The Rationale: The theme of courage. courage as the · 2017. 9. 7. · The Rationale: The theme of courage. The rational for my selection of courage as the theme for a 9th grade unit

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CourageousAction

~amulticulturalunitincorporatinglearningclosereadingandmultiplewritingmodes~

TheRationale:Thethemeofcourage.Therationalformyselectionofcourageasthe

themefora9thgradeunitonnarrativewritingisinspiredbythethoughtthatadiscussionofthe

needforfacingchallengingsituationsinlifewithcouragecouldbeexplored.Asaclass,we

wouldreadliteraturewheredynamiccharactersarecompelledtoexhibitcourage,andthe

ensuingdiscussionwouldproduceafocalpointofrelevanceforwriting.Whilethestudentsare

learningtoproducemeaningfultextwhichisaneededmarketableskillinourtimes,withvaried

exercisesthatencourageanunderstandingofthewritingprocess,theywouldalsobeableto

formulatetheirownthoughtsonfacinglife’schallengescourageously.Wewouldchooseour

literarycharactersfromawiderangeofcultures.InTeachingEnglishbyDesign,Smagorinsky

statesthat“personalexperiencewouldinfusetheliterarycharacterswithparticularand

probablyidiosyncraticmeaning,asdifferentworldviewsprovidetheframeworkfordifferent

kindsofmeaning.”(Smagorinsky2008,p.9)Studentswouldbeencouragedtoexpresstheir

personalopiniononmatterspertainingtotheliteraturereadinordertoanswerquestionssuch

as—Howdowedescribecourage,andhowdoescouragepertaintofacingchangesinour

personlives?Adolescentsareatanagewheretheybegintomeetthechallengesofadult

responsibilitiesastheymoveintonewspheres.Ibelievetheywouldbeencouragedtohearthat

theirwholepeergroupisfacingasimilararrayofchallenges.

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TheWritingDiscourse:Thetopicofcouragewillbeaddressedinastraightforwardmanner.

Theclasswillfirstengageinanoraldiscussioncreatingadefinitionofcourageousactionwhich

expandsasweencounteredmoreexamplesofcourage.Ithoughtsincesomeindividualsinthe

classmightbeshyaboutexpressingtheirviewseitheroutloudorinwritingonsuchasensitive

issue,studyingcharactersinliteraturewouldpromptaccesstoagreaterdepthofthoughton

thematter.Ifstudentsviewamonumentalchangeandacourageousresponsetoitinanother

person’slifethroughliterature,thenapersonaldiscoveryofpotentialcouragewithincould

follow.Journalwritinginanswertospecificquestionsgeneratedinclasswoulddocumentthis

discovery.“Apersonaljournalisanopen‐endedopportunityforstudentstowritewhatever

theythinkorfeelinresponsetotheunit’scontentandprocesseshowevertheymightbe

experiencingthem.”(Smagorinsky2008,p.84)Throughjournalwritingthestudentswillexplore

thetopicofpersonalcourageandproduceanarrativewhichconveystheexperiencethrough

fictionalwriting.Journalwritingwouldprogressintonarrativewriting,andpersuasivewriting

wouldbetheculminatingprojectoftheunit.

Inordertoengagethestudentsinthisdiscourse,Iplantouseseveralgenreswhich

relateinsomewaytotheover‐archingthemeofcourage.Thestudentswouldexperimentwith

avarietyofwritingformats.Atimeconstraintwilllimitthisselectionofreadingmaterialstoa

shortlist,butIwouldbringcopiesofpreviousstudents’work,poemsandshortstoriestoclass

tomodelthewritinglessonoftheday.Onlyafewtypesofwritingwouldbeincludedinthe

unit,butadiscussionofhowwritingstrategiesandcriticalthinkinggohandinhandwillexpand

thestudents’understandingofwritingasacreativeprocess.IwilltaketheHillockapproach

that“Knowinghowtowritenarrativescanbecomeabaseforotherkindsofwritingandfor

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studyingliterature.”(Hillocks,G.NarrativeWriting.2007.p.9)Studentswilllearntogenerate

concretedetail.Wewillexplorehowwritingformulaslearnedinschoolshouldbeaviable

springboardforwritingnecessitieslaterinlife.

WouldIdeviatefromthecanon?Therewillbetwocanonsatworkinmyunit—thecanon

whichpertainstolearningtowritingandthecanonwhichpertainstostudyingliterature.I

believethatinordertowriteeffectively,youngmenandwomenmusttolearntounderstand

thethinkingprocessbehindwhattheyareattemptingtocommunicate.Iwoulduseaform

foundinthecanonsuchasnarrativewriting,butIwoulduseitasaspringboardtogreater

understandingofwritingasawhole.Ibelieveteachingwritingwithformulaicmethods,whichis

theteachingofwritingwithoutanexplanationofthecriticalthinkinginvolved,canputstudents

atadisadvantage.Whetherornotthecanonexpresslystatesthatwritingshouldbeinstructed

inaformulaicmanner,Ifeelinstructionofthevariousformsoftenturnsoutthisway.“Writing

isnotaboutreproducingapredeterminedstructure;itisaboutcreatingmeaning,”—thisisthe

argumentJeffHouseusesinhisbookWritingisDialogue.”(House2006,p.41)Iwouldhavethe

studentsparticipateinactivitieshoningcriticalthinkingskills,writeafewnarrativepiecesto

helpfocusonhowpersonalwritingis,andultimatelylearntocreateapersuasiveessayasthe

finalachievementinthisunit.Ibelievethisfollowsthecanon,butnotintheconventional

manner.

TheLiteraryDiscourse:TheliteratureIselecttoexemplifycourageousactionismeantto

beamixtureofcanonicworksandcontemporarywriting.Iamafirmbelieverinmixingthe

literarycanonupwiththeworksofcontemporarywritersinordertoengagethestudent

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readers.Ifeelifthereadingassignmentsintheunitpointtoanexampleoftheprotagonist

courageouslytakingastanceofsomesignificanceinourmoderntimes,thestudentsmightbe

moreinterestedinreadingthematerial.Ifeelitwouldbeadvantageoustofirstengagethe

studentswithmaterialtheyshowaninterestin,andthentopresentamoreclassicpiecewhich

mightbedifficultforthemtoeitherreadorunderstandandthereforebeintimidating.Asa

class,wecoulddiscusswhatcategorizesaworkasapieceofliteratureandwhatattributes

causeabookoranauthortostandthetestoftime.

IwouldalsoconsiderAtwell’sWorkshopmethodwhichincludesallowingstudentsto

selecttheirownreadingmaterial.(Smagorinsky2008,p.49)Iwouldhavestudentsselectbooks

withcertaincriteria,ratherthanrandomly,becausethatwaytheclasswouldremainengaged

withoneunifyingfocus—oncourageousactioninthelivesofpeoplewithasimilaradolescent

outlook.Ajudiciouslyselectedreadinglistcouldhelpensureallstudentsseethemselvesinthe

literature,andnoonefeelsmarginalizedbyreadingabilityorculturalbackground.

Ibelievethisapproachispossibleusingthethemeofcourageousactionasaparameter,

becauseIthinkalladolescentsarelookingforaherotoemulate—theheroeswewouldread

aboutwillbeengaginginrealisticlifestruggles.Ichosethethemeofcourageousaction,

becausestudentsintheninthgradeareatanagewheredecisionmakingisbecomingtheir

responsibility,andmaybesomestudentsseethisnewexperienceasuniquetotheirown

situation.Manystudentshavelowself‐esteemandmightbenefitbyreadingaboutotherswho

haveinsecuritiesbutbehavedbravely.Asstudentsreadofvariousprotagonists’strugglesand

seedifficultdecisionmakingmodeled,manywillbeabletodrawtheconclusionthatmeeting

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challengesisauniversalrealityofadultlifenottobeshiedawayfrom.Theideaisforthe

literaturetomodelunselfishqualitieswhichstudentsmightembrace.Ourdiscussionsand

paperswillbringintofocushowcourageousactionisinplayallaroundus,inourownlives,and

inthelivesofourneighbors.

InConclusion:WecouldreadPoe,TwainorSaki;wecouldalsoreadCisneros,Alexi,and

Walker.Eitherwaywewilldiscovercreativeminds.Therearehundredsofshortstoriesto

choosefrom—whybelimitedto“AMostDangerousGame”or“TheScarletIbis?”IntheendI

willbethinkingabouthowtoengagemystudentswithanovel,poetryandashortstory.The

classwillwriteusingavarietyofformswithoutbeingformulaicaboutit.Ithinkthetopicof

courageousactionisclosetotheheartsofyoungpeopleandwillserveasanadmirablesubject

mattertoinspireyoungreadersandwriters.

9thGradeNarrativeWriting

THEGOAL:Mygoalinthisunitistoteachcontemporaryliterature,appropriatefor9thgraders,

thelanguagenecessaryforcritiquingnarrativewritingorpoetry(asindicatedintheGeorgia

Standards),andexpositorywriting.Iplantoreadavarietyofshortstories,anovella,anda

selectionofpoems.Asweread,wewilllearnclosereadingskills,andwewillanalyzethe

strategiesusedandthecriticalthinkinginvolvedincomposinganarrativepiece.Byteaching

mini‐lessonsandscaffoldingactivities,Iplantomovefromclosereadingtoexperimentingwith

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expositorywriting.Byawakeningstudents’creativewritingtalents,Ihopetostrengthentheir

over‐allwritingabilities.

Theover‐archingthemewillbecourage,whichIhopewillallowadiscussionofhow

peoplefacelife‐experiencescourageously.Hopefully,thisthematicelementtomyunitwill

enablestudentstorelatewelltotheexperiencesofthecharactersinthestories,kindlinga

creativeoutpouringabouttheuniversalaspectofcourage.Themini‐lessonsIteachwillcontain

anelementofwritingwhichwewillworkonfortheday,suchas,forexample,thecareful

selectionofwordsneededtocreatesensoryimagery.Wewillworkbylisteningtoanexample

ofaliteraryelement,andthenattempttocreatethatelement.Wewilldiscusshowthecritical

thinkinginvolvedinoneareaofwritingcanbeexpandedintoanother.Theclasswillcreate

journalentrieswhichshowadevelopingunderstandingofthewritingprocessaswecreatea

varietyofgenressuchasapersonalnarrative,apoemandapersuasiveessay.Theculminating

journalwillcontainallofthepagesofcreativeeffort,apoem,andtwoessays.

Myunitwillcontainamulticulturalelement.IntheareawhereIliveandplantoteach,

75%ofthestudentsdonotspeakEnglishastheirmothertongue.Manyofthesestudentscome

fromBosnia,Mexico,Russia,Somalia,Pakistan,India,Afghanistan,Guatemala,andVietnamto

nameafewcountries.Iamhopingthatbyaddingshortstoriescomposedbymodernimmigrant

authorsandauthorsofcolortothe9thgradecurriculum,Iwillbepromotingunderstanding

amongstmystudentsofmanybackgrounds.Iamhopingthatgettingasenseofthecharacters

willinfuseourstudywithanelementofunderstandingaboutwhoAmericansareinthetwenty‐

firstcentury.

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THERUBRICS:Severalrubricswillbenecessarytohelpthestudentsdevelopagencyinreading

comprehensionandwriting.Therewillbeonerubricforthejournalwhichwillcontainthework

showingthestudents’growingunderstandingofthewritingprocess.Thisgradewillbebased

largelyoncreativityandeffort.Therewillbeseparaterubricsfortheoriginalpoem,the

narrativepieces,andthetwopersuasiveessays.

TheJournal:Thejournalwillshow

• agrowingunderstandingofwritingasaprocess

• personallycreatedworkexemplifiesthegenreweareexamining

• responsestostoriesand/orpoemsreadbytheclass

When grading the journal I will give a check mark credit for several entries made per week,

completeness of attempt at genre being studied, and creativity. Consistent check marks will yield

a 4 and be worth 25% of overall grade.

ThePoem:Iwillgradetheoriginalpoemwiththesamerubricasthejournal,anditisworth

10%ofoverallgrade.

Discovery of Courageous Action Journal

Teacher Name: N Williams Student Name: ________________________________________

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CATEGORY 4 3 2 1 Completeness There is one

clear, well-focused attempt at genre. Main idea stands out and is supported by details.

Main genre is clear but the supporting information is general.

Main attempt at genre is somewhat clear but there is a need for more supporting information.

The main genre is not clear. There is a seemingly random collection of information.

TheNarrativeStories:TheScarStoryandTheMemorableEpisodefromChildhoodnarratives

areweeklywritingexercisesworth10%ofgradeeachandwillbegradedfor

• whetherornotthetopicisclear

• whetherornotthepieceengagesthereader

• whetherornotthesequencingofideasenhancesthestory

• whetherornotthesentencefluencyflows

Narrative Writing


CATEGORY 4 3 2 1

Introduction (Organization)

The hook is inviting, and previews the theme of the paper.

The hook states the topic, but doesn't previews theme in a particularly inviting manner to the reader.

The hook states the topic, but does not adequately lead into the story.

There is no clear hook or statement of the topic.

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Sequencing (Organization)

Details are placed in a logical order and the way they are presented effectively keeps the interest of the reader.

Details are placed in a logical order, but the way in which they are presented/introduced sometimes makes the writing less interesting.

Some details are not in a logical or expected order, and this distracts the reader.

Many details are not in a logical or expected order. There is little sense that the writing is organized.

Flow & Rhythm (Sentence Fluency)

All sentences sound natural and are easy-on-the-ear when read aloud. Each sentence is clear and has an obvious emphasis.

Almost all sentences sound natural and are easy-on-the-ear when read aloud, but 1 or 2 are stiff and awkward or difficult to understand.

Most sentences sound natural and are easy-on-the-ear when read aloud, but several are stiff and awkward or are difficult to understand.

The sentences are difficult to read aloud because they sound awkward, are distractingly repetitive, or difficult to understand.

Adding Personality (Voice)

The writer seems to be writing from knowledge or experience, and the author has made the ideas "his own."

The writer seems to be drawing on knowledge or experience, but there is some lack of ownership of the topic.

The writer relates some of his own knowledge or experience, but it adds nothing to the discussion of the topic.

The writer has not tried to transform the information in a personal way.

The Oral Book Report Presentation: This might be a good place to pick up a few points if some

of the other projects are difficult, but it is also worth 10% of grade. The presentation will be

graded on

• enthusiasm and expressiveness

• whether or not the student seems to be prepared

• whether or not the student sticks to the time allotment

• whether or not the student sticks to the topic

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Oral Book Report Presentation


CATEGORY 4 3 2 1

Enthusiasm Facial expressions and body language generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic in others.

Facial expressions and body language sometimes generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic in others.

Facial expressions and body language are used to try to generate enthusiasm, but seem somewhat faked.

Very little use of facial expressions or body language. Did not generate much interest in topic being presented.

Preparedness Student is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed.

Student seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals.

The student is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking.

Student does not seem at all prepared to present.

Time-Limit Presentation is 7 minutes long.

Presentation is 5 minutes long.

Presentation is 3 minutes long.

Presentation is less than 3 minutes OR more than 7 minutes.

Stays on Topic Stays on topic all (100%) of the time.

Stays on topic most (99-90%) of the time.

Stays on topic some (89%-75%) of the time.

It was hard to tell what the topic was.

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The Persuasive Essay: The ability to write a persuasive essay is our culminating goal. There will

be a trial run analyzing the character in a movie worth 10% of overall grade, and the final paper

worth 25% of grade. Both papers will be graded for

• an effective first paragraph

• well constructed presentation of evidence

• sentence structure

• strong closing paragraph

Persuasive Essay : Facing Life Courageously


CATEGORY 4 - Above Standards

3 - Meets Standards

2 - Approaching Standards

1 - Below Standards Score

Attention Grabber

The introductory paragraph has a strong hook or attention grabber that is appropriate for the audience. This could be a strong statement, a relevant quotation, statistic, or question addressed to the reader.

The introductory paragraph has a hook or attention grabber, but it is weak, rambling or inappropriate for the audience.

The author has an interesting introductory paragraph but the connection to the topic is not clear.

The introductory paragraph is not interesting AND is not relevant to the topic.

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Evidence and Examples

All of the evidence and examples are specific, relevant and explanations are given that show how each piece of evidence supports the author's position.

Most of the evidence and examples are specific, relevant and explanations are given that show how each piece of evidence supports the author's position.

At least one of the pieces of evidence and examples is relevant and has an explanation that shows how that piece of evidence supports the author's position.

Evidence and examples are NOT relevant AND/OR are not explained.

Sentence Structure

All sentences are well-constructed with varied structure.

Most sentences are well-constructed and there is some varied sentence structure in the essay.

Most sentences are well constructed, but there is no variation is structure.

Most sentences are not well-constructed or varied.

Closing paragraph

The conclusion is strong and leaves the reader solidly understanding the writer's position. Effective restatement of the position statement begins the closing paragraph.

The conclusion is recognizable. The author's position is restated within the first two sentences of the closing paragraph.

The author's position is restated within the closing paragraph, but not near the beginning.

There is no conclusion - the paper just ends.

WeekOne,DayOne

3minutes:HerobyMariahCarreyplayinginthebackground;attendance/announcements.

15minutes:Tointroducetheunitoncourageousaction,Iwillpresentapower‐pointcontainingclips

fromWizardofOz.Thepower‐pointwillshowhowScarecrow,TinMan,andLionthinkofthemselvesin

termsoflowself‐esteem,yetperformcourageousdeeds.We’llhaveabriefclassdiscussionasto

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whetherornotthesecharactersdotakecourageousaction,andwhetherornottheiractionsbeliewhat

theythinkofthemselves.

25minutes:I’llfurtherexplainspecificaspectsoftheunitoncourageousaction.Eachstudentwillstart

byreadinganovel(AppendixI—booksuggestionlist).Afterthebookshavebeenread,eachstudentwill

giveabook‐reportpresentation.Thecriteriaforchoosinganovelareasfollows:

• Thesettingofthenovelbeinacultureotherthanone’sown

• Becomingembroiledinasituationwhichrequiresatough,unselfishdecision,theprotagonist

exhibitscourageandtheabilitytothinkaboutthewellbeingofothers.

Wewilldiscusssettingupajournalwiththreesections

• adouble‐columnresponselogforreadingresponses,

• amulti‐purposesectionforwritingexercises,and

• apersonalvocabularylist.

Wewilldiscusstheuseofthereadingjournal—I’dlikethestudentstochoosepassagesfromtheir

novelswhichtheyenjoyorfindsignificantinonecolumn(moreonthislater)andmakecommentary

aboutwhatthepassagemeansintheother.Closereadingofapassagewouldinvolvehigh‐lightinga

wordorphraseinthepassageaskeytowhattheauthorintended.Lookforpassageswhichshow

• howthemaincharacterinthenovelmanifestcourageinauniquemanner;

• showwhythepassageisanexampleofdescriptiveorotherwisemeaningfulwriting.

Iwouldliketheresponsecolumntoexplainhoworwhythepassagespeakstothestudentpersonally.

Doesacharacter’sactionmeetexpectationsofcourage,ordoesitchallengeapreviouslyheldideaand

puttheneedforcourageinanewlight?Dothedescriptivepassagesmakeyoufeellikeyouarethere

experiencingtheprotagonist’sdilemma?Wewillbealternatingreadingandwritingresponses,and

thereshouldbevocabularywordsaddedeachweek.Wordsfromourclassescanbeincluded,orwords

fromthenovel,poemorshortstorythestudentthoughttolookup.Usedates;Iwillbecheckingthe

journalsweekly.

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15minutes:Asaclassdiscussion,thestudentsbegincreatinganextendeddefinitionofcourageous

action.Studentscomeuptotheboardandwritewhatisunderstoodatthistimetobethedefinitionof

courageousaction.Whenwearefinished,Iaskstudentstostartapageforcourageousactioncriteriain

theirjournalsasanopeningpage,sayingthisdefinitionwillbeexpandedinthedaysahead.

2minutes:Wegooverhomeworkagain—setupjournalwiththreepartsandfinishwritingoutcriteria

forthedefinitionofcourageand/orcourageousactiononthefirstpage.

DayTwo

5minutes:Attendance/Housekeeping(Seatingarrangementcouldstayincollaborativeformation;

twenty‐fourstudents—sixgroupsoffour,orfourgroupsofsixifroomistiny.)

25minutes:WedoanOpinionnaireopeningactivity.(AppendixII)(Smagorinsky,2007)Ipassout

examplesofheroesinthenewswhichtheclassreadsanddiscussesincollaborativegroups.Ihavea

sheetofdiscussionstarters:Dotheseyoungpeopledemonstratecourageornot?Arethecriteriafor

courageousactionamissinourmodernworld?Dotheseyoungpeoplemirrorourownideasofcourage?

Iscourageaplannedactivity?Canyouthinkofotherformsofcouragenotmentionedinthese

examples?Studentsdiscusstheexpandingcourageouscharacteristicsdefinition.Studentsmightdecide

heroesthinkintermsof

• other’swellbeing

• helpingothers—physicallyoremotionally

• situationinvolvesrisk

• deedseemedanaturalthingtodo

25minutes:Brieflyclarifyscheduleforreading—studentshavetwoweekstoreadnovelandshould

readabout20pg.perday.Animportantaspectofthereadingshouldbetofindaself‐effacingactionon

thepartoftheprotagonist—studentsshouldfindpassagestheyfeelexemplifythetopic.Therewillbe

otherclosereadingassignmentspertainingtoourwritinglessons.

Takeclasstocomputerlabtocheckoutabook.

5minutes:Discusshomework—finishwritingupjournalentryfortheexpandingdefinitionofcourage

and/orcourageousaction.Startreadingnovel.

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DayThree

3minutes:Attendance/housekeeping

20minutes:Discussgoalofreadingliteraturegenerallyandofreadingliteraturepertainingto

courageousactionspecificallyasaclass.Discussconnectionbetweenreadingandwriting.Whatcauses

abooktostandthetestoftime?Writefindingssuchasthefollowingontheboardandlaterinjournal.

Studentscouldnote

• connectionsbetweenliterarycharactersandtheirownlives

• wordshavethepowertoconnect—

• novels,shortstories,andpoemshavethepowertoconnect

• readingprovokesthought

• studentwritingprovokesthought

Noteclassshouldbereflectingonhowcourageousactiontakesplaceinthelivesofthecharacterswe

read about, in the lives of those around us, and in our own lives as journal entries. Class should be

thinking about how theprotagonist’s display of courage compareswith the listwe are generating of

courageousactions’characteristics.

30minutes:BeginawritingactivitycalledTellingScarStories.(Blasingame&Bushman,2005)This

activityispre‐assessmentofwritingskilllevel.)Passouthandoutwithempty(vague)bodyshapeand

tellstudentstomarkasignificantscarthattheyactuallyhaveonthechart.Theactivityistoimaginea

storythatrelateshowaspecificscarcametobeonacertainpartofthestudent’sownbody,butthey

caninventafictionalcharacterwiththisscariftheyprefer.HandoutaHillock‐likepageofideas:

QuestionsforStoryIdeas(Hillock,2007).Startstudentsthinkingabouttheneedfor

• setting

• characters

• action/resultsofaction

Brieflydiscussbrainstorming,creatingcharacters,beingprecisewithdetails,andimaginingyour

audience.(Allofthesewillbecoverinmoredepthastheclassprogresses.)Statethisshouldbe

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approximatelyatwopagestory.Statestudentscouldaddanelementofcourage—eithermain

character’sorrescuer’s.Tellthemtohavefun.(I’mthinkingtheclasswillhavemoretroublewith

editingandrewritingthanthispart.)KidsbeginbrainstormingandjotdownideasforScarStory.

2minutes:Discusshomework—keepreadingnovelandchoosearichdescriptivepassagetobringto

classfordiscussiontomorrow.I’mlookingforspecificexamplesofwhatacharacterlookslike,maybe

whatheorshedreamsabout.Whatdoesitlooklikewhereheorshelives,orpossiblyapassagewhich

describeswhatismarvelousabouttheoverallsetting?

DayFour

3minutes:Attendance/announcements

20minutes:Today’slessonisaboutchoosingdetailtodescribeacharacterorasetting—wereadone

person’spassagealoudanddiscussitsdescriptivequalitiesasaclassinordertoexemplifywhatweare

lookingfor.Thestudentscontinuebyreadingtheirpassagestooneanotheranddiscussfurtherin

groups.Statehowandorwhythedetailsarebringingthepassagetolifeandhelpingthereaderto

visualizethecharacterorsetting.Isacharacterquirky,honorable,and/orwhatisitthatmakesthis

persontick?Isthesettingasensualparadise,abarrenwasteland,orsomethingjustlikeyour

neighborhood?Howdoyouknow?

30minutes:Wepracticecritiquing.Itakethreestorieswrittenbylastyear’sclassandplacingoneata

timeontheoverhead,Ireadthestoriesaloud.Eachgroupistorankthestoriesfromtheonetheyliked

besttotheonetheylikeleastandsaywhy.Eachgroupwillsharesomeaspectoftheirreasoningwith

theclass—astudentfromeachgroupwritesthegroup’smostsignificantfindingsontheboard.Thislist

formscriteriaforthenarrativeformtobeusedwithScarStorywritingproject.Thestudentsmightstate

that,forexample,astoryshouldcontainthefollowingelements:

• Athreattothemaincharacter(andthiscouldbehisorherownbadidea).

• Thewritershowsdetail,butdoesn’ttellfacts,regardingtheprotagonist’semotion—arethey

mad,glad,orsad—howcanwetell?

• Isthereenoughdescriptivewritingforthereadertounderstandtheseemotions?

• Whatorwhereexactlyisthesetting?

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• Hasthewritercreatedaninterestingopening—ahooktograbthereader’sattention?

• Isthewriteraddressingthereader?Whoisthereader—aninterestedpeer.

• Aretheeventsfollowingalogicalorder?

• Isitrealistic?Dowelikeeventstoberealisticevenifthesettingisfanciful?(Talkabout

suspendingdisbelief.)

Againjotdownideasforstory,andifthereistime,beginbrainstormingScarStorywithpeers.Thinkof

specificdetailspertainingtostory—getsomedetailsdownaboutmaincharacterandsetting.(One

studenttypesupnarrativecriterionlist,andImakecopiesforclass.)

2minutes:Forhomeworkwritefirstdraftofstoryaboutascarsomewhereonyourbody.Doublespace

yourwork.Trynottomakethestorytoolong,becausewewillbelearningtocritiqueeachother’swork

inclass.Bringyourfirstdraftandyournoveltomorrow.AlsomakesurejournalsareuptodateforFriday

check—besureexpandeddefinitionisinplaceandfinishaddingcommentsaboutchosendescriptive

passages.

DayFive

3minutes:Attendance/announcements.

10minutes:Askstudentstotakeoutfirstdraftofstory.Talkaboutcritiquingother’swork:

• Studentshouldreadthestoryslowly,

• Seeifthenarrativeformcriteriadiscussedyesterdayareevident(listonboard),

• Politelyaskauthoriftheywouldmindifyoumarkspellingandpunctuationmistakes.

20minutes:Eachstudentexchangespaperwithpersonontheirleft.Eachpersonreadsanother’sstory

andchecksforthenarrativecriteria.Eachstudentmakesafewencouragingcommentsaboutwhatis

likeableaboutthestory,howtheyfeeltheessentialelementsareorarenotpresent,andstates

positivelyhowtheworkmightbeimproved.

20minutes:Inthediscussiongroupseachpersonworksonimprovingtheirownstory,butquietly

talkingaboutideaswithaneighborisallowed.Ifastudentfeelstheirstoryissufficientlyimproved,they

mayreadtheirnovelwhileotherswrite.Icirculatecheckinganddiscussingjournals(finishMonday).

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2minutes:HomeworkistopolishstorytohanditinonMonday,writeajournalentryaboutwhat

aspectoftheclasscritiquingsessionhelpedtheauthorimprovehisorherstory,andcontinuetoread

novel.

WeekTwo,DaySix

2minutes:Attendance/Housekeeping.Icollectstories.

15minutes:IintroduceMenuProject(Smagorinsky,2009)—whichrestaurantwillsuitetheQuinn

family’sneedsforagraduationpartybetter?Twenty‐fivefamilymemberswillbeattendingtheparty—

thiscreatesavarietyofneedsstartingwiththingssuchasdoestherestauranthaveaspecialroomfor

hostinglargeparties,ordoweevencare?Youwillworkingroups,butyou(asagroup)representa

cousinwithgoodintentionswhoistryingtobringbothsidesofthegraduate’sfamilytogether.The

cousinthinksthroughthelistofparticularitiesbelowwhileexaminingthemenusoftworestaurants—

whichIhavedistributedtoeachtable.Thecousinconsiderstheneedsoftheguestsasshestudieswhat

eachrestauranthastooffer.Thegoalisaninquiryproject—theplanningofthefestiveevent—thatwill

emphasizethenecessarystepsusedinthedecisionmaking.

Thehandoutfortheprojectstatesthefollowing:

• CompareandcontrastthemenusoftheBuckheadPizzaCo.at3350BufordDr.inBuford,GA

withthemenuoftheOliveGardenat3220BufordDr.inBuford,GA.

• Check—doestherestaurantprovideanampleselectionofcelebratoryfoodpossibilities?

• Costs—willthecostbeapproximately$35perperson?

• Airquality(smokinginrestaurant?)

• Choicesforpeoplewithdietaryrestrictions?

• Specialmenupreferences(beingvegan)?

• Accessibilityforpersonswithdisabilities?

Thegraduatehasalargefamilyandtwenty‐fiveofhisrelativesplusfriendswillbeinvited.Theyareas

follows:

• Mr.andMrs.Quinn(thegrandparents),age62—Mrs.Quinnhasdiabetes.

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• Mr.andMrs.Quinn(theparents),age43—Mr.Quinn’sbusinessisdoingpoorly.Mr.Quinn

wouldliketocelebratehisson’sgraduation,buthefeelsshyaboutaskingeachfamilytopay

theirownway.(You,thecousin,arenotshy.)

• FredQuinn,thegraduate,wouldliketoinviteafewfriends—theyhavevoraciousappetites.

• Mr.andMrs.Diamond(theothergrandparents),age65—Mr.QuinnwaswoundedinVietnam

andcan’tclimbstairs.

• TwoQuinnUnclepluswivesandsixQuinncousins—twoofwhomhaveasthma.

• ThreeDiamondUnclesandAunts,plusyou—onevegancousin.

Theobjectistoarriveatagroupconsensus—wherewillthememorableoccasionmostlikelybea

success?Outlineyouranswers.(Assignsomeonefromyourgrouptotakenotes.)Youarethecousinand

youhavetopresentthemotherofthegraduatewithyourideas—clearlystatedonpaper,intheformof

anoutline.Sheisnotfullyconvincedthishugepartyissuchagoodidea.Youaredoingyourbestto

convinceherthatitis.

30minutes:Groupsworkonproject.Itelltheclasswhentheyhavetenminuteslefttofinishpolishing

theiroutline.

2minutes:Itakeuptheoutlinesattheendofclasstocheck,makecomments,andmakecopiesforeach

groupmember(unlessweareagroovyHSwherekidsusecomputersinclass).Homeworkisreadnovel.

DaySeven

3minutes:Attendance/Housekeeping

10minutes:Wearecontinuingexerciseswhichleadtowardthegoaloflearningtowritemore

effectively.Talkabouthowwritingconnectsauthortoreader.Wearelearningtodowhatauthorsdo—

generatedetailtopullthereaderinanddiscusshowstudentsappreciatethisasthereader.Thisweek

wearegoingtotellorwriteanotherstory.Todaywearegoingtopracticesearchingourmindfordetail

toaccuratelyportraywhatwehaveinmindrelating.Ihavebroughtseveralhuge,SouthGeorgia

pineconestoclassandputoneinfrontofeachcollaborativegroup.(Hillocks,2007)

30minutes:InthisFishingforDetailexercise,theobjectistofindplentyofspecificsworthbringingto

eachother’snotice—thismightincludedetailsaboutcolor,seeds,prickliness,andsize—whatever

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strikesyouasuniqueandpiquesyouinterest.Therearealotmorecolorsthan“brown”tobenoted.

Thinkaboutandwritedownfindingsindividuallyforfifteenminutes,andthenwewilldiscussour

findingsasaclass.

10minutes:Discussbeingmorespecificwhenfindingvoice—notebeingpresentinthemoment.

Explainhowanindividualfocusesondetailwhentellingastory.Whatdostudentssaytotheirbest

friendorcousin,whentheywanttheotherpersontounderstandwhathappenedatakeyevent?Think

abouthowyoumightknowwhathappened,butrealizethatyouarewritingtoanaudiencewhodoes

not,soyouhavetogivethemdetail.Tomorrowwewilldiscussspecificsanduselanguagethatdoesnot

needtobealistofadjectives.

2minutes:Homework:Finishingupnovel,andbringinaninterestingdescriptivepassagefor

discussion.Bethinkingaboutepisodesfromchildhoodthatyoumightliketosharewiththeclassasnext

writingproject.Makevocabularyentrywithwordslikevoiceandaudience.

DayEight

3minutes:Attendance/housekeeping.IgivebackScarstory,withforwardlookingcomments.

20minutes:Todaywestartbygeneratingideasforournextstory.Thisonewillbeanymemorable

episodefromchildhood.(Hillocks,2007)Ihaveproducedalist.Iaskstudentstosharetheirideas,and

wemakealongerlistofpotentialstoriesontheboard.

• Humorous—learningtocookasabrowniescout—puttingsaltinthecocoainsteadofsugar.

• Scary—loosingGrandmotherinthetrainstation.

• Ostracizing—fightingintheschoolyard

• Spooky—eventsoncampingtrip,etc.

• Zany—familymemberwhoidiosyncraticbehavioramusedallpartiesconcerned

• Afavoritepet,sport,orholidayandreasonswhy—whathappened?

• Anentertainingwildlifeinthegarbagestory

Studentsdiscussincollaborativegroupswhichstorythey’dliketowrite,andvoteonwhichstorythey’d

likemetowrite.Classbrainstormsepisodesfrompersonalpast.

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10minutes:Notetheimportanceofwordchoiceagain—adjectivesnottheonlywaytocreatea

description—thinkofalternatives.

• Languageofaction—verbs

• Languageofpeopleandplace—nouns

• Sensoryimpressionimportant

• Responsesofbodytoemotionsimportant

• Figurativelanguage—greattool

• Dialogue(butwewon’tusethatjustyet).

• Stylehelpscreatemoodorhumor.

20minutes:Trytomakereader—writerconnection.Bringoutselectedpassagesfromnovels.Read

passagestoeachotheringroups,andstatewhyorhowpassageistelling,descriptive,orotherwisenote

worthy—whatexactlydidyoufindsointerestingaboutit?Eachgroupsharessomethingwithclass—

eitheradescriptivepassagefavoredinthegrouporsomethingtoaddtoourextendeddefinition.

2minutes:Homework:Writefirstdraftofstories.Makesureyourreadinglogincludeswhyyouliked

thepassageyouselectedandupdatedexpandingdefinition.

DayNine


10minutes:Discusscontinuingtowriteafictionalaccountofachildhoodevent,whilepossiblyadding

anelementofcourageousaction.Howdidthecharactercontrol,orfailtocontrol,fearsduringthe

episode?Reflectonyourowncourageinthissituation.(Itcanbehumorouslypresented.)Formyour

ideabylookingatthecriteriainthedefinitionofcourageousaction.

20minutes:Incollaborativegroups,discussaddinganelementofcontrollingfear.Mightthecourageous

decisionhavehadanostracizingeffect?Couldthiselementbeaddedtocurrentstory?Brainstorm,and

continuehoningspecifics.

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20minutes:Spendlast15minutescritiquingeachother’slateststory—passittotheright,etc.

Commentpolitelyonwhatyoulikeaboutthestoryandoverallwaysitmightbeimproved.

2minutes:Continueworkingonstoryforhomework.Updatejournalforweeklycheck.

DayTen


10minutes:PassaroundsheetforsigningupforpresentationswhichstartnextWednesday—three

peopleadayforeightdaysinarow.(Postlist).Askthestudentstocreateanartisticrepresentationona

posterboard—paintorgluesomethingrepresentative—butitshouldbeavisualrepresentation.Include

abriefoutlineofthebasicstoryandreflectivepointsonyourposter.(Youcanusethistogiveyour

presentation.)Awellformulatedbookreviewpresentationcontainsthefollowing:

• Statethetitleandauthorofthebook.

• Giveabriefhook,notasummaryoftheentireplot.

• Donottogiveawayanyexcitingparts.

• Statewhetherornotyoulikedthebookandwhy.

• Mentionspecificsabouttheauthor’sstylethatyouliked(ornot).

• Mentionspecificsaboutthecharacters.

• Mentionspecificsaboutthesettingthatintriguedyou.

• Talkaboutthemaincharacter’sculture,ordividedculture.

• Includewarrantsthatexplaintheprotagonist’scourage(lessonbelow)

• Recommend(ornot)thenoveltoyourclassmates.

Inordertoincludeoneortwospecificwarrantsabouttheprotagonist’scourage,wewilltolearnmore

abouthowtocreatethemshortly.Thepresentationoutlineincludingseveralwarrantshigh‐lightingthe

protagonistscourageshouldcompriseabouttwopages,gluedtoaposterboard,anddecorated.The

presentationshouldtakeaboutsevenminutes.Wearegoingtomounttheposterboardsonthewall.

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20minutes:Nowwearegoingtodoanactivitytoprepareforthinkinganalyticallyaboutthenovelsand

theprotagonist’scourage.(Smagorinsky,2009)Pairoffintwo’swiththepersontoyourleft.Thetaskat

handistochooseasetofballplayers,songswriters,makeupbrands,pizzacompanies,videogames,or

jeans—somethingyou’rearefamiliarwith—togeneratepointsofcomparisonwithyourpartner,andin

about20minuteswewillstartsharingthefindingswiththeclass.Discusswhatyouseeasthestrengths

oftheballplayers,ballteams,videogames,etc.andwhatyouseeastheweaknesses.Giveaclear

reasonwhyyouhavedecidedtheoneispreferable,superior,ormoredesirablethantheother.Thisis

calledawarrant—itconsistsofaclaim,anexample,andtheproof.Wegenerateseveralexamplesasa

class.(Forexample:ThesuperiorityofJerseyMike’spizzaoverDomino’sisevidentinthetoppings,

because….andstateanactualcomparisonbetweenJerseyMike’spizzaandDomino’s,suchas…Jersey

Mike’stoppingarefresherandmoreabundantthanDomino’s.)

20minutes:Sharefindings—eachpairselectsarepresentative.

2minutes:Homeworkispolishstory(doublespacethewriting),andfinishnovel.

WeekThree,DayEleven

3minutes:Attendance/Housekeeping(Icollectuncheckedjournals.)

20minutes:Todaywearegoingtopracticeimprovingthequalityofwrittensentences.Getoutseveral

differentcolormarkersandthecurrentstory.Usingdifferentcolorsrespectively,studentsfindthe

followingontheirownpaper:

• Beverbs—be,being,been,am,are,was,were,is.Findthesewordsandthenreviseatleasthalf

ofthem—useinterestingactionverbsinstead—youwillprobablyhavetorearrangethewhole

sentence—butyouwillprobablyliketheresult.

• Varyyoursentencelength.Underlineeachsentenceusingtwocolors—firstone,thentheother,

overandover,underliningseveralparagraphs.Whenyouhavedonethis,youshouldbeableto

seewhetherornotyoursentencelengthsarevaried—somesentencesshouldbeshortand

somelong.Considerrevisingreallylongsentencesintotwosentences.Checkreallyshort

sentencesforasubjectandaverb.

• Varythebeginningofyoursentences.Firstboxthebeginningwordofeachsentence.Doalotof

yoursentencesstartwiththesameword,ordoyouseeapatternofrepeatedwords?(When,

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So,Then,orMy)Whenyoumakeyourrevisionstrydoingawaywiththesewords,oratleast

addmorevariety.

• Unnecessarywordsinsentences:very,get,got,orso—findthemandreplacethemwithamore

vividword.

• Findslangorcontractionsandreplacethesewords.

30minutes:Forthenextthirtyminutesworkonrevisingpaper.Mentionthisiswhatauthorsdo—

revise,revise,andrevise,becausewritingisafluidprocess.Quiettalkingwhilerevisingispermitted.I

circulateandcheckjournalsoranswerquestions.

2minutes:Homeworkistopolishpaperand/orstartaroughdraftofyourpresentation.Mentionwho

isupforpresentationsonWednesdayandthankthemforvolunteeringtogofirst.

DayTwelve

3minutes:Attendance/HousekeepingCollectstories.

30minutes:AgainItalkabouttherelationshipbetweenwarrantsandthebookpresentations,clarify

oncemorethatthisisaninquiryprojectintothetopicofcourageousaction—whatdowethinkabout

courageousactiongenerally?Theobjectiveasaclassistoshowhowawidevarietyofindividuals

demonstratecourage.Theobjectasanindividualistocompareyourcharacterwithourexpandedlistof

whatconstitutescourage,makeadecisionaboutwhattypeofcouragetheprotagonistdisplaysand

sharethedetails.Firstofall,doyouthinkyourprotagonistshowscourage?Howcouldyouproveit?We

createafewexamplesofwarrantsontheboardasaclass.Fornowthinkupademonstrationofcourage

andcharacterizethatactionaccordingtoonecriteriononthelist.Ifyoufindmorethanonecriterion

youlike,makeseveralwarrantsandrankyourpoints.Awarrantis—aclaim,followedbyanexample

thatprovidesevidence,andastatedcriterionfromthelistinaphrasestartingwithawordthatmeans

because.Otherwordsorphrasesthatcouldbeusedmightincludedueto,inlightof,inthat,owingto,

since,orthough.Anexamplemightbe,Charlesshowedcouragewhenhe…(action&/ordeed),because

he…(statementfromthelistdefiningcourageousaction).Weusecoloredmarkersontheboardto

accenteachseparatepartofthewarrantandtomakeitespeciallyclear.Wehavealessonon

punctuatingsubordinateclauses.Studentspracticecreatingwarrantsintheirgroupsforafewminutes.

(Smagorinsky,2009)

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20minutes:Duringthepresentationweekwearegoingtodoapoetrysegment.Wewillspendtwenty

minutesadayexploringhowspecificdetailscreatethepoem.Thefocuswillcontinuetobeonlearning

torecognizeanduseeffective,descriptivelanguage.IshowtheclassafewYouTubesegmentsofShel

Silverstein’s“SarahCynthiaSylviaStout”whowouldnottakethegarbageout,“TheCrocodile’s

Toothache,”and“JimmyJetandhisTVset,”(orjustfindthesepoemsonlineandputthemontheover

head).I’mtryingthenon‐intimidatingapproachtopoetry,whileusingitasatooltoshowthatlearning

carefulwordselectionisimportanttoallwritingandespeciallynecessaryincreatingapoem.Between

eachofthesepoemswewilldiscusshowSilversteinwasusinglanguage.Dohiswordsappealtothe

senses?Howdoesheaddressand/orhookthereader?Whatstrategiesdoesheappeartohavebeen

usinginhiswordplay?Bytheendofthepresentation/poetryweek,Iwillexpecteveryonetohave

writtenthreepoemsintheirjournalwhichwewillstartinclassandonecompletelyoriginalpoem.We’ll

keepitsimpleandtrytohavefun.(Blasingame&Bushman,2005)

2minutes:Homework:Workonpresentations,andwritearesponseinyourreadingjournalabout

somethingthatyousawinanewlighttodaywithregardtooneofShelSilverstein’spoems.Namethe

poem,trytoquotethelinethatseemedsignificant,andsayhoworwhythelinestoodouttoday.

DayThirteen


20minutes:IreadfromBehindtheWheel:PoemsaboutdrivingbyJanetWong.Someareprosepoems.

Wediscusshowauthoruseslanguage,rhythmorbeat,andrhymingornotrhymingwords.Mainrule—

rhymeorrhythmshouldfeelpoetictoauthor.Wediscusssimilesandtogetherasaclasswespendafew

minutesfindinginterestingsimiles.Ingroups,thestudentsnotetheirfavoritesimileinthereading

journalanddiscussaresponse—eachstudentshouldwritedownasimileortwotheylikedandbe

preparedtowritearesponse.

30minutes:Threestudentsgivepresentations.(I’mthinkingtheywillbe7—8minuteseach.)

2minutes:Homeworkistowritearesponseaboutthesimileyouchose—whatstruckyouaboutit?

DayFourteen


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25minutes:Ishowtheclass“SwanShadow”byJ.Hollander.Wetalkaboutwhatthememeansand

puttingpoemsintointerestingshapesthataresomehowconnectedtothattheme.IalsoreadWilliam

CarlosWilliams’“TheFourthofJuly.”Wetalkaboutsuggestiveimagery.IreadfromADimeaDozenby

NikkiGrimes.Studentslistenandwritedownsomethingtheyfoundinterestingaboutthemeorimagery.

Discusshowfigurativelanguagecomesintoplay.

25minutes:Threekidsgivepresentations.

2minutes:Homeworkistocontinueworkingonpresentations,poetryresponses,andvocab.list.Bring

inasongthatcanbeusedtonoterhythm,theme,imagery,etc.inpoetry.

DayFifteen


25minutes:Ingroups,classmemberstaketurnsreadingsongselectionsandgroupstalkabouthow

creatingsongsandpoetryisthesamething—poetryisallaboutpersonalchoice.

25minutes:Severalkidsgivebookpresentations.

2minutes:Homeworkisupdatevocabularyjournalwiththelanguageofpoetry;includewordssuchas

figurativelanguage,rhythm,rhyme,simile,andsuggestiveimagery,etc.Workonpresentationand/or

startgeneratingideasforanoriginalpoem.

WeekFour,DaySixteen


25minutes:Todaywelookat“Women”byAliceWalkerandtalkaboutrecognizingassonance,

understandingwhysounddevicesemphasizeanidea,andseehowWalkerusedmetaphorstojuxtapose

ideas.Eachstudentchoosesafewlinestocommentonforhomework.

25minutes:Threestudentspresent.

2minutes:Homeworkistoupdatevocabularypage;writearesponsepertainingtoaportionof

“Women,”andbegincreatinganoriginalpoem.

DaySeventeen

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30minutes:Wefocusonhowpoetrydistillsideastodaywithafoundpoem.Ishowafoundpoemon

theoverheadcreatedfromabookwhichstudentshavepreviouslyread—TheOutsidersbyS.E.Hinton.

Johnny

Scaredofhisownshadow

Sixteen

Haditawfulroughathome,awfulrough(etc.)

WeplancreatingafoundpoemfromaworkthestudentsarefamiliarwithoutoftheLAtextbook.

Workingincollaborativegroups,eachtablecreatesafoundpoembychoosingastorytheclassalready

readinapreviousunitandlettingthecreativejuicesflow.Eachgroupreadstheirpoemaloudafter

aboutfifteenminutes.

20minutes:Twoorthreekidspresent,dependingonthetime.

2minutes:Createafoundpoemofyourownfromyournovelforhomework.

DayEighteen


30minutes:Talkabouthowawriterisnotpassive.Awritermustdiscernwhatthereaderneedsto

know—journalist’sWquestionsarehelpful:Whodidwhat,whendidithappen,wheredidithappen,

whydidithappen,andhowdidithappen?Writinginallformsisaboutanalyzingwhatthereaderneeds

toknow,andfiguringoutaninterestingwaytopasstheinformationon.Todaywearegoingtocreate

Haikupoems.Wediscusselements.IshowHaikupoemsfrompreviousclasses.TraditionallyHaiku

poemscontainanelementofnature,andthestudentscanusethistospringboardintoHaikuwriting.

Talkincollaborativegroups.Ihelpwithsomeideas—abeautifulcampingspot,atriptothelake,and/or

anoutdoorsportsevent.Eachpersoncreatestheirown,buttheycandiscussandbrainstormideasto

getstarted.

20minutes:Severalstudentspresent.

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2minutes:Homework:FinishtheHaiku.WriteelementsofHaikuuponvocabularypage.

DayNineteen


30minutes:Todaywearegoingtocreateaformulapoem.TheformulaisC+C+WD+E=P.Ishowwork

frompreviousstudents.Thelettersstandforcomparisonpluscomparisonpluswilddreamplusemotion

equalspoem.Agoodplacetobeginmightbetofocusonsomeoneyouadmireorlovesuchasaclose

relative.Againeachclassmembercreateshisorherown,butthestudentscandiscussideasasthey

work.Thejobofawriteristoeffectivelysequenceideas.

20minutes:Studentspresent.

2minutes:Homeworkispolishpoem.

DayTwenty


25minutes:Studentspresentationscomefirstincasewehavegottenbehind—theyfinishup.

25minutes:IreadFrost’s“RoadLessTraveledBy”—putitonoverhead.Wediscusspoemasaclass

emphasizingnewvocabulary.IreadpoemswrittenbyteenboysfromYouHearMe?editedbyBetsy

Franco.

2minutes:Homework:Writeawhollyoriginalpoem,andbringittoclasstoshareonMonday.

WeekFive,DayTwenty‐one


15minutes:Theclassspendsafewminutesreadingpoemsaloud—studentspostpoemsonbulletin

board.

35minutes:Webeginwatchingamovie,Coraline(N.Gaiman’snovel,JimBurton’smovie,2008)We

watchthismoviefortwoclassperiods(andIeditafewpartstomakeitfitthetimeslot).

2minutes:Homework:Nextreading—ashortstory,”TheManagementofGrief”byBharatiMukherjee.

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DayTwenty‐two


50minutes:WewatchimportantpartsofCoraline.

2minutes:Homework:Pickacharacterfromthemovieandusingallthewritingskillsyouhave

acquiredsofar,analyzingwhetherornotthechosencharacteriscourageous.Thepapershouldbea

pageortwolong.

DayTwenty‐three


25minutes:Getoutessay.Studentsworkingingroups—passpaperacrosstable,etc.Studentsread,

edit,andcommentoneachother’spaper.

25minutes:Studentspolishtheirownpaper,butcontinuetodiscussproblemsifneedbe.

2minutes:Homework:Finishpolishingessayandfinishreadingshortstory,andselectapassagefrom

thistaleconcerningtherepercussionsofterrorismthatshowsacharactermanifestingcourage.

DayTwenty‐four

3minutes:Attendance/HousekeepingHandinstories.

15minutes:Ourfinalprojectbegins—aresearchprojectthatalsoutilizesthepersuasiveskillswehave

beenacquiringandhasreallifeapplicationswhichwediscuss.(Blasingame&Bushman,2005)Pickareal

personwhomyouadmire(thiscanbearelative).Webrainstormtopicsasaclass.Discussconducting

researcheitherwithaninterview,theinternet,oralibrarybook(oracombination).

15minutes:Igivelessononconductinganinterview.Asaclasswebrainstorminterviewquestions.

20minutes:Classpracticesconductinginterviewsingroups.

2minutes:Homeworkistochooseapersontowriteaboutandplanyourpaper—thinkabouttypeof

research.Studentswillbepersuadingmeofwhetherornotthispersonhascourage.

DayTwenty‐five

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3minutes:Attendance/housekeeping

20minutes:Discussnuancesofwritingthepersuasiveessayusinganoutline.Discusstakingnotesand

creatingcategoriesofnotecardsinordertoformanoutline.Discusslookingatgroupsoffactsinorder

tocreateheadingsandorparagraphs,etc.

30minutes:Classgoestothelibrarytolistentothemedia‐specialistgivetipsonresearch.Begin

conductingresearch.

2minutes:Homework:Startresearch.Conductinterview(canbephoneinterview)ifyouarewriting

uparelative.Bring4by5cardstoclass.

WeekSix,DayTwenty‐six


20minutes:Discussquietcouragein“ManagementofGrief.”

30minutes:Startwatchingfilm—FindingForrester(2000)—Dir.GusVanSant.

2minutes:Homework:Workonoutline.

DayTwenty‐seven


20minutes:Studentsaskquestionsaboutpaper.Discussoutlineamongstthemselvesingroups.Italk

aboutgoodhooksandgoodending.

30minutes:Watchfilm

2minutes:Homework:workonfirstdraftofpersuasiveessay.

DayTwenty‐eight

5minutes:Attendance/Housekeeping.Studentscanaskquestionsaboutpaper.

25minutes:Watchfilm.

25minutes:Talkaboutfilm.Askquestionsaboutpaper.

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2minutes:Homeworkisfinishpaper.

DayTwenty‐nine


10minutes:Discussusingwarrantsthatpointoutcourageorcourageousaction—notequietcourage.I

collectjournals.Reviewpeereditingskills.

20minutes:Peeredit.Passpapertorightetc.Makepolitesuggestionsaboutpaperasawhole,

organization,sentencequality,checkintroductionsandending,andwarrantquality.

20minutes:Beginfinalcopyofpaper.

2minutes:Homeworkispolishpaper.

DayThirty

3minutes:Attendance/Housekeeping.Collectpapers.

50minutes:Finishwatchingmovie.

MerryChristmas!

Resources:

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Blasingame,J.&Bushman,J.H.(2005).NJ:PearsonEducation,Inc.

Hillocks,G.(2007).NarrativeWriting.NH:Heinemann

House,Jeff.(2006).WritingisDialogue.Maine:Christopher‐Gordon,Pub.

Smagorinsky,Peter.(2009).DynamicsofwritingInstruction.(Anonlinepublication)

Smagorinsky,Peter.(2008).TeachingEnglishbyDesign.NewHampshire:Heinemann.

AppendixI

BooklistforCourageousAction

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Borland,H.(1963).WhenLegendsDie.NY:RandomHouse

Conway,J.K.(1989).RoadfromCoorain.NY:RandonHouse

Durbin,W.(1998).TheBrokenBlade.NY:YearlingPress

Ellis,D.(2002).TheBreadwinner.Toronto:Douglas&McIntyre

Levintin,S.(1988).TheReturn.NY:BallantineBooks

Martel,Y.(2001).LifeofPi.FL:Hardcourt

Mortenson,G.(2006).ThreeCupsofTea.NY:PenguinBooks

Philbrick,R.(1993).FreaktheMighty.NY:ScholasticInc.

Resau,L.(2007).RedGlass.NY:Delacorte/RandonHouse

Robinson,J.&Duckett,A.(2003).INeverHadItMade:AnAutobiographyofJackieRobinson.

NY:HarperCollins

Robinson,R.(1990).IronHorse:LouGehriginisTime.NY:HarperCollins

Spellini,J.(2007).Love,StarGirl.NY:HarperCollins

Spellini,J.(2004).Wringer.NY:HarperCollins

Winkler,H.&Olive,L.(2003)IGoa“D”inSalami.NY:Grosset

AppendixII

HeroesintheNews

NeighborSavesFourfromBurningHouse

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Lisa Thomson of Ajax, N.C. woke up at about 4:30 am and went to close her bedroom window. While doing so, she looked out across the street and noticed a neighbor's deck on fire. The fire was traveling up the railings of the deck and was threatening the house. She called 911 and ran over, trying to wake up the occupants. Because of the distance, she lost her 911 call. She rang the doorbell, pounded on the walls and door, and finally a woman came to the door, quite startled. Lisa quickly told her to wake everyone up as there was a fire, ran in the house, called 911, and everyone got out. The fire trucks arrived and quickly doused the fire, which had not yet spread to the frame of the home.

Adonis Bell, 11, saves entire family from house fire

Adonis Bell, 11, of the Riverdale community of Chicago's west side, saved his entire family from a fire that broke out in grandmother Roseland's house at about 3 am, August 19, 2009. Heavy smoke filled the kitchen. Adonis was the only one to wake up, apparently because a fan was blowing the smoke into his room. He woke up his mother and carried a 2-year-old friend to the family out safely. He then ran back into the house to make sure his aunt got out. All seven in the home, as a result, got out safely. Adonis later said, “I knew what to do. A fireman came to our school ... Get myself and everybody out. He told us not to grab any stuff. Just get out.” And that's exactly what Adonis did. I wanted to do something for them."

Jogger Tamara Frinak saves drowning man in Wausau, Wisconsin River

Tamara Frinak, a chaplain with the Aspirus Hospital in Wausau, Wisconsin, was jogging at 5:30 am on August 14, 2009 through downtown when she heard a man screaming for help. The man, Michael L. Stoffel, 57, was caught in the fast moving Wisconsin River in this part of town and was bobbing up and down. There was a heavy rain at the time and he could not climb up the slippery concrete wall. Frinak ran over, but could not reach him. She tore off her turtle-neck shirt and used it to drag the man more than 50 ft. to a piece of metal sticking out of the wall, something he could hold on to. Frinak then ran to get help. Two nurses and a male patient from a nearby clinic ran out and the patient brought a shower curtain from the clinic with him. Frinak and the patient gave Stoffel the shower curtain and everyone held on to everyone else. Firefighters arrived and took over. Stoffel was not hurt seriously. Expressing her appreciation for first responders, Frinak said, "It humbles you. This is what I did today, but they do this every day." (081509)

High school Football Player Wrestles Loaded Gun from 14 year Old Girl in School Bus

Kaleb Eulls, a 6 ft 255-pound high school football playing senior wrestled a loaded gun from a 14 year old girl as she boarded the school bus and pulled it out of her handbag on September 1,

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2009. He was already seated in the bus and taking a short nap, when one of his two sisters on the bus shook him to wake him up. As the 14 year old girl boarded, she pulled the semi-automatic pistol out of her handbag. The school bus video shows students rushing to exit the bus from the front and back after she drew it. Kaleb approached her head-on and then tackled her and wrestled the gun from her hand.

AHeroicTrainRide

Ricks,22,astudentattheDelawareTech/CommunityCollegetriedtoremaincalm,whileattemptingtodislodgeGriffin(age60)’scarofftherailroadties.Nomovementoccurred.Nearbystudentsjoinedhim,

puttingtheirweightintopushingGriffin’scarforward—stillnomovementoccurred.Suddenlythegroundbegantoshake,lightsbegantoflash,andtherailroadgatesdropped.Griffinfroze.Ricks,seeingherstunnedface,reactedquicklyandpulledGriffinfromthecar.Momentslateratrain,breaks

screeching,plowedintohercar,whiletheyallwatchedinhorror.Griffinhadbeenyankedtosafety,buthercarwasdemolished.ThestudentsthenwentsofarastoorganizeanadvertizingeventtogetthecommunitybehindhelpingGriffingetanothercar.Thanksguys!

HeroicMetalofHonor

Agroupofsoldiersbecomessurroundedbyenemyforces.Theydecidetofighttothelastman,becausetheydonotwanttoabandonthewounded.Agroupoflessexperiencedsoldiers(ie:kitchenhelp)crawlontheirbelliestowardthetrappedmen.Theyareoutnumberedandoutgunnedbytheenemyforces,

butmanagetocarveanescaperouteforthetrappedmen.Laterthegovernmenthonorsthemenwhohadbeentrapped.(Thegovernmentdoesnothonorthesoldierswhohelpedthemescapecertaindeath.)

www.npr.org

http://www.talkingproud.us/CultureEverydayHeroes.htm

www.rd.com

The Rationale: The theme of courage. courage as the · 2017. 9. 7. · The Rationale: The theme of courage. The rational for my selection of courage as the theme for a 9th grade unit

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