Lesson Plan on The Book Thief

PROJECT OUTLINE AND DESCRIPTION

BY: ALLIE CALDERON

ED 370
MARCH 16, 2014

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TIMELINE & OUTLINE
CLASSROOM CONSIDERATIONS
ACCOMMODATIONS
ASSESSMENT & EVALUATION
DISCUSSION

Timeline & Outline

SUBSECTIONS:

TIMELINE CALENDAR

OUTLINE DAY 1

OUTLINE DAY 2

OUTLINE DAY 3

Timeline
Day 1 Introduction to

Novel
Day 2 Setting
Day 3 The Meaning of

Words

Outline Day 1
Word Map & Brainstorm

As a class, students will

create a word map of the
book's title on the front
white board. The discussion
will be teacher guided but
student generated. Possible
brainstorm topics include
predictions, connotations,
denotations, etc. of the title
of the book. This activity is
meant to be open,
discussion based. (20 min)

Read Prologue

The class will read the

prologue aloud together.
The teacher may choose to
begin first, and then have
student volunteers carry on
reading. (Approx. 30 min)

Outline Day 2
Setting Photo Activity

Using Google Earth and other

images, show students pictures of
1930s and 1940s. The purpose of
these images is to contextualize the
setting for students (these images
should be pre-selected before class
time). (10 min)

Free Write

Give students 10 minutes to free

write in as much detail as possible
about one of the images they saw
from the selection that they think is
powerful, interesting, etc.; they may
also choose to create a list of word
associations with an image.

Word Sort

Preview this activity with a brief

discussion of the terms
"connotation" and "denotation."
Then, using a list of words (either
teacher pre-selected words, words
from the students' free write, or a
combination) ask students to rate
words according to their
connotation as they view them; that
is, as positive, negative, or neutral.
Students should do this individually
on a piece of paper and then share
with the class. Take 5 minutes to
"rate" the words and then use 10
minutes to talk about it as a whole
class. (3o min total)

Outline Day 3
The Sneetches

Watch a 4 minute video clip

from Dr. Seuss's The
Sneetches. Then host a brief
class discussion.
In groups of 3-4, students
will compare words from the
video to words we use in
contemporary times that
have power.

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Written Conversations

Students will have the last

10 minutes of class time to
reflect on the reading thus
far. They also have the
option to write about the
connections they saw
between the video and class
discussion and the reading.
These prompts should be
expressed verbally or
written on the board if
needed or requested.

Classroom Considerations
SUBSECTIONS:

STUDENTS
T E C H N O L O G Y N E E D S

Students
Students are 10th graders in a public high school. The

setting is assumed to be a cross-over somewhere

between urban and suburban.
This classroom consists of a diverse student
population, including a fair representation of English
Language Learning students.
Students also come with a variety of skill sets and
abilities. Prior knowledge to the extent of recognition
of World War I is assumed; however, brief
background information is provided in the lesson.

Technology Needs
Because of the situation of an urban/suburban school,

technology availability may be an issue. This classroom

does not have access to student sets of iPads, Chrome
books, or laptops. However, I am assuming that there
is at least one teacher computer with internet access
and connected projector.
One activity and assessment method does require
students to have access to an internet-ready computer
outside of school hours.
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Accommodations
SUBSECTIONS:
DAY 1
D A Y 2
D A Y 3

Accommodations for Day 1

For this lesson plan, I imagine that accommodations

may be needed for students who struggle with

reading, especially out loud, that may be either
dyslexic, special needs, or ELL. To accommodate one
or any of these circumstances, I will not require each
student to read out loud during the class reading of
the Prologue. If using the popcorn model, I will allow
students the option to "pass" if called upon by
another classmate.

Accommodations for Day 2

For this lesson plan, I imagine that accommodations

may be needed for ELL students who may not have a

strong grasp on a word's denotation, let alone the
connotations. To accommodate these students, I will
provide each ELL student with a list of the words'
definitions and common connotations so that they
may better able to understand and participate in the
activity.

Accommodations for Day 3

For this lesson plan, I imagine that accommodations may be

needed for ELL students. To accommodate this, I will provide

these students with hard copies of the book The Sneetches
(preferably checked out from a school district library) so that
they can read along with the video and/or refer back to the story
line. ELL students may need to work together to share the book
copies if there are more students than books available.
For the written conversations, it is likely that some students will
not own a family computer. To remedy this, students may use
public library or school library computers. If possible, these
students will be able to check out or rent laptops from the school.
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Assessment & Evaluation

SUBSECTIONS:

DAY 1 ASSESSMENTS
DAY 2 ASSESSMENTS
DAY 3 ASSESSMENTS

Assessment of Day 1
I will assess whether my students have met the

learning objectives of this lesson through listening to

their comments and observations about the book's
title. Since this activity is a class brainstorm, it will
allow me to identify which students are able to engage
with the words in the title and draw assumptions on
them based on their knowledge of those words.
Additionally, the class discussion after reading the
prologue will further allow me to measure their ability
to engage in conversation over a text.

Assessment of Day 2
One way that I intend to assess students is by

reading their free write entry. In addition, the

activity on denotations and connotations will help
students understand the difference between these
two terms. In order to also assess students' complete
integration of these terms' meanings, I will ask
students to offer reasoning for why they associated a
word with one connotation over another.

Assessment of Day 3
Students will begin their online written conversations

through a Google document. Students will be paired

with a fellow classmate. Student pairs will write
responses on class activities and/or the reading to
each other. The Google document will also be shared
with the teacher so that she/he may monitor and
assess students thoughts, writing, and participation.
These online journals would be continued
throughout the course of reading the novel.
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Discussion
THIS SECTION WILL ADDRESS THE
POTENTIAL USE OF INTERACTIVE
POWERPOINT SUCH AS THIS IN FUTURE
CLASSROOMS AS INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS.

Interactive PowerPoint in the Classroom

While this would be a great instructional tool to present the material that
sometimes loses student interest but must be covered nonetheless, I like the
potential it has as a form of assessment or performance task for students. In
particular, I like the idea of using the action buttons on PowerPoint as a form of
interactive research project. I think that this usage of it has a lot of possibilities:
in any subject and with many assignments and topics. Students can research
just about anything, but instead of always writing the traditional research
paper, they can present their findings and learning in a presentation that is
both engaging for the audience and presents an improved way for students to
demonstrate what they know. This would work really way as an alternative
book report, science project, author/poet bio, historical era research, or even
debate presentation.
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