Middle Grades to High School Transition Program
Foundations of English:
A 9th-grade English
Catch-up Course
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
592 Tenth Street, N.W.
Atlanta, GA 30318
(404) 875-9211
www.sreb.org / Our Heritage: Influences That Shape Our Lives
Unit Plan
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Our Heritage: Influences that Shape Our Lives
Unit Plan Overview
Unit Title: Our Heritage: Influences that Shape Our LivesCourse Name: Foundations of English
Grade Level(s): 8th 9th Grade
Timeframe: 11 100-minute classes (Unit may be extended if the class is large because of presentation times.)
Prerequisite Knowledge/Skills
§ Writing Process
§ Procedures for working in small group
Essential Questions: (Open-ended style which promote in-depth investigation)
1. What are life’s greatest lessons?
2. How do people influence each other?
3. What special relationships shape who you are?
SREB Readiness Indicators1. Develop vocabulary appropriate to reading, writing, and speaking proficiency.
6. Identify and interpret literary structures, elements, devices, and themes.
8. Compose writing that conveys a clear main point with logical support.
12. Use appropriate organization, language, voice, delivery style, and visual aids to match audience and purpose of oral presentations.
13. Use active listening strategies to organize and respond to information presented in different formats for different purposes.
State/Local Standards: Mississippi
1. Produce writing which reflects increasing proficiency through planning, writing, revising, and editing and which is specific to audience and purpose.
2. Communicate ideas through listening and speaking.
3. Read, evaluate, and use print, non-print, and technological sources to research issues and problems, to present information, and to complete projects.
5. Complete oral and written presentations which exhibit interaction and consensus within a group.
8. Read, discuss, analyze, and evaluate literature from various genres and other written material.
9. Sustain progress toward fluent control of grammar, mechanics, and usage of standard English in the context of writing and speaking.
Acknowledgment(s)
Claire Craig and Elizabeth Bailey, West Point (MS) School District
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Our Heritage: Influences that Shape Our Lives– Overview
Unit Plan Overview
Literacy Strategies / Habits of Success_X_ Admit/Exit slips
_X_ Graphic organizer
___ Know/Want to Know/Learn Chart (KWL)
_X_ Open-response questions
___ Two-column/Cornell notes
_X_ Re-telling
___ Reflection
___ Jigsaw reading
___ Peer Review
___ Peer Editing
___ Anticipation Guide
___ RAFT (Role/Audience/
Format/ Topic)
___ Summarization (GIST)
(Generating Interactions Between Schemata and Text)
___ 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. ___ Set Goals/Plan
Set goals/plan/monitor progress
6. _X_ Access Resources
Research/analyze/utilize
Assessments: Pre, Daily/Weekly and Post
Post
1. Content-based
§ Reader Response Dialogue Journal (Attachment 1)
§ Letter to the author (Attachment 21)
§ Vocabulary/Reading test (Attachment 15)
2. Performance- or product-based
§ Oral presentation-Reader’s Theater (Attachment 19)
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Our Heritage: Influences that Shape Our Lives– Overview
Daily Activities Plan
Unit Title: Our Heritage: Influences that Shape Our Lives
Day 1 of 11
SREB’s Readiness Indicator(s) for Daily Activities1. Develop vocabulary appropriate to reading, writing, and speaking proficiency.
13. Use active listening strategies to organize and respond to information presented in different formats for different purposes.
State/District Standard(s) for Daily Activities: Mississippi
1. Produce writing which reflects increasing proficiency through planning, writing, revising, and editing and which is specific to audience and purpose.
2. Communicate ideas through listening and speaking.
3. Read, evaluate, and use print, non-print, and technological sources to research issues and problems, to present information, and to complete projects.
5. Complete oral and written presentations which exhibit interaction and consensus within a group.
8. Read, discuss, analyze, and evaluate literature from various genres and other written material.
9. Sustain progress toward fluent control of grammar, mechanics, and usage of standard English in the context of writing and speaking.
Anticipated Times*
(90-min. Block Schedule) / Sequence of Instruction / Activities Checklist
5 minutes / Get Started: Language Bites(LB)
Present essential questions
Discuss vocabulary of questions (ie., Influential)
§ How do you figure out what a word means if you don’t have a dictionary handy? (context clues)
§ What clues are in the sentences before and after the word as well as in the same sentence with the word?
§ Make prediction about the meaning of the word.
§ Let’s check with the expert [dictionary] to test our prediction.
§ As you read, you may encounter words you don’t know. Try to use the clues around the word before you check your dictionary or ask someone. Keep a list of the new words you find and bring the list with you each day. / § Answer questions
15 minutes / Engage
Show cover of Tuesdays with Morrie. Discuss the quote: “An old man, a young man, and life’s greatest lesson”
Reader Response 1a Handout (Attachment 1) / § Display object/ picture
15 minutes / Explore
Share/Discuss their ideas from the writing. / § Other - share writing
60 minutes / Explain
Read aloud pp. 1-23 (Attachment 2). Show a clip from the first Ted Koppel interview with Morrie.
Reader Response 1b (Attachment 1) / § Media presentation
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Our Heritage: Influences that Shape Our Lives– Day 1
Daily Activities Plan
5 minutes / Closing ActivitiesMake assignment: Read pp. 23-68 in TWM / § Assign/explain homework
Resources/Instructional Materials Needed
§ A copy of Tuesdays with Morrie for each student
§ VHS or DVD (depending on available equipment) of Ted Koppel interviews (www.abcnewsstore.com, Code: S050413, price $29.95)
§ TV and VCR or DVD player
§ Chart paper
· Reader’s Response Guide Handout (Attachment 1)
· Vocabulary list (Attachment 2)
· DIDLS Chart (Attachment 3)
Enrichment/Extension/Re-teaching
1. Lead a close reading of the final paragraph on p.15 that begins “After the funeral” and ends on p. 16 with “never to end up like him.” Have students pick out the main idea, the details that support the main idea, and the conclusion of the paragraph.
2. Lead or assign a close reading of paragraph of pp. 16-17 that begins “I stopped renting” and ends “But that day never came.” Use a DIDLS chart (Attachment 3) to analyze the tone created by the diction, imagery, and sentence structure of this paragraph.
§ Why does Mitch repeat the pronoun “I”?
§ What effect is created by the use of short sentences that all follow the same patters: subject-verb-direct object.
§ Look at the specific verbs. What do they tell us about the way Mitch felt about himself?
3. Ask interested students to research in order to discover the meaning and origin of the allusion on / § Reading
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Our Heritage: Influences that Shape Our Lives– Day 1
Daily Activities Plan
Unit Title: Our Heritage: Influences that Shape Our Lives
Day 2 of 11
SREB’s Readiness Indicator(s) for Daily Activities1. Develop vocabulary appropriate to reading, writing, and speaking proficiency.
6. Identify and interpret literary structures, elements, devices, and themes.
8. Compose writing that conveys a clear main point with logical support.
11. Use research skills to locate, gather, evaluate, and organize information for different purposes.
12. Use appropriate organization, language, voice, delivery style, and visual aids to match audience and purpose of oral presentations.
13. Use active listening strategies to organize and respond to information presented in different formats for different purposes
State/District Standard(s) for Daily Activities: Mississippi
1. Produce writing which reflects increasing proficiency through planning, writing, revising, and editing and which is specific to audience and purpose.
2. Communicate ideas through listening and speaking.
3. Read, evaluate, and use print, non-print, and technological sources to research issues and problems, to present information, and to complete projects.
5. Complete oral and written presentations which exhibit interaction and consensus within a group.
8. Read, discuss, analyze, and evaluate literature from various genres and other written material.
9. Sustain progress toward fluent control of grammar, mechanics, and usage of standard English in the context of writing and speaking.
Anticipated Times*
(90-min. Block Schedule) / Sequence of Instruction / Activities Checklist
5 minutes / Get Started
Vocabulary:
(Attachment 4) What new words did you encounter? List on chart paper. Use one or two of the students’ words or see attachments for other words to unlock through context clues. Examples to practice are in Attachment 5 “Guessing Vocabulary in Context 1.” Try 2 or 3 of these as practice. / § Answer questions
5 minutes / Engage
Now that you’ve read through p. 68 and seen the interview with Ted Koppel, consider how Mitch Albom tells the story. Lead brief whole class discussion. (Students will be thinking off the top of their heads.) / § Discuss previous experiences
5 minutes / Explain
Say:
We are going to analyze and represent through a graphic organizer the structure of the story. [Review meaning of “structure” if needed.]
Show an example of the flow chart on the overhead. (Attachment 6) / § Other - Graphic organizer
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Our Heritage: Influences that Shape Our Lives– Day 2
Daily Activities Plan
15 minutes / ExploreCreate their own or fill in a flow chart that follows the events as they are told in the book.
Explain the structure of the story so far by developing a flow chart. Teacher will guide discussion using the chart transparency. / § Other - graphic organizer
15 minutes / Practice Together
Complete flow chart with a partner. / § Whole group graphic organizers
20 minutes / Practice in Teams/Groups/Buddy-pairs
Reader Response 2a(Attachment 1)
Reader Response 2b / § Other - Respond to reading
5 minutes / Evaluate Understanding (Daily/Weekly/
Post-Assessment)
Ask class: How did the flow chart or graphic organizer help you understand the book? How might you be able to use these tools in other classes? / § Discussion
30 minutes / Closing Activities
Show clip of Ted Koppel’s 2nd interview with Morrie.
Make assignment: Read pp. 69-107 / § Assign/explain homework
Resources/Instructional Materials Needed
§ Reader Response handout (Attachment 2)
§ Flow chart transparency
§ Copies of the flow chart if you want students to fill in rather than making their own. (Attachment 6)
§ Ted Koppel interview VHS (See Day 1 for ordering information.)
Enrichment/Extension/Re-teaching
§ Encourage interested students to watch Nightline or another in-depth interview show and journal about what they learn and the interview techniques the host used. Place in portfolio.
§ Provide extra help for students who struggle with classroom assignments and homework.
§ Ask a strong reader to tape record the assigned pages for an ELL student
§ To go deeper into the text, ask: Why does Mitch include the details found in the last paragraph on p. 66? / § Tutoring
§ Individual assignment
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Our Heritage: Influences that Shape Our Lives– Day 2
Daily Activities Plan
Unit Title: Our Heritage: Influences that Shape Our Lives
Day 3 of 11
SREB’s Readiness Indicator(s) for Daily Activities1. Develop vocabulary appropriate to reading, writing, and speaking proficiency.
6. Identify and interpret literary structures, elements, devices, and themes.
8. Compose writing that conveys a clear main point with logical support.
State/District Standard(s) for Daily Activities: Mississippi
1. Produce writing which reflects increasing proficiency through planning, writing, revising, and editing and which is specific to audience and purpose.
2. Communicate ideas through listening and speaking.
3. Read, evaluate, and use print, non-print, and technological sources to research issues and problems, to present information, and to complete projects.
5. Complete oral and written presentations which exhibit interaction and consensus within a group.
8. Read, discuss, analyze, and evaluate literature from various genres and other written material.
9. Sustain progress toward fluent control of grammar, mechanics, and usage of standard English in the context of writing and speaking.
Anticipated Times*
(90-min. Block Schedule) / Sequence of Instruction / Activities Checklist
5 minutes / Get Started
Vocabulary activity:
(Attachments 7 and 8)) Another way to unlock the meaning of an unfamiliar word is by breaking it into parts—prefix, root, suffix. If you know what any part means, you will make a better prediction of the meaning of the word. Use examples from “Tending to Word Roots” (attachment 9). Give each student a copy of “Simple Teaching Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes” to use as a reference. Demonstrate how a word can be dismantled and analyzed. / § Answer questions
5 minutes / Engage
How has Ted Koppel changed his approach since the first interview? How has the relationship between Ted and Morrie changed? / § Discuss previous experiences
15 minutes / Explore
Complete flow chart (Attachment 6) on pp. 68-107. For this activity, the teacher will elicit student input rather than providing the information herself. / § Graphic organizer
10 minutes / Explain
Use overhead projector with topics of “Morrie’s Musings.” (See Assignment 3 on Attachment 1.) Divide class into 5 groups and assign each group one of the categories. / § Interactive discussion
20 minutes / Practice in Teams/Groups/Buddy-pairs
Groups will select one of the Tuesday topics of discussion and list Morrie’s thoughts on the topic. They will write their answers on the transparency.
Share. / § Answer questions
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Our Heritage: Influences that Shape Our Lives– Day 3
Daily Activities Plan
25 minutes / Practice AloneAfter reading Morrie’s musings on the world, regrets, death, family, emotions, etc., pick one and write a letter comparing Morrie’s thoughts to your own thoughts on the topic.
(Reader Response 3)
Read silently pp. 109-159. (Complete for homework.) / § Draft writing
5 minutes / Evaluate Understanding (Daily/Weekly/
Post-Assessment)
Take up reader response 3. / § Writing sample
5 minutes / Closing Activities
Concluding discussion on how Morrie’s ideas would be accepted today / § Student reflection activity
Resources/Instructional Materials Needed
§ Reader Response assignment sheet
§ Transparencies
§ Vocabulary Handouts (Attachments 7, 8 and 9)
Enrichment/Extension/Re-teaching
§ Complete reading at home.
§ Extension: Do a little research to discover the date of the OJ Simpson trial.
§ Complete the flow chart alone as an assignment.
§ Explain the implied analogy (metaphor) on p. 76: “love for education was hatched in her arms.” Why is the implied comparison appropriate?
§ Find sources of lines of poetry quoted on p. 91:
§ “Love each other of perish.”
§ “Without love, we are birds with broken wings.”
§ Take a deeper look at the structure of the novel: On pp. 98-99 Mitch inserts memories which are not in chronological order. Why? What effect does the structure have on the meaning? How do shared memories help to advance meaning or characterization? / § Individual assignment
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