The Summary of Content

Please note that even though the N.S.C. lesson plan template for language arts does not require a summary of content, the department requires it because students have not been displaying competence in this aspect of lesson planning and delivery. The purpose of the summary of content is to show that the teacher has a full understanding of the topic being taught and that the teacher’s mastery of the topic exceeds his or her own expectations of the students. We cannot overemphasize the need for student-teachers to work diligently to ensure that they master the content they expect to teach.

As such, you are required to use at least three (3) reliable sources (preferably print sources) to inform your summary of content. Please ensure that you use the A.P.A. citation style with your researched information.

The summary of content should be informed by the sub-topic and the objectives. Thus, it should show your own mastery of anything you expect the students to learn.

When writing your summary of content for prose, drama and comprehension, provide a brief summary of the text before focusing on the sub-topic and objectives. For all aspects of language arts, provide examples, illustrations and sample responses. For example, if you expect the students to write a descriptive paragraph using certain techniques, then you should provide a paragraph of your own in the summary of content.

The following are sample summaries of content, along with their accompanying topics and objectives:

Grade: 8Topic: PoetrySub-topic: Imagery in an extract from“The Creation” by James Weldon Johnson

Attainment Target: By the end of the lesson the students should become sensitized to the poet’s use of figures of speech to create imagery in the poem.

Benchmarks:1. Identify visual, tactile and aural images in the poem.2. Express their feelings in response to the imagery3. Explain how diction and figures of speech contribute to the creation of these images.

Summary of ContentThe extract from “The Creation” by James Weldon Johnson is a free verse consisting of two stanzas of nine and ten lines respectively. It depicts God’s creation of flora and fauna as well as landscape, using a celebratory tone and vivid imagery.

Roberts (2006) states that “[i]mages are references that trigger the mind to fuse together memories of sights (visual), sounds (auditory), tastes (gustatory), smells (olfactory), and sensations of touch (tactile). Image refers to a single mental creation. Imagery refers to images

throughout a work or throughout the works of a writer….Images may be literal (descriptive and pictorial) and metaphorical (figurative and suggestive) (p. 405).Visual images are mental pictures that appeal to our sense of sight, for example, “the green grass sprouted’, “little red flowers blossomed” and “the pine tree point[ing] his finger to the sky”.Tactile imagery appeals to our sense of touch; for example, there is the image of lakes cuddling down and the rainbow curling itself around God’s shoulder.Aural imagery appeals to our sense of hearing; for example, we can imagine the sound of God’s voice exclaiming, “Bring forth! Bring forth!” and “That’s good!”

The imagery in the poem may evoke feelings of wonder, excitement, joy and surprise in the students based on its variety and unusual nature. For instance, the speed portrayed in these lines would give rise to awe: And He said, ‘Bring forth! Bring forth!” And quicker than God could drop His hand, Fishes and fowls And beasts and birds Swam the rivers and the seas,

Diction refers to the poet’s choice of words. These words contribute to imagery because of their connotations (associations with certain words which people have in their minds). For example, when the poet uses the word, “cuddle” it gives rise to images of comfort, security and belonging.

Figures of speech refer to non-literal meanings of words. For example, the poet uses personification in the line, “the pine tree pointed his finger to the sky”, building an image of the tree as if it were a human being, with the slender top like a finger reaching up to the sky. The metaphor, “…split the air with their wings” is comparing the sudden way in which creation happened with the quickness of something like a knife splitting something like a melon. This figure of speech helps to create a vivid image of the speed of creation.

The following samples were done by students just like you, so this should show that you are more than capable of doing an effective summary of conent!

Suzette Wilkie

Topic: Drama, Old Story Time by Trevor Rhone

Sub-Topic: Theme, Act I Scene I (p. 8 – 15)

General Objective: understand how the playwright uses characterization, stage directions, and situational irony to portray the theme of colour prejudice.

Specific Objectives:

1. Compare the portrayal of Pa Ben and Mama in relation to the theme of colour prejudice.

2. Comment on the impact of Mama’s actions on Len’s self-esteem while expressing their feelings about her actions.

3. Dramatize Mama’s beating of Len and explain how characterization, stage directions, and situational irony contribute to the portrayal of the theme of colour prejudice.

Knowledge of Sub-Topic In Act I, Scene I one of the main characters, Pa Ben, uses the story telling technique to tell of the relationship between Mama and Len. He highlights the way in which Mama’s prejudice against black people affects not only their relationship, but also impacts Len’s marriage. The selected section of the scene features Mama beating Len mercilessly for playing with his poor, black friend, Pearl and telling him to befriend “Miss Margaret … a nice brown girl with tall hair down to her back” (14).

Obj. 1 Pa Ben’s and Mama’s characters are opposites as they have different perspectives on colour and race. They are both poor black people whose ancestors were enslaved by the British, but Pa Ben, as the story teller, has a more objective and enlightened view of race, colour and class. In his view, the colour of a person’s skin is unimportant; instead, he values a person’s character and ability to love. Mama, on the other hand, is stuck with her colonial perception that white is better than black. Ironically, though she herself is black, she displays prejudice in saying, “Black was good enough for me. It not good enough for him.” She wants Len to climb the social ladder by marrying someone of “high” colour and social standing.

Obj. 2 Mama’s verbal, emotional and physical abuse of Len in trying to get him to conform to her perspective on black people has a significantly negative impact on Len’s self-esteem. He is ridiculed and embarrassed by Margaret and her friends at school; he finds it hard to confide in his mother; and he eventually becomes a somewhat cold and maladjusted husband whose affectionate response to his wife is impaired by the harmful relationship he had with his mother. Some students may therefore get the

sense of Mama looking out for her son’s best interest, but going about it the wrong way. Others may see her as callous and abusive.

Obj. 3 Characterization contributes to the theme of colour prejudice in an ironic way since Mama vehemently hates anything or person that is black even though she is black, showing how deeply she has internalized self-hate born out of slavery and colonization. Stage directions heighten the dramatic impact of the theme on the audience. For example, Mama ironically says “Them little dry-head gal will drag you down! [as she pushes him to the ground again]” seemingly oblivious to how she is undermining her son’s progress. Situational irony also contributes to the portrayal of the theme in that one would expect a black descendant of slaves to embrace her own race and resist white or fair complexioned persons; however, the reality of Mama’s prejudice against her own race and colour emphasizes the complexity of the socio-economic realities she faces.

Tomi-Ane Hyatt

Topic: The Novel, My Father Sun-Sun Johnson by C. Everard PalmerSub-Topic: Characterization, chapter 7 General Objective: appreciate the way in which setting and plot contribute to the portrayal of Sun-Sun’s and Rami’s characters.Specific Objectives: 1. Describe the time, place and atmosphere of chapter seven and

say how it makes them feel about Rami and Sun-Sun.2. Outline the new developments in the plot.3. Role play the depiction of Rami and his father and comment on

how the setting and plot contribute to their characterization.Knowledge of Sub-Topic: In chapter seven of the novel the narrator shows us that though Sun-Sun has faced challenges, he overcomes and tries to get back on his feet as he clears the land and plants his crops which grow bountifully. Rami, the narrator, also faces challenges as his brother and sister mock him for staying with his

“poor” father, but in the end Sun-Sun and Rami are depicted as happy and satisfied.

Obj. 1 The setting of chapter seven is mainly the new home of Sun-Sun as there is reference to cultivating the land and having a bonfire in the yard. However, there is a section of the story that takes place on the road where Rami meets his siblings. The time setting could be described as the summer term as there is mention of May being the rainy season and to Sun-Sun allowing Rami to be absent from school for a week to help in establishing the new home. The atmosphere is mainly one of productivity, renewal and exertion; however, there is also relaxation and happiness as Sun-Sun and Rami enjoy each other’s company and start to build a bond with their neighbours. Nonetheless, there is an element of hostility and tension when Rami encounters his siblings. This setting may cause some students to feel sympathetic towards Sun-Sun and Rami. Others may feel relieved, happy or hopeful about these two characters.

Obj. 2 The new developments in the plot are as follows: Sun-Sun gets back on his feet and starts to work again after his ex-wife’s remarriage. Rami helps his father to cultivate their farm and resolves that he will remain with his father despite his sibling’s attempt to make him feel sorry about this. Mrs. Hilcher and Donna Rae enjoy Rami’s and sun-Sun’s company as they roast corn and eat together. Then the chapter ends with reference to Rami’s mother resigning her position as teacher at the school at the end of the summer term quite likely due to being pregnant.

Obj. 3 The setting and plot contribute to the characterization of Rami and Sun-Sun as the difficulty of farming their home “down in that hole” points to traits such as perseverance, courage, physical and emotional strength, and humility. The fruitfulness of their farm also

suggests that they are overcomers and emerge in a positive light despite the embarrassment and hardship they have experienced.

Shanelle Elliot

Topic: GrammarSub-Topic: FragmentsGeneral Objective: become more alert to fragments and how to correct them to help them achieve grammatically correct writing.

Specific Objectives:1. Explain what sentence fragments are.2. Analyse different categories of fragments.3. Work cooperatively in pairs to correct sentence fragment errors in various

paragraphs.

Knowledge of Sub-Topic: Students tend to make errors in writing by including fragments; however, through careful proof-reading and awareness of the nature of fragments, these errors can be corrected. Unlike sentences, fragments do not have both subject and predicate and make complete sense.

Obj. 1: Sentence fragments are groups of words that look like sentences but are really incomplete. They may be missing a subject, for example, “watched as his mother left”. They may be missing a predicate, for example, “Peter’s involvement in basketball”. They may be missing other elements of the sentence such as a main verb (Suzzie, Jane, May and Derek at home) or an object (He cautioned).

Obj. 2: Phrase fragments may seem like sentences, but they are not since a phrase does not have both a subject and predicate. For example “from night until morning” is a phrase while “He worked from night until morning” is a sentence; “into the pool” is a phrase while “He jumped into the pool” is a

sentence; “my beautiful sister” is a phrase while “My beautiful sister enjoys singing on the choir” is a sentence. All of the phrases have either a verb or subject, but not both.

Dependent clause fragments often have subordinators at the beginning of the clause and do not have main clauses. Subordinating conjunctions include “when”, “while”, “after”, and “where”. A dependent clause, unlike a phrase, has both subject and predicate, but cannot stand on its own since it does not make complete sense. On the other hand, an independent clause has both subject and predicate and can stand on its own. For example “while he was eating” is a dependent clause fragment. To correct it students may remove the subordinator, “while” or add an independent or main clause, for example, “He was eating” or “While he was eating it started to rain.” Another example of a dependent clause fragment is “because she was late”. To correct it students may say “she was late” or “Because she was late she ran all the way to the office.”

Obj. 3 Students may join fragments to preceding or subsequent statements where necessary or they may add a missing element like a main clause, a subject or a predicate. The following are examples of a paragraph with errors and a corrected version:

Some students enjoy doing physical education. Since it gives them a change from sitting in a classroom, it allows them to channel their energy in positive engagements, and it does not require much academic effort. Furthermore, they can participate in exciting competitions. On the field or in the swimming pool. Because it helps to build physical fitness.

Some students enjoy doing physical education since it gives them a change from sitting in a classroom, it allows them to channel their energy in positive engagements, and it does not require much academic effort. Furthermore, they can participate in exciting competitions on the field or in the swimming pool. They benefit from this because it helps to build physical fitness.

Lorette Sterling

Topic: Comprehension

Sub-Topic: Main Ideas, “The Need for a Balanced Diet” by Angela Cassalls

General Objective: Understand how to distinguish between main ideas and supporting details in a passage.

Specific Objectives: 1. Identify the main ideas in the passage.2. Explain the link between the main ideas and supporting

details.3. Distinguish between the main ideas and supporting

details and comment on how these may affect their values and attitudes.

Knowledge of Sub-Topic: The main ideas of a passage convey what the passage is all about and can usually be determined through examination of the title, introduction, topic sentences and the conclusion. The selected passage is expository and as such uses supporting details like examples, explanations, and illustrations. Graphic displays are also used to convey subordinate ideas.

Obj. 1: The central idea of the passage is that balanced meals are one of the essential components of a healthy lifestyle. Another main idea is that a balanced diet should facilitate growth, energy, repair and protection for the body. Yet

another main idea is that food from all the food groups should be consumed in certain proportions to foster healthy living.

Obj. 2: The supporting details expand on or clarify the main ideas by giving explanations, examples and illustrations. For example, the three pie charts illustrate the proportions of food from the different food groups which are considered healthy. Also, examples of energy foods is provided to clarify the idea that healthy food help the body in different ways.

Obj. 3: The main ideas tell what the passage is about while the supporting details reinforce, expand on or clarify the main ideas. These may help students to make wise choices in what they purchase for lunch and snacks. They may also help them to be more appreciative of what their parents provide for meals. In addition, students may opt to resist the urge to consume too much fast food.

Andre GodfreyTopic: Grammar

Sub-Topic: Run-on Sentences

General Objective: become more alert to run-on sentence error and be able to correct it.

Specific Objectives:

1. Identify run-on sentences.2. Explain the various ways in which run-on sentence errors

may be corrected.3. Work cooperatively in groups to correct run-on sentence

errors.Knowledge of Sub-Topic: Run-on sentences are created when two or more sentences come right after the other with a comma or nothing between them so that they appear to be one sentence. When a comma is used between two or more sentences this type of run-on sentence is sometimes called a comma splice. Run-on sentence errors are mainly due to a failure to use end marks (full stop, exclamation sign or question sign), the semi-colon or coordinating conjunctions accurately.

Obj. 1: To identify run-on sentences, students have to find the subject and predicate of a sentence and distinguish between complete expressions of ideas. The run-on sentences are underlined in the following:

Reading is very beneficial, it helps to expand your vocabulary and builds your general knowledge. Reading also exposes you to different cultures. A book about lions in Africa can help a Jamaican child to experience something different. Persons who read regularly tend to do better in language arts their grammar, spelling and style of writing are usually good.

Obj. 2: Run-on sentences may be corrected in the following ways:

(i) Use a full stop at the end of one and a capital letter at the beginning of the other sentence. For example, “Students like to eat patties they often purchase various kinds at lunch time” may be corrected to read “Students like to eat patties. They often purchase various kinds at lunch time.”

(ii) Where the two sentences are closely related, use a semi-colon between them. For example, “Paul is well informed, he will be selected to join the debating team” may be corrected to read, “Paul is well informed; he will be selected to join the debating team.”

(iii) An appropriate coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) may be used to join the sentences. For example, “She walks to school every day, she doesn’t mind” could be corrected to read, “She walks to school every day, but she doesn’t mind.”

(iv) Make one sentence a part of the other. For example, “The music teacher drives a red car, she likes to park under the tree” could be corrected to read, “The music teacher, who drives a red car, likes to park under the tree.”

Obj. 3: The following is a paragraph containing run-on sentences and another with the corrections:

Friendship is very rewarding, it can be difficult to maintain. A true friend has the courage to be honest, even when it hurts. Also, open communication is central to any good friendship, without it, the relationship can become strained. There should be mutual caring between friends if this is missing, one person may become unduly burdened.

Friendship is very rewarding, but it can be difficult to maintain. A true friend has the courage to be honest, even when it hurts. Also, open communication is central to any good friendship; without it, the relationship can become strained. There should be mutual caring between friends. If this is missing, one person may become unduly burdened.

Kerrian MillerTopic: Grammar

Sub-Topic: Past Continuous Tense

General Objective: Become more confident in their ability to use the past continuous tense accurately in speech and writing.

Specific Objectives:1. Distinguish between the simple past tense and the past continuous tense.2. Explain the uses of the past continuous tense.3. Dramatize scenarios in which they use the past continuous tense.

4. Write paragraphs incorporating the use of the past continuous tense.Knowledge of Sub-Topic: The past continuous tense, also called the past progressive tense, is generally used to refer to a continuing action that happened in the past and is probably now complete. It is formed by using the past tense of the verb, “to be” (“was” and “were”) and the present participle of the main verb ending in “ing”. Examples – We were living in the area at the time. She was singing in the shower this morning.

Obj. 1: The simple past tense is used to refer to an event or state that occurred at some point in the past or to a regular or repeated action in the past. Examples – He ate at noon. When I was a child we lived in the city and the children attended the local primary school. Unlike the simple past tense, the past continuous tense refers to ongoing action or state of being in the past, for example, “He was eating at noon when I arrived.”

Obj. 2: The uses of the past continuous tense are as follows: (i) It describes action which began in the past and is still going on at the time of speaking, eg. I was having a bad dream. (ii) It describes an event in the past that occurred during the course of another event, eg. They were walking along the road when they saw a sheep. (iii) It may be used to refer to a change of mind, eg. I was going to spend the day at the beach, but I changed my mind.

Obj. 3: Example of scenario: A son gets home late from school and is being reprimanded by his mother.

Mother: Why are you just getting home from school Mike?

Son: I was serving detention.

Mother: For what?

Son: While we were having lunch today, a boy threw popcorn all over the room. When the bell rang, the room was still a mess and the teacher was trying to find out what happened but there was too much confusion, so she gave the whole class a detention.

Obj. 4: Example of paragraph

The children were walking along the road when the car hit them. They were rushed to the hospital even though they did not sustain any serious injuries. At

the time of the accident I was driving home, but I stopped at the scene to help out. Many people were passing by without offering any assistance. Some said I was risking my life although the accident was not serious. Other people said I was seeking attention. However, I did not listen to them because I have a good heart.

Chamena MorrisTopic: Poetry

Sub-Topic: “Bird” by Dennis Scott - Imagery

General Objective: appreciate how the poet uses imagery to portray the personae’s attitudes toward the bird.

Specific Objectives:1. Identify and comment on the types of images in the poem.2. Explain the effect of the killing of the bird on the speaker in

the poem, comparing this with their own feelings.3. Distinguish between the attitudes of the two boys based on

their responses to the image of the bird.Knowledge of Sub-Topic: “Bird” has five stanzas and twenty-six lines. It is a free verse poem which depicts a spectacular bird flying above two boys. The speaker, a ten year old, points out the bird to his friend who uses a stone to kill it and then advises the speaker to not “look at the sun too long” for it “makes your eyes run”, completely oblivious to the impact of his actions on the speaker. Imagery is the use of sensory details to appeal to the reader’s imagination. It may be visual, aural, tactile, gustatory or olfactory.

Obj. 1: The poem uses mainly visual imagery. The image of the bird as being delightful, spectacular, impressive, free and dominant is conveyed through expressions such as “the bird hunted”, “spun measures of joy”, “easy in the sun”, and “watched it so tall”. The poet also uses alliteration (“wind-flick and fleche” and “mute

madrigal”), personification (“sly wind” and “bird rode the feathered morning”) and metaphor (“spun measures of joy” and “frozen in the white round air”) to depict an image of a calm peaceful day and a spectacular bird. Nonetheless, tactile imagery is also used when the poet refers to “…the eye/ lidded from weight of sun on earth and wing!” and the “boy’s throat [growing] tight with warning”. These images promote feelings of admiration and sympathy towards the bird and the speaker.

Obj. 2: The killing of the bird causes the speaker to feel distraught, sad and anxious. This is evident in lines 20 and 21: “and my boy’s throat grew tight with warning/ to the bird”. Also the reference in the last line to the speaker’s eyes running suggests that he is crying because of the killing of the bird. Students may have a similar feeling if they appreciate the beauty of nature as seen in the bird flying gracefully. Some may be indifferent though, saying that the bird is an insignificant animal.

Obj. 3: The ten year old boy’s perspective on the bird points to admiration and appreciation as the first part of the poem paints a vivid picture of all he notices about the bird. In contrast, his friend does not even notice the bird at first since it is the ten year old who points it out. This friend does not stop to admire the bird as his sighting of it is captured in one line (16). Immediately after sighting the bird he kills it in a display of proud sportsmanship. He is completely oblivious to the aesthetic appeal of the bird as well as the emotional response of his friend.

Verona HenryTopic: Writing

Sub-Topic: Paragraphing

General Objective: understand how to adequately develop an expository paragraph.

Specific Objectives:

1. Write suitable topic sentences for expository paragraphs on the theme of friendship.

2. Outline the range of expository techniques which may be used to develop supporting details.

3. Work cooperatively to write well developed paragraphs on the selected theme.

Knowledge of Sub-Topic: A paragraph is a group of sentences all focused on one main idea. It should be fully developed with a topic sentence, supporting details, linking words and a concluding sentence. Expository paragraphs are factual, objective and informative.

Obj. 1: The topic sentence tells what the entire paragraph is about and it may be at the beginning, end or in the middle of the paragraph. A suitable topic sentence for the following supporting details is “Friendship is not how many persons perceive it to be but rather it is a binding relationship.”

Supporting Details – Many persons see friendship as one-sided and seasonal. For example, they befriend persons from whom they may get money and when it runs out the friendship is over. Relationships which are not genuine always come to an end. However, mutually respectful and caring friendships last for a long

time. The Bible states that “a friend sticketh closer than a brother.” Thus a genuine friend will have your back in any given situation.

Obj. 2: An expository paragraph uses a wide range of techniques which may be used as supporting details. Some of these techniques are questions and answers; quotes; factual details like statistics, dates, times, and places; comparison; contrast; explanations; illustrations; and definitions.

Obj. 3: Sample Paragraph

Maintaining good communication is an important way of building friendship. Peter Drucker thinks that “the most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said”. Friends should understand each other’s body language as well as tone and words. If we truly care about our friends we will make the effort to “listen with our hearts”. A research done by a Dutch sociologist, Gerald Mollenhort reveals that only thirty percent of the participants maintained their friendships for at least seven years. The majority of friendships ended because they were not nurtured. This nurturing can only take place if there is effective communication between friends. Communication builds friendship because it helps friends to feel understood and appreciated.