Lesson Plan 1 By Alex Jameson
Date
8/27/XX
Time
10:15-11:30
Grade
12
# of Students
20
Lesson
Unit 1, Lesson 1 (draft 1)
Classroom
Building I, Room 13
Time
Activity
Details
Materials
5 mins
Warmer
Teacher & Class introduction.
Board
15 mins
Present
Time and framework of comics.
Students will explore how comics frame stories and use time through paneling and flashbacks.
Read and discuss.
Textbook page 5.
Moreno pages 36-41.
15 mins
Apply
Have students pair up and discuss how the chapter’s framework affects the reader.
Possible discussion questions:
· What would be the difference if Moreno decided to put the story in chronological order vs. flashbacks?
· Do the characters affect the time or does time affect the characters?
· What was Moreno’s aim for his time frames?
· Why did Moreno choose bad font and font size?
Textbook page 5.
Moreno page 36-41.
Patience.
15 mins
Activate
Put students into groups to change the timeframes. One does it chronological. One backwards. One zigzag and one random.
I mean would it really matter? It doesn’t make sense now and the shit is mostly chronological.
Have them discuss for 10 mins before discussing as a class. Ask which format they liked best and why.
This will be fun, right? It could be fun.
10 mins
Skills
I don’t know. A puzzle game? Can I hope they’re super talkative, so I don’t have to do this part? What skills are they learning? A story is weird out of order. If I wanted to show that, I could’ve had them read George Luis-Borges. That would’ve been a challenge. And worthy of a senior class but whatever! Whatever!
10 mins
Consolidation/
Bookwork
Have them read the chapter three times.
Put the story in actual order on a worksheet.
Reading time but then they’ll read the whole comic and I still need it for lessons 2-6. Exactly why we go with prose over graphics.
5 mins
Closer
Read. Write. Do something.
Fuck this shit.
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Alex walked down 15th street, wishing that another Terraform would crash land and send her to the hospital before work. It was a morbid thought that she was too exhausted to fight it with optimism.
Today was the first day of classes at Damien Academy, which meant today was the Doomsday her lesson plans were waiting for, at least for her senior classes. The freshmen were much easier. They had an actual textbook that had lessons about context and Edger Allen Poe in their first two weeks. Planning for them was a breeze, but their class was in the middle of the day, which meant the rest of her time was spent talking about Batman.
Yay.
Alex held back a sigh as she got in line at Entermezzo, ordering jasmine tea and a blueberry muffin when it was her turn. She needed something that would soothe and reward her for what will inevitably be a disaster.
Alex stepped outside and walked to the black car the school provided for her. She stepped inside and let the silence surround her. Questions and doubts swirled in her brain like a bad cocktail. She wished she could be more optimistic and make a somewhat cohesive lesson plan, but it was just too late. She already submitted it to Adeline, who said it was pretty good in her email this morning. After staying up till 3 am working on it, she didn’t have the energy to analyze what “pretty good” meant in Adeline language; she just took it for what it was.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Alex swallowed the nervous lump in her throat as the car drove through the school gates. She watched it weave up the stony driveway before stopping. She grabbed the door handle tightly, the chatter of the students creeping into the car from the other side of the window. Some stared at the car curiously while others ran around it without a care. They were just kids. They were sent here to get an education, whether they wanted to be there or not.
Make them make the most of it, Alex told herself. You can make them care. You will.
She steeled herself for the peering eyes before opening the car door.
Stepping onto the campus felt like an energy jolt. There was so much going on, and everything was so bright. People talked and moved without the usual layer of dread or reluctance Alex had gotten used to with schools. There wasn’t a note of desperation in the conversations in the hallway or teachers sighing at the thought of their next class. Most seemed genuinely happy or excited to be there. It was a great pick-me-up to Alex’s overall mood.
At least, until she reached her classroom. Then, her mood reverted to its nervous state in an instant.
Her class filed in with the usual and expected babble as Alex set her stuff on her desk. She placed the new textbooks on the right, her notes beside them, spare supplies on the far left, and her lesson plan was in the middle for much (much) needed reference.
She felt the kids looking at her curiously but ignored them in favor of setting up the blackboard, which doubled as an interactive whiteboard. Or it would as soon as she figured out how to change it. She knew she should’ve gone to the technology workshop two weeks ago, but no. She just had to watch a full season of a French soap opera all day.
She checked her watch and saw it was 30 seconds until class started. She gave herself a tiny, mental pep talk before turning around.
Alex knew she would never say it out loud, but her students looked good. By that, she meant that all her students looked like they were fresh off a photoshoot or had heavily researched the word “aesthetic” before attending her class. She expected typical teenagers—some put together, some not quite there yet, and most being in between. Her worst-dressed student was the one in that sat awkwardly in the back corner, hunched over with Versace glasses and a lack of confidence. Another surprise: the kids that didn’t seem to care about the class weren’t sitting in the back. They were in the front row, leaving the academic ones on the outskirts.
“Good morning,” she greeted with a smile. “I’m Ms. Jameson. I’m your teacher for the semester, specifically for Literature 420: Exploration of the Graphic Novel and Epic Tales— ” A hand shot up from the front row. “Yes? Oh, please say your name, so I know who you are.”
“Taylor,” the girl said, crossing her lime green jogger-clad legs. “My question is, are you in the habit of stating the obvious? If so, you should know it can lead to the habit of wasting class time.”
Alex was taken aback by the audacity and had to catch herself before she could react, ignoring the few teeters around the room. Alex cleared her throat to get the class’ attention, thinking quickly on her feet when she noticed a student scrambling in the back.
“I say this to introduce myself and give everyone a chance to see if they’re in the right class." Alex made up the excuse quickly as she spotted a student get up and try to leave the room subtly.
“Excuse me, sir,” Alex called, causing him to freeze by the door.
“Um…yes?” he asked hesitantly.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Kyle,” he answered, his cheeks becoming a bit pink. “I don’t have your class till one. Sorry.” She smiled kindly at him.
“Then, I will see you at one,” she told him. “Have a good class.”
Kyle nodded quickly before hurrying out. Alex turned back to Taylor, who had a small pout on her face from being one-upped.
“Does that answer your question?” Alex added, almost cheeky. Taylor smiled sarcastically.
“Sure,” she replied.
“Good,” Alex said, relieved by the recovery and gaining a bit of confidence with it. “As I was saying, while I am new to this school, I’m not new to teaching. I’ve taught domestically and abroad for the last five years. I’ve studied literature from around the world, and am I excited to share as much knowledge as I can. I also look forward to learning about all of you. But before we do that, I’m going to pass out your textbook.” Alex grabbed a stack of new textbooks and started to pass them out.
“Put your name in the front,” Alex instructed. “If you do not receive a textbook today, you will receive one next class. You can ask to share with one of your peers today—”
Alex jumped at the sound of her door banging open, dropping the books. She almost slipped but managed to catch herself on one of the students’ desks. Laughter broke out around her while the student who’s desk she clutched, looked at her with concern. She gave him a small smile before turning her attention to the disturbance.
A boy with shades strode in confidently to the empty seat in the second row. He dropped his bag loudly before plopping down in the desk. Alex looked from the opened door to him to the clock and back to him. He was seven minutes late. The school had a grace period of five minutes in the first week, but with the way he entered, she highly doubted he cared. Murmuring broke out as Alex picked up the books before closing the classroom door. She made her way over to the student’s desk, standing over him.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Excuse me?” the student asked indignantly, looking up from his phone. He looked at her for a moment before saying, “Ah, you’re new.”
“And you’re late,” she followed up. “Do you have an excuse?”
“Yep,” he said. “Didn’t want to be here, but the cable in my room is broken, so why not go to class?”
“I don’t appreciate your tardiness,” Alex replied, refusing to acknowledge his blatant disrespect. She couldn’t stoop to his level. “The next time you’re late, I’ll need a valid excuse, or you cannot come in.”
“Oh, is that a threat or a promise?” he said with a smirk.
“It’s your grade,” Alex snapped. “And take your shades off in my classroom. It, like you at this moment, is rude.”
“Sure, it is,” he said with an infuriating smirk. “But you don’t know me yet. It’s okay, I’m sure you’ll catch on.”
“Excuse me?” she replied incredulously. The kid chuckled before taking off his glasses.
“My name is Lance,” he introduced. “I’m kind of a big deal.”
Alex rechecked the time. Thirteen minutes and she already had her first problem student.
Wonderful.
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“How was class?” Adeline asked when Alex retreated to the Spire for lunch. They were serving organic chicken sandwiches and Caesar salad for lunch in the lobby with free coffee and juice. It was a nice surprise and would definitely pair well with the blueberry muffin she desperately needed at that moment.
“It was okay,” Alex said, her smile a bit strained.
She wasn’t really lying. She was able to teach her class, reach all the objectives and keep order (for the most part) but she couldn’t ignore the painfully bored expression of her students. Nor get them to talk as much as she hoped. It was hard on both sides, and she wasn’t sure who was watched the clock more. She also couldn’t ignore how many times they pulled out their phone when they thought she wasn’t looking or how often she pretended she didn’t.
“Okay, okay. Do not worry,” Adeline said. “The first class is usually the hardest. You got it out the way, so now you know what to look for. I’m sure you did fine.”
“Thanks,” Alex said. Adeline smiled and was about to head to her office when Alex remembered another concern.
“Adeline, wait,” she called. “I need to talk to you about one of my students. His name is Lance and…” Alex trailed off when Adeline’s shoulders slumped.
“Oh no,” Adeline said.
“What?” Alex asked, a seed of worry growing in her stomach. Adeline sighed before motioning for Alex to follow her. She led her to a table nearby.
“I was hoping Lance wouldn’t be in your class,” Adeline told her. “He’s not supposed to be, but I’m sure someone found a loophole in the system.” Adeline sighed once more before facing Alex. “Yes, he is a problem student. He’s been one since freshman year.”
“Why?” Alex asked.
“Well, he’s the type to let his family name feed his ego. Not to mention, his father doesn’t discourage it,” Adeline explained.
“So, he’s top of the food chain, huh?” Alex said. Adeline nodded in agreement.
“Since he doesn’t harm anyone and gets good grades, there’s little that can be done other than a class warning, unfortunately,” Adeline said. “I doubt you can change his attitude.”
“He made it sound like I couldn’t do anything to him at all,” Alex told her. “Can I? I mean, there’s no donation conflict or anything like that, right?”
“Oh, no, not at all. Actions can be taken,” Adeline reassured her. “And you have every right to do so within the school policy.”
“Has no one disciplined him before?”
“No,” Adeline confessed with a sigh. “Whether out of respect for his father or fear of losing their job, many teachers let Lance take advantage of the classroom. No matter how much I’ve insisted otherwise, it’s been unavoidable. I haven't figured out why.” Adeline took her hand and stared her down. “If there’s a problem with Lance at all, please come directly to me. I will handle it, and I am so sorry. I was hoping this wouldn’t be something you would have to deal with it.”
Alex started feeling concerned—what could this kid do? —before remembering that he was just a spoiled brat. She would be damned if a brat stopped her from doing her job. Alex gripped Adeline’s hand with confidence.
“It’s no problem,” Alex told her. “I can handle him. He’s rude, but I won’t let it get to me. I can’t kick him out just because he’s a smart mouth.”
“True,” Adeline said. “Otherwise, half the student body would be suspended. I mean, have you met these kids? The complex.” Adeline grimaced exaggeratedly, making Alex laugh and hope she was right about the first class being the worst.