Enjoy the rewards:
“Lord of the Flies” Lesson Plan
Student Development / Diversity
The class for which this lesson was designed is comprised of 26 tenth grade students (11 males and 15 females) at a suburban school. They are a culturally diverse group including 4 African-American students (2 males and 2 females), 1 Laotian male, 1 Chinese male, 1 Puerto Rican male, 1 Guatemalan male, 3 Dominican females, one Mexican female, 1 German exchange female, and the rest are of European descent and were born in America. There are two immigrant students who receive ESL services, having not been in the country for long: The Chinese and Mexican student. They both have individual aides. One African-American male has a vision impairment, so he has an IEP. One of the white males also has a physical handicap, making it difficult for him to walk. His aide is able to stay with him throughout the class. Two students, African American and white males, have ADHD and are on a 504 plan. One white female is six months pregnant. 60% of the class is at the tenth grade reading level, 30% of the class is below the reading level, and 10% of the class is above the reading level.
From a Piagetian perspective, most of the students in the class are at a formal operations level, so they are able to draw logical conclusions from situations that have no basis in reality. From a constructivist point of view, students create knowledge from experience and observation, so we would group students together in diverse groups so that those students who excel can assist the others in learning. This idea is also called social constructivism. We would make sure to include many visual and auditory learning experiences so that the diverse students can all learn effectively. For example, we may read aloud from the text and also pass out graphic organizers and other handouts to aid in learning.
Rationale/Analysis of Students’ Special Needs
As mentioned above, there are students with ESLs, a vision impairment, physical handicap, two cases of ADHD, and one pregnant female.
The ESL students will each have individual aides who will assist them throughout the day in every class. We may place them in the back row of students so that discussions with their aides will not interrupt the other students. We will include multicultural references in our lessons so that both the Chinese and Mexican students feel involved and important. This is also a chance for the ESL students to teach others in the class about a diverse culture. Also, the most vital learning tool is working in groups so that students can learn from each other. This will give the aides a break and will teach the students who speak English fluently how to teach others and accept other cultures.
The male with the vision impairment will be seated in the front row so that he can always see what is on the board. If necessary, his tests, quizzes, handouts, and other assignments will be modified to accommodate his needs. In this case, that would mean enlarging the text itself.
The male with the physical handicap will be seated near the door because he will need to leave early in order to arrive at his next class on time. This way, he and his aide will not disrupt the rest of the class when they leave. Each day a different assigned student or friend will sit next to this student and help him with daily tasks, such as getting materials for him.
The two males with ADHD will be monitored closely so that they do not disrupt the rest of the class. They will also be separated from each other in the classroom seating plan. A daily plan will be posted on the board every day, which will benefit the whole class as well as the students with ADHD, so that they know what is happening. Any adjustments will be explained. In addition, we will be asking questions frequently to keep the students alert and focused. These two students are also on a 504 plan, which means that they receive extended time on in class written assignments.
The pregnant female will be monitored as well. We will be aware of social problems, such as other students harassing her and other family problems at home. If we see a problem we will offer assistance and refer her to the school counselor. We will also allow this girl to use the bathroom often and also be aware of other physical strains she may need extra assistance with. We will plan in advance for make up work because this girl will soon be missing a large portion of school. If possible we will have her complete extra work now so that she does not fall too far behind.
Lesson Plan
This lesson is for a 9th grade class. Previously in the year, students will have already covered topics about key literary terms and throughout the novel we will be picking them out and using them to define elements in the novel.
Materials Needed:
Novel “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding
Time Needed for Lesson:
This lesson takes place over a 2 ½ to 3 week period leaving room for extra time needed to spend on topics the class needs more time to understand. Each lesson is approximately one hour and thirty minutes long. The portion I will be covering is the first week (3 days of the lesson) in a block schedule structure.
Day 1: Biography of Author and Historical Context of the Novel / Group Activity (Short Story during WWII as a Student)
Day 2: Chapter 1 / Introduction of the Novel and Major Characters / Key Terms: Foreshadowing
Day 3: Chapter 2 / Development of Characters and Survival Techniques of the Children / Group Activity (Putting Students into Characters’ Situation)
Instructional Objectives:
Objective 1: To have students understand the historical context of the text.
Specific Objectives:
A) Students will have knowledge of the author’s life and his motives for writing the novel.
B) Students will have an understanding of life during World War II for students their age.
Objective 2: To have students understand each character’s specific traits and apply a previously learned term to the text.
Specific Objectives:
A) Students will be able to use the term Foreshadowing as defined earlier in the year and apply it to the events in the novel.
B) Students will be able to apply “foreshadowing” to current events in the novel.
Objective 3: To have the students relate to the characters in the novel.
Specific Objectives:
A) Students will be able to recreate the situation in the novel and compare/contrast their survival techniques with those used in the novel.
Instructional Strategies:
Objective 1: Day 1
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Comprehension and Knowledge
As a pre-assessment, students will turn in a one page author biography on the day that the lesson on “Lord of the Flies” begins. This will make sure the students will come to class having done research on the topic themselves.
Using their biography, students will contribute to a list of facts about the author rather than having a full lecture about the author’s life while stepping in to fill in some gaps that are left out. Students not contributing or who have not handed in a biography will be noted for penalties for class participation if necessary.
A brief, formal lecture on World War II to give a historical context to the novel to set the stage for the group activity. Students may also contribute to this lecture as well, promoting extra research done by students.
There will be a group activity in which students will create a short story about a student their age during World War II. This will help students understand the characters in the novel and their mindset during the time period. It will also allow students to express themselves creatively. The assignment will be collected and shared with the rest of the class before the period ends. This is the formative assessment.
Objective 2: Day 2
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge, Application, and Comprehension
As a summative assessment, students will be given a quiz on the assigned reading for the day. This will be a routine that will help give structure to the everyday lesson and give the students a motive to read the chapter. Quizzes like these will be brief (3-5 questions long) and will take a maximum of 5-10 minutes at the beginning of class.
A discussion on the characters and their traits will be the focus of the lecture for the class. A chart with each major character introduced in the chapter will help organize and separate each character while students will contribute to the list of traits. This will help students recognize each character as they develop later in the novel.
The term “foreshadowing” which has been mentioned earlier in the year will be discussed and events that could be foreshadowing for important events in future chapters. Other terms that have been mentioned earlier in the year will be discussed as the class progresses through the novel.
Objective 3: Day 3
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge, Application, and Comprehension
1. Another summative assessment quiz will be given, as was given in Objective 1, but the subject will be today’s assigned reading. A bonus question will be given regarding a previously discussed topic in the class related to a previous lesson on “Lord of the Flies” to promote review for future quizzes.
2. A discussion on the events in the novel will lead into the group activity for the day. The class will be lead into discussion about the ways the boys manage to survive on the island and the techniques they uses to maintain themselves. A short clip from the film “Cast Away” will end the discussion and begin the group activity.
3. The group activity will be the class divided into small groups and given a list of items to survive on. They will have to create a scenario in which they use the materials to survive on a small island for a month assuming there is edible vegetation and small animals. After that activity, a second list will be handed out. This time it will be a list of people and a description of each person. They will have to choose a limited number of people on the list to survive and continue to thrive on the island. These activities will give students a chance to think for themselves and as a team. It will also promote problem solving and decision making skills. These activities will be a formative assessment based upon how much effort was put into the choices made.
Assessments
Formative:
My formative assessments are based upon the class work that is handed in at the end of each class. By seeing how the class is doing based upon the group work, I can judge how fast to move into other topics and judge if the class needs to be challenged or have their workload reduced. Block scheduling leaves extra time in class to devote to group work. This is why most of the formative assessments comes from group work so that students who do not understand can work together to teach each other concepts and ideas brought up in class while giving an overall view of the classes status.
Summative:
Many of my summative assessments will be in the form of quizzes given at the beginning of class. This will help boost the grades of students who do poorly on large assignments or tests while giving structure to the lesson itself. Questions unrelated to the readings will show up more often as the lesson progresses to stimulate review. These questions will most likely be bonus questions, as these are more desirable than questions that “count” towards the final grade and help the students work for the extra points themselves. The 3-5 questions also allows for students to easily understand how each is graded and gives them an expectation for their overall outcome.
Final tests on each lesson will be in short answer and essay format to make sure the student understands the ideas taught throughout the lesson. This format will be used throughout the year for major tests and exams. The exam itself should not be a surprise for the students and review will be made and possible questions announced so that preparation and study is not overwhelming.
