Anticipation Guide Lesson Plan - Employment

Unit Goals: NA
Anticipation Guide: Maus and the Holocaust
April 22, 2007
Jeff Tibbetts
Daily Objectives: The students will be exposed to some of the ideas and topics that will be
addressed in Maus. They will fill out an anticipation guide and participate in a class discussion of
controversial topics.
Materials Needed (Handouts – Supplies – Equipment): Copies of Maus for each student.
Anticipation guide handout.
In planning the sequence of activities, consider the following: What is my engagement strategy? Is
modeling present? Have I included time for guided practice? What about homework?
Activities/Allotted Time
What are students doing?
What am I doing? How long
do I anticipate it will take?
12:00 – 12:20: I will hand out
the Anticipation guide (the
questions will focus on
morality, group-think
mentality, attention to history,
and the use of humor to deal
with depressing or serious
topics) and give the students
time to fill out their sheets
individually. I will model the
process for the first couple of
items, to show the students
how one might think through
one of these topics. I will
stress that there is no correct
answer to these questions—
they are simply to start the
thinking process before we get
to the graphic novel itself.
12:20 -1 2:30: I will lead a
respectful class discussion
about the topics on the
anticipation guide. First I will
write down categories on the
chalkboard, and fill them with
student responses. I will run
this like a brainstorming
session so that I can get as
Objectives
What is the purpose of this activity? Why are we
doing this? How does it support the lesson?
The purpose of the anticipation guide is to
encourage the students to think about the topics
that are addressed in Maus before they actually
get to them. This novel is about more than just the
holocaust, and I want the students to understand
the purpose of the frame narrative as a reflective
tool to examine the full range of issues surrounding
the storyline. By writing down responses to the
prompts, I hope to get the students to think about
how they personally feel about things like groupthink
mentality (a big issue in jr. high school) and
the idea of making jokes about serious things. We
will come back to these later, to see if the reading
makes any difference in their thinking, so there is a
column for “before” and “after” reading.
I want every student to have a chance to add
something to a couple of lists on the board. This is
their chance to begin thinking about these topics,
and I want them to see that there are more than
one way to answer any question on the
anticipation guide. This should, of course,
generate anticipation and excitement about the
text. Hopefully, the board will fill up with possible
answers for the prompts so students can really see
Assessments
How do I know that I am meeting my
goals? How do I know that students are
learning? How will I check for
understanding?
I will collect these handouts to keep until
later in the unit, and from these I will be
able to see how deeply the students are
thinking about the topics. In the hereand-now,
I will be able to see who is
filling out the worksheet and paying
close attention.
I will be calling on students to make sure
that everyone both did the assignment
and gets the chance to add something to
the lists. I want every student to feel
some sense of ownership and
representation in this discussion. I will
also be diligent in regards to maintaining
a respectful and safe environment.

wide a range of responses as
possible.
12:30 – 12:45: We will use
the topics on the board to
steer conversation to any
subject that takes their
interest. I will try to work in
ways to relate the text that we
are about to read to the topics,
so that students can clearly
see where we’re headed.
12:45 – 12:55: I will hand out
copies of Maus, and give the
students a chance to flip
through it and check out the
artwork. I will answer
questions and talk a little bit
about the author if there is
time.
the range of possible reactions.
This gives the students a chance to spend a little
more time on the subjects that prove to be more
controversial or just plain interesting. I will be able
to see what is on the minds of the students and
determine what topics I may want to give special
attention to later on. This also allows the students
to take some ownership for their reading of the
text, because they may want to defend one
position or another or see how the text deals with
the issue.
This obviously gives the students a chance to take
a look at this text. This may or may not be a very
novel text for them, and I expect some people in
class to have a few questions. I will try to talk
about the author if I have time, mentioning the
influence of this particular book as well as the
critical acclaim it has received. I want them to
respect this as much as they would a conventional
novel.
Again, I will be calling on students to
make sure that multiple viewpoints are
addressed. And also, I will of course be
stressing that respectful disagreement is
okay in my class, but there are
boundaries to be maintained.
I will by watching for those puzzled
glances, and try to root out the source of
any confusion. It should be obvious who
is paying attention to the task.
Differentiation The anticipation guide will serve as a helpful scaffold around which the students can solidify their opinions,
and even identities. The students will have ample time to fill out the sheets, and they may continue to work on them during our
brainstorming/discussion sessions should they need it. The discussion itself should have plenty of opportunity to get into fairly
concrete thoughts as well as more complex or abstract concepts. This should give each student something that they can
discuss. I want all students to participate in this discussion, so I will make sure that I am getting around to as many levels and
interests as are appropriate.
Reflection. Answer the following after preparing the lesson: What was the most difficult part of planning this
lesson? What part are you most proud of? Most unsure of? What are you learning about yourself as a planner? Answer the
following after teaching the lesson: How did the lesson go? What worked? What would I rethink next time? What did I learn
from this lesson?