Have you taught this lesson plan? No
Big Idea:
To examine the “coming-of-age” process in this bildungsroman novel and to understand that the many obstacles in life shape one’s personality and characteristics.
Objectives:
COGNITIVE (know/understand)
3. Students will understand the growth of a character, or bildungsroman, can be presented in many different shapes and forms.
a. Students will understand that different settings in a character’s life offer different experiences and build different elements of their personalities.
b. Students will understand that several characters the protagonist encounters will help shape their experiences and personalities.
AFFECTIVE (feel/value)
5. Students will feel that reading literature means more than just understanding the plot.
a. Students will value the relationship between plot and character development.
PERFORMANCE (do; phrase as “students will be able to…”)
8. Students will be able to write analytical essays that focus on literary elements and their usage in texts.
a. Students will be able to form as paragraph using textual evidence and their analysis.
10. Students will be able to analyze the journey of a character’s “coming of age” process and identify the key components of it.
a. Students will be able to use textual evidence to demonstrate the development of the character as well as the contributing factors to the development.
b. Students will be able to explain their findings with other classmates.
c. Students will be able to demonstrate the development of a character visually.
Standards of Learning:
10.1 The student will participate in and report on small-group learning activities.
a) Assume responsibility for specific group tasks.
b) Participate in the preparation of an outline or summary of the group activity.
10.3 The student will read, comprehend, and critique literary works.
b) Identify main and supporting ideas.
c) Make predictions, draw inferences, and connect prior knowledge to support reading comprehension.
Instructional Steps:
I. Bridge [__5_ mins.]
What are some of the important stages of your life? Can you share some examples or important turning points in your life?
II. Steps [_80__ mins.]
[_10_mins.]
1) Ok, so we’ve just finished the novel and have seen the ending between Jane and Mr. Rochester. What do you think about Jane? Were her choices at the end of the novel expected or unexpected?
Why do you think that way of Jane? Is it because of certain traits in her personality? What were some important parts of the novel that shaped her personality? Can you name the locations? Has her personality changed?
Then I would scaffold the class into listing these locations: Gateshead, Lowood, Thornfield Hall, and Moor House. I would also check for understanding by
[_20_ mins.]
2) Now I’m going to split you up into 4 groups and you are to fill out this graphic organizer together. Each group will be assigned one location and you must write down either key people or events that had a role in shaping Jane’s personality. Make sure you explain it in the organizer and that you use evidence from the text. I will be walking around and listening in on each group and providing feedback when appropriate.
[_20_ mins.]
3) Jigsaw
Now that you and you’re group have filled out one section of the graphic organizer, I am going to rearrange the groups so that at least one person from each location is represented. You are going to share your findings and analysis with the rest of the group. At the end of this activity, everyone’s graphic organizer should be completely filled out.
[_20_ mins.]
4) Ok, let’s come back as a group as share some of your analysis. What were some examples that you had written down for when Jane was at Gateshead? Lowood? Thornfield? Moor House?
What do you think that says about Jane and her coming of age? Do you think that this novel is heavily focused on Jane’s development from a young age to an independent woman? Anyone remember the type of novel this is? We talked about it in the early introductions of this novel. You all have had great findings. I can check for understanding during this class discussion and ask students certain questions in order to guide them towards the general understandings that I’d want them to reach.
I’ve written some key words and ideas on the board. Let’s organize it by category. What do you think fits where? Right, that fits for Jane’s mood when she was tortured at school. And that goes together with her sense of accomplishment. After going through and helping them organize their findings under specific categories, I will then address that this is how paragraphs are formulated. Do you all realize what you have just done? You have used evidence and categorized them based on thought. Do you realize what that is? Yes, that is a paragraph. You have all just outline paragraphs and even came up with topic sentences. Now, if you wanted to cap it all under one sentence, what do you think that will be? Wait for students to come up with one sentence that summarizes the categories. Now you guys have just found your thesis. The format of a 5 paragraph essay has been introduced before in previous lessons and this lesson is to help them formulate an essay based on Jane Eyre.
[_10_mins.]
5) I am now passing out a handout that helps you outline your essay. The essay topics are listed in this separate sheet that I am passing out now. Start working on the outline, bring it back next class and we will have peer feedback. I am now also passing out a rubric for your outline and for your future paper. There will be multiple opportunities for revision. As you can see, the last two sections of the rubric are left blank. Those will be individualized and personalized areas that you feel you need to develop it. You and I will work on it together.
III. Closure [_5__ mins.]
As you can see, Bronte focused on showing the different stages of growth for Jane ever since she was a little girl. This bildungsroman demonstrates how she develops and what elements are important in shaping her personality. She endured through difficult situations and relied on her abilities to succeed.
Materials Needed:
Jane Eyre novel
Graphic organizer
White paper
Markers, pencils, crayons
Outline handout
Outline rubric
Paper rubric
Essay topics
Method(s) of Assessment:
Informal: Group discussions, graphic organizer ( Cognitive 3, Performance 10a and 10b) I will be able to provide feedback as the groups are discussing and sharing their findings with one another.
Formal: Outline (Performance 8)
Additional Notes/Comments/Thoughts:
In retrospect:
I will be making notes on which students need more scaffolding and who is still unclear about Jane’s development.
Reflection
The central focus of this lesson is teaching students out to construct an essay and how to take the abstract concepts of the text and make it concrete. That is why I chose to use setting as an entering point to help the students find different concepts in the text. Then through Jigsaw and class discussion, I am able to guide them into writing topic sentences and coming up with a thesis. The final product will be the final essay, however, this is start of writing and showing them the process of writing. It is important to demonstrate and model how a paragraph arises. Then with the outline handout and the rubrics, it offers further guidance for the students in how they should develop their paper and areas that they may need to improve in. The multiple chances for revision will also help them improve and learn from their mistakes.
Graphic Organizer
Location Jane’s Characteristics Contributors/Defining Elements/ Experiences etc. Textual Evidence
Gateshead
Lowood
Thornfield Hall
Moor House
Essay topics
- Please choose one of the topics below to write your essay on.
1. What role does weather play in the novel Jane Eyre. What does it symbolize?
2. What are some major turning points in Jane’s life? Explore are 3 and explain what it shows about Jane’s personality.
3. What are the elements that make Jane an independent woman? Should she be considered an independent woman? Why or why not?
4. There are many more female characters than male characters in this novel. Pick one of the following male characters: John Reed, St. John, and Mr. Rochester and explain his significance in the novel.
Outline Handout
- In this handout, please fill in the necessary information
Essay Question:
Thesis Statement:
Body Paragraph #1 Topic sentence:
1. Evidence #1 + Brief Analysis
2. Evidence #2 + Brief Analysis
3. Evidence #3 + Brief Analysis
Body Paragraph #2 Topic sentence:
1. Evidence #1 + Brief Analysis
2. Evidence #2 + Brief Analysis
3. Evidence #3 + Brief Analysis
Body Paragraph #3 Topic sentence:
1. Evidence #1 + Brief Analysis
2. Evidence #2 + Brief Analysis
3. Evidence #3 + Brief Analysis
Attachments:
