Grade 9 ►

To Kill a MockingbirdDESCRIPTION OF UNIT: This unit is an in depth study of the novel by Harper Lee.

OVERVIEWStudents will read independently, as well as in the classroom. Through exploration of self and themes from the book students will express themselves and their ideas orally and through the written word. Students will also conduct research to reinforce background knowledge of the historical contexts prior to beginning the novel. This exercise also stands to reinforce research skills.

FOCUS STANDARDS RL.9-10.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says

explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

RL.9-10.2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

RL.9-10.3. Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

RL.9-10.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).

RL.9-10.5. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

RL.9-10.7. Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” and Breughel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus).

RI.9-10.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

RI.9-10.7. Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.

W.9-10.1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

W.9-10.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

W.9-10.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)

W.9-10.5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

W.9-10.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

W.9-10.8. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

W.9-10.9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

SL.9-10.1. Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

L.9-10.1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

L.9-10.2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

L.9-10.4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9–10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

L.9-10.6. Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

SUGGESTED OBJECTIVES

Students should demonstrate the ability to read a fictional passage or text, understand and articulate what the text directly as well as indirectly states in order to make an assumption about or respond to prompts from the text.

Students should be able to identify, extract, and cite text to thoroughly support the student’s response

Students should demonstrate the ability to articulate the theme(s) or central idea(s) of a fictional text, providing specifics from the text to support the response.

Students should be able to articulate how specific characters, setting, and elements of the plot reveal and contribute to the theme of the text.

Students should be able to write a summary of the text that is free of bias and personal opinions.

Students should be able to identify different character types, including main and subordinate, round and flat, dynamic and static.

Students should be able to identify character motivations, how characters conflict with and influence each other, and how characters respond and change as the plot moves forward.

Students should be able to articulate how certain incidents in a text further the plot, reveal character traits directly or indirectly, or provoke characters to make decisions based upon the incident.

Students should be able to demonstrate the meaning of a word or phrase within the passage, based upon the context clues of the sentence.

Students should be able to identify shades of meaning of words and phrases. Students should be able to articulate the meaning and impact of diction, including the use of

dialect, slang, accents, etc. Students should be able to demonstrate the ability to recognize and explain the meaning and

impact of the meaning of specific word choice on a passage. Students should be able to identify the mood and tone of a passage, and the meaning and impact

of word choice on the mood and tone of the passage. Students should be able to articulate how specific word choice and language affects the overall

meaning of a work, represents a specific time and place, reveals an author’s attitude, or sets an informal or formal tone.

Students must be able to identify theme, setting, and other basic elements of plot. Students should be able to recognize elements that contribute to the theme, setting and plot

within a fictional text. Students should be able make predictions based on the information given in the text. Schools and/ or teachers should make a variety of artistic mediums available to students. Students should spend time listening to/ viewing an audio, video, or live version of a text. Students should be familiar with the differences between a printed text and a visual medium and

the effects upon the audience or reader. Students should be able to engage in a discussion comparing and contrasting the media version

to the print version of a text. Students should be able to meaningfully respond to questions comparing and contrasting

interpretations. Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create

an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.

Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.

Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.

Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

Students should be able to identify and gather quotes and data that helps contribute to the research topic or question.

Students should be able to use search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and others to help gather and filter information for use in a research report.

Students should be able to create a bibliography of information or sources based upon their research.

Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different meanings or parts of speech (e.g., analyze, analysis, analytical; advocate, advocacy).

Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning, its part of speech, or its etymology.

Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).

Students should demonstrate the ability to use these words in the appropriate context. Students should be able to gather a personal list of unfamiliar vocabulary words. Students should be able to articulate the meaning of unfamiliar words based upon the context

clues, connotation, or definition given. Students should be able to use previously unfamiliar words in an appropriate and accurate

manner. Students should demonstrate the ability to identify vocabulary words and unfamiliar phrases

within a text.

SAMPLE ACTIVITIES AND ASSESSMENTS

Research – Jog the WEB 2 sets of study questions that guide the reader through each chapter ensuring he picks up on

relevant material. 1 set of questions with page references for struggling readers. Reading Check quizzes Final Exam Essay topics Vocabulary study

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Background information on historical context: The Great Depression Civil Rights Movement The Scottsboro Boys Trials (1931-1937) Martin Luther King, Jr and Malcomb X Rosa Parks Jim Crow Laws Biography of Author, Harper Lee

TERMINOLOGY

plot setting characterization (direct and indirect) context archetype universal themes analogy symbolism