Sample Lesson Plan Using Annotator Tool

 

(You may substitute any text for the one given.  Also, your objectives might differ in that you want students to annotate historical references, use of metaphors, etc.)

 

 

Lesson Topic:

 

The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales

 

Lesson Goals/Objectives:

 

To help students understand the material by becoming more familiar with the language used by Chaucer.

 

 

Readings/Preparation Materials:

 

Students should have already read the General Prologue in its original Middle English.

 

 

What is Required of the Instructor Before the Class Meets:

 

  1. The instructor should have set up a web page with the annotator tool.
  2. Within that page, the instructor should have typed the text of the General Prologue.  (If you want to cut and paste, the text is available at the Electronic Text Center of the University of Virginia).
  3. Next, be sure to test the page by creating a first annotation.  This annotation will also serve as an example for your students.
  4. Ideally, you will have an easy way for your students to find your annotator page.  If you have a course home page, create a link to the annotator.  Otherwise, be sure to write down the URL and bring it to class.  Because URL’s can be lengthy, it might not be a bad idea to create a handout for this assignment, which lists the URL as well as the instructions on how to use the annotator.

 

Segment #1 of the assignment:  Discuss the differences in language between Middle and Modern English.  Discuss some of the specific changes.

 

Segment #2:  Explain the virtues of the OED as a tool for understanding the development of the English language.  Provide an example (perhaps photocopied from the OED).

 

Segment #3:  Give the students an assignment to each look up a unique word from the text in the OED and to annotate it on your web page.  Explain any specific requirements you might have (such as grading criteria).

 

Segment #4:  Demonstrate how to use the site.  If you are fortunate enough to have a computer with a projector, use it!  Otherwise, you might write out instructions on your assignment sheet.  When composing the assignment sheet, consider including the assignment, the URL, the grading criteria, and whether or not you expect students to refer back to the annotator after contributions have been collected.

 

 

 

For next time, students will need to:

 

  1. Complete the assignment
  2. Consider how completing the assignment affected their reading of Chaucer.

 

For next time, the instructor will need to:

 

  1. Check up on the students’ progress.
  2. Be available for questions, should they arise.