment - Uses assessment flexibly to expand and deepen understanding of learner performance and
determines best supports for continued learner growth.
Assessment Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
Pre: Students who did not complete the pre-assessment Since the students have never learned how to
last class will have the chance to do so this class. complete outlines before, I decided to give
them a worksheet to practice the formatting.
Formative: The worksheet consisted of local restaurants,
Outline worksheet starting with a broad category such as
Thesis worksheet “international” and getting more specific as to
Conferences which restaurants offered this type of food, and
even more detailed, such as what dishes they
had on their menu. This was not collected, but
I checked in with each individual student to
determine their understanding. The thesis
worksheet was similar in the way that it was
not collected, but I checked in with students
individually. The worksheet showed an
example of narrowing an idea down into a
thesis, and then asked the students to create
two thesis statements themselves on
predetermined topics. These worksheets
allowed students to get practice with the ideas
of outlines and thesis statements in a low
stakes setting, since it was not a graded
assignment.
Instructional Materials and Resources - Stays current in content knowledge and expands expertise in
reviewing instructional materials from the perspectives of both the discipline and individual learner needs.
Materials, Resources, and / or Technology Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
● Laptop The daily agenda will be written on the white
● Laptop charger board, as well as the writing prompt of the day,
● Access to Google Classroom which is chosen from the writing prompt
● Projector bucket. Students need laptops & chargers to
● SmartBoard access Google Classroom, since that is where
● Whiteboard & markers they will write and post their writing prompts
● Outline worksheets daily. I will need to project the example
● Thesis worksheets argumentative paper on the SmartBoard so that
● Example argumentative paper I can go over it with the class and underline
● Writing utensils important parts. Students will need both a
● Writing prompt bucket thesis and an outline worksheet, as well as
writing utensils to complete these.
Instructional Methods - Selects, creates, and sequences learning experiences and performance tasks by using
a variety of instructional approaches, strategies, and technologies that make learning accessible to all learners
and support learners in reaching rigorous curriculum goals.
Teaching and Learning Sequence Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
● Writing Prompt (15 minutes) ● At the beginning of each class, we will
● Pre-assessment, if not completed (7 minutes) go over the plan for the day. We will
● Go over argumentative paper format (13 also complete a writing prompt. Three
minutes) students will draw words out of a
● Introduce outline (15 minutes) bucket and write them on the board.
○ Fill out an example outline together on The whole class will complete an
white board individual writing assignment. This
● Outline worksheet (15 minutes) will only be graded for participation.
● Thesis worksheet (15 minutes) The goal is to use all three of the
● If there’s time, fill out the graphic organizer words in a story. This gets the
AFTER the thesis worksheet students’ creativity going and gets
them settled into class.
● I will look on Google Classroom to see
if any students have not completed the
pre-assessment. If everyone has
finished it, I will not give any time. If
there are any who have not completed
it, I will give them a few minutes now.
The rest of the students are welcome to
continue on their writing prompts until
their classmates are finished.
● I will introduce the format of the
argumentative essay through an
annotated example found online. I will
go through and circle the hook, thesis
statement, and topic sentences on the
SmartBoard to ensure students know
what they are supposed to look like. I
will go over expectations for the paper
at this time as well. On the white
board, I will write down the different
ways to format an outline, such as with
roman numerals, letters, or numbers.
● I will introduce the outline worksheet,
along with why we are doing it. I will
give an example during the
instructions, and after that, I will be
going around while they complete it to
answer their questions and assess their
understanding.
● After students have finished the outline
worksheet, I will give them the thesis
worksheet. I will go over the front of
the sheet since it gives examples, and
then explain to them how to fill out the
back of it. During their work time, I
will be going around to each of the
groups and having conferences to
check for understanding and answer
any questions that come up.
● If there are students who finish early, I
will allow them to begin working on
their outline.
Meeting students’ needs (differentiation, extensions, Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
modifications, accommodations)
In this class, there are two students on the
Student 1: autism spectrum. Their accommodations are
minimal and the only accommodation that
● The school will affects our class is the need to leave class
1. Allow access to nurse's bathroom whenever the students feel it is necessary.
2. Allow student to call home/go home if Since I allow this for all of my students, there
he feels he needs to are no modifications needed for the
3. Provide social skills group curriculum.
4. Be aware of the need to accommodate
for sensory needs (foods, sound, bugs) A specific extension that I have made for this
class is the use of outlines instead of graphic
organizers. Since this class is slightly more
Student 2:
advanced than the other three classes, I taught
them a new way to plan for their papers, which
● The school will
allows me to challenge them more.
1. Prep student for any transition or
change
2. Provide pre-learning and a positive
behavior plan that he helps design
(including reward)
3. If he needs to leave the classroom for a
break, allow student to visit guidance
counselor or call his mom
4. Provide opportunity for “space” in the
classroom
5. Provide supplemental work or allowed
to read or doodle after all work is
completed
Field Courses Only – Post lesson
Reflection
This lesson went much better than the previous lessons. Students enjoyed completing the outline
worksheet, since it had to do with something every student was comfortable talking about: food. They
also really enjoy the writing prompt. However, if I could redo the lesson, I would create my own
worksheets for the thesis statement. The worksheet I pulled online was slightly confusing for the
students. In retrospect, I should have had them work on the thesis statements for their own papers
instead of having them create thesis statements on topics that they will never write papers about, such
as vacations or the sun. It worked well to have something for students to do if they had completed both
worksheets early, and the conferences were also productive. I could see where students were in their
understanding as they went along, instead of having to correct them afterwards.
Teaching Standard Alignment
Standard 1: Learner Development
The teacher understands how students learn and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and
development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and
physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning
experiences.
1(a) Regularly assesses individual and group performance in order to design and modify instruction to
meet learners’ needs in each area of development (cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical)
and scaffolds the next level of development.
During this lesson, there were multiple forms of assessment. There was a pre-assessment, which allows
me to look at student knowledge data, as well as multiple formative assessments. During the work time
for the outline and thesis worksheets, I was going around conferencing with students. While these
worksheets were not collected, the conferences allowed me to collect all the data I needed to know
about both individuals and groups. From this new knowledge, I was able to better scaffold my next
lessons. I realized that students had never completed outlines before, but they did have some prior
knowledge about thesis statement writing. Therefore, I was able to properly scaffold my next lesson,
which was about creating outlines. The students were better prepared for the outline assignment
because of the formative assessments given during this lesson.
