Membership In Multiple Groups In Society and Respect For People Who Are Both Similar to And Different from Ourselves
Unifying Concept: The Courage to Be Yourself
Overview:This unit contains plays, stories and poems that will help students to develop positive social identities based on their multiple groups in society. Through reading historical and cultural pieces, it will affirm and accurately describe their membership in multiple social groups. The unit is also designed to help students understand the idea of diversity by becoming comfortable with people who are both similar to and different from themselves and engage respectfully with all people. This unit will help students identify figures, groups, events and a variety of strategies and philosophies relevant to the history of social justice around the world.
Purpose:
To identify the theme of each piece of writing.
To compare/contrast differences in characters, ideas in stories and poems.
To identify the central idea of text citing textual evidence.
To analyze the structure of a piece of writing and point of view of the author.
To gather information on a specific topic and write an explanatory essay.
To write an explanatory essay about veterans
.
Enduring Understanding:
Writers and readers use a variety of strategies to investigate how stories develop the answers to questions of identity and connection to the world. Meaning is shaped through the author’s style, perspective, structures and tone. / Essential Questions:
1. How does a writer’s style shape the meaning of a text?
2. How do writers create connections to the text?
3. How does a text help define who we are?
Target Standards are emphasized every quarter and used in formal assessment to evaluate student mastery.
Highly-Leveraged 1arethe most essential for students to learn because they have endurance (knowledge and skills are relevant throughout a student's lifetime); leverage (knowledge and skills are used across multiple content areas); and essentiality (knowledge and skills are necessary for success in future courses or grade levels).
8.RI.1Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
8.RI.5Analyze in detail the structure of a specific paragraph in a text, including the role of particular sentences in developing and refining a key concept.
8.W.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
  1. Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
  2. Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
  3. Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
  4. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
  5. Establish and maintain a formal style.
f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.
8.L.1Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
  1. Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) in general and their function in particular sentences.
  2. Form and use verbs in the active and passive voice.
  3. Form and use verbs in the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive mood.
d. Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood.
Supporting are related standards that support the highly-leveraged standards in and across grade levels.
8.RL.5Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style.
8.RI.2Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
8.RI.6Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
8.SL.2Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.
Constant Standards are addressed routinely every semester.
8.RL.1,10
8.RI.10
8.W.5,6,10
8.SL.1,6
8.L.2,6
Selected Reading of Complex Texts
Extended/Short Texts:
The Diary of Anne Frank, p. 447
“Stop the Sun,” Gary Paulsen p. 48
“Dear America,” George Robinson, p.55
“Legacies,” Nikki Giovanni, p. 417
“The drum,” Nikki Giovanni, p. 417
“Choices,” Nikki Giovanni, p. 471
“A Journey,” Nikki Giovanni, p. 422
“Knoxville, Tennessee,” Nikki Giovanni, p. 422
“From Still Me,” Christopher Reeves, p. 374
Additional Instructional Resources
Electronic Resources and Alternative Media:
Christopher and Dana Reeves Interview

Nazi Germany, World War II, and the Holocaust

Vietnam Vets Return Home

Performance Assessments
Formative Assessment:
Questions/activities from text book Act 1 and Act 2 Diary of Anne Frank
Questions/activities from “Stop the Sun”
Questions/activities on“From Still Me”
Write Lyrical Poetry / Summative Assessments:
Small Group research project on WWII
Journal entries
Mock interview
Explanatory essay on Vietnam Vets
Posters with a summary of the theme of each poem and what feelings were invoked
School City Answer Key Only Assessment

This definition for highly-leveraged standards was adapted from the “power standard” definition on the website of Millis Public Schools, K-12, in Massachusetts, USA.

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