Lesson Plan

Subject: English/Language Arts- Secondary Education

Lesson Plan: As an advocate of English education, technology in the classroom may appear to be limited to word processing and online literature. However, using this lesson plan for teaching Mark Twain and American Humor (http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=327), students incorporate a different type of technology into learning about historical literature in an amusing and entertaining way that might otherwise not be readily available without computers or by means of a pricey field trip to an old fashioned printing press... or a time machine.
This lesson plan is centered around breaking down Samual Clemmens and the society in which he lived that motivated him to write with the technique he did. The lesson plan also incorporates what limitations he may have encountered while writing his novels and short stories due to the lack of technology available to him at the time.
Incorporating Technology with Efficiency: At the end of the lesson, using a computer technology known as the MarcoPolo Printing Press, students are able to make timely means of publishing a newspaper article in a simulated version of a printing press that is modeled off of the way a historical journalist in colonial times would have had to publish his work.
Effectiveness: The quality of this particular lesson plan is increased since steriotypically, students may find reading Mark Twain and other historical writers to be bland and confusing. Having an opportunity for students to experience empathy for these literary artists might promote interest in this particular subject area. It will also the students a better understanding of the language and dialect used in this time period and why the author might have chosen to write about the things he did, as the students can readily associate and make inferences about the use of the printing press with other aspects of the lifestyle that the writers may have led in such a society. Thus, not only are the students utilizing their writing and composition skills to produce articles, but they are also using critical thinking to correlate history and literature, and to dive deeper into deciphering the meaning of the literary text as a whole.
Enhancement: Finally, the resources for the students to take a trip to view a historical printing press, may be readily unavailable or simply illogical. Not to mention, if they were to actually see such a piece of machinery, they would not be able to use it simply because it is a historical artifact and those attempting to preserve it would be appalled at the concept of actually making use of it. Since time machines also are not available for use, it seems logical that the students make use of an online interactive site in which they can experience and actually "use" the printing press without having to even leave the classroom.
Suggestions: Granted, one aspect of the lesson plan could be more technologically incorporated. When the plan suggests to make a paper flow chart of one aspect of Mark Twain's novel, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras Couny," it seems more useful, timely, and interesting, to have the students use a computer modeled flow chart using PowerPoint, Inspiration, or some other program to incorporate visual models such as clip art and text.