This year, our ENL department began developing our curriculum to meet the next-generation standards using specific themes. When I think about MLLs and the amount of support they need to reach that goal, I need to come up with ways to make it accessible to all of them. The original lesson plan is based on the novel American Born Chinese, which will be a part of our new unit to reflect the themes other ELA classes cover during the year. A graphic novel was selected for students to be able to access the content and they also had the option to create a comic strip as their final piece or write a paragraph. However, it was not enough and lacked creativity and collaboration. The lesson incorporated visual aids and slides, but since I’ve been learning about computational thinking, I wanted to redesign the lesson plan to introduce students to it through ELA context.
The reason why I believe the redesigned lesson plan is stronger and more meaningful is because it is content-integrated and teaches students to put on their critical thinking hats when analyzing and solving problems using sequencing and coming up with possible solutions. I also liked that Scratch had tutorials and samples from which students could start. I have planned out the lesson using the 5E framework, which I intend to use for my lesson plans since it helps me visualize the process better. The digital tools used in the redesigned lesson plan using the triple E model foster student engagement, collaboration, creativity, and access outside the classroom. It enhances and extends their comprehension beyond the knowledge of the graphic novel. It helps them draw conclusions based on observations and careful analysis. The use of Scratch, Google Slides, and online reading platforms such as GetEpic, support the needs of MLLs and allow access to various types of learners. They can also be used to evaluate content/comprehension and collect data.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KH7-pyUP4nBet6dm6hu1CcFg0Dl4VxWHxpOvj7_b38M/edit?usp=sharing
UDL lesson Plan: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RAT9vcreRLIH_BqfMPz7bF0BVTqBMSUCdgkLQ70zxeo/edit?usp=sharing
