Amy Polinsky

EDU 505
May 2010

Lesson Planning
Waynesburg University

Pre-Instructional Planning:
The thought process that leads to the development of quality,
Meaningful lesson plans
Who will you be teaching? I will be teaching a 9th grade class that is a mixed ability classroom.

I will have students with ADD, Specific Learning Disabilities, Emotional and Behavior

Disorders and regular education students. I will have students that are visual and auditory

learners. Therefore, it will be necessary to include multimodal forms of teaching and learning in

the lesson.

Who will assist with the presentation of this lesson, and what will their role be? I will be in a

classroom with a general education English teacher. We will be Co-Teaching with one another,

as I am a special education teacher and will be modifying and adapting the lesson for the Special

Education students.

What is the long range goal(s) that is tied to this lesson? In this lesson, students write

autobiographies, illustrate them, and set them to music. Students will be required to brainstorm a

list of important events in their lives, along with images and music that represent those events.

They will then create a storyboard in preparation for the final PowerPoint project. After making

revisions, they will present their final projects to their peers. Student will also have the option of

using Glogster, moviemaker, and Photostory in conjunction with the Power Point.

What is the specific learning objective(s) for this lesson?

Students will:

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 Amy Polinsky
EDU 505
May 2010

*examine the lyrics to songs and describe how the music and words relate to their life stories.

*organize their thoughts and express their stories by using PowerPoint presentations.

*improve technical skills by familiarizing themselves with PowerPoint.

*evaluate their own work.

What prerequisite skills/knowledge will students need to effectively access and participate

in this lesson?

*some knowledge of computer/technical skills.

*familiarization with PowerPoint. Visiting the PowerPoint in the classroom website and the

PowerPoint tutorials on adding sound and adding music for helpful information and guides.

*knowledge of fair use and copyright guidelines before the students use copyrighted music and

images in their projects.

When within the stages of learning will this lesson be presented? This lesson will be

presented as part of a learning acquisition lesson. The student will be acquiring new knowledge

about technology and computer skills in order to complete this project.

When will this lesson be completed? This lesson type is a unit. The estimated time it will take

to complete this lesson is nine 50-minute sessions.

Where this lesson should be presented to ensure maximum student access and exposure?

AND what materials will be needed? This lesson will be completed in a computer lab with the

English and Special Education Teachers. The students will be using Student Interactives such as

a Stapleless Book, projector, CD player, and Printouts (that the teachers should have prepared).

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 Amy Polinsky
EDU 505
May 2010

Also, the teachers should have copies of the Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines before having

students use copyrighted music and images in their projects.

Why are you planning to teach this lesson? Why must this information/skill be presented to

the students? According to William Kist, “students should be able to both read critically and

write functionally, no matter what the medium.” We have “broadened the concept of literacy”

(cf. Kist) to include multimodal projects so that no student will feel isolated, and every student

will gain knowledge and understanding from the sharing of ideas. As the NCTE Statement on

Multimodal Literacies states, “The use of different modes of expression in student work should

be integrated into the overall literacy goals of the curriculum and appropriate for time and

resources invested.” This lesson plan encourages the integration of these goals by asking students

to create multimodal presentations.

How does this lesson relate to the PA Academic Standards?

R11.A.1.4.1: Identify and/or explains stated or implied main ideas and relevant supporting

details from text.

R11.A.1.6.1: Identify and/or analyze the author’s intended purpose of text.

R11.A.2: Understand nonfiction appropriate to grade level.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts:

*Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g. conventions, style,

vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

*Student employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process

elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

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 Amy Polinsky
EDU 505
May 2010

*Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and

punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss

print and nonprint texts.

*Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases,

computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate

knowledge.

*Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for

learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

How does this lesson relate to the previous lesson? How does this lesson related to future

lessons? This lesson relates to prior lessons on PowerPoint, elements of an autobiography,

language conventions and structure, writing for different purposes, and anything on using

information resources and technology to gather and synthesize information. This lesson will

continue into future lessons that require students to use multi-media to express an opinion or

facts about a subject. Another possible extension to this project would be to debate the topic of

downloading music to reinforce the concepts of fair use and copyright infringement that was

touched upon in this lesson. Also, the students may sue the Profile Publisher to enhance their

autobiographies by creating one or more profiles to represent themselves at different times in

their lives. They would be required to make a connection between their experiences and music.

How will you determine if students have met the lesson objective? The students will reflect

on their projects by completing the “It’s My Life Self-Assessment.” The students will also be

assessed by their PowerPoint projects using the “It’s My Life Project Rubric.”

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 Amy Polinsky
EDU 505
May 2010

How should this lesson be presented to ensure maximum student access and participation?

This lesson will be present as a whole group. The students will then be working individually on

their projects as this project revolves around their lives, interests, hopes for the future, etc. The

students may do some brainstorming together and assist one another in searching for music,

images and templates. Both teachers will work one-on-one with each of the students as well to

ensure their understanding of the project.