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Subject

English Language Arts (NYS P-12 Common Core)

Assessment

Students will be assessed on the following rubric. (See attached)

• Grading Rubric

Learning Context/ Introduction

Students will understand the relationship between characters in "Romeo and Juliet."

Duration

The planning time for me was minimal because I am familiar with the program. Three class periods at 40 minutes each were needed to complete the task. Assessment of the task took nearly three hours.

Essential Question

How are the characters in "Romeo and Juliet" related?

Instructional/Environment Modifications

A computer lab set up with Inspiration.

Procedure

1. The teacher will first make a presentation using Inspiration. The students are not familiar with the program, therefore it is necessary to show various functions and tabs such as the following:
   • Page setup
   • Header
   • Types of boxes, circles, etc.
   • Link icon
   • Text tab
   • Effect tab
   • Bottom tool bar
2. At any point throughout the presentation, students will be allowed and encouraged to ask questions.
3. At the conclusion of the presentation, students will be allowed to log on to their computers and maneuver through the program on their own. At this time they will also be given their own character web sketches that were created on Friday. They will also be allowed to use one another and work together to explore the program and answer one another’s questions.
4. Students will be expected to begin and possible complete their own character webs. They will be graded on their creativity, but at this point I think they need sufficient time to experiment.
5. Because this will be the first time that the students have used this program, I will be allowing them to experiment with the program and their own character web layout. Therefore, before beginning class tomorrow, I will explain the rubric and the corresponding grades. This will allow students time to make changes and adjust them according to the rubric.
   

Reflections and Feedback

This lesson was created so that students could experience a different method to learning. With so many characters in “Romeo and Juliet” they often get confused as to the connections between them. This allowed them to sort things out. It was definitely not the typical lecture class. This lesson allowed students to be creative and learn from one another and seek out assistance, instead of just from me. The one thing learned from the lesson was the creativity. Often times there is little room for that to happen. The students truly enjoyed the lesson and the program. They asked when they could do it again. Seeing the students enjoying what they were doing and learning was satisfying in my eyes.

Student Work

Students will turn in a hard copy of the character web that was created.

• High (Exemplary)- concepts are easily identified, accurate relationships, appropriate graphics, creative, easy to read, no errors
• Medium (Proficient)- mostly accurate, concept is easily identified, few grammatical/spelling errors, visual appeal
• Low (Developing)- confusing, subconcepts don’t branch from the correct area, several grammatical/spelling errors, cluttered, lacks visual appeal

Please Note: Below are provide 3 examples of student work in three different formats. The originals were created using Inspiration 7.5. The second set are JPG images of the student work. The last set of three are the maps reposted as Inspiration 6.

Sample 1

Sample 2

Sample 3

Sample 1 - Inspiration 6

Sample 2 - Inspiration 6

Sample 3 - Inspiration 6

Related Resource

The only resources needed to complete the lesson were: a computer lab with enough stations for every student, a license for Inspiration and "Romeo and Juliet."

Note: Click here to download a free trial of Inspiration.

Related Academic Standards

New York State

ELA1.C.LR1A Students interpret and analyze complex informational texts and presentations, including technical manuals, professional journals, newspaper and broadcast editorials, electronic networks, political speeches and debates, and primary source material in their subject area courses.

ELA3.C.LR1A Students analyze, interpret, and evaluate ideas, information, organization, and language of a wide range of general and technical texts and presentations across subject areas, including technical manuals, professional journals, political speeches, and literary criticism.

ELA3.C.SW2A Students present orally and in writing well-developed analyses of issues, ideas, and texts, explaining the rationale for their positions and analyzing their positions from a variety of perspectives in such forms speeches, debates, thesis/support papers, literary critiques, and issues analyses.

ELA4.C.LS1A Students engage in conversations and discussions on academic, technical, and community subjects, anticipating listeners’ needs and skillfully addressing them.