Lesson Design Template

Department of Teacher Education

Teacher Candidate:
Alexandra Boyd

Date:
11/28/15

Subject/Grade/Course
Sophomore English

Lesson Title:
Satire in Literature

STAGE 1 DESIRED RESULTS

Established Goals / P-12 State Content
Standards
What relevant goals (content standards,
professional standards, course or program
objectives, learning outcomes) will this lesson
address? Cite name of standards document,
numbers & text, using only the parts specific to
this lesson.

9.4.2.2 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.

9.5.6.6 Determine an authors point of view

or purpose in a text and analyze how an
author uses rhetoric to advance that point
of view or purpose.

Context

Why is this important for the learner? Justify your

reason for teaching this lesson.

This is the sixth lesson in a ten-day unit on unit

on satire. The unit itself takes place within the
second half of the school year, in conjunction
with other units that focus on different modes of
communication as a means of rallying for or
inciting change. This lesson is a shift in focus in
the unit from satire in modern and historical
settings to satire in literature. Looking at how
satire works in a short story puts a new spin on
the unit questions what are the benefits of
approaching social criticism satirically? What are
the drawbacks? and why is social criticism
important? Students will spend two full periods
looking at satire in fiction and write a short
literature piece to be turned in at the beginning
of the eighth day of the unit. I have situated
this lesson after students had one week to
become familiar with the idea of modern and
historical satire because using this form within a
short story rather than a print article adds
another layer of ambiguity to what the satirist is
hoping to accomplish.

It is easy and relevant to find examples of

satire in the real world, as students have
been doing for the first potion of the unit.
However, as an English class, this unit should
certainly address a few examples of how
satire is employed in fiction. Students will
likely encounter the form in other literature
that they read and this lesson will give them a
basis for how to recognize and analyze it.
Students will begin to think about whether
fictional satire serves the same purpose as
the modern or historical cases. It is important
for them as critical readers and thinkers to be
able to understand how the medium of satire
works differently depending on whether the
form that is being used is a short story or a
parody of a news article.

Content Objectives
Students will be able to [SWBAT.]
What key knowledge and skills will students acquire
as a result of this lesson?

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Rationale

Where does this lesson fit in the curriculum?

[consider big ideas/enduring understandings,
essential questions at unit level; What came before
this lesson and what will come after?]

Academic Language Objectives

Students will be able to ..[SWBAT]
What are the language
functions/vocabulary/syntax/ that students will
need to be successful in this lesson?

Students will be able to answer simple

quiz questions related to Harrison
Bergeron
Students will be able to identify
examples of each satirical elements in
Harrison Bergeron
Students will be able to share at least
one of their thoughts in fish-bowl
discussion
Students will take notes and fill out an
exit ticket based on the points their
classmates made in discussion

Students will be able to identify the

main points of Harrison Bergeron
Students will be able to describe the
theme of the story
Student will be able to provide
examples of how satire was used in
the short story based on textual
evidence
Students will be able to discuss their
opinions and build off each others
ideas in a fish bowl discussion
Students will demonstrate their
listening by filling out an exit ticket
based on the topics in discussion

STAGE 2 ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE

Students will show they have achieved Stage 1 learning objectives when
Students will show that they achieved these learning objectives most significantly through their participation in the discussion portion of this lesson, as
there is not a specific assessment task that they must complete at then end of it. They will respond to the quiz at the beginning of class, they will provide
examples of each of the four satirical elements in class discussion and by turning in their written assignment from the weekend. Each student will also be
asked to speak at least once during the fish bowl discussions.

Criteria for Evaluating Student Work

What criteria will be used when examining students products or performances to know if they were successful? What constitutes acceptable work? [rubric,
percentage correct, weighted parts]
Note: established criteria may not be applicable to every assessment measure above.
Criteria for the quiz will be fairly straightforward. There will be a few content-knowledge questions meant to recall the story since this assignment will likely
fall over a weekend. These will have specific correct or incorrect answers. As for the short answer question, if the student fills it out, they will receive credit
for it. The satirical elements they developed in their homework will also be evaluated on the basis of whether or not students filled them out. Additionally,
students will be evaluated based on their participation in discussion, whether they spoke and listened. The teacher will keep track of whether or not each
student offers insight when they are in the group speaking and will collect exit slip notecards at the end of the lesson from students in the outer ring. These
will be evaluated on whether they are complete or incomplete. Exit slips that describe a topic that did not come up in the discussion, or that do not give a
complete explanation of the topic the student found interesting will be considered incomplete.

STAGE 3 - LEARNING PLAN

What learning experiences and instruction will enable students to achieve the desired results? Is there tight alignment with Stages 1 and 2? Is the plan
likely to be engaging and effective for all students? Lesson Guide may be tailored to type of lesson [direct instruction, inquiry, science lab, mock trial, etc.]
Use bullet points or numbered items format. Include discussion questions.

LESSON GUIDE

TIME

LEARNING EXPERIENCE/EVENT

Opening//Motivation

5-6 mins

Students will take a short quiz developed on the Socrative app on Harrison Bergeron. The quiz will

Engage

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Connect to prior
experience/learning
Communicate
learning goals,
expectations

Presentation/Instruc
tion

Teach/model/demo
the new
skill/strategy/concept
Scaffold
Use multiple
strategies

Structured Practice
Exploration/Inquiry
Model

Guide, interact
Question, think,
discuss
Explore key ideas,
issues
Check for
understanding

5-7 mins

5-6 mins

Provide opportunities
for students to
rethink & revise
Tailor to different
needs, interests,
abilities
Correct
misunderstandings
Check for readiness
to work
independently
Provide feedback

Independent
Practice/Application,
Transfer

Check for acquisition,

meaning & ability to
transfer learning
Allow students to
evaluate their work

Students should enter class with examples of how each of the satirical elements discussed the previous
week was used in Harrison Bergeron. They will get out the charts they filled out and discuss the
examples they found with their small group. Each group must be prepared to share one example of each
satirical element using lines from the text

1-2 mins

Small groups will share their examples of satirical elements, I will make a chart of each example on the
board

8-10
mins

Students will push their chairs into a larger and small circle for a fish bowl discussion on Harrison
Bergeron. The teacher will remind students of discussion expectations: students in the inner circle will
discuss questions and students in the outer circle will take notes and write down one idea they found
particularly interesting on an notecard to be handed in as a exit ticket. Students will pass a plush ball
around to indicate who is speaking and who will speak next. The teacher is the only one who can speak
without the ball in hand.

8-10
mins

First group of students begins discussing Harrison Bergeron (8-10 mins)

Switch, students in the outer circle move to the inner one. Second group of students begins discussing
Harrison Bergeron (8-10 mins)

Guided
Practice/Feedback

include two or three comprehension questions and one short answer, what was your reaction to the
society Vonnegut shows us in Harrison Bergeron? Is this somewhere you would like to live? Why or
why not?

1-2 mins
8-10
mins

Discussion for each circle will start with students sharing their response to the short answer question
from their quiz at the beginning of class. Following that, discussion will be based around on the following
prompts, though students will not be expected to address each of them by the end of class:
What message do you think Vonnegut wants you to take away from Harrison Bergeron?
Do you agree with him?
Do you feel his satire was effective?
What are some ways we could make this same point satirically using the more direct mediums
we looked at on Monday?
How was reading these points in a piece of literature different than if we had seen it as a modern
or historical example of satire?
Do you feel like Harrison Bergeron expects readers to take any kind of action?
If satire is not asking us to make a change, what do you think its purpose is within social
discourse?
Wrap up discussion, students will move their desks back to how they were originally
Students will start reading Pure Language by Jennifer Egan

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and its implications

Closure

Review key
concepts/points
How will students
articulate their
learning?

STAGE 3 LEARNING PLAN

Equity Measures / Differentiation

Progress Monitoring

Grouping

Co-Teaching Model

Materials / Resources

Contingency Plan

What scaffolds and universal design elements have you included to ensure
ALL students meet high expectations?
In this lesson I try to scaffold student understanding early on by having
them go over their homework in small groups and as a whole class. The
text of the story is fairly straightforward, so I did not include time to go
over what actually happens, but I did want students to understand how
Harrison Bergeron employs satirical elements, which is why so much time
early on is spent developing this understanding. The fish bowl discussion
exercise is also designed to help students work together to increase their
understanding of the story. The exercise gives them an opportunity to show
what they know verbally and to prove their listening abilities by filling out
an exit slip. During discussion, I may have students in the inner circle pass
a ball to one another when they want to speak, adding a kinesthetic
element to the exercise. Additionally, as with the previous lessons I will
provide visual representations of the subjects we are discussing on a
projector or by writing them on the board.

Will students work individually, in pairs, small groups? How are these
determined and why?
Students will work with their pre-determined mixed ability small groups for
a portion of this lesson, as a whole class, and with half the class during the
fish bowl discussion. For the discussion, I will have students number off one
and two to decide who is in each discussion group. I want to divide the
class in a relatively random way and having them number off ensures that
all the students who prefer to process verbally and enjoy discussion will not
be in the first group while all the students who dislike it are in the second.

What materials/resources/technologies will you need for this lesson? What

will students need?
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How will you monitor students progress toward acquisition, meaning, and
transfer during this lesson? What are potential rough spots and student
misunderstandings? How will students get the feedback they need?
During the first part of the lesson, I will be able to monitor whether students
remember/completed the reading by how well they do on the quiz. As they
work in groups to go over their assignments I will check in with each group
and provide feedback as necessary. I will have another chance to provide
feedback on their assignment when each group shares their answers with the
class. I will participate with students in the fish bowl discussion and though I
will try to merely moderate, this will still give me a chance to provide
feedback and keep the discussion on track. Furthermore, the next day I will go
over some of the main points that came up in discussion in relation to each
question we discussed. I can also highlight ideas that students thought were
interesting based on the exit tickets they turn in after class.

Which co-teaching model(s) will be used [if applicable]?

I believe this lesson could be adapted to work with several different coteaching models. It would not lend itself well to one-teach, one-support like
the previous two lessons I wrote up for the unit, however, it might be
interesting to revise it into station teaching with one station discussing
Harrison Bergeron and the second station identifying examples of satirical
elements in the story. This would mean fewer students participating in the
discussion, which would mean each student would be asked to participate
more (and perhaps think more deeply because of that). However, I would
have to modify the time spent on each activity, since the time divided up
between the two different teaching stations ought to be about equal. I could
also see this lesson working with parallel teaching. This would also promote
that extra level of involvement that would come from a smaller group
fishbowl discussion and would not require me to shorten the amount of time
spent on this activity.
What Is your plan for those who need additional time/finish early/need
support? Back-up if things dont go according to plan?

Teacher needs:
Blackboard or Whiteboard
Power point and computer hooked up to a screen
Computer
A few print copies of the quiz
Prompts for discussion questions
Notecards to use as exit slips
A soft ball
Students need:
iPad or iPhone with the Socrative app
Homework assignment from the previous night
Copy of Harrison Bergeron
Writing utensil
Notebook

As with previous lessons, I have provided a window of time for each activity.
Additionally, I wanted to give students roughly ten minutes near the end of
class to start their reading assignment for the next day, since the short story
is thirty pages. However, if things are taking longer than I anticipated earlier
in the lesson, or it seems that students would benefit from more discussion or
group work time, I can always revise the amount of time they have to start
their homework. If we get through the lesson earlier than anticipated,
students will have extra reading time. I will have print copies of the quiz and
my slides, as well as print and electronic copies of my discussion questions. If
there are technology issues I should be able to proceed with the lesson
without too much interruption. If I do not bring the exit slip notecards to class,
I will ask students to write a response in their notebooks and hand it in. If
there are discipline issues related to the ball we are passing around in
discussion, I will remove it and institute another method to indicate which
student has the floor. Furthermore, if it seems that the ball distracts from the
discussion or makes it seem stilted rather than organized, I will remove it. If
there are behavioral issues in discussion I will ask students to answer prompt
questions individually and turn them in to me by the end of class.

POST-INSTRUCTION REFLECTION
Strengths: What did you do in your planning and teaching to ensure your students would learn? To what extent did the whole class or group learn what
you intended them to learn?

Opportunities for Growth: For whom did the lesson work best? What didnt work and for whom? What will be your next instructional steps?

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