(All technology modifications made in double-underline)

Taliaferro County School

Lesson Plan
Class/Teacher: 8th Grade ELA Mr. A
Date(s): 11/5-11/6/2015
Standard(s):
ELAGSE8RI3: Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions
between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or
categories).
ELAGSE8RI6: Determine an authors point of view or purpose in a text and analyze
how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
ELAGSE8RI7: Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different
mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic
or idea
ELAGSE8RI9: Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting
information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of
fact or interpretation.
Essential Question:
How did the characters from the text cause the events to be worse than they could
have been (human error)?
Learning Targets:
-I can identify major landmarks from the text.
-I can explain how character motivation affects the events.
-I can elaborate on the causes of the human error.
-I can evaluate the usefulness and applicability of the different maps.
-I can analyze the two different maps to show differences and similarities.
Resource(s): The Great Fire by Jim Murphy, Projector, Laptop, SMARTBoard,
Curated Resources List created by Mr. A (Linked from host on Weebly).
Vocabulary: Surging, Reality, Myth, Opposition, Consuming, Harrowing, Vantage
Point, Scuttle, Billow, Gales, Gusting, Adjacent, Smothered, Engulfed.
Prior Knowledge: Knowledge of geographical location, understanding of fire
hazards and prevention, historical context regarding society and architecture
(building practices), and implications of mob mentality.
Research Based Strategies: Gradual Release Model, Think Pair Share, Close
Reading, Annotations

Activities: The following activities will help students connect with the text as the
story comes to a close. The mobs have calmed, the fire has ceased spreading, and
the citizens are taking stock. To help the students understand the scope of the fire,
the teacher will be using a curated list to show the size of the affected area as
compared to their own town. Students will be examining what kind of damage was
done city-wide and the impact it had on the town and its citizens.
Opening:
-The students will complete their daily warmup and prepare for the reading by
having the pre-established students ensure that everyone has a book and is on the
appropriate page.
-The teacher will check that everyone has completed the warmup and is ready to
move into the main portion of the lesson. After checking, the teacher will do the
introduction: remind students of the standards being covered, the depth of
knowledge that is expected, the learning targets for the day and their alignment to
the essential question, and lastly the culminating activity to measure their level of
understanding.
-The teacher will call on students to summarize what they have read over the course
of the quarter, to ensure that every student knows what has happened during the
novels progression. The teacher will make note of students not on task or unaware
of significant events (paying particular attention to sequencing and proper
identification of major events).
-The teacher will then have students refer to the map of the city on page 122 and
123. This map shows the final destruction and spread of the fire. Students will
examine the major milestones and landmarks on the map, referring to the pictures
within the text for more details.
-Upon completing the study of the map within the book, the teacher will bring up
the curated resources. These resources will help show students a current view of the
city, despite the severity of the fire more than 100 years prior. These resources
show students a street-view of the city in its current state. There are several virtual
tours of colleges in the affected area that will show students different views of the
city. The Google Map tour included also shows students their own town as compared
to the affected area of Chicago. Students can see that their own town only fills in
approximately 3 square blocks of the dozens affected. The students will also see the
proximity of the Chicago to the shoreline, the distance from Chicago to their home
town, and other comparative elements. Students will be able to use the street view
that accompanies Google Maps to walk around downtown and look at the various
buildings, structures, and places where some of the major landmarks were in the
text.
Culminating:
-Following the virtual tour, students will be asked to compare the modern city to the
formerly destroyed city using what they know from the text and virtual tour. They

can use the text and the elements from the maps as a guide to help them focus on
the more significant elements of the destruction.
-Students will then use the text to look at the major mistakes that were made during
the fire, noting where there were turning points or missed opportunities to stop
the spread of the fire.

Assessment(s):
-Before the students leave, they will compile their information about the massive
amount of destruction and the turning points, noting where the entire experience
could have been different. They will create an alternate reality for the events,
rewriting the end of the events with a different conclusion.
Reflection:
The lesson was better in some ways, but worse in others after making the
enhancements. The students definitely related to the text more and I felt that they
connected with the text on a deeper level. Their depth of understanding was much
more significant than prior. They were so excited to see places on the Google Map
as opposed to the black and white maps in the text. The issues that I had were
related to being on-task and the organization of the street view portion. If students
had their own device, they were all over the map trying to look at places that did
not relate to the lesson. If the students were making recommendations on where I
should look next, it became like a live auction: students just yelling out places and
names as loud as they could with no restraint. This all comes back to my classroom
management, but also has to do with the structure of the lesson. I am in the process
of reflecting on the lesson with my co-teacher now to decide how we can better
structure the lesson to avoid these issues in the future.