Discussion of Lesson Plans

These two lessons plans are adapted from lessons I taught and co-taught in my placement classroom this semester. These lessons are a part of a unit based on the mentor texts of Girl Rising videos and scripts, as discussed in the Curriculum section of my portfolio. These lessons were designed to offer students varying levels of independence and collaboration. Because the overall assignment is creative, students have the flexibility to choose what they want to share and with whom they want to share their progress. In the first lesson on scriptwriting, I included both whole- group and partner work. This way, each student had the opportunity to share their writing and ideas with others but did not feel forced to share too much or with too many people. Although it is not explicit in the lesson plan, students also know that they can always request to share with teachers privately in a breakout room or through chat; this is an aspect of class that was developed as the students grew acquainted to the classroom.

In the filming lesson, students had the opportunity to leave the class zoom altogether so that they could work on their scenes independently. The zoom remained open, however, and a few students chose to stick around while they filmed. Others came in and out as they had questions. There was not as much differentiation in these lessons as I would usually prefer, but this is due to the creative and flexible nature of the project. Students were encouraged to work in whatever ways they found most helpful and motivating. The most explicit differentiation in these lessons originates from the produced work; some students chose to use animation rather than actors in their scenes and some chose to film a few longer scenes rather than several short scenes. Ultimately, these lessons were a part of a unit that was adaptable in nature, and so students were granted more freedom in their work.

Students were held accountable in their creative work by a progress tracker that was due at the end of each week. For the first lesson, students turned in their completed scripts to show that they had a foundation for filming. These scripts were checked for completion: did they have the necessary elements of a script and were there six scenes? Beyond that written work, students were assessed by their progress. If students could prove they were filming, adding scenes to the editor, and tracking their progress, they received credit for the work. If students did not or could not prove their progress, they were required to meet with their teacher to discuss. Assessment is best utilized in the sense of progress rather than grading. Assessment should be used throughout a unit to ensure that students are staying on track and completing work that will help them towards their final goal, in this case a completed film. In creating incremental deadlines throughout the project, teachers can better track which students are progressing towards the desired outcome and have a better sense of which students may need more guidance or a differentiated course of action.