Coming of AgeComing of Age“You have to do your own growing no “You have to do your own growing no

matter how tall your grandfather matter how tall your grandfather

waswas.”.”-Abraham Lincoln

Table of ContentsTable of Contents

1. Project Benefits

2. Unit Summary

3. Unit Objectives

4. Content Standards

5. Curriculum Framing Questions

6. Student Assessment

7. Project Summary

Benefits of ProjectsBenefits of Projects• Students are at the center of the learning process• Students gain valuable teamwork skills that are highly prized in business and

industry• Students learn more through interaction with one another• Groups allow everyone to demonstrate their individual skills• Students are more likely to retain the knowledge gained through projects• Students are able to develop and demonstrate active inquiry and higher-level

thinking skills• Students develop confidence and self-direction, as well as their research,

organizational, technological, and communication skills.• Students are able to connect their academic work with real-life issues and

situations, which makes them more motivated to learn• Students are presented with an opportunity to express their own creativity in an

educational setting.

Unit SummaryUnit Summary

This semester, students will study various interpretations of the concept of “growing up” or

“coming of age.” Class discussions allow students talk about their own experiences.

Students will write individual essays, work with a partner to discuss each other’s cultural/familial ideas about growing up, and work in groups to

create a final presentation.

Unit ObjectivesUnit Objectives

Students will develop compare/contrast skills using various types of material that displays a broad underlying theme. They

will strengthen their expository writing skills by going through all steps of the

writing process. Their writing is expected to reflect proper English grammar usage.

Finally, students will practice oral presentation skills through their final group

projects.

Content StandardsContent StandardsThe following English/Language Arts Content Standards will be met

during this unit:• Reading 3.4 – Determine characters’ traits by what the characters say

about themselves in narration, dialogue, dramatic monologue, and soliloquy.• Reading 3.7 – Recognize and understand the significance of various literary

devices, including figurative language, imagery, allegory, and symbolism, and explain their appeal.

• Writing 1.6 – Integrate quotations and citations into a written text while maintaining the flow of ideas.

• Written and Oral English Language Conventions 1.1 – Identify and correctly use clauses, phrases, and mechanics of punctuation.

• Written and Oral English Language Conventions 1.2 – Understand sentence construction and proper English usage.

• Written and Oral English Language Conventions 1.3 – Demonstrate an understanding of proper English usage and control of grammar, paragraph and sentence structure, diction, and syntax.

Curriculum-Framing QuestionsCurriculum-Framing Questions

• Essential Question: What Does Growing Up Mean?

• Unit Questions: How can we learn about coming of age/growing up in different time periods? Different societies and cultures? How does this compare with your own experiences?

• Content Questions: What are some examples of what growing up means to Esperanza in The House on Mango Street? What specific “rites of passage” will you go through or have you gone through to reach adulthood?

Assessment to Gauge Assessment to Gauge Student NeedsStudent Needs

In order to assess the level of compare and contrast skills that students possess, a Quickwrite activity will be administered in which they will be asked to respond to a question by incorporating information on rites of passage from a museum exhibit and a textual reference from Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street.

Mango Street Quickwrite

Project SummaryProject Summary

During this project, students will work together in small groups of 3-4 members to construct a working thesis that will ultimately be used to compare and contrast the two

examples of growing up or coming of age that have been studied thus far. They will use the similarities and

differences that have been contributed by classroom discussion as well as collaborate with each other to

come up with at least 2 new examples that support their argument. Together they will identify specific textual evidence and references from the museum exhibit to support their claims. Finally, students will incorporate

this information into a project to present to their classmates – as a PowerPoint, poster, booklet, etc.