Sabrina Creen

Cohort 2
SDAIE Multicultural Lesson Plan
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1. TITLE OF LESSON: The Transcendentalism of Burro Genius: Standing Out and Standing Up
2. CURRICULUM AREA & GRADE LEVEL: English Language Arts - Grade 11
3. DATE OF LESSON/TIME NEEDED: Lesson to be delivered at the end of the Transcendentalism Unit,
which is the final six week unit in the first semester of English 11. Two day lesson (55 minute class
periods.)
4. RESOURCES:
- Transcendentalism of Burro Genius Guided Reader Packet
- Google Slide Decks
- Day 1 Slides - Day 2 Slides

CENTRAL FOCUS OF LESSON

5. CA CONTENT STANDARDS & CA COMMON CORE STANDARD
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.2
Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the
course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex
account; provide an objective summary of the text.

CA Content Standard - Literary Response and Analysis 3.2

Analyze the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life,
using textual evidence to support the claim.

6. CA ELD STANDARD(S)
ELD Standard - Grades 11/12 - Section 2. C. 10. b - Writing (Bridging) 1
Write clear and coherent summaries of texts and experiences by using complete and concise
sentences and keywords (e.g., from notes or graphic organizers).
All English Learner students are Reclassified - see class profile

7. BIG IDEA ADDRESSED/ENDURING UNDERSTANDING: The concepts presented in this lesson will
help reinforce the key tenets of the American Transcendentalist movement, as well as help students
in developing the skills to identify these tenets in contemporary literature and narratives. Students
will further develop the knowledge of these values, including self reliance and non-conformity, and
will be able to identify the transcendentalist view of life, and how these values support a flourishing
multicultural society.

8. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Where can we identify the tenets of Transcendentalism in chapter one of Burro Genius?

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Supports Central Focus - Approaching
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How does an understanding of these tenets, including self-reliance and non-conformity, provide
support in instances of standing out and benefit the development of a well-functioning
multicultural society?

EVIDENCE OF LEARNING
9. OBJECTIVE(S) OR LEARNING GOAL(S):
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.2
Cognitive - Students will be able to connect the four main tenets of transcendentalism and quotes
from Transcendentalist authors with ideas and events presented in the first chapter of Victor
Villaseors memoir Burro Genius to produce a running summary of the ideas presented in the text by
completing the Guided Reader.

CA Content Standard - Literary Response and Analysis 3.2

Cognitive - Students will be able to analyze the way the tenets of Transcendentalism are found in a
contemporary memoir, and what view on life those tenets espouse, using textual evidence to support
their claims by completing the Guided Reader.

ELD Standard - Grades 11/12 - Section 2. C. 10. b - Writing (Bridging)

Language - After completing this mini-units lessons and the Guided Reader, students will be able to
write a clear and coherent account of a personal life event, using keywords and thematic ideas from
their Guided Reader.

10. ASSESSMENT(S):
Formative - At the conclusion of the Transcendentalism Unit, students will be able to use complete and
concise sentences and keywords (ELD Bridging) to complete the Guided Reader, which will guide
students through recalling the information they learned about the tenets of Transcendentalism.2

Summative Students will craft a personal response in the form of a Mini Memoir in which they share
a personal experience of standing out and how the values found in Transcendentalism and Burro
Genius could provide wisdom to rely on in instances of feeling out of place and create opportunities
for a more accepting multicultural society. Students will write this personal response using
appropriate academic language and will integrate analysis of the way in which the themes of
transcendentalism represent a view on life, using textual evidence to support the claim. (CA Content)

Assessment Analysis: These two assessments provide valid and reliable opportunities to assess
students learning by utilizing specific success criteria and rubrics to evaluate student work. These
assessments are valid points of student evaluation because they are to be completed at the
conclusion of a well-scaffolded unit on American Transcendentalism and learning segment requiring
students to apply their understanding of the themes and key tenets of American Transcendentalism,

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Supports Central Focus - Meets
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that utilizes a variety of modalities and universal design to ensure that all students have the same
success opportunities. All students are at the Bridging level of ELD standards, and the required work
in the Guided Reader and rubric for the Mini Memoir assignment reflect the demands of that
standard. 3

DAY 1 - INSTRUCTIONAL AND LEARNING TASKS

Differentiation strategies for specific students. Universal Design for Learning Modeling

11. INSTRUCTIONAL TASKS: Teacher Steps 12. LEARNING TASKS: Student Steps

1. Instruction - 5 minutes 1. Instruction - 5 minutes

All instruction, guided practice, and independent practice for Students will listen and / or follow along on the slide
this lesson will be delivered via google slide presentation to presentation as the days agenda is reviewed, and notate
support visual learners and spoken aloud to support auditory that the completed Guided reader is due tomorrow in
learners. their planners.
Teacher will review the days agenda with the class, as well as Students will follow along as the structure of the Guided
informing students that the Guided Reader will be assigned Reader is explained.
as homework if not finished in class.
Instructor will distribute the Transcendentalism of Burro Genius
Guided Reader. Students who are experiential learners will
benefit from working through this lesson using the Guided
Reader.
SDAIE Strategy - Metacognition: The guided reader chunks the
chapter into small sections, and provides prompts for reflective
thinking and writing, application of literary terms, and focused
connections to the larger Transcendentalist unit. My EL students
are at the Bridging level, and as such, will be able to work their way
through this text, which is written at an approachable level, using
the supports and guided thinking prompts included in the Guided
Reader.

Teacher will provide a brief explanation of the structure of the

guided reader.

2. Anticipatory Set - 3 minutes 2. Anticipatory Set - 3 minutes

Students will be given three minutes to complete the Brain Students will write down words and phrases that
Dump in their Guided Reader. Teacher will guide students to immediately come to mind when they think of Non-
write words and phrases that immediately come to mind Conformity.
when they think of Non-Conformity.
SDAIE Strategy - Bridging: This Brain Dump is an opportunity for
students to apply their previous knowledge to a key theme of the
mini-unit. Students can write in any language or draw pictures for
this activity. Because my EL students are at a bridging level, they
have the existing English skills to quickly interpret and connect the
ideas they have relating to the term Non-Conformity.

3. Instruction / Guided Practice - 3 minutes 3. Instruction / Guided Practice - 3 minutes

Teacher will guide class in a discussion using their Brain Students will volunteer to share what they wrote to their

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Supports Central Focus - Exceeds

Dumps. Teacher will ask students to share what they have
written, and point out overlaps and contradictions between
student answers as a means of furthering the discussion.
4. Instruction / Guided Practice - 5 minutes
Teacher will instruct students to note information about
Victor Villaseor in their Guided Reader in the About The
Author section.
Teacher will provide information about Villaseors
background to provide context for reading the first chapter of
his memoir, Burro Genius.
5. Guided / Independent Practice - 5 minutes
Teacher will guide students to the next section of their
Guided Reader and task them with interpreting the four
tenets of Transcendentalism.
Teacher will model the first one, Intuition over Empiricism
for students before giving students five minutes to interpret
the remaining three tenets.
6. Instruction - 5 minutes
Teacher will facilitate a short class discussion of students
sharing and debating their translations of each of the tenets
of Transcendentalism.
7. Instruction - 5 minutes
Teacher will introduce Burro Genius to the students,
addressing its nature as a memoir, how the book is written
non sequentially, and how it has aspects that also make it a
coming of age story.
Teacher will explain in detail how the Guided Reader works,
and the language and writing requirements for completion of
each section. Students will use appropriate Academic
English whenever possible, as well as crafting responses that
utilize concise and complete sentences.
Teacher will remind students to reference the vocabulary
footnotes for definitions and explanations of words they may
find confusing or unfamiliar. To assist EL students, career-
field specific terms and colloquialisms they may not be
familiar with are explained in these footnotes as well as tier
two vocabulary.
8. Guided Practice - 10 minutes
Teacher will ask for volunteers to read the text of section one
aloud for the class.
At the conclusion of the reading, instructor will lead the class
in completion of the Guided Reader prompts for the first
section to model how to complete the remainder of the
Guided Reader.
Teacher will ask students if they need any remaining
Sabrina Creen
Cohort 2
Brain Dump. Students will participate in discussion that
arises when similarities and contradictions with their
peers Brain Dumps.
4. Instruction / Guided Practice - 5 minutes
Students will take notes about Victor Villaseor in their
Guided Reader.
5. Guided / Independent Practice - 5 minutes
Students will follow along as the teacher models how to
interpret the tenets of Transcendentalism.
Students will complete the translations for the
remaining three tenets on their own.
6. Instruction - 5 minutes
Students will participate in the class discussion of their
interpretations of the tenets of Transcendentalism.
7. Instruction - 10 minutes
Students will listen and follow along on the slides and
their Guided Reader as the book is introduced.
Students will make note of the language and writing
requirements of the Guided Reader,
Students will make note of the footnotes provided
throughout the text to clarify vocabulary and unfamiliar
terms.
.
8. Guided Practice - 10 minutes
Students will volunteer to read the text of section one
aloud.
Students will complete the Guided Reader prompts along
with the teacher for section one.
Students will ask any remaining questions they may
have about what is expected of them.
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Cohort 2
clarification on what is expected of them.

9. Independent Practice - Remaining Class Time 9. Independent Practice - Remaining Class Time
Teacher will have students begin working on their Guided Students will work independently to complete the
Reader for the remainder of the class period. remainder of their Guided Reader.
Teacher will emphasize the importance of working
independently to encourage student reflection when reading.
The students personal responses to the reading will be
critical for completion of the writing assignment,

10. Conclusion - 2 minutes 10. Conclusion - 2 minutes

Teacher will remind students that the Guided Reader needs Students will note that the completed Guided Reader is
to be complete for class tomorrow. due tomorrow.

DAY 2 - INSTRUCTIONAL AND LEARNING TASKS

Differentiation strategies for specific students. Universal Design for Learning Modeling

11. INSTRUCTIONAL TASKS: Teacher Steps 12. LEARNING TASKS: Student Steps
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Cohort 2
1. Instruction - 10 minutes 1. Instruction - 10 minutes
Using the days Google Slide deck (which has written Students will take out their Guided Reader packet.
directions for all activities as well as visual Students will make a silent appointment with a
representations of content information) Teacher will partner to work on a digital poster.
review the days agenda, and instruct students to take Students will follow along as the model is explained.
out their Guided Reader packet.
Teacher will instruct students to make a silent
appointment with a partner to work on a digital poster.
Teacher will deliver instructions for the Poster Creation
Session. Students will be creating a digital poster in
Google Slides with a partner that describes a section of
the chapter from Burro Genius, the associated
Transcendentalist quote, how they connect, and an
image that the students feel connected with that
section of the reading.
Teacher will show and explain a model digital poster.

2. Independent Practice - 15 minutes 2. Independent Practice - 15 minutes

Students will work in pairs to create their digital poster. Students will work in pairs to create their digital
Students will submit their poster to Google Classroom poster. Students will submit their poster to Google
when it is complete. Classroom when it is complete.
As students submit their work into Google Classroom,
teacher will move the posters into todays slides to
create a digital gallery.
SDAIE Strategy - Text Representation: Through the creation of
a visual digital poster, EL students can interact with and
contextualize the ideas presented in the text in a new way.
Through the use of images, my EL students (all at the Bridging
level) will be able to interact with and explain their thinking as
it applies to the ideas of Transcendentalism, a literary
movement with often unfamiliar vocabulary.

3. Instruction / Guided Practice - 20 minutes 3. Instruction / Guided Practice - 3 minutes

Teacher will lead the class on a digital gallery walk. Students will interact with the digital posters in the
Encouraging students to offer their opinions and ask gallery walk, offering their opinions and asking
questions about the content of the posters. . questions about the content of the posters.

4. Instruction - 10 Minutes 4. Instruction - 10 minutes

Teacher will introduce the Mini-Memoir Assignment. Students will listen as the directions for the Mini-
Students will be writing a three section written piece Memoir are explained, and follow along in their
using the information in their Guided Reader as well as Guided Reader.
the writing graphic organizer.
Students will write an account of a time where they
stood out, explaining how that event impacted them.
They will then connect this event to a tenet of
Transcendentalism as well as a quote from a
Transcendentalist author. Finally, they will write a
conclusion that ties up their writing and explains the
connections between standing out and
transcendentalism.

5. Guided / Independent Practice - Remaining Class 5. Guided / Independent Practice - 5 minutes

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Time Students will have the remaining class time to begin
Students will have the remaining class time to begin working on their Mini-Memoir.
working on their Mini-Memoir. This assignment will be
due at the end of the unit, giving students time to
reflect and collect their thoughts for this writing
assignment.
Sentence starters and writing framework will be
provided for EL and SPED students who need the
additional assistance starting and/or organizing their
writing.