Literature+Lesson+Plan+by+Ummuhan+and+Saliha

- Reading for main ideas and specific information - Simple Past tense, Past perfect tense, Passive Voice usage There are 22 students (10 girls & 12 boys) in total, their ages change between 15 and 17. They are interested in literature. They like reading and writing and they are in intermediate level. They all are eager to use their imaginations and share their ideas by writing. However, their English proficiency is not very high; they need some structures while writing. By the end of the lesson, the Ss will have been familiar with a biography format by reading a sample and writing a biography. By the end of the lesson, students will have i. been familiar with structure and content of a biography ii. analyzed paragraphs in depth to find certain headlines iii. related their pre-requisite knowledge with writing a biography iv. engaged in using imaginative writing skill v. identified whether a biography is written correctly or not.
 * LESSON PLAN**
 * Name/Surname: Saliha ARSLAN**, **Ümmühan ASLAN**
 * Institution/ Context of language teaching:** SAKARYA ANATOLIAN HIGH SCHOOL/ 11th Grade Social Science Class
 * Material (Course-book/ Unit) Used:** Biography of Agatha CHRISTIE, Biography checklist
 * Lesson Focus:** Literature
 * Learners’ previous knowledge:**
 * Learner profile (Age + Proficiency level/ Number of students):**
 * Anticipated problems & Remedies during Teaching:**
 * Problem:** The photocopy machine in the school may be out of order.
 * Remedy**: T will prepare the worksheets before coming to the school.
 * Problem:** Students may get bored during the lesson.
 * Remedy:** T will tell a short joke to motivate them.
 * Problem:** Students may have difficulties in constructing sentences while they are writing their letter.
 * Solution:** The teacher will give some different sentence patterns to solve this problem.
 * Goal of your lesson:**
 * Objectives:**

-Who is your idol as a famous person? After they say some names, ask them -What do you know about them and how did you learn those? If one of the students says via their life histories, introduce the topic as writing biography. If no one says “from life stories”, tell your own idol and how did you learn about his/her life, from their biographies and then introduce the topic.(5’) -Tell them “You will read a sample biography of Agatha Christie to find out what kinds of information can be found in a biography. You have 5’ to do this.” (see Appendix A)(5’) After children finish reading, Say; “Tell me what you find out and let’s form a mind map to ease understanding the structure of a biography.”(5’) ||  ||
 * **Stage ** || **Allocated ****Time ** || **__Procedure __****What do the teacher and the students do? ** || **Aids ****<span style="color: #a6a6a6; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Other than coursebook ** || **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Interaction Pattern ****<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">T> Ss / S>Ss/ S> T ****<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Group/ Pair/ Whole class/ Individual ** || **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Rationale ****<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">& ****<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Justification ** ||
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Pre-writing ** || **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">15’ ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Ask the students;
 * || [[image:http://fle324section01.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/placeholder?w=210&h=119 width="210" height="119"]] ||

Worksheet Board& Board marker || ** SS **** « **** T **** SS **** « **** T **** I ** || <span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">- To warm the students for the lesson and introduce the topic in a smooth way. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">- Let students a sample of biography so; make them familiar with the vocabulary knowledge that can be used while writing a biography. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">- To present the ideas in schematic way. || **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Post-Writing ****<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Contingency Plan ** || **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">15’ ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Tell them to write //I was born in .//. . and add a place name that this answer and the ones to follow later can be as unusual as they like to fold the sheet back, after finishing writing, they pass it to left. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">In this way, each student will have a fake biography in front of his/her. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">After completing this activity, T distributes papers according to the names on them, so that each student has his/her own fake biography. Tell students to react to the wrong information about them for example, “I wasn’t born in America, I was born in Turkey.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">If there is time left, teacher gives a checklist to students to check their final biographies.(see Appendix B) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">If there is no time left to complete the activities, tell students to finish their react biographies and bring them with their fake versions next week. || A4 paper Checklist || **SS** « **SS****I**** I ** || <span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">- With this activity, the teacher aims to monitor the students and see whether they learned to write a biography or not. In an enjoyable and different way, students are involved in class. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif';">- This activity aims to make students’ knowledge on how to write a biography permanent. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif';">- Activity helps students to see their mistakes and shows how they can correct them. ||
 * Text&
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">While **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Writing **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">15’ ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Form 4 groups of five students, give instructions: Each student will have an A4 paper, they will write //My name is .............// followed by his/her real name at the top of the sheet. Then s/he will fold what have written back behind the sheet twice, so that it cannot be seen. T collects the sheets from each group and switches them with each other, and so on, so that everyone has someone else’s paper. They must not look to see whose sheet they have got.

** APPENDIX A (AGATHA CHRISTIE) ** Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born on 15 September 1890 in Torquay, England. Her father, Frederick, was an outgoing American with an independent income. Her mother, Clara, was rather shy; Agatha resembled her greatly in personality. There were two other children - Madge and Monty, both older than Agatha. Although Madge received a formal education, Clara decided Agatha should not. She intended that Agatha be taught to read when she was eight; however, by the age of five Agatha had already taught herself to read. The rest of her education was through a mixture of tutors, part-time schooling and French finishing schools. She also trained as a singer and pianist and had it not been for her extreme shyness, she had the talent to have made this her career. When Agatha was eleven her father died and she became even closer to her mother. Without Frederick, Clara became restless and began to travel, at times taking Agatha with her; these early trips began Agatha's lifelong love of travel. In 1912 Agatha met Archie Christie, her future husband, a qualified aviator who had applied to join the Royal Flying Corps. After a emotional romance, they married on Christmas Eve 1914, by special licence, with Archie returning to the war in France on Boxing Day. Agatha was not idle during the war. She became a nurse in the Voluntary Aid Detachment of the Red Cross Hospital in Torquay - ultimately working in the dispensary where she enjoyed the work and completed the examination of the Society of Apothecaries. Although Agatha had pleased herself as a child, acting out stories and make believe, her writing career really began after her sister Madge challenged her to write a novel. It took several years to get her first book [|The Mysterious Affair at Styles] published - with the publisher suggesting an alternative final chapter - but the reviews were kind and the murder by poison so well described that Agatha received the extraordinary honour of a review in the Pharmaceutical Journal! Agatha’s happiness was complete when Rosalind, her only daughter was born on 5th August 1919 but by 1926, her life was in tatters: Christie’s mother Clara died and Archie left her for another woman. Christie slowly rebuilt her life and in 1930 she visited Baghdad for a second time. It was here she met Max Mallowan. Max took Agatha on a tour of Baghdad and the desert - it was an action-packed journey - their car got stuck in the sand and they were rescued by the Desert Camel Corps! When they reached Athens, Agatha received a telegram saying that Rosalind was seriously ill. Agatha's only concern was to get home, however she had badly hurt her ankle on an Athens street and was unable to walk. Max chose to accompany her back to England. She could not have made the trip without him and when they reached home he proposed and she happily accepted. Agatha accompanied Max on his annual archaeological expeditions for nearly 30 years. She continued to write, both at home and on field trips and her book [|Come, Tell Me How You Live] wittily describes her days on digs in Syria. She and Max were happily married for 46 years. After a hugely successful career and a wonderful life Agatha died peacefully on 12 January 1976.

APPENDIX B (CHECKLIST) ** 1. Origination ** a. Name of person b. Date of birth, place of birth. Put it in context of what county the town was in, and if not a large place, give a general approximation of how far it was in what direction from the larger well-known city... c. Names of parents, their birthplaces...  d. Siblings, birth order. Special note of siblings who live them now, or those of other special accomplishments. ** 2. Heritage ** a. Occupation of parents... b. Places lived while at parents' home -- why might they have moved...  c. What was this area of the country known for? ** 3. Education ** a. Grammar/High School... b. Anecdotes/accomplishments of their youth...  c. College / Vocational Schooling...  d. Post-grad / Additional Vocational studies...  e. Scholastic achievements of merit. ** 4. Occupation and Life ** a. First Job(s)... b. Trials/Struggles...  c. Towns/Areas they lived in -- why would they have moved each time...  d. Path of jobs/businesses led to the prime one...  e. Professional accomplishments...  f. Professional awards and recognition.

**// Comment by Elif Akın: //** I think this lesson plan is good at alll but it has both some weaknesses and strenghts. Firstly, acitivities do not include visuals, so it might be boring for students to do taks. Then, students are supposed to write their biography but the teacher does not give clear and direct instructions. For example, in the lesson plan there is no explanation for how long students are supposed to write. On the other hand, peer correction and using a real person' biograohy is a good way. Moreover, giving a checklist for students to see their lacks is very professional. ** Comment by Durak CESUR ** ** Your lesson plan is very well-prepared. It has many strenght in itself. Your choice of topic and material is very good. Text is suitable for the level. You have different activities for different skills which made me like your LP so much. Your activities are prepared to reach your objectives. However; you should make the lesson a bit atractive for the learners. As Elif stated, you should add some colors to the activities. Your evaluation certainly works in the classroom. It was a good choice. This lesson plan can be a little tiring for you but I think you can do it. Thank you. ** ** __Comment by Fatma ÇELİK__ ** ** I liked your lesson plan. It has many strenghts and may be a few weaknesses. I like your introduction with asking questions on singers but if you had used visuals, it would have been better. I like the main activity which is very different and interactive keeping each student occupied at the same time. In that way, they learn working together. I agree with Elif, in terms of teacher's instructions. We do not know how long the children are supposed to write. Using checklist is very reasonable. Your material is suitable for the level of your learners and the topic is interesting. I think with that lesson plan you can reach your objectives as Durak said, however it does not require much color and visuals according to me as your learners are adolescents at the age of 15-16. Thanks.. ** **Comment by Özgür Can Kaya:** I find your lesson plan well-prepared. I think that you have really put much effort into it. However, I believe that your lesson plan has both strong and weak aspects. I would like to start with the strong points of your Lesson Plan: The topic and the text you have selected is suitable for the age and the level of your students. In addition, I find your group activity really good and I think that your students will be very much enjoying this activity. As for the points I think can be improved, I think that in order to make your Lesson Plan more interesting, you can use some sort of pictures, photos or videos. For example, I believe that you can use some photos regarding the life of Agatha Christie. Secondly, I think that making your instruction a little bit more clear and detailed will be very beneficial for your students. In conclusion, I can safely say that your Lesson Plan will be even more successful with some small adjustments like the ones I have observed and written. **Comment by Mehmet Ali Başak:**

I think that your Lesson Plan looks good in general, and I believe it can be applied in a real-life clasroom environment. However, I think that there are two points to make your Lesson Plan even more successful for such situations: First of all, I believe that you can use visual elements such as videos or photographs to make your Lesson Plan more interesting. Secondly, I think that asking for students to write a biography without giving them enough pre-knowledge is a little bit too challenging for them. I think that you can use a piece of paper your students can make use of when writing a biography: the paper may tell or give some hints to the students on how to write a biography or what points should be taken into consideration when writing a biography. I believe that a paper like this can be handed out to students as it would serve as a guideline for them. In conclusion, I think that it’s still a good Lesson Plan, and I can see that you have put much consideration into it. Hopefully, with these points I have made, it will be even better.

**Comment by Hasan ACAR**I couldn't decide that your lesson plan is good or bad. Because there are some weaknesses and strenghtens about your lesson. Firstly it is clear that your lesson should be more attractive for your students. To provide your lesson more attractive, you should use some more visuals. For exampl, in the first part you are asking some questions about singers but you should embellish them with visuals or pictures. The materials that you used are suitable for the level and your teaching way is helpful for them. Your visuals and colors for your activities are limited but it is clear that you have lots of different activities and they are useful for your students. Using writing activity like writing biography is a good idea but to be honest this activity is a bit challenging for your students because their pre-knowledge is limited for writing a biography. If you provide your students more concentrated for your lesson, it can be a perfect lesson. Thanks for your effort. **Comment by Zeynep Ceyhan** First of all, I like the topic very much since I was a kind of addicted to Agatha Christie books, so I think it can be very attractive for learners. Warm up is interesting since it includes participation of students, therefore there can be many different ideas. Warm up is also beneficial for speaking. Mind map is very good activity because it is easy to follow for students and it fosters critical thinking. Writing fake biographies is very good idea; students can use their creativity. However I think your lesson plan should include some visuals, for examples you can use some pictures of some writers or a video about a writer. The materials and activities used in the lesson are appropriate for level and age of students. I can use it in the future by changing some points. Thanks for your effort :) **Comment by Ayça AKDEMİR**

At first, I think that using famous person to introduce the topic draws students' attention easily and most of the students closely follow Agatha Christie's books. Therefore, they would like to add new knowledge about Agatha Christine to the previous one and the biography is the most suitable genre for this aim. In this lesson, the teacher starts the lesson asking question ' who is your idol as a famous person?' This question creates an atmosphere for improving their speaking skills. Since, it is about their own preferences, they will be more willing to express their knowledge about their famous person and it also provides smooth pass to the topic. Before making students to write fake biography, it would be better, if the teacher distributed a guideline like Appendix B to the students. However, writing fake biography is good idea to improve their creativity. Sometimes, students can find writing about themselves boring and this activity can eliminate this effect letting students write anything they want. The students can write absurd or funny biography so they spend a good time enjoying this fake biography.

Firstly I think your lesson plan is a well-prepared one. It is obvious that you have make much effort for it. I think your lesson plan has lots of strong points but there are also weak points, too. Firstly as one of the strong points of our lesson plan I want to start with the suitability of the text for the learner profile. Also I think you are very successfull in providing your students attractive and enjoyful activities. To illustrate your group activity is one of them. Also I liked your way of giving instructions because they can be understandable. For the weak points,I think to make your Lesson Plan more attractive for students, some pictures, photos or videos could have been used. I mean it could have been more visual. For example, I believe that you can use some photos that contains Agatha Criste's novels. To sum up, uour Lesson Plan can be more successful with some small changes like the ones I have mentioned above.
 * Comment by Abdullah ARAS**
 * Comment by Gökhan Bozkurt**

I would like to start with your lesson plans strength sides. First of all, the subject is very attractive for the students, because everyone has a person as idol for him/herself. It is not difficult to expect that they must search for their idols’ life story, so I think that subject is very effective for the students. Secondly, your activities like writing biography are very suitable for that level of students. However, there are some points that can improve your plan. You should always give a limitation for the writing activities like how many words you expect them to write, which specific words they should be included in their work. Moreover, giving an outline for the writing activities is very effective. These all things make the activity more logical and beneficial, because both students and teachers know what they are supposed to do. Except for these ideas, your lesson plan is very good!