Title of Unit

Curriculum Area
Developed By

Kite Runner
World LiteratureLanguage Arts
Jared Laginess

Grade Level
Time Frame

10th
3 weeks

Identify Desired Results (Stage 1)

Planning the Unit
With Democracy and Social Justice at the Center of Instruction
Focusing on the National Network for Educational Renewal (NNER)
MissionThe Four-Part Mission of the Agenda for Education in a Democracy
Equal Access to
Enculturation in a Nurturing Pedagogy Stewardship of the
Knowledge
Democratic Society Safe and Caring
Mission
for All
We are advancing the Four-Part Mission by examining a text, which pulls out
controversial topics that students will have to face in a democratic society. These
topics allow students to participate in hard conversations, which advance their
understanding of others and create an empathetic environment in the classroom.
We are providing an opportunity for all students to participate in these
conversations, which could be extrapolated into real life situations. All students will
be cared for and looked after by creating a classroom environment that approaches
this novel with care and respect.

Content Standards

Content:
Standard 1.2 Oral Expression and Listening: Effectively operating in small and large groups to accomplish a goal requires active listening
Standard 2.3 Reading for All Purposes: Context, parts of speech, grammar, and word choice influence the understanding of literary, persuasive, and
informational texts
Literacy:
Employ standard English language properly and fluently reading, writing, listening and speaking.
21st Century Skills:
Recognize the interdependent nature of our world.

Understandings

Essential Questions

Overarching Understanding

I can explain how The Kite Runner shows that all

people in the world can connect over commonalities.
I can give examples of literary devices that are
evident in the novel.
I can identify important events in the novel.
Related Misconceptions

Students need to recognize that The Kite Runner is

set in a pre and post-Taliban run country.
Students need to recognize that just because a
country and culture is different from your own that
does not mean it is lesser or bad.

Overarching

Topical

What turning points

determine our
individual pathways to
adulthood?

How do we learn and

grow from our
experiences?

What effect does

PLACE have on who we
become as people?

What is worldview,
what components
make up a worldview
and how do you deal
with worldviews
different from your
own? How do you
identify the
significance of the
historical, political,
social and religious
context and its
relationship with the
literature written in

The novel begins "I became

what I am today at the age of
twelve." To what is Amir
referring? Is his assertion
entirely true? What other
factors have helped form his
character? How would you
describe Amir?
How do Afghan women fare in
America? Are they any better
off than they were in
Afghanistan before the Taliban
seized power? There is a
noticeable absence of women
in the novel. How is this
significant?
What is the significance of the
novel's title? What might the
kite fighting tournament
symbolize? Does the
competition's combination of
physical brutality and
aesthetic beauty parallel any
other aspects of the book?

that time?

Knowledge

Skills

Students will know

Different aspects of Afghanistan culture, so that their

analysis of the novel is enhanced.
The importance of being empathetic and stepping
into the shoes of others.
That the novel reveals prejudice and discrimination,
which are a part of every society.
Literary devices that will enhance their
conversations about the novel.

Students will be able to examine some of the different aspects

of Afghan culture that is present in the book.
Students will be able to practice empathy and understanding of
others through the Socratic Seminar.
Students will be able to examine prejudice and discrimination
found within the novel and connect it to their own worldview.
Students will be able to identify some literary devices and their
definitions.

Assessment Evidence (Stage 2)

Performance Task Description
Goal
Role
Audience
Situation

Product/Performance

Standards

After reading and analyzing the novel and a variety of texts, have a Socratic discussion
with questions generated by students focusing on World Questions and Literary Analysis
Questions. This discussion will allow students to share and reflect on what they have
learned throughout the unit.
Students have generated the questions. One student will facilitate the conversation while
others participate in the discussion.
This discussion is student generated and for students. They will be asked to go home and
share what they have learned from the novel with their families.
Socratic Seminar set up in a circle in the classroom.
Content:
Students will engage in a Socratic Seminar over the novel, The Kite Runner. They will also
generate four questions in four different categories: Open-Ended, Close-Ended, World
Connection, and Literary Analysis. Students need to be engaged to be insightful about the
novel.
Literacy:
Students will need to listen and speak during the Socratic Seminar. They will be writing
questions for the Socratic Seminar which are generated from their reading of the novel.
12st Century Skills:
Students will need to recognize that the novel can directly relate to their own lives. Some
of the themes from the novel are present in most of our lives.
Standard 1.2 Oral Expression and Listening: Effectively operating in small and large groups
to accomplish a goal requires active listening
3

Standard 2.3 Reading for All Purposes: Context, parts of speech, grammar, and word choice
influence the understanding of literary, persuasive, and informational texts
Literacy: Employ standard English language properly and fluently reading, writing, listening
and speaking.
Democracy: Recognize the interdependent nature of our world.

Other Evidence
Literature Stations Activity: Afghan Landays
Narrative Essay
Literature Stations Activity: Acting Out Mullah Nasrudin
Human Rights assignment (Letter to U.S. Ambassador)
Literary Devices Quiz (pre and post)\
Vocabulary Quizzes
Reading Quizzes

Learning Plan (Stage 3)

Where are your students headed? Where have they
been? How will you make sure the students know where
they are going?

How will you hook students at the beginning of the unit?

What events will help students experience and explore

the big idea and questions in the unit? How will you
equip them with needed skills and knowledge?
How will you cause students to reflect and rethink? How
will you guide them in rehearsing, revising, and refining
their work?
How will you help students to exhibit and self-evaluate
their growing skills, knowledge, and understanding
throughout the unit?
How will you tailor and otherwise personalize the
learning plan to optimize the engagement and
effectiveness of ALL students, without compromising the

My students are headed towards creating their own worldview

that relies on empathy for their interpretation of the world.
Students have experienced this already by stepping into the
shoes of Paul in All Quiet on the Western Front. We will introduce
the question (What is your worldview) and return to it through our
activities.
I will hook students by introducing them to Afghan Landays which
is a style of poetry found only in Afghanistan. This lesson allows
students to investigate the country and culture of Afghanistan
before we begin the novel.
The Socratic Seminar really allows students to explore the big
questions and ideas in the unit. I will equip them with the skills
and knowledge needed by having a number of activities that will
help with their understanding of the culture in Afghanistan.
I will make students reflect and rethink by constantly asking
questions that make students reflect on their own lives and how
they can connect to the novel.
They will exhibit them by a lot of reflective writing that is found in
the unit. They will self-evaluate by tracking their grades in
Synergy. I have made it a focus to provide feedback for students.
This unit is inherently reflective for students because the novel is
about a man reflecting on his childhood.
The learning plan will be adjusted according to student need.
Some students may be frustrated with some assignments that are
focused on reflection, so I will always try to make it clear that we
4

goals of the unit?

How will you organize and sequence the learning
activities to optimize the engagement and achievement
of ALL students?

must always reflect on our actions to gain new understandings

about ourselves.
The lessons are sequenced by chapter in the book, so students
know every section that we are on in the novel. I have activities
that will build upon each other, so that students will have
background knowledge of every activity. I will need to just monitor
when to make adjustments over the course of the unit.

From: Wiggins, Grant and J. Mc Tighe. (1998). Understanding by Design, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
ISBN # 0-87120-313-8 (ppk)