Introduction
The goal of the English lessons administered to the students is to understand the use of language in explaining science concepts such as exploration, as covered in the novel, ‘A journey to the centre of the earth’. Further, the application of different writing styles are evaluated and their effectiveness in communicating science narratives considered.
Lesson plan for the novel review, ‘Journey to the center of the earth’
Lesson plan for Monday
I. Goals for Monday
Goals during our review of the novel will include
- Prepare to read the novel through by disbursing copies.
- Draw on prior knowledge and experiences by considering what they know and need to know about exploration and adventure.
- Ask questions on adventure, grammar and English in general.
- Set purpose for each reading task
II. Instructional Objectives for Monday
The instructional objectives shall be efforts put in ensuring that the students acquire the required content from the novel.
- Provide them with concept map that they should fill it up during reading the first 3 chapters.
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III. Content for Monday
- General overview of the novel
IV. Teaching Procedure for Monday
- This lesson will apply the jigsaw teaching strategy where the students will be required to work in groups in sharing what they know about the subject of exploration.
- Application of the request strategy will aid in helping the students gain information on the areas they would love to know about on exploration
- Introductory for Monday
These procedures will act as a preparation for the subsequent lessons and as a ground laying forum where the students are expected to familiarize themselves with the expected content of the text. (Wresch, 1991) These procedures focuses on what the already know about the subject. It might be important to;
- Give an overview of the novel, in a general way to instigate thought on what the students know about the subject of exploration.
- This session should preferably be interactive where students discuss on what they perceive the earth’s interior to contain.
- Developmental goals for Monday
- Allow questions from the students on matters concerning the novel
Closure for Monday
- Have the students present on what they expect to learn from the novel.
- Require the students to exchange ideas on the subject of exploration
V. Materials for Monday
- Copies of the novel.
- A concept map
VI. Accommodations and Modifications for Monday
- Allow students to conduct research on the subject of exploration so as to ignite interest.
- Encourage interaction with the instructor
VII. Assessment Strategies for Monday
- Have the students present in class their general perceptions on the subject of adventure
VIII. Lesson Evaluation for Monday
- The lesson proved to be a success in introducing the students to the novel and providing them with the required content.
Lesson plan for Wednesday
Goals for Wednesday
- Give complete attention to the reading task
- Match reading rate (e.g., skimming, scanning, careful reading) to specific purpose and difficulty of the novel when reading aloud and silently)
- Make and confirm or correct predictions on expected lessons from the novel.
- Make connections on the novel to prior knowledge and experiences
- Recognize main ideas brought forth in the novel and important supporting details
- Recognize overall style in organization of ideas in the novel.
- Make notes to assist recall of the main ideas expressed by the author
- Makes inferences based on text and prior knowledge, such as relating the hot larva in the novel to real geographical knowledge.
- Draws conclusions based on evidence in texts
- Use pragmatic (e.g., author's purpose and point of view), textual (e.g., how author organized text), syntactic (e.g., main and subordinate ideas) semantic (e.g., figurative language and specific word meanings by their context and allusions), graph phonic (e.g., word patterns), and other cues (e.g., headings, charts, and diagrams) to construct and confirm meaning
- Identify ideas expressed as true or false, real or imaginary
Instructional objectives for Wednesday
- Divide the students in groups of three and assign them to read the first three chapters, and then share their views on major points raised by applying the jigsaw strategy.
- Have the students share their opinion on the style of presentation adopted by the author.
III. Content for Wednesday
- Reading skills such as skimming, scanning and in depth will be applied to the text
- Comprehension and analysis of the text for vocabulary and writing styles used by the author such as voice, passive/ active, person, second/ first/ third. In delivery and its effectiveness.
IV. Teaching Procedure for Wednesday
- The students will be required to work in groups, using the jigsaw method to skim and scan through the book.
- Introductory for Wednesday
- Divide the class into groups reading the novel in a skimming manner, emphasizing on the main points raised.
- Scan the novel for the style used by the author
- Developmental goals for Wednesday
- Require the students to understand the plot and the flow of the novel by the end of the lesson
- Closure for Wednesday
- Have the students present on the challenges they have faced over the reading and comprehension of the novel
- Have the students identify the effectiveness of the style of writing employed by the author in communicating the adventure
- Materials for Wednesday
- A teacher’s guide for the novel.
- Dictionaries
- Accommodations and Modifications for Wednesday
- Allow students who cannot keep up with the reading pace of the others time to catch up.
- Allow the use of reviews of the novel to aid in the reading of the novel
b. Assessment Strategies for Wednesday
- Disburse a quiz on areas covered in the novel to test on comprehension
- Have them fill in the concept map
c. Lesson Evaluation for Wednesday
- The lesson was a great success with a majority of the students showing zeal on their interaction with the novel, the fluid style used in the novel helped the student navigate the book quite comfortably.
Lesson plan for Friday
Goals for Friday
- Reread when necessary
- Recall and relate in own words, major ideas and their supporting details
- Summarize major ideas
- Relate what was read to personal experience or needs
- Analyze and evaluate what was read
- Draw conclusions about author's message, values, point of view, and craft
- Identify significant elements and techniques in text and how they interact to create effects
- Consider how text has contributed to understanding of self and others
Instructional objectives for Friday
- Have the students write essays on the main points raised by the novel using the RAFT strategy
- Have the students recall, recount and relate what was read in the novel to experiences in other places.
III. Content for Friday
- Evaluation on grammar, comprehension ability and vocabulary mastery on the novel
- Applications of the novel to situations contemporary to the students.
- Have them students read in depth individually
Teaching Procedure for Friday
- Apply the RAFT technique in writing essays on various points gathered through the course of the novel review
- Have the students learn difficult vocabulary through research.
- Introductory for Friday
- Write presentations and have them present to the class their perceptions and knowledge of the novel.
- Assess student knowledge on the composition of the earth, and the subject of exploration from the text.
- Developmental goals for Friday
- Evaluate the understanding of the students on the novel through writing an essay
- Require the students to provide feedback on the aspects of the novel they found challenging such as vocabulary, and writing styles.
Closure for Friday
- Have the students present their comprehension of the novel through an essay
- Have the students engage the teacher on the aspects they would require clarified/ explained.
- Materials for Friday
- A reading/ user guide on the novel
- Accommodations and Modifications for Friday
- Allow students to consult among each other on each perspective of the novel
- Require the students to write an essay detailing their comprehension of the novel
c. Lesson Evaluation for Friday
The lesson was a successful conclusion to a great movie. The evaluation showed a great comprehension of the novel, which mirrors the keenness exerted on the novel by the students.
Lessons division according to days
Day 1
On the first day in the English class, before the students are introduced to the novel, I would undertake an exercise that stimulates their imagination to adventure. Activities for such aims would include encouraging discussions among the students on their knowledge in adventure. A suggestion of sharing of views on the subject of composition of the earth’s interior would be apt. By figuring out how much they know about the interior of the earth, the students develop an interest in the text as they hope it answers some of their questions with regard to the composition of the earth’s interior. This therefore should be a time where the teacher, after a brief and general overview of the expected reading, requires the students to express what they expect to learn from the novel. The students are better off this way as they embark on the reading from a point of known to unknown. The jigsaw strategy is applied to this class, where the students are encouraged to involve one another in the learning process through discussions on how to present scientific information to the ordinary reader/ leisure reader.
Day 2
On the second day, the lesson would involve the actual interaction with the novel. The issues raised by the novel such as difficult vocabulary, issues with grammar and the like would be evaluated at this stage, as the teacher helps the students navigate through the novel. The main issues that the students are supposed to address during this session should be identification of the writing style employed by the writer in the novel. Style use and its effectiveness in communicating the subject of exploration in the novel will be explored into, by considering other scientific texts and their difference to the novel in consideration of the audience. Further, they should be able to identify the vocabulary that is difficult to them and seek its meaning.
The request strategy of instruction is applied here where the students interact with the teacher by posing questions on areas they would like clarified such as vocabulary and style of writing used. This strategy will help the students involve the teacher on the readings and where the students will involve the teacher on the scientific vocabulary applied in the novel.
Day 3
On day three on this lesson, evaluation of the students and the level of understanding they have had of the novel will be done. Administration of quizzes requiring short answers on specific aspects on the novel, such as, ‘did the professor and his nephew make it to the other side of the sea to continue their journey further down the earth’, (Verne, 1992) would provide a good perspective on the comprehension of the students of the novel. This lesson therefore will mainly test on comprehension and will include student reflections through essays on the suitability of the novel in achieving the learning aims of vocabulary, grammar use and comprehension.
The theme of adventure presented by Verne in the novel is effective in providing these learning opportunities as evaluation of this theme offers the student apt opportunity to apply the RAFT strategy in course of their note and essay writing. This strategy will evaluate the comprehension of the students on the subject of exploration. Students will write essay on the novel and present it to the class.
References
Verne, J. (1965). Journey to the centre of the earth. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books.
Verne, J. (1992). A journey to the center of the earth. Pleasantville, N.Y: Reader's Digest Association.
Wresch, W. (1991). The English classroom in the computer age: Thirty lesson plans. Urbana, Ill: National Council of Teachers of English.
