Lesson Plan #2 (Writing)

Title:
Grover Middle School, 8th Grade English, Tatiana Dodge
Essential Questions:
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What problems do Romeo/Juliet have to contend with during Acts I & II of the play?
How do you think R&Js should respond to these issues?

Standards:
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CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.3
Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the
action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.3A
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences; Engage and
orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator
and/or characters.

Instructional Objectives:
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Students will be able to identify R&Js conflicts throughout Acts I & II of the play.
Students will be able to provide reasonable advice for R&J, drawing from their own
experiences and/or personal opinions.

Sequence of Learning Activities:

1

Before students enter the classroom, cue up my Dear Abby relationship advice article
on the internet (http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/2015/9/26/teen-without-a-plan-hastrouble), so that its ready to be projected onto the board. Greet students as they enter,
have them check out a laptop from the computer cart, and tell them to follow the
directions that are written on the board (1. Turn on laptop 2. Sign in under your student
account DO NOT OPEN ANY BROWSERS UNTIL I ASK YOU TO DO SO! 3. Take
out Dear Abby relationship advice article that you found and printed or cut out for
homework.) Once students have been seated and the bell has rung, take care of general
housekeeping (reminding them to put phones away, answering questions, etc).
Ask if everyone has been successful at logging into their computer once that has been
confirmed, proceed to ask students what kind of experience they had finding their articles

last night (Did they find articles easily? How many students cut out from a newspaper?
How many students printed something that they found online? Did the articles make them
laugh, get confused, feel sad, etc.?) Pull down the projection screen and project the Dear
Abby article that I chose onto the board. Read the article aloud to my students. Ask for
several volunteers to read their articles aloud to the class.
Tell students that we are going to spend the period writing Dear Abby emails from the
point of view of Romeo or Juliet (their choice), and then responding to a classmates email
as if we were Abby. As a prewriting activity, have students take out their writing journals
and pencils/pens and respond to the following questions: 1. Do you want to write a letter
from Romeo or from Juliet? 2. Stop and think for a minute. Pretend you are Romeo (or
Juliet). What is your problem? 3. What does Abby need to know about your situation in
order to give you advice? Jot down the things you need to include in your letter. 4. Now,
look at the things you have noted. Put them in a logical order that will make it easiest for
Abby to understand your problem. Allow 5 7 minutes for this independent work.
Once students have answered the questions in their journals, ask for volunteered answers
to the questions, and jot them down on the board. Using those answers, model how to
write a Dear Abby letter on the projection screen by opening my email, and together
with the students, formulating a Dear Abby email that will remain on the screen while
they work on their own (so that they can refer to it if they need to). Ensure that students
understand they need to include Romeo/Juliets problem and any background information
that Abby will need in order to give proper advice. Encourage them to use a creative
anonymous sign-off for the end of their email.
Tell students that I will walk around to assign them a peer to send their email to. Also
make it clear that I should be ccd on ALL initial emails AND responses from Abby
(write my email address on the board while making this announcement). Inform students
that they may now open their preferred browser and their student email, and let them
know that it is time to start typing! While they are working, walk around not only to
assign peers (let them know that they are NOT to send their email before Ive given the
okay), but also to answer questions/provide guidance/offer individual support, and
monitor their use of the internet/laptop (email and an online dictionaries are the ONLY
tabs that should be open). Allow 20 minutes for this task.
Give students a three minute warning: You have three minutes to finish up your writing!
Please check your grammar, spelling, and punctuation. I will let you know when it is time
to send your email to your classmate and me.
Once the three minutes are up, model how to write a response to our class-written, still
projected Dear Abby email, using student suggestions in the example (remind them to
sign off as Abby). Once students have a reference for what their Abby response should
look like, inform them that they may send off their emails to their assigned peer, and
remind them again that I should be ccd on the email. Give students 5 10 minutes to
write a response to their classmates email, making sure to give them a two minute wrapup warning. While students are writing their replies, walk around to answer questions and

monitor internet usage. Once the time is up, ask students to send their responses to their
classmate (again reminding them to cc me).
As a wrap-up activity (if there is ample time), ask for volunteers to read their FULL
Dear Abby email and response. As per the classroom rules, give readers a round of
applause when theyre done reading, since students will be sharing their own writing,

Differentiation of Instruction:
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Auditory and visual instruction; pair collaboration; whole class discussions; individual
work; teacher support.

Appropriate Use of Technology:

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Email Dear Abby letters and responses.

Project the class-written Dear Abby letter and response on the white board.

Connections:
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The learned skill of writing a formal email will strengthen the students ability to
communicate through this means concisely in the future.

Assessment/Evaluation:
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Have students cc me on their initial Dear Abby emails and responses.

Evaluate level of participation in class-wide reading, discussions, and activities.

Materials/Resources:
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Computer cart from library, with 20 functioning laptops and sign-out sheet
Dry erase markers
My personal laptop, with internet connection and projector hook-up