II. Rationale and Background

The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the interviewing process. This process can be an exciting way for students to research information for any subject area. The students will learn the three steps of interviewing: choosing questions, conducting the interview, and sharing the results. The teacher will emphasize the use of expanded questions.

The students have sufficient background knowledge and experiences for this lesson. Students have been exposed to interviewing their entire life through television, radio, news, and other areas. The students are also aware of the proper form of a question. The students have already viewed, as a class, a news clip showing an interview. The teacher has read parts of two books, The Berenstain Bears and the Giddy Grandma, and Lights out! Kids Talk About Summer Camp, to show examples of interviewing questions.

III. Lesson Objectives

1. TLW write at least 5 expanded questions to be asked during their interview.

PI: TLW brainstorm, using the web technique, and then write 5 expanded questions that they want to ask on note cards. TLW peer edit each other’s cards.

[individual assessment]

IV. Resources/Materials

Handout to show the 3 steps of interviewing

Overhead with sample questions

Overhead with picture

Brainstorm webs

Pencils

Note-cards

Rubric

Note from LessonPlansPage.com: This lesson plan uses a handout that is not included. You may be able to create your own version of the handout,
do without the handout, or contact the author at the e-mail address at the bottom of this lesson plan to request a copy.

Tompkins, G. E. (2002). Language arts: Content and teaching strategies (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. Berenstain, S., & Berensatin, J. (1994). The Berenstain bears and the Giddy

Grandma. New York: Random House. Arnold, E. H. (1986). Lights out! Kids talk about summer camp. Boston: Little, Brown & Company.

V. Concepts

Interviewing is a method of obtaining a first-hand account of an event or time period.

VI. Procedures

A. Introduction and Motivation

The teacher will begin the lesson by reviewing with the students the interviewing process they discussed yesterday. The teacher will ask the students to recall some important information from the lesson taught yesterday. The teacher will refer to the examples taken from the newscast and the two children’s books. The teacher will pass out a handout to the students. The handout contains the three steps of interviewing; choosing the questions, conducting the interview, and sharing the results. An overhead will also be used to practice asking questions. The overhead will contain a picture that the students will be asked to formulate questions from.

B. Lesson Body

The interviewing process and question writing

T: Now that we have listened to the stories, actually watched a real news reporter conduct an interview, and looked at the three steps, I think that it is our turn to try the interviewing process for ourselves!

You all should be half way done with the first step because you know whom you are going to interview. Let me hear some ideas that you came up with. (wait for response) As a class, we decided to go along with our lessons in social studies about the different careers in our community, and each of you picked a career that you would like to learn more about. Your homework last night was to find a person in that field to interview. I would like each of you to take out your brainstorming web that you did for homework last night. This web is going to help us create questions for the person we are going to interview. With the ideas on the web, you will be able to form questions!

T: The teacher will walk around the room, looking at each web to see if the students are moving in the right direction. The teacher will now go over the correct form of writing expanded questions. The teacher will show the difference between simple and expanded questions. The teacher will explain that expanded questions will lead to an interesting response. The teacher will show an overhead that contains simple and expanded examples of interviewing questions. The students will be asked to decide which questions are simple and which are expanded (wait for response). The students will be asked to give better examples for the simple questions (wait for response). The students will now be assigned to write at least 5 expanded questions in the correct form to be asked during their interview.

S: After the students have completed their 5 questions, they should find another partner to edit each other’s questions. They should also suggest any questions that they would want to know about their partner’s career person.

T: The teacher will be walking around the room checking a few questions from each student. The teacher will then hand out note cards for the students to write one question per note card. This will help the student organize their questions and help with neatness. The teacher will explain that the question should be written on one side and the response should be written on the other. The teacher will also announce that any new question that might come to your mind while interviewing your person, should be asked and written on the card which sparked the new question.

C. Closure

T: The teacher will check a few note cards from each student while observing the question writing process.

VII. Evaluation

A. Student Assessment

1.Students will be assessed informally throughout the entire activity, on their

understanding of question format, and peer editing.

2.Reflection on Assessment of Student Performance

a.What did each and everyone of my students learn?

b.How do I know?

c.Which students did not meet the requirements of the performance indicators? Indicate how you will assist them to meet these requirements.

B. Self-Evaluation

Reflect on your teaching experience and answer these questions:

1.What are the strengths of the lesson?

2.What areas of the lesson need improvement?

3.What would I do differently, if I were to reteach this lesson?

4.What biases, if any, existed in the materials, activities, language, or interactions with children?

5.Did anything surprise me?

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Amanda Seitz

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