4882 Audacity Lesson

Context
Students have been preparing for the writing SOL and could benefit from more opportunities for
interaction with their peers. They have been working on Passion Projects in which they’re
exploring their own identities more fully. Learning about respectful exploration will enable them
to explore others’ identities as they relate to their own.

Course name: Academic/Advanced English (Multi-grade level)

Grade level: 9 (one student), 10, 11 (predominately 11)
Length of lesson: 65 minutes

Description of setting, students, and curriculum—and any other important contextual

characteristics:
13 students. Seven students have IEP accommodations. Of those students, two are emotionally
disabled; one has severe anxiety; one is on the autism spectrum; and five need accommodations
that relate to reading and writing—including audio for reading of texts, word processing for
writing, notes provided, assignments that are broken down into smaller chunks, graphic
organizers, and preferential seating. Several students are very often absent from class.
Two students (one boy and one girl) in the class are dating each other and spend all of class time
together—efforts will be made to encourage these two to branch out within their classroom
setting. We are about to begin a unit on literature. This will be their first mini-lesson on any kind
of discussion strategies, and after the lesson, they will apply the new information by having a
small group discussion about a topic that they will select from five options.

Last class, they learned how to use the audio recording program, Audacity, on their laptops; they
will apply this knowledge in class today by recording their discussions in order to better self-
asses their own contributions afterward.

Strategy Requirement Satisfied:

(Note: Refer to the list in the syllabus or the document called “Lesson Plan Overview”)

Objectives (KUD format)

SWBAT:

Understand:
1. Students will understand that conversations are powerful tools that can affect us both
positively and negatively even after they are over.
2. Students will understand that respectful exploration is a necessity for having productive
and meaningful conversations.
3. Students will understand that disagreement can provoke insightful discussion if handled
appropriately.

Know:
4. Students will know strategies for coping with disagreement during discussion, including
sentence stems for introducing the disagreement.
 5. Students will know that the main ideas of respectful exploration are: 1) it is a way of
demonstrating the value in others’ thoughts and opinions even if they are different from
your own; and 2) it involves applying different strategies and techniques in order to
convey your opinion in a way that makes everyone feel welcome.

Do:
6. SWBAT call upon their personal experiences with conversation to inform their future
conversations.
7. SWBAT identify what respectful exploration looks like.
8. SWBAT identify what respectful exploration does not look like.
9. SWBAT apply various strategies for engaging in polite disagreement with their peers.
10. SWBAT apply respectful exploration in authentic conversations.

SOLs: [List with numbers portrayed in the SOL document]:

 Communication and Multimodal Literacies: 9.1.g; 10.1.f; 11.1.e “Use a variety of
strategies to listen actively and speak using appropriate discussion rules with awareness
of verbal and nonverbal cues.”
 Communication and Multimodal Literacies: 9.1.h; 10.1.e “Include all group members,
acknowledge new information expressed by others, and value individual contributions
made by each group member.”
 Communication and Multimodal Literacies: 9.1.i; 10.1.g; 11.1.d “Respond thoughtfully
and tactfully to diverse perspectives, summarizing points of agreement and
disagreement.”

CCSSs:
 Comprehension and Collaboration: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.C “Propel
conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion
to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and
clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.”
 Comprehension and Collaboration: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.D “Respond
thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and
disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and
understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning
presented.”
 Comprehension and Collaboration: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.C “Propel
conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and
evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarify,
verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions; and promote divergent and creative
perspectives.”
 Comprehension and Collaboration: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.D
“Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives; synthesize comments, claims, and
evidence made on all sides of an issue; resolve contradictions when possible; and
determine what additional information or research is required to deepen the
investigation or complete the task.”
Methods of Assessment:
[How will you know if the intended learning occurred?] Describe all methods of assessment used
in this lesson or which are related to this lesson and come in a future lesson (use the sentence
stems provided). After each assessment, indicate in brackets the number(s) of the related lesson
objectives that the assessment is evaluating.
Diagnostic
Discussion about
Conversations: Students will
demonstrate what they
already know about good and
difficult conversations by
participating in a class-wide
discussion in which they
recount their personal
experiences and identify the
aspects which made different
conversations memorable.
[SOL 9.1.g; SOL 10.1.f;
SOL 11.1.e; CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.D;
CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.C;
U1; D6]
Think-Pair-Share: Using
their prior knowledge and
past experiences, students
will participate in a think-
pair-share to work through
and express their ideas on the
specific language we may use
in meaningful conversations
versus the specific language
that may be used in
unproductive conversations.
[SOL 9.1.g; SOL 10.1.f;
SOL 11.1.e; CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.D;
CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.C;
U1; D6; D7; D8]
Formative
Small Group Discussion:
Students will show their
progress toward understanding
the idea of “respectful
exploration” by actively
practicing conversation
strategies (like taking the edge
off of disagreement) in small
group discussions.
[CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.C;
CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.D;
CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.C;
CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.D;
SOL 9.1.i; SOL 10.1.g;
SOL11.1.d; SOL 9.1.g; SOL
10.1.f; SOL 11.1.e; SOL
9.1.h; SOL 10.1.e; U2; U3;
K4; K5;D6; D9; D10]
Exit Slip: Students will show
their progress toward
understanding the idea of
“respectful exploration” by
turning in an exit slip before
they leave class in which they
will write or draw one thing to
represent what respectful
exploration means to them,
and one thing to represent
what respectful exploration
does not mean to them. They
will be assessed on whether
their reflections on what
respectful exploration means
and does not mean are
Summative
Written Reflection on Audio
Recording of Actual
Conversation: Students will
ultimately be assessed next
class on their understanding of
respectful exploration and their
own application of it by
listening to a recording of the
conversation they had in their
small group today. They will
write a reflection of the
recording, identifying their
strengths and weaknesses.
Additionally, they will identify
specific times when their group
demonstrated respectful
exploration, and any times
when they did not demonstrate
respectful exploration. They
will write 1-2 sentences on the
importance of respectful
exploration in our daily
conversation. They will be
assessed on whether the
specific moments they
identified in the audio
recordings accurately represent
what the student claims it
represents (as either a
demonstration of respectful
exploration or a demonstration
of a lack of respectful
exploration). [U1; U2; U3;
K5; D6; D7; D8]
 accurate and grounded in the
information learned in class.
[CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.D;
K5; D6; D7; D8]

Procedures/Instructional Strategies
Each step should have bolded heading that identifies the activity, and then is followed by the
teacher scripting, student and teacher actions, and a description of the activity.
[Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.]

Beginning Room Arrangement:

[Changes in this arrangement that become necessary later will be noted in the plan]

Students do not have assigned seats and have been encouraged since the beginning of the year to
sit where they feel most comfortable, whether it is on the loveseat or at the table. They will
continue their routine per usual and sit where they like.

Before students come in, I will hang five large sticky note posters on the wall around the room
with different topics.

1. [9 mins.] Welcome/greeting/announcements

As students enter the classroom for first period, I will greet them by name and check in on how
they’re doing. It is first period, so I will prepare to spend 2-3 minutes saying the Pledge, having a
moment of silence, and listening to any other announcements over the loudspeaker. Last class,
they learned how to operate Audacity with Stephanie, a tech aid. She will be in class for the first
few minutes to ensure that students get the program running smoothly and to distribute
microphones. As they settle in, I will prompt students individually to get their computers
started, grab a microphone from the front of the room, and open Audacity on their
computers.

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is feeling healthy and rested this morning. Let’s all welcome
Stephanie back into the classroom. Remember how we practiced using Audacity last class?
We’re going to use it for real later in class today. Stephanie will be with us for just a few minutes
to make sure everyone’s Audacity and microphones are working. So, will everyone please plug in
a mic—either your own or one from the front—and open Audacity so we can make sure
everything is working? Remember to plug in your microphone before opening the program!

[Walk around and check that everyone has opened the program and that everything is
functioning properly. Use Stephanie as a resource should anything malfunction. Take about a
minute and a half to two minutes for students to push some buttons and explore the program
before getting started. We have to do this first since Stephanie can only be with us for the first
few minutes of class.]
Okay, everyone! Stephanie has to get going now, so let’s say thank you to her for coming to help
us out. Thank you, Stephanie! Now, I want you all to set your microphones and Audacity aside
for now. Please open and find the Google Doc [Appendix A] that I’ve shared with you called
“Respectful Exploration & Strategies for Disagreement.”

[Pause for 15-20 seconds for students to access the Doc.]

Has everyone been able to access the document?

[Pause to give everybody a chance to ask for help if needed].

Throughout today’s lesson, please use this document to record notes for yourself. You won’t turn
it in, but it will be helpful for you to reference in the future and throughout the activity we’ll do
later today. If you don’t like taking notes on your computer, that’s fine, but I want you to pay
attention to the questions that are listed on the left-hand column of the Google doc throughout
class.

Before we begin, I just want to thank you all for having me in your class. As you know, I’m here
because I’m learning to be a teacher, and you all are extremely important in that process! This is
my first time teaching a lesson like this, and I’ll be very grateful for your attention as we go
along.

2. [10 mins.] Bridge and/or Hook to lesson

Today we’re going to talk about talking. It may seem simple, but engaging in talk with one
another is actually a difficult skill that we can always improve upon, no matter how old we are
or how many conversations we’ve had in our lifetimes. Now, I want everyone to think for a
moment about a time when you had a really great conversation with someone. Maybe it was with
a best friend, a sibling, a parent, or even a stranger. Just take a few seconds to remember that
great conversation.

[Pause for 15-20 seconds for people to remember their conversations].

Would anyone like to share what this conversation was about? Or if you’re uncomfortable with
that, feel free to share who the conversation was with and maybe why it was so memorable.

[Have 2-3 students share their experiences. If no one volunteers, I will ask them if they have
someone they really like to talk with. What about those conversations leaves you feeling
good? What about that person’s demeanor or way of interacting or speaking makes the
conversation pleasant?]

Great, thank you all for sharing! Now, can you remember any really difficult conversations
you’ve had in the past? Can you think of any conversations that left you feeling upset or angry or
misunderstood?
[Pause for a few seconds].

Does anyone want to share about what that was like?

[Pause to allow any volunteers to share. If anyone shares, I will thank them for being bold and
acknowledge their experiences. If no one shares, I will ask if they’ve ever left a conversation
with a parent or sibling really angry or annoyed. What was it about what your parent or
sibling said to you that made you so mad? I might ask whether anyone has ever disagreed
with something they said in a way that made them feel really bad about themselves. If I’m
still not getting response, I’ll ask if they see conversations go poorly in the media, on the
news, or on TV shows or movies. If students are still reluctant about this question, I’ll
share one of my personal experiences with an especially difficult conversation—when I
tried to correct a peer for saying that soy milk has less protein than regular milk and that
peer did not respond well, or when my dad and I tried to have a conversation about politics
on Christmas…].

So as we can see, talking is a very powerful tool, and depending on the circumstances, it has the
ability to make us feel really great or to ruin our day. It’s super important that we’re careful
with our language as we talk with one another so that everyone we may be interacting with is
truly heard and isn’t left feeling like the conversation went really poorly.

The lesson today is about something called “respectful exploration.” We’re going to examine
what it means to be respectful even in disagreements, and we’ll talk about some specific ways
you can express your opinion in a way that doesn’t make someone else feel angry or
misunderstood.

3. [8 mins] Think-Pair-Share

So, we just thought of some moments where we had really difficult or unpleasant conversations.
The talking in those conversations might have been especially difficult. Take about two minutes
to quietly write down some of your ideas about what makes unpleasant conversations so
unpleasant. There is a space for this at the top of your table in the Google doc if you’re using it.

[Students will think for two minutes.]

Take another 15 seconds to finish up your thoughts.

Go ahead and wrap up. Now, pair up with someone near you and share the thoughts you wrote
down. What is it about certain conversations that made them so challenging? We’ll take about
three minutes to share with one another.

There’s a minute and a half left! Go ahead and switch people if you haven’t already.

Okay, finish up your thoughts. I’d like us to go around to some pairs and share one of your ideas
about why the conversations were difficult.
[Call on the pairs by name and ask for one response.]

Great work, guys. You’ve done a really great job reflecting on your past experiences.

4. [20 mins] Mini-Lesson on Respectful Exploration

4a. Discussion Strategies [10 minutes]

[Cue Google slide 2]

Okay, we’ll be focusing today on what to do when we disagree with each other during a
conversation. This is something that people of all ages and levels of experience often struggle
with. A lot of times, what makes our conversations go from good to bad is the explicit
acknowledgment of some difference in opinion without knowing how to move forward.
Disagreement is actually something that can be very beneficial in a conversation when we know
what to do with it. It can create a dynamic interaction that brings in multiple points of view.
There are ways of prompting a disagreement that “soften the edges” in a way.

Remember to be jotting down some notes on your Google doc to reference later. So here we see
some specific strategies for disagreeing with somebody: Compliment the other person’s thinking,
specifically identifying aspects you liked. Thank the person for offering a perspective that’s
different from yours. Restating the person’s point is also a great way to preface your differing
opinion. People love to know that they’ve been heard, right?

[Pause and acknowledge student reactions.]

There are also some specific sentence stems—or ways you can begin your sentence—that soften
disagreement.
Before you express your disagreement—like by saying, “You’re wrong; that’s not true.”—try to
open with something like this—“I see why you’d say that, but…” and then make your point. This
way, you’re avoiding attacking your peer.

Can you all think of some other sentence stems to frame your sentences in a way that might
soften a disagreement? [Call on students by name and write down their answers on Slide 3].

[Cue Slide 4]

What about some sentence stems that we really shouldn’t use when we’re having conversation?
Can you all think of some other non-examples?

4b. Respectful Exploration [8 mins]

[Cue slide 5]

I want to hear from you all what this phrase, “Respectful Exploration,” means with regard to
conversation. What does it mean to “respectfully explore” someone else’s ideas?
[Cue Slide 6]

[Pause and allow students to think and take responses. Take notes on the blank slide to record
student ideas. If students are not responding, break up the title. What does it mean to
respect someone? Next, what does it mean to explore some place or idea? How can we
combine these two terms to describe “respectful exploration.” Was the really difficult
conversation you thought of at the beginning of class an example of respectful exploration
or not? ].

These are all excellent ideas. Respectful Exploration is a great way to think about how we have
conversations, and I want you to think about the answers you’ve just provided as we move into
our discussion!

5. [13 mins.] Small Group Discussions

[Cue Slide 7]

Alright, as you might have noticed, there are five questions posted around the room. I’m going to
read the questions and I want you all to think about which one interests you the most. Think
about which one you’d want to talk about.

Question 1: Is there intelligent life somewhere in the universe other than Earth? If so, is it
humanlike? What might those other life forms’ capabilities be? Question 2: What rights should
animals have? Is it ethical to eat animals, to breed them? Question 3: Should companies be
taxed on the amount of carbon dioxide emissions they release per year to incentivize
environmentally friendly technologies? Should companies be required to publish the amount of
CO2 emissions they release per year? Why might they want or not want to do so? Question 4: Is
online dating (including dating apps, like Tinder) a beneficial technological advancement?
Where might it go wrong? Why is it helpful? Question 5: Where is a person’s identity
manifested? In their mind? Body? Soul? Online? How do you know?

What questions do you all have about these topics? [Pause for a few seconds to clarify if
needed].

Alright, I want you all to walk over to the topic that interests you most. So, move your bodies so
that you’re standing next to the topic that you want to talk about for the next 15 minutes.

Okay, from here, I want you to get into small groups—everyone has to have at least one person
in their group; preferably you’ll be in groups of at least three.. [If someone chose a topic that no
one else chose, Cathy will be their discussion partner. The couple will probably want to work
together, and I’m going to try to prompt them to separate if possible by saying, “You guys know
each other too well! I don’t want this to be too easy.”].

Just one person in your group needs to plug in a microphone and open Audacity! The mic should
be centrally located so that it’ll pick up everyone’s voices throughout the conversation. Okay.
You’re going to have a 10-minute conversation about the topic you chose. This is an open
discussion, and I encourage disagreement! I know that you all will have respectful
conversations. I’ve kept the sentence stems for prompting disagreement on the board, so you can
look at those if you need to throughout the discussion. Okay, go!

[Cue 10 min. timer on Google slide 7].

[Walk around the room as groups discuss. I will take a few minutes (depending on the number of
groups) to sit at each table and take notes about the discussion that’s going on, facilitating deeper
thinking if necessary, but mostly assessing students’ use of the strategies discussed in class and
everyone’s adherence to respectful exploration.]

Okay, everyone, take another minute to wrap up your discussions!

6. Closure and preparation for next class [ 5 mins.]

[Cue Slide 8]

Alright, thank you all for trying out those discussion strategies and really engaging with your
prompts. I need the person whose computer on which the discussion was recorded to make sure
to stop the recording; click File  Export as…  MP3. Then upload it to your Google drive,
and share it with your group members and me. Instructions are on the board. Make sure you
save these files and upload them into Google drive successfully because you will be assessing
your role in the discussion next class, using these recordings!

I’ve shared a Google doc with you all titled “Debrief” [Appendix C]. You’ll be working on this
next class using the audio recordings you created today. If you’d like to listen to the recording in
advance and answer the questions on the doc over the weekend, you’re welcome to, but you
don’t have to.

We’re going to take five minutes to work silently and answer the questions on the board on a
piece of scrap paper as your exit slip. You’ve all done an excellent job today to stay engaged,
draw on your background experiences, and apply the information you learned during class. Give
me your exit slip with your name on it before leaving, and have a great weekend!

[On Monday morning, students will have about 30 minutes to answer the questions on the
“Debrief” document while listening to the audio recordings of their conversations.]
Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students:
(This is where you identify specific aspects of this lesson which have been differentiated in order
to address the needs of one or more of your profiled students—identify them by name)

I have differentiated in this lesson by incorporating read-alouds of directions and question topics;
providing resources orally and digitally; incorporating moments of independent reflection
(during which students may write or draw) and writing as well as small and large group
discussion. Students will be able to reflect by listening to an audio recording rather than relying
on memory or note-taking skills.
Materials Needed (list):
 Projector
 Computer
 5 large sticky notes with questions 1-5 written on them
1. Question 1: Is there intelligent life somewhere in the universe other than Earth? If
so, is it humanlike? What might those other life forms’ capabilities be?
2. Question 2: What rights should animals have? Is it ethical to eat animals, to breed
them?
3. Question 3: Should companies be taxed on the amount of carbon dioxide
emissions they release per year to incentivize environmentally friendly
technologies? Should companies be required to publish the amount of CO2
emissions they release per year? Why might they want or not want to do so?
4. Question 4: Is online dating (including dating apps, like Tinder) a beneficial
technological advancement? Where might it go wrong? Why is it helpful?
5. Question 5: Where is a person’s identity manifested? In their mind? Body? Soul?
Online? How do you know?
 Audacity computer application (on all students’ laptops)
 Microphones (at least 6; one per group)

Materials Appendix: (e.g., supplementary texts, Ppts, overheads, graphic organizers,

handouts, etc.)

A. Appendix A: Google Doc: “Respectful Exploration & Strategies for Disagreement”

*linked here and included below*
B. Appendix B: Google Slide Show
C. Appendix C: Google Doc: “Debrief”
*linked here and included below*
Appendix A

Respectful Exploration & Strategies for Disagreement

Essential Question Main Idea

What does “respectful
exploration” mean?

What are two things that could

happen during a conversation
that might make some
participants uncomfortable?
How might you begin a
sentence before disagreeing
with somebody? List at least
two sentence stems.

What’s an example of
something someone might say
that supports an environment of
respectful exploration?
What’s an example of
something someone might say
that does not support an
environment of respectful
exploration?
Appendix C
Debrief Name:

Instructions: Use the audio recording of your small group discussions from last class to
answer the following questions.

1. Identify specific moments in your conversation in which you demonstrated respectful

exploration. Please provide the exact time in the recording to which you are referring.

2. Identify specific moments in your conversation in which someone in your group

demonstrated respectful exploration. Please provide the exact time in the recording to
which you are referring.

3. Identify any moments in your conversation in which respectful exploration was not
demonstrated. Please provide the exact time in the recording to which you are referring.

4. Why is respectful exploration valuable?