Sample Lesson Plan Using a Listserv

 

(You may substitute any text for the one given.  Also, your objectives might differ according to the focus of your class.)

 

 

Lesson Topic:

 

The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales

 

Lesson Goals/Objectives:

 

To help students understand the General Prologue by asking them to write thoughtful responses to a prompt and to other students’ responses to that prompt.

 

 

Readings/Preparation Materials:

 

Students should have already read the General Prologue.

 

 

What is Required of the Instructor Before the Class Meets:

 

  1. The instructor should have set up a listserv for the class and should understand how to use it.
  2. The instructor should also be certain that the students have personal e-mail accounts.
  3. Also, the instructor needs to understand the limitations of the listserv he or she is using.  How quickly will posts appear and be updated?  Might the volume of e-mail produced be cumbersome?  Think of the controls that can be placed on an assignment to make it more manageable for both students and teacher.  With a listserv, you have the ability to restrict postings or to approve them before they are sent to the list.
  4. With that understanding in mind, consider the time frame for this assignment.  How quickly should the assignment be completed?  This consideration is especially important if you want students to respond to other students.  You have to allow time for the first round of responses in order to achieve the second.  If you have gone to the trouble of setting up a listserv, consider that you might want to use it for an entire semester.
  5. Ideally, you will have an easy way for your students to enroll in the listserv.  You might consider handing out an instruction sheet in case of problems.

 

 

Segment #1 of the assignment:  Begin with a general introduction to the Prologue.

 

Segment #2:  Design a prompt that you would like your students to respond to.  The nature of a listserv accommodates short responses.  A short essay question format would translate well here.  Post that prompt to the listserv.

 

Segment #3:  Demonstrate how to use the listserv.  If your students are already familiar with e-mail, this should not pose a problem.  They will simply use the “reply” function in their e-mail account.  This instruction may be more difficult if your students have not previously had e-mail accounts and if you have no computers in your classroom.  A written instruction sheet, including how to use an e-mail account would then be necessary.

 

Segment #4:  Have students log on to e-mail and respond to the prompt.  You may ask them to then respond to the ideas of one or more of their classmates.  When asking students to do so, however, consider the size of your class.  Students may not wish to read fifty responses to the prompt and may not wish to have their e-mail accounts flooded with such responses.  Consider also how the volume of writing increases in general.  Will you as the instructor want to read one hundred responses to a prompt?  If you are grading their participation in this assignment, you’ll have to at least have a look at them all.

 

Segment #5:  Ask for student feedback.  Did they feel that this helped them understand the General Prologue and to engage in a discussion about it?

 

 

 

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.