J'nai Whitehead's lesson plan for 8th grade English language arts integrates Google Classroom and other technologies to enhance literacy learning across multiple genres, including activities such as Kahoot games and live play performances. Students will engage in critical analysis of texts and vocabulary through various media, including a focus on Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. The plan addresses potential drawbacks of technology usage, such as reduced human interaction and access issues, while promoting active engagement and comparative analysis skills.

1. J’Nai Whitehead
August 16, 2020
Class Technology Tool Assignment
110.24. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 8, Adopted 2017.
1. Choose a technology that you can integrate into a lesson plan for your content area.
I would create a lesson using Google Classroom for ELA, grade 8. The lesson will consist of
different literacy genres, such as realistic fiction, adventure stories, historical fiction, mysteries,
humor, fantasy, science fiction, and short stories. I would include audio and short clips from
movies based on books for students to identify the genre. Students will be required to determine
the meaning of vocabulary words from the context in which the word is used in the story.
After the introduction to poetry, students will play a KAHOOT game to help them identify poetic
forms such as epic, lyric, and humorous poetry. Towards the end of the unit, students will read a
“Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare and then watch the play. Students will watch
corresponding Acts in the play after reading with a partner. I will ask students to recall the kinds
of things that they thought about as they watched the movie. Students will respond with ideas
that suggest they were comparing the book to the movie and mentally noting similarities and
differences
2. Reference at least one higher-order learning objective.
Each student will define vocabulary words by using the context described in the story, poem, or
playwright. Each student will identify vocabulary words while watching the play to confirm their
initial definition based on the context in the written text.
Each student will identify different literary genres by playing the KAHOOT game with the entire
class and again with a partner. Each student will recall literary genres as they are presented in
the KAHOOT game through various types of media (audio, visual, movie clip, etc…)
Each student will write a 300-word essay on one theme (provided by the teacher) from “A
Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Students will analyze the chosen theme by presenting evidence
from Acts and Scenes in the written playwright and/or the movie.
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2. J’Nai Whitehead
August 16, 2020
TEKS Addressed:
(2) The student uses newly acquired vocabulary expressively. The student is expected to:
(A) use print or digital resources to determine the meaning, syllabication, pronunciation,
word origin, and part of speech;
(B) use context within or beyond a paragraph to clarify the meaning of unfamiliar or
ambiguous words; and
(6) Creating and imagining. The student uses imagination and creativity to prepare and perform
various types of literature. The student is expected to:
(A) use imagination to plan, organize, and tell stories;
(E) use appropriate verbal and nonverbal skills in individual or group interpretations of
literature; and
(F) use appreciative and critical-listening skills to respond appropriately to class, public,
or media performances.
(8) Multiple genres: The student recognizes and analyzes genre-specific characteristics,
structures, and purposes within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary,
classical, and diverse texts. The student is expected to:
(A) demonstrate knowledge of literary genres such as realistic fiction, adventure stories,
historical fiction, mysteries, humor, fantasy, science fiction, and short stories;
(B) analyze the effect of graphical elements such as punctuation and line length in poems
across a variety of poetic forms such as epic, lyric, and humorous poetry;
(C) analyze how playwrights develop dramatic action through the use of acts and scenes;
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3. J’Nai Whitehead
August 16, 2020
3. How will using this technology enhance the student learning of your chosen objective?
By using blended learning, students’ curriculum will be partially delivered in person and
partially via digital means. The technology that I chose to use will allow for more active learning
and can increase engagement among students that wouldn’t necessarily work together
(KAHOOT with a partner). Creating ‘gamification’ in my classroom will create healthy
competitive scenarios. I would ensure that the methods I use are also effective by designing them
to support my course learning objectives.
Using the film version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, will enhance student learning,
especially when I ask students to think critically in relation to the written version of the story.
This lesson will explicitly focus on intertextual connections by comparing different versions of
the same story. The students will be able to move beyond basic analysis to the more sophisticated
skill of comparing their analysis of two different texts.
4.What are the risks or drawbacks to using this technology? How will you minimize these
issues?
One drawback of adding technology to the classroom is the student’s (overall) increased amount
of exposure to electronic devices. I will try to minimize this issue by playing the KAHOOT
game during the last 15 minutes of class.
The second drawback to student’s use of technology is that they have less human interaction. I
will minimize this issue by playing scenes of “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” that corresponds
with the acts and scenes read during the day’s lesson. Each scene should be no longer than 15
minutes.
The third drawback of using technology is that not all students have access to it. Depending on
the school district laptops may not be provided to every student. If laptops are distributed, some
students may not have access at home to the internet. I will minimize this issue by using
technology in the classroom and not assigning work outside of class that requires the use of
technology.
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