Week 4

During this course, one of our assignments is to write 10 lesson plans, which will include specific strategies, activities, and criteria.  The fun yet challenging thing about these lesson plans is that I am able to choose any text for each lesson plan.  One of the books that I chose to create a lesson plan on is Wonder by R.J. Palacio.  I chose this story for many reasons.  One of those reasons is that this story is insightful over a topic that needs to be discussed, which is bullying.  This kid receives insults and gets bullied due to medical issues that resulted in him looking different than his peers.  I think everyone needs to be aware of how painful negative words and actions can be on another person.  This book will provide a great insight into this kid's life and the concept of bullying, which will hopefully help students be more understanding and empathetic to others.  I like choosing books that have meaning and will increase the students' personal and academic skills.

Honestly, there are so many great activities that I could implement into this lesson plan.  It was hard to narrow it down, but I knew I wanted to assign a group activity that would be meaningful.  The main activity, aside from the thinking map, that I chose for this lesson plan is a writing activity.  I will pass out two worksheets that have a helmet (like Auggie wears) with open shapes for the students to write about each other.  Once I pass out the worksheets, each student will cut their helmet out that will state "I am a wonder" or "You are a wonder".  The students will write their name on the helmet, then color the two pages with whichever colors they want.  Next, I will give clear instructions to the students to help alleviate any confusion.  I will instruct the students to pass their papers to the person next to them and then write down a genuine compliment about them.  This activity is meant to encourage the students to uplift one another and give a reason why he/she is a wonder.  Some questions for the students to consider during this activity are as follows:

1. What makes this classmate special?
2. What do you admire about this classmate?
3. Why is this classmate important to you?
4. What do you like the most about this classmate?

I will write these questions on the board so they can use it as a reference.  I will reset the timer each time they pass their sheets on to the next classmate.  Once each student has filled out a bubble or shape on each of their classmate's sheets, we will hang these up on the classroom's bulletin board.  This activity will be encouraging, powerful, and teach kindness.

I think this activity meets the criteria because it challenges the students in different areas.  The students are required to write full sentences about the students, so they are practicing their writing skills, which includes correct spelling and grammar.  They are also challenged to think of genuine and kind compliments to give to each of their classmates based on what they know and/or observe of them daily.  This teaches students to be kind, caring, and supportive of one another.  These are admirable traits to possess that will also benefit them throughout many aspects in their life.  I think filling out the thinking map (which I have not completely decided which one yet) and completing this activity will help teach the importance of empathy and that bullying is never okay.  I think this activity integrates and connects well with the book.

So, what are your thoughts?  I'd love to hear!