Heather M. Wenarsky
This lesson is an introductory lesson to teach students about how to observe visual images and to reinforce their previous knowledge of how to write expository essays. First, the teacher will scaffold students' knowledge about visual images, following background knowledge of the expository-essay writing steps. When educating students about observing visual images, the teacher needs to emphasize important facts students need to be aware of when observing a picture: the time period and creator of the image, design, setting, the lines and colors on an image, and words, as well as word font on an image. The students will use these strategies when observing the visual images in each of their lessons.
Methods
· Teacher will scaffold students' knowledge about visual images, following background knowledge of the expository-essay writing steps.
· Teacher will model for the class and display power point on how to write a five paragraph essay.
· Teacher and students will discuss cell phone images and how they relate to one another.
· Students will take out cell phones and compare and contrast their phone to the first invented cell phone.
· Students will brainstorm their thoughts and ideas on both cell phones.
· Students will write their expository essay based on the two images.
· Student will evaluate their individual essays writing by scoring a student rubric.
· Teacher will evaluate students' essays writing by scoring the teacher rubric for each student.
Additional Information
Before students take out their phones, teacher will briefly go over the school rules and appropriate cell phone use for this writing assignment.
Assessment
Students will write a two-page expository essay comparing and contrasting the first invented cell phone and the blackberry (additional option: use their own cell phone instead of the blackberry image) based on the visual images they viewed and the two articles they read.
