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Unit Name

Who Am I?

Micro-Expression

Time Frame 3 weeks
Sept. 4 Sept. 25
4 weeks
Sept. 30 Oct. 24
Outcomes GLO 1 (1.1.1, 1.1.3, 1.1.5)
GLO 2 (2.1.1, 2.2.2, 2.3.2, 2.3.4, 2.3.5)
GLO 4 (4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3, 4.2.4)

GLO 1 (1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.4, 1.2.2)
GLO 2 (2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.2.1, 2.2.3, 2.3.1,
2.3.2, 2.3.3, 2.3.4, 2.3.5)
GLO 4 (4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.2.4)
GLO 5 (5.1.1, 5.2.1, 5.2.3)

Skill Focus Reading and Writing Reading, Writing, Viewing, Representing
Formative
Assessment &
In-Class
Activities
Multiple Intelligences Graph
Personal Identity Concept Map
Wordle (each student makes one, then
classmates must guess whose it is)
Personal Essay
(practice for cover letter in Preparing for
the Job unit)
ELA Goal Setting

Blog Posts
Twitter Tweets
Sticky-Note Inferences
Haikus
Micro-Written Piece Organizer
Descriptive Language Organizer
Inferences about Images
Personal Reflection on Form
Summative
Assessment
Autobiography
Memoir
What Im Good At Presentation
140-Character Twisters & Inferences
(can be used as start point in short
stories unit)
Snap-Chat Photo Expression Mini-
Assignment
Micro-Written Piece & Partner
Inferences

Resources www.wordle.net
iLit Voices in the Hall by McGraw Hill-
Ryerson
iLit Reality Imagined by McGraw Hill-
Ryerson
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-
Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
iLit Remix: A Revolution of Text Forms
by McGraw Hill-Ryerson Education
iLit Voices in the Hall by McGraw Hill-
Ryerson
What is the Shortest Poem by VSauce
(YouTube video)
www.nfb.ca (short films)
www.pinterest.com (visuals)

Description The goal of this creative nonfiction
introductory unit is to 1) become familiar
with my students and 2) have students
become familiar with both one another and
themselves. This will be achieved by exploring
learning styles, personal writing, and goal
setting. Students will use what they learn
from reading several examples of personal
writing in the iLit texts to complete the units
culminating activities based on their own
lives and experiences. Other major focuses of
this unit are language use and the writing
variables, as they will guide how students
write throughout the rest of the unit. These
factors will be examined near the beginning
of the unit, and will be implemented in the
students writing throughout.

Over the course of this unit, and through a
mixture of pragmatic and aesthetic texts,
students will be introduced to important
concepts such as narrative structure,
elements of fiction, inferring, language use,
and building community that will be
recurring throughout the rest of the
semester. Students will also be introduced
to a variety of micro-expression forms
(some of which they will explore more fully
in later units) so that they may examine the
previously mentioned concepts through
texts of a non-intimidating length. This
unit will also work to implement a class
Twitter community (which will play a key
role in both formative and summative
assessment), as well as student blogs (which
will be used to discuss key ideas and build
community). Both forms of social media
will be used throughout the entire semester.

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Unit Name


Preparing for the Job

Short Stories
Time Frame 1.5 weeks
Oct. 28 Nov. 5
4 weeks
Nov. 7 Nov. 29
Outcomes GLO 3 (3.3.1, 3.3.2)
GLO 4 (4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3, 4.2.2, 4.2.3,
4.2.5, 4.3.1, 4.3.2, 4.3.3)


GLO 1 (1.1.1, 1.1.3, 1.2.2, 1.2.3)
GLO 2 (2.2.4, 2.3.5)
GLO 4 (4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3, 4.2.4, 4.2.5)
GLO 5 (5.1.2, 5.1.3, 5.1.4, 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 5.2.3,
5.2.4)

Skill Focus Writing and Representing Reading, Writing, Speaking, Viewing,
Listening, Representing
Formative
Assessment
Resume Organizer
Dream Job Practice Resume
Thank You Letter (letter form)
Create-Your-Own Short Story
Worksheets
Twitter Tweets
CSI Plotline Graph
Elements of Film Organizer: Coraline
Coraline vs. CYO Movie Element Chart
Character, Setting, & Conflict Sketches

Summative
Assessment
Resume
Cover Letter
Short Story (or comic strip)
Create-Your-Own Movie Planner &
Poster (group project)
Individual and Group Evaluations

Resources Ms. Hammonds Resume from high
school and from present day
Online Resume Builder:
(https://www.careerkids.com
/resumeSSL.php)
iLit Modern Morsels by McGraw
Ryerson-Hill
Coraline and Other Stories by Neil
Gaiman or Fragile Things by Neil
Gaiman
On the Sidewalk Bleeding by Evan
Hunter
The Veldt by Ray Bradbury
The Tangi Bridge by KM Zafari
The only stoplight on the reservation
doesn't flash red anymore by Sherman
Alexie
Coraline (film, 2009) by Henry Selick
CSI Las Vegas Episode
Various songs

Description This mini-unit is designed to help students
prepare for Take Our Kids to Work Day
(which will fall directly after this unit is
finished) by teaching them the pragmatic
skills they need to build a resume and
cover letter. They will also be given class
time to prepare the required thank-you
letter for their parent(s) place of work.
Not only is this unit important for Take
Our Kids to Work Day, but it is also
important in preparing students for the
workforce and/or post-secondary. It will
give them an opportunity to share ideas
with both their peers and their teacher so
that they may emerge with their best
possible work.
In this fiction-based unit, students will be
exposed to a variety of written, auditory,
and visual texts, all of which tell a short
story. We will continue building upon
narrative structure, elements of fiction, and
language use that students will be familiar
with from completing the previous units
(especially the micro-expression unit). We
will also focus on elements of film (literary,
dramatic, and cinematic) through out stud
of Coraline. Throughout the unit they will
scaffold the communication, group work,
presentation, organization, and creative
thinking skills that will allow them to find
success on the units culminating activities:
creating their own short story, then
working in groups to create a plan to bring
their story to life on the big screen.
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Unit Name


Novel Study: Last Sams Cage


Fear Factor: Fears & Phobias
Time Frame 3.5 weeks
Dec. 2 Dec. 20
3 weeks
Jan. 6 Jan. 30
Outcomes GLO 2 (2.2.2, 2.3.2, 2.3.3, 2.3.5)
GLO 3 (3.1.2, 3.1.3, 3.2.1, 3.2.5, 3.3.1,
3.3.2, 3.3.4)
GLO 4 (4.2.3, 4.2.4, 4.2.5)
GLO 5 (5.1.2, 5.1.3)

GLO 2 (2.3.5)
GLO 3 (3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3, 3.1.4, 3.2.1, 3.2.2,
3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.2.5, 3.3.1, 3.3.2, 3.3.3, 3.3.4)
GLO 4 (4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3, 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3,
4.2.4, 4.2.5, 4.4.1, 4.4.2, 4.4.3)
Skill Focus Reading, Writing, Speaking, Viewing,
Listening, Representing
Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening,
Viewing, and Representing
Formative
Assessment
Twitter Tweets
Chapter Activities
Literary Elements Sticky Notes
(character, setting, conflict, theme,
and style)
Go-Animate Clip (30 sec.)
Twitter Tweets
My Greatest Fear/Phobia Paragraph
Literary vs. Research Essay
Compare/Contrast
Evaluating Sources Checklist
Fear Festival Proposal

Summative
Assessment
Literary Essay Organizer &
Introduction (on character or theme)
Go-Animate Movie Trailer (partner
project)
Obituary or Missing Persons Report
Research Essay Organizer & Introduction
(on a phobia)
Fear Festival Gallery Walk Presentation
(partner or group project)
Individual and Group Reflections

Resources Go-Animate (http://goanimate.com)
Last Sams Cage by David Poulsen
Excerpts from previously read short
stories (that apply to similar character
and theme)
Fears vs. Phobias Online Article
(http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/
mental_health/phobias.html)
King on Fear (essay) by Stephen King
Extreme Animal Phobias episodes
(http://animal.discovery.com)
A Virus Called Fear documentary
(http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/virus-
called-fear/)

Description As a class, we will study the Canadian
novel, Last Sams cage, to examine the
elements of fiction (with emphasis on
character and theme) students observed in
the Short Stories unit, at work in a larger
text. We will also build upon the elements
of film studied in that unit, as students will
use these elements to create a movie trailer
for the novel. In addition to narrative
elements, students will work to generate
and organize ideas, consider their writing
variables, and enhance the clarity and
artistry of their communication. These
skills will culminate in the short inquiry
processes they conduct to complete their
literary essay organizers, and
obituaries/missing person reports.

During this unit, students will explore the
concept of fears and phobias through
nonfiction, pragmatic texts such as articles,
essays, and documentaries. For their
summative assessment, students will use the
fear discussed in their My Greatest
Fear/Phobia paragraph to find up to 2 other
group members with the same, or similar
fears. The groups will then work together to
plan and focus their topic by researching
their chosen fear (What, exactly, is the fear?
What causes the fear? What percentage of the
population has this fear? How can it be
cured? Etc.), then arrange their information
into a form suitable for a gallery walk.
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Unit Name

Independent Novel Study

Time Frame Ongoing (every second Friday throughout the semester)
Outcomes GLO 2 (2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.2.3, 2.3.2, 2.3.4, 2.3.5)
GLO 4 (4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3, 4.2.3, 4.2.4, 4.2.5)

Skill Focus Reading, and Writing
Formative
Assessment
Blogging (progress)
Summative
Assessment
Independent Novel Project (choose 10 mini-assignments)
ELA Goal Reflection

Resources Novel (either fiction or nonfiction) of individual students choosing

Description This unit will be ongoing from the beginning of the semester until the end. Students will
use the skills they accumulate throughout the duration of this unit to complete various
tasks of their choosing (they will be provided with a list of ideas, of which they must
choose ten) surrounding their novel. Their final project will serve as a sort of portfolio of
what they have accomplished throughout the semester, as it will show their growth from
beginning to end (since the unit is ongoing). Before beginning this unit students will
conference with me about potential novel options. Once students have chosen a novel,
they will be given the opportunity to work on silent reading their novel of choice at the
beginning of each class, and every second Friday to work on their Independent Novel
Project. In addition to their Novel Project, students will be required to blog on a weekly
basis about their progress, to ensure that they are on task, and to communicate with me
about any issues they encounter.