Genre+Study+Guide

“Horror and Suspense: Edgar Allan Poe”, “Heroes and the Human Condition”, “Revenge in Hamlet”. 2. I chose these lesson plans because they are all selections from different grades of teaching. I was interested in finding the variants in each one depending upon which grade level they were taught in. 3.) Out of the three, I like “Horror and Suspense: Edgar Allan Poe”. It is made up of specific instruction and is also well organized. I enjoyed the overall lay out of this lesson plan; it uses double spaced typing as well as single space which did not make it overwhelming to read. I also thought the activity of creating your own poem was very engaging for students. Most students will not be bored by Edgar Allan Poe and would be willing to put time into an activity focused around his work. 4.) The unit plan “Heroes and the Human Condition” overwhelmed me with too much information. My first reaction to when I opened it was dread; it is unorganized, and //way// too wordy. It is not double-spaced, and when listing things she does not use bullets. There is “word clutter”, due to the lack of concise and double spaced paragraphs. In order to improve this unit plan, I would go back into its text and weave out the information from those cluttered paragraphs that is important. After condensing the information into a more concise plan I would insert bullets to represent the parts of my main ideas, and also bold certain headings. 5.) “Revenge in Hamlet” is the most unique out of the three lesson plans; it not only has a title page but it also has a themed graphic, as well as a table of context and index. “Horror and Suspense: Edgar Allan Poe” is a very standard lesson plan but out of the three it is the only one that references a standard in the very beginning. I found this to be a very nice touch and thought that it was an excellent idea and that other educators and administrators would take a liking to it. “Heroes and the Human Condition” is the most different its overall layout, objectives and reasoning. Despite all their differences the one thing that they all have in common is their descriptive grading and detailed use of time. 6.) These unit plans are for either, ninth, and twelfth. “Heroes and the Human Condition” was created for the ninth grade, “Horror and Suspense: Edgar Allan Poe” for eighth grade and “Revenge in Hamlet” was made for twelfth grade. The differences in each lesson plan are related to the grade level they are directed towards. All three of them have specific requirements and grading. 7.) I would use the following categories: 8.) What constitutes the curriculum of English Language Arts? All three of these unit plans teach the importance of milestones in the study of literature: Shakespeare, Poe, and the characteristics that heroes are composed of. The study of these works prepares the students for further study in literature and allows students to understand symbolism within literature. What makes good instructional practices in English Language Arts? “Revenge in Hamlet” allow students an opportunity to work collaboratively with other students in efforts to create a scene from Shakespeare’s //Hamlet//. This lesson plans also leaves room for other types of learning such as working individually, as well as group discussions. Allowing for a variety of different learning strategies results in a more affective lesson. “Heroes and the Human Condition” also has groups as well. The one thing I liked was that students were also assigned to keep a journal and record characteristics that make up a hero. What English Language Arts students are/should be capable of? “Revenge in Hamlet” requires students to have an understanding of //Hamlet// and the ability to create their own representation of a dramatic scene from the play. This is a creative way to get students involved with the different elements that make up a dramatic play. Understanding the different characteristics that create a hero is what students will learn from “Heroes and the Human Condition”. By knowing these different traits, students will know how to identify a hero in literature, and the variants in different heroes. In “Horror and Suspense: Edgar Allan Poe” the teacher relates his poetry to modern times by comparing and contrasting a scene from Harry Potter. 9.) Despite their differences, all three of these unit plans have a well thought out rational. Each teacher developed creative ways to make the lessons interesting and engaging to all learning styles. I think all three of them represent attitudes of positivity and genuine desire to make sure students learn the material. The material and lessons are all age appropriate for their grade levels. Even though the lesson plan “Heroes and the Human Condition” is a bit messy and unorganized, the actual material and lesson plans are well thought out. 10.) “Revenge in Hamlet” represents the best attitude because the teacher went through the extra effort to create a table of contents, as well as placing a graphic on a title page. This shows her excitement and personal time that she spent making it. This attitude is very agreeable because the teacher went the extra mile and this reflects her personal interests in the unit that she is teaching.
 * Organization
 * Conventions
 * Grammar & Spelling
 * Content
 * Choice of Words
 * Use of References
 * Engaging Students