Grade: 10        Unit: Six Traits            How Long: 90 mins
Class: English        Lesson: #4                Date: N/A

I.    Essential Question: How can we develop or improve the ideas and content of our writing?

II.    State Core:
    a.    2.1a: Analyze ideas
    b.    2.3a: Evaluate for ideas

III.    Technology: 

IV.    Rationale: I want student to really look into what they are thinking, so that their essays reflect a level of critical thinking and analyzation and not just an ability to summarize or report on found information.  

V.    Objective: Students will find an  article at home and respond to the Developing Ideas worksheet questions to show their ability to develop their own ideas from given information.

VI.    Pre-Requisite Learning: This lesson will be based on the assumption that students have written papers previously.

VII.    Preparation:
    a.    Teacher: Make copies of the Developing Ideas worksheet. Have assigned the 5-Paragraph essay assignment about whether it is easier to be a boy or girl. Have “Would you rather…” questions prepared and printed (one per student)
    b.    Student: Come to class prepared with the 5-paragraph essay about whether it is easier to be a boy or a girl 

VIII.    Materials: Copies of Developing Ideas Worksheet and “Would you rather questions”

IX.    Instructional Process
    a.    Cue Set: Ask the students to get into groups of four and share their 5-paragraph essays. Ask students to find the best idea from each paper.
        i.    After they have decided, have a group leader state the best ideas from the group.
        ii.    Ask students why they felt like the ideas they chose were the best. What made them better? Why did they stick out? (unique, interesting, different, etc) Write responses on board.
    b.    Instructional Process
        i.    Ask students why ideas are important. Why can’t we just continue to say the same things everyone else had said? (everything will always be the same)
        ii.    How have ideas changed the world we live in? (new technology, new foods, things get better/develop, etc.)
        iii.    As high school students, are your ideas important? Why is it important to start forming ideas when you are still young? (Learning to develop ideas is a skill. The more practice you have the better you will get at it and the more you can sharpen you ideas and polish your opinions)
        iv.    Being able to form ideas makes you a better thinker. Sometimes we feel like thinking is just a natural process that you can’t learn or improve, but that is wrong. You can develop skills, like developing ideas, to help you become a better analyzer or help you to look at things differently to become a better thinker. Today’s lesson is going to be all about another one of the Six Traits: Ideas.
        v.    Think about the ideas that you liked in your groups. Did the author just say things like: Girls or better or Boys are cool? Probably not. Good ideas are focused and directed-good ideas are selective, they contain the important information and point thoughts toward a specific goal. They mean something. (Use student examples from the group activity to show how their ideas were focused and not vague)

        vi.    How did you all come up with your good ideas?
            1.    Introduce the concept of developing ideas from answering questions
            2.    Building questions upon questions helps you get down to what you are really interested in or what you really want to know. (Use the example of their papers: Ask the students to tell you why it is easier to be a girl, then continue to ask questions about their responses)…it’s the 2-year old theory of “but why?...but why?...but why?”
            3.    Along with the “why” ask yourself “so what?” or “who cares?” Why are your answers important? Who do they affect? And why should anyone pay attention to your idea?
        vii.    Ask who in their group heard an idea that was new, something they had never thought of before?
            1.    Good ideas often show a new perspective on something, they make the reader think about something new
            2.    As high school students, how can you shine a new/different light on concepts that have been written about over and over again? (By adjusting our writing to our personal experiences they become unique, finding a variety of research, etc)
        viii.    Have students play “Would You Rather…”
            1.    Students fold a paper into quarters and number each section
            2.    Students are put into groups of four by counting off
            3.    Each student is given a “Would you rather…” question (ie: Would you rather be extremely lucky or extremely smart?)
            4.    Students take turns reading their question, then all the members write down the question in a box and respond to it
            5.    Students should try to develop a clear, focused, insightful and unique idea for why they answered the question the way they did (ie: I would rather be lucky because smart be quickly taken away if something tragic happens to your brain, luck on the other hand is not contingent on whether or not any portion of your body is functioning properly.
            6.    When everyone has answered they read their answers off and the person whose question it was chooses the winner
            7.    Switch until all the members have read and responded to all the questions.
        ix.    Once the class is back together, hand out the Developing Ideas worksheet and explain the homework

    c.    Closure: Explain to students the importance of strong ideas in writing. No matter how eloquent you write, you can’t hide bad ideas. Think of a movie or novel where the actors or authors are excellent, but the plot it ridiculous…the movie isn’t good overall, even though parts of it are impressive.
    d.    Independent Practice: Students will find an article at home (via newspaper, Internet, journal, magazine, etc.) and respond to the questions on the Developing Ideas worksheet.

X.    Evaluation: The Developing Ideas worksheet will be a check off assignment, but I want to see what the students are thinking and how they question and analyze sources. I will give feedback on their ideas and questions on the worksheet

XI.    Enrichment: I want students to remember that the ideas are the meat of an essay. The content and the ideas can’t be faked. They need to develop thinking skills to develop ideas that stretch their own thinking and abilities.

XII.    Diversity: This lesson uses small groups, games, and visuals to help diverse learners and ELL students