Date: October 27, 2002

Grade: 11

Teacher Name: Cathelene Morris

Subject: American Literature

1. Students will read “Rip Van Winkle” and evaluate it as a piece of Romantic literature.

 2. Students will examine a variety of primary sources from the 1800’s in order to understand the time period and how various factors influenced the literature of the period.

1. After reading Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” (in student text American Literature for Christian Schools, Bob Jones University Press, Greenville, SC),  students will work in small groups and analyze the story based on the characteristics of the literature of the Romantic period.  Each group will give a short oral presentation of their findings to the class.
   
   
2. Students will answer questions on “Rip Van Winkle” on different levels of understanding.
   
   
3. Students will develop a power point presentation.  Each group will be given a research topic with instructions to study and explain its importance in the context of the historical period, and will list changes that came about as a result of its discovery or happening.

Computers

Internet

American Memory Collection of the Library of Congress

Microsoft PowerPoint

Floppy discs

CD R’s on which to save PowerPoints

1. Prereading activity:  Quick Write

     Tell students that since we have just finished discussing and reading the background material for the American Romantic period, we will now begin learning about Washington Irving, the first of the Romantic writers.  Ask students to take 3 minutes and write down anything they know about Washington Irving or his most famous works, “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”

      At the end of the 3 minutes, have students tell what they have written down.  Make a list on the board of the various things they already know.  Use this discussion to lead into PowerPoint presentation on Irving.

2.  Show  PowerPoint presentation on Washington Irving. 

3.  Story Impression Lesson for “Rip Van Winkle:”
          1. Tell student that we are going to talk about what we think the story we are going to read could

               be about before we read it.

          2.  Show students a list of clue words on a transparency.  Students will brainstorm and try to      

               piece together the story elements.  The goal is to predict how all the story elements might

               come together.

          3.  The class will dictate a story for the teacher to write on the overhead using the ideas
               generated in step 2.
          4.  The class will compare the story impression with the actual story.
          

3. For homework first day students will read “Rip Van Winkle.”

Quick Write and Story Impression Strategies came from Prereading Activities for Content Area Reading and Learning, third edition, by John E. Readence, David W. Moore, and Robert J. Rickelman.

1. Review the four characteristics of the literature of the Romantic Period. (see inspiration map)  Teacher will assign students to a group.  Each group will be given one of the four characteristics.  Each group will have 15 min. of class time to discuss the story and decide how their particular characteristic is revealed in the story.  Each member of the group will then write down in his own words his conclusions. Students will turn in their papers. Then one person from each group will present his groups ideas to the class.

2. Go over basic design principles of a PowerPoint presentation.

3. Take students to the computer lab and introduce them to the web quest. Make sure that everyone understands the task.  Introduce them to the American Memory collection and give them time to locate photos and documents in the collection that could be used in their PowerPoint presentation.  Teach students how to create links in a word processing document so they can save their sources on a floppy disc and take with them.  If they bookmark pages on the lab’s computers, they will not be able to access them at home.

1. Take students to computer lab two additional days to work on research for web quest.

1. Students will write answers to questions on “Rip Van Winkle which are written on different levels of understanding.

2. Students will complete web quest on their own time.  They will have eight additional days after the last day in the computer lab.  

1. Make special arrangements for students who do not have internet service at home to use media center or computer lab at school for the parts of the assignments which cannot be completed in class.

2. Students will work individually and in groups.

1. Written and oral analysis of the characteristics of “Rip Van Winkle which identify it as Romantic literature.

2. Questions on “Rip Van Winkle” at different levels of understanding.

3. Interactive exercise on Washington Irving and “Rip Van Winkle” using Hot Potatoes.

1. Students will present their PowerPoint presentations to the class.

2. Lead a class discussion to review the connections among the various elements of the inspiration map.

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