Unit Title: Sample Novel Unit for Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry
Delaware ELA Curriculum Unit Template
Preface: Your peers have designed all units. Please thank them for their time and contribution.
Each unit is at a different stage of development. Some need revision on the transfer task options. Others need additional lesson ideas to helps students to reach the standards. Some other units need to have the focus changed from specific story to the more general skills and strategies.
Stage one is complete for all units and should be the focus of the work with students. Use the remainder of the unit as a guide to help you plan for your particular students. Please share lesson and assessment ideas with each other. Content Chairpersons should bring ideas to the content chair meetings each month so that the units can be enhanced for next year.
Thank you to those who have taken the risk and offered their ideas for each unit.
Jodi Forestieri, Instructional Coach ELA Middle School
Subject/Topic Area: Novel Unit Grade Level(s): 8th
Searchable Key Words:
Designed By: Sharie Eng District: Christina School District
Time Frame:
Reviewed by: Date:
Brief Summary of Unit (This should include a brief unit summary including a description of unit goals, rationale for the approach taken, and where it appears in the course of study.)
This unit is a continuation and expansion of the skills taught in the short story unit. Students will be learning about characters, plots, subplots, conflict, and theme.
Stage 1: Desired Results(Determine What Students Will Know, Do and Understand)
Delaware ELA Content Standards (This should include a list of the DE Content Standards for which instruction is provided in this unit and which are ultimately assessed in the unit.)
2.2a Students will be able to develop an increasingly extensive vocabulary and actively seek the meaning of unknown words as an important facet of comprehending texts and messages by using context clues to determine the meanings of words
ü Reading and rereading other sentences in the text to identify and use words that help unlock the meaning of unknown words
ü Looking for and using context clues provided by synonyms and antonyms
ü Selecting the correct definition of words that have multiple meanings
2.4a Students will be able to demonstrate an overall understanding of printed texts by (a) making…predictions as needed
ü Predict likely outcomes based on clues in a text, knowledge of text structure, and knowledge of genres
ü Adjust previous predictions based on new information in a text
ü Identify logical, additional and/or complementary information (e.g., “next” chapter or section) for a text
2.4bL Students will be able to demonstrate an overall understanding of literary texts by (b) identifying the story elements (e.g., characters, setting, and plot) and story structures (conflict, resolution, cause/effect).
ü Identify character(s) in a literary text or speaker(s) in a poem
ü Describe the roles (major, minor, protagonist/hero, antagonist/villain) characters play in a literary text
ü Describe the changes in setting (flashback)
ü Identify various types of conflict (man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. self, man vs. society)
ü Identify conflict(s) climax(s)/turning point(s)and resolution(s)
ü Identify significant details related to the plot to analyze the pattern of organization (compare/contrast, problem/ solution, sequence, cause/effect)
ü Distinguish between main plot and subplot
ü Identify point of view (first person, third person)
2.4c Students will be able to demonstrate an overall understanding of printed texts by (c) recognizing and interpreting figurative language and literary devices (e.g., simile, metaphor, allusion) and (e) differentiating between literal and non-literal meanings.
ü Identify and interpret figurative language and literary devices (e.g., alliteration, repetition, rhythm, dialogue, rhyme, idioms, simile, metaphor, personification, exaggeration or hyperbole, humor, double meanings, symbols, imagery, and mood)
ü Describe how figurative language and literary devices extend meaning
2.4k &2.6b ) Students will be able to demonstrate an overall understanding of printed texts by (k) relating the content of the text to real-life situations and (b) applying information from printed, electronic, and oral texts to complete authentic tasks.
ü Draw on prior knowledge and experience to connect personally to text (text-to-self connections)
ü Draw on prior knowledge of the world (other books, television, movies) to make text-to-world connections)
ü Apply information from text to real life situations (text-to-self, text-to-world connections) in order to make meaning of text
ü Employ reading strategies (e.g., skimming, scanning) to locate and apply information in varied print and non-print (e.g., computers, electronic media, interviews) sources for inquiry projects and other authentic tasks
2.5d Students will be able to critically analyze and evaluate information and messages presented through print using critical and divergent thinking, and assimilating prior knowledge to draw conclusions.
ü Use prior knowledge of a concept along with information in a text to:
o Draw conclusions (including implied main ideas) that require analysis and/or evaluation
o Analyze the author’s viewpoint or attitude toward a topic or idea when strongly implied
o Describe the effect of an author’s use of basic formatting and design techniques (e.g., paragraphing, headings/subheadings, pictures/ illustrations, columns, font styles [bold, underline, italics, caps], punctuation choices)
4.1a Connect their own experience to those of literary characters; explain the reasons for a character’s actions; identify with characters
ü Describe the reasons for a character’s actions in a literary text, critically analyzing the text
ü Make and support relevant connections between the reader’s personal situations and motivations of characters in a text
4.1c Connect their own experience to those of literary characters by relating to the feelings of characters or varying ages, genders, nationalities, races, cultures, religions, and disabilities.
ü Read and compare stories from different cultures and eras to broaden cultural awareness
ü Demonstrate an understanding of the experiences and feelings of fictional characters (e.g., show empathy for, disagree with, compare to personal or other familiar experiences) based on age, gender, nationalities, races, cultures, and/or disabilities
4.1e Connect own experiences to those of literary characters by seeking other literary texts and media as the result of literary experience.
ü As a result of reading a literary text, students will connect to other texts using the following as guides for connections:
o What does this remind me of in another book I’ve read?
o How is this text similar to other things I’ve read?
o How is this different to other books I’ve read?
o Have I read about something like this before?
o Seek other texts and media with similar themes and connections
4.2a Respond to literary text by making inferences about content, events, characters, setting, and author’s decisions
ü Make strongly implied inferences about content and concrete ideas in a text and identify appropriate text support
ü Make inferences about author’s decisions (e.g., paragraphing, quotations, organization of text, formatting devices, mode of development used)
ü Make reasonable predictions as they read
ü Test and revise predictions as they read further
ü Use the combination of background knowledge and explicitly stated information from the text to answer questions they have as they read
ü Make connections between conclusions they draw and other beliefs or knowledge
ü Make critical or analytical judgments about what they read
ü Use texts to make generalizations
ü Create self-motivated interpretations of text that are adapted as they continue to read and after they read
4.2f Identify the effect of point of view.
ü Describe how point of view affects a literary text (e.g., how a story would be different if told from a different point of view)
ü Describe how point of view impacts the reader
Unit Enduring Understandings (This should include important ideas or core processes that are central to the unit and transferable to new situations beyond the classroom. Stated as full-sentence statements, the understandings specify what we want students to understand about the Big Ideas Ex: Inverse operations are helpful in understanding and solving problems.)
Students will understand that…
o subplots are used to give characters dimension and add to the main plot.
o multiple themes are in a novel.
o a character’s motivation can influence his/her decisions.
o use of figurative language helps add dimension to a novel.
Unit Essential Question(s) (This should include open-ended questions designed to guide student inquiry and focus instruction for “uncovering” the important ideas of the content. Ex: What is healthful eating? What is the relationship between fiction and truth?)
What are subplots? Why are they important to a novel?
What are conflicts? How do they influence character’s choices and actions?
What is the theme of the novel? Why do novels have themes? Can there be multiple themes in a novel?
How does the use of figurative language affect the reader?
Knowledge & Skills (This should include key knowledge and skills that students will acquire as a result of this unit? Ex: Factors affecting climate, The causes of World War II.)
It should also include what students will eventually be able to do as a result of such knowledge and skill Ex: take notes, complete a bent-arm pull, compare fiction to nonfiction.)
Students will know….
ü Using sentences around a word they do not know can help them to figure out the meaning of the word.
ü Novels contain plots and subplots.
Students will be able to…
ü Use context clues to fill in a cloze sentence.
ü Identify characters and the elements that make up the characters’ personalities.
ü Identify story elements from the novel (plot, conflict, characters, setting, etc.)
ü Interpret and explain a character’s motivation for his/her actions
Stage 2: Assessment Evidence
(Design Assessments To Guide Instruction)
(This should include evidence that will be collected to determine whether or not the Desired Results identified in Stage One have been achieved? [Anchor the unit in performance tasks that require transfer, supplemented as needed by other evidence –quizzes, worksheets, observations, etc.]
Suggested Performance Task(s) (This should include suggested authentic tasks and projects used as evidence of student competency in the skills and knowledge deemed important in the unit. Ex: a written composition, speeches, works of art, musical performances, open-ended math problems.)
Consider the following set of stem statements as you construct a scenario for a performance task:
G – Goal—Ex: Reflect character’s motivation and predict his actions
R – Role—Ex: A character in Of Mice and Men
A – Audience—Ex: A family member or close friend
S – Situation—Ex: Creating a scrapbook chronicling a character’s life, real and inferred
P – Product, Performance, and Purpose—Ex: Scrapbook
S – Standards and Criteria for Success—Ex: Your scrapbook should include all components on included rubric
Note: There is no "district-wide" end of unit assessment; however, there should be agreement among your school staff as to what will be common across the school for each grade and each unit. The common aspect could be at least a single transfer task but may be more if your building colleagues wish. The data for the common item(s) should be analyzed across classrooms in your building and used to make curricular decisions for your building.
Transfer Task 1: Predictions and Inferencing
A researcher has asked you to help him with his research. He wants to know what kinds of predictions and inferences do middle school student make when reading a novel. Keep a journal of your predictions and inferences. After the first three chapters review your entries and make a generalization about how you think while reading. Compare your entries to those of a peer in your class. Make a generalization about what common conceptions and misconceptions were at this point in the novel. Continue this process until you complete the book by stopping at every three chapters. If you are reading the same book as your teacher or parent, then also compare your entries and reflections to him/her.
G - Make predictions and inferences while reading
R - research subject
A - researcher
S - research project
P - Journal Entries
S - Your entries should have the following characteristics:
1. Make at least five entries per chapter. (These should be “I wonder” statements and predictions.)
2. Reflections: What do I notice is common in my entries over the three chapters? How is this the same or different from my partner's entries? How could I make my entries better? Extra Credit: How are my entries the same or different from an adult’s entries?
3. You must write a reflection for every three chapters, which will reflect upon at least 15 entries.
4. Your entries should be a variety of the following:
ü Make strongly implied inferences about content and concrete ideas in a text and identify appropriate text support
ü Make inferences about author’s decisions (e.g., paragraphing, quotations, organization of text, formatting devices, mode of development used)
ü Make reasonable predictions as you read
ü Test and revise predictions as they read further
ü Use the combination of background knowledge and explicitly stated information from the text to answer questions they have as they read
ü Make connections between conclusions they draw and other beliefs or knowledge
ü Make critical or analytical judgments about what they read
ü Use texts to make generalizations
ü Create self-motivated interpretations of text that are adapted as they continue to read and after they read
Transfer Task 2: Plot Diagram
People learn in different ways. Some people are visual learners. For these people it helps to have a diagram or picture of what they are learning. In order to help the visual learners, you will create a plot diagram that is a visual representation of what occurs in the novel you have read.G – Create a plot diagram after having read the novel
R – Peer helper/Tutor
A – Visual Learners
S – Plot Diagram
P – Plot Diagram Poster
S – Your Plot Diagram should have the following characteristics:
1. Your plot diagram should be drawn on a piece of large poster board.
2. You should include the title and author of the novel; characters, setting, conflicts, problem(s), solution(s), main events, and theme(s) from the novel.
3. You should also have pictures to represent what occurred throughout the novel.