Secondary English Language Arts: Revised ed:TPA Lesson Plan Template

Name: Jett Levin

Lesson Title: Annotating Orphan Train
Grade Level: 10
Lesson Goals
Central Focus: Describe the central focus (of the unit) and explain how this lesson reflects the central focus.
Central Focus: to explore what we carry with us, synthesizing narrative strategies from mentor texts and creating personal narratives
with thematic elements that reflect individual growth experiences.
This lesson will act as a support for later work within the central focus. The focus of this lesson will be on close reading and
developing annotation skills so that students get the most out of their reading of Orphan Train.
List the title, author, and write a short description of the text(s) used in this lesson.
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. Orphan Train is a novel about the intersection of two womens stories: Vivian Daly and Molly
Ayer. In and out of foster homes, Molly steals a book and is threatened with juvenile prison and being kicked out of her uncomfortable
home if she does not find a way to do community service hours elsewhere. Vivian, an elderly woman whose childhood as an Irish
immigrant on the orphan train determined the progression of her life homes lives nearby, and needs help working through the
memories and objects from those years that have been lying abandoned in her attic. When Mollys boyfriend tells her of an
opportunity to get hours helping Vivian clear out her attic, a unique friendship is born.

Conceptual/Theoretical Framework (draw from research and readings in CI and English coursework:
The conceptual framework for this lesson comes from Van Garderen and Whittakers Planning Differentiated, Multicultural
Instruction for Secondary Inclusive Classrooms. The authors argue that within a UDL framework, content, what is taught
and how information is presented needs to be presented in ways that are inclusive and accessible to all students. They
provide examples of successful practice of content UDL accommodations, including provision of organizers to guide note
taking (Van Garderen 14). The goal of this lesson is to provide students with the scaffolding they need to read Orphan
Train, tracking their thoughts and changes across the novel.
Standard(s) Addressed (use examples from both the Common Core State Standards and the Illinois Professional Teaching
Standards):

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2

Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how
it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.5
Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and
manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.
IPTS Standard 2 - Content Area and Pedagogical Knowledge The competent teacher has in-depth understanding of
content area knowledge that includes central concepts, methods of inquiry, structures of the disciplines, and content area
literacy. The teacher creates meaningful learning experiences for each student based upon interactions among content
area and pedagogical knowledge, and evidence-based practice.
IPTS Standard 4 - Learning Environment The competent teacher structures a safe and healthy learning environment that
facilitates cultural and linguistic responsiveness, emotional well-being, self-efficacy, positive social interaction, mutual
respect, active engagement, academic risk-taking, self-motivation, and personal goal-setting.
Recall your central focus and explain how the standards (above) and learning objectives (below), that you have identified,
support students learning:
CCSS 9-10.2 asks students to determine a theme or central idea of a text which they will be asked to do in objective 2.
This supports their comprehension of plot, character development, and, eventually, answering the EQ in the context of
Orphan Train. ILPTS 4 asks teachers to foster self motivation and personal goal setting. By allowing students to choose
their own vocabulary words, they can set goals for learning vocabulary and achieve them. Likewise, the annotation
worksheets provide them with a structured space for tracking thematic elements within the core text, which supports their
achievement of CCSS 9-10. 5.
Materials/ Instructional Resources:
Orphan Train copies
Overhead projector
Annotation worksheet
Writing utensil

*Learning Objectives (Add additional objective boxes as

needed):

*Assessment (both formal and informal)- Evidence of Student

Understanding:

Objective 1:

Related Assessment:

Students will locate important information in Orphan Train and

code it using their annotation organizers.

Formative: completion of annotation sheet

Formative: selection of at least one new vocabulary word

Explain the Assessments Alignment with the Objective:

The objective asks students to work thorough the assessment
in a low-stakes way to familiarize themselves with the
organizer format.

Describe the form of Student feedback that accompanies

the assessment:
Student feedback will be the completed organizer worksheet, which
can be reviewed by the instructor to check for understanding.

Objective 2:
Students will determine the main idea of the first chapters of
Orphan Train.

Related Assessment:

Summative: summary of main idea due at the end of class

(exit slip)
Explain the Assessments Alignment with the Objective:
Assessment asks students to identify and communicate the main
idea of the passage.
Describe the form of Student feedback that accompanies
the assessment:
Exit slip

Lesson Considerations
Pre-Assessment:

Instructor analysis of previous student output for annotation skills.

Prior Academic Learning and Prerequisite Skills: (Cite evidence that describes what students know, what they can

do, and what they are still learning to do.)

Students know what a summary is, how to write a summary. They can draw connections between language functions and meaning.
They are still learning to apply those connections and analyze them.

Personal, cultural, and community assets related to the central focusExplain what you know about your students
everyday experiences, cultural and language backgrounds and practices, and interests.
My students everyday experiences, cultural backgrounds, interests and communities will be essential to success in this lesson that

focuses on writing based on personal experience. My students have a variety of backgrounds including international communities,
religious practices, large and small families, languages like English, Korean, and French spoken at home, and more. They have a
wide range of interests including social justice, sports, fashion and music industries, and learning about other cultures.

Misconceptions:
Students may have misconceptions about what annotation means, what items are worthy of annotation and what its aims are.

Language Objectives and Demands

Identify a Language Function:
Analyze
Language Function. Using information about your students language assets and needs, identify one language function essential
for students within your central focus. Listed below are some sample language functions. You may choose one of these or another
more appropriate language function for this lesson.
Analyze

Argue

Describe

Evaluate

Explain

Interpret

Justify

Synthesize

Vocabulary:

Orphan train
Self-selected vocabulary (students identify words they do not know)
Learning and Linguistic Accommodations: Describe the instructional accommodations that you must make, as the classroom
teacher, in order to address the learning needs of students with special needs and students who are not English proficient or
students who use varieties of English.

Accommodations for students with Special Needs:

For the student on the autism spectrum, I will refer to the IEP and consult with the special education teacher on how to
best meet their goals and needs with this lesson. If needed, modifications can be made to differentiate goals/objectives
and student output for the day. For instance, the annotation sheet can be modified into a graphic organizer, or post-it note
method. The summary can be a sketched image of a key scene or a short paragraph.
Accommodations for students who are not proficient uses of Standard English:

Translated materials are available for the French-dominant student.

Explain your instructional decision-making and the way you plan to support student learning when using whole class,
small groups, and individualized assignments. In addition, explain accommodations for students who have
special needs and students who are not proficient users of Standard English as part of whole class and small
group arrangements
Students will be working individually today. After a mini-lesson on annotation, the students will practice and apply their skills to their
reading. Because students read at varied paces, they can begin reading on their own with the guidance of the template. Students
who have special needs and language barriers can access appropriate translation materials and additional technology aides (tablet,
etc.) from the instructor.

Time

*Lesson Plan Details

Lesson Introduction

25
min.

Annotation: the what, how, and why of annotating a text

Instructor uses modeling via the projector to demonstrate how to annotate Orphan Train using the first divided segment of
text.

Learning Activities 20
min.

Independent reading and annotation sheet

Students will read through the first 3 portions of Orphan Train. They will pause to make predictions, characterization notes,
plot notes, and identify at least one new vocabulary word.

Describe how your planned formal and informal assessments, including a written product, will provide direct evidence of
students abilities to construct meaning from, interpret, OR respond to a complex text throughout the learning segment.
Both planned assessments are written products. The annotation worksheet guides students to analyze the text throughout
their reading for the hour. The exit slip asks students to determine the main idea of the text so far as they have read.

Closure
Exit slip: summarize the main idea of the text in two to three sentences.
Extension
Students may choose to 1. Go get a dictionary and look up the definitions of their vocabulary words for the day or 2. Read
ahead for tomorrow.

Resources and References (use APA or MLA listing the information from the conceptual framework above as
well as from any other categories where cited a source):
Illinois Professional Teaching Standards (2013). Illinois State Board of Education. ISBE, 2013. Web. 7 December 2015.
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers. Common Core State
Standards English Language Arts. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School
Officers, Washington D.C., 2010. Web. 7 December 2015.
Van Garderen, Delinda, and Catherine Whittaker. "Planning Differentiated, Multicultural Instruction for Secondary Inclusive

Classrooms." Teaching Exceptional Children 38.3 (2006): 12-20. Print.

Attachments: handouts, assessments, etc.

Exit Slip: [half sheet]

In two to three sentences, summarize the main idea of what you read today in Orphan Train.
En deux ou trois phrases, rsumer l'ide principale du texte.

Name: _________
Date:__________
Pages I read today: _____

Annotations
A summary of what I read:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________k

A prediction or inference:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

A quote that stood out to me:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________