I made this lesson for my first time teaching grade 7, and it was a blast! The reading used was the opening few pages of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. The reading went off great; a couple of students were really into the suspense, and there were some gasps during scenes with high tension. It was awesome to hear that level of engagement! There was a bit of silliness, and some classroom management issues, but the lesson went *very* close to plan. For the second exercise, I think we came up with an aging linebacker for the Packers who lived with his family because he was using steroids and there was a scandal . . . then he lost his money gambling. Alas, the lesson was a bit long, and we didn't give our character a name. I got some great feedback from my teacher-mentor, which I will share below.

A handout I made for the class. The graphic organizer and story mountain plot image are public images.

Speaking notes I wrote for the lesson.

The following document has some of my post-lesson reflection/scribbles on the lesson plan sheet, followed by some notes taken by my coop teacher, Mr. Gallays, as he observed me teach.

This is the first lesson I created and taught entirely myself. I learned a lot about how to comport myself in front of a group of people, and how to manage the class, attention, and time. To be sure, I was awfully nervous, but the exercise turned out well. The most important thing I learned here is to chunk info, and pace myself. Taking the time to check for understanding, and to allow students to practice a new task before moving on to the next one is key.

Speaking notes I wrote for the lesson.

Feedback on the lesson from Mrs. Kuchler as she observed the class.