Lesson Plan: Facilitating Discussion
Tanya Schnabl, Sherburne-Earlville Middle School, Sherburne,
Schnabl's lesson plan is also available as a PDF
file. See Materials Needed, below, for links to student
activity sheets related to the lesson.
Governmental limits on individual freedom
set of Among the Hidden
set of "The Quiet World"
note pads for each student
slide: Response, Analysis,
access for students (optional for Investigation of China's
"One Child" Policy activity)
The literature and extension activities in this lesson are
connected thematically as students examine issues related
to government limits and individual rights in a number of
different ways. Class discussion will focus on questions such
much control should the government have over the lives of
would life in the United States be like if certain restrictive
laws were imposed?
it be possible for the United States to adopt a "two
child" law as projected in Among the Hidden?
it ever right for a citizen to break a law knowingly?
helps people make ethical decisions?
two literary texts will be contextualized by study and discussion
of China's "One Child" policy. Students are expected
to generate discussion questions which they write on sticky
notes as they read. Discussion occurs in small groups or as
an entire class. Regular entries in a writer's notebook add
further support to students' developing literary envisionments.
The range of activities students engage in (reading, writing,
speaking, listening, artwork, role-playing) is designed to
allow students to display competence and understanding in
a number of ways.
and enjoy literature.
literary texts in small groups and as an entire class.
deeper understandings of the literature through discussion
and support activities.
for discussions by generating questions and writing them
on sticky notes.
information about real-world situations (China's "One
Child" policy) to literary texts.
and analyze character motivations.
taking positions on ethical questions and presenting those
positions to the class in various formats.
and evaluate Internet search engines.
original products that demonstrate understanding of the
literature as well as of the ethical questions the literature
Products From Lesson:
facilitation, guidance, and feedback
presentation of ideas
presentation of ideas
Structure of Class:
Students work individually, in pairs, in small groups, or
as an entire class depending on the purposes and needs of
a particular activity. Desk groupings are fluid; furniture
is rearranged as needed.
Classroom activities vary daily and include the following:
silently or aloud
to oral reading
journal entries and/or questions about the literature
ethical issues and relating them to the literature
art projects related to the literature
dramatic projects related to the literature
poetry based on the literature
or Culminating Activities:
Students will choose a mode of communication presented in
this lesson a poster, a dramatic skit, or a series
of original poems and create
a project that focuses on a key issue, character, or event
presented in Among the Hidden.
they might choose another book, either from the list
of paired texts or one approved by the teacher and present
it to the class in a Booktalk. In addition, they will each
create a three-point assessment rubric based on their project
choice and modeled on the one used for their
poster project. In conference with the teacher, they will
use that rubric to evaluate their projects.
Students may be assessed on a daily basis through:
following activities might receive holistic or scaled evaluation
(see Assessment and Evaluation:
Some Useful Principles for a detailed explanation of holistic
and scaled evaluation):
final project on Among the Hidden receives a scaled