The Final Unit Plan for AED 341

7/30/2019 The Final Unit Plan for AED 341

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What is home?:

A Thematic Unit on Peace and Serenity

For 8 th grade ELA

Presented by Ryan Dalpiaz


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Table of Contents

Where thou art, that is home.

-Emily Dickinson

Table of Contents 2

Overview of Unit

Summary 3

Rationale 3

Project Based Learning 3-4

Interdisciplinary justification 4

Respect for difference 4


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Overview of Unit

Summary

Through multiple modes of text and shared learning, this unit serves as a guide forstudents to think about the essential question (EQ) : What is home?

With the essential understanding (EU) being that for some students it may be the roof abovetheir head, but for others it is the place they create where they feel the most peace and

serenity.Throughout the unit, students will develop skills in writing by using literary terms and a betterunderstanding of fiction and non-fiction genre. Ultimately, students will develop their idea of what home is. At the end of the unit, students will collaborate with a 4 th grade class to create abook about what home means to them and will present their books in front of their peers, parents,and administrators in th e form of a Read Aloud. The name of this will be The Buddy Book Project.

Rationale

Students should engage in this topic to expand their thinking outside of the classroom anddiscover what, or where, makes them the most happy. These questions will develop criticalthinking skills and produce enriched classroom discussion.

Administrators : These lessons force students to learn through multiplemodes of literacy and will develop skills in critical thinking and writing.Skills in such a field will be necessary for the NYS ELA exam because of h i d l d i b l id h i


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In a classroom, students are rarely given the freedom to voice their opinion. This unitallows for students to not only voice their opinion, but establish the understanding of their ownliteracies. The lessons and texts used in this unit plan will help students develop and/or refinetheir existing knowledge. My role is to serve as a guide and not an instructor. I will providemultiple sources of informational text and allow the students to execute the objective through themultiple lessons I have taught. This will lead into a culminating project that showcases studentsunderstand of genre as well as putting literary terms into practical use. The design of the finalproject follows the elements of project based learning as it calls for the collaboration of middle/high school students and 4 th grade students in which they will create a book thatexpresses their own assessment s of the essential question: What is home?

Interdisciplinary Justification

In a perfect world, a curriculum could be developed that incorporates other main subjectssuch as history, science and math. This unit, though, can easily be used in a cross-curriculum.For instance, a history class could focus on why pioneers chose the settlement they did and what

advantages or disadvantages they encountered. Like my students, pioneers had a reason forchoosing the home they did. In science, students can identify the correct elements for a safe andprosperous environment. An example of an activity could include picking one general region anddescribing why and why not that area would be good to live in. For math, the teacher could havestudents calculate the precise measurements of their dream estate. This will require them to usemathematical equations to map out the dimensions of the home they wish to live in.

These types of lessons expand the students thinking processes and provide more existingknowledge for their learning processes.

Respect for Difference


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lesson acts as a checkpoint that indicates the motivation towards their work progress. Eachactivity will be graded periodically to ensure that participation and progress are completed.

Self-assessment will be issued in the form of a rubric and focus on the

communication of themselves, their peers, and the teacher. One of the key components

of this unit is communication, as students will be expected to do so amongst one another

by allowing both advice and criticism to be said. Students will sell-assess themselves on

two grading scales: first one would be Self-Participation (1=non-active/5=fully engaged)

and second one will be Effect of Class Participation (1=class discussions had no

impact/5=class discussions enriched my project).

This grade will give me an idea of where the students are in terms of process and progress.

The formative assessment will be a rubric that focuses on four elements of the project:Participation, Completion of Assignments, Use of Literary Elements, and Presentation of Book.Each will be graded 1-4; 1 being Below Standards and 4 being Ex ceeding Standards . Inbetween w ill be Ap proaching Standards and Meets Standard s.

I will collect their buddy book following the presentation; the 4 th graders will not be ableto bring their books home until after I have graded them. Students will be made aware of thegrades on the following Monday. I will hand back their books, in which a rubric will be attachedthat has comments and a grade on it If there are any questions or concerns about their grade


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Text Set

-Bradbury, Jennifer. Shift . New York: Athenaeum Books For Young Readers, 2008. Print

-Shift is non-fiction story about two best friends, Win and Chris, who decide to get awayfrom their home life and go on a biking trip to Seattle (where Wins uncle lives) before they headoff to college. However, when Chris gets a flat tire and pulls over to fix it Win surprisingly keepson riding. Chris could neither catch up nor find Win and decides to head back home to WestVirginia. Upon his return he faces speculation and criticism because everyone wants to know

where Win is, including Chris. Win secretly reaches out to Chris on a postcard signed byTricksy and gives a location for Chris to start looking. Tired of trouble the private investigatorsand Wins father are giving, Chris decides to go out to find Win himself. Thanks to the postcard,Chris eventually tracks down Win in Montana living in the barn of an older couple whom theymet before. But Win does not want to leave. Back in West Virginia his parents had expectationsfor him all while not paying him much attention, and so this barn was his new home. He asksChris not tell anyone of his whereabouts because he found a place where he can take a step back

and sort himself out. Chris respects this and keeps his promise. This is the anchor text for my project because it depicts the idea that home doesnt have to be where there is a roof above yourhead, home is what you create.

-Michael Buble . Home. Its Time. WMG, 2006. CD.

The song, Home, by singer Michael Buble is a complimentary text that fits with mytheme of home. The song explains that even though you may be in an exciting, busy, andluxurious place there is no shame in just wanting to go home. I will hand out the lyrics andexplain why I believe the lyrics could be spoken by Win himself. I will specifically focus onparts that I feel are relatable such as: May be surrounded by/ A million people I/Still feel all


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- The Wizard of Oz . Dir. Victor Fleming. Perf. Judy Garland, Frank Morgan and Ray Bolger.Warner Brothers, 1998 (rerelease). Film

This famous movie is based off of the childrens novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , byFrank L. Baum. The main character, Dorothy, wakes up in the wonderful, fictional, Land of Ozafter a tornado swept through her state of Kansas. She discovers that in order to get home, sheneeds to find the wizard. Along her journey she finds new friends who help her throughobstacles, such as the wicked witch of the west and the flying monkeys. She finds the so-calledwizard and learns that she can now go home, but not before she repeats the famous lines:

There is no place like home, There is no place like home. This leads into my essentialunderstanding that home is what you create because Dorothy created another home in her dreams(we learn she was simply unconscious), but also because she felt most comfortable with how herlife used to be and wished nothing more than to go back to it.


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Unit Plan Schedule

Week One

Monday: Introduce the Buddy Book Project and how it will be linked with the novel,Shift , by Jennifer Bradbury. Give students the Culminating Project Handout that describeseach phase of the project. Explain what skills will be taught throughout the unit. Studentswill:

Learn ten literary terms, in which they will have to incorporate seven of them in their

book. Note: Source for the definitions is www.roanestate.edu/owl.

Examine the theme of home through three different modes of text (song, poem, andmovie).

Learn the elements of fiction and non-fiction genre

Participate in classroom discussions and utilize peer criticism

Collectively begin their buddy book project.

These essential questions are created to stimulate the thought process of students: What do you think is the most important quality of a home? ; What does peace and serenity mean to you?

Review what students believe are the characteristics of peace and serenity and how itpertains to the overarching question, What is home?

Tuesday: Define the literary element character (representation of a person, place, or thingperforming traditional human activities or functions in a work of fiction) and identify whothe following categories pertain to the: Protagonist (Win), Antagonist (Mr. Coggans/Wins


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-How are Chriss parents different from Wins parents? How are they alike? Spec ifically,focus on the scene when Chris and Win first come up with the idea to take a bike trip to

the west coast.

-Why are Win and Chris taking the bike trip?

-What is the significance of Chriss dad telling him to set a date and leave -no matterwhat (18)? What is his reason for support?

Wednesday: On the board, define the literary terms simile (contrasting to seemingly unalikethings to enhance the meaning of a situation or theme using like or as ) and metaphor (inwhich a word, phrase, or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogybetween them)

Building from the previous lesson, have students create similes for the characters personality traits such as, Win is as fearless as a lion, Chris is as brave as. and soon.

Then ask students how the noun they chose for their similes is symbolic of personalitytraits, and how this pertains to metaphors. Win is a fearless as a lion. The lionsymbolizes courage and determination. Students will think of examples of each, andthen share with the class their favorite simile and metaphor.

Reading Standard Grade 8: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used

in text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

For HW : Read pages 26-50 and answer these questions:


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students write down as many excuses as they can that pertain to school (Why didnt youdo your homework? -I had a million things to do yesterday.)

Ask the essential questions: How would exaggeration work in your buddy book? Howwould you use it? Explain that young children love imagination, so it could be usefulto create hyperboles in your plot. Suggest thinking about it while in the beginning stagesof the interview when they are describing their hobbies and interest. For example, Billyis the king of colleting toy trucks.

Reading Standard Grade 8: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used intext, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choiceson meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

For HW: Read pages 51-78 and answer these questions:

-In the beginning of chapter the two boys and their families met up for a dinner at the

fake saloon restaurant. In what way to Wins parents act that further shows the type of parents they are?

-At dinner, Wins father makes the statement: Winston heres heading to Dartmouth.(45) His mother hired someone just to help Win pad his resume so he could get accepted.How does Win handle these expectations? Are they his own?

-Why did the pastors speech mean something to Win? Find a quote within his speechthat you think affected Win the most

Friday : Discuss personification (representation of a thing or abstraction as a person or byh h f ) d h db i i h b k


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-Chris calls his parents to check in and we see how his parents act; his mom beingworried and his dad staying calm. Can you relate to this with any of your family

members?

-Why does Chris becomes suspicious of Win?

Week Two:

Monday: Continue the theme of literary elements with imagery , an authors attempt to create amental picture in the mind of the reader. Imagery is effective if it is emotional or sensational, andso it would be useful to use your five senses (touch, smell, taste, hear, and sight) when writingimagery.

Imagine you are Jennifer Bradbury and you decided to extend a scene with imagery tomake it more creative. From what we have read up this point, pick two scenes to putyourself in the shoes of the main character (of that scene). To the best of your ability,illustrate the scene you are creating. Your illustrations will be hung on the wall inside theclassroom. Make sure to focus on scenes that are already full of imagery, like ridingalong on their trip or the meetings with the private investigator.

Throughout the activity, remind students to think: How can I involve imagery in mybuddy book?

Reading Standard Grade 8: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in

text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choiceson meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.


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what their thoughts are. Discuss how a setting can make all the difference in a story, andwhy it will be important to develop a setting for their buddy book.

Reading Standard Grade 8: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used intext, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choiceson meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

For HW: Read pages 131-160 and answer these questions:

-The spilling of the Ruffles potato chips is just one of W ins humorous actionsthroughout the trip thus far. Can you tell anything different about Win while hes on theroad and when hes back home? Explain.

-Why didnt Chriss father inform Mr. Coggans of his suspicion that the postcards werefrom Win?

-I love the wind. (160) Besides his love for biking, what else could he mean?

Wednesday: Symbolism is portrayed through everyday scenarios, such as the clothes you wearand the sports you play. Symbolism is often drawn from objects as well, like flowers and a ring.

Ask students to identify items they are wearing and write down what each of thoseitems symbolizes. Items to identify are clothes, jewelry, shoes, accessories, and evenhairstyle. (I will do the same, allowing students to become more comfortable writing

about their own).

Symbolism is also a commonly used element when writing a story; in fact it is sometimes usedright within the title


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Thursday: The literary element, point of view , is creatively used in the novel. By using aPowerPoint presentation, discuss the five different types of point of view:

Narrator- The person, or object, who is telling the story.

First person- The narrator participates in action but sometimes has limited knowledge.

Second-person- The narrator addresses the reader directly as though he/ she is part of thestory. (You walk around the corner and see police running towards you.)

Third person (Objective)- The narrator is unnamed/unidentified. Does not assumecharacters perspective and is not a character in the story. Reports on events and lets thereader supply the meaning.

Omniscient- The all-knowing narrator (multiple perspectives) moves from one characterto another. They often step out of a characters mind and evaluate them in somemeaningful way.

Students should become familiar with one type and write a brief outline of how they will writetheir book under that style of narration. Have them hand in and revise if necessary

Reading Standards Grade 8: Analyze how differences in the points of view of thecharacters and the audience or reader.

For HW : Read pages 190-213 and answer these questions:

-I watched him walk away, feeling more and more like I was watching a stranger. (198)Focus on the title of the book, Shift , and interpret this quote.


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Crisis- A significant turning point in the story that determines how it must end.

Resolution- The problem of the story is resolved, or worked out.In groups, students will be asked to identify each of these aspects in the novel. A graphicorganizer will be handed out to help students organize their answers. The same graphic organizerwill be used for their final project.

Reading Standard Grade 8: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used intext, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices

on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

For HW: Finish the book (214-245) and answer these questions:

- (Chris): You knew all along you were going to stay out here, didnt you?

(Win): Not here exactly (215)

What does not here exactly mean? If he was trying to get away, why wouldnt he havea structured, suitable, plan?

-What is the symbolism of the barn Win lives in?

--Looking back at the very first question, what do you now is the reason why Chris liesabout Wins location?

Week Three:

Monday: Students will each be expected to summarize at least one scene that focuses on the


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Tuesday: Hand out the poem, Home, by Aisha Patter son and have students compose a freewrite on their reaction of it. They will need to identify f our lines, or examples, of what home

could mean according to Patterson and write how it is relevant to them.

Reading Standards Grade 8: Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.

Wednesday: Play the movie, Wizard of Oz, and explain how the idea of home is relevant tothe story. Ask them to write notes on examples of serenity portrayed by any of the characters inthe movie. As the movie is playing, I will visually check off who is participating and who is notto make sure they are focused.

Writing Standards Grade 8: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including newarguments or information.

Thursday: Continue the movie (the movie is 103 minutes long, so it will stretch to a third day)and writing notes. Specifically, find similarities between her real family and her dream family.

Writing Standards Grade 8: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including newarguments or information.

Friday: Finish the movie. With remaining time have students brainstorm ideas about the 3 pagepaper they will have to write over the weekend. The topical question is : What differentelements of home did you notice throughout the movie and what made them significant? Usethree to five examples. Students will present their papers on Monday.


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Tuesday: Have students bring in all four supporting texts (novel, song, poem, and notes from theWizard) and ask students which mode of text was most effective to their understanding of what

home could mean.

Split them into the four respective groups and have them come up with one main reason why thismode, and content, worked for them. Groups will choose one speaker to present.

The point of this is to allow students to express what worked for them and what didnt. Thisgives me the opportunity to gauge how I will carry out similar lessons in the future.

Writing Standards Grade 8: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digitalsources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and followinga standard format for citation.

Wednesday: Students will do a free-write on the pros and cons of leaving home, focusing on thequestions: What would have to happen for you to leave home?Would you convince your best friend to stay home if they wante d to leave? How?If you knew you wouldnt be able tocome back, would you still move away from home?

This will give students the convenience of writing an opinion paper. This option is appealing tostudents because it does not include requirements and allows for a free range of answers.

Writing Standards Grade 8: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital

sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and followinga standard format for citation.


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The topic of their short story will be a special vacation you remember . Again,because it is fiction, the components of the story do not have to be authentic.

There will be a handout to go along with this that acts as an outline for students tocomplete in class. On the outline, they will need to develop a plot , create characters using the third-person narrative, create the setting of the vacation, and create an objectthat symbolizes something meaningful from the trip.

Writing Standards Grade 8: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing anarrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.

For HW : Student will need to write a short story fiction using the third person narrative (the

narrator refers to every character as he, she, they, it but never as I). Friday: The other genre students will be able to use is non-fiction . First, I will discuss how non-fiction differs from fiction in that non-fiction is when the author is representing somethingthat is real; a fact that gives information . To make this more relevant, inform students of thenon-fiction material that is all around them such books about their favorite animals, educationalmagazines, maps, and even lunch menus.

The elements of non-fiction are unlike the elements of fiction because it requires the usefactual information and also uses.

S d ill b k d i h i l fi i h i A


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a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing anarrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.

Week Five

Monday: Introduce big idea project idea and concepts. Tell them the 5 questions they will beasking their buddies. The 5 questions are:

-Who is your student? Get to know them on a personal level (name, age, favorite

food, favorite color, who is in their family, etc)

-What does your student like to do?

-What do you look forward to when you go home?

-How would you define home?

-Where would you go to get away? (Fiction or non-fiction)

Their assignment will be to create a 6 th question. The question is meant to get a betterunderstanding of what home means to their buddy. Discuss what type of questionscould be too personal or too vague. No student may have the same question.

For HW: Students will need to bring in three examples of work under the genre they chose todo and write a summary of each, focusing on what qualities of that genre motivated them to useit.

Writing Standards Grade 8: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development,


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Main character(s)

Setting

Plot

Examples of Imagery

Point of view

The other two terms they are required to use

The overall message of their story

*This will be required to hand in with book on Friday*

Also, have students create an authors page on the very last page; a page where they describetheir hobbies and interests, and what home means to them.

Writing Standards Grade 8: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development,

organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Thursday: Students meet again with their buddies, but this time to illustrate and decorate thebook. Have the student buddies do all the thinking and designing (since my students wrote thebook). My students will be there to help imagine and advise creativity.

Writing Standards Grade 8: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development,organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Friday: With cooperation from administrators, save the last three periods of the day andd i t th t R d Al d I it th t h d i i t t d t t j i th


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The Buddy Book Project

What is the project? Our class is collaborating with a 4 th grade class to create a book that describes what home means to them. The goal of this project is to have students fromtwo different age groups explain the peaceful qualities of home. You should focus on howthey have come to discover this because each perspective will be unique.

Phase 1: You will be given five prior prompt questions to interview the students on thetopic of home, but will need to create a sixth question on your own.

Phase 2 : Once you have been paired with your buddy, you will get to know them andconduct your interview.


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Generalization Quality 4:Exceeds Standard

3:Meets Standard

2:Approaching

Standard

1:Below Standard

CLARITYCOHESIONTHESISENLIGHTENMENTON TOPIC

The extent to which thebook exhibits andunderstanding of studentselected genre.

Student correctlyidentified all 9 itemsof Story Chart intheir book.

Student correctlyidentified 6-8 itemsof Story Chart intheir book.



SUPPORT:DEVELOPMENTRELEVANCECONTROL

The extents to which ideasare elaborated usingevidence.

-Must use Character, Plot,

Setting, Imagery, andPoint of View and includetwo others (simile,metaphor, symbolism,personification, orhyperbole)

Student incorporated7 out of 10 literaryterms.

Student displayedaccuraterepresentation of terms within theircontent.

Student incorporated4-6 out of 10 literaryterms.

Student displayedreasonablerepresentation of terms within theircontent.


Student displayedstandardrepresentation of terms within theircontent.


Student displayedinsubstantialrepresentation of terms within theircontent.

VOICEAUDIENCE/PURPOSE/TONESENTENCE VARIETYUSAGE

The extent to which theauthor reveals anawareness of audienceand effective use of words

and sentence structure.

Content of bookincludes appropriatelanguage andsentence structurefor audience.

Content for bookincludes acceptablelanguage andsentence structurefor audience.

Content for bookincludes standardlanguage andsentence structurefor audience.

Content for bookincludes improperlanguage andsentence structurefor audience.

CONVENTIONSThe extent to which theresponse exhibitsconventional spelling,punctuation, andgrammar usage.

Student has 1-4spelling,punctuation, andgrammaticalmistakes.

Student has 4-8spelling,punctuation, andgrammaticalmistakes

Student has 8-12spelling,punctuation, andgrammaticalmistakes

Student has 12-16+spelling,punctuation, andgrammaticalmistakes

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The Final Unit Plan for AED 341