Formal Lesson Plan: English

Objectives:
Students will develop an understanding of how to summarize and express their thoughts
in a clear and concise manner.
Students will write their first tweet through the perspective of the historical figure that
they have selected highlighting their understanding of his or her point of view.
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types
are defined in standards 1-3 above.)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.6
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and
cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and
citing sources.

Rationale:
For this particular instructional period, ideally lasting at least one week, it will be the
English teachers responsibility to teach students ways in which to summarize, and narrow their
thoughts or arguments. This is a skill that students are able to use in their lives in and out of
school, such as when forming arguments. The students will also develop an understanding of
how to use social networking forums, such as Twitter, in order to express their thoughts, feelings
and ideas in a clear and concise manner.

Materials:
Computer, Textbook

Procedure:

Introduction:
Activity
o Provide students with a dense and highly detailed article or excerpt from a text
that is significantly above their reading level and that is based on something they
are unfamiliar with.
o Allow students approximately 5 minutes to read the passage and attempt to find
its main idea.
o Reconvene as a group and discuss. Students should have had difficulty
completing the task. This will further prove the importance of reading for
meaning and being able to think about and discuss what was read. Additionally, it
will demonstrate the importance of narrowing your thoughts in a clear and concise
manner in order to assist the audience in comprehension.

Body:
Summarizing
o Students will learn about the importance of summarizing and how to summarize
through various activities, such as marking up a text to highlight the significant
points throughout.
o Students will research a text on the internet (song, video, poem, etc.), find the
gist of their resource and provide the class with a brief summary of its content.
Twitter Introduction
o Use this time to gain insight on students knowledge of twitter as a social forum.
Prompt students in a strategic manner in order to initiate conversation and teach
those of their peers who are unfamiliar.
How to use Twitter, why there are only a certain number of characters, etc.
o Have the students develop a tweet in small groups to ensure that everyone
understands how to compose a tweet.
Twitter Assignment
o Review the Twitter project that will be explained in detail in Social Studies.
o Students will begin to write their first tweet based on research completed in the
Social Studies classroom from the viewpoint of their selected historical figure.

Closure:
Each day, the students will be asked to demonstrate their learning through exit
tickets, and direct questioning from the teacher.

Assessment:
The final assessment for this portion of the interdisciplinary unit is for students to have
developed a clear and concise tweet that expresses the point of view of their historical figure.
The students will be assessed on their accurate and appropriate portrayal of the individual and
their abilities to write a tweet that clearly expresses their thoughts in a limited amount of
characters.

Extension/ Follow-Up Activity:
Students can share their first tweet with their classmates. They can then make
connections and discuss similarities and differences between their selected
historical figures.
Students will continuously share their tweets throughout the rest of the unit. They
will then be able to discuss any difficulties and problem solving methods.

Modifications:
Further modifications and accommodations can be made when issues arise for specific students.