DAILY LESSON PLAN

Maddie Luebbert
Teaching and Learning in Urban Contexts
First Week of School Curriculum Unit: Daily Lesson Plan
August 11, 2016
Discovering Perspective, Day 1
Essential Questions

Content

Resources/Materials

Who am I as a learner?
How does my understanding of others identity affect my

perspective?
Students will participate in an ice breaker game
Teacher will offer an introduction of self as well as the

establishment of classroom norms and other useful business

Students will break into small groups to discuss factors they

need for success and share out with the whole group
Powerpoint for icebreaker game
Questions for icebreaker: Would you rather? Be hairy all over or
completely bald? Meet an alien on earth or travel to outer space?
Have one wish granted today or three wishes granted in four
years? Be able to turn invisible or be able to fly? See into the

Learning Activities

future or change the past?

Handout for students with important information about the

course, required materials, and contact information

Posters on classroom wall above board that say RESPECT,

EMPATHY, and EFFORT to help establish norms

Simple definitions for each of the three norms to use during

discussion
Pencils, paper
Projector, computer
Before class: Arrange desks in horseshoe shape with open space

in center
Before class: Write name and email address in the corner of the

board
1. Ice Breaker: Students will mingle with each other, stopping
and pairing up when instructed. In those pairs they will answer
silly Would you rather? questions. For each question they will
pair with a different student. Before answering, each student
should introduce themselves. If time allows it, one to three pairs

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2
can share out answers, or the entire group can answer by raising
their hands.
This activity, strategically placed before any business, will
create a fun, social mood for students and encourage them to
move around, getting to know new peers. Hopefully, this will be
the first of many activities that provides a social outlet in order to
establish an empathetic and collective classroom community. It
may excite the students to the point where it is somewhat
difficult to settle them in for the next segment, but I feel its
worth it to allow students to have fun and get to know each
other.
2. Introduction/Norms/Business: Teacher will introduce herself, the
classroom norms (Respect, Empathy, and Effort), and cover
any necessary school or class business.
This is an important opportunity for me as an educator: here I
will make a first impression and begin engaging my students as
an educator and as an individual. I would like to spend a few
minutes introducing myself, mentioning details that I feel may
connect me with the students as well as the ones that are unique
or make me proud. I certainly will mention the fact that I was
born and raised in Philadelphia not too far away, and that I
attended Temple and Penn. I also may share some quick facts
about my family (I have one big sister, and she and my mom are
teachers too). I also will share that I love to read and write, and
riding my bike is one of the things that makes me happiest.
Next, we will discuss my classroom norms. As I name each, Ill
ask the students what the word means to them. After hearing
their input, Ill write on the board the definition I have in mind
when I use these words. They will likely have more prior
knowledge of respect and effort. Empathy may take a few more
minutes of exploration. No matter what, I will spend a few

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3
minutes on each term to make sure students have an
understanding of what the words mean, especially in my
classroom. I will encourage them to always ask themselves if
their actions match these norms.
Last, I will quickly introduce any immediately important
information about the course, and give the students my handout
and contact information.
3. Students ideals for learning: Students will break into groups of
2-3 and discuss what things will help them succeed in this class.
Each student should try to think of one word to sum it up for
themselves. In the end, the full group will come back and each
student will share their answer. Each response will be recorded
and later made into a visual for the classroom wall.
Since I was able to give them my norms for the classroom, I
would like them to input their own prioritized ideals. We will
discuss how each learner may need something special, or they
may have a need similar to that of another classmate. Either way,
they should think seriously about factors that can help them
succeed and help them work collectively with others. This will
hopefully get the students thinking about what will work best for
them as an individual, and what that means for the whole
classroom community. By talking with other students, they will
be able to bounce ideas off of each other and notice any
similarities. This is also a great way to get them socializing in a
slightly more structured fashion and introduce me to their group
dynamics. At the end, we will wrap up by having each student
share, in one word, what they need out of their learning
environment. I will record each answer and later transfer the
answers onto a poster that will hang in the classroom for the rest
of the year, creating a sense of community, agency, and
accountability.