We begin class with a vocabulary quiz of the words reviewed in this lesson, all of which were taken from Part One of To Kill a Mockingbird.
I assigned my students two chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird to read over the weekend, chapters 12-13, and since we began reading chapter 12 as a whole group in class, and the remaining reading was minimal, I am not giving a reading quiz.
Instead, we will review the chapters through the focus questions my students develop on an on-going basis for each chapter. I will ask for students volunteers to offer their focus questions and allow their questions to dictate the discussions around the chapters. I have thus far been very pleased with their focus question contributions, and so I have confidence that my students, along with my participation, will generate a healthy review of the chapters:
For a short segment of class today, I want to get my students started on chapter 14, and get as far as when Scout and Jem discover Dill hiding under Scout's bed. I expect this will pique most of my students' interest enough so that they will be compelled to continue reading the chapter when I assign it, along with chapters 15-16, for homework.
As has become our habit, I instruct my students to remain on the alert for good focus questions as we read. I ask for student volunteer readers, and I share in the reading if necessary.
Finally, because we were not able to progress as far through the film as I had planned in this lesson, we will finish the period with another segment from it. This will be a treat for my students, because they will not be expecting it today, and because no matter how loyal they are to the book, they still get excited about watching the movie.
I instruct them to take out their viewing activities so that they can continue documenting character trait comparisons and noticeable plot changes as they view the film.
Before my students leave for the day, I remind them to read chapters 14-16 of To Kill a Mockingbird, and to create at least one focus question for each chapter.