Lesson Planning Form for Accessible Instruction Calvin College Education Program

Teacher
Date

Aaron Potter
11/6/14

Subject/ Topic/ Theme

Huck Finn Intro.

Grade __11th_____

I. Objectives
How does this lesson connect to the unit plan?
It is an introduction to Huck Finn and Mark Twain for the students who will be reading Huck Finn to help prepare them and to everyone else just so they know a bit
about them. It is also an introduction to reading about racial sensitively for everyone, regardless of which novel they will be reading.
cognitiveR U Ap An E C*

Learners will be able to:

Remember some basic facts about Mark Twain and the context of Huck Finn.
Recognize and understand the irony and humor of Twain's writing style and some of the rhetorical strategies he uses in
"Advice to Youth."
- This recognition and understanding will be shown through a full-class discussion of the essay.
Understand the concept of perspective-taking (viewing the world from someone else's point-of-view and
understanding that point of view, even if you don't agree with it).
- This concept will be introduced here and shown in a later lesson when students will create monologues from a
character's point-of-view.
Understand some of the racial tension and controversy surrounding Huck Finn and especially the offensive terms
"nigger" and "negro."
- This understanding will be shown through a full-class discussion following a video about the controversy.

physical
development

socioemotional

R
U

U Ap

Common Core standards (or GLCEs if not available in Common Core) addressed:

Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm,
irony, or understatement).

Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the
power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text.
(From the Common Core English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Literature and Reading: Informational Texts for Grade 11-12)
(Note: Write as many as needed. Indicate taxonomy levels and connections to applicable national or state standards. If an objective applies to particular learners
write the name(s) of the learner(s) to whom it applies.)
*remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create

II. Before you start

Identify prerequisite
knowledge and skills.

The only prerequisites for this lesson are an ability to read and discuss at a high school level as well as
knowledge of the rhetorical strategies the students have been working on all semester. Knowledge of
Tom Sawyer would be nice but is not necessary.
Pre-assessment (for learning): Ask students what they already know about Mark Twain and if they have ever
read Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn. Also ask students what (if any) their prior experience with the n-word has been
like.

Outline assessment
activities
(applicable to this lesson)

Formative (for learning):

Formative (as learning): We will have a full-class discussion about the rhetorical strategies in "Advice to Youth"
and about the n-word controversy. Learning will be assessed by marking on a clipboard which students have
talked and which learning objectives they appear to have grasped.
Summative (of learning):

What barriers might this

lesson present?
What will it take
neurodevelopmentally,
experientially,
emotionally, etc., for your
students to do this lesson?

9-15-14

Provide Multiple Means of

Representation
Provide options for perceptionmaking information perceptible
I will use videos as well as class
discussion and a reading assigned
the night before to talk about Mark
Twain and about the n-word
controversy.
Provide options for language,
mathematical expressions, and
symbols- clarify & connect
language

Provide Multiple Means of

Action and Expression
Provide options for physical actionincrease options for interaction

Provide Multiple Means of

Engagement
Provide options for recruiting
interest- choice, relevance, value,
authenticity, minimize threats
I will mention the reclamation of
the n-word in African-American
culture, rap music for example.

Provide options for expression and

communication- increase medium
of expression

Provide options for sustaining

effort and persistence- optimize
challenge, collaboration, masteryoriented feedback

Provide options for comprehensionactivate, apply & highlight

There will be both video clips

and discussions to help clarify
what students read in
preparation for class.
Materials-what materials
(books, handouts, etc) do
you need for this lesson
and are they ready to
use?

Provide options for executive

functions- coordinate short & long
term goals, monitor progress, and
modify strategies

Provide options for self-regulationexpectations, personal skills and

strategies, self-assessment &
reflection

- "Race and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" handout assigned the night before
Wallace, J. (1999). Race and the adventures of huckleberry finn. In Huck finn in context: a teaching guide and coursepack (pp. 71-80). Boston, MA: WGBH
Educational Foundation.

- Mini Bio Mark Twain video (online)

BIO (2012, September 21). Mini bio - mark twain [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuQMBWjmlHk

- "Advice to Youth" essay and questions (printed out)

Nordquist, R. (2014). Advice to youth, by mark twain . In About.com. Retrieved from http://grammar.about.com/od/classicessays/a/adviceyouth.htm

- N-Word 60 Minutes Video 3:18-6:54 (online)

CBS (2011, June 12). "Huckleberry finn" and the n-word [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW9-qee1m9o

- Projector and screen

In the usual rows facing the whiteboard and projector screen.
How will your classroom
be set up for this lesson?

III. The Plan

Time

9:55

Components
Motivation
(opening/
introduction/
engagement)

10:00

10:05

10:20

10:30

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Development
(the largest
component or
main body of
the lesson)

Describe teacher activities

AND
student activities
for each component of the lesson. Include important higher order thinking questions and/or
prompts.
- The day before "Race and The Adventures of
Huck Finn" was assigned to them to read and
annotate.
- Introduce unit (As you know, you will be reading
books dealing with issues of race, Huck Finn or
other) and that today we will talk a little bit about
Mark Twain because he is important so we should
all know a little bit about him even if we aren't
reading Huck Finn. Ask what students know about
Twain and if they have ever read Tom Sawyer or
Huck Finn.
- Show Mini Bio YouTube video about Twain and
highlight some important elements (briefly served
in the Confederate Army, "Father of American
Literature," Riverboat Pilot, ect.). This gets us into
some American history (Civil War, steamboats,
gold rush, ect.) as well as literary history.

- Read and annotate "Race and The Adventures of

Huck Finn" prior to this class period.

- Number students off into groups of three and

hand out the "Advice to Youth" handout. Have
them read it through in their groups and then
analyze it using the questions at the end of the
handout.
- Once they have had time to read the essay and
answer the questions bring it back in, ask the
students what their general thoughts on the essay
were, and analyze the essay by discussing each of
the questions as a class. Make sure each group is
participating.
- Ask students if they have dealt with the

- Get into your numbered groups, pick up the

"Advice to Youth" handout, read the essay
together, and analyze it using the questions at the
end of the handout.

- Listen as instructor introduces the unit, beginning

to think about which book group you would like to
be in, which Ms. LaGrand will step in at the
beginning or end to assign. Respond if you know
anything about Mark Twain already and/or if you
have read Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn before.

- Watch YouTube video about Twain.

- Respond to the teacher about your general

reaction to the essay and participate in the group
discussion about the analysis questions.

controversy of the n-word before (with To Kill a

Mockingbird, perhaps) and show N-Word Video
(3:18-6:54).
- Lead an open group discussion about the video
and the word, asking the students what they think
and about their experience with the word. Have
them draw on their reading and annotating of "Race
and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Point
out the pros and cons of the arguments made in the
video and that there is not necessarily a right view
but it is important to be sensitive, reference the
words reclamation (in rap music for example).
Define perspective-taking for the students (viewing
the world from someone else point-of-view and
understanding that point of view, even if you don't
agree with it) and explain how this is the most
basic goal of reading race/multicultural literature
because truly changing beliefs and convictions is
rarely done so quickly and how this can be used to
view the various arguments from the video.

10:35

10:53

Closure
(conclusion,
culmination,
wrap-up)

- Thank the class for their good work and

discussions in class today. Ms. LaGrand will step
in and help them determine which book group they
are in if she hasn't done so already.

- Respond to the teacher about your prior

experience with the n-word and watch the
YouTube video about it.

- Participate in the discussion about the n-word

after viewing the video, talking about your
experience with the word and what you think about
its use. Draw on your reading and annotating of
"Race and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

- Think about which book group you want to be in.

Ms. LaGrand will help determine this here if she
hasn't done so already.

Your reflection about the lesson, including evidence(s) of student learning and engagement, as well as ideas for improvement
for next time. (Write this after teaching the lesson, if you had a chance to teach it. If you did not teach this lesson, focus on the
process of preparing the lesson.)

I think it went well for the most part. I had to cut the lesson down a bit because Ms. LaGrand spent time at the beginning of
class helping students figure out their book groups and it took a bit longer than expected, but I still managed to fit everything
in as planned by having the students read the "Advice to Youth" essay aloud and discussing it as a big group rather than in
small ones. I chose to read "Advice to Youth" because it is a short and enjoyable essay that very clearly shows Twain's
satirical writing style. This was a way to introduce Twain to everyone, even those that won't be reading Huck Finn. For the
most part the students seemed interested in the essay and laughed at the frequent funny parts. There were two especially long
paragraphs where I think they lost interest, though, so I don't think that reading it aloud in class was ideal. The small groups
would have worked better, but would have taken longer, so I had to compromise. I used the n-word video because it makes a
nice change from my speaking and their discussing and it really nicely covered all the points I wanted to go over but in a
different way that allowed me to change things up a bit. The discussion about the n-word that followed definitely went well,
many students contributing really good arguments and opinions and most of the class getting pretty into it, which was very
gratifying. Indeed, something of an argument started up at one point which I did my best to quell and get both sides to think
about the issue from multiple angles. Since it is such a controversial argument I thought it was a good idea for them to
discuss and express their opinions in a safe environment and I also thought it was important that their opinions are heard so
they don't feel as though I am forcing one interpretation down their throats.

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