Unit Breakdown
Goals for Student Learning
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CCSS
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.1.B Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases. |
Critical Questions
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Timeline and Assignment Descriptions
News and nonfiction: Before getting into the intensity of the book, we want the students to have a chance to learn about gun violence and black lives matter movements in the real world. This helps them see how the books topic relates to the world around them and sparks their critical inquiry. The students, with assistance from the librarian, will find a news article, video, or other form of a real recent event on these topics. They will write an annotated bibliography for this source. They will do this 3 times.
Classroom guidelines and expectations: Now knowing the heaviness and realness of the topic we will soon be exploring, we will work as a class to set guidelines and expectations for one another during our time in this unit. We will also create procedures and phrases to use when controversy arises. All students will have a role in this activity.
Reading: We will rotate between independent reading, whole class reading, and small group reading. The class will agree upon a number of pages that need to be completed each day before reading the book. Reading will be an in class activity, unless students do not spend their time wisely.
Exit ticket #1: We will have an exit ticket for the day that will be handed in before they leave for the hour. The prompt will be to point out, with direct citations, moments that relate to the topic of gun violence thus far in the book. How do you think the characters were feeling during this moment? What did they do?
Critical inquiry questions: We will go over what a meaningful question looks and sounds like, through me modeling them. From there, the students will be asked to form 3-5 critical inquiry questions for the days chunk of reading and be prepared to discuss with the class.
Discussion Day: This day makes the students responsible for their own learning, based on their homework of the critical inquiry questions. We will do a form of jigsaw sharing, where the students will get a chance to discuss their questions in small groups as I gather over arching themes to bring to a large class discussion.
Warm up activity: We will do a character map to check in on how we are understanding the characters bias, motivations, and conflicts.
Exit ticket #2: As the students are about to finish the book, I will ask them to make predictions.
Summarization activity: The students will create a flow chart to track the progression of the theme throughout the book.
Letter to a character: The students will choose one character from the book and write a letter to them. This can be to ask more questions, critique or praise the way they did a certain thing, or simply just to talk to them. The goal is to get them thinking from the perspective of someone unlike them.
Movie and Activity: We will watch the movie The Hate U Give in class. The students will have a chart handout that asks them to write about the differences, similarities, or ways certain things changed between the text and the movie.
Final Project: The purpose of this final project is to take a stand. Using a direct quote from the book or finding their own words, the students will come up with a way to make their voices heard. Their options can be a social media hash tag, a poster, a short video, or other methods Starr used to share her message. This needs to be done strategically just like the peaceful ways shown in the book. The students will add to this with a short paper explaining their method, phrases, and goal. Their explanations must be accompanied by examples from the text as well as two online resources. These resources can include samples for the method they chose or research.
Reflection journaling: With all the final projects on display, the students will walk around the room and reflect on how these things make them feel. They can offer ways they may have done something differently, point out an effective strategy, make comparisons to the text, etc. The purpose is to engage with one another for a common cause.
Classroom guidelines and expectations: Now knowing the heaviness and realness of the topic we will soon be exploring, we will work as a class to set guidelines and expectations for one another during our time in this unit. We will also create procedures and phrases to use when controversy arises. All students will have a role in this activity.
Reading: We will rotate between independent reading, whole class reading, and small group reading. The class will agree upon a number of pages that need to be completed each day before reading the book. Reading will be an in class activity, unless students do not spend their time wisely.
Exit ticket #1: We will have an exit ticket for the day that will be handed in before they leave for the hour. The prompt will be to point out, with direct citations, moments that relate to the topic of gun violence thus far in the book. How do you think the characters were feeling during this moment? What did they do?
Critical inquiry questions: We will go over what a meaningful question looks and sounds like, through me modeling them. From there, the students will be asked to form 3-5 critical inquiry questions for the days chunk of reading and be prepared to discuss with the class.
Discussion Day: This day makes the students responsible for their own learning, based on their homework of the critical inquiry questions. We will do a form of jigsaw sharing, where the students will get a chance to discuss their questions in small groups as I gather over arching themes to bring to a large class discussion.
Warm up activity: We will do a character map to check in on how we are understanding the characters bias, motivations, and conflicts.
Exit ticket #2: As the students are about to finish the book, I will ask them to make predictions.
Summarization activity: The students will create a flow chart to track the progression of the theme throughout the book.
Letter to a character: The students will choose one character from the book and write a letter to them. This can be to ask more questions, critique or praise the way they did a certain thing, or simply just to talk to them. The goal is to get them thinking from the perspective of someone unlike them.
Movie and Activity: We will watch the movie The Hate U Give in class. The students will have a chart handout that asks them to write about the differences, similarities, or ways certain things changed between the text and the movie.
Final Project: The purpose of this final project is to take a stand. Using a direct quote from the book or finding their own words, the students will come up with a way to make their voices heard. Their options can be a social media hash tag, a poster, a short video, or other methods Starr used to share her message. This needs to be done strategically just like the peaceful ways shown in the book. The students will add to this with a short paper explaining their method, phrases, and goal. Their explanations must be accompanied by examples from the text as well as two online resources. These resources can include samples for the method they chose or research.
Reflection journaling: With all the final projects on display, the students will walk around the room and reflect on how these things make them feel. They can offer ways they may have done something differently, point out an effective strategy, make comparisons to the text, etc. The purpose is to engage with one another for a common cause.