University of Arkansas Fort Smith

School of Education
Lesson Plan Format

Unit Title: Life of Pi Collaborative Unit

Lesson Title: Wordmap from Life of Pi

Subject Area: English

Grade Level: 7th

Duration of Lesson: 1 day- 50 minutes

Dates: Nov. 1

Name: Madison Tate

SOE Course: ENGL 3403

I. Standard(s) and Objective(s)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.4.a
Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word's position or function
in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.4.c
Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses),
both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise
meaning or its part of speech.
Objective(s) Students will categorize unfamiliar vocabulary found in the unit text Life of Pi and
assemble their own word maps.
II. Assessment
Pre-assessment (before planning lesson): I will have students scan chapters before reading for
their own prediction of the coming chapter and I will have them complete an exit slip after we
finish part one, one week before, and have them circle all of the vocabulary that they are having
trouble understanding. I will review their slips and modify my list of words to better benefits
students. If, for example, no students select one of my 17 words on my list, I will disregard it and
replace it with a common word students pointed out as challenging.
Post-assessment: Students will be graded on their word map worksheets using the rubric that is
posted and handed out to the students. The criteria for their word map can also be found on
weebly. Students should also keep their word maps for study tools later on in the unit.
III. Planning
This lesson will be before we start reading part two of Life of Pi. Students will be more
familiar with the more challenging vocabulary after the individual word maps which will able
them to focus more on the text than spending time looking up the words individually. The word
mapping activity packed will be done with other chapters also so it can also be used as a study
for the unit assessment.

V. Methods, Activities and Resources

Methods
Bellringer: Depending on the available resources, I will have students bring up MerriamWebster on their personal computers or devices and we will do a quick hands on navigating
through the website. If no technology is available, we will use the hard copy dictionaries and
thesauruses. We will use the Merriam-Webster online website. I will have students type any
word they want and do a self exploring of that word.

This time students should not have their devices open, but instead look ahead at the front of the
classroom. We will start my typing in the first word I have chosen based on student involvement
in the search toolbar after we have navigated to the correct site on the smart board. I will start by
explaining the part of speech the word is, the phonetic translation (how to say the word), if there
are ELL I will use the example derived for them and other parts of speech the word can be
changed to fit. Next, I will demonstrate to them how to find the examples of the particular word.
This will beneficial to students who need to see the word actually used in a sentence. Finally, we
will skip down to the synonyms section to show them other words that are similar in meaning
that they may understand. While in this section, finding a cognate to the ELLs language would
be beneficial to help relate to them also.
We will continue to Merriam Webster to fill in the mentor Concept Development Word Map. I
will put a copy of the word concept map on the elmo and allow students to watch as we fill it in
together. I will have students follow along as we use the word chosen from earlier to put it into
the word map. We will start by writing the word the word in the bubble. Moving on, we will then
more to the comparisons/ synonyms section then giving 4 characteristics of that synonym. I will
then write 3 example sentences in which that words that make sense while using characters from
the Life of Pi. I will only fill in two examples because I want students to have plenty of time to
complete their own word maps.
Activities
For the hands on lesson part, I will pass out copies of 10 word maps. Next, I will write the 17
words on the board. I will ask students to pick out 10 of the most difficult words on the board to
use in their own word concept maps. I will give students at least 25 minutes to complete his
activity in class; if not finished in class, the remaining should be finished and turned in the next
day.

Resources
Personal technologic devices

Internet Access
Weebly Access
Pencils (If technology fails or students prefer to handwrite)
Sound capabilities
Smart board
Hard copy of Life of Pi
Dictionary/Thesaurus
Elmo
VI. Potential Adaptations to the Lesson {PAL}
If students individually need modifications and accommodations, they will be implemented
according to each students IEP. Examples of modifications may include an extended amount of
time for reading, completing writing assignments, or having students paired heterogeneously to
allow students to assist each other with assignments. This lesson could be adapted for ELL by
choosing more common English words that could be used in everyday speech, writing or
literature. If technology fails, students can use a hard copy of Life of Pi look up the words and
use a hand held dictionary or Thesaurus to help them complete their word maps.
VII. Collaboration
Collaboration with parents this lesson would be done by sending home a note at the beginning of
the unit explain that for the next month we will be discussing the Life of Pi. I will have students
ask their parents about their immigration/ family history and bring to class a story or fact about
their families past. Another collaboration would be with the Science or Math teacher since this
lesson could be easily acquainted with both subject areas.

VIII. Reflection and efficacy (to be completed after teaching this lesson)
The first lesson will conquer the fundamentals of analyzing a poem critically as well as
understand the key
How effective were the methods, activities, and resources in guiding students to
achieve the objective(s)
How would I re-teach any concept or element of the lesson?
What would I do differently?
How did students respond?
What other resources would I consider for this lesson?

 How were the overall objectives/learning outcomes accomplished?

What evidence is there of student learning
How effective was the evaluation of student participation; how would I do it differently to
achieve higher/improved results
Self-evaluation of instructional/professional performance
Suggestions from peer observers
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