High School to College and Career Transitions
Senior English Redesigned:
A 12th-grade English
Transitional Course
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
592 Tenth Street, N.W.
Atlanta, GA 30318
(404) 875-9211
www.sreb.org / Action!
Unit Plan
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Actions– Day 1
Unit Plan Overview
Unit Title: Action!Course Name: Senior English Redesigned
Grade Level(s): 12
Unit Overview
Students will read “A Modest Proposal,” selected essays, political cartoons, and a biography or autobiography. They will conduct action research and develop a proposal for some authentic action based on their research. This unit may be completed in 11-15 days or extended to allow students to carry out in-depth action research.
Timeframe: 10 90-minute classes; Time may be extended for students to complete project. See note on Day 10.
Essential Questions: (Open-ended style which promote in-depth investigation)
1. How do writers use words and pictures to bring about action?
2. Why might people make different decisions even when they have similar experiences?
3. How might we conduct authentic research that reinforces our call for action?
4. How can we translate research into a plan of action?
SREB Readiness Indicators3. Analyze the relationships and purpose(s) within a text and across texts.
4. Make inferences and predictions.
5. Connect what is read to personal experience and the world beyond the classroom.
6. Identify the elements of texts and analyze the author’s development of them.
10. Use research skills to locate, gather, evaluate and organize information for different purposes.
State/Local Standards: Mississippi
Mississippi Standards:
R2.10 Demonstrate the ability to present interpretations of texts by using methods such as Socratic questioning, literature circles, class discussion, PowerPoint presentations, and graphic organizers.
E4-W1.6 Demonstrate the ability to write and publish in a variety of formats.
E4-W1.6.1 The student will use standard English grammar, mechanics, and sentence to communicate.
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Actions– Day 1
Unit Plan Overview
2
Actions– Overview
Unit Plan Overview
Literacy Strategies / Habits of Success_X_ Admit/Exit slips
_X_ Graphic organizer
_X_ Know/Want to Know/Learn Chart (KWL)
_X_ Open-response questions
___ Two-column/Cornell notes
___ Re-telling
_X_ Reflection
_X_ Jigsaw reading
_X_ Peer Review
_X_ Peer Editing
___ Anticipation Guide
___ RAFT (Role/Audience/
Format/ Topic)
___ Summarization (GIST)
(Generating Interactions Between Schemata and Text)
_X_ Paired Reading
___ Other / 1. _X_ Create Relationships
Teamwork/responsibility/effective communication
2. ___ Study, Manage Time, Organize
Organization/time management/study skills
3. ___ Improve Reading/Writing Skills
Use reading and writing to learn strategies
4. ___ Improve Mathematics Skills
Estimate/compute/solve/synthesize
5. _X_ Set Goals/Plan
Set goals/plan/monitor progress
6. _X_ Access Resources
Research/analyze/utilize
Assessments: Pre, Daily/Weekly and Post
Pre: None
Daily/Weekly: (Included on daily activities plans)
Post-assessment consists of two parts
1. Content-based (traditional paper and pencil test) test (Attachment 13)
2. Performance- or product-based
§ Proposal (Attachments 23, 24, 25, 26a, 26b)
§ Literature Circles (Attachment 31)
§ Comparison/Contrast Essay (Attachment 32)
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Actions– Overview
Daily Activities Plan
Unit Title: Action!
Day 1 of 11
SREB’s Readiness Indicator(s) for Daily Activities3. Analyze the relationships and purpose(s) within a text and across texts.
5. Connect what is read to personal experience and the world beyond the classroom.
6. Identify the elements of texts and analyze the author’s development of them.
State/District Standard(s) for Daily Activities: South Carolina
E R2.10 Demonstrate the ability to present interpretations of texts by using methods such as Socratic questioning, literature circles, class discussion, PowerPoint presentations, and graphic organizers.
Anticipated Times*
(90-minute Block Schedule) / Sequence of Instruction / Activities Checklist
3 minutes / Get Started
DAILY ORAL LANGUAGE (Daily Oral Language exercises should be selected which address your students’ particular needs in language development.) / § Grammar editing exercise
5 minutes / Engage
Ask:
Do you think writers and artists can persuade people to change or to take some action? Allow students to respond.
Show the political cartoon on Attachment 1. / § Display object/ picture
15 minutes / Explore
Ask students to generate questions they have about this cartoon.
Ask:
What is the meaning of this cartoon? What event inspired it? What is the view of the artist? How do you know? (Consider the details) / § Investigate
10 minutes / Explain
Cartoonists, like writers, carefully choose details to create a persuasive statement about current events. Use Attachment 2 as a guide for a mini-lesson on the persuasive elements in cartoons.
Think aloud as you analyze the symbolism, exaggeration, labeling, analogy, and irony in the cartoon. (Attachment 3) / § Lecture with guided notes
15 minutes / Practice Together
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/political_cartoon/ model.html
The activity at the URL above was created by the Library of Congress to provide practice in analyzing the persuasive elements of cartoons. This interactive program gives students practice in recognizing the specific elements that cartoonists use to make their cartoons effective, persuasive satires. / § Practice active reading strategies
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Actions– Day 1
Daily Activities Plan
15 minutes / Practice in Teams/Groups/Buddy-pairsIn advance of this lesson, clip cartoons from newspapers or locate cartoons at
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/political_cartoon/ cag.html
or http://cagle.msnbc.com/teacher/
If possible, make transparencies of the cartoons.
Divide students into groups of 3 or 4 and instruct them to analyze one of the cartoons. (Attachment 4) / § Practice active reading strategies
20 minutes / Evaluate Understanding (Daily/Weekly/
Post-Assessment)
Group presentations of cartoon analyses
Each group will show the cartoon to the class on the overhead projector and share their analysis. / § Individual project/ investigation/ presentation
10 minutes / Closing Activities
Exit slip:
What do you believe is the value of cartoons such as the ones we have discussed today?
Homework:
Distribute copies of Attachment 5. Look at this article together briefly. Tell the students that Flemming Rose is the editor of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and the person who made the decision to publish the cartoons about Muslims. Read to discover why he made the decision to publish what became inflammatory cartoons and what he believes is the value of political cartoons. Come to class prepared to write a detailed response to the article. Identify unfamiliar words to start a Word Wall. (Attachment 6) / § Assign/explain homework
§ Exit slip
As Needed / Enrichment/Extension/Re-teaching/
Accommodation(s)
Suggest students who want to know more find copies of the original cartoons published by the Danish newspaper and do an analysis of them. / § Individual assignment
Resources/Instructional Materials Needed
§ Attachments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
§ Overhead projector
§ Transparencies
§ Markers
§ Chart paper
§ Computer with projector
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/political_cartoon/ model.html
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/political_cartoon/ cag.html
http://cagle.msnbc.com/teacher/
Notes:
In advance of this lesson, clip cartoons from newspapers or locate cartoons at
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/political_cartoon/cag.html
or http://cagle.msnbc.com/teacher/
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Actions– Day 1
Daily Activities Plan
Unit Title: Action!
Day 2 of 11
SREB’s Readiness Indicator(s) for Daily Activities3. Analyze the relationships and purpose(s) within a text and across texts.
4. Make inferences and predictions.
5. Connect what is read to personal experience and the world beyond the classroom.
6. Identify the elements of texts and analyze the author’s development of them.
State/District Standard(s) for Daily Activities: South Carolina
R2.10 Demonstrate the ability to present interpretations of texts by using methods such as Socratic questioning, literature circles, class discussion, PowerPoint presentations, and graphic organizers.
E4-W1.6 Demonstrate the ability to write and publish in a variety of formats.
E4-W1.6.1 Demonstrate the ability to write informational pieces.
Anticipated Times*
(90-minute Block Schedule) / Sequence of Instruction / Activities Checklist
5 minutes / Get Started
Prompt for journal writing:
What does Flemming Rose believe is the value of political cartoons? How does your understanding of the purpose of such cartoons compare with his? Was the article persuasive to you? Why or why not?
Additional directions:
Write unfamiliar words you encountered in the article on a note card, write your idea of the meaning of the word on the back of the card, and post it on the Word Wall. / § Write in journal
6 minutes / Engage
Pair-Share journal entry:
Two students share their responses with each other. First student reads while second student listens and then asks questions for clarification, elaboration, etc. 1 minute to read, 1 minute to respond. Switch roles. 1 minute to choose point of agreement or disagreement with each other to share with class. Have each pair write the point to share on a sheet of paper and post on the wall. / § Discuss previous experiences
10 minutes / Explore
Conduct a Gallery Walk (Attachment 6). Instruct students to read results of pair-share. Lead class in categorizing the responses.
Create labels:
Agreement, disagreement. Tape these labels to the board or wall. Call on student volunteers to sort the responses into these two groups. Review the lists they create. Divide the class into two groups. One group will categorize the “agreements.” The other will categorize the “disagreements”. Instruct the groups to make labels for the categories they identify.
Instruct students to respond as follows:
What conclusion(s) do you draw from observing the variety of our responses to the article? Explain. / § Gallery Walk
15 minutes / Explain
Review audience and purpose (Attachments 7a and 7b)
Provide information on organizational structure to help students analyze the article in more depth. See Attachment 8 and handout at URL
http://www.uen.org/lessonplan/upload/11352-2-15177-organizational_pattern_signals.pdf
Connect to the Rose article:
What is the purpose of the article? Who is the audience? What persuasive elements does Rose use to convince his audience? How does Mr. Rose organize his essay to be persuasive? / § Lecture with guided notes
10 minutes / Practice Together
§ In your view, what is the overall organizational pattern of the essay? Why?
§ Lead the class to reach consensus (I suggest Problem/Solution: Problem of self-imposed censorship-Solution of publishing cartoons)
§ We notice, however, that within the essay, Mr. Rose uses other types of organizational patterns.
§ Look together at paragraphs 2, 3, 4. Ask students to identify the pattern (comparison-contrast). Use transparency of graphic organizer for comparison-contrast analysis found at
http://www.cheney268.com/Learning/Organizers/ CompareContrast2.htm
§ Ask why comparison-contrast serves his purpose. (To establish the important distinction he sees between exercising ethical restraint and exercising freedom of speech in a democracy) / § Whole group graphic organizers
15 minutes / Practice in Teams/Groups/Buddy-pairs
Place students in small groups of 3 or 4. Assign the following paragraphs to each group: 10-12, 13-15, 16-18, 19-21, 22-23. Distribute Attachment 9.
(If you would like to provide sample graphic organizers, they can be found in Attachment 8 or at
http://www.cheney268.com/Learning/Organizers/TextStructures.htm) / § Complete graphic organizers
10 minutes / Practice Alone
Write a letter to Mr. Rose. Tell him what aspects of his essay you found most persuasive and why. Tell him what aspects of his essay you found least persuasive and why. Tell him whether you agree with his decision to publish the cartoons or not and why. (Attachment 10) Give students time to begin this assignment in class and have them complete it as homework if more time is needed. / § Draft writing
15 minutes / Evaluate Understanding (Daily/Weekly/
Post-Assessment)
Quiz (Attachment 11) / § Quiz/test
1 minute / Closing Activities
Remind students that their homework is to complete the letter to Mr. Rose. / § Assign homework
As Needed / Enrichment/Extension/Re-teaching/
Accommodation(s)
- Encourage interested students to research the cartoons to which Rose refers and the consequences of their publication. They could share this research with the class.
- Provide writing conferences for students who need extra help with the letter.
- After reviewing the quizzes, re-teach the organizational patterns as necessary. / § Tutoring
§ Individual assignment
Resources/Instructional Materials Needed
§ Attachments 5, 6, 7a, 7b, 8, 9, 10, 11
§ Overhead projector
§ transparencies
§ copies of graphic organizers
§ chart paper
§ note cards for word wall and exit slips
§ markers
Notes
8
Actions– Day 1
Daily Activities Plan
Unit Title: Action!
Day 3 of 11
SREB’s Readiness Indicator(s) for Daily Activities4. Make inferences and predictions.
6. Identify the elements of texts and analyze the author’s development of them.
State/District Standard(s) for Daily Activities: South Carolina
R2.10 Demonstrate the ability to present interpretations of texts by using methods such as Socratic questioning, literature circles, class discussion, PowerPoint presentations, and graphic organizers.
Anticipated Times*
(90-minute Block Schedule) / Sequence of Instruction / Activities Checklist
3 minutes / Get Started
DAILY ORAL LANGUAGE
Take up letters students completed for homework. Read these. Provide feedback related to the checklist and rubric. Return these to be placed in the unit portfolio. / § Grammar editing exercise
§ Collect homework
5 minutes / Engage
Brainstorm:
What would motivate someone to become a political cartoonist?
List ideas on chart paper or board.
Today we will read about an award winning cartoonist named Paul Conrad. (found at URL
http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9910/conrad.html)
As we read, let’s test our ideas about motivation by what Mr. Conrad says. / § Brainstorm
20 minutes / Explore
Preview the article:
§ What does the title, “Afflicting the Comfortable,” mean?
§ What can you tell about Conrad from the illustrations in the article?
Read aloud to students paragraphs 1-7.
Ask:
What predictions can you make about Mr. Conrad now? Write these on chart paper to be tested by further reading.
Based on what we have read, what do you predict is the organizational structure of this article?
Instruct students to read the remainder of the article and write any words that are unfamiliar on note cards with their suggested meaning on the back. After reading they can post these on the Word Wall. / § Create lists
§ Prediction
§ Read
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Actions– Day 3
Daily Activities Plan
20 minutes / ExplainPut the following questions on the overhead and have students write their answers before conducting whole class discussion:
§ What is the organizational structure and why?
§ Why did Paul Conrad become a cartoonist?
§ Explain the title after reading the article: how and why does Conrad “Afflict the Comfortable?”
§ Who are “the comfortable”? the afflicted?
§ How important is it for us to have people who “afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted”?
Lead an interactive discussion:
Call on one student to begin the discussion based on the questions above. That student will have 30 seconds to share, and he/she will call on a second student to respond. Continue this for 10 minutes. Establish the rule that no student may be called on a second time until all students have responded. / § Interactive discussion
15 minutes / Practice in Teams/Groups/Buddy-pairs
Ask:
About what in our [school, community, state, etc.] do you think we need to speak out for change?
Put students into groups of four for problem finding.
(See Survival 101 Unit, Attachment 16a for a review of the steps of problem solving.)
Instruct students to brainstorm the issues, situations, problems or challenges that they would like to address in the specified arena. Distribute Attachment 12.
(Collect these sheets from each group and compile the list.) / § Creative problem solving
15 minutes / Evaluate Understanding (Daily/Weekly/
Post-Assessment)
Reading Quiz (Attachment 13) / § Quiz/test
9 minutes / Closing Activities
Present independent reading project (Attachment 14a)
Share with students some samples of autobiographies and biographies of men and women whom you admire because of actions they have taken to bring about change (Suggestions on Attachment 14b) / § Assign/explain homework
As Needed / Enrichment/Extension/Re-teaching/
Accommodation(s)
Resources/Instructional Materials Needed
Classroom set of “Afflicting the Comfortable” found at URL http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9910/conrad.html
§ Attachments 12, 13, 14a, 14b
§ chart paper
§ markers
§ small slips of paper (2”X4”) for brainstorming in groups
§ Several biographies/autobiographies to share with students as examples
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