Pamela M. Fowler
The Autobiography of . . . Me is a unit written especially for fifth and sixth graders who are special education students full-time. The overall goal of this unit is to not only to encourage the students to write about themselves but also to expose middle school students to the lives and endeavors of black Americans. The students will find themselves reading better, spelling better, writing more often and enjoying it.
The average reading level of the class is third grade-six months with an equivalent oral language level and a written language level equivalent to that of a first grade student. It is my intention to bring each student to a fifth grade reading level and an oral language level and written language level of third grade-six months. Overall I would like to achieve my goal of increasing their functional level by at least 40% upon the completion of this unit.
Students who are placed in a self-contained learning center class tend to develop an extremely close bond amongst themselves. They find comfort within the classroom, develop a strong bond and sense of security and trust. With this unit a learning center teacher will be able to develop further that security within the class and maintain it throughout the school year. As the close of school or anytime after the first month of school each student will be able to see the progress he/she has made academically as well as emotionally.
The unit is intended to begin simultaneously with the opening of the school year and conclude in June at the close of school.
As teachers we all know the importance of writing. There is more to it than just acquiring good grades in school or being able to complete a job application. Although these abilities are important, writing serves a greater purpose. It allows the author to open up doors that only the imagination has the key to. It can also serve as a form of therapy. Not very often are adults honest with their younger counterparts, let alone themselves. Adults often claim this dishonest, or avoidance tactic, is for the child’s protection or in their best interest.
I see children born pure and they tend to be completely honest about the events which happen in their lives. They do not avoid the truth and will state what they feel until they are taught the avoidance tactic by friends, teachers and parents. This tactic keeps them from severe punishments and is often used to manipulate the friends, teachers and parents who taught them. Once the child masters this tactic they start to believe what they are saying and eventually lose sight to the truth. The purity is lost.
Our kids today are so confused. Although not always on purpose, we contradict our teaching morals and values. We tell them one thing and model the exact opposite. We say no and really mean yes. The children learn to ignore and avoid the truth and tend to say exactly what adults want to hear, even if it is a lie or untruth.
When the time comes for the child to write in school about his/her experiences he/she do not know which experience is real and which is fantasy. They start remembering what they have learned and write what they think the teacher wants to hear. Problem number one.
Problem number two is the writing process itself. Normally at the beginning of the school year the majority of the teachers want their class to write about what they did over summer vacation. Well, if their summer was anything like mine there were so many things going on that it would be difficult to focus on one event and write about it. No one can sit down with a blank piece of paper and a pen or pencil and just write. They need stimulation, ideas, direction. They need to be taught the process of writing. 80% of school children believe they can write, but then again they need to be taught the process of writing, or more simply, how to write. I’m sure that we have all had the dreaded experience of someone, teacher or employer saying, “Here, write about yourself . . .” This is what we are putting our kids through on a daily basis. As you felt at that moment, they also feel anxious, unsure, scared and frustrated, not to mention confused.
Daily format
The daily format will basically be the same. From the start of school each student will start from the same place and from there they will never be at the same spot again with support and guidance. It is my hope that at the end of the school year, each student will have gained a vast amount of insight and understanding of the writing process and autobiography.
First the teacher must choose a period of time that will remain strictly for writing. The time period should be no less than fifteen minutes and no more than 30 minutes. This period should also be sustained and uninterrupted. In other words the teacher should stick to writing and the writing process eliminating frivolous conservation among the students as well as among him/herself. A very important aspect of the sustained, uninterrupted reading time is that the teacher should model what he/she expects the students to do. By this I mean while the students are writing, drafting or editing, the teacher should also be writing, drafting, or editing his/her own piece. By modeling, this encourages the students to continue to write and also shows them that the writing process is not another class that teachers teach to fill up the day.
Sample lesson/Sample Day—One Week into the school year
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Writing Class time:
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10:30Ð11:00
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10:30 - Upon the opening of class, each student obtains their daily writing folder from the file.
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10:32 - Individual students “pick up” their writing from where they left off the day before
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Jill - Prewriting stage—Me-Web
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Tony - First Draft—First story
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Diane - Conference on first draft—mechanics and grammar
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Reha - First Draft—Second draft
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10:32-10:45 - Students write continuously and uninterrupted for 13 minutes.
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10:45 - Teacher asks students if anyone wants to share their writing.
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10:45-11:00 - Group share time. If no one wants to share their writing, teacher can spend the time on writing activities or lessons on grammar or punctuation or capitalization.
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11:00 - Students put papers inside folders and place folders back in the file.
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Class ends.
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Folders
Each student will have two folders in which they’ll place all their work in, including their writings. The student is responsible for maintaining their own folder. One folder is a manila folder or large brown envelope labeled final drafts. Inside this folder the stories, poems, letters, etc., which are final drafts are placed. This is the students permanent file.
The second manila folder contains four lists as follows:
The reading selections used range from a third grade reading level to a twelfth grade reading level. Although I have focused on the less academically talented student, this unit may be incorporated into any curriculum by appropriating the readings by interest level and ability. The students will direct you from there.
In addition to increasing and developing academic skills, a behavioral change will take place. There really will be no need to incorporate a behavior management system because the students will learn to carry out self control and discipline themselves.
The class will find themselves under no restrictions. Although there are requirements for them to fulfill in order to be successful, no one is saying to them “No, you can’t do that,” or “No don’t do that,” “No don’t use that word,” or “No, that doesn’t belong.” They have total freedom where their ideas and creations are concerned. They will eventually create their own book. This possession is a part of them and their being.
They will protect it, criticize it and try very hard to perfect it.
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1.
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Stories I’ve Written
: Stapled to the outside front cover. Lists the titles completed. A table of contents.
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2.
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Topics I Know Much About
: Stapled to the inside front cover. Lists the things the child is very familiar with, those things the child knows a lot about.
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3.
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Some New Ideas to Write About
: Stapled to the inside back cover. This lists ideas the students come up with to write about. These ideas can be and often are generated from the me-web(s).
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4.
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Skills I Can Use
: Stapled to the outside back cover. This page is kept up by the teacher and lists those skills each individual student is able to accomplish without the teacher reminding him/her.
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Keeping Track of your class
It is good to know what each child in your class is doing, and to achieve this I have established a system to be used by the teacher. This system is titled “Status of the Class.”
List each child’s name on the appropriate line. Under each day of the week use the code below to note the step each child is on or has completed.
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Code:
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NS = New Story
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PW = Prewriting Steps
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D
1
= First Draft
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D
2
= Second Draft
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FD = Final Draft
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C = Conference Held
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A = Absent
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Objectives, Strategies and Lessons
It is my desire that through the curriculum unit ‘The Autobiographies of Black Americans’ the functional levels of my students will increase by at least 40%. I intend to accomplish all the following objectives in regards to the students’ competencies. Each objective will appear in sequence with the appropriate strategy and lesson plan.
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A.
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READING THE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SELECTIONS
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Goal: TO INCREASE COMPREHENSION SKILLS
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The students will read orally a series of autobiographical selections and answer comprehension questions in relation to the story.
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Reading is encouraged by way or oral readings. My classroom is not divided by reading levels, but rather by personalities and by which student works best with another. I have discovered the fact that children learn better from each other. There is a sense of support that a teacher cannot duplicate. Kids have a language all their own; often, when I have explained a fact several times and a student doesn’t understand, I turn to peer teaching. I have found that it works very well. The group won’t go on unless
everyone
has an understanding of the concept. Together the students develop and improve on those skills which they were lacking in September.
My students’ most prominent disability lies in comprehension, retention, and recollection of the information read. My students are very visual students. I begin the lesson by oral readings, for example, selections from Ernest Gaines’
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
. The class takes turns reading aloud paragraph by paragraph. After the students have each read a paragraph, I ask literal questions about the readings and the class then answers them. The questions are not difficult and very rarely stray from the story. Inferences and conclusions are not taught until the class is able to recall information well. The class keeps a notebook just for comprehension questions. The questions are written on the blackboard for the students to copy down into their books. Each question is read aloud for the class to answer. As they give the answer, the teacher writes it on the board in a complete sentence. The class then copies the information into their books in the exact format they see on the board. This teaches them organizational skills as well as vocabulary, sentence structure and vocabulary. As the year goes on, the vocabulary and questions become more difficult so the students increase their vocabulary skills. You will find the reading list for the class at the end of the unit, labeled
Student’s Reading List
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Format for Comprehension Skills
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(Title of Book)
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Name
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Date
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Pages Read
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Course (Reading)
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1.
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State the Question
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State the Answer
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SKIP ONE LINE BETWEEN EACH QUESTION
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2.
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State the Question
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State the Answer
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ENGLISH AS A SUB COMPONENT TO READING
Goal: TO INCREASE WORD USAGE AND VOCABULARY SKILLS
The student will develop and utilize a vocabulary book which includes that vocabulary he does not know how to spell, is foreign to him or misuses in his work.
Phonics and linguistics are two ways of teaching children to read and spell. The two are so often interchanged in every school system, school district, school and classroom. My students spell phonetically. They know that they spell the words wrong because the words do not look right— in steps frustration and the idea that they will never be able to spell. I want to discourage that from happening. I intend to use the rote teaching for most of my vocabulary lessons in conjunction with phonics.
Each week, beginning on Monday and Tuesday, five words are introduced to the students for a total of ten words per week. These words gradually increase in difficulty so that the child can see progress in his ability to learn. The “New Vocabulary” is taken directly from the readings of the classics, and in the future, from the short stories. Once the vocabulary is identified, the teacher writes them on the blackboard as the students copy them down into their notebooks.
The first set of exercises that the students complete is to figure out the definition of the words. It is not important that the students know the book meaning. After the class understands what the word means, in relation to their lifestyles, it is time for them to come up with a sentence that explains the word correctly. At this point I found that all of my students were working together rather than working against each other. The teacher writes the class definition on the board and their sentence following. The class is to copy both down exactly as they see it. This will begin to teach them a simple form of organization and outline.
It is the student’s responsibility for homework to write each word and its definition three times and to study and know the definition for a quiz on the following day. This is done for two days, and on the third a set of written exercises is required for the students to complete. The exercises are written on the board and copied into their notebooks. Each exercise is related directly to the vocabulary to increase spelling, defining and utilizing the word correctly. For homework the same night I require my students to study the sentences and the words for a sentence dictation session the next day. This also aids in increasing their understanding of the meaning and use of the word in context.
On day five the students are well prepared to take a spelling test which is dictated by the teacher. The teacher says the word, uses it in the sentence that the class created and then repeats the word on their paper. Do not allow the students to begin to write until the entire sequence has been completed. This session increases their listening and recalling skills.
In the second quarter when the class begins to read the selected short stories, the teacher introduces the students to an additional exercise that they are to be responsible for. The students are to locate and identify the vocabulary given in their readings, copy the sentence it is used in and find the “book definition” along with the definition the class came up with. Aside from this “dictionary work” each student is solely responsible for finding and recording ten words that he came across in his readings. These words are determined by asking three questions, “Do I know this word?”, “Do I understand what it means in context?”, “Can I spell it without looking?”. If the answer to any or all of these questions is “No” then the student knows that word is one which belongs in his vocabulary book. This book becomes a source of reference for the future semesters.
Day 1
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1.
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Introduce new vocabulary #1-5. Teacher writes the words on the board as students copy them into their notebooks.
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2.
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Teacher and students define the word and create a sentence using the word correctly.
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3.
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Teacher writes the definition following the word and the sentence underneath as the students copy the word into their notebook. Example: Divide means to separate. I will divide this pizza in half.
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HOMEWORK: Students make a copy of the words and definitions to take home. Write each word and definition three times each and study for definition quiz.
Day 2
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1.
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Students take a dictated definition quiz. Teacher says the word, students write the word on their paper and follows it with the definition. Upon completion the class corrects peer’s papers together, by switching papers.
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2.
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Teacher introduces second half of new vocabulary as in Day 1.
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HOMEWORK: Repeat assignment from day one using the new vocabulary.
Day 3
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1.
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Students take definition quiz using the vocabulary from Day 2.
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2.
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Teacher writes a series of written exercises on the blackboard for the students to do. Students write the exercises in their vocabulary books and complete as per the directions.
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A.
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Put all your vocabulary in alphabetical order.
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B.
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Unscramble these words to make the vocabulary.
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C.
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Fill in the blanks with the right letters.
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D.
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Write one of your own sentences for each of the following words.
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E.
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Match up the correct definition with the appropriate word. (and vice-versa)
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F.
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Write one vocabulary word which rhymes with each of the words below.
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G.
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Divide these words into syllables then tell how many syllables there are in the word.
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H.
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Tell what word means the same as these words below.
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HOMEWORK: Students will study the sentences from 1-10 for a dictated sentence quiz.
Day 4
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1.
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Teacher will dictate the ten sentences to the class twice. The students will then write the sentence on a piece of paper paying special attention to the spelling, capitalization and punctuation.
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2.
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The students will exchange papers and the class will correct.
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HOMEWORK: The students will write all ten words five times each and study for the vocabulary test.
Day 5
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1.
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Teacher will dictate to the class the vocabulary. He/She will say the word, use it in a sentence, then repeat the word a second time. The students will spell the word on their paper. Follow the sequence through all ten words.
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2.
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The teacher will assign two students to correct the tests.
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Day 1
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1.
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Introduce new vocabulary #1-5. Teacher writes the words on the board as students copy them into their notebooks.
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2.
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Teacher and students define word and create a sentence using the word correctly.
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3.
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Teacher writes the word and sentence on the blackboard as the students copy the format down into their notebooks.
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4.
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Teacher instructs students to read short story and upon completion to find the vocabulary in context, noting the page number and the exact form in which it was used. HOMEWORK: Same as Lesson Plan 1a.
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Day 2
Same as Lesson Plan 1a
Add step four in the above lesson using the second half of the new vocabulary.
Day 3-5
Same lesson as in Lesson Plan #1a.
Goal: TO INCREASE CREATIVITY, WRITING ABILITY AND OVERALL SELF WORTH
The student will write daily on a journal and actively participate in self worth activities.
Starting to write is the most difficult part of writing. The class is taught the writing process through this curriculum unit. They begin with the me-web. From the me-web the ideas for stories come. A web is made the first day of school and kept in their folders for the remainder of the year. At times a students may ask you if they can make another web instead of always using the first on. That is always permissible. They may get an exciting idea and want to develop that into a story.
MAKING THE ME-WEB
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1.
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In the center of a blank unlined piece of paper have the class write their first names.
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2.
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Circle it.
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3.
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Off of that circle have them draw six lines going outward.
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4.
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The first line will depict their family.
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The second their friends.
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The third school.
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The fourth their hobbies.
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The fifth their dislikes.
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The sixth trips they have taken.
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5.
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Now have them start listing their family members, keep it immediate family.
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6.
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Once their family is completed have them go to the category of their friends and do the same. Listing their friends they have or have had in the past.
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7.
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Continue this pattern until all the categories are complete. In the third category “school” the kids can list their favorite teachers and favorite subjects, since they don’t have the experience of attending several school in their short span of life. Of course there will always be that child who has been to as many schools as he is in years, so if he wants to do that, list all the places he has been fine.
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This web is to be kept inside each child’s folder and they are allowed to an encouraged to add to the web as often as they want. With this in mind it is safe to say that the web is never finished.
Lesson Plan Writing - The four components
PREWRITING
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1.
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Introduce the Me-Web. Teacher make and explain own we on the blackboard before class makes their.
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2.
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Teacher assist each student with me web.
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3.
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Discuss the class me web. Class share the information on the web with each other. Teacher included.
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4.
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Students select a topic from the me web to write about.
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5.
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Students web their chosen topic, to narrow the ideas down.
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6.
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Class share and discuss the chosen topics.
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7.
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Have students write for ten to fifteen minutes on chosen topic.
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8.
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Class read aloud and share writings.
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9.
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Teacher introduce to class the art of criticism and practice during sharing time.
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10.
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Class should share writings on an average of two to three times a week.
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THE FIRST DRAFT
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1.
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Using the web tell class to chose a topic, web it and begin to write about their topic.
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2.
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Continue to write without worrying about the mechanics of grammar or spelling. Have the kids use sound-it-out spelling and then correct the words when they see you for conferences.
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3.
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Allow the thoughts to run freely.
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4.
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Conferencing can begin at anytime the students needs one.
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*See following lesson.
REVISING
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1.
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Share writing with the class. Have the student read his/her word out loud.
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2.
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Work with the class and allow them to compliment
and
criticize the piece that is being read. Stress that they are to say what they like about the piece and what they feel could be expressed more. You can compliment without criticizing, BUT you CANNOT criticize without a compliment. The kids need to know this rule.
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4.
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After the piece has been critiqued have the child return to his desk and rewrite the piece in another form, e.g., from story to poem, letter or whatever comes to mind (If this does not seem appropriate omit).
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5.
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Revise. Using the information given in the group share add or delete information, change the wording, delete repeated words, (an excellent opportunity to utilize the dictionary and/or thesaurus) or delete unnecessary detail.
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EDITING
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1.
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Hold a conference with the child for editing purposes.
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a.
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Have the child read you draft aloud.
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b.
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Then you read the draft aloud to the child.
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c.
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Check their grammar and punctuation. Explain where necessary.
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d.
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Circle their spelling errors.
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2.
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Have the child return to his/her seat and correct the errors.
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3.
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Hold a second editing conference and make final corrections.
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4.
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Have the child then make a final copy on a clean piece of paper.
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Things to Write About
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1.
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News Bulletin
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Write a brief television news bulletin. The announcement may be serious or funny and should last between 30 seconds and one minute. Rehearse and memorize.
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2.
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Radio Commercial
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Prepare a 30-second radio commercial advertising an original product or service. Work alone or with a partner. Arrange to tape record it and be sure to include all necessary sound effects. Include a catchy jingle that people will associate with your product or service.
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3.
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School Announcements
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Write a list of announcements similar to those that are made over the school’s public address (p.a.) system. Use wit and humor in creating them in order to amuse the audience. Practice reading the announcement several times so that the presentation will sound “official.”
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4.
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The Bully
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Imagine that you are often picked on by a bully. If you tell anyone, things will only get worse. Think of three clever, nonviolent ways to put an end to the harassments. Write your plans and present them to your classmates.
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5.
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Millionaire
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You just won a million dollars! The only catch is that you have to spend it all in one week, or you’ll forfeit the gift. How will you spend the money? Plan your week, and share it with your class.
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6.
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2001
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What kinds of jobs will be available to people in the twenty-first century? Create a new position one that doesn’t exist today because there isn’t a need for it. Write a job description including educational and work experience requirements, salary, fringe benefits, and any other relevant information.
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7.
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Hiccups
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Think of five ridiculous ways to get rid of the hiccups. Make a chart listing these methods. Then choose a classmate to serve as your “guinea pig,” and demonstrate your methods in class.
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8.
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Pet Peeves
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What habits in other people do you find particularly annoying? Share them with your class. Your approach may be serious or humorous.
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9.
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Drive ‘Em Crazy
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Make a list of your five favorite ways to drive your parents crazy.
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10.
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Three Wishes
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If you were given three wishes, what would you wish for? Why?
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11.
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Early Childhood Memory
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Think of an early childhood event that you remember very clearly. Write down as many details about it as possible and relate the experience to your classmates. Supplement it with pictures or photographs of yourself at that age. Write the story, and practice telling it without reading from your paper.
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12.
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New Holiday
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Create a new holiday for Americans to celebrate. When will it be celebrated? What special food will be prepared? In what activities will people participate? Your approach may be serious or humorous. Organize your thoughts and share them with your classmates.
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13.
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Circus
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Your dad takes you to the circus. Tell about all the things that you saw and did there.
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14.
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The Birthday Party
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It is your best friend’s birthday. You are planning a birthday party for your best friend. What are all the things you have to do to make it a good party?
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15.
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The End of the Year Trip
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Your teacher gives your class a choice of two places for an end of the year trip. One of the places is one you always wanted to go to. Where it is? How do you convince your teacher and your class to choose the one you want?
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16.
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The Mystery Package
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Suppose your doorbell rings. You open the door and there’s a large package. A man walks away. What do you do?
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17.
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A Camping Weekend
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You are camping in the woods with two friends. It’s very dark and quiet. All of a sudden, the silence is broken and you hear the roar of what is obviously a very angry, big bear. What do you and your friends do as the bear comes closer and closer to you?
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18.
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A Trip for Two
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Congratulations! You won the first prize in a raffle. The prize is an all expense paid trip for two. You may go anywhere you choose. Where would you go, who would you take, what would you do?
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19.
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Gilligan’s Island
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Your boat crashed and you are the only survivor. You swim to an island. A crate from your boat washes ashore. What does it contain and how do you survive?
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20.
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Going, Going, Gone
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Your cruise ship has sunk. Competing for limited lifeboat space are: you, a nurse, a minister, a pregnant woman, a ten year old girl, an experienced sailor, a Nobel Prize winning scientist, a famous movie star, and the Secretary General of the United Nations. Only five people can get in the boat. Only five people will live. Write about who should be in the lifeboat and tell why they should be saved.
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21.
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Crowd Control
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You are a person in charge of over all security, lighting, and sound system for a rock group. The group is giving a concert in a Civic Center in a city near you. You’re watching the crowd and you are wondering if more control is necessary. You also have an eye on the stage to oversee the special effects. Since you are one of the few people who understand the sound system, you’re also listening. Describe what do you, see, and hear on a wild and frenetic Saturday night.
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22.
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Celebrities
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You are in a restaurant where you spot your favorite movie star/singer/athlete. He/she accepts an invitation to sit and talk to you. Write in paragraph form all the things you would say to this person. What do you enjoy or admire about this person’s work? Are there any suggestions you would like to make? What do you hope to see this person do in the future?
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23.
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Breaking Up is Hard to Do
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You cared very much for someone, but you thought you had to break up the relationship.
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24.
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Lonely
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You felt excluded from a group or situation and knew you had to do something about it.
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25.
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Good-bye
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You experienced a loss of someone or something and had trouble getting on with your life.
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26.
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Me
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Tell your likes and dislikes
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27.
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The Future
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Tell what you want to be or do when you get out of school and why.
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28.
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Emotions
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Tell something that made you feel very excited or very sad and why.
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29.
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Secrets
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Tell something you never told anyone before.
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30.
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I’m Different Because I’m Me
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Tell what makes you special or different from everybody else.
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C.
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READING TO WRITE
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Goal: To develop, increase and maintain positive self-esteem and write in a manner which is modeled in readings. The students will actively participate in writing activities which relate to the reading selections.
Through reading the following selections orally the students will discuss plot, characters and most importantly writing style. I use selections so that they may be read in class and then discussed. The teacher focuses the class on the author’s writing style and ability to relate their message tell his/her story and bring the reader into the same place the author is.
After reading and discussing the selection instruct the students to write in one of the styles mentioned on the following pages.
Reading Selections:
-
*
Narrative
by Frederick Douglas
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The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
by Ernest Gaines
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*
Brothers and Keepers
by John Wideman
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*Family
Installments
by Edward Rivera
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*
Nigger
by Dick Gregory
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The Day I Learned Shame
by Dick Gregory
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*
The Me Nobody Knows
by Stephen M. Joseph
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My Bondage and My Freedom
by Frederick Douglas
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My Struggle
by Booker T. Washington
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*“Letter From Birmingham Jail” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
*Reading Selections and Lesson Plans have been photocopied and placed at the Institute Office, 53 Wall Street.
Lesson Plan
The Me Nobody Knows
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A.
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Reading Selection: “Helpless, What I was Through” pg. 32
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Discussion: Drugs. How he felt after he was hooked. How he feels now, today. Is he alive? dead? clean? a junkie?
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Writing Assignment: Your first encounter with drugs, or the first time you found out about drugs.
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B.
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Reading Selection: Annette C Age 15 “Father” page 34
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Discussion: Family. Specifically mothers and fathers or grandparents.
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Writing Assignment: Write a sketch of either your mother or father.
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C.
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Reading Selection: Lunch pg. 75
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Discussion: Your favorite subject in school, or school.
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Writing Assignment: Tell of your favorite subject.
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Other Activities for Writing
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1.
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Book Reports:
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a.
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Using construction paper fold as if it were to be used as a book cover. Fold in the front and back flaps. Have the students write a brief report on the book/story/excerpt read. Staple the pages on the inside of the book cover and then have students decorate the front of the cover complete with title, and author.
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b.
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Using notebook paper, the students write a complete report on the selection/book read and on an unlined white 8 1/2"x11" drawing paper the student draws a cover for their report complete with author and title.
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2.
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Take My Place: Have the student imagine that they are in the place and time as the reading. Given a situation have the child write how they would handle the situation. Upon completion have the students exchange papers and group share.
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3.
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Inferences: Given a situation from a reading selection allow students to come to a conclusion. Once they have completed read their endings aloud then complete the reading to determine the author’s ending.
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4.
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Change Style: Experiment with assorted writing styles. Change essays to poems. Poems to songs. Songs to plays. Plays to letters. Letters to monologues and so on.
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5.
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Vocabulary Trip: Give the students a word they don’t know and allow them to define it
before
using the dictionary.
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D.
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CONFERENCING
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Goal: To help student react to his/her own writing in order that he/she may diagnose possible writing problems to solve them.
The student will actively participate in a conference with the teacher and discuss the writing in order to identify problems and the proper way to correct them.
In the conferences with the children the teacher’s role is to
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a.
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Listen to the child
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b.
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Respond to content first
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c.
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Follow, NOT lead.
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d.
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Handle one problem at a time.
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e.
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Keep the conference short.
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Conferences should last no more than five minutes. Any longer there is a tendency to lose the focus of the conference.
