Lesson Plan with Technology Integration

Teacher Name: Brooke KistnerLesson Title: Exploring satire and parodyTarget Grade/Subject: This is targeted for Honors 11th grade English class studying American Literature at Deep Run High School in Henrico County, Virginia. The typical class size in the school is 19. This school is a specialty center for technology, so most students will have sufficient experience with technology. Most of these students have access to technology such as computers, video cameras and internet at home. The students attend each class on Monday and have a 90 minute block schedule the rest of the week. This lesson is intended to take place towards the middle/end of the year to ensure students’ familiarity with material and terms. Although the students are strong test takers, they prefer not to be assessed through tests on their knowledge and abilities. The students have an interest in comedy and making videos, and they will be allowed to put this to use through this assignment. The students are familiar with making historical connections with the literature, and this assignment will allow them to do such in a creative way. The students have also been exposed to several plays throughout the year, and this will aid in their writing of the script. Each student has been issued a laptop, which will make completing this assignment easier. Length: 90 minutes

2 weeks for project

VA SOL: 11.3: The student will read and analyze relationships among American literature, poetry, and

culture. 11.3c: Discuss American literature as it reflects traditional and contemporary themes,motifs, universal characters and genres.

11.7: The student will write in a variety of forms, with an emphasis on persuasion11.10: The student will analyze, evaluate, synthesize and organize information from a variety of

sources to produce a research project

Essential Questions: 1. What connections between literature and history can be made?2. How are parody and satire used in various works of literature and film?3. How effective are parody and satire in communicating an author’s point of view?4. How are satires used to influence society’s view on a topic?

Objectives: Explain the meaning of parody and satire

o Explain the importance of these elements in literature in determining the following: Author’s point of view on topic Author’s main argument Society’s point of view on topic Society’s influence on the author concerning topic

Produce a video satirizing an event or person discussed in their U.S. History classo Create, edit and organize a script for the video produced

Tools and Resources Word processing program Mini whiteboards and dry erase markers Journals Video for anticipatory set Additional political cartoons, videos or audio for the next 2 weeks LCD projector Copies of the rubrics for each student Textbooks for reference (both English and History)

School issued laptops Internet access Video camera Any props students choose to use in video

PreparationTechnology/Classroom Arrangement and Management Strategies:

Students will be allowed time in class to gather ideas and do research. Two class periods will be allotted for researching purposes. All video filming must be done on the students’ own time.

Prerequisite technology skills needed by students: Basic working knowledge of the Internet and word processing skills. Basic filming/editing skills Basic script writing skills

Lesson DevelopmentFocus and Review of previous work/knowledge: Through the anticipatory set, students will review their knowledge of parody and satire. The students will make literature/historical connections with the review of parody and satire through knowledge of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and examining a video dealing with Twitter.

Anticipatory set: The class will be divided into four different groups. Each group will be assigned a question to answer based on their previous knowledge. The answers will be written on their groups’ mini whiteboard.Group 1 and 3: What is a satire? How is it connected to a parody?Group 2 and 4: What is a parody? How is it connected to a satire?Then, the groups will discuss the question: How have we seen satire and parody in reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?

The class will then be shown the video through the LCD projector. Explain this clip is from a movie called “Downfall,” which deals with WWII. This particular scene deals with a crisis Hitler faced during the war. After the video, the class will discuss, as a whole, what is being satirized and how (The parts with language will be skipped over). The following should be discussed:

- The satirizing of Twitter in the video- The satirizing of Hitler/ WWII in the video- The satirizing of our current society in the video- What is the “author’s” point of view on Twitter and today’s society?- Was the video effective in getting the author’s argument/point of view across?- List possible audiences of the video.

Instructional Activity: Class 1: Students will be divided into groups of 5, making sure each group has access to a video recorder, and assigned the following:

- Choosing any event or person in U.S. history, you will produce a video satirizing that particular event or person. - You will write a script corresponding to the video you produce.

- At the beginning of your script, you must state your intended audience, time period and any vital information your classmates will need to understand the satire. You will present this information to the class prior to showing your video.

- Each group member will be involved in producing and writing the video.- Each group member must be in the video for at least 1 minute; although he/she is not

required to speak for the entire minute.- The video cannot exceed 10 minutes, but must be at least 5 minutes long.

- Your topic must be submitted and approved by the teacher before the next class meeting.

- You will submit a status report one week from Class 1. - Your final project will be due two weeks from Class 1.

- Your video will be viewed in class, and graded by your peers as well.- This project will count as a test grade.

The students will then be given the rest of the class period to begin choosing their topic and research. Students will also be handed the rubrics to help clarify exactly what is expected of their group.Class 2: After having their topic approved, the class will be given a little direction guiding them to useful websites. The rest of the period will be spent researching and putting together their plan for the video. There will be no more class time allotted for research or collaboration, the rest must be done on the students’ own time.

Guided practice and checking for understanding (student activities):At the beginning of each class leading up to the due date, students will be shown a cartoon, video or hear an audio piece that satirizes an event or person. The students will then be given 5 minutes to write in their journals their responses to the satirical piece shown. A short class discussion will be held after the students have written in their journals. Here are few sources to consult:http://politicalhumor.about.com/, http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/bldailyfeed5.htm, http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/satire/Political_Satire_Political_Parodies.htm, http://www.esquire.com/the-side/video/best-satire-videos, http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/s/satirical.asp

Independent practice (student activities): Students will film and research in their groups outside of class. The students will also write up a

script corresponding to their film. Through these activities, students will practice their writing skills, critical thinking skills and persuasion skills.

Closure: The students’ final satirical products will be viewed in class two weeks from Class 1. Each student

will turn in a peer evaluation for each group member prior to the beginning of this class. Each student will fill out a peer evaluation for all the other groups after watching their video.

At the end of the videos, a short class discussion will be held focusing on what the video attacked, effectiveness of satire, targeted audience, and any needed clarification.

At the end of class, a discussion will focus on the students’ reflection on the assignment. The students will discuss the importance of satire with respect to literature and politics. The students will discuss the effectiveness of using satire in general. They will also share positive and negative feedback to the assignment.

Evaluation ProcedureAssessment of objectives:

- The students’ understanding of satire/parody, importance of satire with respect to literature and politics will be assessed through:

- Final production of videos (using peer evaluations as well)- Class discussions- Daily journal entries throughout lesson- Peer evaluations

- The students’ writing skills will be assessed through the script submitted with the video.

Peer Evaluation (students in each group will evaluate each other’s performance during the project)For ratings 5,1, or 0, please provide a pithy explanation.

Student being rated: 5 4 3 2 1 0

Student’s contribution to the making of the video.

Student’s contribution to the writing of the script.

Student’s contribution to the research of the topic.

Student’s cooperation in the process.

Student’s overall performance throughout the project.

Score: ________/ 25

Peer Evaluation (One or two students will be selected to rate other groups on their video and discussion. These students will change with each group.)For ratings 5, 1, or 0, please provide a pithy explanation.

Group being rated: 5 4 3 2 1 0

The video’s effectiveness in satirizing the stated topic.

The video’s connection to an American historical event or person.

Each member contributes to the class discussion.

Score: ________/ 15

Group Rubric (to be used by teacher for script, video and discussion)

Group being rated: 5 4 3 2 1 0

The video’s effectiveness in satirizing the stated topic. (10 pts)

The video’s connection to an American historical event or person.

Each member contributes to the class discussion.

Video’s visual and audio quality.

Video meets required length:between 5-10 minutes,

each member appears for at least 1 minute.

Group’s knowledge of the topic (seen through the video’s content,

discussion and opening comments).(10 pts)

The script’s correspondence to the video.

The script’s grammar.

Proper reference to sources consulted within the script.

Teacher Score: _____/ 55+ Progress Report: _____/5 (the group can only receive a 5 or 0. 5 if submitted, 0 if not)+ Peer Evaluation: _____/ 25+ Peer Evaluation: _____/ 15= Total Score: _____/ 100 Letter grade:_____