Lord of the Flies Introductory Activity

Teacher: Mickaela Biron

Date: Wednesday November 14th, 2018
Grade: Secondary 5
Subject: ELA 536-02
Time frame: 1 period (75 minutes)
Materials: Computer with projector, timer (on computer), copy of pictures of objects for each
group, poster paper, markers.

Time: 1 period: 75 minutes

- Greet students at door when the bell rings.
- 15 minutes: Ask students to prepare loose leaf with format for submitting work and to
place their dialectical journals on the corner of their desk. Hand out Z for Zachariah
reading quiz. Pick up dialectical journals. Take attendance. Pick up reading quizzes as
students finish. Give students who finish early a magazine to read.
- 10 minutes: Hook: Introduce Lord of the Flies (author, central idea of novel, introduce
theme)
- 45 minutes: Island Activity:
o 1 minute: Place students in groups of three-four.
o 3 minutes: Introduce situation, tone and setting (using pictures and imagery).
o 8 minutes: Give each group pictures of materials available on the island. Let
students know they must pick 5 items which will last them the entirety of their
stay on the island. The only rule is they cannot physically steal other teams’
objects.
o 7 minutes: Each group must now come up with a set of 5 rules they must abide by,
and the consequences that will arise if they don’t. Each group must write their
rules on the poster paper provided.
o 1 minute: elect a leader
o 10 minutes: Each group must present their reasoning.
o 15 minutes: Ask discussion questions about what just happened (Could you
survive? stencil)
- 5 minutes: Ask students to return to seats and take out their agendas. Assign homework
for the evening.

Learning Objective:
Students will be able to:
- Practice oral debating and persuasion skills by reaching a consensus on which objects to
use for their survival, what rules to establish and which consequences to employ if need
be.
- Work collaboratively.
- Engage in critical dialogue with peers.
- Develop an understanding of the intricacy of civilization and the steps necessary to
building and maintaining a civilization.
- Understand the fragility of order and civilization and be able to apply this understanding
to help with their eventual reading and comprehension of Lord of the Flies.
What has already happened?
- Students have already read one pocket novel for this class. Students therefore know that
each 9 day cycle they will be assigned a reading quiz and will also have to hand in 4
entries for their dialectical journals. Thus, it is important for students to keep up with
their reading and comprehension of the class novel. This activity will therefore help
students with their understanding of Lord of the Flies and in turn enable them to continue
their reading quizzes and dialectical journal entries.
- Students will not have been exposed to Lord of the Flies yet. This will therefore serve as
an introductory activity to lead into the reading of the novel.

Assessment:
- I will be walking around constantly throughout the time allotted to students for group
discussion. I will therefore be able to informally assess their understanding on the spot
and help any students/groups on a one-to-one basis that may need it.
- When answers are shared as a class, I am able to assess if the class has a good
understanding of the material and I am therefore able to correct any mistakes/confusion I
notice on the spot (ex: reexplain things, revisit certain terms, plan for an activity for the
next class related to this)
- No formal assessment will be given for the sake of this activity. It simply acts as a
preparatory activity for the eventual reading of the class novel and will therefore help
with eventual evaluations.

QEP:
- Competency 1: Uses language/talk to communicate and to learn
o Students will communicate/debate/practice persuasion skills with each other
during group work.
o Students will practice their oral skills when discussing/presenting/answers their
ideas to the class.
- Competency 2: Reads and listen to written, spoken and media texts
o Students will watch a media text and critically assess its value.
- Competency 3: Produces texts for personal and social purposes
o Students will be creating a set of rules by which to socially govern themselves.

Rationale:
- Group work both in smaller groups and as a class allows for students to converse and
debate with their peers.
- The short introduction presentation using PowerPoint ensures all students gets
introductory information about the story and therefore has a basic understanding of the
theme of the novel and the purpose of the story. The use of a visual component along
with my explanations ensures both visual and auditory learners are being catered to.
- By including so many different aspects into one period (lecture, group work, class work,
game-like activity), I believe I will be able to keep students motivated and engaged with
 the material. By changing the format of each activity, I am hoping students will be more
receptive to the information.
- Although I will be lecturing for 10 minutes at the beginning of the class, the rest of the
lesson is student centered. Students will be in charge of their own learning experiences
for the majority of the period. This will allow students to apply their understanding of the
topic and therefore reinforce their mastery of the material. By allowing students to work
through the theme of the story themselves, rather than giving them a lecture on my own
understanding of the theme, I am ensuring they are active participants in their own
learning. Moreover, the 10 minutes when I will be lecturing will be told in the format of a
story. This will hopefully intrigue students and make them curious to learn more.
- The activity was chosen because it allows students to work through one of the central
themes of the novel amongst themselves. In doing so, students will have a better
understanding of the material and in turn have a better understanding of the novel itself
and the implications of such.
- The ultimate goal of this activity is not only to help student comprehension, but also to
peek their curiosity so as to incite the students to read Lord of the Flies.
- Technology: technology has been imbedded into the lesson as much as possible so as to
encourage student engagement. With this being said, students are not permitted to have
their phones or any technological devices on them during class time which limits the use
of certain devices, the tactile component of the Smart Board in the classroom is not fully
functional, and the computer lab is not set up in a way which encourages student
cooperation. I have therefore decided to include technology only where I feel it enhances
the learning experience of students, using the tools readily available to me. I strongly
believe that focusing on the activity and student cooperation within the classroom,
accompanied by technology (rather than technology centered), is the best fit for these
students and this lesson. As we move forward through the novel though, I plan to
integrate more technological components into my lesson plans as needed.

Reflection: