Understanding by Design
Unit 4 – Heart and Soul
Unit Title: Heart and Soul / Grade Level(s): 7th gradeSubject/Topic Area(s): Reading and Language Arts
Key Words: Myths, Tone, Text Features, Setting, Mood
Designed By: Jenny Bernardi, Julie Giordano, Michele Jones, Lindsay Heatwole / Time Frame: 8 weeks
School District: Wicomico
Unit Description (including curricular context and unit goals):
We have continued to move through the theme of growing up. In this unit, students should be able to see how all of the previous themes fit into this last one. The skills and lessons that students will acquire through the stories in this theme will be implemented when they complete the “Treasure Hunter” performance task.
Materials and Resources:
Short Works from Elements of Literature
· “Mason Dixon Memory” p. 65
· “Music Makers” p. 990
· “Power of Music” p. 1008
· “Hungry Here? For Millions of Americans the Answer is ‘Yes’” p. 870
· “Here Be Dragons” p. 332
· “King Midas and the Golden Touch” p. 908
· “Orpheus, the Great Musician” p. 915
· “The Flight of Icarus” p. 925
· “The Twelve Tasks of Hercules” p. 935
· “Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady” p. 978
Extended Works Option
· “Touching Spirit Bear”
Understanding by Design
Stage 1: Desired Results
What content standards are addressed?1.E.4.a Identify and explain the main idea (of the text or a portion of the text)
1.E.4.b Identify and explain information directly stated in the text (of the text or a portion of the text)
1.E.4.c Draw inferences and/or conclusions and make generalizations (from the text or a portion of the text)
1.E.4.e Summarize and Paraphrase
2.A.4.d Summarize or Paraphrase (of the text or a portion of the text)
3.A.2.a Analyze text features that contribute to meaning
3.A.3.c Analyze details that provide information about the setting, the mood created by the setting, and ways in which the setting affects characters
3.A.3.h Analyze the author’s approach to issues of time in a narrative (foreshadowing)
3.A.7.b Analyze language choices that create tone
What enduring understandings are desired
(and what misunderstandings will be addressed)?
· Reading can alter perceptions of the world around us.
· Strength of character
· By showing me that every decision I make not only affects me, but others around me.
· They are all milestones that contribute to the final result.
What essential questions will guide this unit and focus teaching/learning?
· How does language influence the way we think, act, and perceive the world?
· In the face of adversity, what causes some people to prevail while others fail?
· How does the unit, “Heart and Soul”, contribute to your life?
· How do the four previous themes lead up to heart and soul?
What topical questions will guide this unit and focus teaching/learning?
· How do I know if I understand what I read? What do I do if I didn’t understand what I read?
· How does reading several works help evolve a universal theme?
· How does the author’s choice of words help identify the intended tone of the piece?
· How do text features aid in finding important information?
· How does summarizing and paraphrasing a text or portion of the text assist a reader in breaking down the complexity of the text?
What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this unit?
Knowledge of:
· Main Idea
· Details of the text (directly stated)
· Summarizing and Paraphrasing (informational text)
· Text Features (online features)
· Myths
· Setting and Mood
· Tone
Skills:
· Identify main idea
· Identify and explain information directly stated in the text
· Make inferences
· Summarize and Paraphrase an informational text
· Analyze specific language choices to determine tone
Understanding by Design
Stage 2: Acceptable Evidence of Understanding
What evidence will show that students understand?Performance Tasks*
You are a literary treasure hunter. Your next task is going to require creativity, lots of thought, and imagination. From the list of readings that has been provided to you, pick a story that seems to be of interest to you. Once you have read the story, and become an expert, this is where your task begins.
You will need to choose a character from the story you have read. Begin thinking about items that represent your character based on their human spirit. Gather a collection of odds and ends; items such as a marble, a feather, a poker chip, anything you can think of that could represent the human spirit of your character. For example, a feather may represent that your character loves wildlife and yearns to be free like a bird.
Place items in your treasure chest (brown paper bag) for safe keeping while you write up your report. Your job is to complete an artifact log. The log should include the artifact, why the artifact was chosen, any connections to other artifacts in the chest, and how the artifact relates the to the character’s heart and soul. (You may show the performance task 5 example to help students understand the concept in the appendix)
*Complete a Performance Task Blueprint for each task (next page).
Other Evidence (quizzes, tests, prompts, observations, dialogues, work samples, etc.):
· See Standardized Test Preparation Workbook to select appropriate selections and questions relating to the knowledge and skills of the unit
· See Collection Resource workbooks to identify appropriate selection assessments
· Use questions in the textbook.
· See journal suggestions offered for each selection.
· See side margins for good discussions of the skills that have been taught.
· Story Maps
· Graphic Organizers
Student Self-Assessment:
In a warm-up or for a journal topic, have the kids write about the performance task. Have them explain what they liked about the task, didn’t like about the task, how it could be changed.
Performance Task Blueprint
What desired understandings/content standards will be assessed through this task?
· Analyze Characterization
· Analyze Internal and/or External Conflicts
· Analyze details that provide information about the setting, the mood created by the setting, and ways in which the setting affects characters.
What criteria are implied in the standard(s) understanding(s) regardless of the task specifics?
· Organization
· Time Management
Through what authentic performance task will students demonstrate understanding?
You are a literary treasure hunter. Your next task is going to require creativity, lots of thought, and imagination. From the list of readings that has been provided to you, pick a story that seems to be of interest to you. Once you have read the story, and become an expert, this is where your task begins.
You will need to choose a character from the story you have read. Begin thinking about items that represent your character based on their human spirit. Gather a collection of odds and ends; items such as a marble, a feather, a poker chip, anything you can think of that could represent the human spirit of your character. For example, a feather may represent that your character loves wildlife and yearns to be free like a bird.
Place items in your treasure chest (brown paper bag) for safe keeping while you write up your report. Your job is to complete an artifact log. The log should include the artifact, why the artifact was chosen, any connections to other artifacts in the chest, and how the artifact relates the to the character’s heart and soul. (You may show the performance task 5 example to help students understand the concept in the appendix)
What student products/performances will provide evidence of desired understandings?
Product: Treasure Hunter / Performance:
· Students will have to select a piece to read and read the selection in order to effectively represent the character with a symbol that represents the human spirit.
· Taking the artifacts that have been chosen for their characters, the students will create a symbol and persuade the class by giving a speech to demonstrate that their symbol meets the criteria.
By what criteria will student products/performances be evaluated?
· See Rubric that follows.
· You may also want to assess elements of writing, according to instruction during the Writer’s Workshop.
Unit 4 rubric
Heart and Soul / There is in-depth analysis of the character’s human spirit and delves deep into the mind and personality of the character / There is some in-depth analysis of the character’s human spirit; but a few artifacts delve deep into the mind and personality of the character. / There is LITTLE OR NO in-depth analysis of the character’s human spirit; and some artifacts delve very little into the mind and personality of the character. / There is NO in-depth analysis of the character’s human spirit, and. All artifacts are inappropriate and do not delve into the mind and personality of the character
Knowledge Gained / Student could easily and correctly state many facts about the character as they present each artifact. / Student could easily and correctly state 1-2 facts about the character as they present each artifact. / Student could easily and correctly state 1 fact about the character as they present each artifact. / Student did NOT correctly state facts about the character as they present each artifact.
Artifact Relevence (30%) / All artifacts are strongly related to the character and make it easier to understand. / All artifacts are related to the character and add depth to understanding. / All artifacts relate to the character. / Artifacts do not relate to the character.
Creativity / Student put a lot of thought into making the artifacts and box interesting and easy to understand as shown by highly creative final product. / Student put some thought into making the artifacts and box interesting and easy to understand as shown in the final product. / Student tried to make the artifacts and box interesting and somewhat easy to understand, but some of the things made the information harder to understand. / Little thought was put into making the artifacts and box interesting or understandable.
Individual Required Elements (Individual 30%) / Five or more artifacts presented along with thorough and revealing written explanations of those artifacts including thoughtful personal connections. / Five or more artifacts presented along with sufficient written explanations of those artifacts including some personal connections / Three or more artifacts presented along with minimal written explanations of those artifacts. / Fewer than three artifacts presented. No personal connections on the importance of the artifacts.
Description / The description of the artifact is clear, complete, accurate, and provides evidence needed to support the character’s human spirit / The description of the artifact is compete, accurate and provides the evidence needed to support some points of the character’s human spirit / The description of the artifact is fairly complete and accurate. It omits some evidence needed to support the points of the character’s human spirit. / The description of the artifact is unclear or contains inaccuracies or does not provide evidence to support points of the character’s human spirit.
Speaks Clearly/Volume / Speaks clearly and distinctly 100 to 90% of the time. Volume is loud enough to be heard by all audience members through out the presentation. / Speaks clearly and distinctly 75% or more of the time. Volume is loud enough to be heard by all audience members 80% of the time / Speaks clearly and distinctly 50% or more of the time. Volume varies so that at times audience can not hear. / At times mumbles and can not be heard by audience. Volume often too soft to be heard by all audience members.
Understanding by Design
Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction
What sequence of teaching and learning experiences will equip students to develop and demonstrate the desired understanding?
1. A big portion of the stories included in the “Heart and Soul” unit are Greek and Roman Myths. There are many ways to introduce this unit. If computer access is available, a library think quest activity could be created. A website that provides good information for this type of learning is http://library.thinkquest.org/J002356F/greek.htm
*Another way to introduce this unit is simply showing a PowerPoint that provides students some background knowledge about Myths & Gods. (See Power Notes or click link below) http://www.schools.manatee.k12.fl.us/webdisk/652JHUFFINE/c__documents_and_settings_huffinej_my_documents_microsoft_powerpoint_-_introduction_to_greek_mythology.pdf
*A last way that helps students build background knowledge is completing a god/goddess chart from an online source. Here is the website where this info can be found: http://www.mythweb.com/gods/index.html. See Appendix A for chart that coincides with website
*Another reference is the EOL book, p. 900-901, p. 904-907
Once students have a general idea about the characteristics of a myth and Greek Gods, a follow-up activity could be to have them complete the Greek God Worksheet, where they get to briefly research & draw a Greek god. (See Appendix B)
2. Hook- A good way to hook students after the intro activity is showing a short movie clip. United Streaming has a 7-8 minute clip entitled “Greek Mythology” from World History: Ancient Civilizations. This clip provides students with brief information including the travels of Odysseus, the main character from Homer’s The Odyssey. While students watch and learn about Odysseus, have them think about how his life experiences and adventures fit into the “Heart & Soul” unit. (See Appendix C for questions with video)
3. Introduce/define the core vocabulary words to be used throughout the unit as the story is read. These words can be found at the beginning of each story under “Academic Vocabulary”.
4. “Orpheus, the Great Musician” is recommended as the first story to use in this unit. The story makes references to the underworld, also known as Hades. A good building background activity is a website search. Below is the link that provides information about Hades: http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/southeast/pprojects/Group%202/%20text/nonni_/nonni/underworld/index.html.
See Appendix D for worksheet that goes along with website search. Have students read myth and complete Reading Focus on p. 913.