ELAR_7_2_C

Seventh Grade ELAR Alignment

 

Lesson Title: Exploring the Holocaust/Peace through Word Choice and Word Clouds 

Created and Submitted by: Selika Salinas and Evelina Villarreal 

School Name: United Middle School 

District: United Independent School District

Roles: School Libarian and 7th-grade Teacher

 

Grade Level: 7th 

 

Lesson Plan Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Make inferences about peace based on the DVD Auschwitz If You Cried, You Died.
2. Draw conclusions about prejudice based on information acquired about the Holocaust.
3. Make an effective word cloud on terms related to the Holocaust and words related to the opposite of the Holocaust (peace).

 

ELA-R TEKS:

110.19 b (2)(C).

Reading/Comprehension Skills. Students use a flexible range of metacognitive reading skills in both assigned and independent reading to understand an author’s message. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater depth in increasingly more complex texts as they become self-directed, critical readers. The student is expected to:

(C) reflect on understanding to monitor comprehension (e.g., summarizing and synthesizing; making textual, personal, and world connections; creating sensory images);

(E) summarize, paraphrase, and synthesize texts in ways that maintain meaning and logical order within a text and across texts.

 

Other Standards Addressed:

History

113.18 (b) (2). The student understands the influences of individuals and groups from various cultures, historical and contemporary societies. The student is expected to: identify and describe the influence of individuals or groups achievements on various historical or contemporary societies

 

Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Indicators

1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.

1.1.8 Demonstrate mastery of technology tools for accessing information and pursuing inquiry.

1.1.9 Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding. (Extension)

 

Classroom Teacher – School Librarian(s) Collaboration:

• The school librarian provides the class set of the book Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.
• This book will be read in class with their reading teacher.
• The school librarian provides the DVD Auschwitz: If You Cried, You Died.
• The classroom teacher assigns the students the task of researching facts about the Holocaust and assigns reading, vocabulary, and reading mats (graphic organizers that include recording vocabulary).
• The school librarian provides the computer lab and instructions on how to create a word cloud.
• The educators coteach the lesson that follows.

 

Measurable Outcome or Final Product: The students will create two word clouds, one on the Holocaust and one on peace, using Tagxedo.com, emphasizing the vocabulary or adjectives that made the most impact on them after watching the DVD and conducting research.

 

Assessment Tool: Word Choice Word Clouds Rubric

 

Resources:

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1989)

DVD Auschwitz: If You Cried, You Died and teacher resource book (Moore Foundation, 2001)

Computers/document camera/projector

www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer

http://www.popplet.com/

 

Links for pathfinder:

http://www.holocaustforgotten.com/

www.history.com/topics/the-holocaust

http://history1900s.about.com/od/holocaust/a/holocaustfacts.htm

 

Estimated Lesson Time: 2 days (1 day for the research and DVD analysis, 1 day to create the word clouds)

 

Instructional Plan Outline:

 

Preparation

1. Teacher assigns students the task of researching the Holocaust and recording 30 facts related to the Holocaust on a graphic organizer. Educators may choose a graphic organizer from www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer or invite students to create mind maps at http://www.popplet.com/.
2. Educators share the lesson objectives and the Word Choice Word Clouds Rubric.

 

Motivation

1. Educators show Auschwitz: If You Cried, You Died DVD. (30 minutes)
2. Educators ask the students questions such as:

• What are the dangers of prejudice and of standing by and doing nothing? 
• What can we do as individuals to recognize and oppose the many forms of prejudice that occur in our society with regard to race relations, religion, gender, socio/economic class, age, physical or mental disabilities 
• Is the word “respect” a key to overcoming prejudice? Can you think of other words that could help in overcoming prejudice?

 

Presentation

3. Educators pass out graphic organizers (or link to Web 2.0 mind map tool) and rubric.
4. Using the LCD projector, educators use think-alouds to model how to create a word cloud on Tagxedo.com. They base their example on another topic so as not to influence students’ word choice.

 

Guided Practice

5. Educators monitor as students take notes on the DVD using their graphic organizers, access other websites on the Holocaust and take notes on their graphic organizers or online mind maps, and the Tagxedo.com to create two word clouds, one on the Holocaust and one on peace.

 

Closure

6. Students print their final products and display them on tri-folds in the library.

 

Assessment

7. Educators grade word clouds using the Word Choice Word Clouds Rubric.

 

Extension

8. Students will provide feedback/reflections on the Number the Stars online book club that was created by the librarian on eChalk (online discussion tool).

 

Lesson Plan Resources

 

Lesson Plan (.pdf)

Word Choice Word Clouds Rubric (.doc)