11th-grade Lesson Plans

Lesson Title: Tolerance and Intolerance in Miller’s The Crucible and Vaught’s Freaks Like Us
Created and Submitted by: Nidia S. Rodriguez (School Librarian) and Susana Laurel (ELA Teacher)
School Name: United High School
District: United ISD
Role: School Library Media Specialist and English Language Arts Teacher

Grade Level: 11th Grade

Lesson Plan Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to
1. identify unique characteristics of tolerance/intolerance in a non-fiction play and a fiction novel using examples from The Crucible and Freaks Like Us.
2. compare and contrast The Crucible and Freaks Like Us.
3. research tolerance/intolerance – yesteryear and today to make connections with the past and issues that still exist today in preparation for creating a Venn diagram.

ELA-R TEKS:
§110.33.b. (9)
(D) synthesize ideas and make logical connections (e.g., thematic links, author analyses) between and among multiple texts representing similar or different genres and technical sources and support those findings with textual evidence.

Other Content Area Addressed:
United States History Studies Since 1877
§113.41.c. (9) History. The student understands the impact of the American civil rights movement.

Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Indicators:
1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning.
2.1.6 Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings.
3.3.4 Create products that apply to authentic, real-world contexts.

Classroom Teacher – School Librarian Collaboration:
• The ELA teacher and school librarian collaborate to select two literary works from different genres for which students can compare and contrast themes- in this case, The Crucible and Freaks Like Us.
• The school librarian provides class sets of both books.
• Educators us Poll Everywhere to poll students’ prior knowledge of tolerance and intolerance in preparation for reading both books.
• Students could be polled afterward to see how their ideas and opinions have changed or stayed the same.

Measurable Outcome or Final Product: Students will read and discuss instances of tolerance and intolerance in The Crucible and Freaks Like Us. They will use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the play and the novel and begin conducting research on these two social issues, tolerance and intolerance.

Assessment Tool: Venn Diagram (Detective) Rubric (ReadWriteThink.org)
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson54/detectiverubric.pdf

Resources:
The Crucible by Arthur Miller (Penguin Books 1982)
The Crucible Trailer - www.schooltube.com/video/f98fadae64804e9fb57f/
Freaks Like Us by Susan Vaught (Bloomsbury 2012)
Freaks Like Us Trailer - www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB11UnfpWS0 ‎
Three Days Grace – “Buddy” - Song and lyrics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypMKmDuML9M
Macklemore Same Love video: http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=TXZS3e0k4YA
Venn Diagram: http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/venn.pdf
Venn Diagram Rubric: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson54/detectiverubric.pdf
Document Camera
Computer
Internet

Estimated Lesson Time: Two 60-minute Sessions

Instructional Plan Outline:

Preparation
• The school librarian and teacher collaborate to set deadlines for reading both books.
• Educators introduce the books by showing book trailers:
Freaks Like Us: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB11UnfpWS0
The Crucible: www.schooltube.com/video/f98fadae64804e9fb57f/
• Educators discuss objectives with students.

Motivation
1. Educators share “Bully” by Three Days Grace (song and lyrics): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypMKmDuML9M and the Macklemore Same Love video http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=TXZS3e0k4YA
(These resources depict intolerance.)
2. Educators lead a discussion about instances in real-world situations where they have experienced or witnessed intolerance.
3. The school librarian and teacher discuss themes of intolerance with students.
4. Educators clearly outline objectives for students.

Presentation
5. The educators project a Venn diagram with the document camera and lead a discussion with students the theme of tolerance in The Crucible and Freaks Like Us.
6. Educators use think-alouds to model adding ideas to the Venn diagram.

Guided Practice
7. Educators monitor students while they use complete their individual Venn diagrams.

Closure
8. Students share their thoughts on how The Crucible and Freaks Like Us have similar themes.
9. The educators and students extend the discussion by providing examples of intolerance.

Assessment
10. The educators assess the students’ Venn diagrams.

Extension
11. Students will make connections to the history of intolerance by researching/discussing the Civil Rights Movement.
12. Students review picture books about tolerance/intolerance based on the Civil Rights Movement or the Holocaust. The students post their reviews to social media (class blog, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and more), around the school, or in the school library possibly on the OPAC.

Possible Titles:
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Connie Colwell Miller (Graphic Library 2006)
Back of the Bus by Aaron Reynolds (Philomel Books 2010)
Child of the Civil Rights Movement by Paula Young Shelton (Schwartz & Wade Books 2010)
Benno and the Night of Broken Glass by Josee Bisaillon (Kar-Ben Publishing 2010)
Hidden Child by Isaac Millman (Farrar Straus and Giroux 2005)
I Will Come Back for You by Marisabina Russo (Schwartz & Wade Books 2011)

Lesson Plan Resource

ELAR_11_9_D_Rodriguez_Laurel_Lesson_Plan (.pdf)