Matilda Unit Plan

Unit TitleMatilda: Brain power

Unit Summary

In this unit, students read the story of Matilda. As they work through the unit activities, students learn more about the literary genre, and study character development, problems or goals that occur, the feelings generated in reaction to the events in the story, then make predictions of what may happen next.

After reading the story, students work on solutions to parents’ problems, such as communicating and showing no interest at all in their children. Students work in teams to make plans and products targeting their chosen issues to positively impact parenthood. Each team researches the current needs and resources for parenting skills, and determines a course of action.

Subject AreaLanguage ArtsGrade Level 9-10Approximate Time Needed 5 weeks, 60-minute lessons, daily

Targeted Content Standards and Benchmarks

Language Arts Standards:Students read a story to build an

understanding of the many dimensions of human experience.

Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes.

Student Objectives/Learning

OutcomesA good book can touch our lives like a good

friend. It can stimulate our imaginations, inform our minds, inspire our higher selves, and fill our time with magic! With a good book, we are never lonely or bored. And a good book only gets better with time, because each reading brings us new meaning. Each new story is a treasure to cherish forever.

Student Objectives Students will be able to:Understand and interpret the use and

purpose of narrative language and imagery in Matilda.

Analyze the relationships among the main and supporting characters of Matilda and how their interactions affect the plot.

Gather information from a variety of sourcesUse information to write a diary.

Analyze a character, and make connections to self with a character, issues, and themes of a story

Identify or summarize a sequence of events, main ideas, and supporting details in literary selections

Predict future outcomes supported by the text

Identify the qualities of the character (such as courage, cleverness, and ambition), and analyze the effect of these qualities on the plot and the resolution of the conflict

Curriculum-Framing Questions

Essential QuestionHow does literature help us better

understand ourselves?

Unit QuestionsHow can you tell if someone is honest?What makes a good teacher?

Content QuestionsHow does the author think parents

should treat their children? How does the author show that Miss

Honey is poor?What happened to Matilda when her

family left town?

Assessment Plan

Assessment Timeline

Before project work beginsQuestioning Journals

Students work on projects and complete tasks

QuestioningPeer Feedback Form Presentation RubricBlog or Story RubricWiki Checklist

After project work is completed

Questioning Blog or Story RubricPresentation RubricJournals

Assessment SummaryOne of the most critical differences between student-

centered learning and teacher-centered learning is in assessment. In student-centered learning, students participate in the evaluation of their learning. This means that students are involved in deciding how to demonstrate their learning.

Developing assessment that support learning and motivation is essential to the success of student-centered approaches. A successful student-centered learning environment will be open, dynamic, trusting, respectful, and promoting the natural desire and curiosity to learn.

This experiential learning involves the whole person -- their feelings, thinking, goals, social skills, and intuition. The result is a person who is empowered to be a lifelong learner, a student who embraces their own abilities and is accepting of others

Questioning occurs throughout the unit to probe student thinking and allow student reflection. Anecdotal notes assist in keeping track of individual student needs. These notes can also provide information on how well students understand certain concepts and can be used to re teach difficult concepts.

The presentation rubric is used by students to self-asses their presentations before teacher assessment. The blog or story rubric describes the criteria for their writing from a different point of view and is used while students are writing and again to assess their final products.

When students finish their drafts, a peer feedback form is used to give and receive feedback on their stories. Students use this feedback to revise their final products.

Students use the wiki checklist to plan and monitor their progress. Students’ responses to the Essential Question in their writing journals provide information about how students have connected their work in the unit with broader issues.

Unit Details

Prerequisite SkillsBasic researchInternetComputer skills

Instructional Procedures

Prior to InstructionPrepare bookmarks to use during

readings to guide critical thinking and understanding. Distribute the Project-Based Learning brochure to introduce parents and other community members to the concept of projects in the classroom.

Introduce a discussion about why people like a good story. How does writing about characters help them “come alive” off the page?What kind of characters can students identify with? What do stories do for us anyway? Next, introduce and discuss the Essential Question that will be used all five weeks, How does literature help us better understand ourselves? Talk about how the units that will be studied this year will help the class answer the Essential Question.

MatildaAs a whole class, fill out the

questionertohelp students access their prior knowledge and provide useful information about student attitudes and possible misconceptions. Explain how, in this unit, they will work to answer the Unit and Essential Questions, along with learning to appreciate—or at least understand—Roald Dahl’s novel, Matilda.

Briefly explain that the students will be completing a project where they will apply the themes and issues within the novel to address a current-day problem along with real solutions.

Ask students to use the Internet to find information about Roald Dahl, his life, and share what they have learned with the class on chart paper, or through a blog or wiki. Some notable online resources are roalddahl.com * and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda(novel)*.

Before students begin to read, Matilda it will be interesting to become familiar with the geography of England. Find England on the globe and/or world map. Look up books on England while doing research in the library. Students can work in groups and report their findings in presentations to the class.

Even though England and the United States are both English-speaking countries, some of the words we use do not mean what they do in England. Spellings of words differ also, and some of these words have been included in the vocabulary lists: for example, ploughed = plowed and honourable = honorable. Have students note differences in spelling in their Writer’s Workbooks as they read the book.

There are also some generic pre-reading ideas that help students focus on literature. Here are some activities that may work well in class.

1. Predict what the story might be about from hearing the title.

2. Predict what the story might be about from looking at the cover illustration.

3. Discuss prior knowledge that students might have about England, mean or uncaring adults, etc.

4. Discuss fantasy. 5. Discuss other books by Roald Dahl that

students may have heard of or read.

6. Answer these questions: Would you ever . . . . . . walk to the

library alone and spend the afternoon there?

. . . put super glue in someone’s hat? . . . try to move objects with your

mind? . . . make a plan to help a friend? 7. Take quotes from the story and have

students read them to predict what the story will be about. Then have students keep these predictions in mind as they read the book.

Introduce the reading response journal (a notebook) to students. These journals give students a place to document reading, record thoughts and responses to important questions, and cite examples of literary terms. Some students may want to keep their response journals in the form of a blog. Students may also choose the option of keeping a blog from the point of view of one of the characters. While reading Matilda, the students may use this Writer’s Notebook in many ways. Here are some suggestions:

1. List the characters as they appear in each section. Write descriptions.

2. Note the setting or settings of each section. 3. Note important events as they happen. 4. Note major changes that occur in characters or

settings. 5. Note problems or goals that occur and/or are solved. 6. Note pages and paragraphs where vocabulary words

are found, along with definitions. 7. Note the feelings generated in reaction to the

events in the story. 8. Make predictions of what may happen next. 

Another use for the Writer’s Notebook is to record any writing assignment that may be given from

Vocabulary Activity Ideas. Teachers may also choose to encourage the students to write short stories or poetry that the reading selections inspire.

  If a student has a question while reading, noting it in the

Writer’s Notebook will save constant interruptions. The questions can be addressed during the appropriate group discussion period.

  At first, taking notes while reading will slow the readers

down, so allow ample time to finish each reading selection. Remind students that inventive spellings and incomplete sentences are acceptable (in most cases) while taking notes.

 

After the reading is completed, go over the notes during group discussion time. This will give students an opportunity to learn from each other. The extra time taken in the beginning will be worthwhile as the students become more aware of the material they are reading. Getting to the fifth section, the students should understand what expected of them.

Take some time to evaluate their workbook entries. Nonjudgmental responses will please and encourage the students to write more.

 

Each of the lessons suggested below can take from one to several days to complete.

 Lesson 1 -Introduce and complete some or all of the

pre-reading activities. -Initiate Writer’s Notebook. -Read About the Author with the students. -Read the book summary with the students. -Introduce Section One vocabulary.

Lesson 2 -Read chapters 1 through 4. As you read, take

notes in your Writer’s Notebook. -Discuss the vocabulary words in the context of the

story. -Introduce a vocabulary activity. -Make a storyboard. -Learn how to tell if someone is honest. -Discuss using the library to make a book report. -Start a Personal Library List. -Introduce Section Two vocabulary.

Lesson 3 -Read chapters 5 through 8. Take notes. -Discuss the vocabulary words in the

context of the story. -Introduce a vocabulary activity. -Make a diorama. -Discuss the qualities of a good teacher. -Be a Feature Teacher. -Write your own report card. -Introduce Section Three vocabulary.

Lesson 4 -Read chapters 9 through 12. Help

students understand the vocabulary activity.

-Have a bake sale. -Consider personal freedoms. -Introduce Section Four vocabulary.

Lesson 5 -Read chapters 13 through 16. Help

students to understand the vocabulary words in context.

-Introduce a vocabulary activity. -Have a throwing contest. -Plan to reach a goal. -Introduce Section Five vocabulary.

Lesson 6 -Read chapters 17 through 21. Help

students to understand the vocabulary words in context.

-Introduce a vocabulary activity. -Discuss _How Can We Help the

Underprivileged? -Learn about a charity. -Have a food drive. -Keep a Helping Others Journal.

Lesson 7 -Discuss any questions students may

have about the story. -Assign a book report project. -Begin work on the culminating activity.Lesson 8 -Celebrate with the kindness party

culminating activity.

Accommodations for Differentiated Instruction

Special Needs StudentsUse cooperative grouping Provide written and oral instructions in a variety of ways Use visuals and illustrations to develop vocabulary and

understanding Encourage support from students who are more

proficient in English Work with a parent or a teacher's aide for assistance Provide teacher-created templates to guide work Provide fill-in-the-blank plot worksheets to help the

student simplify and identify the characters and action

Gifted/Talented Students

Emphasize that the culminating project provides a wide range and choice of community projects and outreach that would specifically draw upon the strengths of the gifted student

Encourage the student to create a multicultural mural

Encourage the student to look beyond the obvious and come up with creative solutions for difficult problems

Materials and Resources Required For Unit

Technology – HardwareComputers Internet Connection Projection System Technology – SoftwareInternet Web Browser Word Processing

Printed MaterialsText of Matilda story Internet Resourceswww.roalddahl.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda(novel)*. http://www.buildingrainbows.com/bookreview/re

viewid/11069http://h10050.www1.hp.com/activitycenter/us/en

/maker/misc/brochure/loadMaker.do?projecttype=brochure&projectcategory=misc&projectxml=brochure.xml&x=64&y=11