Lesson Plan for Implementing

NETSSTemplate I
(More Directed Learning Activities)
Template with guiding questions
Teacher(s)
Name
Brandon Garcia
Position

Special Education/English/History Teacher

School/District

Chestatee High School/Hall County

E-mail

Bgarci13@students.kennesaw.edu

Phone

678-617-9329

Grade Level(s)

10th

Content Area

World Literature

Time line

March 16 - March 30

Standards (What do you want students to know and be able to do? What knowledge, skills, and strategies do you
expect students to gain? Are there connections to other curriculum areas and subject area benchmarks? ) Please
put a summary of the standards you will be addressing rather than abbreviations and numbers that indicate which
standards were addressed.

Content Standards

ELACC9-10RI2: Determine a central idea of a text and analyze 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.
ELACC9-10RL4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the
text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of
specific word choices on meaning and tone
ELACC9-10W2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas,
concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection,
organization, and analysis of content.
a. Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important
connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures,
tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
ELACC9-10W8: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital
sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in
answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain
the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
ELACC9-10SL1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative
discussions(one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 910
topics, texts, and issues, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly and
persuasively.
ELACC9-10SL4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely,
and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization,
development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.
Page 1 of 7

10RL2: Determine a theme or central idea of 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.
ELACC9-10W6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update
individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technologys capacity to link to
other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
10RL1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

NETS*S Standards:

ELACC9-10RL10: By the end of Grade 10, read and comprehend literature, including
stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with
scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
1. Visionary Leadership
a. Contribute to the development, communication, and implementation of a shared vision
for the comprehensive use of technology to support a digital-age education for all students
3. Digital-Age Learning Environments.
a. Model effective classroom management and collaborative learning strategies to
maximize teacher and student use of digital tools and resources and access to technologyrich learning environments
b. Maintain and manage a variety of digital tools and resources for teacher and student use
in technology-rich learning environments
e. Troubleshoot basic software, hardware, and connectivity problems common in digital
learning environments
g. Use digital communication and collaboration tools to communicate locally and globally
with students, parents, peers, and the larger community
5. Digital Citizenship
a. Model and promote strategies for achieving equitable access to digital tools and
resources and technology-related best practices for all students and teachers
b. Model and facilitate safe, healthy, legal, and ethical uses of digital information and
technologies
c. Model and promote diversity, cultural understanding, and global awareness by using
digital-age communication and collaboration tools to interact locally and globally with
students, peers, parents, and the larger community

Overview (a short summary of the lesson or unit including assignment or expected or possible products)
During these two weeks, students will be working on a project to wrap up the poetry unit, focusing specifically on
poetic devices. The project is called Songs Are Poetry and it is designed to reinforce the learning of poetry and
poetic devices through student interest in music. The goal is for students to review material learned and present
information to the class in a fun and engaging way to help student learning on the subject. In this project students
will be working in groups of three with each member choosing a song from one of three popular genres students
enjoy listening to: Rap/R&B/Pop, Rock, and Country. Students will analyze the lyrics of their song and using a
provided handout and previous learned information, determine the meaning of the song and how poetic devices
are used to emphasize the artists message. Students will write a final analysis of their song, quoting examples
from the song to support their analysis. Groups will then present their project and analysis to the class with each
member teaching the class what they learned. At least one presentation from the group must be through digital
format and the following are the other options: Drawing/illustration, Painting, Cartoon, Song/Music re-creation,
Poster, Model/Structure.
Essential Questions (What essential question or learning are you addressing? What would students care or
want to know about the topic? What are some questions to get students thinking about the topic or generate
interest about the topic? Additionally, what questions can you ask students to help them focus on important
aspects of the topic? (Guiding questions) What background or prior knowledge will you expect students to bring
to this topic and build on?) Remember, essential questions are meant to guide the lesson by provoking inquiry.
They should not be answered with a simple yes or no and should have many acceptable answers.
Page 2 of 7

1.
2.
3.
4.

Why do we read/write poetry?

How do we read and write poetry?
What types of poetry are there?
How can we study and learn poetry through music?

Students will bring knowledge gained from previous lessons in the poetry unit, specifically lessons on poetic
devices. They will use the knowledge to help analyze lyrics to determine the overall meaning of the song and any
additional message from the artist. Prior experience with technology specifically presentation tools will facilitate
adaptation to PowToon, Thinglink, and Voki as a new tool for presenting.
Assessment (What will students do or produce to illustrate their learning? What can students do to generate new
knowledge? How will you assess how students are progressing (formative assessment)? How will you assess
what they produce or do? How will you differentiate products?) You must attach copies of your assessment and/or
rubrics. Include these in your presentation as well.
Students in each group will create a presentation that includes pictures, song lyrics, song analysis and the audio
file of the song to be played at the end of their presentation. Students presentations will be assessed by the use
of a teacher created rubric to determine if students have a firm understanding of analyzing poetry, the use of
poetic devices as well as to assess their ability to create a presentation of their plans. Students will understand
how music and poetry relate and how writers of poems and songs use poetic devices to emphasize the meaning
of their work. Groups and presentations are differentiated by choice of music to be analyzed and presentation
styles. The teacher will create groups of three with each member analyzing a song from one of the three genres
listed. In each group a member will represent a different style of presentation and a different genre of music.
Presentation styles are determined by what interests the student and what they are most comfortable and
effective with especially the technological tool used.
Resources (How does technology support student learning? What digital tools, and resourcesonline student
tools, research sites, student handouts, tools, tutorials, templates, assessment rubrics, etchelp elucidate or
explain the content or allow students to interact with the content? What previous technology skills should students
have to complete this project?)
Technology supports student learning in that students can complete activities using twenty-first century tools to
enhance their learning and understanding. Students are able to use technological tools that most have a
background in to further engage them in lessons and provide an authentic learning experience. These
experiences will help provide a positive learning foundation for students to build on as they progress through
school and into the real world. In this lesson, students will use various options to present information using online
tools such as PowToon, Prezi, Thinglink and Voki. These online tools are in addition to Microsoft PowerPoint and
Published that many students are familiar with. Groups will collaborate with each other using Google Drive to edit
work and introduce ideas while away from the classroom. Google Drive will also be the source from which
students will share their work with the teacher so that progress can be monitored and any help/suggestions can
be made. The school is made up of mostly Hispanic students and many in the class enjoy foreign music. Google
Translate will provide a way for non-Spanish speaking students to help provide suggestions to group members on
lyrics they might not understand. The audio file of the song that will be played at the end of each presentation will
be provided through YouTube and the music application, Spotify. All students will use the internet to collaborate
with group members, search lyrics, find items to enhance their presentations and research any additional tools to
help them analyze their songs.
Instructional Plan
Preparation (What student needs, interests, and prior learning provide a foundation for this lesson? How can
you find out if students have this foundation? What difficulties might students have?)

Page 3 of 7

Students should have a good grasp about poetry and poetic devices based on what they have learned throughout
the unit in the two weeks prior to this project. Any previous learned information from what they learned in 9 th grade
literature also helps. Poetry may not be as interesting to some people as it is for others but most people enjoy
music and thats what makes students interested and engaged in this project. Rather than analyzing a text from a
poet the project requires that the student analyze their favorite song and they seem to enjoy that. This project also
interests students because it allows the student to use technology to gather information and organize it along with
presenting using different presentation tools and styles that fit their comfort levels and talents. Some students
may need help confirming they are identifying the poetic devices correctly and other aspects of the analysis as
well as help with technology tools. Feedback from students, teacher observations and progress monitoring will
help determine if each student has a solid foundation for this lesson.
Management Describe the classroom management strategies will you use to manage your students and the use
of digital tools and resources. How and where will your students work? (Small groups, whole group, individuals,
classroom, lab, etc.) What strategies will you use to achieve equitable access to the Internet while completing this
lesson? Describe what technical issues might arise during the Internet lesson and explain how you will resolve or
trouble-shoot them? Please note: Trouble-shooting should occur prior to implementing the lesson as well as
throughout the process. Be sure to indicate how you prepared for problems and work through the issues that
occurred as you implemented and even after the lesson was completed.
Students will be divided into groups of three for the project. The students will be working on this project in the
classroom when I have laptops reserved, the media center and computer labs throughout the two weeks. The
small group set up allows for student collaboration so that each may help each other designing and answering
questions about their analysis. Additional support is added with the lead teacher and co-teacher in the classroom
and a technology specialist when students are working in the media center and computer labs. Scheduling
technology use each day along with support options allows for equitable access for all students. If students
needed additional time or help on the project they can work in the classroom or media center before and/or after
school. Some issues that could occur during the course of the project would be internet outages or
laptop/computer issues. If the internet did go down students would still be able to access their songs from mobile
devices and they can brainstorm presentation ideas, layout what they want to include in the presentation and still
work on their analysis. If there is an issue with a laptop in the class, the student can work on one of the six
desktop computers available in the classroom and if any computer issues come up while in the media center or
computer lab a student can move to another one or check out a laptop to use while we are in that location. To be
sure student files do not get deleted or lost by accident, students will share any work done on the computer or
online with me through Google Drive. If there was an extreme internet or computer issue, I would allow an
extension on the project.
Instructional Strategies and Learning Activities Describe the research-based instructional strategies you will
use with this lesson. How will your learning environment support these activities? What is your role? What are the
students' roles in the lesson? How can you ensure higher order thinking at the analysis, evaluation, or
creativity levels of Blooms Taxonomy? How can the technology support your teaching? What authentic,
relevant, and meaningful learning activities and tasks will your students complete? How will they build knowledge
and skills? How will students use digital tools and resources to communicate and collaborate with each other
and others? How will you facilitate the collaboration?

Page 4 of 7

Students will be collaborating with each other in their small groups throughout this project. This project sets up
students to take on the role of explorer, teacher and producer. This cooperative learning activity will allow for
students to use their peers for feedback and technology help first but with peace of mind knowing that they have
two teachers and a technology specialist to help aid in any questions about the project or technological tools. The
teacher, co-teacher and technology specialist will take on the facilitator and guide roles by making sure students
stay on task and provide direction during the project. The project aligns with content standards set forth by the
state in reading and writing as well as NETS standards with the technology use involved. The project is
challenging as it requires students move beyond knowledge and comprehension to engage in application,
analysis, synthesis and/or evaluation of the lyrics. The different styles of presentations and use of many tools
allows for the project to be multidisplinary. Students will have an authentic learning experience by using tools to
research and present and using people skills that adults use in their daily lives. I will use a performance based
assessment through the rubric along with a seamless and ongoing assessment by providing feedback throughout
the project not just at the end. The Poetry in Music project is culturally responsive as it incorporates students
cultural knowledge, prior experiences, and performance styles to make learning more appropriate and effective
for them. Technology helps in this project by providing a way to research and present the students work as well as
providing a way to communicate and collaborate with each other using Google Drive. The facilitators and guides
can monitor progress and collaboration by looking at each of the students work that has been shared with them
through Google Drive.

Differentiation (How will you differentiate content and process to accommodate various learning styles and
abilities? How will you help students learn independently and with others? How will you provide extensions and
opportunities for enrichment? What assistive technologies will you need to provide?)
I teach in a co-taught environment with an average of 21 students per class. From those 21 students there are
five to eight SPED students and one to three ELL monitored students. There are many learning styles and by
allowing students to choose a song through a genre that interests them, providing multiple ways to research and
analyze material, choosing presentation options to suit learning style preference, talents and abilities, and
providing individual work within a collaborative learning group Im able to differentiate the learning for all students.
Students are able to learn individually through their own research and analysis and through others by helping
other group members with ideas, corrections and answering questions. Opportunities for student enrichment are
provided through project focused interaction with group members, introducing students to new concepts and tools
(especially technological tools) and having a fun but authentic/meaningful activity for the students to work on.
Read-aloud technology and voice to text technology are available if any assistive technologies are needed.

Reflection (Will there be a closing event? Will students be asked to reflect upon their work? Will students be
asked to provide feedback on the assignment itself? What will be your process for answering the following
questions?
Did students find the lesson meaningful and worth completing?
In what ways was this lesson effective?
What went well and why?
What did not go well and why?
How would you teach this lesson differently?)
Students will complete a short survey shared through Google Drive following all the presentations. When the
survey is done we will go over the questions as a class and engage in a short discussion to draw additional
feedback for changes that need to be made in the future. The students will answer the following questions:
1. Overall, did you enjoy the project? Why or Why not?
2. Did this project help you answer the four essential questions through better understanding of the subject?
Why or Why not?
3. What are a few things you enjoyed about the project?
4. Was there something you did not enjoy about the project? If so, what?
5. If you could change anything about the project, what would it be?

Page 5 of 7

Closure: Anything else you would like to reflect upon regarding lessons learned and/or your experience with
implementing this lesson. What advice would you give others if they were to implement the lesson? Please
provide a quality reflection on your experience with this lesson and its implementation.
Overall this project went well. Students worked extremely hard and the feedback throughout the process and the
end was positive. The most common compliments from the project were that students really enjoyed being able to
work individually but also have group members to help them if they needed it, the timeline to complete the project
allowed for creativity and learning new tools without having to rush an assignment, the project centered around
their interests in music and presentation style and having technology available to produce quality work at school
while not having to find a way outside of class to get it done if they didnt have a computer or internet access. My
advice to anyone using this lesson would be to make sure you have reserved technology in your school for your
students to use and to make sure students that dont have a solid foundation with technology receive the help
they need. The project created some great work and through individual learning and learning from others
presenting in class, all learning styles were met. The project was also evaluated by an administrator when he
came in to do a formative evaluation on me and received an exemplary which was a nice ending to a solid unit.

Songs are Poetry! Rubric

Name_______________________________
4 Excellent
Poetic
Devices
(RL-1)

Analysis
(RL-1/2)

Organization
(W-1/2)

3 Well
Done
Accurately
Accurately
identifies and identifies and
explains all
explains most
poetic
poetic
devices found devices
in the
found in the
song (15- 14 song
points)
(13-10
points)
Creatively
Creatively
interprets the interprets the
songs theme songs theme
and
and
superbly
superbly
analyzes
analyzes
the songs
the songs
meaning
meaning
according to
according to
directions
directions
(15-14
(13-10
points)
points)
Maintains a
Maintains a
clear,
clear,
distinctive
distinctive
focus
focus
throughout
throughout
entire
most of
writing
writing
-Successfully -Constructs

Grade___________
2- Good

1-Poor

Accurately
identifies
some
poetic
devices
found in the
song
(9-5 points)

Accurately
identifies few
poetic
devices found
in the
song (4-1
points)

Creatively
interprets the
songs theme
and
superbly
analyzes
the songs
meaning
according to
directions
(9-5 points)

Creatively
interprets the
songs theme
and
superbly
analyzes
the songs
meaning
according to
directions
(4-1 points)

Focus of
writing is
often unclear
-Some
paragraphs
lack structure
(5-3 points)

Focus of
writing is
unclear
-Most
paragraphs
lack structure
(2-1 points)

Page 6 of 7

Score

Style
(W-1/2)

Conventions
(C1)

constructs
strong,
effective
paragraphs
(10-9 points
Actively
engages
the audience
-Extensively
uses
precise word
choice,
sensory
details, &
active voice
(5 points)
No errors in
usage,
spelling,
capitalization
,
punctuation,
or
sentence
formation
(5 points)

strong,
effective
paragraphs
(8-6 points)
Often
engages the
audience
-Effectively
uses
precise word
choice,
sensory
details, &
active voice
(4 points)
-Few errors
in
usage,
spelling,
capitalization
,
punctuation,
or
sentence
formation
(4 points)

Occasionally
engages the
audience
-Uses precise
word
choice,
sensory
details, &
active
voice
(3 points)
Many errors
in
usage,
spelling,
capitalization
,
punctuation,
and
sentence
formation
(3 points)

Page 7 of 7

Rarely
engages the
audience
-Rarely uses
precise
word choice,
sensory
details, &
active voice
(2-1 points)
Numerous
errors in
usage,
spelling,
capitalization
,
punctuation,
and
sentence
formation
(2-1 points)