Lesson Plan for Implementing

NETSSTemplate I
(More Directed Learning Activities)
Template with guiding questions
Teacher(s)
Name
Megan Ryall
Position

Teacher

School/District

Give Center East /Gwinnett County Public Schools

E-mail

Megan_Ryall@gwinnett.k12.ga.us

Phone

770-363-4904

Grade Level(s)

9th

Content Area

Language Arts

Time line

2 Weeks

Standards (What do you want students to know and be able to do? What knowledge, skills, and strategies do you
expect students to gain? Are there connections to other curriculum areas and subject area benchmarks? ) Please
put a summary of the standards you will be addressing rather than abbreviations and numbers that indicate which
standards were addressed.

Content Standards

10. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text
30. Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in
groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 910 topics, texts, and issues,
building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively
30a. Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study;
explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research
on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas
30c. 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
30d. 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
33. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically
such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development,
substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task
35. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal
English when indicated or appropriate

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2. Communication and collaboration

Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively,
including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of
others.
a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of
digital environments and media
b. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of
media and formats
3. Research and information fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.
a. Plan strategies to guide inquiry
b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a
variety of sources and media
c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness
to specific tasks
d. Process data and report results
5. Digital citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and
practice legal and ethical behavior.
a. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology
b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration,
learning, and productivity
c. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning
d. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship
NETS*S Standards:
Overview (a short summary of the lesson or unit including assignment or expected or possible products)
In preparation for our upcoming novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, students were assigned a research project. Race
relations is a major theme throughout this novel and it is important for students to understand how each race saw
the other in order to fully understand the events of the novel. Students were instructed to research the Scottsboro
Trials, discuss their reactions with their peers on a discussion board and then research their world today for
evidence of similar incidences.
Essential Questions (What essential question or learning are you addressing? What would students care or
want to know about the topic? What are some questions to get students thinking about the topic or generate
interest about the topic? Additionally, what questions can you ask students to help them focus on important
aspects of the topic? (Guiding questions) What background or prior knowledge will you expect students to bring
to this topic and build on?) Remember, essential questions are meant to guide the lesson by provoking inquiry.
They should not be answered with a simple yes or no and should have many acceptable answers.

How do you narrow down and choose a research topic?

How do I effectively research a topic and document my research?
How can I connect what I am researching to the world I am in today?

Assessment (What will students do or produce to illustrate their learning? What can students do to generate new
knowledge? How will you assess how students are progressing (formative assessment)? How will you assess
what they produce or do? How will you differentiate products?) You must attach copies of your assessment and/or
rubrics. Include these in your presentation as well.

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1. Harmony Research Discussion Board Students will research Supreme Court cases and summarize
their findings to the discussion board. They will be graded using the 3 Color Response Rubric.

3-Color Response Strategy Rubric

Content (point value*) [80 points maximum]
(0 20) Topic Sentence The topic of the paragraph is clearly stated in the
sentence.
(0 20) Detail The topic is narrowed down to one specific detail about the main
topic that was mentioned in the Topic Sentence.
(0 40) Examples Evidence, Experience, Elaboration, Analogy and/or Statistics
are present. The details and analysis are specific; they support the Detail and they
are correct.
Conventions (point value*) [20 points maximum]
Spelling (0 - 5)
Punctuation/ Capitalization (0 - 5)
Proper Word Usage (0 - 5)
Complete Sentences (0 - 5)

Total: ________/100
* Feel free to adjust within the range. (e.g. If most but not all spelling is correct, award 3 or 4 points.)
2. Scottsboro Trial Discussion Board Students will research the Scottsboro Trial and will communicate
their reactions via online discussion boards. They will be given a prompt that guides them through their
response to ensure that their posts are quality:
Scottsboro Trial Discussion - Must be 150 200 words
1. What are your reactions to the case?
2. Which two articles did you read?
3. What did you learn by studying these two documents?
4. In the opening video, the governor of Alabama said that the pardon and exoneration needed to
happen to move forward. What do you think?
5. What does this case tell you about harmony in this region or historical period of the United
States?
Their original post will again be graded using the 3 Color Response Rubric and their responses to their
peers will be graded based on whether or not they followed the following directions:
You must reply to 2 peers, and replies must be 2 3 sentences:
- Do you agree with their reaction?
- Do you agree with them on their answer to number 4?
- Do you agree with their explanation to number 5?
3. Harmony Research Project Students will be asked to look at their world for similar examples to the
Scottsboro Trials and put together a presentation using PowerPoint, Prezi or Glogster. Students may
choose whichever medium they are most comfortable with. Once they have developed their visual they
will present their PowerPoint/Prezi/Glogster in a screen cast and post their screen cast for their peers to
review. See Project Rubric

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Resources (How does technology support student learning? What digital tools, and resourcesonline student
tools, research sites, student handouts, tools, tutorials, templates, assessment rubrics, etchelp elucidate or
explain the content or allow students to interact with the content? What previous technology skills should students
have to complete this project?)
Digital Tools Used:

eClass Discussion Board

o Supreme Court Summary
o Scottsboro Trials Discussion Board
Prezi or Glogster or PowerPoint
Screencast-O-Matic
Google Forms Example: http://goo.gl/forms/94iAZMNeg9

Websites Used:

Street Law: http://www.streetlaw.org/en/landmark/home

Brain Pop : https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/supremecourt/
BrainPop (Supreme Decision Game): https://www.brainpop.com/games/supremedecision/
PBS (Scottsboro Trial): http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/timeline/index.html
Youtube (The Scottsboro Trial): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmsYLmqx3wg
Youtube (Final Chapter): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQX4Z9hWKy8

Materials Needed:

SMART Board
Projector
Internet access
Copies of Slotted Notes or Handouts depending on Teachers Preference
Computer lab access/ Wireless Cart/ reliable BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)

Instructional Plan
Preparation (What student needs, interests, and prior learning provide a foundation for this lesson? How can
you find out if students have this foundation? What difficulties might students have?)
Day 1: Background on the Supreme Court
- Before students begin this project they will be assigned a BrainPop video overviewing the Supreme
Court. Since students are given this assignment as homework they are required to complete slotted notes
in order to ensure that they pay attention to the material in the video.
- Next the teacher has several options:
o Play the Supreme Decision Game from Brainpop via SMART Board as a class (Students were
given white boards to write their answer and the teacher discussed the responses as they worked
through the game as a class).
o Group students in groups of 3 4 and have them use a laptop or desktop to complete the game
as a group.
o Have students play the Supreme Decision Game individually
Day 2: Researching Important Supreme Court Decisions
- Today students will work individually or in groups to use the Street Law website to research several
important Supreme Court cases. As they read through the court cases they will take notes on the top
three that cases that interest them.
- In order to practice writing and summarization skills the students will be asked to summarize the top three
cases that interested them. They will post these summaries to the eClass discussion board and they will
be graded using the 3CR writing strategy rubric.

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Day 3: The Scottsboro Trials

- The teacher will begin todays lesson by playing a video that introduces the Scottsboro Trial. It may be
beneficial for the teacher to explain that the students will be researching a Supreme Court case, the
Scottsboro Trial before they play the video. It may also be beneficial to connect this case to the novel. Let
the students know that a character in the novel go through a very similar trial.
The video begins by setting up the scene so that students fully understand the circumstances
surrounding the event.
Students should then move to a computer or be paired up and move to a computer depending on
computer access. Direct students to the PBS website which displays a timeline of everything that
occurred in the Scottsboro trial from the beginning to the end.
o

Day 4: Scottsboro Trial Continued

- Now that the students have a bit more knowledge of the event under their belts the teacher will begin
class by playing another video that covers the final chapter of the Scottsboro Trial.
o This video takes place years after the trial, even years after the boys had already lost their lives.
o The teacher may need to explain the significance of the video as students may not grasp what is
going on.
- Today students will read newspaper articles that were written during the Scottsboro Trials. They will then
use these articles and their notes on the timeline to answer the Scottsboro Trial Discussion Board prompt:
Scottsboro Trial Discussion - Must be 150 200 words
1. What are your reactions to the case?
2. Which two articles did you read?
3. What did you learn by studying these two documents?
4. In the opening video, the governor of Alabama said that the pardon and exoneration needed to
happen to move forward. What do you think?
5. What does this case tell you about harmony in this region or historical period of the United
States?
Their original post will again be graded using the 3 Color Response Rubric and their responses to their
peers will be graded based on whether or not they followed the following directions:
You must reply to 2 peers, and replies must be 2 3 sentences:
- Do you agree with their reaction?
- Do you agree with them on their answer to number 4?
- Do you agree with their explanation to number 5?
Day 5: Scottsboro Trial Continued
- In order to ensure that all students have equitable access to technology it maybe wise to plan for an
additional day for students to finish their research on the Scottsboro Trial, to construct/post their response
to their research and to reply to their peers.
- If time permits the teacher should go ahead and present the project idea to the class in order to give them
time over the weekend to plan what they will do for this project.
Day 6 : Harmony Research Project
- The teacher will begin class by playing an interactive video on plagiarism. As the video plays the teacher
should paused and check for understand. The video will display an example and ask Do you think that is
plagiarism or not? It is more effective if students are given whiteboards and are given the opportunity to
record their response. After the first question 53 seconds in the teacher should pause the video, give the
students time to answer and then check their answers as a formative assessment.
- After reviewing plagiarism the teacher should present the Harmony Research Project to the class.
Students are then free to choose to work along, in pairs or in small groups of 3 4 students.

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The teacher should pass out copies of the rubric and should go over the expectations of the
project.
By the end of the class period students should complete the Google Survey listing the students they are
working with, the Supreme Court Case they are choosing to present and the current event they are
connecting to the Scottsboro Trial.
o

Day 7 9: Harmony Research Project Work Day

Day 10: Record , Post and Reply
- At this point the students should have their Prezi/PowerPoint/Gloster created and should be ready to
record their presentations.
- The teacher should begin the class session by demonstrating how to use Screencast-O-Matic. This tool is
very simple to use and if students do not grasp how to use the tool you can assist them one on one while
the other groups begin working.
- Once they finish their recordings they should post their presentations to the discussion board in eClass
and then watch 2 of their peers presentation and reply with feedback.
**Depending on the technical abilities of your students they may need an extra day to complete the recordings
and to post/reply to the discussion board.

Management Describe the classroom management strategies will you use to manage your students and the use
of digital tools and resources. How and where will your students work? (Small groups, whole group, individuals,
classroom, lab, etc.) What strategies will you use to achieve equitable access to the Internet while completing this
lesson? Describe what technical issues might arise during the Internet lesson and explain how you will resolve or
trouble-shoot them? Please note: Trouble-shooting should occur prior to implementing the lesson as well as
throughout the process. Be sure to indicate how you prepared for problems and work through the issues that
occurred as you implemented and even after the lesson was completed.
The first time I delivered this lesson my students were participating in a blended learning environment and I
made sure my students had 2 seats in my classroom. One seat was for direct instruction and the second seat for
their computer based assignments. My classroom at the time was set up with a wireless cart containing 20
laptops and I had a 1:1 ratio for students and computers which made this lesson plan a lot easier to implement.
However, if this were not the case at my school I would attempt to book a computer lab for 2 weeks or adapt
some of the assignments to group work to allow the flexibility to check out tablets or a small number of laptops.
Additionally some of the writing assignments can be converted to traditional paper pencil in the event that a
computer lab cannot be booked for 2 weeks.
This year my students are in computer labs and are working through my online course at their own pace. Since
I taught this lesson before I did not worry about previewing the lesson before my students completed it. I assumed
that the desktop computers functioned the same way the wireless cart of laptops functioned. However, the first
issue to be trouble-shooted was finding away around a Java issue. My original plan called for my students to use
Screenr so their recording would be sent directly to the class account I had created. But without the required Java
update Screenr could not be used. I googled Java update but students do not have access to download software.
My next step was to login as a teacher and update the Java, however for some reason this did not work either.
Since my students are currently working at their own pace I instructed the students to continue working through
the course while I contacted our tech support to update Java on the computers in our lab. While I was waiting for
the tech support to respond I played around with another screencasting tool called Screencast-O-Matic. This tool
worked just fine on the student computers. I went around to the students who were ready to record and showed
them how to use the tool.
The next issue that came up was a lack of microphones. When I did this lesson the first time my classroom
was equipped with laptops that had built in microphones. A couple of the laptops were running so hard that the
microphones picked up the sound so I went by each laptop and listened to how loud the machine was running.
For the most part the majority of the laptops were having this issue so I set up a recording area with the laptops
that worked and had students rotate to the computers to record their presentations. The desktops do not have
built in microphones so I had to find one last minute. Fortunately the computer teacher across the hall had a
microphone and I rotated the microphone around to the students.
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Instructional Strategies and Learning Activities Describe the research-based instructional strategies you will
use with this lesson. How will your learning environment support these activities? What is your role? What are the
students' roles in the lesson? How can you ensure higher order thinking at the analysis, evaluation, or
creativity levels of Blooms Taxonomy? How can the technology support your teaching? What authentic,
relevant, and meaningful learning activities and tasks will your students complete? How will they build knowledge
and skills? How will students use digital tools and resources to communicate and collaborate with each other
and others? How will you facilitate the collaboration?
I have implemented this unit in two different settings. The first setting was more traditional and provided more
structure for younger students. The second setting is designed for students to work at their own pace and gives
them more freedom in how they structure their day. The first method utilized a blended model of instruction and
the students highly benefited from this set up. My role was still that of the traditional teacher who disseminates
information but then I got to transition to a facilitator of learning as I guided students through their own research.
The method I am utilizing this year I am absolutely a facilitator. The student gets to move through the material at a
pace that is suitable for them and then request teacher assistance when the material gets difficult. Essentially
what results is that I spend my day delivering several direct mini lessons to the students as they express a need.
In both situations technology is supporting instruction; the first model allows the students access to information
and opportunities to synthesize the information on their own. The second model allows students to learn at this
pace. This learning experience becomes authentic as students are instructed to connect the information on the
Supreme Court and the Scottsboro Trial to similar events happening today. This opens up a conversation for
students to begin judging how much our society has actually advanced. The students get an opportunity to
explore their world and judge it based on its past. Have we changed as a society? Is racism still a major issue?
Have we put things in place to make sure incidents like the Scottsboro Trial never happen again?
Through this experience several of my students learned how to use Prezi. On all of their previous assignments
they were instructed to use PowerPoint. This time several of them took advantage of the opportunity to learn and
use Prezi. Additionally, none of my students had ever created a screencast before and they instantly fell in love
with the tool. Screencast-O-Matic is so simple to use, simply go to the website and click begin recording and your
done. My students also practiced summarization and research skills as they read about Supreme Court cases
and summarized their findings. They practiced using the 3 Color Response Strategy to help them write more indepth body paragraphs. Lastly, they had the opportunity to practice online collaboration and holding a discussion
via posts and replies on a digital discussion board.
Since the students are working in groups the teacher is free to circulate. As they circulate the teacher can
guide students towards pushing themselves to get to those high levels of Blooms taxonomy. While they are
researching current events that are similar to the Scottsboro Trial the teacher can ask them questions to get them
to analyze the event, compare/contrast the two incidents, evaluate societys progress towards making a better
society and be creative in the way they present their findings.

Differentiation (How will you differentiate content and process to accommodate various learning styles and
abilities? How will you help students learn independently and with others? How will you provide extensions and
opportunities for enrichment? What assistive technologies will you need to provide?)
The thing I love about this unit is how flexible it is to work around the student. We all know technology is great
but sometimes students shut down when they are faced with technology. This unit can easily adapt to provide
students the opportunity to type and post to the discussion board or hand writing. Students are given a choice to
work individually or to work in groups and as a teacher pointed conversations will take place to ensure students
are thinking about what is best for them. Some assignments in the beginning students are working independently
but collaborating with their peers digitally. Lastly, the beauty of this assignment is that students are truly free to go
as in-depth as they want with this project. If they really get in to the research they have the time to do so and their
peers can benefit from their research through their presentation. Additionally, the discussion boards are up and
live all semester so they are free to continue their conversation as the year goes on.

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In terms of differentiation there are several things we can do to accommodate the student. If they are unable to
type we can use the microphones and text to speech software like Dragon speech to assist the students and still
give them the opportunity to participate in the online discussion boards. If the student has speech issues they can
be placed in a group and do the majority of the Prezi/PowerPoint/Glogster portion of the project, they could type
the screencast script, or they could navigate the screen while their partners present. Lastly, by doing a
screencast, students who typically would not feel comfortable standing in front of their peers presenting can now
present without the pressure of being in front of their peers. This is extremely valuable for ESOL students and
provides the teacher with an actual recording of their speaking skills.

Reflection (Will there be a closing event? Will students be asked to reflect upon their work? Will students be
asked to provide feedback on the assignment itself? What will be your process for answering the following
questions?
Did students find the lesson meaningful and worth completing?
In what ways was this lesson effective?
What went well and why?
What did not go well and why?
How would you teach this lesson differently?)
During this course my professor did something that I thought was very cool, she put a survey at the end of
every module and although I did not complete the survey every time I am sure the feedback the professor
received was very valuable. I did not do that this time but I definitely think it would be beneficial to incorporate this
practice, especially since our school is transitioning to a new way of teaching at our school.
Traditionally for this unit you can tell if the students find the lesson meaningful and worth completing based on
the quality of the work they are submitting. If they find the assignment to be meaningful then their discussion
posts take on length and emotion. See the following example from a special education student who was having a
difficult time even coming to school, let alone participate:
When i first started reading about this case it seemed like simple racism. White girl blames black teens
and they get punished. The more i read i started to realize this entire case was just a big exscuse to hate
black people. This was shown to me by the fact that with 0 evidence against them they still got charged. I
learned that the world is never fair even back when things in justice where as simple as that, no ecidence
they cant be charged ut they still where. When the governor gave the pardon to "move"Alabama forward i
didnt think it moved anything. Regardless of the fact he corrected a wrong that doesnt mean the wrong
never happened and it seems like this " moving forward" is just to try and let people forget about this. This
case just shows how much racism was in the entire south, not just Alabama.
Now this post has several grammatical errors but he paid attention to the material, he demonstrates that he
thought about the material and he actually followed the 150 word length requirement. The following student was
put on home-based instruction because he was unable to behave in the classroom. Once he was put on homebased instruction he was not completing any of his assigned work. His parent brought him to our school and he is
passing my class and look at his work:
I believe this was a very good example of racism. The whole way this trial went was wrong. It was clear
with numerous evidence they were innocent. I believe the state owes a big apology. It is very sad how
they would have to go through all of the courts and charges because some white women said rape. I
read New York Times newspaper along with CBS news articles on the trial. I learned that the women who
screamed rape were prostitutes. Along with them not even being in the same cart as the women were in.
The boys faced many convictions over a whole wrong act.
I believe you cant just move forward from a whole 18 year trial, yet to know they were innocent
teenagers. The state was obviously wrong by a number of evidence given to show they were innocent is
just racism shown. The life style during this period of time was clearly nothing but white people running
things and black people treated harshly, and unlawfully. The group of teenagers is just almost impossible
to make up for what they went through. It was years taken from a young mans life he will never get back
all because a case to make blacks look bad. I seen nothing but hate in the time, the white people during
the trial were just prejudice.

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Asking the students to connect this to something occurring today really made this lesson authentic.
Additionally, teaching a room full of students that have witnessed situations just like this in real life really made the
lesson hit home. By setting up the novel with the study of the Supreme Court and the Scottsboro Trial the
students really get involved in the Tom Robinson thread in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird and significantly
increases student engagement. This is my second time teaching this unit and the one thing I changed from last
year to this year was the connection to something happening today. This is largely due to the incidents happening
in Ferguson and with the Michael Brown shooting. However it really upped the student engagement piece. The
thing I feel that went wrong was the difference in classroom setup. I think my 9 th graders last year really strived
with the structure I had last year and this year they seem to struggle with the work at your own pace model. My
team seems to feel the same way about the students in their class and as a result we are looking at ways to
incorporate more structure in January.

Closure: Anything else you would like to reflect upon regarding lessons learned and/or your experience with
implementing this lesson. What advice would you give others if they were to implement the lesson? Please
provide a quality reflection on your experience with this lesson and its implementation.
In my past two semesters at Kennesaw State University I am really beginning to see the importance of placing
authenticity in all of the lessons being taught in the classroom. As you are learning to be a teacher the
conversation centers around the standards, teach the standards and prepare them for the standardized tests.
However, if you teach students like I do (behavior issues, no family support and no importance on education) you
have to find away to make the lesson meaningful to them. The traditional student is satisfied with learning just to
learn because that is what is expected of them at this point in their life but my students need to see a greater
purpose in spending 6 hours of their day at school when they could be working or doing other things. The advice I
give to all teachers is look to the standards then find a way to teach them using stuff that is meaningful to the
student. Sometimes that is difficult in language arts class because they still need to be exposed to things like The
Scarlett Letter but find a way to tie the novel to their real lives just like I did with To Kill a Mockingbird.

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