Beverley Joseph
LAE 4335
Professor Edge
Unit plan
Unit Plan:
4 points of Conflict in Literature
April 2010Unit Plan: 4 points of Conflict in Literature_11th/12th Grade Honors
Sunday / Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday / Saturday
1 / 2 / 3
Man vs. Man
Week
(The Great Gatsby) / Man vs. Society
Week
(The Great Gatsby) / Man vs. Self Week
(Old Man and the Sea) / Man vs. Nature
Week
(Old Man and the Sea) / 1. Introductory Lesson—1st part:
*General overview of the unit
*Introductory Discussion
*Written Assignment: Based on discussion-- Students will take what they discussed and write in their journals. The quick write will be open for anything that is on their mind. After 15 minutes, students will do a think-pair-share about a conflict they experienced recently, and how they felt about it.
4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10
Man vs. Man
Week
(The Great Gatsby) / (55 minute period)
*Introduce literary conflict for the week
*Go over vocabulary words for the week
Pass out Character Analysis Sheet to students
Pass our Conflict organizer
Begin Reading Great Gatsby in class (Chapter 1)
*Homework:
Student will watch the news and find a story where there is a man vs. man conflict. They will write in their journal about the conflict and their opinion on the matter. How would they have dealt with the situation if it were they? / (55 minute period)
In class reading
(Chapter 2)
Followed by discussion
Homework:
Read Great Gatsby
(Chapters 3 &4) / (no class) / (Block period: 1:30 min)
In class reading
(Chapter 5) followed by discussion
Library Day:
Students will go in the library to work on the Great Gatsby Magazine Project / (55 minute period)
Vocabulary Quiz
In class reading
(Chapter 6) followed by discussion
11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17
Man vs. Society
Week
(The Great Gatsby) / (55 minute period)
*Introduce literary conflict for the week
*Go over vocabulary words for the week
In class reading
(Chapter 7) followed by discussion / (55 minute period)
In class reading
(Chapter 8) followed by discussion
Homework:
Read Great Gatsby
(Chapter 9) / (no class) / (Block period: 1:30 min)
Discussion:
There will be a brief discussion on the ending of the book. Students are encouraged to share though-provoking matter with the class.
Movie Showing:
Students will be shown clips of the Great Gatsby depicting the main characters. Students will complete compare/contrast sheet during movie to turn in after the movie.
Library day:
Students will go in the library to work on the Great Gatsby Magazine Project. / (55 minute period)
Vocabulary Quiz
Students will turn in completed Character Analysis & Conflict organizer worksheet today
Debrief on the story: The Old Man and the Sea
18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24
Man vs. Self Week
(Old Man and the Sea) / (55 min)
*Bellwork:
Pick a quote from the book, The Old Man and the Sea” and interpret it
-“But a man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated”
-“A man is never lost at sea”
-“The greatest conflicts are not between two people but between one person and himself”
-Think/Pair/Share
Vocabulary words
*In-class reading: The class will read Day 1 of: The Old Man and the Sea
*Assignment:
Pass our character analysis and conflict organizer worksheet
*Class discussion / (55 minute)
*Bellwork:
Students will write in journals their thoughts on the first section of The Old Man and the Sea
-Students will exchange papers and give feedback on bottom of peer’s entry
*In class reading:
Today the students will read Day 2 of The Old Man and the Sea
*Mini discussion:
*Assignment:
Character analysis sheet
Homework:
Read Day 3 of The Old Man and the Sea / No class / (1 hour 30 min)
*No Bellwork
*In class reading:
Students will read Day 4 of The Old Man and the Sea
*Class Discussion
Today the students are allowed to talk about anything that stood out to them, confused or related to them. / (55 min)
*No Bellwork
Vocabulary Quiz
*In class reading:
Students will finish the Day 5 reading of The Old Man and the Sea
*Class Discussion
There will be a brief discussion on the ending of the book. Students are encouraged to share though-provoking matter with the class.
25 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30
Man vs. Nature
Week
(Old Man and the Sea) / (55 minute period)
*Introduce literary conflict for the week
*Go over vocabulary words for the week
Group Activity:
Santiago E-harmony profile—About me / (55 minute period)
Group Activity:
Santiago E-harmony profile—About me
*Students will turn in activity at the end of class / (no class) / (Block period: 1:30 min)
*Movie:
Students will be shown the 1990 movie version of the book. They will compare and contrast various aspects between the book and movie. Students will turn in at the end of the period
Library day:
Students will go in the library to work on the Great Gatsby Magazine Project. / (55 min)
Vocabulary Quiz
Students will turn in completed Character Analysis & Conflict organizer worksheet today
Students will turn in Magazine Project
Debrief on projects and overall experience with unit
Rationale
It is imperative that students are taught the four points on conflicts in literature, due to the fact that everyone deals with some type of conflict in their daily lives. Most students have difficulty dealing with issues in the classroom and in their daily lives because they do not know how to determine, dissect and deal with conflicts. The students believe that conflicts are always solved in negative ways and fail to comprehend that conflict is essential in people’s lives. Whenever you're reading a story, conflict is the main device that's going to drive a story forward. Students will already have preconceived notions that conflict is negative because of its association; rarely is the term “conflict” associated with anything positive. Society’s view of conflict is usually something that is an obstacle or hurdle in someone’s life, or an opposition to interests, values, actions or directions.
According to Merriam-Webster conflict is 1: fight, battle, war; 2a: competitive or opposing action of incompatibles: antagonistic state or action (as of divergent ideas, interests, or persons) b: mental struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, wishes, or external or internal demands; 3: the opposition of persons or forces that gives rise to the dramatic action in a drama or fiction. I will introduce them to the four conflicts, making sure to satisfy the overall unit goals. By teaching them about man vs. society, students will explore how conflict brings about change; for instance: changes in society. The lesson on man vs. self will enable students to consider how conflicts affect and relate to their personal lives. Most importantly, as students are introduced to the follow conflicts:
1. Man vs. Man-- one person versus somebody else in the story that's causing him or her problems.
2. Man vs. Self-- an internal conflict in which the main character wrestles with their morals to make a particular decision
3. Man vs. Society--some kind of government or something completely beyond their control that is a large element to society causing problems for them.
4. Man vs. Nature--some kind of natural disaster--hurricane, tornado, earthquake that is beyond the character's control that is causing them problems.
They will be able to identify a literary conflict as well as argue their claims using textual evidence to support their assertions.
Students are capable of thinking abstractly and analyzing literary conflicts if presented with material that relates to their daily struggles. When looking at Jean Piaget’s theories on Cognitive Development, he states that a child who is 12 years and older enters a Formal Operations Stage in which they “become increasingly competent at adult-style thinking [which] involves using logical operations, and using them in the abstract, rather than the concrete; We often call this hypothetical thinking” (Boeree). Furthermore, Barbara Stanford, an educator, believes “[Students] are capable of quite sophisticated writing and analysis of literature if they are led to abstract ideas from concrete, everyday experiences.”
By combining a study of conflict management in everyday life with a study on conflict in literature, students will be able to strengthen their learning of intricate concepts in different texts and classroom discussion. Throughout this unit, I will be using two texts: The Great Gatsby and The Old Man and the Sea. I believe that it is important for students to be introduced to a few classics that are commonly taught in other high schools as well as institutions of higher learning. For the first two weeks, the conflicts man vs. man and man vs. society will be reinforced with The Great Gatsby. For instance, conflicts in the story such as the one between Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan represents man vs. man while the status of old money vs. new money personify the conflict man vs. society.
During the two weeks of The Great Gatsby, the students will complete The Great Gatsby Magazine Project. They will be provided two library research days to research information on the 1920s. Students are required to produce at least 2 articles as well as an entry in the Op-Ed section. A critical aspect of this project will be the Op-Ed column in which every student in each group will portray a writer that is speaking out on the old money vs. new money conflict. This will enable students to further delve into the historical conflicts of that time and think critically on the issue at hand.
In the last two weeks, the conflicts man vs. self and man vs. nature will be introduced to the students using the novella The Old Man and the Sea. The story portray the conflicts the man character Santiago undergoes with himself (man. vs. self) and his journey after the marlin on the sea (man vs. nature). There will be a group activity where students will all play the part of Santiago. Each group will create a scenario in which Santiago is in battle with himself and provide a conflict and resolution. This activity will strengthen the student’s understanding on conflict and it’s implications on life; in this case Santiago’s life. At the end of each book, students will be shown a portion of the movie version of the book. This will help students visualize the characters of the stories; they will be required to compare and contrast the book and movie version to help them think critically on both the visual and textual aspects.
There are critics such as parents that do not like that idea of students addressing conflicts because it is too depressing; some students have had a hard life etc. Administrators might think instead of having students learn about literary conflicts, I need to be teaching test taking strategies for the FCAT. I believe that it is imperative that students learn and understand that conflicts are prevalent in everyday life. They should know how to detect, dissect and deal with a conflict when it occurs. Most importantly, after successfully completing this unit, students will see they are not alone and that other characters in literature have dealt with conflicts and risen above them.
References
Boeree, C.G. (n.d.). Jean Piaget. Retrieved from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html
Conflict. (2010). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved April 5, 2010, from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/conflict
Stanford, B.S. (1995). Conflict and the story of our lives: Teaching English for violence prevention. The English Journal, 84(5), 38-42
Goals and Rubrics
Unit Goals:
1. Students will be able to think abstractly and analyze literary conflicts
2. Students will be able to identify a literary conflict and argue their claim using textual evidence
3. Students will be able to relate conflict in literature to their everyday lives
4. Students will be able to strengthen their learning of intricate concepts in different texts and classroom discussion
5. Students will know they are not alone when it comes to conflict and that other characters in literature have dealt with conflicts and risen above them.
Course Requirements and Evaluation:
1. Attendance—5%
2. Participation—15%
3. Journal—10%
4. Quizzes—15%
5. Character Analysis Sheet—5%
6. Conflict Organizer—10%
7. Great Gatsby Magazine Project—20%
8. Book & Movie Compare/Contrast Worksheet—5%
9. Santiago E-Harmony Profile Project—15%
Total: 100%
Assignments
Assignments:
Participation in Discussions (15%):
Students are required to participate in the many discussions that will be held during class. Non-verbal and verbal participation is necessary for students to grasp the concepts that will be discussed during this time. Active listening is stressed in part for respect to the speaker and the rest of the class.
CATEGORY / 4 / 3 / 3 / 1Listening / Student was still in their seat while engrossed in the story or actively listening to the discussion, forming their own ideas and opinions. / Student was still in their seat, listening to the story and discussion for a majority of the time (80%), but was never disruptive. / Student was fidgety in their seat while listening, but never made disruptive sounds. / Student was fidgety and possibly noisy when should be silent, however, shows that is making the effort to listen quietly more consistently.
Discussion / Student actively participates with thoughtful and insightful ideas and comments. / Student participates less, but with thoughtful and insightful ideas and comments. / Student actively participates with ideas and comments that demonstrate expected understanding. / Student discussion limited, but what does say demonstrates expected understanding.
Questioning / Student asks many insightful questions that demonstrate formation of own ideas and opinions from story and discussion. / Student asks limited questions, but they are insightful and demonstrate the formation of own ideas and opinions from story and discussion. / Student asks many questions that demonstrate understanding of story. / Student asks few questions that demonstrate an understanding of the story.
Quizzes (15%): Every Friday there will be a vocabulary quiz based on terminology found in the text that the students are reading. They will be given 10 vocabulary words in which they are required to match the word with the definition. They will then use 5 vocabulary words of their choice to write a sentence.