Sample Lesson Plan

 Maus Lesson Plan

Subject: English/Language Arts

Grade: 7

Lesson Plan Day 1: Introduction to Maus and the Holocaust

Purpose: Elicit prior knowledge in order to identify student understanding; Provide context as to why the content is important and in what ways it is relevant

Anticipated Outcome: 

Able to identify students’ knowledge of the topic

Students have begun to make connections between literature and history

Students are primed to identify rhetorical devices and think critically about the text

Students are primed to think about the author as a character and narrator

Hook: Immediately utilize prior knowledge and student participation through discussion

Typing students responses out on slide so they can see and consider their responses

Googling facts and allowing students to see on screen research being done

Discussion Question: What do we already know or what have we already learned about the Holocaust?

High Leverage Practices:

Modeling Research

Leading Discussion

Eliciting and Interpreting Student Thinking

Content Questions:

Why include a quote by Hitler, of all people? Why this quote?

What is the purpose of including information prior to telling the story? What might the author be trying to achieve?

Materials:

Maus by Art Spiegelman

Presentation Slides

Vocabulary Words (2): Prologue; Foreshadowing

Procedure:

Pull up slides and introduce content as well as context.

Ask students the first discussion question. Have them either type out answers in the chat or speak though the call. Type out student answers on the slides. Once students cannot think of anymore, open up a separate tab and allow students to see you doing your own research on the topic.

Show students the quote from the book. Ask students the second discussion question. Ask them to take one to two minutes hypothesizing their own ideas by writing them down. Then have students come together to discuss their ideas as a whole group.

Provide students additional context about the book through its prologue. Ask students the third discussion question. Ask them to infer what the answer might be based on the additional content on the slide (the definitions). Ask students what they know about the vocabulary words. Come up with definitions as a class. 

Close with the Assessment and assessment questions on the final slide.

Assessment: Participation in answering the final question (What can we infer about the rest of the story?)

Objective: Make sure students exhibit ability to make connections and draw their own conclusions

Academic Standards:

7.RN.3.2 Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas

7.RV.3.3 Interpret figures of speech (e.g., personification) in context

7.SL.2.4 Pose and respond to specific questions with elaboration and detail by making comments that contribute to the topic, text, or issue under discussion