Persepolis Unit

Unit Concepts and Generalizations:

  • Human Rights (main concept), graphic novel, theme, symbol, allusion, irony, revolution, torture, censorship, oppression
  • Human rights are those freedoms and guarantees that every person on earth should have.
  • Human rights declare the world as it should be; in the world we actually live in, human rights violations occur daily.
  • Concern for human rights is a matter of social justice, on a global scale.

Essential Questions:

  • What are human rights? Why are they important? Should we intervene when they are violated? What constitutes a violation?
  • Why do we need to know what goes on in the rest of the world? If it doesn’t affect us, should it matter to us?
  • What is a revolution? What does it mean to be a revolutionary?

Unit Objectives

As a result of this unit, students will know

  • Vocabulary related to graphic novels, including panel, caption, theme, symbol, allusion, and irony.
  • The UN Declaration of Human Rights’ definition of human rights.
  • The historical and cultural context that led to the Islamic Revolution, and the effects of that revolution.

As a result of this unit, students will understand that

  • Human rights are those freedoms and guarantees that every person on earth should have.
  • Human rights declare the world as it should be; in the world we actually live in, human rights violations occur daily.
  • Concern for human rights is a matter of social justice, on a global scale.

As a result of this unit, students will be able to

  • Read and interpret contemporary literary and informational texts, using reading skills to monitor and “fix up” their own comprehension.
  • Recognize and interpret allusions to:
  • Historical figures, such as Karl Marx, Ghandi, and Rene Descartes.
  • Events in Iranian history, such as the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War.
  • Events in contemporary US history, such as the war in Iraq and the scandal over torture of detainees.
  • Current events, such as the protests following the Iranian elections of 2009.
  • Research historical figures and create informational texts and presentations summarizing the results of their research.
  • Identify violations of human rights in the text of Persepolis.
  • Write an essay defining human rights, drawing examples from the text of Persepolis.

Instructional Strategies Used

  • Think-Alouds
  • Cloze Notes for Lecture
  • Graphic Organizers
  • Flexible Grouping
  • Tiered Assignments
  • Mini-lessons
  • Rubric assessment
  • Double-entry journals
  • Pre-Test and Post-Test

Activity Description / Approx. Time / English SCOS / Technology SCOS / Bloom’s / 21st Century / Differentiation
Introductory
Pre-Test: Human Rights Prompt
Students respond to the NC Writing Test Prompt from 2006, “define human rights.” / 1 day / Results of assessment will be used to determine needs for writing minilessons throughout the unit.
Reading Process Analysis – Persepolis Introduction
Brainstorm a list of “Good Reader Strategies” and post it in the room, then pass out a photocopy of the Introduction to Persepolis, asking students to read it silently, paying close attention to the “mental moves” they make as they read it. Ask students to share their “mental moves,” checking them off on the “Good Reader Strategies” list (or adding to the list).
Note: A more detailed description of this activity is located at / 25 minutes / 1.02
2.01
5.01
5.03
Predict – Question – Connect
After reading the Introduction, pass out this variation on a KWL chart to students. Ask them to fill the “Predict” column with their predictions about what Persepolis will be about, fill the “Question” column with questions they have about the book, based on what they’ve read so far (this can include background info from the Introduction that they don’t understand), and fill the “Connect” column with connections they see between Persepolis and other texts they’ve read.
Note: It may be useful to have students keep adding to each column as they read the book. / 15 minutes / 1.02
2.01
5.01
5.03
Teacher Think-Aloud – Excerpt from the Rubaiyat
Teacher uses the think-aloud strategy with an excerpt from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat to model the use of making connections and using prior knowledge as reading skills. Students take notes on frequency of the use of these two strategies on the Tracking Chart.
Note: Do not pass out copies of the poem until the think-aloud is completed, or students will focus on annotating their copies of the poem instead of tracking the strategies. / 15 minutes / 1.02
4.02
5.01
5.02
5.03
6.01
Class Think-Along – Excerpt from the Rubaiyat
Using an overhead copy of the second excerpt from the Rubaiyat, read each quatrain, pausing for students to offer connections/prior knowledge, annotating the overhead copy as students annotate their own copies. / 15 minutes / 1.02
4.02
5.01
5.02
5.03
6.01
Pairs Think-Aloud – “The Wind-Up Doll”
Students work in pairs, taking turns reading “The Wind-Up Doll” and thinking aloud with connections/prior knowledge. Each partner records the other’s use of strategies on the Tally Sheet.
Note: This poem works especially well if students have already read A Doll’s House. / 15 minutes / 1.02
4.02
5.01
5.02
5.03
6.01
KWL Chart
After the three Think-Alouds, it may be useful to have students list everything they know about Iran, everything they want to know, and everything they learn as they read.
Note: The KWL will also work well before the Think-Alouds, perhaps revisiting it after reading the three poems and throughout the unit. Revisiting the chart works especially well if it’s done on poster paper and hung on the classroom wall. / 20 minutes / 1.02
2.03
4.02
5.01
5.03
Jigsaw – Articles Related to Iranian Revolution
Using articles related to the Iranian Revolution( PDF file “Iran Overview,” PDF file “A Million Marchers Rally for Khomeini in Streets of Tehran”, and Radio Free Europe article “Iran: 25th Anniversary of Islamic Revolution Commemorated Amid Serious Political Crisis,”) , students work in “like” groups to read and take notes in the graphic organizer, then move to “jigsaw” groups to share what they learned with other groups. / 1 hour / 1.02
4.03
4.05
5.01
5.02
5.03 / Students may be assigned to “like” groups based on readiness.
Persepolis Background Notes
Students fill in cloze notes in Cornell Notes Format on a PowerPoint lecture providing background on Greek theatre and tragedy. / 35 minutes / 1.02
1.03
4.01
5.01
5.03
Revolutionaries Research Assignment
Students research some of the revolutionaries mentioned in Ch. 1-4 of Persepolis, preparing a handout and presentation to share with the class. / 2 days / 2.01
2.03
5.01
During
Reading Log Discussions
Students generate a Reading Log (double-entry journal) for each night’s reading assignment, selecting relevant quotes from the text and reflecting on their importance. Class discussions, in which students share the quotes they selected and their rationale for choosing them, are a daily focal point. / 20-30 minutes a day / 1.02
1.03
3.03
4.02
5.01
5.03 / The Reading Log template allows students to complete Reading Logs on laptops and includes guidelines for selecting and responding to quotes.
Persepolis Study Guide
Students answer study questions for each “chapter” of Persepolis (alternative to Reading Logs); class discusses questions the next day. / 20 minutes / 1.02
3.03
4.02
5.01
5.03 / This assignment serves as an alternative to ReadingLogs for students who need to develop readiness.
Persepolis Journals
Students respond to journal prompts focusing on issues related to the text. / 15 minutes a day / 1.02
1.03
3.01
3.04
4.01
4.03
5.01
5.02
5.03 / Journal Sentence Starters list can help students “get started” if they’re having trouble.
Conventions Mini-Lessons
Using examples from Oedipus Rex, students practice rules for pronoun agreement (easily adapted for other conventions issues). / 15 minutes a day / 5.03
6.01
6.02
Writing Mini-Lesson: Introductions
Students take notes on structuring introductions, annotate sample introductions (student samples from the Human Rights prompt), re-order mixed up introductions, and write their own sample introductions. / 1 hour / 4.03
4.04
6.01 / This minilesson may serve to meet student needs as assessed in the Pretest.
Writing Mini-Lesson: Conclusions
Students take notes on structuring conclusions, annotate sample conclusions (student samples from the Human Rights prompt), re-order mixed up conclusions, and write their own sample conclusions. / 1 hour / 4.03
4.04
6.01 / This minilesson may serve to meet student needs as assessed in the Pretest.
Writing Mini-Lesson: Eliminating the Unnecessary
After a discussion (with examples) on simplifying by combining sentences, students work in groups to edit a sample paragraph, which has been cut into numbered strips, by eliminating the unnecessary words to make it “tighter.”
Note: This lesson comes from DPI’s In the Right Direction, Vol. 3. / 1 hour / 4.03
4.04
6.01 / This minilesson may serve to meet student needs as assessed in the Pretest.
Writing Mini-Lesson: Wrong Words
Students take notes on commonly mixed-up words, play Memory or Go Fish to reinforce the notes, and edit a draft to correct commonly mixed-up words. / 1 hour / 4.03
4.04
6.01 / This minilesson may serve to meet student needs as assessed in the Pretest.
Text Structure Mini-Lesson
Teacher explains the difference between narrative and informational texts (and the differences in levels of student familiarity/skill with those texts) and presents the four major types of organizational structures for informational texts (description/definition, order/sequence, cause-effect, compare/contrast). Teacher may want to copy and pass out Text Structure Bookmarks.pub (in the Bookmarks folder under English II online). / 15 minutes / 5.01
5.03
Summary Notes
Students find a “current event” about Iran and write a summary of the article using Jim Burke’s “Summary Notes” worksheet. In addition, students should identify the informational text structure the article follows. / 30 minutes / 1.02
3.03
5.01
5.03
Cause-Effect Mini-Lesson
Pass out copies of the Wikipedia article “Operation Ajax” ( Ask students to skim the article and identify which of the four informational text structures it fits. Explain the concept of causality (every event has a cause and an effect), and ask students to identify what event the article is about. Ask students to read the article, highlighting causes in one color and effects in another. Students can do this independently and then share, or the activity can function as a think-along, with students identifying causes and effects as the article is read aloud, with the teacher highlighting an overhead transparency copy of the text. Class discussion after the annotation of the text might include some of the causes of conflict between Iran and the US.
Note: Because Wikipedia is sometimes an unreliable source, I check the revision history on this page before using it. / 30 minutes / 1.02
3.03
5.01
5.03
Cause-Effect Graphic Organizers
Students work in groups to read the Radio Free Europe article “Iran: 25th Anniversary of Islamic Revolution Commemorated Amid Serious Political Crisis”( identify the causes and effects of the Iranian Revolution, and create a graphic organizer for taking notes on the article. Presentations focus on the design of the graphic organizer, and why that design is effective for taking notes on cause-effect text structures.
Note: This activity is the same as one of the culminating activities in the Things Fall Apart Unit. If students have already learned about text structures, the Reciprocal Teaching activity might be more appropriate. / 30 minutes / 1.02
3.03
4.03
5.01
5.02
5.03
Reciprocal Teaching – Islamic Revolution
Students use the Reciprocal Teaching Strategy (Questioning, Predicting, Summarizing, Clarifying) to read the article “Iran: 25th Anniversary of Islamic Revolution Commemorated Amid Serious Political Crisis,” then make a list of connections between the article and Persepolis for class discussion.
Note:
Dictionaries will be useful for the Clarifying portion of the RT process. / 30-45 minutes / 1.02
1.03
5.01
5.02
5.03
6.01
Description/Definition Mini-Lesson
Pass out copies of the Teaching Tolerance article “What is Islam?” ( Ask students to skim the article and identify which of the four informational text structures it fits. Explain the concept of definition (decribing unique or defining characteristics), and ask students to identify what topic the article is defining. Ask students to read the article, highlighting the characteristics the author uses to define the topic. Students can do this independently and then share, or the activity can function as a think-along, with students identifying characteristics as the article is read aloud, with the teacher highlighting an overhead transparency copy of the text. Class discussion after the annotation of the text might include how this definition of Islam challenges some of the stereotypes we have about Muslims. / 45 minutes or HW / 1.02
1.03
5.01
5.02
5.03
6.01
6.02
Definition Graphic Organizers
Students work in groups to read the essay “Historical Perspectives on Islamic Dress” ( identify the characteristics of hijab over the centuries, and create a graphic organizer for taking notes on the article. Presentations focus on the design of the graphic organizer, and why that design is effective for taking notes on definition text structures. / 30 minutes / 1.02
3.03
5.01
5.03
Reciprocal Teaching – “Historical Perspectives on Islamic Dress”
Students use the Reciprocal Teaching Strategy (Questioning, Predicting, Summarizing, Clarifying) to read the essay “Historical Perspectives on Islamic Dress,” then make a list of connections between the article and Persepolis for class discussion.
Note:
Dictionaries will be useful for the Clarifying portion of the RT process. / 25 minutes / 5.01
5.03
Human Rights Mini-Lesson
Students respond to a journal prompt asking them to define human rights, then work in groups on a Think-Pair-Share activity to define five basic human rights and generate their own Declaration of Human Rights. / 25 minutes or HW / 1.02
3.03
5.01
5.03
Torture Mini-Lesson
Students view video clip on 24 and torture ( from Human Rights First, then read the New York Times Article “Normalizing Torture” ( using the Reciprocal Teaching Strategy. Students will then complete a Think-Pair-Share activity to compare/contrast the torture on 24 with that in Persepolis in preparation for the Human Rights seminar. As an alternative, groups may work to create their own definitions of torture and the kinds of interrogation techniques that comprise torture for a Gallery Walk. / 35 minutes / 3.03
5.01
5.03
Censorship Mini-Lesson
Explain to students that dictionaries are valuable resources, but that we don’t really know a word until we know how to use it, and can define it ourselves without referring to a dictionary. Reading and using context clues are one way to do this. Ask students to read the NY Times article “Literary World Lashes Out After a Week of Hesitation” ( highlighting content they think reveals the meaning of the word censorship (this can also work as a think-along, using an overhead transparency copy of the article).
Pass out copies of the Word Mapping graphic organizer and, using an overhead transparency copy, fill in the word map with student responses. Using this information, the each student writes her own definition of censorship. If time allows, these definitions can be shared with the class. / 45 minutes / 1.02
5.01
Excerpt from Reading Lolita in Tehran
After reading “Kim Wilde” in Persepolis, students read this excerpt, then make a graphic organizer comparing Marji’s experience with censorship to Dr. Nafisi’s experience.
Note:
Reciprocal Teaching might also work well with this text. / 50 minutes / 1.02
4.03
4.05
5.01
5.02
5.03
Marji as Mirror
Students work in groups to generate a list of ways in which Marji’s behavior mimics the political situation in Iran, then generate a visual product that represents this “mirroring” and draws conclusions about its purpose and effect. / 45 minutes / 1.02
2.03
3.03
5.01
5.03
Culminating
Human Rights in Iran
( Students work in groups to read and take notes on Amnesty International’s report on human rights in Iran, using a graphic organizer provided by the teacher. Group members can choose from four roles: The Discussion Director assigns each group member a portion of the report to read aloud. The Human Rights Inspector takes notes on violations mentioned in the report in the first column of the chart. The Interrogator leads the group ingenerating Level 2 and 3 questions about each violation, and records the questions in the middle column of the chart. The Advocate leads the group in finding examples of human rights violations in the text of Persepolis and recording the example and page number in the last column of the chart. / 2.01
3.01
3.03
4.01
5.01
5.03
Human Rights Seminar
After reading the UN’s Declaration of Human Rights ( students participate in a seminar discussion that focuses on how civil rights are violated in Persepolis. The Seminar Planning Form, Inner/Outer Circle Notes Pages, Seminar Rules, and Seminar Reflection will also be helpful. Students may draw on their knowledge from the Civil Rights, Torture, and Censorship Mini-Lessons. / 45 minutes or longer / 1.02
2.01
3.01
3.03
4.01
4.02
4.03
5.01
5.03
Persepolis Essay Test
Students generate a list of themes, symbols, important events, issues, etc. from the text as possible essay prompts. Teacher generates essay prompts, and students must respond to four prompts: two of the teacher’s choice, and two of their own choice. / This test differentiates by student choice.
Propaganda Posters
Students work in groups, choosing five human rights that are violated in Persepolis. Each group creates five propaganda posters designed to “sell” the violation of those human rights to Iranians. Groups present their posters to the class. / 30 minutes / 1.02
2.01
3.01
3.03
4.01
4.02
5.01
5.02
5.03
Persepolis Brochures
Students work in groups to read an encyclopedia article about the ancient city of Persepolis and interpret reliefs from the ruins of Persepolis. After examining an exemplar brochure from a US historical site, students create a brochure about the ruins for the Iranian Park Service using Microsoft Publisher. Students present their brochures to the class, and class discussion focuses on the reasons why Marjane Satrapi might have named her graphic novel after the ancient city of Persepolis. / 3 days / 1.02
2.01
2.03
2.04
4.02
4.03
4.04
5.01
6.01
6.02
Jigsaw – Articles Related to Iran Election
Using articles related to the Iranian election of 2009,students work in “like” groups to read and take notes in the graphic organizer, then move to “jigsaw” groups to share what they learned with other groups. / 1 hour / 1.02