Language Arts: Week of Sept 15 - 19, Lesson 2, The Concepts of Change

Subject: Language Arts
Persuasion – Lesson 2, The Concept of Change

What we will learn (objectives):
Introduce the concept of change

What we will read or study (content):
Change Model

How we will study it (process):

Monday, Sept 15, Tuesday Sept 16, Wednesday, Sept 17
Tell students that they will be reflecting on the concept of change in literature and their own lives. Students will be divided into groups of 4 – 5, with a large paper and markers. Students will practice classifying in their groups first (using grocery store as an example; Action Strategies, pg. 131). Then students will discuss questions and write down their answers, followed by brief class discussion. Students will use Response Montage to state their generalizations (Action Strategies, pg. 94). See worksheet 1 below.

Thursday, Sept 17
Using Core Generalization Cards, discuss using Tableaux (Action Strategies, pg. 117). Each team picks a card and has 5 – 10 minutes to create a snapshot/slide show of their core generalization. See worksheet 2 below.

Thursday, Sept 18 and Friday, Sept 19
Students will work in their groups to complete the Change Model handout.

How we will know we learned something (product):
Large paper list
Change Model, to be displayed in class, as well as individual copies for personal use

Wednesday, Sept 17
Homework:
Write a 5-paragraph essay arguing that one of the five generalizations about change is true. Give at least three reasons to support your main idea, and explain reasons carefully. Include a conclusion.
Continue reading the novel you were assigned.

Friday, Sept 19 (possibly)
Extension:
Look through a newspaper or magazine. Find some articles that talk about change. Read one and determine which of the generalizations about change it supports.

Interview a person who has lived in more than one country. Ask this person to compare the types of changes they have experienced in the 2 countries.







Worksheet 1
With your team:


Brainstorm ideas about change and write down all the responses:
 What ideas come to mind when you think about change?
 What kinds of things change? What is it about them that changes?
 How do you know when something has changed? What evidence do you look for to determine whether a change has occurred?


Now, categorize/classify the ideas that you wrote down, putting them into groups and giving each group a title.
Use these questions to guide you:
 How could you categorize these ideas into groups?
 What could you call each group? Why?
 Do all of your changes fall into groups? Might some of them belong in more than one group?
 Is there a different way you might categorize your ideas? What other categories might you use?
 What are some of the characteristics of change, based on the ideas you have written?


Brainstorm a list of ideas that do not change:
 What are some things that do not change? What are some things that always seem the same or always happen the same way?
 What evidence or proof do you have that these things do not change?
 How might you group the things that do not change? What can you call each group?
 How are the groups of things that do not change similar to or different from the groups of things that do change?


Think about the following ideas and whether they show change:
 Routines
 Habits
 Rules and regulations
 Table manners
 Laws
 Customs of cultures
Explain your answers. If they show change, where would they fit into your categories? If they do not, where would they fit?


Each student will make a generalization about change:
A generalization is something that is always or almost always true. What generalization can you make about change?
Use your team’s examples and categories to guide your thinking.

Each student will write one generalization statement and then recite it for the Response Montage.


Worksheet 2
Your team will pick a Core Set of Generalizations card and you will have 5 – 10 minutes to create a tableaux – snapshot or slide show - based on your card.

Snapshot: Imagine a snapshot of the action.
Slide Show: Put together several Tableaux to tell a story of how several ideas relate to each other.


Core Set of Generalizations:
 Change is linked to time
 Change may be positive or negative
 Change may be perceived as orderly or random
 Change is everywhere.
 Change may happen naturally or be caused by people.



How do the five generalizations about change apply or not apply to:
 Non-living things (chair, scissors)
 Traditions (special holidays, celebrations of birth, passage and death)
 Religious rituals (Christmas, Hanukkah)
 Universal truths (all living things die, all triangles have three sides)

With your team, copy the Change Model onto larger paper and complete. Complete the Change Model (Handout 2A) individually as well.