Week Four Plans

Unit Cover Page

Unit Title: Peace and War

Grade Levels:11^th/12^th grade

Subject/Topic Areas: Contemporary Literature

Key Words: war, critical lens, student choice,

Time Frame: 3 weeks

School District: Westerville City Schools

School: Westerville Central High School

Brief Summary of Unit (including curricular context and unit goals):

In this unit we’ll be studying contemporary wars and the literature that has been written about them, or in response to them.  This unit follows a unit on Women, Men and Relationships building on what students know about relationships and applying it to society at larger.  After this unit we’ll be moving into Utopia/Dystopia, which will focus on what happens when societies try to create a more perfect world after war has happened.  Our focus novel for this unit will be The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien and our focus concept deals with analyzing texts through various critical lenses.  I’ve structured this unit such that we’ll be generally moving forward in time with our texts (starting with the World Wars and moving up through the War on Terror) and breaking them down in different ways to study them.  There is the opportunity for lots of student choice in this unit.  I’ve arranged it so that each student will write an analytical paper, do in-class assignments, and then choose from a variety of different projects to get the rest of their points for the unit.  I think it’s important students learn to analyze texts based on tried and true methods that will be used in college, but to also be given the opportunity to complete projects of their choice that will play to their strengths and allow them to make and express there own understandings of the unit.

Enduring Understandings:

• Great literature provides rich and timeless insight into the key themes, dilemmas and challenges of human existence.
• Every text is made up of smaller elements that help to contribute to the text’s overall meaning.  There are many methods for dissecting a text to determine the overall meaning.

Essential Questions:

• How can the study of genres and literary periods contribute to enjoyment of literature and to understanding commonalities in human experiences?
• How do different characters respond to and handle conflict and uncertainty?
• How do looking at texts through different lenses affect our understanding of a text’s meaning?

Subject Area Contemporary Literature

Title of unit (of which this lesson is a part) Peace & War

Lesson Title Monday:  Opening & Saving Private Ryan Image Collection

Purpose/Goals	Since today is the beginning of a new unit, I’ll be explaining to students what is expected of them throughout this unit.  Since there are some unit long projects, we’ll briefly be going over those so students can choose what they want to do. The class will also be watching Saving Private Ryan and collecting images from the movie.  This serves to keep them engaged with the film, and provide material for the poems we’ll be writing on Wednesday.
Objectives	I can: Choose appropriate projects that play to my strengths Identify and record moving and thought-provoking images in a text
National and Ohio Standards	Reading Applications: Literary Text Standard 2.  Analyze the historical, social and cultural context of setting. 3.  Explain how voice and narrator affect the characterization, plot and credibility. 4.  Evaluate an author’s use of point of view in a literary text. Writing Process Standard 1.  Generate writing ideas through discussions with others and from printed material, and keep a list of writing ideas.
Assessment
	Formative Students will be collecting images throughout the movie.  I’ll be collecting this sheet at the end of the block to check on how they’re processing and engaging with the movie.
Community Knowledge and Experience	Throughout this unit students will be asked to examine their own experiences with war and conflict and how it has affect them. In comparison to how it affects the characters and societies we encounter in the texts.
Procedures including: • Opening • Activities • Closure	Opening: 15 minutes Welcome students back from Spring Break.  Introduce any new students (Boris). Hand out unit sheets and explain Peace and War Unit. Hand out Choice Projects sheet and Project Contract and explain how these will work.  Ask for questions or clarification. Activities: Tell students they’ll be collecting and writing down moving, thought provoking, startling, or interesting images from Saving Private Ryan for an assignment they’ll get on Wednesday after finishing the movie.  I’ll be collecting this sheet at the end of the block. Watch Saving Private Ryan. During the movie I’ll be conferencing with students about the papers they turned in for the last unit. Closing: Remind students to put names on their image collection sheets and turn them into the tray.
Resources	Unit Explanation sheet Choice Project Sheet Project Contract Saving Private Ryan Equipment to show movie Pencil/paper Access to Turnitin.com and Progress Book for conferences
Applications, Connections, Extensions	Students are collecting images for a poem that we will write on Wednesday.  One of the focuses of this unit is on the details of a text, and how they help to make up the whole.  Each reading we do will help to build on this knowledge.
Inclusive Instruction	The nature of the student choice projects is inclusive.  Students are able to choose from an assortment of project options in order to play to their strengths and demonstrate their understanding in the best way that makes sense to them. Students will also be collecting images that are meaningful or thought-provoking to them, allowing them to build poem that speaks to them about the movie.

Subject Area Contemporary Literature

Title of unit (of which this lesson is a part) Peace & War

Lesson Title Tuesday:  Saving Private Ryan Image Collection

Purpose/Goals	The class will be watching Saving Private Ryan and collecting images from the movie.  This serves to keep them engaged with the film, and provide material for the poems we’ll be writing on Wednesday.
Objectives	I can: Identify and record moving and thought-provoking images in a text
National and Ohio Standards	Reading Applications: Literary Text Standard 2.  Analyze the historical, social and cultural context of setting. 3.  Explain how voice and narrator affect the characterization, plot and credibility. 4.  Evaluate an author’s use of point of view in a literary text. Writing Process Standard 1.  Generate writing ideas through discussions with others and from printed material, and keep a list of writing ideas.
Assessment
	Formative Students will be collecting images throughout the movie.  I’ll be collecting this sheet at the end of the block to check on how they’re processing and engaging with the movie.
Community Knowledge and Experience	Throughout this unit students will be asked to examine their own experiences with war and conflict and how it has affect them. In comparison to how it affects the characters and societies we encounter in the texts.
Procedures including: • Opening • Activities • Closure	Opening: Pass back image collection sheets Quickly review what has happened in the movie so far.  Ask students to summarize. Activities: Finish watching Saving Private Ryan. During the movie I’ll be conferencing with students about the papers they turned in for the last unit. Closing: Remind students to put names on their image collection sheets and turn them into the tray.
Resources	Saving Private Ryan Equipment to show movie Pencil/paper Image Collection Sheet Access to Turnitin.com and Progress Book for conferences
Applications, Connections, Extensions	Students are collecting images for a poem that we will write on Wednesday.  One of the focuses of this unit is on the details of a text, and how they help to make up the whole.  Each reading we do will help to build on this knowledge.
Inclusive Instruction	The nature of the student choice projects is inclusive.  Students are able to choose from an assortment of project options in order to play to their strengths and demonstrate their understanding in the best way that makes sense to them. Students will also be collecting images that are meaningful or thought-provoking to them, allowing them to build poem that speaks to them about the movie.

Subject Area Contemporary Literature

Title of unit (of which this lesson is a part) Peace & War

Lesson Title Wednesday:  SPR Image Poem; New Critical Lens; Poem Threading

Purpose/Goals	The class will have watched Saving Private Ryan and collected images from the movie.  This provided them with material for the poems we’re writing today. We will also be going over how to analyze a text through the New Critical Lens and reading through “Life at War” for practice with strategies students can use to analyze texts in this way.
Objectives	I can: Create a poem from images I have collected. Explain the assumptions and strategies for analyzing a text through the new critical lens. Identify meaningful elements in a text.
National and Ohio Standards	Reading Process: Concepts of Print, Comprehension Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies Standard 1.  Apply reading comprehension strategies, including making predictions, comparing and contrasting, recalling and summarizing and making inferences and drawing conclusions. Reading Applications: Literary Text Standard 1.  Compare and contrast motivations and reactions of literary characters confronting similar conflicts (e.g., individual vs. nature, freedom vs. responsibility, individual vs. society), using specific examples of characters’ thoughts, words and actions. 2.  Analyze the historical, social and cultural context of setting. 3.  Explain how voice and narrator affect the characterization, plot and credibility. 4.  Evaluate an author’s use of point of view in a literary text. 5.  Analyze variations of universal themes in literary texts. 8.  Evaluate ways authors develop point of view and style to achieve specific rhetorical and aesthetic purposes (e.g., through use of figurative language irony, tone, diction, imagery, symbolism and sounds of language), citing specific examples from text to support analysis. Writing Process Standard 1.  Generate writing ideas through discussions with others and from printed material, and keep a list of writing ideas. 5.  Use organizational strategies (e.g., notes and outlines) to plan writing. 9.  Use precise language, action verbs, sensory details, colorful modifiers and style as appropriate to audience and purpose, and use techniques to convey a personal style and voice. Writing Applications Standard 6.  Produce informal writings (e.g., journals, notes and poems) for various purposes. Communications: Oral and Visual Standard 1.  Apply active listening strategies (e.g., monitoring message for clarity, selecting and organizing essential information, noting cues such as changes in pace). 4.  Evaluate how language choice, diction, syntax and delivery style (e.g., repetition, appeal to emotion, eye contact) affect the mood and tone and impact the audience.
Assessment
	Formative Students will be collecting images throughout the movie.  I’ll be collecting this sheet at the end of the block to check on how they’re processing and engaging with the movie.
Community Knowledge and Experience	Throughout this unit students will be asked to examine their own experiences with war and conflict and how it has affect them. In comparison to how it affects the characters and societies we encounter in the texts.
Procedures including: • Opening • Activities • Closure	Opening: Review what happened in the movie.  Ask students to summarize. Activities: 15 Line Poem Explain 15 line poem assignment.  Let students know I’ll be asking them to share what they write at the end of the period. Hand out 15 line poem assignment sheet (students can write on the back of this sheet if they want to) and image collection sheets from yesterday. Give student until 10 minutes before the end of the period to write poems, then ask them to trade with a partner and read each other’s. Students should write on their partner’s poem at least one thing they liked about the poem, and one thing they think would make it even better. At the beginning of the next period ask if any students read a poem they think the whole class needs to hear.  Have 3 or students read their partner’s poem. Remind students to put their names on their poem sheets and turn them into the tray. New Critical Notes Explain to students that we’ll be learning a few different ways to analyze different texts and that the new critical lens can be very useful for poetry, like the poems they just wrote. Hand out Guided Notes sheet and prepare SmartBoard projection of the sheet for mini lecture. Walk through the 3 Assumptions about the New Critical Lens and the 3 Strategies for analyzing a text through the New Critical Lens, having students fill out their notes sheet at the appropriate spots. Ask if there are any questions about the new critical lens right now. Poem Threading Hand out “Life at War.”  Student will be writing on this sheet, but it can also be found in the textbook on page 1003. Explain that we’ll be reading around the room (show them in what order), and that students must keep up so they don’t get lost and miss their turn.  The first read through each person will read one line so we can focus on the structure of the poem, and how the line breaks affect the meaning. One the second read through each person will read to a punctuation mark (period, comma, long dash, colon, semi-colon, etc.) so we can focus on how the punctuation placement affect the meaning. Now have students pick a common element to thread throughout the poem.  They will circle every word that matches their threading.  Give examples such as colors, pronouns, body parts, senses… Have students come up to share what they threaded on the SmartBoard and explain why they decided on that element.  Ask the class how they think that element contributes to the meaning of the poem. Relate threading exercise back to New Critical lens as a way to identify important elements in a text. Closing: Remind student to put their names on their poem threading sheet and turn it into the tray. Remind students that their project contract is due on Friday and to see me if they have any questions about choices or topics.
Resources	Copies of 15 Line Poem Assignment Image Collection Sheet Copies of Analytical Lens Guided Notes Sheet Analytical Lens master copy SmartBoard Guided Notes SmartBoard file Copies of “Life at War” poem threading sheet “Life at War” SmartBoard file pencil/paper
Applications, Connections, Extensions	Students are writing poems based on images that they have collected.  They are also reading “Life at War” and practicing doing close readings and picking out details of the text.  One of the focuses of this unit is on the details of a text, and how they help to make up the whole.  Each reading we do will help to build on this knowledge.
Inclusive Instruction	The nature of the student choice projects is inclusive.  Students are able to choose from an assortment of project options in order to play to their strengths and demonstrate their understanding in the best way that makes sense to them. Students will also be collecting images that are meaningful or thought-provoking to them, allowing them to build poem that speaks to them about the movie.

Subject Area Contemporary Literature

Title of unit (of which this lesson is a part) Peace & War

Lesson Title Thursday:  The Things They Carried pre-write & read

Purpose/Goals	Student will be making lists of the things that they carry with them in order to help develop a connection with the characters in this story.  They will be reading the first chapter of the novel, “The Things They Carried,” to build on the understandings they’re making in creating their own lists.
Objectives	I can: Make connections between ideas in literature and my own experiences in order to grow as an empathetic reader.
National and Ohio Standards	Reading Process: Concepts of Print, Comprehension Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies Standard 1.  Apply reading comprehension strategies, including making predictions, comparing and contrasting, recalling and summarizing and making inferences and drawing conclusions. 2.  Answer literal, inferential, evaluative and synthesizing questions to demonstrate comprehension of grade-appropriate print texts and electronic and visual media. Reading Applications: Literary Text Standard 1.  Compare and contrast motivations and reactions of literary characters confronting similar conflicts (e.g., individual vs. nature, freedom vs. responsibility, individual vs. society), using specific examples of characters’ thoughts, words and actions. 2.  Analyze the historical, social and cultural context of setting. 3.  Explain how voice and narrator affect the characterization, plot and credibility. 4.  Evaluate an author’s use of point of view in a literary text. 5.  Analyze variations of universal themes in literary texts. 8.  Evaluate ways authors develop point of view and style to achieve specific rhetorical and aesthetic purposes (e.g., through use of figurative language irony, tone, diction, imagery, symbolism and sounds of language), citing specific examples from text to support analysis. Writing Process Standard 1.  Generate writing ideas through discussions with others and from printed material, and keep a list of writing ideas.
Assessment
	Formative Students will be making lists of the things that they carry.  This pre-writing activity works a little bit like an anticipation guide for the chapter.  I’ll be collecting it at the end of the block to see what students are coming up with and how deep they are thinking. Students will also be writing short responses during the reading to help build their understandings of the text.  I’ll be able to look at these and see where they are in their envisionment.
Community Knowledge and Experience	Throughout this unit students will be asked to examine their own experiences with war and conflict and how it has affect them. In comparison to how it affects the characters and societies we encounter in the texts. In this lesson they will be comparing “The Things They Carried” to their own lives, and identifying with the characters in the chapter as they make their own lists of things that they carry.
Procedures including: • Opening • Activities • Closure	Lesson adapted from Read Write Think: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/worth-weight-letter-writing-1061.html Opening: Have the following questions written on the board: What do you carry every day in school? What do you carry in the summer? What do you have to bring to work? What things do you carry that are very visible to the world? What things are more hidden? What things are totally invisible, that is, abstract or symbolic? What do others make you carry? What things do you carry that you’d like to put down? As students are settling into their seats ask them “How far they have traveled?” and “What they’ve brought with them.” Activities: Pre-write Have students get out a sheet of paper and ask them to make a list of everything they can think of that they carry both literal and symbolic.  Give some examples. Direct students to the questions written on the board to help them think of the things they might carry with them. Once students have created a fairly long list, ask them to share some of the things they carry and write these up on the board. Using this list brainstorm with the class various ways of grouping these things.  “Things I Love,” “Necessities,” “Luxuries,” “Abstract Things,” “Concrete Things,” “Things I wish I Could Put Down,” etc. Next ask students to assign some arbitrary weights to some of the things on the board.  Ask them to take a look at their own list and decided what some of those things weigh. Tell students we’ll be reading “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, about the lives of soldiers in Vietnam.  It’s a mostly autobiographical work.  Students should feel free to add to their list as we read through the chapter. Read Chapter Have students come up and get a book.  We’re reading the first chapter.  Tell students there is some language in the book and when they see it to please use a euphemism (instead of the F-word, just say “eff”). I’ll start reading and ask students to pick up for me as we read through. We’ll be stopping occasionally to clarify the reading, or make predictions at annotated places in the text.  We’ll also be discussing the various things the soldiers carry and how we can relate to them and their weights. Closing: Remind students that their project contract is due tomorrow. Remind students to put their names on their lists and turn them into the tray.
Resources	Questions written on white board or SmartBoard Dry Erase markers The Things They Carried class copies The Things They Carried annotated text Paper/pencil
Applications, Connections, Extensions	Students will be making a list of the things that they carry.  This list will be used in tomorrow’s class to help them write a letter about what they are carrying.  It will also help them to connect to the text and the characters in it.
Inclusive Instruction	The nature of the student choice projects is inclusive.  Students are able to choose from an assortment of project options in order to play to their strengths and demonstrate their understanding in the best way that makes sense to them. Students will be making a list of what they carry.  This can be personal to them and allow them to explore connections in their own lives and the text

Subject Area Contemporary Literature

Title of unit (of which this lesson is a part) Peace & War

Lesson Title Friday: The Things They Carried Letter Writing

Purpose/Goals	Students will be using the lists they created yesterday to write a letter about what that thing is.  It will give them a chance to practice writing a letter as well as help to build connections to the text.
Objectives	I can: Make connections between ideas in literature and my own experiences in order to grow as an empathetic reader. Apply my knowledge to write a composition in a letter format
National and Ohio Standards	Writing Process Standard 1.  Generate writing ideas through discussions with others and from printed material, and keep a list of writing ideas. 2.  Determine the usefulness of and apply appropriate pre-writing tasks (e.g., background reading, interviews or surveys). 3.  Establish and develop a clear thesis statement for informational writing or a clear plan or outline for narrative writing. 4.  Determine a purpose and audience and plan strategies (e.g., adapting formality of style, including explanations or definitions as appropriate to audience needs) to address purpose and audience. 6.  Organize writing to create a coherent whole with an effective and engaging introduction, body and conclusion and a closing sentence that summarizes, extends or elaborates on points or ideas in the writing. 9.  Use precise language, action verbs, sensory details, colorful modifiers and style as appropriate to audience and purpose, and use techniques to convey a personal style and voice. 15.  Proofread writing, edit to improve conventions (e.g., grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization), identify and correct fragments and run-ons and eliminate inappropriate slang or informal language. 16.  Apply tools (e.g., rubric, checklist and feedback) to judge the quality of writing. Writing Applications Standard 1.  Write reflective compositions that: a. use personal experiences as a basis for reflection on some aspect of life; b. draw abstract comparisons between specific incidents and abstract concepts; c. maintain a balance between describing incidents and relating them to more general, abstract ideas that illustrate personal beliefs; and d. move from specific examples to generalizations about life. 3.  Write functional documents (e.g., requests for information, resumes, letters of complaint, memos, proposals) that: a. report, organize and convey information accurately; b. use formatting techniques that make a document user-friendly; and c. anticipate readers’ problems, mistakes and misunderstandings. Writing Conventions Standard 1.  Use correct spelling conventions. 2.  Use correct capitalization and punctuation. 3.  Use correct grammar (e.g., verb tenses, parallel structure, indefinite and relative pronouns).
Assessment	Summative Students will be writing a letter that demonstrates a connection between their own life and the lives of the characters in the text.
	Formative Students will be writing a letter that demonstrates a connection between their own life and the lives of the characters in the text.  Because we will be continuing to read more from this novel it also serves as a formative assessment as they are just beginning to build an understanding of the text and its characters.
Community Knowledge and Experience	Throughout this unit students will be asked to examine their own experiences with war and conflict and how it has affect them. In comparison to how it affects the characters and societies we encounter in the texts. They will be using the lists they created yesterday to write a letter that demonstrates their knowledge of the connections they can make to the text.
Procedures including: • Opening • Activities • Closure	Lesson adapted from Read Write Think: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/worth-weight-letter-writing-1061.html Opening: Have the following statements written on the board: describe the item, give some background information about it, explain why you are carrying it, explain it’s symbolic weight, connect it to someone else in your life Activities: Free-write Pass back students lists of the things they carry and ask them to circle what they think are the three most significant weights they carry.  They can be positive or negative weights but should be important in their life and have impacted them in some way. Give students about 5 minutes to free-write on each item.  They can do this on the back of their list or on a new sheet of paper.  Point out the suggestions for writing on the board to help them. After they’ve finished free-writing, ask students to use their free-write to pick which item they feel most strongly about and would like to elaborate more on in a letter. Letter Writing Pass out and explain the Letter Writing Assignment Sheet. Students will have the rest of this period to write their letter and work on editing and reflection questions. Final copy with answered reflection questions will be due on Monday. Closing: Remind students that the final copy of their letter and the reflection questions are due on Monday at the beginning of the block. Collect Project Contracts as an exit ticket.  Students who don’t have one completed must complete one before going to Arts Alive. Go to Arts Alive for the second half of the block.
Resources	Statements written on the white board or SmartBoard Student lists of items Copies of Letter Writing assignment sheet Copies of Project Contract Paper/pencil
Applications, Connections, Extensions	Students will be using the lists that they created yesterday to help them write a letter about what they carry to someone in their life.  It will help them to connect to the text and the characters in it.  If students want to they can actually mail their letters.  If so, I could provide an opportunity for them to share the response they may receive.
Inclusive Instruction	The nature of the student choice projects is inclusive.  Students are able to choose from an assortment of project options in order to play to their strengths and demonstrate their understanding in the best way that makes sense to them. Students will be writing a letter about themselves and what they carry to someone in their life.  This leaves a lot of room for personal choice.