Lesson Plan Title: What's Up with Phoenix Jackson?

By: Carly Sumrow

Subject(s): 

Language Arts

Grade Level(s):

11th grade

Objectives: 

After reading “A Worn Path” and conducting research on Phoenix Jackson’s symptoms, students will be able to evaluate Phoenix Jackson from the perspective of a psychologist, neurologist, social worker, general practitioner, or geriatric nurse and produce a diagnosis and treatment plan to help Phoenix live out the rest of her life in a meaningful way.

The following will be posted on the board and I will bring this to the students’ attention before I begin instruction:

Purpose: Students will make arguments based on textual evidence and research, as well as interpretations based on textual ambiguity

Outcome: Students will participate in a conference in which they will present a diagnosis and plan for treatment for Phoenix Jackson and eloquently explain to the group how they arrived at this conclusion

Standards:

2.4 Make warranted and reasonable assertions about the author’s arguments by using elements of the text to defend and clarify interpretations 

1.3 Structure ideas and arguments in a sustained, persuasive, and sophisticated way and support them with precise and relevant examples

2.2 Write responses to literature:

E. Identify and assess the impact of perceived ambiguities, nuances, and complexities within the text 

1.0 Written and Oral English Language Conventions

1.1 Demonstrate control of grammar, diction, and paragraph and sentence structure and an understanding of English usage

1.2 Produce legible work that shows accurate spelling and correct punctuation and capitalization 

Procedures:

Day One: I will introduce students to the topic of aging through the activities outlined in the anticipatory set. This will include looking at different advertisements depicting aging, one presenting the process of aging as something to be embraced, and other depicting the process of aging as something to be avoided. I will then lead the class in a discussion about what message these advertisements are sending and what their personal views are regarding this topic. I will also engage the students in several scaffolding activities so that they will be prepared to read the actual text. I will begin will presenting the academic vocabulary and concepts that are needed to understand the story and supplementary text we will be working this. I will provide the students with concept maps that will help them to gain an understanding of these various words and ideas. I will provide one that I have already completed that the students can use as a model, I will model how to complete one on the DocCam, we will complete one together as a class, and then the rest will be completed by the students either independently or with a partner. Finally, I will introduce “A Worn Path” and ask students to look at the pictures and consider the title. After they have done this I will have them write down a prediction outlining what this story might be about. This prediction will be used as a ticket out the door. Lastly I will explain the activity that will be used to assess their understanding of the story, and pass out the rubric I will use to score them. 

Day Two: As an anticipatory set I will refer to the rubric that I handed out on day one. I will project it on the DocCam and tell students exactly what they need to do in order to receive a passing score, which is a 3 or 4. Once the students are well versed in the rubric I will pass out the statement/evidence sheets that the students will be responsible for filling out as we read. I will explain that they are to write what they believe is going on with Phoenix in the statement box and the direct text that supports that statement in the evidence box. Once I have answered any questions regarding this task I will then project “A Worn Path” on the DocCam and we will read it as a class. I will read some of the story and then I will ask for volunteers or implement popcorn reading as well. As we read I will model how to fill out a statement/evidence sheet by completing the first box. I will also periodically remind students that they should be filling this out, particularly when we come across something that is very telling in regards to Phoenix’s condition. Once we have read the entire story we will debrief. I will ask students to engage in a pair share in which they summarize what the story is about and pose any questions they may still have. Finally I will introduce activity that I touched briefly on in day one in more detail and assign roles. I will number students off one to five. Ones will be neurologists, twos will be psychologists, threes will be social workers, fours will be geriatric nurses, and fives will be general practitioners. I will pass out lanyards and the students will create a name badge with their name and title. I will end class by explaining that from now on they are no longer a student, but a neurologist, psychologist, social worker, geriatric nurse, or general practitioner, and must behave accordingly. 

Day Three (Wednesday- short day): I will briefly discuss the fact that Phoenix, the protagonist of “A Worn Path,” suffers from Alzheimer’s. I will ask the students what they already know about this disease and how we can ascertain that this is what Phoenix suffers from. Then I will introduce Ms. Zive, a resource aid that sometimes helps out in our class. Ms. Zive is a valuable resource in regards to this activity because she works at a home for people with Alzheimer’s. Ms. Zive will lead a discussion/lecture on Alzheimer’s and then answer any questions the students might have. The students will now have more background knowledge that they can apply to this particular lesson. We will debrief by discussing how Phoenix’s Alzheimer’s is evident in “A Worn Path,” and how the ambiguity Eudora Welty employs figures in to our assumptions.

Day Four: I will direct students to meet in groups according to their profession and explain that they will have the first ten minutes of class to begin brainstorming as a group. They should use this time to formulate an idea of what is wrong with Phoenix and how their particular profession might be able to help her. Then I will pass out the directions for the WebQuest, go over the sheet with them to clarify what I expect and answer any questions, and review the procedures and protocol that we must adhere to while working in the computer lab. The students will have the rest of the block to complete the WebQuest while I circulate providing assistance and monitoring student behavior.

Day Five: I will check off every student’s completed WebQuest and assign the groups for the conference. I will assign these groups by having all the ones stand in front of the room. I will then have the two raise their hands and will arbitrarily pair them with a one. I will keep in mind students who don’t work well together though so that potential issues can be avoided. I will then repeat this for the threes, fours, and fives, so that each group is comprised of one member from each profession. I will then explain how the conferences are going to work and how they should be ran. The students will each present what is wrong with Phoenix and how they can help her. This should be an open forum of professionals engaging in a common topic, referring to others, and bouncing ideas off of one another. I will emphasize that all members of the group must participate, be respectful of one another, and behave as a professional. The students will then have the rest of the block to meet with their conference groups to begin the patient summary plan and treatment sheet and prepare for conference.

Day Six: I will start the class of by reviewing the expectations and protocol for the conferences. Then I will give the students about fifteen minutes to get everything together and finish up any last minute things in their groups. The students will the have forty-five minutes to engage in the conference. As the students are running their conferences Ms. Donaldson and I will circulate around the room and observe each group. After the conference the students will have twenty minutes to complete the patient summary plan and treatment sheet as a group. The last ten minutes of class will be spent debriefing how the conferences went. 

Assessment:

Students will be placed in groups comprised of one representative from each of the different groups of professionals. The groups will be comprised of one neurologist, one psychologist, one social worker, one geriatric nurse, and one general practitioner. The students will engage in a conference as experts in each of their fields to discuss Phoenix Jackson and what they can do to help her live out the rest of her life in a meaningful way. Students will be responsible for presenting a diagnosis for Phoenix Jackson and a possible care plan. This assessment will be an informal summative assessment. As the conferences are going on Ms. Donaldson and myself will both observe each of the groups. We will compare the scores we gave at the end and make any necessary adjustments based on feedback from each other. The will be evaluated on thoughtful participation in the conference and by how detailed and supported their arguments and suggestions are. The students will also be required to fill out a patient summary and plan sheet outlining the conclusions they came to during the conference.

Modifications:

Because my students struggle with reading and writing I will implement Vygotsky’s notion of gradual release, offering a lot of support in the beginning and then handing more and more responsibility to the students as we move forward with this lesson. I will begin by providing a completed concept map that the students can use as a model. I will select the concept of “the journey” because I believe this will be the most difficult concept for my students to understand. I will provide another concept map that is partially filled out, and help the students to fill out the rest. I will also continue with this type of guided practice by projecting a blank concept map on the DocCam and completing it as a class. By this point I will feel confident that the students should be able to complete the last two concept maps on their own while I circulate to monitor this independent practice. After all these pre-reading activities we will read “A Worn Path,” which will be projected on the DocCam. As we read, I will guide students through the first two statement/evidence boxes because they will need a review regarding how to support an argument with textual evidence. After we finish the short story students will complete the rest of this worksheet in pairs while I circulate to check for comprehension. These worksheets will help students to formulate their diagnosis. 

Teacher Reflection:

The students really enjoyed this lesson, but the results from their conferences were not at the level I had expected. I think the main problem is that I did not provide enough scaffolding and did not adhere enough to Vygotsky’s notion of gradual release. I gave my students a lot of support early in the lesson, but I did not provide enough guided and collaborative practice before handing all the responsibility over to the students. I should have monitored the students’ work on the WebQuest more closely, because this is where the majority of their research came from. If the students did not do a good job on this component of the lesson, or simply didn’t understand, then they could not do as well as necessary to successfully engage in the final conference. One group took the conference very seriously and exceeded my expectations, but the other groups performed very half-heartedly which makes me question whether or not I stressed enough the importance of this activity. If I implement this lesson again next semester I will include more modeling and guiding practice, and create a checklist to keep all students on task. I will also make a bigger deal of the actual conference. Perhaps I will change my assessment protocol as well. I think it might be beneficial to have each group perform their conference in front of the entire class because they will probably take it much more seriously, it will provide an opportunity to provide public speaking skills, and it will make the assessment process easier for me.

Additional:

Ads depicting aging 

Class set of “Aging in America: Changing Perspectives”

Eudora Welty’s short story, “A Worn Path” (found in the students’ McDougall Little American Lit books and one to project on the DocCam) *possibly the audio version of the story

Access to computers with internet capabilities

Mrs. Zive (to deliver a presentation on Alzheimer’s) 

Class set of lanyards (students will make a name tag with their specific title and wear these during the conference) 

Class set of Patient Summary and Plan sheets

Time estimates are outlined in the procedures section