Intern Connie Nicholson Date November 2, 1998 Mentoring Teacher
Class/Subject Honors English Grade 11^th

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (Objectives): The students will read the short story "Miriam" by Truman Capote. As a group they will fill out a chart describing the two main characters, Mrs. Miller and Miriam (chart to be used attached). After completing the reading, and a class discussion, each student will write a cinquain using the words from the chart. Each student will stand in front of the class and read the cinquain she/he wrote.

FIVE STEP LESSON PLAN
Set Induction/Anticipatory Set: The teacher will hold up pictures of Truman Capote (attached to the Lesson Plan) and ask, "Have any of you ever heard of Truman Capote?" The teacher will let two or three students respond. If no student responds, the teacher will ask, "Has anyone every heard of the novel In Cold Blood?" If no one has, the teacher will explain a little about the book. The teacher will give some background information about the author. Since the class has just completed reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the teacher will tell the students that Truman Capote and Harper Lee grew up in the same town in Alabama and were best friends as children.

Instruction/Teaching to the Objective: The teacher will tell the students to turn to page 264 of their literature book. The teacher will tell the students that each person will read two paragraphs aloud and then stop for a class discussion of those paragraphs. The students will be given a handout (handout attached to Lesson Plan). The teacher will tell the students it is a chart to be filled out as the story is read. During the class discussion following the reading of the paragraphs, the teacher will ask, " Can we fill in anything under appearance, behavior or personality of Mrs. Miller and Miriam?" If one of the students finds something that should be filled in, he/she will be asked to tell the class exactly which area it would fit under. The class will then write that characteristic on the chart. Once the class has completed the reading of the story, and completed the chart of characteristics, the teacher will instruct them on how to write a cinquain. A form will be handed out which will help the students in writing a cinquain (form attached to Lesson Plan). The teacher will give these instructions to write the cinquain:

1. First put a noun on the top line. It could be Mrs. Miller's name or Miriam's name. Since the characteristic form will help with descriptive words about these two characters, this would be a good noun for the first line.
2. The second line will be two adjectives which you may take from the form with the characteristics.
3. The third line will be either three gerunds, or three infinitives which could be used to describe Mrs. Miller or Miriam. These could also be formed by looking at the characteristic sheet.
4. The fourth line will be five words which you think describe the characters in the story.
5. The fifth line should be one noun that reflects the idea of the whole story. For instance, the word "life" could be used.

The teacher will tell the students how the grading for the cinquain will be done.
1. The student who writes a cinquain and stands up in front of the class and reads it will receive an A.
2. The student who writes a cinquain and doesn't read it to the class will receive a B.
3. The student who does not write a cinquain will receive an F.

Guided Practice: The teacher will tell the class to begin writing the cinquain. He/she will remind the class to use the list of characteristics of Mrs. Miller and Miriam to help guide them. She/he will walk around the room and observe the progress the student is making on his/her cinquain. If a student seems to be having difficulty finding adjectives, the teacher will make suggestions. She/he might say, "Look at the behavior section of the form to see if there is a descriptive word you might use which reveals something about the character's personality."

Independent Practice: Once all the students have started on their paragraphs, the teacher will tell the class, "If you have trouble finishing your cinquain, please come to my desk and I will help you." The teacher will sit at his/her desk and wait for the students to complete their cinquain.

Closure: When there are 10 minutes left of class, the teacher will ask the students to take turns going to the front of the room and reading their cinquain aloud. Any student who chooses not to read it to the class will receive a B, rather than an A. The students will turn in to the teacher the completed cinquain and chart at the end of class. The teacher will tell the students that often if they make a chart of the main characters characteristic as they read a piece of literature they will have a better understanding of the characters.

EVALUATION: Student grades for the lesson today will depend on the cinquain. The grade will be dependent on both completing the cinquain, and reading it aloud to the class. 
1. The student who writes a cinquain and reads it to the class will receive an A.
2. The student who writes a cinquain and does not read it aloud will receive a B.
3. The student who does not write a cinquain will receive an F.

RESOURCES AND MATERIAL:
1. Pictures of Truman Capote
2. Form for characteristics of main characters
3. Form to write a cinquain

SUPPLEMENTARY/ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES: Any student who wants to write another cinquain about another story he/she has read will receive an additional 10 points.