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What is Life without Free Will?

Unit Plan for Eighth Grade

The GiverBy: Lois Lowry

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Table of Contents

The Unit Overview 3

Unit Calendar 9

Gateway 15

Detailed Lesson Plan #1 19

Detailed Lesson Plan #2 26

Mini-Lesson 29

Culminating Assignment 36

Assessment Plan 42

Reflection Letter 47

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The Unit Overview

Essential Question and Learning Targets

Key Resources: Wiggins and McTighe; Hillocks; Wilhelm; Common Core Standards Essential Question

o What would life look like without free will? Core Text

o The Giver by Lois Lowryo Genre: Science Fiction

Learning Targets, Rationale, and Common Core Standards

Concise Summary of Learning Targets

Section of Unit

Learning Target 8th Grade Common Core Standards

Reading Strategy

Students will be able to make predictions and ask informative and interpretive questions about the text while keeping in mind how the theme affects the characters and the plot.

Reading > Key Ideas and Details1. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.

Literary Concept

Students will be able to identify the speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, and tone of the text.

Reading > Craft and Structure4. Analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

Writing Students will learn how to write a persuasive argument in the form of a letter to their “government,” who is taking away their freedom for their “safety” …they will be able to state their point and then back it up using evidence and quotes from the text

Writing > Text Types and Purposes1. Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.

Speaking & Listening

Students will engage in small group discussions using an anticipation guide to focus their discussion. They will then be able to engage in a class discussion, bringing up the issues that were discussed in small groups. They will have to repeat what their groups

Speaking and Listening > Comprehension and Collaboration1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’

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members said (listening) and will have to articulate their argument and support it with evidence (speaking)

ideas and expressing their own clearly

Language Students will be able to use context clues to explain the meaning of vocabulary used in the text

Students will learn to infer author’s word choice and will be able to articulate their reasoning behind characters’ speech patterns

Language > Vocabulary Acquisition and Use4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

a. Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

These learning targets are especially important because they facilitate students’ social, cognitive, and moral growth. These learning targets also prepare them for higher education. As eighth graders, these concepts are a strong learning base, and are therefore important to learn if they want to succeed in high school and then later in college.

From Common Core Standards: “To become college and career ready, students must grapple with works of exceptional craft and thought whose range extends across genres, cultures, and centuries. Such works offer profound insights into the human condition and serve as models for students’ own thinking and writing. To be college- and career- ready writers, students must take task, purpose, and audience into careful consideration, choosing words, information, structures, and formats deliberately. To become college and career ready, students must have ample opportunities to take part in a variety of rich, structured conversations—as part of a whole class, in small groups, and with a partner—built around important content in various domains. Whatever their intended major or profession, high school graduates will depend heavily on their ability to listen attentively to others so that they are able to build on others’ meritorious ideas while expressing their own clearly and persuasively. To be college and career ready in language, students must become skilled in determining or clarifying the meaning of words and phrases they encounter, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies to aid them.”

Rationale

The Giver by Lois Lowry is a popular text among middle-school students and is commonly

used by teachers as the core text of a unit plan to take this novel and frame it in a way that

engages students to the issues that the characters in the book face. Since the main character is a

boy who is about the same age as the students, teachers can make this book relatable and relevant

to students’ lives. The theme of this book is relevant to today’s events and teachers can frame

this novel in a variety of ways that will help students comprehend the text. This novel also

provides students with the opportunity to focus on real-world issues and discuss them as a class.

I picked an essential question that would serve as an engaging focus for a unit plan. The question

is, “What is life without free will?” With this question, I would want my students to think about

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giving up their freedom of choice for security and a safe world. It relates to the core text because

in Jonas’ world, the people live without choice or free will; however, they feel “safe” in their

world.

The Giver is useful in exploring the essential question and teaching the learning targets I

have chosen because there are countless different activities and lessons that teachers can

incorporate in order to help students to understand different concepts. Many concepts can be

taught with The Giver that relate to the learning targets I have chosen. The Giver is told in the

past tense by a third person narrator whose point of view is limited only to what the main

character, Jonas knows. The author uses simple and direct language, which is appropriate for the

audience (middle school students). In this case, students can learn about writing towards a

specific audience. They can even learn that it is sometimes helpful to identify the audience by

looking at the main character because the age, occupation, gender, or life of the main character

can help identify the target audience. The tone of the book elevates in coordination with Jonas’

discoveries about the color of life. In this case, students can learn about tone of text and how it

changes throughout the story. The key idea of this text is the idea of people living in a

supposedly utopian society; however, is it really “perfect”? This is where the essential question

can be addressed. Key concepts include the importance of memory, the relationship between

pain and pleasure, the importance of the individual, and conflicts with a perfect society. Students

can use these key concepts to learn about theme of the text. This text is also helpful in learning

the elements of a story because it has a clear introduction, a rising action (Jonas receives

memories), a climax (Jonas challenges society), a falling action (Jonas leaves the town with baby

Gabriel) and a conclusion. This text also raises important issues, which will facilitate students’

ability to form opinions, make arguments, and support their claims with evidence. The emotions

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that can rise from this text will also facilitate fruitful class/group discussions and will help

students to learn how to look at other perspectives. The Giver is also a good core text for students

because they need to learn how to analyze texts through literary level and have a common

language when it comes to analyzing those texts. It is part of the state and national standards for

Eighth Grade ELA to have these skills. The Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCEs) for

Eighth Grade ELA, states that students are required to “state global themes, universal truths, and

principles within and across texts to create a deeper understanding.” Looking at different parts of

The Giver helps students to consider themes, truths, and principles within the text to help

students understand it on a different level. They do this by thinking about the context in which

the author wrote the text and considering how the speaker, audience, and purpose impact the

importance of the theme. GLCEs also require students to “set a purpose, consider audience, and

replicate authors’ styles and patterns when writing narrative or informal text.” The Giver can

help students to consider these aspects when they write because, as a class, we can work on

identifying purpose, audience, etc. in the text. The Common Core State Standards address

students’ need to “determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text,” which they will

accomplish when they read The Giver.

My knowledge about my students has influenced the essential question. Eighth graders, being

around the age of 12-14, are considered adolescents. This means they are at a stage where they

are wondering about their role in society (Erikson’s stage of “identity vs. role confusion”). At

this stage in life, they are wondering about how they fit into society. Reading a book about a boy

who is around the same age and is figuring out his place in society will serve as a helpful

connection to their own lives. This will help them to consider both essential questions that I have

listed because they will be thinking about themselves and their place in the world. According to

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educational psychology, middle school students are at the stage where they can begin to take on

other perspectives. Considering that both essential questions I have listed raises issues/opinions

and can easily warrant discussion, it will facilitate their growth in perspective-taking. I hope to

reach every student and make sure that they understand the concept based on what I know about

how they learn. Some students may excel in reading skills while others excel in speaking skills.

Some students work better in teams or groups while others work better individually. These

aspects are important to consider when planning a lesson because different students may learn

better in different ways. Also, using students’ different backgrounds may be helpful for teachers

to relate to their students during the unit. It is also important to note these differences because

students may have diverse ideas of the text or different ideas of a perfect society based on their

backgrounds or prior knowledge.

The essential questions that I have narrowed down meet most of the criteria that we

discussed in class. Both questions go to the heart of the discipline because attempting to answer

them can help students dig deep into ELA content (posing an argument, backing up claims with

evidence, speaking, listening, taking in other perspectives, writing how you feel about the issues,

etc.). I think that each question naturally recurs because they create opportunities to transition to

other situations and subjects. For example, the question of taking away free will or freedom of

choice can transition into a talk or a lesson about the US Government/Constitution (social

studies). The question of a perfect society can transition into a lesson on “utopia” and different

examples of rules that a community may enforce on its citizens. Both questions raise other

important questions. The question of how does society define a perfect world asks students to

also consider what family life, religion, economy, educational system, traditions, law and order,

government, and entertainment in that world would look like. The question of what would life

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look like without free will raises other questions such as, “Would you give up your freedom for

security?” or “When does “government protection” of its citizens go too far?” Obviously, there

is no one “right” answer for either of these questions. They both give students to think about

many different answers based on how they feel and also based on other perspectives. Finally,

both questions are framed to provoke and sustain student interest. While reading the book, The

Giver, students can give a lot of thought to these questions and formulate an opinion. They may

even feel differently about their answers to the questions by the time they reach the end of the

book. Students are interested in their place in the world at this age, so these questions will most

likely provoke their interest and will also maintain their interest throughout the story (especially

because as they discover new things from reading, their opinions may change). Also, their idea

of a perfect society at first might be something such as having pop in the drinking fountains;

however, while reading the book with these essential questions in mind, they may formulate less

superficial ideas of a perfect society and begin to think deeply about the issues raised.

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Week 1Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Gateway lesson for The Givero Topic: Utopiao Activity: “In a

Perfect World” Skits Announcements:

o Journals will be collected every Friday

o There will be a quiz every Friday

Lesson on Free Will (definition, examples)

Look at journals for completion of homework

Use journals (skit reflections) to have a class discussion about ideas of perfect societyo Go over norms for

discussiono Opening question:

how many people had free will as part of their perfect society?

In-Class Writing: revise (add to or change) ideas of perfect society from the journal they wrote based on new ideas of a perfect society that they picked up during class discussion

Check journals for completion of revision

Background on author Lois Lowry

Touch on authorial intent (more on it later)

In-Class Reading of Chapters 1-2 of The Giver while filling out authorial intent worksheet

Collect authorial intent worksheet for assessment (to make sure that they read chapters 1-2 and to make sure that they understand authorial intention)

Reading Strategyo Readers Theater (a

reading strategy that helps students to visualize what they are reading)

o Students will divide up and act out certain parts of chapters 1 and 2 (assigned to them)

o Give students 30 minutes to plan and then have them present

Collect journals (looking for journal reflection of skits, entry on idea of a perfect world after discussion, notes on free will, and notes on authorial intention)

Quiz on chapters 1-2, utopia, free will, and authorial intention

Lesson: Using context clues to understand vocabularyo Modeling, guided

practice, independent practice

LT(s): Speaking and Listening, Language

Homework: Reflect on skits in journal write weather agree/disagree with classmates’ idea of a perfect world

LT(s): Speaking and Listening, Writing

Homework: Finish journal revision

LT(s): Reading

Homework: Finish chapters 1-2 and authorial intent worksheet

LT(s): Reading

Homework: Study for Quiz and make sure journals are up to date

LT(s): Language

Homework: Read chapters 3-4 and circle unknown vocab and make up their definitions using context clues

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Week 2Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Hand back journals with comments (make sure students are taking good notes and writing thoughtful/detailed journal entries)

Have each student give one word that they did not know the meaning of and write on board (some will be repeats of each other…for those, have students share their definitions and see how they compare)o Look up actual

definitions of the words with the class

o Show them what they should do when they come across a word that they do not know

In-class reading (Ch. 5-6)

Reading strategy lesson on predicting and foreshadowing (using foreshadows in story to predict what may happen in future chapters)oModeling, guided

practice, independent practice

Have students fill out worksheet of events that have happened in chapters 5-6 and ask them to write what they think may happen next based on what they know

In-class reading of chapter 7-8

Talk about predictions: were their predictions from chapters 5-6 right as they read the next chapters (7-8?)

In-class reading of chapter 9 to see if their predictions from their homework the night before were close

o Write in journals what they thought, felt, or predicted as they read and if their predictions held true or not

Time to review chapter 9 Pantomimes on chapter

9 (break students up into groups and have one student narrate story as the rest of the group acts it out…can use classroom materials)

Collect journals for assessment (looking for notes on predicting and foreshadowing, journal entry on predictions after chapters 6-7, journal entry on if their predictions held true or not)

Quiz on foreshadowing, predicting, questioning, and chapters 5-9

Talk about the chapters up to this point to make sense of the text

LT(s): Language, Reading

Homework: Finish chapters 5-6

LT(s): Literary concept, Writing, Reading

Homework: When done reading chapters 7-8, predict the next chapter in journals

LT(s): Reading, Writing

Homework: Finish chapter 9 and journal entry on predictions

LT(s): Reading

Homework: Study for quiz and make sure journals are up to date

LT(s): Speaking and Listening, Reading, Literary conceptHomework: None

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Week 3Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Hand back journals with comments

In-class reading of chapters 10-11 while filling out reading guide worksheet

SOAPSTone lesson (identifying speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, and tone of The Giver)o Helpful strategy to

understand these literary concepts… understanding these concepts will deepen their understanding of the novel

o Good scaffolding for letter writing because it teaches them to identify textual evidence to back up their claims on what the speaker, tone, etc. of the text are

Reading strategy: questioningo Asking questions as

they read (go through levels of questioning, model, do guided practice, send off into independent practice)

o Using the SOAPSTone strategy to ask informative questions about the text while keeping in mind how the theme affects the characters and the plot

o Get students to think about characters in the novel and what they are going through in society

In-class writingo Write about two

memories that have changed your life or that have made you who you are today

o Then write about what it would be like not to have those memories… how would your life be different if you could not remember the most significant events in your life

o Pick one character and write how their lives might be different if they had memories

Think-Pair-Shareo Think: journal from

previous dayo Pair: Share with a

partner what you wrote in your journals about memories

o Share: Talk as a class about not even having the freedom to remember

Collect journals for assessment (notes on questioning, SOAPSTone, and in-class writing about memories)

Quiz on chapters 10-15, SOAPSTone, and questioning

LT(s): Reading

Homework: Read chapters 10-11

LT(s): Literary concept, Writing

Homework: Fill out SOAPSTone graphic organizer while reading chapters 12-13

LT(s): Reading

Homework: Read chapter and fill out graphic organizer on questioning as they read chapter 14-15

LT(s): Writing

Homework: Study for quiz and make sure journals are up to date

LT(s): Literary Concept, Speaking and Listening

Homework: Read chapters 16-17

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Week 4Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Perspective/Voice lessono Begin with journal:

Imagine that you are Jonas… (write some starter sentences up on the board to help students get into a different character’s perspective, for example, “I wish…” “I feel…” etc.)

o Modeling, guided practice, independent work…

Will guide them to connect this to later assignment (letter-writing) because they will be able to use how characters from the book feel about their situations and connect it to their situation

Collect reading guides Journal: how did you

convince someone to do something that you wanted to do (or to believe something that you believed)

Watch a clip of someone being convinced to do something and analyze the clipo What did you see?

What strategies were used to convince?

Persuasion Activity (lead-in to the evidence lesson for the next day):o Task cards: mini debate

between groups to persuade each other to do activity on card

o Discussion: what argument strategies did you use to convince your partner? Which are most useful?

Opening Activity: Forced four corners – take a position on claims from the book and defend them (convince classmates to move to your corner)

Lesson on evidenceo SWBAT state a clear

position on an issue and support their position with organized and relevant evidence

o Hand out graphic organizer with claims that they need to find evidence for as they read

Remainder of class will be for in-class reading as they fill out graphic organizer

Discussion on ending and realizations that students came to while reading, different interpretations of ending, and important issues that characters in The Giver face using anticipation guideo Discussion will be

focused on free will and lack thereof in the world of the characters

o Small group discussions first, then bring it in as a whole class discussion

Students will practice stating claims and giving evidence verbally (before writing letter)

Collect journals and graphic organizers for assessment (notes on perspective/voice, journal entry on convincing, reflection on discussion

Quiz on chapters 18-23, perspective/voice, persuasion, claims and evidence)

Talk about end of book and talk about what to expect for the next two weeks

LT(s): Literary concept, Writing

Homework: Read chapters 18-19 and fill out reading guide

LT(s): Speaking and Listening, Writing

Homework: Read chapter 20-21

LT(s): Reading, Writing

Homework: Fill out evidence worksheet while reading chapters 22-23 (end of novel)

LT(s): Speaking and Listening

Homework: Study for quiz and make sure journals are up to date

LT(s): Reading

Homework: Journal reflection about discussion

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Week 5Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Tell students that I will cancel homework for tonight if they, as a class, can convince me to do so (using what they learned about using evidence to back up their opinions)

Use class argument to model letter-writing (using letter-writing format…show them how it should be on Microsoft word)o At the end, let

students know that screencast will be made to help them format a letter on Microsoft word.

Use examples such as bills, personal letters, professional documents, etc.

Letter practiceo Write a letter to

your best friend or a parent convincing them to do something that you want to do (it’s comfortable and easy because you know them)

o Now how will it change if you write a letter to the principal? (more formal) … now the government?

o Talk about code-switching

o Intro letter-writing assignment (have them fill out graphic organizer to organize ideas and then begin 1st draft)

Collect first draft of letters for assessment with graphic organizer (see what students need help on before going onto a peer review… may need mini-lesson on common grammar mistakes, transitions, review of strong evidence, or anything to target particular issue)

Have students read as I look over letters and make note of what needs to be addressed

Hand back first draftso If there is time,

begin mini-lesson, if not, save them for next day

Any mini-lesson targeting particular issue on first drafts of letters

Lesson on how to peer review (Focus more on content than small things… improving, asking questions, talking, is it convincing?)

Peer review of letters In class, if there is time

after peer reviews, begin writing second draft of letter using feedback from classmates during peer review

Collect journals for assessment

Quiz Second draft of letters

due…handwritten (teacher will assess and make comments and see what changes were made after peer review)

LT(s): Writing

Homework: None

LT(s): Writing

Homework: Finish first draft of letters to government (handwritten)

LT(s): Writing, Reading

Homework: None

LT(s): Writing

Homework: Use mini-lesson and peer’s comments to handwrite a second draft of letter

LT(s): Writing

Homework: None

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Week 6Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Hand back hand-written second drafts of letters with comments from teacher

Sign-out the computers or take students to media center to type up final draft of letter with comments from peer and teacher

Give students link to screencast I made that helps you format a professional letter (what to do on Microsoft word to write a letter)

As students revise, go around to each student and have a short conference about their letters (ideas, organization, voice, flow, etc.)

Lesson on proofreading and editingo As I read over their

second drafts, I made note of common grammar/spelling errors so I can teach how to correct these errors

Give them time to proofread/edit their letters (sign-out computers or take them to media center)

Final draft of letters due (printed and in envelopes provided… can be creative)

Notes on important ideas from The Giver unit (questioning, evidence, etc.)

Have each student come up with at least one test question to be used during the review game (will potentially be on final)

Review game for the unit test on The Givero Game show or

review baseballo 2 points of extra

credit for winning team

Collect journals Unit test on The Giver

LT(s): Writing

Homework: Typed draft of letters due tomorrow…will proofread before turning in so be sure students save letter on email/flash drive

LT(s): Writing

Homework: Final drafts of letters due tomorrow (printed and in envelopes provided…can be creative)

LT(s): Speaking and Listening, Writing

Homework: Bring test questions for the review game

LT(s): Reading, Language, Speaking and Listening

Homework: Study for the unit test

END OF UNIT

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Gateway Activity for The GiverOverview

In this lesson, students will be introduced to an important concept that is framed in Lois Lowry’s novel, The Giver. This lesson will serve as a gateway to the novel, which is not only meant to prepare students for what they are going to read, but is also meant to get them to look forward to reading. The lesson begins with a short introduction of what “utopia” is, then proceeds to student skits on their idea of a “utopian” society, and finally concludes with performances of each skit.

Objectives

1. Students will be able to come up with a definition of “utopia” and discuss it as it applies to our society

2. Students will be able to plan and perform a skit on their idea of a “utopian” society, showing that they can apply the definition to contexts outside of the classroom

Materials

Power Point Presentation (projector) Utopia Handout “In a Perfect World” Activity Handout

Instructional Sequence:

Introduction (5 minutes) Slide 1: “Utopia” in context

o Have a volunteer read a passage containing the word “utopia”o Based on context, have students write down in their notebooks what they think

“utopia” means (no wrong answers)o Walk around and assess while they write in their notebooks (keep in mind the

students who have close definitions such as “perfect” and call on them to share)o Have some students share while one students writes the definitions on the board

Modeling (5 minutes) Slide 2: Compare class definitions with dictionary definition

o How close did they come to the dictionary definition? (Compare definitions)o Ask students: What would make our society a “utopian” society? (this will help

them to start generating ideas for their skit) Slide 3: Applying the definition of “utopia”

o Have students write their own sentence using the word “utopia”o Have students share a few examples (expecting some sentences to be vague, for

example, “Utopia is a good place” … ask students how they can be more specific)Guided Practice (15 minutes)

Slide 4: Think-Pair-Share

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o Think: Jot down some reasons why our society is not a utopian society (in regards to government, education, economy, religion, entertainment, and family life)

Pass out handout that helps them organize their thoughts on this subjecto Pair: Talk about those reasons with a partner and then talk about your idea of a

“utopian” societyo Share: Share as a class what you and your partner talked about

Independent Practice (20 minutes) Slide6: “In a Perfect World” Activity

o Assign groups (each group will be assigned a different aspect of society) Group 1: Government Group 2: Education Group 3: Economy Group 4: Religion Group 5: Entertainment Group 6: Family Life

o Slide 7: Skit requirements Take any questions that students may have about the activity They can use their handout from the Think-Pair-Share to help them

generate ideas of a perfect societyo Will have 15 minutes to work on skit

Wrap-Up/Closing Presentation of 2-minute skits (15 minutes) Tell students to think about skits and if they agree/disagree with ideas of perfect world

Assessment

The class definition, the sentences, and the skits will help me to see if they understand the concept of utopia and will also help me to see if they can apply the definition outside classroom context

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Our Society…Utopian?Jot down some reasons why our society is not a utopian society in regards to government, education, economy, religion, entertainment, and family life

NAME: _____________________________

Government Education

Economy Religion

Entertainment Family Life

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Gateway Power Point

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Detailed Lesson Plan 1 Identifying Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, and Tone of The Giver

Learning Targets

Literary Concept – student will be able to identify the speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, and tone of the textWriting – students will also be able to provide evidence from the text to support these claims (scaffolding for the letter assignment)

Rationale

Identifying the speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, and tone of a text can seem like a lot; however, by effectively teaching the SOAPSTone strategy, students should be able to understand these literary concepts. SOAPSTone is an acronym for a series of questions that students should answer as they read or write texts. It stands for Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, and Tone. If students can make inferences about these six features of SOAPSTone, then they will be able to draw educated conclusions from the text based what the author was thinking about during the creation of the text. Also, this lesson is very good scaffolding for the letter that they will be writing in the end because it forces them to identity evidence when they identify each aspect of SOAPSTone. SOAPSTone is helpful for students because they need to learn how to analyze texts through literary level and have a common language when it comes to analyzing those texts. It is part of the state and national standards for eighth Grade ELA to have these skills. The Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCEs) for eighth grade ELA, states that students are required to “state global themes, universal truths, and principles within and across texts to create a deeper understanding.” SOAPSTone helps students to consider themes, truths, and principles within the texts to help students understand it on a deeper level. They do this by thinking about the context in which the author wrote the text and considering how the speaker, audience, and purpose impact the importance of the theme. The reason that they are using the concept of SOAPSTone with The Giver is because it is a text with which they are already familiar (considering they will be near the middle of the book when I teach this lesson). They can use this prior knowledge of The Giver in order to identify the different aspects of SOAPSTone.

Student Learning Objectives

1. Students will be able to identify and explain the speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject and tone of The Giver2. Students will be able to identify evidence that supports their view on who the speaker is, what the occasion is, who the audience is, what the purpose is, etc.

Instructional Sequence (60 minutes)

Warm-Up/Bell-Work to help students write down what they think about as they analyze or talk about a piece of literature (5 minutes)

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o Prompt: “If you are expected to write a 1-2 paged paper analyzing a text, what would you write about.”

Introduce SOAPSTone and tell them why they are learning SOAPSTone (10 minutes)o It gives you a structure of what to write about when analyzing a text (important to

know for High School)…SOAPSTone can be turned into a paper if it is put in paragraph form (because it is claims supported by textual evidence)

o Go over definitions of speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, and tone The speaker is the voice that tells the story…who is telling the story and

what is the narrator’s point of view? The occasion is the time and place of the text and the context that

prompted the writing The audience is the group of readers to whom the text is directed The purpose is the reason behind the text…what does the author want the

reader to think about or consider after reading the story? The subject is the topic of the text The tone is the attitude of the author…what specific word choice,

dialogue, and imagery does the author use to create the tone Read “Fetch” out loud as a class using handout…pick three students to read each part

specified on handout (15 minutes) Modeling (“Think-Aloud” to show my thinking as I model SOAPSTone with the short

story, Fetch) (10 minutes)o Used Fetch because it is short, has simple and direct language, and is told in the

third-person, just like The Giver, which they will be using to apply SOAPSTone themselves

o Fill out graphic organizer as I model because that is what they will be doing next with The Giver

o Think-Aloud: Speaker: “As I read this story, I notice that the speaker is not part of the

story, but the speaker is telling us the story from an outsider point of view. That must mean the story is told in the third-person by a narrator.”

Occasion: “The theme of this story seems to be about honesty because Professor Werner went through the trouble to devise a plan to make sure that George is honest enough to take on the trip. For Professor Werner, honesty seems to be the most important quality to have. George comes through and ends up telling the truth about what happened to Dixon. Maybe the author wrote this story because he wanted to convey the message to middle-schoolers that honesty is the best policy. Maybe the author has a son or daughter in middle school who lied to him about something and he wanted to write this story to let middle-schoolers know that lying might get you into more trouble than telling the truth. That is just a prediction though. He may have just wanted to write the story because he knows the nature of young people and that they have a tendency to be dishonest to their parents so that they don’t get in trouble, so in this case, he is showing you that honesty is the best way to go.”

Audience: “Well, this language seems to be direct and there are not many hard words, so this text is probably geared towards younger students. The

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story is about a dog and I can think of many dog stories are geared towards a younger audience (Shiloh, Marley and Me, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Lassie, Ann and Dan from Where the Red Fern Grows, etc.). The lesson that this story teaches is about honesty, which can be geared towards any age, but it is in a literature book for eighth graders, so maybe it is more for students in middle school”

Purpose: “I thought about this when I thought of the occasion. The purpose of the story is to convey the message that honesty is the best policy because Professor Werner tested George’s honesty and George passed, so he got to go on the trip”

Subject: “I only need a word or a few words to come up with the subject. Let me think about the Core Democratic Values because this story teaches a lesson. The lesson is about honesty. Ok, so the subject is honesty is the best policy.”

Tone: “The tone seems to be playful in the beginning because George is playing with the dog. The tone changes in the climax (middle) of the story because the dog jumps out of the window and we get worried for George because he does not know what to do. The tone then goes back to playful when Professor Werner announces that it was a test and George passed! I can see the playful tone at the end when Professor Werner smiles and says, ‘And this mutt loves to show off’.”

Guided Practice (20 minutes)o Hand out SOAPSTone graphic organizer of their own and have them turn and talk

to their neighbors about each one in relation to The Giver for about 3 minutes…come back together every three minutes and choose one pair to share their findings

Independent Practice (The rest of the time)o Journal prompt: “How does SOAPSTone help conversation about literature

happen?” – self-assessment of what they learned Homework

o Fill out SOAPSTone graphic organizer for the next chapters in The Giver

Assessment

There are a few ways that I will find out what students have learned from the lesson. One will be by walking around to the pairs as they apply SOAPSTone to The Giver. If I take a look at their worksheet and it looks as if they are on the right track, then I will be able to see that they understand the concept. I would be looking for correct identifications of speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, and tone, with textual evidence to back up each claim. Then their understanding can be confirmed when I have pairs share what they put on their graphic organizer. Another way I can assess their knowledge is by collecting their notebooks to compare their bell-work to their journal prompt at the end (their self-assessment before the bell) to see how their knowledge of analyzing texts expanded from before the lesson to after the lesson. One final way would be to collect the homework (graphic organizer) the next day so that I can see if they were able to apply SOAPSTone to a text individually.

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Name: _______________________

SOAPSToneA Way to Analyze Text

Speaker: Who is telling the story? Is it in the first person? Third Person? (Remember that it is not enough simply to name the speaker. What can you say about the speaker based on the text? Give character traits)

Occasion: (Setting and Conflict) What is the time and place of the story? What is the immediate event the characters are involved in? What are the larger ideas and emotions that your characters are dealing with? (Explain why the author might have chosen to write about this particular situation)

Audience: What kind of reader is the author writing for? Why did he/she choose this group?

Purpose: What is the reason behind the story? What does the author want the reader to think about or consider after reading this story? (State the point that the author is trying to get across to the audience. You will have to decide what the message is and how the author wants this audience to respond.)

Subject: What is the topic or theme of this story? (You should be able to state the subject in a few words or a very short phrase.)

Tone: What is the author’s tone in this story? What specific word choice, dialogue, and imagery does she use to create this tone?

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Fetch!By: Rob White

Regular Text: Narrator Bold Text: Professor Werner Underlined Text: George Dixon

The last thing George Dixon expected, or wanted, to meet in an apartment on the seventeenth floor was this enormous Great Dane with an old tennis ball in his mouth. When Professor Werner called, “Come on in,” and George opened the door, the only thing that greeted him was that dog, who knocked him back against the wall.

“Play with the dog, Dixon. I’ll be out in a minute,” the professor said from somewhere back in the apartment.

With that dog you did what that dog wanted you to do: Throw the ball so he could go galloping around and bring it back to you. George had a lot more on his mind than playing with a dog. Six of his friends in Werner’s archaeology class already had been interviewed for a job and been turned down. Now it was his turn and he wanted to rehearse his speech, but this dog was jumping all over him and the furniture, dropping the drool-soaked ball on his best pants. Then the idea came and George took the slimy ball and held it up.

“OK, Fido, you’re so smart, go get this one.” Instead of throwing the ball, George rolled it gently across the floor and, with great

satisfaction, watched it roll under a low Oriental chest placed beneath an open window. The Great Dane bounded across the room, his tail knocking a vase of flowers off a table. The dog did not stop, nor even slow down. With sudden horror George watched him leap from the floor. He cleared the top of the chest and went on, stretched out, flying. Outside a gentle rain was lit by the streetlights far below. The enormous dog sailed out into the rainy darkness. For what seemed a century to George the body of the dog seemed to float in the air. Then it slowly sank out of sight, falling down through the rain. The Great Dane did not make a sound as he fell toward the pavement seventeen stories down.

For a moment George just sat there, paralyzed with agony for the dog. Then he was on his feet running, looking only at the open, dark, and empty window. Something grabbed his arm, stopping him in mid-stride and spinning him around.

“Come on!” Professor Werner said. “I’m late for an appointment so we’ll talk in the elevator.”

“Wait!” George begged, trying to pull his arm free.“Come on!” the professor ordered, yanking him to the door. “No! Wait!” George said, but the professor pulled him out of the room and locked the

door.Without a word Werner dragged George to the elevator, showed him into it, and pushed

the button for the lobby. It was only after the elevator began to sink that George really understood the enormity of the thing. In his mind’s eye he could still see that beautiful dog sailing out into the darkness and, in his body, almost feel the long dreadful fall. Some of the windows the dog would fall past would have lights in them; some would be dark. The pavement would be wet with rain.

Gradually George realized that the professor had been talking to him all the time. They were going to dig in a remote cave in Kurdistan. They might find gold artifacts of inestimable value. There might be clues to the missing chapters in the history of the human race. George couldn’t listen to him, couldn’t pay attention. That great dog, with the ball in his mouth, leaping

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so happily around that room. Those huge, soft eyes asking him to throw the ball again. The dirty trick he had pulled on him. The professor kept talking and talking. It would be rugged in Kurdistan, and dangerous. They would explore a cave with a deep hole in the floor perhaps a thousand feet deep. A hole down which some man may have fallen 50,000 years ago. The dog had fallen now, tonight.

Slowly, as the elevator dial went past ten and nine and eight, George tried to erase the picture of that dog and to think about himself: the job he wanted so badly, this interview on which everything depended. Had it been his fault? A dog had made a mistake and leaped out an open window. Had that been his fault? Was he to blame for that? Did he have to admit it? Should he lose this job because of a dog? George realized slowly that the professor had been asking him a direct question. The elevator dial read three.

“Dixon,” the professor asked again, “what’s your definition of courage?” It took all his mental strength to force his mind to pay attention.

“Courage, sir? Er. Courage? I guess it’s doing the right thing when you don’t have to. Even though no one is watching. Nobody saw anything.”

Werner laughed. “That’s a definition I’d never thought of. But it’s not bad. Anyway, this expedition you and I are going on is going to take a lot of it.”

“You and I.” That’s what he’d said. You and I. People would be standing in the rain now, looking down at that beautiful dog lying

crushed on the wet pavement. The elevator stopped and the doors slid silently open. As Werner started out, George pushed the CLOSE DOORS button and then turned and put both hands on Werner’s shoulders, pushing him back against the wall.

“I killed your dog,” George said.Werner stared at him.“I was playing with him. Throwing the ball. He went out the window. Just out. Into the

rain.”Werner said nothing as he pushed George’s hands aside and then walked to the front of

the elevator and pushed the seventeen button. The elevator going up made no sound at all and Werner stood in silence with his back to George.

“He was a beautiful dog,” George said. “I’m sorry.”Werner said nothing as the doors opened and he stepped out. Without looking at George

or waiting for him, he walked down the silent corridor, unlocked the door, reached in and turned on the lights and then, at last, turned and waited for George. Feeling sick, and seeing again that dark, open window, George walked slowly into the room. A great, moving weight struck him from behind, knocking him down flat on his face. For a moment he just wanted to lie there, his face down on the carpet, his body waiting for more of the attack he knew he deserved. Then something gently nudged him and he turned his head. There was the Great Dane with that soggy tennis ball in his mouth, his tail flailing away, knocking things off a table.

“It was a mean thing to do to you, Dixon,” Werner said. “But I need to know what sort of man I’m taking on this dangerous expedition.”

George put his arms around the dog’s neck and then got to his feet.“There’s a balcony outside that window,” Werner said, smiling. “And this mutt

loves to show off.”

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SOAPSToneSOAPSTone Response Textual Evidence

Speaker

Occasion

Audience

Purpose

Subject

Tone

NAME: _____________________________

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Detailed Lesson Plan 2Reading Strategy: Questioning

Learning Targets

Reading – while reading, students will be able to ask informative questions about the text while keeping in mind how the theme affects the characters and the plot

Rationale

On the previous day, students learned how to identify the speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, and tone of a text so that they can draw educated conclusions based what the author was thinking about during the creation of the text. Students can then use SOAPSTone in order to ask questions about the text. Since SOAPSTone helps students to consider themes, truths, and principles within the texts to help students understand it on a deeper level, they can now start to ask questions to help them understand it on a deeper level as well. SOAPSTone also helps students to consider how the speaker, audience, and purpose impact the importance of the theme. By reflecting on the aspects of SOAPSTone, students can then ask informative questions about the text while keeping in mind how the theme affects the characters and plot. This is good scaffolding for the writing assignment because it will get students to start thinking about the characters in the novel and what they are going through in their society.

Student Learning Objectives

1. Students will be able to ask informative questions about the text while keeping in mind how the theme affects the characters and the plot

Instructional Sequence (60 minutes)

Review from Previous Day (5 minutes)o Quick review of speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, and tone as we go

over the homework The speaker is the voice that tells the story…who is telling the story and

what is the narrator’s point of view? The occasion is the time and place of the text and the context that

prompted the writing The audience is the group of readers to whom the text is directed The purpose is the reason behind the text…what does the author want the

reader to think about or consider after reading the story? The subject is the topic of the text The tone is the attitude of the author…what specific word choice,

dialogue, and imagery does the author use to create the tone Introduction to Questioning (5 minutes)

o Activate background about questioning Ask class what the word question means…what words do we use to write

questions (who, what, where, etc.)

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Modeling (10 minutes)o Model questioning using the chapter that they just read in The Giver (chapter 11)o As I read a passage, I ask questions based on what the text says…questions about

theme, who the audience is, what the speaker/author is trying to say, what might happen next, etc.

o Connect this back to SOAPSTone (asking questions about speaker, tone, subject, etc.)

Guided Practice (30 minutes)o Give each student two different colors of sticky noteso Give the students 10 minutes to write questions from chapter 12 on sticky noteso Will have a poster up on the board where students can post questions from the

texto Then give students another 10 minutes to look at students questions and write

answers for themo Will then go over the questions and answers as a class for another 10 minutes

Independent Practice (The rest of the time…10 minutes)o Fill out questioning graphic organizer

Homeworko Read next two chapters in The Giver and write at least three questions per chapter

and attempt to answer them

Assessment

There are a few ways that I will find out what students have learned from the lesson. One will be by looking at the students’ post-it notes. I would be looking for informative questions with attempts to answer them using the text. Another way is to look at their graphic organizers that they fill out during independent practice. Again, I would be looking for informative questions with attempts to answer them using the text. One final way would be to collect the homework (questions from the chapters they read) the next day so that I can see if they were able to ask informative questions individually.

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Name:______________________

Questioning in The Giver

Know/Notice

Questions

Answers

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Mini-LessonHow to Use Evidence to Support your Opinion

Learning Target that Writing Assignment Will Assess

Grade 8 – Writing > Text Types and Purposes#1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.

Structure of Mini-Lesson

1. Introductiona. “Yesterday, you wrote in your journals about a time that we convinced someone to do

something that you wanted to do. We also talked as a class about what strategies we use to convince others to see our point. Remember how we talked about persuading others to consider your opinion? Well, that is what this lesson that I am about to implement today will do for you. We are going to talk about stating our opinions and then backing them up with evidence. We will talk about what is considered sufficient and relevant evidence so that you can be prepared when you write your persuasive letters to the government at the end of the unit.”

2. Explanation’a. Slide 1: Have a student read a passage where two young men were accused of a crime

that they did not commit (from the movie, “My Cousin Vinny”)b. After a student reads the passage, ask the students what the lawyer would be trying to

prove (that Billy and Stan did NOT commit the murder)…let students know that this is a “claim” or in other words, a statement that needs to be proven with evidence (Slide 2)

c. Slide 3: Definition of Evidenced. Slide 4: The claim in the case from the first slide is that they DID NOT murder the

clerk…so they need evidence because we all know that a judge will not accept a statement without evidence

e. Before showing clips, tell students to keep in mind why it is important to have strong evidence and why it is bad to have weak evidence

f. Slide 5: Show an example of strong evidence that supports the claim that they did not commit the crime http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APJDMvVp0XI&feature=related

g. Slide 6: Show an example of weak evidence that attempts to support the claim but does not do a good job of it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSuaVMjheNk&feature=related

h. Slide 7: Taking what you saw from the clips, why is strong evidence important? Why is it bad to have weak evidence?

i. Just stating your belief or your opinion is not enough…you must have enough evidence to back it up in order for it to be valid to other people

3. Modeling

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a. What would happen if someone came up to you and said this: (show slide 8) – “This world would be better off if there was no more junk food.”

b. Observe student reactions…gasping, shaking head, nodding head, etc. c. Thumbs up if you would just accept this statement on its own without any explanation

and thumbs down if you would need to hear whyd. Like those of you who gave me a thumbs down, I do not think that I can accept a

statement just like that. I would want to know why. If someone is going to try to convince me to agree with their opinion, I would need to see some good evidence as to why this world would be better off without junk food.

e. The whole point of defending your opinion is so that people can see your point as valid and so you can possibly change their mind…but you will not get them on your side without strong evidence.

f. Slide 8: So I researched some evidence on this matter, which can be in the form of facts (names, dates, statistics, events, etc.), expert opinions (4/5 dentists recommend Colgate toothpaste), quotes from the text, and examples (real life, from the text, etc.)…so I go online and type in “effects of junk food…”

i. Fact: 70 percent of overweight teens will grow into overweight or obese adults, which leads to diabetes, depression, etc.

1. Say: Eliminating junk food from our world will decrease the amount of overweight and obese adults, which will then decrease the amount of diabetes and depression.

ii. Expert Opinion: Almost one in six American children and teens are overweight because of junk food intake, according to the U.S. Surgeon General's office.

1. Say: Therefore, eliminating junk food from our world will decrease the amount of overweight children and teens.

iii. Quote: “I don’t eat junk food anymore because I ended up with an extremely high level of sugar, which put my health in danger.” – June Harris

1. Say: Therefore, junk food may be able to put health in danger, which can lead to more deaths and diseases. This shows how the world would be better off without junk food.

iv. Examples: A friend, who was overweight, eliminated junk food from her diet and as a result, she became healthy and fit. Her new healthy and fit lifestyle increased her confidence and happiness.

1. Do these facts help you to see why a crazy statement like “our world would be better off without junk food” can make sense with not only strong evidence, but more than one piece of strong evidence?

4. Guided Practice (Think-Pair-Share)a. Slide 9: Statements from The Giver (this is what I want to prove) b. Think: Have students write own piece of evidence that supports the statement on the

power point and write if it is a fact, quote, example, expert opinion, etc.c. Pair: Have students pair up and share their evidence with a partnerd. Share: Was your partner convincing? Did the evidence support your partner’s claim?e. Slide 10: Examples of evidence

5. Closure/Send-Off to Independent Practice

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a. Remind students that there will be many times in life where they will need to convince someone that their opinion should be considered. Explain to them that by using solid evidence, their opinions will have a better chance of being supported.

b. So for HW, as you read the next two chapters tonight, you will fill out the graphic organizer on the back of your worksheet. In the first box, you will make a claim or state your opinion about something in the text as you saw in the think-pair-share activity. Then, you will need evidence from the text to support which will be in the second box. There is a spot for a page number but sometimes, evidence won’t be found on a specific page, so only put one there if you have a page number. You will turn this in tomorrow. Remember to think about how I modeled finding multiple pieces of evidence for one claim because it makes the argument stronger. Any questions?

c. Further independent practice that I will assess is the letter-writing assignment

Approximate Time Frame: 30 minutes

How Students will be Engaged

- The video is meant to engage students- Students are answering questions during the power point- Think-Pair-Share (will know that they were thinking by looking at what they wrote on

their worksheets and will know that they discussed if they share what their partner said with the class)

My Role as the Teacher

- To assess as the lesson goes on- To explain difficult concepts using examples to get students to understand the material- To get students to be able to make a claim and support it with relevant and sufficient

evidence

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Evidence Power Point

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Gathering Evidence for ClaimsDefinitions:

Claim: A statement that must be proven with evidence

Example: ______________________________________________________________________________________

Evidence: That which tends to prove or disprove something; ground for belief; proof; to make evident or clear

Example: ______________________________________________________________________________________

The best evidence is evidence that is _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Types of Evidence:

Fact: 70 percent of overweight teens will grow into overweight or obese adults, which leads to diabetes, depression, etc.

Expert Opinion: Almost one in six American children and teens are overweight because of junk food intake, according to the U.S. Surgeon General's office.

Quote: “I don’t eat junk food anymore because I ended up with an extremely high level of sugar, which put my health in danger.”

Real-Life Example: A friend, who was overweight, eliminated junk food from her diet and as a result, she became healthy and fit. Her new healthy and fit lifestyle increased her confidence and happiness.

Think-Pair-Share Activity

Claim 1: Jonas’ community is appealing.Evidence: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Claim 2: The author wrote The Giver for a middle school audience.Evidence: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Claim 3: Jonas’ community is not a utopian society.Evidence: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Is your partner’s evidence convincing? Does the evidence support the claim? Be ready to discuss.Name: _________________________________ Date: ___________________________

Using Evidence to Support ClaimsThe Giver – Chapters 14 & 15

Directions: Make a claim or state your opinion about something in chapters 14-15 of The Giver. Then, gather evidence that supports your claim. Find at least three pieces of evidence that supports your claim/opinion. Only fill out the page number if your evidence comes straight from the text. Then identify what type of evidence it is (fact, quote, expert opinion, example)

Claim Evidence Page # (If Applicable)

What Kind of Evidence Is This? (Fact,

quote, example, etc.)

1.

2.

3.

1.

2.

3.

1.

2.

3.

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No More Free Will!? Culminating Assignment

You have just been informed that your government is taking away your freedom of choice! Your government is doing this for your own safety and comfort, so everything will now be planned and organized for you by your government. This is supposed to make your life as pleasant and convenient as possible. As eighth graders, this means that your government will be assigning you to a job based on the abilities and interests that you have right now…at this moment in your life. Any citizen who breaks the rules or fails to adapt to the government’s decisions will be “released.”

Your task is to write a letter to your government stating your opinion on this matter. In order for the government to really see your point, you must have a persuasive argument with evidence to support your opinion. In other words, why should your opinion be considered? Your evidence will come from The Giver and can be in the form of paraphrasing (referring to the text in your own words) or a direct quote. You must also use at least one real life example to support your opinion in order for the government to see why this may or may not work in our society. Your letter must be at least one page (single-spaced) and typed. Please use 1-inch margins and Times New Roman font.

Goal: to get you to support a claim with relevant and sufficient evidence

Purpose: to prepare you for writing persuasive essays in high schooland to help you learn how to defend your claims in everyday life

Due Date: _______________________

Grading Rubric Points Possible

Points Earned

□ First draft of letter and graphic organizer 2□ Peer review sheet 2□ Second draft of letter 2□ Final Draft: You stated your position on this matter 3□ You followed up your argument with evidence

□ You used at least 1 quote from The Giver□ You paraphrased at least 1 part of the text□ You used at least 1 real-life example

15(5)(5)(5)

□ Your letter follows the proper letter-writing format (see screencast) 125 Pts

PossibleTotal

/25

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Culminating Writing Assignment Rationale

The writing assignment that I have created is a letter-writing assignment. It aligns with

my essential question of “What is life without free will?” It also supports my learning targets by

helping my students to build their skills in writing a persuasive argument by using evidence to

support their opinion. This writing assignment helped support my students in developing their

writing skills, it aligned with other learning targets and goals that I have for this unit, it helped

me to learn new things about teaching writing, and it helped me to engage in the readings while I

planned the lesson.

This writing assignment supports my students in developing certain writing skills. For

one, it offers a creative outlet for students because it helps them to think about living without the

freedom of choice and therefore, have to write as though they may get in trouble for expressing

their opinion to the government. Also, since it is a letter and not a formal essay, students may

feel more comfortable with writing it. In a way, it is risk-free because they can take any side they

like as long as they state their reasons why they picked that side. According to “Learning to

Praise” by Donald A. Diaker, more risk-free writing decreases apprehension. A student’s attitude

affects their writing, so if they feel confident about this assignment, then they have a good

chance of succeeding. This assignment also gives students a chance to find voice as a writer

because they get to tell the “government” how they feel by formulating their opinion and

supporting it with evidence. That said, this writing assignment builds students skills in writing an

argument/thesis with supporting evidence. It helps them to look for evidence in the text as well

as think about a real-world example. This is important for higher education because the eighth

grade Common Core Standards (Writing) states that students should learn “how to write an

argument to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.” From this assignment,

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students also learn the formalities of letter writing and audience considerations because they are

writing a letter to their more powerful “government.” In these ways, students can help build their

writing skills, which will help them prepare for higher education.

This writing prompt aligns with other learning targets and goals that I have for this unit in

a few ways. The goals for this assignment (in particular) are that students can support statements

with relevant and sufficient evidence and that it prepares students for writing persuasive essays

in high school. This writing assignment aligns with other learning targets through a pre-activity.

In this case, before the letter-writing assignment is given out, students will engage in small group

and whole-class discussions. Prior to the discussion, students will write a couple of their

memories that they believe make them who they are today and then I will ask them how their

lives would be different if they did not remember those experiences. They will first have a

discussion in a group of 2-3 students and will then engage in a whole-class discussion, bringing

up the issues and opinions that were discussed in small groups. They will have to reiterate what

their group members said (proof of listening) and will have to articulate their opinion and

support it with evidence (speaking). This aligns with the learning target that is brought on by the

grade 8 Core Common Standard (Speaking and Listening) that says that students should learn

how to “engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and

teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their

own clearly.” This discussion is supposed to take place a couple of days before my letter-writing

assignment so that the students can write a reflection on the discussion and use it to remember

how they felt about not having the freedom of choice when they write their letter. A couple of

days will give me time to read their reflections on the discussion and hand them back in time for

the students to be able to refer to them when they write their letter. The learning targets that align

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with this writing assignment are especially important because they facilitate students’ social,

cognitive, and moral growth. They also prepare students for a higher education. As eighth

graders, these concepts are a strong learning base and are therefore important to learn if they

want to succeed in high school and then later in college.

By engaging in this assignment, I have learned a lot about teaching writing. When I teach

writing, it is very important to think about students’ prior knowledge on the topic that their

writing about or on the skills they need to accomplish the writing assignment. If students are

unfamiliar with the language or vocabulary in the prompt, they will not understand what to do, so

when I teach writing, I should be sure to assess my students’ prior knowledge so that I do not

make any assumptions about what they already know. Assuming that they know what I am

talking about may only confuse them further. For example, during the peer review on the writing

assignment, Ray pointed out that I should use the word, “opinion” or “statement” instead of

“argument” because an eighth grader still might think of an argument as a “fight.” I also learned

that when I teach writing, I should be as clear and explicit as possible. I should also be sure to let

students know exactly what I am expecting from their writing, for example, by giving them a

rubric. It also helps to let them know what the purpose of the assignment is as well as the goals

that I have for them as their teacher. For example, for my writing assignment, the sheet explains

that my goal for them is to get them to support a claim with relevant and sufficient evidence and

the purpose is mainly to prepare them with the skills they need for writing persuasive essays in

high school. By making the purpose and the goals clear to the students, they can feel as though

their writing has meaning and they can work towards those goals as they write. This assignment

also helped me to see how beneficial it is to scaffold and provoke thought before asking students

to write. The lessons leading up to this assignment are very important because they help students

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build the skills that they need to write a persuasive letter (the mini lesson on using evidence to

support their opinions) as well as engage the students’ interest and emotions (the small group and

whole-class discussions). Hopefully this makes them excited to write the letter. All of the helpful

tips I learned about teaching writing through engaging in this assignment will help me further

develop my teaching skills.

The readings from class informed my planning in a variety of ways. Donald A. Daiker’s

article, “According to “Learning to Praise” informed me about students who are apprehensive

about writing. I learned that lack of positive reinforcement and lack of writing practice increases

students’ apprehension about writing. Daiker suggests that one way to reduce apprehension is

“by allowing students to experience success with writing” (106); thus, I planned an assignment

that is in the students’ zone of proximal development so that they have a good chance of

succeeding with some guidance. Another reading that informed my planning was

“Understanding by Design” by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. Beginning with the goal in

mind, as Wiggins and McTighe suggest, is helpful because the effectiveness of the

assignment/lesson/unit depends on having the end goal for students in mind. In backward design,

one starts with the desired results (end result) in mind. By knowing my goal of having students

know how to write a persuasive argument and support it with evidence helped me to inform my

planning of the assignment and the preceding lessons/activities. Wiggins and McTighe said that

“students perform better knowing their goal,” so hopefully it is helpful for students that my goal

for them is clearly stated on the assignment sheet. The article, “Let’s Talk about Talking:

Accountable Talk and Participatory Learning” by John A. Huss informed my planning because it

helped me to see the importance of discussion to learning. Many times, teachers lecture or talk

the entire class period and do not take advantage of the fact that students like to talk. A

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discussion is a social practice that helps students to state their opinion and support it with

evidence in the form of speaking. Discussing the material also helps students to increase their

understanding of it, according to Huss. That is why I plan to let students engage in discussion

before handing out the letter-writing assignment. If they do a similar assignment in the form of

speaking, then perhaps it will make it easier to succeed in doing the assignment in the form of

writing. Huss also advocates the “Think-Pair-Share,” which I incorporated into my planning of

the mini-lesson on using evidence to support statements.

Using The Giver will help support me in doing this mini-lesson and writing assignment

because the characters in the book do not have freedom of choice. Since my essential question is

“What would life be like without free will?” the book will help me to focus my lessons on

relating to the characters’ lack of free will. This content is important for students to learn because

it helps them to learn different skills that they can take with them as they further their education.

Skills such as defending claims with evidence and engaging in discussion are skills that will

hopefully help them to succeed in high school and college.

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Assessment PlanParticipation Points

PossiblePoints Earned

Gateway Skits 5Discussions 5In-Class Reading 5Reader’s Theater/Pantomime 5Persuasion Activity 5Four Corners Activity 5

30 Pts Possible

Total/30

Journals Points Possible

Points Earned

Week 1 10Week 2 10Week 3 10Week 4 10

40 Pts Possible

Total/40

Quizzes Points Possible

Points Earned

Week 1 15Week 2 15Week 3 15Week 4 45 Pts

PossibleTotal/45

Worksheets Points Possible

Points Earned

Authorial Intent 10Predictions 10Reading Guide for Chapters 10-11 10SOAPSTone Graphic Organizer for Chapters 12-13 10Reading Guide for Chapters 18-19 10Evidence Graphic Organizer 50 Pts

PossibleTotal/50

Culminating Assignment Points Possible

Points Earned

First Draft of Letter and Graphic Organizer 2Peer Review 2Second Draft of Letter 2

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Final Draft: Stating Position 3Followed Up Argument with Evidence

□ Quote □ Paraphrase

□ Real-Life Example

15(5)(5)(5)

Letter follows the proper letter-writing format (see screencast) 125 Pts

PossibleTotal/25

Unit Test Points Possible

Points Earned

Unit Test 6060 Pts

PossibleTotal/60

Total Possible Points in Unit Plan:250

Rationale for Assessment Plan

Assessment is probably one of the most challenging aspects of teaching. For one,

teachers have to determine which type of assessment would be the most effective for the lesson

so that it aligns with the learning objectives. On top of that, teachers must assess students as they

teach. This means that if students do not understand what is being taught in the classroom, then

teachers should consider adapting their lesson plans so that they can build up their students to

where they want them to be.

In order to ease the fear of assessment, I created a plan that includes many different types

of assessments. This is because I wanted to give students the opportunity to strive in different

areas. The different types of assessment that I used in my unit plan include both formal and

informal assessment as well as paper-pencil assessment (written) and performance assessment

(non-written). I made sure to plan my grading in a way that gives students the opportunity to do

well with the unit. For me, grading can be a bit arbitrary if it is just a letter on a piece of paper. I

definitely care more about knowing that my students learned something and improved rather

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than simply giving out a letter. Grades can sometimes make students think that they are learning

for the end product and not for the sake of learning and expanding their knowledge. What if a

teacher is grading and the first student’s assignment goes beyond expectations and the rest do not

live up to that first one? It can be said that the subsequent assignments may be graded to that

standard. That is why I would rather grade in a way that documents student improvement.

My unit is out of 250 points. I am aware that this is a lot; however, it is important to me

that students have the room to improve without hurting their overall grade.

I have a lot of opportunities for participation, which are all different types of

participation. Students can earn participation points by reading quietly during in-class reading

time, playing their part in the reader’s theater and gateway skit, speaking out during discussions,

etc. This aligns with my reading strategy learning target and my speaking/listening learning

target. If students are able use reading strategies to make predictions and ask informative and

interpretive questions about the text, then they will acquire a deeper understanding of the text.

This deeper understanding will give them more confidence to participate in class in any way they

would like. Also, having these reading strategies will allow students to raise thoughtful points

during class discussions. If students who were once afraid to speak out and then begin to

improve their speaking skills during discussions as the unit progresses, they will earn full

participation credit for the discussion portion of participation. This is so that students can see that

if they improve, they can earn full credit for participation, even if they do not speak up as much

as their overbearing classmate who raises his/her hand for every question. If they focus on

competing with a more outgoing classmate, they might be more discouraged because they do not

feel comfortable responding to every question. However, if they focus on their improvement,

they might be more encouraged to speak up.

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I will also assess my students based on activities within the lessons. This includes

worksheets, journals, etc. These are more formal assessments because they are planned and

written. They align with the writing learning target because students will write on worksheets

and in their journals about various topics such as evidence and persuasion. I think pre-assessment

is very important to see how students have grown since the beginning of the unit. That is why I

included a discussion about free will in the beginning of the unit as well as at the end. The

journal reflections from both discussions as well as discussion points from students will help me

to see how they have progressed throughout the unit. It will also help me to see if they have

internalized and thought deeply about the essential question throughout the unit.

I will also assess my students by having weekly quizzes that sum up all of the

information that we learned from the week. The quizzes will include writing, filling in blanks,

multiple choice, etc. The quizzes will help me to see if students understand the information that

was taught during the week. The quizzes are just another way to assess my learning targets of

writing, language, and literary concepts. They can help me to see how well the students

understood the lessons (questioning, predicting, evidence, etc.). If I grade the quizzes and see

that there are areas that still need work among many students, I can address them during the

following week. The students will be able to use the quizzes to study for the unit test, which will

be a final assessment of everything they learned throughout the unit. I want to make sure that

students read and understood the text. Most importantly, I want to make sure that students

acquired the skills that they can apply to reading other texts. Teaching a text means using it as a

means of teaching the strategies that help students make sense of what they read. They should be

able to apply the skills to more texts that they read throughout the year.

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That brings me to my final assessment, which is the culminating assignment. This letter is

a way to assess how well students understood the concept of claims and evidence, perspective

and voice, persuasion, predicting, questioning, etc. The letter allows students to raise important

issues and to use different characters’ struggles to mirror their own. It also gives them the

opportunity to persuade and convince a higher power to consider their opinion. This means

applying a professional letter format, writing for an audience, having the appropriate tone, and

using sufficient and relevant evidence to support their argument. All of the lessons from the unit

can be incorporated into this letter. The great thing about it is that it seems low-stakes. After the

proper scaffolding, students should not be afraid to write this letter. It is my hope that they will

be excited to get their voice out there.

All of these different types of assessment matter a great deal because it is how we know

that students have met our learning objectives. It is important to find useful ways of assessing

students that help me, as the teacher, see where my students are striving as well as where they are

struggling. I want my students to know that they are being assessed on improvement. I also want

them to know how they are being assessed. This way, they can self-assess as well. They can

focus on their improvement while I monitor it. They can come to me at any time to talk about

their grade or their improvement in my class. Success, as a whole class, is important; however,

individual student success is what I, as a teacher, would like to strive for. Using effective

assessment tools to strengthen and modify lessons as well as monitoring students’ improvement

as the unit progresses provides a greater chance of student success. That is because student and

teacher are working together to achieve success.

Nafso, 47

Reflective LetterDear Reader,

I cannot believe how much work went into creating this unit plan. It was so much more work than I thought it would be. Thankfully, we took it a step at a time so that it did not seem so scary at the end. As I think about all of the countless hours I sat and stared at a blank six-week calendar, I cannot believe that the unit plan is finally completed.

I learned many things about unit planning through the course of the assignment. For one, it is NOT easy. If this process was not broken down in my methods course, I could have easily had a meltdown. The most difficult thing for me was not just throwing in random lessons that I thought would be fun; but rather, actually creating lessons that focused on a specific learning target and that also related back to my essenetial question. It was also difficult to think of lessons that build off of each other so that past lessons can be integrated into newer ones. I learned that it is extremely important to have lessons that build off of each other because, according to Hillocks, “it reduces frustration, makes goals clearer, and provides for success.” I think that one of the most valuable things I learned is how to effectively scaffold. I had the opportunity to create a writing assignment and then think of how to get students ready for that assignment. I consider that to be backwards planning, or beginning with the end in mind. It was so much easier to fill that six-week unit calendar by creating scaffolds that led up to the final writing assignment. I carefully considered the writing process (predrafting, drafting, revision, proofreading, and publishing) in my unit plan in order to ensure student success with the final writing assignment. Everything that I learned from creating this unit plan makes it less “scary” to create a unit when I have my own classroom. I feel that it has prepared me very well by allowing me to consider the goals and the learning targets, and then considering the scaffolds that lead up to achieving them.

Planning according to a curriculum can be a challenge; however, I learned that schools have high expectations for their students. They want their students to succeed. I always used to think of a curriculum as limiting in terms of what a teacher can do; however, I learned that there is a lot of flexibility with how one can teach the curriculum. With just one common core standard, there is a variety of lessons that a teacher can do to help their students meet (and even exceed) that standard. The main thing is giving enough time for students to accomplish the goals that you have set for them. It takes a lot of patience and a lot of assessing, modifying, and adapting. I learned that by planning according to a curriculum, it sets the framework for lessons, making it less stressful. The curriculum provides goals and standards so that teachers can plan units with the end goal in mind.

I think that the biggest strengths of this unit plan are that the lessons have the potential to be very engaging for students, there is a lot of room for student improvement, and the scaffolding of the final writing assignment was well thought-out according to the writing process. I like that The Giver is about a boy who is just about the age of the middle schoolers who are reading it because it makes it easier for them to relate to the character. My biggest weakness of this unit plan is the vague connections between the lessons and the essential question (What is life without free will?). Everything relates back to the essential question; however, it may not be as

Nafso, 48

clear of a connection as I hoped. I was more focused on making sure that each lesson was a scaffold to the final writing assignment, which sometimes made me forget the connection to the essential question. I thought more about the learning targets and making sure they aligned with my assessments, so the essential question is where I believe that I am lacking. I hope to correct this as I teach because it is much easier to assess real students who can give feedback on how engaging the lessons are and how deeply they understand the essential question.

Through this unit plan, I hope you can see how passionate I am about teaching. I would like my readers to see how much thought and care went into creating each lesson. I definitely want readers to see that I want to give my students every opportunity to improve and succeed. I also want my love for the writing process to show because one of my goals as a teacher is to show students the value of writing and have them become comfortable with it. Writing is our voice on paper. To me, it is one of the most valuable things that I can do with my time; however, I did not get to love writing this much on my own. My past teachers have shown me the value of writing and guided me through the writing process until I because comfortable with transferring my thoughts onto paper. I want to do this for my students. I do not want the idea of an essay/paper to scare my students because it can be broken down into smaller and more managable steps, as I did in my unit plan. Many students see writing as a classroom practice; I want to show students that it is more than that. Writing is a legacy…when they are gone from this world, their writing is left behind to speak for them. That's part of what makes writing so powerful. I hope that I can learn from my students as much as they learn from me. I hope to learn what drives them to write as well as what fears keep them from it. I want to learn where their struggles are and where they hope to improve. I also hope that I can help them improve in the areas that they need it most. I am very fortunate to have been taken through this process with former teachers and I am glad that I had the opportunity to create a unit plan that incorporates this process.

This unit was challenging, but exciting to create. I look forward to one day implementing it to see how effective these practices are in the classroom.

Sincerely,

Valerie Nafso