EE 355 Methods: Contemporary Teaching of Social Studies

Reading Lesson Plan Assignment Template: Using the edTPA Framework

(Adapted, with gratitude, from work by Deborah Layzell, Illinois State University)

Name: Ben Hiromura

Age/grade level this plan is for: Eighth Grade (Social Science and English/Language Arts)
Central Focus

CCSS Anchor
Standard(s)

CCSS Grade k-8

ELA
NCSS Standards
Standard(s)

Central Learning Focus and Planned Learning Outcomes

Students will investigate the ways in which identity markers influence life outcomes despite the
triviality of such differences.
Essential Questions:
*What are race, ethnicity, and nationality?
*What is socioeconomic status?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.10
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and
shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and
audiences.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacherled) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and
expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.1.A
Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly
draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and
reflect on ideas under discussion.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique,
relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.3.B
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection, to develop
experiences, events, and/or characters.
V. Individuals, Groups, & Institutions
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of interactions
among individuals, groups, and institutions, so that the learner can:
e. identify and describe examples of tensions between and individuals beliefs and government
policies and laws;

Prior Academic
Knowledge

Anticipated
Issues

Launch
5-10 Minutes

*Students must know the socio-political factors that contribute to a persons well-being
including housing, schooling, and political representation.
*Students must understand new vocabulary terms including oppression, marginalization, and
human rights.
*Students should be able to identify the components of a short story and be able to construct
one based on a prompt.
*Students should know how to conduct a Socratic discussion and come prepared with questions,
notes, and ideas about the text they read for homework.
*Students may not be able to fully grasp the meanings of race, ethnicity, nationality, or socioeconomic status and may not see how these contribute to a persons well-being.
-An exit slip will be given asking the differences between these concepts. Teacher should
provide a handout with quick definitions for any student that cannot correctly answer the exit
slip.
*Students may come to discussion ill prepared for Socratic discussion, which decreases the
effectiveness of the conversation.
-Teacher should check notes of students before engaging in discussion and if a student does not
have adequate annotations they must write the minutes for the seminar (take notes of main
ideas).
Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks
Poetry Reading- kitchenette building by
Discussion Questions
Gwendolyn Brooks
*What is the tone of the poem?
*What dream is Brooks talking about?
We are things of dry hours and the involuntary plan, *How does this poem describe poverty?
Grayed in, and gray. Dream makes a giddy sound,
not strong
Gwendolyn Brooks, "kitchenette building"
Like rent, feeding a wife, satisfying a man.
from Selected Poems, published by
Harper & Row. Copyright 1963 by
But could a dream send up through onion fumes
Gwendolyn Brooks. Reprinted by consent
Its white and violet, fight with fried potatoes
of Brooks Permissions.
And yesterdays garbage ripening in the hall,
Flutter, or sing an aria down these rooms
Even if we were willing to let it in,
Had time to warm it, keep it very clean,
Anticipate a message, let it begin?
2

Instructional
Core Sequence
15- 20 Minutes

We wonder. But not well! not for a minute!

Since Number Five is out of the bathroom now,
We think of lukewarm water, hope to get in it.
Collaborative Construction of Knowledge
1. What are some aspects of our personal identity?
a. Track student thinking on the board- ex. gender, age, money, race, religion, etc.
b. Circle race and money- the aspects of identity we will focus on today
2. Note-Taking- Header (on board)- Racial Identity
a. Race- Each of the major divisions of humankind, having distinct physical
characteristics (Oxford Dictionary)
i. Basis on- skin color, anatomical features- commonalities and
differences
ii. Basis on- cultural, ethnic, genetic, geographical, historical, linguistic,
religious, or social affiliation
iii. Social construction (see handout)
1. Categories- White, Black, Native American, Asian, Hispanic (ethnic
group!)
3. Ethnicity- The fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or
cultural tradition (Oxford Dictionary)
i. Basis on- cultural norms (food, traditions, holidays, values)
ii. Ethnic Groups
1. Categories- Hispanic, African-American, Louisiana Creole, Canadian
American
b. Nationality- The fact or state of belonging to a particular nation (Oxford Dictionary)
i. Basis on- nation-state
ii. American, Japanese, Mexican, Indian
4. Which is the dominant group and which is the subordinate group?
5. Take volunteers to analyze their race, ethnicity, nationality
6. Note-Taking- Header (on board)- Socioeconomic Status
a. Economic and sociological combined total measure of a person's work experience
and of an individual's or family's economic and social position in relation to others,
based on income, education, and occupation
i. Basis on- income, housing, familial amenities, experiences
ii. Influences- schooling, opportunities, health

7. Which is the dominant group and which is the subordinate group?

8. Which of these do we have control over?
a. How can someone in the subordinate group gain status in the dominant group?
Structured
Practice &
Application
30-35 Minutes

Socratic Seminar (15 minutes)- How Long Will I Cry Chapter 3 (p. 32-35)
Major Issues at Stake in Chapter
o Police treatment of community
o Funding police department
o History of black culture
o News reporting of police officers getting assaulted, shot, or killed
Discussion Questions
1. What unique perspective does Officer Moss possess on harassing people on the
corner? How might this perspective be forward-thinking or help the community?
2. What is the impact of ill-prepared police officers in certain neighborhoods? How come
they are so unprepared?
3. Why do you think it is not always reported when a police officer is shot/assaulted?
What does it say about our values and attitudes toward police?
4. What is Officer Moss perspective on black culture?
Feedback on Personal Narratives (15 minutes)- (Liz Lerman, 2003)
1. Split class into groups of four
a. One artist, two responders, one facilitator
i. Statements of meaning- How is what you just read meaningful to you?
(facilitator)
ii. Artist as Questioner- artist asks a few questions about his or her work
iii. Neutral Questions from Responders- factual or informational
iv. Permissioned Opinions- I have an opinion about ______, do you want to hear
it?
2. Repeat two to three cycles

Closure
15-20 Minutes

Poetry Exercise
For 5 minutes, make a list of abstractions (LOVE, HATE, DEATH, STRENGTH) and then for the next
5 make a list of sentences that turn each one into a concrete, aka a metaphor (a comparison
between unlike things that reveals their true nature). Then for 5 minutes pick one sentence as
4

the start of a poem and write that poem.

(Burroway, 2007)
Explanation of Short Story #2
*Write a short story including descriptive, emotive, and intellectual components surrounding the
following topics: an experience with racial tension, a portrayal of race in media/entertainment, a
story involving socio-economic status, or another topic discussed thoroughly in class.
Differentiation/Pl
anned Additional
Support

Students with IEPs or 504 plans (include ESL/bilingual; learning disability; physical disability):
*Students will be given a hard copy of the text, kitchenette building, as necessary, and it will be projected
at the front of the room.
*Students will be given class notes, as necessary, in order to adequately follow the flow of the
instructional core.
*Students with slow processing speed during discussion will benefit from special signaling that allows
them to prepare for a question (cue pre-constructed).
*Students will be grouped behaviorally, thus allowing for multi-level critique and feedback. Students with
reading or speech difficulties can have text read to them or write down feedback.

Academic Language Demands

Academic
Language Used
and

Meeting the
Language
Demands

Poetic Tone- paired with synonym of feeling, followed up by question- what does the imagery do for you?
Race- explicit instruction, written on board, examples made clear
Ethnicity- explicit instruction, written on board, examples made clear
Nationality- explicit instruction, written on board, examples made clear
Socio-Economic Status- explicit instruction, written on board, examples made clear
Dominant- explained by the group having power, which group holds the most positions or makes the most
decisions
Subordinate- explained as the group subservient to the dominant power, which group tends to have less
power
Abstraction- poetry exercise given examples, love, hate, power

Assessments
Assess
ment
Type
Informal

Assessm
ent
Descript
ion
Socratic
Seminar

Planned
Modifications to
Assessments
Students can turn
in notes on

Evaluation Criteria
(What evidence of student learning related to the learning
objectives and central focus
does the assessment provide?)
*Quantity of speech (minimum checklist), Quality (connecting ideas
with text), Prompting Discussion Questions, Competency (knowledge

Participati
on
Informal

Formal

Feedback
Process
Participati
on
Journal
EntryPoetry
Exercise

reading for
preparation
points.
Students can have
text read to them
or write down
feedback.
Students can
record their
thinking process
for credit.

from readings)
*Performance in Role (assessing collaborative group dynamics),
Annotation of Text (marking up artists paper), Willingness to Give or
Receive Feedback
*Completion of Activity, Evidence of Thought Process, Quality (only if
given permission)

Resources
Brooks, G. (1963, January 1). Kitchenette building. Retrieved November 10, 2014, from
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/poem/172080
Burroway, J. (2007). Imaginative writing: The elements of craft. New York: Pearson/Longman.
Harvey, M., Big Shoulders Books., & DePaul University. (2013). How long will I cry?: Voices of youth
violence.
Lerman, L., & Borstel, J. (2003). Liz Lerman's critical response process: A method for getting useful
feedback on anything you make, from dance to dessert. Takoma Park, MD: Liz Lerman Dance Exchange.
Race. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2014, from
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/race