Daily Lesson Plan

DAILY LESSON PLAN

Teacher’s Name Lauren Bertoni Class/Period 9th Grade English Unit: Letter to the editor Date: 10/8/08 Agenda: 1) Warm-up and introduction to editorials. 2) Presentation, teacher shows example of letter to editor 3) Practice, brainstorm; students write draft of letter to editor. 4) Evaluation, student’s exchange letters and give feedback. California Content Standards: 2.5 Write Business Letters: a. Provide clear and purposeful information and address the intended audience appropriately. d. Follow a conventional style with page formats, fonts, and spacing that contribute to the documents’ readability and impact. Objectives: When presented with a letter from the editorial section, students will be able to identify the main elements and structure of a letter to the editor. Materials Needed: Chalkboard, copy of newspapers and magazines, overhead projector, overhead copy of an example letter and a pen/pencil. Activities: Time Teacher Procedures Student Responsibilities 10Min. 1) The teacher will ask the students 1) Students will engage in the discussion and “How many of them read the brainstorm ideas. newspaper or any magazine? Do they have a favorite section? How about their parents?” During the open discussion the teacher will explain and show the students what the editorial section is and where it is located. Explain to students that the editorial section contains letters to the editor, which are written by the readers of the newspaper or magazine, expressing their opinions or ideas about something. Ask students, “what issues they feel strongly about and maybe would want to express an opinion about?” For example; school dress code or should seniors be allowed to leave and go out to lunch? Discuss appropriate language and tone when constructing a letter to the editor. Brainstorm together as a class. 5 Min. 2) The teacher will hand out copies of 2) Students will read the letter with teacher. the example letter to the editor and Then mark on their paper all of the put it up on the overhead. Read different parts of the letter. through the letter with students pointing out certain aspects of the letter such as: organization, stating the topic of opinion, whether they agree or disagree, etc. Mark all of these on the overhead and have students do the same on their paper. 25-30 3) The class will continue 3) Students will brainstorm as a class. They will Min. brainstorming topics to write about, then break into groups and generate different the teacher will write them on the ideas to talk about in their letter, while taking board. Have student select a topic to notes. Students will then break apart and write on. Put students into groups individually construct a brief letter to the according to the topic they choose. editor. Have the group’s brainstorm for ideas on the topic and to generate thoughts. Instruct students to write a brief letter to the editor following the same pattern as the example.

4-5 Min. 4) Ask the students to exchange letters 4) Students will read each other’s letters and give with another student. Instruct students to constructive feedback on structure and content. read the letters and give feedback on the structure and content of the letter.

Homework: Students will use their class mates feedback and rewrite the letter before the next class period, where they will hand it in for teacher evaluation.

Assessment or Evaluation: The teacher will evaluate the student’s letters to make sure they followed the structure and content of the letter. Points: 25

Lesson Plan Commentary/Reflection:

This lesson is strong and will work for students who have no prior knowledge of how to write a letter to the editor. Cooperative learning is also included because it gives students the opportunity to work together, which removes stress and allows for a non-threatening environment. This environment gives students more confidence in their learning. Students will take this lesson and use it in the real world. At some point in their adult lives they will have to write a letter, and whether they need to write a letter to the editor or any other kind, they will know how to provide appropriate content and structure of the letter. One worry I have is that it is too much to do in one class period. It might be easier to split it up into two classes. It was also suggested to me that I might bring a newspaper or magazine for every student. This would be nice because then each student would have an individual letter to read before they wrote their own, but it would be a lot of newspapers and magazines. I believe that writing a letter to the editor is something that everyone should know how to do.