Concept Unit: Lesson Plan #1

Unit Working Title: This I Believe

Unit Big Idea (Concept/Theme): Status Quo, Belief
Unit Primary Skill focus: Questioning, personal essay
Week ____ of 3; Plan #____ of 9; [90 mins.]
Plan type: ____Full-Detail ____Summary
Content Requirement Satisfied: Embedded Technology (video, blog posts)
Unit Learning Objectives:
SWBAT:
Cognitive:
1. Students will understand where the status quo comes from and how our
societal norms are impacted by
it.
a. Students will know what we mean by the term status quo.
b. Students will know that the status quo is influenced by:
i. Rules at school and at home.
Affective and/or Non-Cognitive:
7. Students will be able to explore and develop their own belief systems.
b. Students will consider their own feelings toward the status quo at home and at
school.
Performance:
3. Students will understand that other peoples values have validity through
their experiences in a
community of diverse learners.
a. Students will share reflective learning blogs with a peer and thoughtfully respond
to each
others ideas.
b. Students will share personal examples of rules at home and school in a graffiti
discussion.
SOLs:

8.7 The student will write in a variety of forms, including narration,

exposition, persuasion, and informational.
h. Use computer technology to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writing.
CCSs:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.6

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present
the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact
and collaborate with others.
Methods of Assessment:
Diagnostic

Students will review Home

Court with a partner and
as a whole class. This will
help the teacher ensure
that students are familiar
with classroom norms
before beginning content
instruction. (Intro Week
Obj. D)
Students will brainstorm
individual and whole class
ideas about the status quo
prior to defining (1a, 1bi,
3b, 7b)
Reflective learning blogs
will be set up during the
Introductory week. (3a)

Formative

Summative

Students will participate in

a Graffiti discussion activity
brainstorming the status
quo regarding common
rules at home & at school.
The teacher can review
these posters during the
gallery walk to ensure that
students are beginning to
apply the concept of the
status quo to their ideas
(1a, 1bi, 3b, 7b)
Students will write their
own blog posts discussing
how they individually feel
about the way things are
(our definition of status
quo) at home & school.
The teacher will read blog
posts and can provide
feedback periodically and
as needed. (1a, 1bi, 3a,
7b)
Students will complete
their first several sets of
blog comments for a grade
in class to ensure that they
can follow the procedures
and expectations. The
teacher will provide the
class with general
feedback next class. (3a)

Beginning Room Arrangement:

[Changes in this arrangement that become necessary later will be noted in the plan]
Students will be seated in 6 base groups. Four of the groups will have three students, two
of the groups will have four students. Based on Interest Inventories from the Introductory
Week, I have assigned base groups and blog partners (2 pairs in each base group). For the
rest of the unit, students will sit in base groups each class unless a different arrangement
is needed. I will have table tents on each pod of desks, so students will find the table tent
with their name on it. The Do-Now will be on the board and instruct students to find the
other members of their base groups and take a seat.
Procedures/Instructional Strategies
[Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.]

1. [__5__ mins] Welcome & Do-Now:

Before class and as students are coming, make sure that the High School Musical video is
pulled up and loaded. Prepare the Unit Promo so that it can be easily projected.
Good afternoon! Welcome back. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. If you had not
noticed already, your Do-Now today was to find the other members of your base group at
a group table. You will sit in these groups for the rest of this unit. I used your Interest
Inventories from last week to put you all together, so hopefully you all will be able to find
some commonality among each other. If you are not currently sitting with your base
group, would you please go ahead and move there now? Take a look at the table tents to
find your name. Pause to let students move if needed.
2. [__10__ mins] Home Court Refresher:
With a Partner (5 minutes): Would you please take out your laptops or tablets and log into
your Wordpress accounts? You will need to be able to access your blogs rather quickly for
parts of class today. Once you have your blog open, please scroll to your post from last
week on Home Court. I want to take a second to make sure we are all still on the same
page regarding our classroom norms. Before we jump into the first unit of the year, its
important that we all share expectations for our time together and that we are prepared
to respect and learn from each other. Pause to allow students to get out their devices and
log into Wordpress. Im going to give you 3 minutes to refresh on Home Court from your
blog posts with a partner. Go ahead and turn to the person sitting beside you and chat
about what Home Court is and why its important for our class. Allow students 3 minutes
to talk to each other. While they are talking, I will circulate around the class listening in for
a few seconds to the discussions students are having.
With the Whole Class (5 minutes): Ok, lets come back together and refresh as a class.
Lets hear from a few groups. What did you all talk about? Pause for student responses.
The main points they need to cover in this discussion are:

Fan support & comfort in the playing field; cheering each other on and having a
comfortable classroom environment
Common ground, collaboration, and teamwork are the most important to make our
classroom environment feel comfortable and safe

If students seem to struggle to come to the conclusions we discussed a week ago, I will
refer back to the question that we started the Home Court discussion with: Why do you
think teams tend to win more games at home than when they are away? This will
hopefully redirect students attention and get them to think again about fans and the
playing field. Then I will ask students: Who are the fans in our classroom? What about the
playing field? This will then help them connect the analogy back to our classroom and we
can briefly discuss the importance of collaboration and teamwork again. All of the ideas in
Home Court are incredibly relevant to the unit overall, so I believe its important to keep
this fresh in students minds.
3. [__2__ mins] Introduce the Unit: This I Believe:
I will project the Unit Promo on the screen. Great, thank you guys for staying on top of
Home Court. We are about to embark on unit that is going to challenge us to better
understand ourselves and each other, so it is so important that we know how to respect

one another and that we expect to learn a lot from all of the diverse perspectives that we
have just in this class.
Please take a look at the screen to catch a glimpse of all the awesome things we are going
to explore and discuss over the next three weeks. Pause to let the students look. Today,
we are starting a unit called This I Believe. We are going to spend most of the unit
discovering how to ask good questions and begin defining what we believe in. Were going
to study the status quo, working together to figure out what that means and when its
okay to challenge the way things are. The essential questions well answer are:

What happens when people challenge (or dont challenge) the status quo?
How do traditions, laws, rules, and beliefs shape societal norms?
Are some groups more right than others? How do we know?
How can challenging the status quo help us grow and develop personally?
Why is it important to question?
What can we learn about other people through their traditions, laws, rules, and
beliefs?

4. [__5__ mins] Watch High School Musical video:

So, as Im sure you can already tell, were going to cover a lot, and sometimes well have
to really work together to figure out some answers to these questions. The first thing we
need to do is figure out what the heck we mean when we use the term status quo. To
get us started, Im going show you guys a video that Im sure some of you have seen
before. Its actually a song from a pretty popular movie. Im going to give you all a copy of
the lyrics so that you can watch, listen, and read as we go. I want you to think about what
the singers in the video mean when they are talking about the status quo. Pull up the
pre-loaded video and play.
5. [__2__ mins] Defining status quo individual brainstorm:
Alright, now that youve had a chance to watch this interpretation of status quo, I want
you to do a little brainstorming by yourself. Flip your lyrics sheet over and use that space
to write down what YOU think the term status quo means in your own words. Im not
going to collect this sheet, so you can feel free to write down whatever comes to your
mind. You can also use the song lyrics on the other side if that helps you figure out a way
to say it. You might pay particular attention to the chorus, which starts with No, no,
noooo. Lets take just 1 or 2 minutes to get some ideas rolling. Wait 1-2 minutes so that
students can write down what they think status quo means.
6. [__5__ mins] Defining status quo whole class discussion:
Finish writing your last thought, and lets bring it back. Can I have a few people share out
what they were writing? I will pause to let students share out. While they are sharing, I will
down words that stick out in their definitions so that we can use those words to come to a
definition as a class. I expect students will share responses like:

How to be cool
Looks on the outside
Popular
The flow
Stuff you know

Things as they are

Wow, great responses! A lot of you had words like, cool or popular or flow. I really
liked your ideas about it maybe being what you know or things as they are. And, all of
these are ideas are kind of connected, right? I mean, if we think about how to go with the
flow or how to be cool, were kind of just going along with the way things are. Thats
exactly how we are going to define status quo, the way things are. As I am talking, I
will write, the way things are fairly large on the board to emphasize it compared to the
other words and ideas.
So, this definition seems pretty simple, but its not all that specific. When I was figuring
out how we would talk about status quo as a class, I thought it would be helpful to think
about the way things our in different parts of lives. For today, were going to think
specifically about our lives and home and our lives as school. I want us to start thinking
about some of the rules we have at home and school that kind of shape the status quo,
or as were defining it, the way things are.

7. [__30__ mins] Graffiti Discussion of SQ at Home & School (rules):

Explanation of Activity (2-3 minutes): Were going to do a special kind of discussion, called
a Graffiti discussion to list out some of the rules we have at home and at school. To do
this, you are going to stay seated in your base groups. I will give each group a piece of
poster paper that has a question about a rule at home or school. Each person will have a
marker. I will give you 1-2 minutes with each poster; then you will pass it on to the next
group. We will keep going until everyone has had a chance to add to each poster. There
are six posters total. You will read the question at the top and write down your own
experiences or specific rules you can think of related to the question.
Were going to talk about dress code, curfew, and tasks/chores at home and school. So, for
at home, when you get the poster that says, Whats the dress code at home? I want you
think about what rules your families have about what you can and cant wear. For
example, I distinctly remember getting in a fight with my mom once about running shorts
to school. So, if I had that poster, I might write down no sports clothes to school. My
mom was also really urged me against mixing black and navy clothes because according
to her they clash. So I could also write down black and navy clash. Whatever is true of
you, write it down. In some cases, your family might not have a specific rule. Youre
allowed to write no rules, if thats whats true for you. I want you to really think about it
though. Think of this activity, as your space to write down all of the things your family or
the school requires you to do.
Please choose one person in your base group to come grab a poster and a marker for each
person to write. Wait for students to send someone up to gather materials. Make sure the
representative from each base group grabs enough markers for each person in the group.
Complete Graffiti Discussion (12 minutes): While students are completing the discussion I
will keep tight time to make sure the posters keep moving. I will circulate somewhat and
provide more examples like the first two I gave when introducing the activity. This can help
scaffold students who may be struggling to think of things to write. However, one benefit
of graffiti is that they get to see what their peers have written before them so that will
hopefully help them consider similar ideas to write.

Hang the Posters (2 minutes): And stop, there! Thats it for our Graffiti. Now, I want us to
have a chance to see what everyone wrote for each poster. Please designate a DIFFERENT
person in your base group to return the markers to my marker bin and to hang your
poster on the wall. Lets have groups 1-3 hang your posters on the front board, and
groups 4-6 youll hang your posters on the back board. I have tape here at the front that I
will give you when you turn your markers in. Follow these procedures until all posters are
hung.
Gallery Walk (5 minutes): Ok, now that the posters are hung, were going to take a few
minutes to get up out of our seats and walk around to see what everyone had to say
about these rules. It should be interesting to see the status quos that you all just
brainstormed at home and at school. Go ahead and get up, walk around and read the
posters. Once youve skimmed through each one, you can head back to your seat. Ready,
go! I will also participate in the gallery walk, skimming what students wrote for each topic.
Class Debrief (10 minutes): So lets go back to our seats and talk about this all together.
Pause for students to get settled in their seats again. What were some common things you
guys noticed across the topics? I expect that some students will have similar rules at
home. I also expect that students will notice some similarities and differences between
home and school. Nice observations! Isnt it interesting how we all have a different status
quo at home, but we share a status quo at school? How do these Graffiti discussions sort
of explain what the status quo is at home or school? I will wait for student responses. This
is a difficult question that will require scaffolding. Wait time will be essential to force
students to share. However, here are ways that I could scaffold this discussion:
I want students to get that these rules represent the way things are. So, I could
ask them to think about the definition weve come up with and to then explain how
the rules sort of define the way things are.
I want students to get that the way things are is different for many of us at home
and even sometimes at school. I could prompt them with the question: Do you
think the way things are at your home are the same as the way things are at home
for your classmates? Then, when they are able to answer this rephrasing, I can
continue slowly substituting status quo, modeling how it well use it throughout
this unit.
8. [__10__ mins] SQ at Home & School Blog Post (10 min)
I think weve covered a lot of ground in our Graffiti discussion, and you all have awesome
ideas about how the status quo is working at home and school now. As we saw with the
High School Musical song, sometimes the status quo is one thing, but some of the
characters were expressing ways that they were NOT sticking with the status quo, right?
Their friends seemed to be encouraging them to just keep doing things the way they
always do them, but really they were feeling like they wanted to do something a little
different from the status quo. Sometimes this happens, and sometimes its important to
consider how were feeling about the way things are. So, Im going to give you some time
to process how you feel about the way things are at home and school. You will do this in
a blog post. You do not have to write specifically about dress code, curfew, or chores. You
can write as generally as youd like about the way things are. Go ahead and take out
your laptop or tablet. Pause for students to get out devices. Alright, Im going to put a
timer on the board for you while you write. Make sure you publish your post by the end of
the time. Go ahead and get started.
After instructing them to get out their devices and to begin, I will write the question on the
board and set up the timer for them to reference while they are working. I will circulate

around the class to make sure that they are on task and to provide any additional support
students may have. Some students may have some issues getting started, in which case I
will refer them back to the Graffiti discussion, prompting them by asking what some of the
things they wrote down were. Once they are able to answer this, I can ask them how they
feel about the things they shared. Then I will clarify that those feelings are what they can
write in their blog posts.
9. [__10__ mins] Blog Commenting Practice & Procedures:
Finish up the sentence you are currently writing, and publish your post so that others can
see it. You can look up and take your hands off of your keyboard to let me know that you
are ready. Pause until 80% of the class is ready.
Throughout this unit you will write your own blog posts, but you will also have a blog
partner. I will periodically give you time in class to read and respond to your partners blog
posts. I know this isnt exactly Facebook or Instagram, but the point is that somebody in
our class is reading what you have to say, and saying something about it. You can almost
think of it like Facebook or Instagram when you post something and you get a ton of likes
or comments were doing something similar with these blogs, because your ideas matter
and are important to more people besides me.
Right now, we are going to do your first blog comments and make sure that you have an
idea of what youre doing and that you can access your partners blog. For my two groups
of four, you should see on your table tent that two of your names have stars beside them
and two have hearts; the stars are partners and the hearts are partners. For my groups of
three, you will see that you have numbers next to your names. Would everyone with a
number one beside their name please raise your hand? Let them raise their hands. Great!
Look at the table tent and look at the person whos name has number two. Got it? You will
comment on this persons blog always. Please write down that persons name. Now, would
everyone with a number two beside their name please raise your hand? Let them raise
their hands. Great! Look at the table tent and look at the person whos name has number
three. Got it? You will comment on this persons blog always. Please write down that
persons name. Last one, would everyone with a number three beside their name please
raise your hand? Let them raise their hands. Great! Look at the table tent and look at the
person whos name has number one. Got it? You will comment on this persons blog
always. Please write down that persons name. Are there any questions about WHOSE blog
you will be commenting on? Pause to make sure everyone has identified whose blog they
will comment on. For anyone struggling, step over to their table and briefly sort it out.
Now, share your blogs with everyone in your base group. You will sometimes need to
access everyones blogs, even if you dont comment on them all. Once you have shared
them, please go to your partners blog so that you can comment on todays post. Read
through the post, then provide a comment, question, or idea that comes to mind when
you read the post. This doesnt have to be long; one or two sentences will work just fine.
At this time, let students read and comment on blogs. Circulate around the class and assist
any groups that are having issues sharing or comments.
10.

[__5__ mins] Closure:

Ok, before we go today, I want to make sure everyone is clear about blogs, blog
comments, and our definition of the status quo. What questions do you all have about
everything we have done today?

This will be my time to ensure students are able to follow all of the blog procedures and
that the status quo definition is clear. I will read through blog posts and blog comments
before next class. I will begin the next block by touching any minor details or procedures
that need to be clarified for students regarding blogs and/or status quo.
Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students:
Grace I have created base groups based on Interest Inventories. This will help make sure
that Grace doesnt always sit in the back of the classroom. Also, consistency in groups and
partners will promote a better sense of understanding. This lesson also gives Grace a
chance to write on the Graffiti poster instead of feeling like she has to speak out loud.
Sam Assigning the blog post should give Sam an opportunity share what he is thinking
without fully disrupting the class. The same is true of the Graffiti discussion. Both of these
options allow Sam to get out the things hes thinking without calling them out at
inappropriate times in the lesson.
Cody Hopefully, the consistency of base groups will help Cody stay focused and calm on
a daily basis.

Materials Needed:
Laptops or tablets
Table Tents with base group names/blog partners identified (not included)
6 large pieces of Graffiti paper
Markers
Classroom computer & projector
White board & markers
High School Musical Video Link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh3Tu-zyNqY) & lyrics
handout
Materials Appendix:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh3Tu-zyNqY
High School Musical
Stick to the Status Quo
Zeke:
You can bet
There's nothin' but net
When I am in a zone and on a roll
But I've got a confession
My own secret obsession
And it's making me lose control
Jocks:
Everybody gather 'round
Zeke(spoken):
Well if Troy can tell his secret than I
can tell mine...I bake

Jock(spoken):
What?
Zeke(spoken):
I love to bake! Strudels, scones, even
apple pandowdy
Jocks:
Not another sound
Zeke(spoken):
Someday I hope to make the perfect
creme brulee
Jocks:

No, no, no, nooooooooooo

No, no, no
Stick to the stuff you know
If you wanna be cool
Follow one simple rule
Don't mess with the flow, no no
Stick to the status quo
Martha Cox:
Look at me
And what do you see
Intelligence beyond compare
But inside I am stirring
Something strange is occuring
It's a secret I need to share

But I'm ready to let it fly

Dudes & Dudettes:
Speak your mind and you'll be heard
Skaterdude(spoken):
Alright, if Troy wants to be a singer...
then i'm coming clean! I play the
cello!
Dude 1(spoken):
Awesome!
Dude 2(spoken):
What is it?

Brainiacs:
Open up, dig way down deep

Dude 1(spoken):
A song!

Martha Cox(spoken):
Hip hop is my passion! I love to pop
and lock and jam and break!

Skaterdude(spoken):
No, dude, it's like a giant violin!

Braniac(spoken):
Is that even legal?
Brainiacs:
Not another peep
Martha(spoken):
It's just dancing. Sometimes I think it's
cooler than homework.
Brainiacs:
No, no, no, noooooooooo
No, no, no
Stick to the stuff you know
It is better by far
To keep things as they are
Don't mess with the flow, no no
Stick to the status quo
Skaterdude:
Listen well
I'm ready to tell
About a need that I cannot deny
Dude, there's no explanation
For this awesome sensation

Dudes & Dudettes:

Not another word
Dude 2(spoken):
Do you have to wear a costume?
Skaterdude(spoken):
Coat and tie
Dudes & Dudettes:
No, no, no, nooooooooooo
No, no, no
Stick to the stuff you know
If you wanna be cool
Follow one simple rule
Don't mess with the flow, no no
Stick to the status quoooooooo
Jocks, Brainiacs, & Dudes:
No, no, no
stick to the stuff you know
It is better by far
To keep things as they are
Don't mess with the flow, no no
Stick to the status quo

Sharpay:
This is not what I want
This is not what I planned
And I just gotta say
I do not understand
Someting is really

Jocks:
Keep your voice down low

Ryan:
Something's not right

Jocks, Brainiacs & Dudes/Dudettes:

Not another peep
No, not another word
No, not another sound
No

Sharpay:
Really wrong

Sharpay:
Everybody quiet

Sharpay & Ryan:

And we gotta get things
Back where they belong
We can do it

Gabriella(spoken):
Why is everybody staring at you?

Skaterdude:
Gotta play
Dudes & Dudettes:
Stick with what you know
Sharpay & Ryan:
We can do it
Martha Cox:
Hip hop hooray
Brainiacs:
She has got to go
Sharpay & Ryan:
We can do it
Zeke:
Creme Brule

Taylor(spoken):
Not me, you.
Gabriella(spoken):
Because of the callbacks? I can't have
people staring at me! I really can't!
Jocks, Brainiacs...:
Noooooooooooooo, no, no, no
Stick to the stuff you know
If you want to be cool
Follow one simple rule
Don't mess with the flow, oh no
Stick to the status quooooooooooooo
No, no, no
Stick to the stuff you know
It is better by far
To keep things as they are
Don't mess with the flow, no no
Stick to the status
stick to the status
Stick to the status quo

Graffiti Poster examples

What are the rules at home

about chores?

What are the rules at home

about curfew?

What are the rules at home

about dress code?

What are the school rules

about homework (in any
class)?

What are the school rules

about tardiness?

What are the school rules

about dress code?