1. 1. Background
1.1. Context
1.1.1. Writing class
1.1.2. Grade 9 students at Quality Schools International in Dushanbe, Tajikistan
1.2. Standard
1.2.1. The student will explore topics for a personal essay (Prompt: Who Am I?)
1.3. Objective
1.3.1. The student will be able to examine which facets of their own identify have played key roles in shaping who they are
2. 4. Assessments
2.1. Choices
2.1.1. Create self-portraits made up of objects, symbols and/or imagery that represent key elements of student'identity. Explain what objects they included in their self-portraits and how they relate to their personal identities. (for those students who are better at articulating their thoughts in visual, creative ways)
2.1.2. Write blog post about influences on own identity (for those students who are better at articulating their thoughts in written form)
2.1.3. create podcast about influences on own identity (for students who are better at articulating their thoughts verbally)
2.1.4. Create an online mind-map highlighting the various elements of the students' lives that have had an impact on their identity
2.1.5. Student comes up with own idea for assessment based on learning target; shares with teacher who gives feedback; if too much time passes without agreement, the student should choose 1 of the pre-developed assessment choices
3. 2. Student #1
3.1. LEARNING PROFILE
3.1.1. visual learner, has difficulty articulating thoughts in academic writing format
3.2. READINESS LEVEL
3.2.1. English language learner - low intermediate (can communicate with friends, needs academic writing and reading comprehension support)
3.3. INTERESTS
3.3.1. Sports, hanging out with friends, playing video games, skateboarding, social media
3.4. TEACHING STRATEGIES
3.4.1. In class work with support from teacher
3.4.1.1. Watch movie or TED talk in which skateboarding has a positive influence on a character/person and answer discussion questions related to the movie and connecting with student's life; teacher pauses movie or TED talk asks student questions for comprehension
3.4.1.1.1. Choice of movies include: Waiting for Lightning, Only the Young, or TED talk by legendary skateboarder, Rodney Mullen, who shares life lessons he learned from skateboading
3.4.1.2. Read article from newsela.com (includes articles from American newspapers at different reading comprehension levels) - stories about sports and identity; identify vocabulary words, teacher asks comprehension questions
3.4.1.3. for both movie/TED talk and article, provide student with worksheet to help make connections between movie/TED talk and article with student's life and identity
4. 3. Student #2
4.1. LEARNING PROFILE
4.1.1. thrives with challenge and support, can work independently
4.2. READINESS LEVEL
4.2.1. native English speaker - fluent speaker, at grade level in academic writing and reading comprehension
4.3. INTERESTS
4.3.1. music - listening & playing
4.4. TEACHING STRATEGIES
4.4.1. Read university essay about influence of music in students' life and answer discussion questions related to essay and connecting with student's own life
4.4.2. Flipped classroom approach
4.4.2.1. At home, watch choice of movies in which music has positive influence on a character and answer discussion questions related to the movie and connecting with student's own life
4.4.2.1.1. Choice of movies include: Music of the Heart, August Rush, The Chorus, If I Stay, Ray,