Hashem, Lesson Plan 1

Lesson Plan #1 - What is a Genre?

I.

I. Setting the Stage: What are your measureable objectives and assessment?
A. Curriculum Framework Standards:

MA.RI.11.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text,
including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and
refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text.
MA.RI.11.5 - Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or
her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing,
and engaging.

B. Generative Topic: What is the focal concept or skill of the lesson?

The goal of this lesson is to introduce the idea of genre as more than just fixed types of
compositions. The focal concept students will take away from this lesson is the beginning of a
definition and understanding of genre that considers the authors intent and choices made to
accomplish that intent.

C. Measurable Objectives: What do you want students to know and be able to

do?

Students will determine the meaning of words and phrases in the context of specific genres.
This will include an analysis of figurative and connotative meanings.
Students will analyze authorial choices over the course of a text in order to comment
meaningfully on the genre norms of the piece.
Students will evaluate genre characteristics for effectiveness in relation to the purpose of the
composition.

D. End of Lesson Assessment: How are you going to assess students

understanding?

II.

After completing this lesson, each student will be able to list 3 different genres, identify the
purposes of those genres, and then evaluate what aspects of those genres are effective or
ineffective.

Content of the Lesson

A. Content and Skills: What do you know about what you are planning to
teach?

Essential Questions:
Do you need to know the authors purpose for a text to be able to understand it?
Why are certain genres better at accomplishing certain purposes?
These questions are intended to prompt students to reflect specifically on the meanings of
words and phrases as they are used in the text, how an author uses terms, what the authors
perspective and argument is, and how style and content relate to the effectiveness of a piece.
These essential questions will help students to begin to think of genre outside of fixed and
unchanging norms and more in terms of a flexible, rhetorical pattern.

Useful Literary Terms:

o Authorial intent: what the author meant for her text to say or do
o Convention: a widely used and accepted technique
o Diction: the authors specific word or phrasing choices. This can include dialect.
o Format: the shape, size, and construction of a piece of writing. The way the writing
is structured.

Hashem, Lesson Plan 1

o

Tone: the perspective or attitude that the author has with regards to her writing.
Tone helps the reader understand the writers feelings towards a particular topic.

Understanding these vocabulary words will give students the tools they need to
meaningfully reflect on and discuss different genre characteristics. These words will also
be on the word wall for students to review throughout the class.

B. Rationale: Why teach the lesson?

III.

Genre is something that we deal with every day. Advertising, school work, social
interactions, and media all deal in different types of genres. In order to be intelligent
consumers of the texts around us, we need to learn to be aware of what genres are, how
they work, and how they are used (Devitt 153). By studying genre awareness, we can
teach ourselves to insightfully process the wide variety of messages we are receiving.
This means that we can more closely analyze advertisements, texts from friends, and
movies. We can even begin to think about how we might want to stray from the genre
standards in our own compositions, moving away from understanding genre as textual
regularities in form and content (Dean 9). As opposed to focusing on a list of already
established genres, this approach equips students with the skills they need to work
through even new or unfamiliar genres (Devitt 151). In order to do this, students will
need to begin learning to determine meanings of specific genre choices made by the
author in an attempt to accomplish a specific purpose. We will spend time identifying
and assessing different genre characteristics in an effort to develop an awareness of the
socially situated nature of genre.
This lesson introduces two major areas of interest in genre awareness: the effect that
genre awareness has on us as readers and the effect that certain genre norms have on the
compositions ability to accomplish its purpose. Students will learn how they themselves
respond to the genre choices made by the author and they will use that analysis to
determine effectiveness or lack thereof of authorial choices. The activities and
assessments in this lesson open up the discussion on these topics that we will continue to
grow and deepen throughout this unit.

Preparation for the Procedures: Materials, Resources, and Technology

Materials:

IV.

The pre-test, copies of the anonymous poem, and homework assignment will have to be
printed beforehand.
I will need a smartboard, projector, or large screen to project excerpts for discussion.

Sequence of Teaching-Procedures for a 90-minute Period

A. Beginning of the Lesson (15 minutes):

Hand out the unit pre-test for completion. Collect without discussion. I will evaluate these as a
formative assessment and use them to shape the subsequent lessons.

B. Middle of the Lesson (65 minutes):

Hand out copies of the following anonymous poem (15 minutes):

Stop by the store
Buy turkey, bread, and flowers
Stop for gas on the way home
Pick up food for the dog
Make dinner
Read book

Hashem, Lesson Plan 1

Ask students to break up into groups of 4-5 and come up with one sentence that states
what your group thinks the poem means. This meaning can be interpretive, literal or
nonliteral, or a reflection on what you think the author is trying to say. This will allow
some time for students to experiment in a low stakes environment with the interpretation.
They can discuss together and ask for help if they want to.
Have 2 or 3 groups volunteer to share their interpretation of the poem (10 minutes).
Reveal to the students that this is not a poem. It is actually my to-do list on my way home tonight.
Ask students to discuss within their groups the following questions (15 minutes):
-How were they able to get meaning from the list when they thought it was a poem?
-How did the discussion change when they became aware it was a to-do list?
-If no one had told them that this was a poem, what would they have guessed the genre
was?
Circle around the room and listen, prompt, and question the discussions. This will
function as a formative assessment. I will be able to assess how engaged students are,
how genuinely they are wrestling with the issues of genre, and how much they are
grasping the ideas I am trying to convey.

Get back into a larger group. Point out and briefly define the words on the word wall and ask
students to keep these in mind as we go through the next activity (5 minutes)
We are going to look a little more closely at the following composition from the pre-test, projected
up on the board. Be consistently referring students back to the vocab words on the word wall as we
answer these questions, giving them examples of how the words are used (20 minutes).
Hey, Casey,
I actually dont think Im going to be home in time to take you to practice. Sorry. My
meeting ran late. Do you think you can text or call your mom or dad to see if one of them
can give you a ride? Let me know if that doesnt work out.
Thanks,
Max
Large group discussion questions:
-What do we think this is? (Probably an email.)
-How do we know that? (It uses a casual tone. It has a greeting and is signed in
conclusion. It is brief and to the point.)
-What is the purpose of the email? What did the writer want the reader to get out of it? (A
clear message that he wouldnt be able to give Casey a ride to practice. Casey needs
another ride.)
-Do you think that using an email was an effective way to accomplish this?
What if we change it to this:
Meeting ran late. Srry. Call mom or dad 2 take you to practice. Call if problems.
Discussion questions:
-What do we think this is? (Probably a text or a facebook message.)
-How do we know that? (The formality of the tone and format changed. We no longer
have a greeting or a signature at the end. The language convention changed.)
-What is the purpose of the text? What did the writer want the reader to get out of it? (A
clear message that he wouldnt be able to give Casey a ride to practice. Casey needs
another ride.)
-Do you think that using a text was an effective way to accomplish this?

Hashem, Lesson Plan 1

What if we change it to this:
To Sir Casey:
I will not be available to transport you to your practice. My sincerest apologies, but an
unexpected meeting has kept me from maintaining my original schedule. I advise that
you have your mother or father arrange for alternative transport. If this is unsuccessful,
please contact me.
Sincerely,
Maximillian
Discussion questions:
-What do we think this is? (We dont know.)
-What makes it difficult to categorize? (It has the format, tone, and feel of a business
letter, but it is talking about something that you wouldnt really use a business letter to
say. The genre of the business letter almost fits, except the content of the letter isnt quite
right.)
-What is the purpose of the text? What did the writer want the reader to get out of it? (A
clear message that he wouldnt be able to give Casey a ride to practice. Casey needs
another ride.)
-Do you think that using a text was an effective way to accomplish this? (Not really.)
-Why not? (Because it isnt what the reader is expecting. Business letters are usually
used for business-related messages.)
We expect to see certain compositions assembled in certain ways using certain
characteristics or conventions. These ways are called genres. We use specific genres to
accomplish specific purposes. The genre of an email or a text is perfect for
accomplishing the purpose of delivering a casual message. The genre of a business letter
makes a casual message very confusing. Using a business letter to create a to-do list
would be even more confusing. The purpose is wrong for that genre.
The group participation in the discussion will serve as another form of formative
assessment. I will be able to tell how interested the students are in the topic and whether
or not they understand the concepts I am trying to communicate.
C. Extension and Enrichment Activities during Class Time:

We will be working together as a class for most of this lesson, so I do not think anyone will be
finishing early or going off on their own, however, if they do, I will have copies of the
homework assignment for them to get started on.

D. End of the Lesson (10 minutes):

Hand-out and explanation of homework assignment. This homework will count as the formative
assessment I use to determine whether or not this lesson was clear. If I determine that a good portion
of the students did not understand my points, I will integrate a review/rehash of these concepts in a
later lesson.
Assignment:
List three types of genres. Only one of them can be literary. Examples of nonliterary genres include
to-do lists, emails, text messages, reminder notes etc. For each genre you have listed, answer the
following questions
1) What is generally the purpose of compositions written within this genre?

Hashem, Lesson Plan 1

2)
3)

What is one aspect of this genre that is effective?

Identify one aspect of the genre to change. Does this make the genre more effective,
less effective, or neither?
Example Genre: To-do lists
1)

2)
3)

Rubric for the homework assignment:

The purpose of this genre is to create a list of tasks to accomplish so that you
can organize your schedule and your time and so that you dont accidentally
forget a task.
The list format makes it easy to go down and check items off one by one.
If lists were written in complete sentences instead of brief fragments, I think
they would be less effective. It would take too long to write and too long to
read. The purpose is to help save time and organize things. Adding additional
reading and writing complexity is not helpful.