Methods Final

Concept Unit
Lesson Plan Template
Unit Working Title: Voices of Humanity in Literature
Unit Big Idea (Concept/Theme): Voices
Unit Primary Skill focus: Research and Making Connections Between Text and Real Life
Week __1___ of 3; Plan #___1____ of 9; [90 mins.]
Plan type: _X__Full-Detail ____Summary
Content Requirement Satisfied: Mini-inquiry, embedded technology, genre of text: song

(Note: Refer to the list in the document called Concept Unit Lesson Plans)
Unit Learning Objectives (numbered) [from my Backwards Design Unit Document],

followed by Specific lesson objectives (lettered) being taught in this lesson:
SWBAT: (highlighted objectives are the ones targeted in this lesson)

Cognitive (know/understand):
1. Students will know about different voices in literature.
a. Students will know how different voices are represented in literary works
(individual vs. collective voices).
2. Students will know how certain events affect society and certain people/groups of people.
a. Students will know what happened in different historical events.
b. Students will know who was/were involved in different historical events.
c. Students will know about injustices in history.
d. Students will be able to reflect/understand on how the victims of the events
might have felt.
3. Students will understand why it is important to read literature.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Students will know that literature is the study of humanity.

Students will understand that by reading literature, they learn more about humans.
Students will understand that literature helps them better understand themselves.
Students will reflect on the importance of reading literature through discussion.
Students will reflect on the importance of reading literature through writing.
Affective (feel/value) and/or Non-Cognitive:

4. Students will feel that researching for background information is important to
understanding literature.
a. Students will feel that researching helps them better understand the mysteries of
literature.
b. Students will feel that background information helps them understand the authors
purpose better.
c. Students will feel that background information helps them make personal connections
to literature.
5. Students will feel that literature helps them better understand humanity.
a. Students will value literature more with background research because it informs them
about real humans.
b. Students will feel like literature is more relatable because fiction is still based on
reality.
c. Students will feel like they understand how people think better by trying to
understand different (characters) points of view.
Performance (do):
6. Students will be able to analyze the individual and collective voices in literature
a. Students will be able to identify individual voices.
b. Students will be able to identify collective voices.
7. Students will be able to reflect on their personal connector to literature and its role in
their learning.
a. Students will be able to identify similar and different traits they have with different
characters.
b. Students will be able to reflect on experiences or feelings they have had that are
similar to the ones in their readings.
c. Students will be able to compare and contrast social injustices of the past and the
present.
d. Students will be able to reflect on how the pieces of literature may be important in the
future.
8. Students will be able to research and explain how literature is affected by its context.
a. Students will be able to do research on the authors background information and
reflect on how different events may have influenced the authors work.
b. Students will be able to identify different voices and reflect on how those voices are
portrayed in the different literary works.
VASOL:
Communication: Speaking, Listening, Media Literacy
10.1 The student will participate in, collaborate in, and report on small-group learning activities.
c) Include all group members in oral presentation.
e) Demonstrate the ability to work effectively with diverse teams to accomplish a common goal.
f) Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, makedecisions, and
solve problems.
10.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze literary texts of different cultures and eras
d) Analyze the cultural or social function of literature
Reading
10.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze literary texts of different cultures and eras.
b) Make predictions, draw inferences, and connect prior knowledge to support reading
comprehension.
d) Analyze the cultural or social function of literature.
i) Compare and contrast literature from different cultures and eras.
m) Use reading strategies to monitor comprehension throughout the reading process.
Research
10.8 The student will collect, evaluate, organize, and present information to create a research
product.
a) Use technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate, synthesize, and communicate
information.
e) Cite sources for both quoted and paraphrased ideas using a standard method of
documentation, such as that of the Modern Language Association (MLA) or the American
Psychological Association (APA).
CCSs:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis
of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in

detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and
refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
Procedures/Instructional Strategies
[Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.]
Beginning Room Arrangement:
[Changes in this arrangement that become necessary later will be noted in the plan]
1. [_15_mins.] Bridge/Hook/Opening to lesson:

Dialogue Journal Question: (1) Why do you think we study literature? (2) Everyone has
a voice - What does the word voice mean to you? Students will work on their
dialogue journals right when they get to class. When class starts, the students will share
with their partners and then share with the class as a whole (as introduced to them in the
intro week).
Hello class, as you walk in, you will see our Dialogue Questions on the board. This will be our
bell work every time or at least most of the time. Choose one of the two questions to respond to
and work quietly while waiting for class to start.
[5_mins] Share with partner
Now that everyone has finished writing, I want you to turn to your partner and tell
him/her about what you wrote. After everyones done exchanging with their partners, we
will share to the class as a whole. Ready, set, go!
(students share with their partners, I will walk around and listen to their answers and
maybe ask questions.)
Possible conversations:
Student 1: I think we just study literature because we have to. Because those people who design
the uh whatcha ma call it?
Student 2: Curriculum
Student 1: Yeah, curriculum, those who design the curriculum tell us that we have to read
literature.
Teacher: Are there other possible reasons why we need to read literature? What do you think we
learn from studying literature?
Student 1: Maybe?
Student 2: Yeah, we do. We learn about people.
Student 1: But most of the stories arent true.
Student 2: Most of them are still based on real people though.
Student 3: I didnt quite understand what the second question meant. Doesnt voice just mean
voice like our voice? The sound that comes out of our mouths?
Student 4: Yeah, it does. So everyone is able to speak?

Teacher: Can it mean anything else? Everyone has a voice. When else is the word voice used?
Student 3: When people sing?
Teacher: What about the phrase voice my opinion like in I voiced my opinion? What does
the word voice mean now?
Student 4: To express my opinions. So it can mean everyone can express themselves?
Okay, now lets come back to the class as a whole so we can share about all the good
conversations weve had in our small discussions. We will start with the first question and go
around the room to have the groups that talked about the question share. The first question is
Why do we study literature? Which of the groups talked about this? Yes, Allen.
Possible Conversations:
Student 5: Jessica made a very good point about how we can learn a lot of things from studying
literature. We can learn about different events in history, and also about people, how people in
real life think and act or may act.
Student 1: We also talked about that. Do we actually learn about people when the stories are
mostly not real?
Student 6: Yeah I think so, I mean the author probably doesnt just make things up from thin air.
He has to like, seeing or hearing something or someone in real life that makes him write stories
in that way.
Teacher: Jessica, I think thats a very good point. There are a lot of historical fiction that is based
on lots of real life events, which we are going to read in this unit. These pieces of literature help
us learn not only more about different individuals or people, but also about society. Which is why
it is important for us to study literature. It helps us better understand other people and also most
of the time, ourselves too.
What about the second question: Everyone has a voice - What does the word voice mean to
you? Which of the groups talked about this question? I know that one of the groups over there
had a pretty good conversation going. Why dont we start over there?
Student 3: We talked about how voice in the sentence means expressing like everyone has a
right to express himself/herself.
Student 4: Yeah just like when we say we voice our opinions.
Student 7: We actually talked about that too. We thought voice doesnt only mean sound but
it also reflects thinking or voicing personal opinions too.
Teacher: Do we hear voices in literature?
Student 5: Definitely.
Student 6: Yeah we just talked about how it reflects thought of people in real society too, so
yeah, we definitely hear voices in literature.
2. [_18 mins.] Step 1: Introduction to the Idea of Voices in Literature with They
Schools song by Dead Prez
Thank you for all the good discussions about literature and voices, now we will move on to
an introduction to Voices in Literature the main concept of our unit. We are going to start
with listening to a song. I will play the song twice. The first time around, I want you to just
listen, you can close your eyes and listen if you want to. Then, I will have you listen to it a
second time while looking at the lyrics.
(play song for the first time, hand out lyrics)
Now please follow along with the lyrics. Feel free to mark up the handout, they are for you to
keep.
(play song for second time)
Now tell me what you heard
Student 1: Swearing.
Student 2: Criticism of the school system.
Student 3: He doesnt like school.
Teacher: Why?
Student 4: Because they dont learn anything.
Student 5: Because of racism.
Student 1: Yeah, theyre not treated equally in school. The lyrics said, Claimin' Africans were
only three fifth's a human being. They are treated like they arent even human.
Student 2: Thats just very sad.
Teacher: What do you think is the purpose of this song?

Student 7: To advocate.
Teacher: Advocate for?
Student 7: Equality.
Teacher: Does everyone else agree with that?
Student 8: Yes, I agree with that. I think it informs people about the problem and also advocates
for a change.
Teacher: inform I like that word. What else?
Teacher: Do we hear a voice or voices from this song?

Students simultaneously say yes
Teacher: Whose voice or voices do we hear?
Student 9: The singer?
Student 10: The Black or African Americans.
Student 11: Those who are mistreated.

Student 12: Those who want a change.
3. [_5_mins.] Step 2: Play Digital Video to introduce unit voices of literature

Were going to switch gears a bit and watch this digital video or promo video for our unit.
(play video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9q0ymylyQ4
So as the video has promoted, our unit will be on voices of humanity in literature. Just like
how we tried to hear the voice or voices that the song presented, we are going to read
different pieces of literature and try to hear what the pieces are trying to speak to us.
[15_mins.] Step 3: Introduction to KWL charts + do a whole class KWL chart
Next, we are going to be moving on to KWL charts.
How many of you have done a KWL chart before?
(Some or most of the students raise their hands)
Good, so most of you guys know what we are about to do. Lets look at this KWL chart
(gesture to big KWL chart of board). What do the three letters stand for?
Student(s): Know, Want to know, and learn.
Good, now lets fill out the first two columns together for the song. What do we
know/want to know about the song?
Student 1: We know that the piece is about racism.
Student 2: We know that the purpose of the song was to inform and also to start making a
change.
Student 3: We hear voices in the song.
(Teacher fills out chart as students share more ideas)
Teacher: What would we like to learn more about after reading/hearing the song?
Student: Who is artist Dead Prez?
Student: When was this song written?
-
Why was this song written?

Did they write the song based on real incidents?
How many of Black students in schools felt unsafe?
[32_mins.] Step 4: Small group research on W questions
I will give the students time to do a mini research one of the topics presented in the W
part of the KWL chart. They will have to present/teach the class next time.
4. [_2-3_mins] Closure: I will thank the students for a great class and tell them that
they will have to present their research findings to the class next time.
Methods of Assessment:
[How will you know if the intended learning occurred?] List all methods of assessment used in
this lesson or which are related to this lesson and come in a future lesson. After each assessment,
indicate in brackets the number(s) and letter(s) of the unit objective and the related lesson
objectives that the assessment is evaluating.
Pre-assessment:
Students will reveal their prior knowledge about voices in literature by
o Completing their dialogue journals and sharing their journal entries [1a]
Formative assessments
Students will show their understanding of the importance of having a voice and speaking
up by
o Participating in the dialogue journal discussion What is voice? [1a, 3a-d, 5a-b]
o Participating in a discussion about voices in the literary piece/song They
Schools [1a, 3a-d, 5a-b]
Summative assessments
In a future lesson, students will show ability to understand of the importance of research
by
o Presenting a mini research project (KWL) on the song, They Schools. [4a-c, 5ab, VASOL 10.1 c,e,f,k, VASOL 10.8]
In a future lesson, students will demonstrate their ability to make personal connections to
literature by
o Writing a reflection paper on how the different voices speak to them. [1a, 3a-d,
5a-b, 7, VASOL 10.4d]
Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students:
(This is where you identify specific aspects of this lesson which have been differentiated in order
to address the needs of one or more of your profiled studentsidentify them by name)
For this introduction course, I have the lyrics to go with the song so that students can follow
along, especially Narya who might have trouble catching the lyrics of the song. By using a song,
I can also capture the interest of Damante who has a lower level of reading, but does fine with
listening to a song, especially a hip hop song. I will also be able to catch the attention of Bridget
because the engaging material wont bore her.
Materials Needed:
-
White board
Projector
25 journals
25 copies of They Schools lyrics
25 copies of KWL Chart
25 copies of Oral Presentation Rubric
Materials Appendix: (e.g., supplementary texts, Ppts, overheads, graphic organizers,

handouts, etc.)
**NOTE: For my actual first lesson, I would not be using this song because of its language
and content. I would try to use something similar but more discreet.
They Schools
by Dead Prez
Why haven't you learned anything?

Man that school shit is a joke
The same people who control the school system control
The prison system, and the whole social system
Ever since slavery, know what I'm sayin?
I went to school with some redneck crackers

Right around the time 3rd bass dropped the cactus album
But I was readin' Malcolm
I changed my name in '89 cleaning parts of my brain
Like a baby nine
I took a history class serious
Front row, every day of the week, 3rd period
Fuckin' with the teachers had, callin' 'em racist
I tried to show them crackers some light, they couldn't face it
I got my diploma from a school called Rickers
Full of teenage mothers, and drug dealin' niggas
In the hallways, the popo was always present
Searchin' through niggas' possessions
Lookin' for dope and weapons, get your lessons
That's why my moms kept stressin'
I tried to pay attention but they classes wasn't interestin'
They seemed to only glorify the Europeans
Claimin' Africans were only three fifth's a human being
They schools can't teach us shit

My people need freedom, we tryin' to get all we can get
All my high school teachers can suck my dick
Tellin' me white man lies straight bullshit
They schools ain't teachin' us, what we need to know to survive
(Say what, say what)
They schools don't educate, all they teach the people is lies
You see dog, you see how quick these motherfuckers be to like
Be tellin' niggas get a diploma so you can get a job
Know what I'm sayin' but they don't never tell you how the job
Gonna exploit you every time know what I'm sayin' that's why I be like
Fuck they schools
School is like a 12-step brainwash camp
They make you think if you drop out you ain't got a chance
To advance in life, they try to make you pull your pants up
Students fight the teachers and get took away in handcuffs
And if that wasn't enough, then they expel y'all
Your peoples understand it but to them, you a failure
Observation and participation, my favorite teachers
When they beat us in the head with them books, it don't reach us
Whether you breakdance or rock suede Addidas
Or be in the bathroom with your clique, smokin' reefer
Then you know they math class ain't important 'less you addin' up cash
In multiples, unemployment ain't rewardin'

They may as well teach us extortion
You either get paid or locked up, the principal is like a warden
In a four year sentence, mad niggas never finish
But that doesn't mean I couldn't be a doctor or a dentist

'Cuz for real, a mind is a terrible thing to waste

And all y'all high class niggas with y'all nose up
'Cuz we droppin' this shit on this joint, fuck y'all
We gon' speak for ourselves

Know what I'm sayin'? 'Cuz see the schools ain't teachin' us nothin'
They ain't teachin' us nothin' but how to be slaves and hardworkers
For white people to build up they shit
Make they businesses successful while it's exploitin' us
Know what I'm sayin'? And they ain't teachin' us nothin' related to
Solvin' our own problems, know what I'm sayin'?
Ain't teachin' us how to get crack out the ghetto
They ain't teachin' us how to stop the police from murdering us
And brutalizing us, they ain't teachin' us how to get our rent paid
Know what I'm sayin'? They ain't teachin' our families how to interact
Better with each other, know what I'm sayin'? They just teachin' us
How to build they shit up, know what I'm sayin'? That's why my niggas
Got a problem with this shit, that's why niggas be droppin' out that
Shit 'cuz it don't relate, you go to school the fuckin' police
Searchin' you you walkin' in your shit like this a military compound
know what I'm sayin'? So school don't even relate to us
Until we have some shit where we control the fuckin' school system
Where we reflect how we gon solve our own problems
Them niggas ain't gon' relate to school, shit that just how it is
Know what I'm sayin'? And I love education, know what I'm sayin'?
But if education ain't elevatin' me, then you know what I'm sayin' it ain't
Takin' me where I need to go on some bullshit, then fuck education
Know what I'm sayin'? At least they shit, matter of fact my nigga
This whole school system can suck my dick, beeyotch
Concept Unit
Week __1___ of 3; Plan #__2_____ of 9; [90 mins.]
Plan type: ____Full-Detail _X__ Summary
Content Requirement Satisfied: Mini-inquiry (Primary or Secondary)


SWBAT:
might have felt.
a. Students will know that literature is the study of humanity.
b. Students will understand that by reading literature, they learn more about humans.
c. Students will understand that literature helps them better understand themselves.
d. Students will reflect on the importance of reading literature through discussion.
e. Students will reflect on the importance of reading literature through writing.
literature.
purpose better.
c. Students will feel that background information helps them make personal
connections to literature.
about real humans.
reality.
Performance (do):

their learning.
characters.
present.
future.
VASOL:
f) Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and
solve problems.
Reading
comprehension.
Research
product.
information.
CCSs:
Beginning Room Arrangement: Students will sit in groups of four at tables as seat
arrangements in intro week indicate.

Dialogue Journal Question: 1) How is your first week of class so far? 2) Do you have any
favorite subjects yet?
Students will work on their dialogue journals right when they get to class. When class
starts, the students will share with their partners and then share with the class as a whole
(as introduced to them in the intro week).
2. [_15 mins.] Step 1: Presentations
I will have students and their groups present their research findings to the whole class.
3. [_10_mins.] Step 2: Introduction to individual vs. collective voices
I will give them a mini lecture on individual voices and collective voices. Individual
voices are those of the author/poet/artist that write the pieces, while collective voices are
voices that they are speaking for or representing.
We will have a discussion on whose voice we are hearing in the song of the song is and
talk about learning in the poem.
[10-15_mins.] Step 3: Discussion
We will then have a mini discussion about the voices that are present in the poem. I will
ask students to help be identify the individual voices and the collective voices in the
poem. Then I will talk specifically about the phrase it don't relate in the poem and tell
the students that making it relate is the point of our unit.
Transition: Moving on to next short text
[_35_mins.] Go to library to pick out books for SSR

I will bring students to the library and help them pick out books for SSR
4.
[_2-3_mins] Closure: Tell them to try to read 10-15 minutes at home since they
dont have reading homework today
Pre-assessment:
Students will show their prior knowledge about the importance of research by completing
their dialogue journals. [4abc]
Formative assessment:
Students will show their understanding about the importance of research by
o Participating in discussions
o Presenting their research presentations. [4a-c, 5a-b, VASOL 10.1 c,e,f, VASOL
10.8]
Summative assessment:
Students will show their ability to reflect on their understanding of the importance of
research and connecting to literature by
o Writing a reflection paper on how the different voices speak to them. [1a, 2a-d,
3a,b,c, e, 4a-c, 5a-c, 6a,b, 7a-d, 8a,b]
In a future lesson, students will also demonstrate the ability to connect to literature and
conduct a research project by
o Completing and presenting their final projects. [all objectives]

The mini research projects are done in small groups to encourage students to help each other
grow in the research area. Because there is independent work time, I can easily go around the
room and give extra attention to Damante who has a lower reading level and Narya who is an
ELL student. If Bridget who is gifted finishes her research too fast, I can also push her to do
more research on the topic or push her to think more deeply about the topic.
Materials Needed:
- 25 journals

handouts, etc.)
Concept Unit
Week __1___ of 3; Plan #___3___ of 9; [90 mins.]
Content Requirement Satisfied: Reading experience, modeling, embedded technology




might have felt.
literature.
purpose better.
to literature.
about real humans.
reality.
Performance (do):
their learning.
characters.
present.
future.
VASOL:
solve problems.
Reading
comprehension.
Research
product.
information.
CCSs:



Uncle Tom & Little Eva Rare Racist 1930s Cartoon http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=vpAeLEN5ZB4
Cartoon
I am going to show you a rare cartoon from the 1930s. I will show you the video once. I
want you to be very observant about what you see in the video. Please jot down things
that you notice in the video. After that we will share our observations.
(Play video the first time 3 minutes)
After the video is played, start asking the students questions. Use cold calling so everyone has a
chance to talk.
Possible teacher-student conversations:

T: What did you notice about the video?
S: Its old.
T: Its old? How do we know that?
S: Because it is in black and white.
S: Yeah, and old movies are in black and white and dont have colors.
T: Thats a good observation! What else do people see?
These are some very good observations! Now I want you to hold on to all these good ideas
as me move on to our anticipation guide.
6. [_35_mins.] Anticipation guide
Does anyone know what anticipation guides are?
Possible teacher-student conversation: (5 minutes)

(Remember to allow wait time)
S: Is it the different questions we have to answer before we start reading?
S: Oh, I think there were sentences where we had to say we agree or disagree.
S: The one we did before?
S: Yeah, I think that was the one.
T: Yes, thats correct. Does anyone remember what we use anticipation guides for?
S: To uh anticipate?
T: Okay, whats an easier word for anticipate?
S: To expect?
S: Predict or guess?
T: Very good. So what are anticipation guides used for?
S: To help us guess whats going to happen?
T: Yes, in a way it is. Anticipation guides are used to help you prepare for what you will
encounter in your readings. The anticipation guides include statements that touch on the big
things in the novel.
So one of your handouts is an anticipation guide (show them the handout).

I want you to go through the guide by yourself first. Read the statements carefully and write A
for agree or or D for disagree next to each statement. (7 minutes)
It seems like everyone is done. Now I want you to break up into your assigned groups and go
through the statements with your group. I want you to see if the majority of you agree or
disagree with a statement and also find out why people agree or disagree about the statements.
(15-20 minutes)
Teacher will circle the classroom from group to group and make sure students are on task as well
as ask probing questions that help with the discussions/debates about the anticipation guide
questions.
7. [_25_mins.] Double entry journals

Okay now lets move on to our next activity. I am going to teach you all a very useful reading
activity that will help you focus on your reading and think more about what you read. What I
am going to show you is called a double entry journal (show handout). On the right column,
I want you to write down the quote/passage that you find interesting or important. You can
copy down the quote or just jot down the page number if you use post its to mark them in
your book. In the second column under response I want you to write your response or
reaction to the quote. It can be a brief comment or observation about the quote, or a question
that came up when you read the passage. Or maybe it could also be a prediction, or what
you think might happen next after you read the passage. Lets do a model of this together
with the first paragraph of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. You can follow along with
me on the smart board or your copies/handouts of the book.
Teacher reads the first few paragraphs aloud and stops to fill in the double entry journal while
she reads.
Possible model:
8.
[_2_mins] Closure
Next time we will start out the class with a dialogue journal again and then revisit the
anticipation guide so see whether or not your initial thoughts or opinions of the
statements have changed after you have read the piece. Please finish reading the piece
and the double journal entry for homework. I will check your journals at the beginning of
class next time.
Pre-assessment:
Students will show prior knowledge about reading strategies that help them connect to
texts by
o Completing their dialogue journals. [4ab]
Students will show their understanding of connecting to the text by
o Completing the anticipation guide and participating in the discussion about the
anticipation guide. [3a-d]
Students will show their understanding of using reading strategies by

o Completing their double journal entries. [VA10.4m]
Students will also demonstrate the ability to connect to literature and conduct a research
project by

Here, I use a cartoon video to draw attention of all the students, Damante, Narya, Bridget, and
Manny would all benefit from the interesting topic that is introduced by an easy to understand
cartoon today. The anticipation guide with its controversial issues will also encourage all of the
students to express their personal opinions, even those who are usually silent during discussion
would not be able to help but talk, since we will have them first discuss in small groups before
discussing as a big group. Also because of the small group discussions, I can go around and help
facilitate/read the anticipation guide statements to the groups that need more help, for example,
the group with Damante and Narya.
Materials Needed:
-
25 copies of Oral presentation rubric

15 copies of Double journal entries
25 copies of anticipation guide
25 copies of Childhood
Whiteboard
Projector

handouts, etc.)
I. Childhood
I was born a slave; but I never knew it till six years of happy childhood had passed
away. My father was a carpenter, and considered so intelligent and skilful in his
trade, that, when buildings out of the common line were to be erected, he was sent
for from long distances, to be head workman. On condition of paying his mistress
two hundred dollars a year, and supporting himself, he was allowed to work at his
trade, and manage his own affairs. His strongest wish was to purchase his children;
but, though he several times offered his hard earnings for that purpose, he never
succeeded.
In complexion my parents were a light shade of brownish yellow, and were termed
mulattoes. They lived together in a comfortable home; and, though we were all
slaves, I was so fondly shielded that I never dreamed I was a piece of merchandise,
trusted to them for safe keeping, and liable to be demanded of them at any
moment. I had one brother, William, who was two years younger than myself a
bright, affectionate child.
I had also a great treasure in my maternal grandmother, who was a remarkable
woman in many respects. She was the daughter of a planter in South Carolina, who,
at his death, left her mother and his three children free, with money to go to St.
Augustine, where they had relatives. It was during the Revolutionary War; and they
were captured on their passage, carried back, and sold to different purchasers. Such
was the story my grandmother used to tell me; but I do not remember all the
particulars. She was a little girl when she was captured and sold to the keeper of a
large hotel.
I have often heard her tell how hard she fared during childhood. But as she grew
older she evinced so much intelligence, and was so faithful, that her master and
mistress could not help seeing it was for their interest to take care of such a
valuable piece of property. She became an indispensable personage in the
household, officiating in all capacities, from cook and wet nurse to seamstress. She
was much praised for her cooking; and her nice crackers became so famous in the
neighborhood that many people were desirous of obtaining them.

In consequence of numerous requests of this kind, she asked permission of her
mistress to bake crackers at night, after all the household work was done; and she
obtained leave to do it, provided she would clothe herself and her children from the
profits. Upon these terms, after working hard all day for her mistress, she began her
midnight bakings, assisted by her two oldest children. The business proved
profitable; and each year she laid by a little, which was saved for a fund to purchase
her children. Her master died, and the property was divided among his heirs.
The widow had her dower in the hotel, which she continued to keep open. My
grandmother remained in her service as a slave; but her children were divided
among her masters children. As she had five, Benjamin, the youngest one, was
sold, in order that each heir might have an equal portion of dollars and cents. There
was so little difference in our ages that he seemed more like my brother than my
uncle. He was a bright, handsome lad, nearly white; for he inherited the complexion
my grandmother had derived from Anglo-Saxon ancestors. Though only ten years
old, seven hundred and twenty dollars were paid for him. His sale was a terrible
blow to my grandmother; but she was naturally hopeful, and she went to work with
renewed energy, trusting in time to be able to purchase some of her children. She
had laid up three hundred dollars, which her mistress one day begged as a loan,
promising to pay her soon. The reader probably knows that no promise or writing
given to a slave is legally binding; for, according to Southern laws, a slave, being
property, can hold no property. When my grandmother lent her hard earnings to her
mistress, she trusted solely to her honor. The honor of a slaveholder to a slave!
To this good grandmother I was indebted for many comforts. My brother Willie and I
often received portions of the crackers, cakes, and preserves, she made to sell; and
after we ceased to be children we were indebted to her for many more important
services.
Such were the unusually fortunate circumstances of my early childhood. When I was
six years old, my mother died; and then, for the first time, I learned, by the talk
around me, that I was a slave. My mothers mistress was the daughter of my
grandmothers mistress. She was the foster sister of my mother; they were both
nourished at my grandmothers breast. In fact, my mother had been weaned at
three months old, that the babe of the mistress might obtain sufficient food. They
played together as children; and, when they became women, my mother was a
most faithful servant to her whiter foster sister. On her death-bed her mistress
promised that her children should never suffer for any thing; and during her lifetime
she kept her word.
They all spoke kindly of my dead mother, who had been a slave merely in name, but
in nature was noble and womanly. I grieved for her, and my young mind was
troubled with the thought who would now take care of me and my little brother. I
was told that my home was now to be with her mistress; and I found it a happy one.
No toilsome or disagreeable duties were imposed upon me. My mistress was so kind
to me that I was always glad to do her bidding, and proud to labor for her as much
as my young years would permit. I would sit by her side for hours, sewing diligently,
with a heart as free from care as that of any free-born white child. When she
thought I was tired, she would send me out to run and jump; and away I bounded,
to gather berries or flowers to decorate her room. Those were happy days too
happy to last. The slave child had no thought for the morrow; but there came that
blight, which too surely waits on every human being born to be a chattel.
When I was nearly twelve years old, my kind mistress sickened and died. As I saw
the cheek grow paler, and the eye more glassy, how earnestly I prayed in my heart
that she might live! I loved her; for she had been almost like a mother to me. My
prayers were not answered. She died, and they buried her in the little churchyard,
where, day after day, my tears fell upon her grave.
I was sent to spend a week with my grandmother. I was now old enough to begin to
think of the future; and again and again I asked myself what they would do with me.
I felt sure I should never find another mistress so kind as the one who was gone.
She had promised my dying mother that her children should never suffer for any
thing; and when I remembered that, and recalled her many proofs of attachment to
me, I could not help having some hopes that she had left me free. My friends were
almost certain it would be so. They thought she would be sure to do it, on account
of my mothers love and faithful service. But, alas! we all know that the memory of
a faithful slave does not avail much to save her children from the auction block.
After a brief period of suspense, the will of my mistress was read, and we learned
that she had bequeathed me to her sisters daughter, a child of five years old. So
vanished our hopes. My mistress had taught me the precepts of Gods Word: Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto
you, do ye even so unto them. But I was her slave, and I suppose she did not
recognize me as her neighbor. I would give much to blot out from my memory that
one great wrong. As a child, I loved my mistress; and, looking back on the happy
days I spent with her, I try to think with less bitterness of this act of injustice. While I
was with her, she taught me to read and spell; and for this privilege, which so rarely
falls to the lot of a slave, I bless her memory.
She possessed but few slaves; and at her death those were all distributed among
her relatives. Five of them were my grandmothers children, and had shared the
same milk that nourished her mothers children. Notwithstanding my grandmothers
long and faithful service to her owners, not one of her children escaped the auction
block. These God-breathing machines are no more, in the sight of their masters,
than the cotton they plant, or the horses they tend.
Name: _______________________
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl - Childhood
Anticipation Guide
Directions: Read each of the following statements inspired by the novel and determine whether
you agree (A) or disagree (D) with the statement. Then provide a onesentence explanation for
your opinion.
______ A slaves life could be pleasant if he or she had a kindly master.
______ For some slaves, living conditions were good and they preferred being a slave to having
freedom.
______ House slaves had better lives than slaves who were forced to work in the fields.
______ Female slaves had it better than male slaves.
______ A person could have white ski and still be treated similar to a black slave.
______ A slave owner could be considered a good Christian and still have children with a slave
woman.
______ The wives of slave owners accepted that their husbands would have sexual relations with
female slaves.
______ Slaves who survived their escape north were granted freedom.
______ Children who were born into slavery always remained under the same household as the
mother.
______ The children of slaves were sometimes allowed to go free.
Double Entry Journal

BOOK
RESPONSE
(Include page number)
(Comments, observations, questions,

predictions, etc.)
Concept Unit
Week ____2__ of 3; Plan #___4____ of 9; [90 mins.]
Plan type: ____Full-Detail __X_Summary
Content Requirement Satisfied: Reading experience, embedded technology, mini-inquiry



might have felt.

literature.
purpose better.
to literature.
about real humans.
reality.
Performance (do):
a. will be able to identify individual voices.
b. Students Students will be able to identify collective voices.
their learning.
characters.
present.
future.
VASOL:
solve problems.
Reading
comprehension.
Research
product.
information.
CCSs:


Dialogue Journal Question: 1) Would you want to live in Harriet Jacobs time? Why or
why not?
2. [_15 mins.] Step 1: Revisit anticipation guide
Have a discussion on what the students learned and whether or not they changed their
minds about the statements in the anticipation guide.
3. [_15_mins.] Step 2: Assign different topics to research about the pre civil war living
conditions to small groups and have them research
4. [15_mins.] Step 3: Have the groups share
Tell students to take notes on presented material.
[ 25_mins.] Step 4: Start excerpt of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings + Double
Journal Entry
I will give students time to start reading the excerpt from I Know Why the Caged Bird
Sings and start on their double journal entry homework
Students will finish reading and journals for homework.
Pre-assessment:
Students will reveal their prior knowledge about making personal connections to
literature by
o Doing their dialogue journals. [7a-d]
Students will demonstrate their understanding about making connections to literature by
o Participating in class discussions. [7a-d, 8ab]
In a future lesson, students will demonstrate their ability to research and explain how
literature is affected by its content by
o Completing a mini research project. [4a-c, 5a-b, VASOL 10.1 c,e,f, VASOL 10.8]
The dialogue journal is a conversation starter for the class so that even the more reluctant
students like Damante and Narya can participate. Since everyone will say something, and it has
become a routine of the classroom, the students wont feel too uneasy to share, especially since
they will be sharing with their partner first. Again, the mini-research small group project would
allow the students to help each other and also allow me to give extra help to those who need it.
Materials Needed:
- 25 copies of Oral presentation rubric
- 25 copies of Double journal entries

handouts, etc.)
Double
Entry
Journal
BOOK
RESPONSE
(Include page number)
(Comments, observations, questions,

predictions, etc.)
Concept Unit
Week _2____ of 3; Plan #___5____ of 9; [90 mins.]
Content Requirement Satisfied: Writing Lesson, mentor texts, syntax instruction



might have felt.

literature.
purpose better.
to literature.
about real humans.
reality.
Performance (do):
7. Students will be able to reflect on their personal connector to literature and its role in their
learning.
characters.
present.
future.
VASOL:
solve problems.
Reading
comprehension.
Research
product.
information.
CCSs:


Dialogue Journal Question: 1) What are the similarities and differences of an apple and
an orange? 2) What are the similarities and differences between basketball and football?
2. [_12 mins.] Step 1: Play Post Civil War video to give students more background
information about post civil war
http://study.com/academy/lesson/life-in-the-south-after-the-civil-war.html
I will tell students to take notes.
3. [_15_mins.] Step 2: Introduction to Compare and Contrast + Venn diagram
I will introduce the students to comparing and contrasting as well as a how to use a Venn
diagram. I will use a mentor text on compare and contrast
https://datadeb.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/compare-and-contrast-apples-to-oranges.pdf
that compares apples and oranges to show students how it works.
4. [_15_mins.] Step 3: Give students time to fill in their Venn diagrams for Pre civil
war vs. Post civil war
Here, I will put the mentor text Venn diagram on the board again so the students can see.
I will then circle the room to see which of the students need help with filling in the
diagram.
[30_mins.] Step 3: Have students start writing their compare and contrast essays in
class.
I will put the mentor text of the compare and contrast essay on the board and give
students time to work on their essays for the rest of the class. I will walk around seeing
how they do and give them help.
I may/may not assign the essay as homework depending on how well the students do with the
given in class work time.
Pre-assessment:
Students will reveal their prior knowledge about comparing and contrasting by
o Completing their dialogue journals.
Students will demonstrate an understanding about comparing and contrasting by
o Completing their Venn diagrams. 1a, 2a-d, 3a-d, 4a-d, 5a-c, 6ab, 7a-d, 8ab,
SOL10.1, SOL 10.4, CCSS9-10.2]
Students will also demonstrate the ability to use proper compare and contrast syntax by
o Writing their compare and contrast essays. [1a, 2a-d, 3a-d, 4a-d, 5a-c, 6ab, 7a-d,
8ab, VA10.4d, j, CCS9-10.1]
Students will demonstrate their ability to research and explain how literature is affected
by its content by
o Writing a compare and contrast essay about Pre civil war vs. Post civil war [1a,
2a-d, 3a-d, 4a-d, 5a-c, 6ab, 7a-d, 8ab, VA10.4d ,j, CCS9-10.1]

In this lesson, I will try to give more help to Narya and Damante because even with the mentor
text, they may still find comparing and contrasting hard to do. I give the students in class work
time especially so that I can give them help. Manny will also benefit from the in class work time
because he might not have time to work on the compare and contrast essay at home. As for
Bridget who is gifted, I may try to push her to make a more sophisticated compare and contrast
between the two pieces.
Materials Needed:
-
25 copies of Venn Diagram

25 copies of Compare and Contrast Essay Rubric
Smart Board
Students should have their own copies of Childhood but I will have a few extra just
incase
25 copies of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

handouts, etc.)
Excerpt from 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'

Prologue
"What you looking at me for?
I didn't come to stay. . ."
I hadn't so much forgot as I couldn't bring myself to remember. Other things were
more important.
"What you looking at me for?
I didn't come to stay. . ."
Whether I could remember the rest of the poem or not was immaterial. The truth
of the statement was like a wadded-up handkerchief, sopping wet in my fists, and
the sooner they accepted it the quicker I could let my hands open and the air
would cool my palms.
"What you looking at me for. .. ?"
The children's section of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church was wiggling
and giggling over my well-known forgetfulness.
The dress I wore was lavender taffeta, and each time I breathed it rustled, and
now that I was sucking in air to breathe out shame it sounded like crepe paper on
the back of hearses.
As I'd watched Momma put ruffles on the hem and cute little tucks around the
waist, I knew that once I put it on I'd look like a movie star. (It was silk and that
made up for the awful color.) I was going to look like one of the sweet little white
girls who were everybody's dream of what was right with the world. Hanging
softly over the black Singer sewing machine, it looked like magic, and when
people saw me wearing it they were going to run up to me and say, "Marguerite
[sometimes it was 'dear Marguerite'], forgive us, please, we didn't know who you
were," and I would answer generously, "No, you couldn't have known. Of course I
forgive you."
Just thinking about it made me go around with angel's dust sprinkled over my
face for days. But Easter's early morning sun had shown the dress to be a plain
ugly cut-down from a white woman's once-was-purple throwaway. It was oldlady-long too, but it didn't hide my skinny legs, which had been greased with Blue
Seal Vaseline and powdered with the Arkansas red clay. The age-faded color
made my skin look dirty like mud, and everyone in church was looking at my
skinny legs. Wouldn't they be surprised when one day I woke out of my black
ugly dream, and my real hair, which was long and blond, would take the place of
the kinky mass that Momma wouldn't let me straighten? My light-blue eyes were
going to hypnotize them, after all the things they said about "my daddy must of
been a Chinaman" (I thought they meant made out of china, like a cup) because
my eyes were so small and squinty. Then they would understand why I had never
picked up a Southern accent, or spoke the common slang, and why I had to be
forced to eat pigs' tails and snouts. Because I was really white and because a
cruel fairy stepmother, who was understandably jealous of my beauty, had turned
me into a too-big Negro girl, with nappy black hair, broad feet and a space
between her teeth that would hold a number-two pencil.
"What you looking ..." The minister's wife leaned toward me, her long yellow face
full of sorry. She whispered, "I just come to tell you, it's Easter Day." I repeated,
jamming the words together, "Ijustcometotellyouit'sEasterDay," as low as
possible. The giggles hung in the air like melting clouds that were waiting to rain
on me. I held up two fingers, close to my chest, which meant that I had to go to
the toilet, and tiptoed toward the rear of the church. Dimly, somewhere over my
head, I heard ladies saying, "Lord bless the child," and "Praise God." My head
was up and my eyes were open, but I didn't see anything. Halfway down the
aisle, the church exploded with "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?"
and I tripped over a foot stuck out from the children's pew. I stumbled and started
to say something, or maybe to scream, but a green persimmon, or it could have
been a lemon, caught me between the legs and squeezed. I tasted the sour on
my tongue and felt it in the back of my mouth. Then before I reached the door,
the sting was burning down my legs and into my Sunday socks. I tried to hold, to
squeeze it back, to keep it from speeding, but when I reached the church porch I
knew I'd have to let it go, or it would probably run right back up to my head and
my poor head would burst like a dropped watermelon, and all the brains and spit
and tongue and eyes would roll all over the place. So I ran down into the yard
and let it go. I ran, peeing and crying, not toward the toilet out back but to our
house. I'd get a whipping for it, to be sure, and the nasty children would have
something new to tease me about. I laughed anyway, partially for the sweet
release; still, the greater joy came not only from being liberated from the silly
church but from the knowledge that I wouldn't die from a busted head.
If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her
displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. If growing up is
painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on
the razor that threatens the throat.
It is an unnecessary insult.
Chapter 1
When I was three and Bailey four, we had arrived in the musty little town, wearing
tags on our wrists which instructed"To Whom It May Concern"that we were
Marguerite and Bailey Johnson Jr., from Long Beach, California, en route to
Stamps, Arkansas, c/o Mrs. Annie Henderson.
Our parents had decided to put an end to their calamitous marriage, and Father
shipped us home to his mother. A porter had been charged with our welfarehe
got off the train the next day in Arizonaand our tickets were pinned to my
brother's inside coat pocket.
I don't remember much of the trip, but after we reached the segregated southern
part of the journey, things must have looked up. Negro passengers, who always
traveled with loaded lunch boxes, felt sorry for "the poor little motherless
darlings" and plied us with cold fried chicken and potato salad.
Years later I discovered that the United States had been crossed thousands of
times by frightened Black children traveling alone to their newly affluent parents
in Northern cities, or back to grandmothers in Southern towns when the urban
North reneged on its economic promises.
The town reacted to us as its inhabitants had reacted to all things new before our
coming. It regarded us a while without curiosity but with caution, and after we
were seen to be harmless (and children) it closed in around us, as a real mother
embraces a stranger's child. Warmly, but not too familiarly.
We lived with our grandmother and uncle in the rear of the Store (it was always
spoken of with a capital s), which she had owned some twenty-five years.
Early in the century, Momma (we soon stopped calling her Grandmother) sold
lunches to the sawmen in the lumberyard (east Stamps) and the seedmen at the
cotton gin (west Stamps). Her crisp meat pies and cool lemonade, when joined to
her miraculous ability to be in two places at the same time, assured her business
success. From being a mobile lunch counter, she set up a stand between the two
points of fiscal interest and supplied the workers' needs for a few years. Then
she had the Store built in the heart of the Negro area. Over the years it became
the lay center of activities in town. On Saturdays, barbers sat their customers in
the shade on the porch of the Store, and troubadours on their ceaseless
crawlings through the South leaned across its benches and sang their sad songs
of The Brazos while they played juice harps and cigarbox guitars.
The formal name of the Store was the Wm. Johnson General Merchandise Store.
Customers could find food staples, a good variety of colored thread, mash for
hogs, corn for chickens, coal oil for lamps, light bulbs for the wealthy,
shoestrings, hair dressing, balloons, and flower seeds. Anything not visible had
only to be ordered.
Until we became familiar enough to belong to the Store and it to us, we were
locked up in a Fun House of Things where the attendant had gone home for life.
Each year I watched the field across from the Store turn caterpillar green, then
gradually frosty white. I knew exactly how long it would be before the big wagons
would pull into the front yard and load on the cotton pickers at daybreak to carry
them to the remains of slavery's plantations.
During the picking season my grandmother would get out of bed at four o'clock
(she never used an alarm clock) and creak down to her knees and chant in a
sleep-filled voice, "Our Father, thank you for letting me see this New Day. Thank
you that you didn't allow the bed I lay on last night to be my cooling board, nor
my blanket my winding sheet. Guide my feet this day along the straight and
narrow, and help me to put a bridle on my tongue. Bless this house, and
everybody in it. Thank you, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, Amen."
Before she had quite arisen, she called our names and issued orders, and
pushed her large feet into homemade slippers and across the bare Iye-washed
wooden floor to light the coal-oil lamp.
The lamplight in the Store gave a soft make-believe feeling to our world which
made me want to whisper and walk about on tiptoe. The odors of onions and
oranges and kerosene had been mixing all night and wouldn't be disturbed until
the wooded slat was removed from the door and the early morning air forced its
way in with the bodies of people who had walked miles to reach the pickup place.
"Sister, I'll have two cans of sardines."
"I'm gonna work so fast today I'm gonna make you look like you standing still."
"Lemme have a hunk uh cheese and some sody crackers."
"Just gimme a couple them fat peanut paddies." That would be from a picker who
was taking his lunch. The greasy brown paper sack was stuck behind the bib of
his overalls. He'd use the candy as a snack before the noon sun called the
workers to rest.
In those tender mornings the Store was full of laughing, joking, boasting and
bragging. One man was going to pick two hundred pounds of cotton, and another
three hundred. Even the children were promising to bring home fo' bits and six
bits.
The champion picker of the day before was the hero of the dawn. If he
prophesied that the cotton in today's field was going to be sparse and stick to the
bolls like glue, every listener would grunt a hearty agreement.
The sound of the empty cotton sacks dragging over the floor and the murmurs of
waking people were sliced by the cash register as we rang up the five-cent sales.
If the morning sounds and smells were touched with the supernatural, the late
afternoon had all the features of the normal Arkansas life. In the dying sunlight
the people dragged, rather than their empty cotton sacks. Brought back to the
Store, the pickers would step out of the backs of trucks and fold down, dirtdisappointed, to the ground. No matter how much they had picked' it wasn't
enough. Their wages wouldn't even get them out of debt to my grandmother, not
to mention the staggering bill that waited on them at the white commissary
downtown.
The sounds of the new morning had been replaced with grumbles about cheating
houses, weighted scales, snakes, skimpy cotton and dusty rows. In later years I
was to confront the stereotyped picture of gay song-singing cotton pickers with
such inordinate rage that I was told even by fellow Blacks that my paranoia was
embarrassing. But I had seen the fingers cut by the mean little cotton bolls, and I
had witnessed the backs and shoulders and arms and legs resisting any further
demands.
Some of the workers would leave their sacks at the Store to be picked up the
following morning, but a few had to take them home for repairs. I winced to
picture them sewing the coarse material under a coal-oil lamp with fingers
stiffening from the day's work. In too few hours they would have to walk back to
Sister Henderson's Store, get vittles and load, again, onto the trucks. Then they
would face another day of trying to earn enough for the whole year with the
heavy knowledge that they were going to end the season as they started it.
Without the money or credit necessary to sustain a family for three months. In
cotton-picking time the late afternoons revealed the harshness of Black Southern
life, which in the early morning had been softened by nature's blessing of
grogginess, forgetfulness and the soft lamplight.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Excerpted from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Excerpted
by permission of Bantam, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in
writing from the publisher.
Concept Unit
Week __3___ of 3; Plan #__6_____ of 9; [90 mins.]
Plan type: ____Full-Detail _X__Summary
Content Requirement Satisfied: Vocabulary lesson



might have felt.

literature.
purpose better.
a. Students will value literature more with background research because it informs
them about real humans.
reality.
Performance (do):
their learning.
characters.
present.
future.
VASOL:
solve problems.
Reading
comprehension.
Research
product.
information.
CCSs:

1. [_5_mins.] Bridge/Hook/Opening to lesson: (say as students enter)

Hi students, as many of you have noticed when you walk in, there is no dialogue journal
today. Instead I want you all to carefully read the anticipation guide questions so that we
can break up in to groups and discuss about the questions right when class starts.
2. [_25 mins.] Step 1: Anticipation guide

(small group 10 mins)
Now lets break up into groups and go over the different questions. I would suggest to do
a whole group vote first to see where all of you stand and then after that you can discuss
about why there are opposing views on different things. I will walk around to see where
all of you guys are and ask questions to get you thinking more deeply about the
statements.
Possible Conversations:
Student:
Our ten minutes are up, so lets come back to the class as a whole to share all the good
ideas weve had in our small groups.
(whole class discussion)
[10 -15_mins.] Step 2: Mini vocabulary lesson on holocaust terms to help with
students better understand the holocaust
Today were going to do something a bit differently. Well take a break from the KWLs
and the researching and Ill give you a mini vocabulary lesson about terms that have to
do with the holocaust so that you get a basic idea of what happened in the holocaust.
Please take notes as I explain because it will help you better understand the movie about
the holocaust that we are going to watch in class next time.
So first of all, who knows what the holocaust is?

S1: Its the event where the Jews got killed.
S2: I think its in World War II. The Nazis, Germans tried to kill all of them.
S3: Lots and lots of people died.
Very good, the holocaust is the mass murder of Jewish people under the German Nazi
regime in 194145. More than 6 million Jews, as well as members of other oppressed
groups, such as gypsies and homosexuals in Europe, were killed at concentration camps.
One of the well-known concentration camps is the one in Auschwitz.
Our next word is Anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism basically means hostility or prejudice
against Jews or in other words opposition against Jewish people.
S: How do we use the term when we speak though?
Thats a very good question. Anti-Semitism is basically used as an umbrella term, or
general term for people who have negative stereotypes against Jewish people.
[35_mins.] Step 4: Students will split up into their final projects group and will with
their groups select a text from the final project text list and start working on their research
projects.
Note: Students will also have another whole class to work on their final projects.
Today I will also give you time to start working on your final projects. Get into your
groups and look through the text list for the final project and select your top three choices, and
write them down on a sheet to me. I will look at what the top choices of the groups are and try
my best to give you your top choices. Please do this right away so I can give you your texts and
you can start working on your projects.
On to the basic outline/idea of the project. What I expect you to do for this project is part
one, a research part, part two a reflection part, and the final part is the presentation part. For
the first part of the project, I expect you to do a thorough research on the piece/topic that you
have, just like the KWL presentations we did in class earlier in the unit, but this time, your group
will have to cover all of the relevant topics to enhance the understanding of your text. For the
second part, I would like to see an analysis of how the historical and background information
influence the writing of the piece. You will have to identify both individual and collective voices
that are present in your text. I would like you to tell me/us what the voices are and what their
messages are. You will also have to in your presentation include a reflection on how it is
important to read this piece of text and what it teaches us. For the third part, presentation, you
are free to choose however you want to present your project, you can do a prezi, a digital video
presentation, or making a visual. You will be graded on creativity of your method of presentation
and how your chosen method of presentation helps bring out the essence of your projects.
Are there any questions about the project? I will also be circling to see if any of you need
help tackling you texts.
Text list for final project:
-
Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell Imperialism in India

Persepolis by Marjane Satarpi (Islamic Revolution)
A Bronzeville Mother Lotiers in Mississippi by Gwendolyn Brooks Civil Rights
Movement
Excerpt from A Tale of Two cities by Charles Dickens French Revolution
Excerpt from The Things They Carried by Tim O Brien Vietnam War
Excerpt from In our Time by Ernest Hemingway WWII
3. [_2-3_mins] Closure: We will start the Boy in the Striped Pajamas (movie) in class
next time
Okay class, we will be watching the movie called the Boy in the Striped Pajamas about
the holocaust next time. If you have time outside of class to work on your projects I strongly
advise you to but I will still give you some more time to work in class. Remember that this
final project is worth 20% of your final grade so I hope you work hard on it!
Pre-assessment:
Students will show their prior knowledge about the holocaust by
o Completing their anticipation guides. [3a-d]
Students will show their progress towards a better understanding of the holocaust by
o Participating in the holocaust anticipation guide discussion and asking questions
about the vocabulary [SOL 10.4, CCSS9-10.2]
In a future lesson, students will exhibit their ability to reflect on their understanding about
why literature helps them better understand humanity by
o Writing their reflection papers [1a, 2a-d, 3a,b,c, e, 4a-c, 5a-c, 6a,b, 7a-d, 8a,b]
o Completing and presenting their final projects [all objectives]
The anticipation guide with its controversial issues will also encourage all of the students to
express their personal opinions, even those who are usually silent during discussion would not be
able to help but talk, since we will have them first discuss in small groups before discussing as a
big group. Also because of the small group discussions, I can go around and help facilitate/read
the anticipation guide statements to the groups that need more help, for example, the group with
Damante and Narya. In this lesson, I also include a vocabulary lesson in which all of the
students will benefit from. This is because the holocaust may not be a topic that all of the
students are familiar with, especially Narya who is an ELL student.
Materials Needed:
-
25 copies of project rubric

25 copies of KWL chart
25 copies of Anticipation guide
25 copies of Holocaust Vocabulary Sheet
smart board

handouts, etc.)
Holocaust Vocabulary Words

-
Holocaust
Anti-Semitism
Weimar republic
totalitarianism
persecution
resistance
Name: __________
Anticipation Guide for Holocaust
Directions: Read the statement and write YES if you agree with it and NO if you do not in the
BEFORE Column. Be prepared to discuss your view. We will then look at this at the end of our
unit and check to see if our opinions change in the AFTER column.
BEFORE
AFTER
_____ 1. I would help someone I saw in trouble, no matter the danger.
_____
_____ 2. Everyone has some type of prejudice.
_____
_____ 3. Everybody has the capacity to do great good.
_____ 4. Prejudice leads to violence.
_____
_____
_____ 5. Man is born with an evil nature.
_____
_____ 6. Apathy or indifference is a real problem in our society.
_____
_____ 7. Reading and studying about the past doesnt make an impact
_____
on the future.
_____ 8. Governments are basically good and well-intentioned.
_____
_____9. Everyone deserves to be treated the same under the law.
_____
_____10. Every human being deserves basic rights just because he/she is human. _____
edited anticipation guide retrieved from : http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?

q=cache:kls4LTAlhcwJ:www.buncombe.k12.nc.us/cms/lib5/NC01000308/Centricity/Domain/29
7/Anticipation%2520Guide%2520for%2520Holocaust%2520and%2520Jewish%2520Resistance
%2520Unit.doc+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari
Concept Unit
Week __3___ of 3; Plan #___7___ of 9; [90 mins.]
Plan type: _X__Full-Detail __ Summary
Content Requirement Satisfied: Embedded technology



might have felt.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Students will know that literature is the study of humanity.

Students will understand that by reading literature, they learn more about humans.
Students will understand that literature helps them better understand themselves.
Students will reflect on the importance of reading literature through discussion.
Students will reflect on the importance of reading literature through writing.

literature.
purpose better.
to literature.
about real humans.
reality.
Performance (do):
their learning.
characters.
present.
future.
VASOL:

solve problems.
Reading
comprehension.
Research
product.
information.
CCSs:

Dialogue Journal Question: What voices have we heard so far? Which of those voices resonate
with you the most? Why? (Students will do bell work when they get to class, we will not share
today so we can finish the movie. However, the students still have to do this bell work to keep
them thinking about voices and the importance of studying these voices.)
1. [_1_min.] Bridge/Hook/Opening to lesson:

Today were going to watch the movie called The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. The
movie is about the holocaust. I want you all to answer these guided questions as we
watch the movie. These questions will help you think about voices in the movie to help
you prepare for the final project that is coming up. I will collect these questions to grade
after we are done watching the movie so please pay attention.
2. [_90 mins.]: Play Movie Boy in the Striped Pajamas
As we play the movie, I will make sure to pause the movie from time to time to point out
the important parts of the movie. For instance, students might need help realizing that
Shmuel is inside the fence of a concentration camp. I will also address the more difficult
guided questions to help students out, especially the ones that have to do with voice and
point of views because these are the questions that directly align with my lesson
objectives.
**Note: I will pause the movie at certain intervals for 3-5 minutes each to have the students
answer each batch of the guided questions. The amount of time is also enough to have mini-
discussions with their peers. This will keep them on their toes to pay attention to the movie and
also engender different insights about the movie.
3. [_2-3_mins] Closure: Tell class we will continue to work on final projects next time
in class.
[How will you know if the intended learning occurred?] List all used in this lesson or which are
related to this lesson and come in a future lesson. After each assessment, indicate in brackets the
number(s) and letter(s) of the unit objective and the related lesson objectives that the assessment
is evaluating.
Pre-assessment:
Students will show their prior knowledge about the holocaust by
o Completing their anticipation guides (from last lesson because this is a
continuation of the subject introduced in the previous lesson) [SOL 10.4, CCSS 910.2]
Students will exhibit an understanding about the different voices in literature by
o Watching the movie and discussing the guided questions with their peers [1a, 2ad, 3a-d, 4a-d, 5a-c, 6ab, 7a-d, 8ab, SOL 10.4]
Students will show their ability to understand and analyze different voices in literature by
o Completing the movie guide questions and discuss about different voices in the
film while working on the questions [1a, 2a-d, 3a-d, 4a-d, 5a-c, 6ab, 7a-d, 8ab,
SOL 10.4]
o Completing and presenting their final projects.

I decided to teach the students about the holocaust through this movie because it is one that is
told from a childs point of view and would allow the students to find it easier to relate to the
story. I think that Damante and Narya would find the movie easier to understand than an actual
short text written about the holocaust. I have also structure the lesson with pauses in the movie to
allow them to discuss the movie questions so that they will actually think about the different
points of view and also the different voices in the movie. I think that the movie would also be a
relaxing lesson for Manny who might be stressed out with supporting his family and trying to
keep up with school.
Materials Needed:
-
25 copies of guided movie questions

Smart board
Movie/projector
Movie

handouts, etc.)
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Movie Questions
Set during World War II, a story seen through the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son
of the commandant at a concentration camp, whose forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on
the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences.
Please complete the following questions. Please be prepared to discuss these and others with the
class.
1. How does the opening scene of Bruno and his friends represent their innocence?
2. Does Bruno and Gretels tutor take advantage of the childrens innocence in what he
teaches them? How? What were these ideas?
3. Grandmother disagrees with the views of the Nazis. How does she stand up for her
beliefs?
4. What events and experiences lead Bruno to gradually give up some of his innocence and
see things differently?
5. Neither Bruno nor Shmuel really know going on at the concentration camp. Why is that,
and what allows them to keep their innocence?
6. How is it possible for Bruno and Shmuel to have fun together and maintain their
friendship in the midst of their circumstances?
7. How does Bruno justify continuing his friendship with Shmuel despite what his father,
sister, and tutor have said about Jews?
8. The barbed wire fence is a physical separation between Bruno and Shmuel. What other
types
of separation does the fence represent in this story?
9. How do Bruno and Shmuel demonstrate the essence of friendship despite their many
differences? What are their differences?
10. How do the friendships that Bruno has in Berlin at the beginning of the movie compare
with his friendship with Shmuel?
11. At times, Father is shown as a loving parent and husband. How is that possible given his
role as a Nazi officer giving orders to treat people inhumanely?
12. What does Bruno say and do to show his growing understanding of the inhumanity going
on around him, including to his friend Shmuel?
13. When Mother learns that Jews are being exterminated at the camp, she questions her
husband. How can you? she asks. He responds: Because Im a soldier. Contrast these
two perspectives.
14. Father tries to use guilt to get Mother to change her opposition to his involvement in the
exterminations. Does it work? Why or why not?
15. Bruno tried to help Shmuel find his father despite being frightened and wanting to go
home. Why?
16. In your opinion, what does the end of story symbolize? Why?
Questions retrieved from: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?
q=cache:_HQufmTwisIJ:www.materlakes.org/ourpages/auto/2014/5/14/44755231/movie
%2520questions.doc+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari
Concept Unit
Week ___3__ of 3; Plan #___8____ of 9; [90 mins.]
Plan type: ____Full-Detail _X__Summary
Content Requirement Satisfied:



might have felt.
literature.
purpose better.
to literature.
about real humans.
reality.
Performance (do):
their learning.
characters.
present.
future.
VASOL:
solve problems.
Reading
comprehension.
Research
product.
information.
CCSs:

1.
Bridge/Hook/Opening to lesson:
Dialogue Journal Question: No dialogue journals today
2. [85- 90 mins] Students work on their projects (for the entire class).
This is a class period that I plan out for the students to use in class time to work on their
final projects since the project is a big one. While the students work, I will walk around
the classroom to see what they need help with. I will split this work time up into 4
sections for the following categories: background research, identification of voices,
making connections, and citations. These are the four main categories that I want the
students to work on in the class because these are the categories that I think need the most
prompting and could use some help. I will also provide the groups with guided questions
for each category when they are working.
[25 mins] Background research category
While the students work on this category, I will provide them with a checklist or
some guided questions that ask them to think about whether or not they have sufficient
background information in their presentation for their peers to understand the text that
they will be presenting about. One problem that the groups may also have would be
having too much background information. The groups would then have to choose which
pieces of information are the most crucial to the understanding of the target text.
[25 mins] Identification of voices category
In this section, I would have students work on analyzing the different voices that
are presented in their text. They would focus on individual and collective voices and
figure out why the voices are important to the work as a whole.
[25 mins] Making connections category
This category would be one of the harder ones since making connections is
something that requires the students to critically think about the material in relation to
themselves and the world. Here I would have a checklist or guided questions that include
-
the following:
Why is it important for us to study this piece of literature today?
What has this piece revealed to you about humanity/humans?
Do you (or your group members) identify with any of the characters? What are some
similarities and differences?

Why might it be important for people in the future generations to study this piece of
literature?
[15 mins] Citation category
This category is crucial to the project since it is a research project. In this
category, I would have the students go over the citations for the project and make sure
that they have the right format. I would have them go to OWL Purdue and check to see if
they have the correct citations (in-text too).
Pre-assessment:
Students will show prior knowledge about research and connecting to text by
o Reporting their progress on their final projects. [4a, 4b, 4c]
Students will show an understanding about researching and connecting to texts by

o Working on their projects and asking/answering questions they have about the
projects. [4a, 4b, 4c]
Students will demonstrate their ability to research for background information by
o Working on their final projects. [all objectives]
Students will also demonstrate the ability to connect to literature by
o Working on their final projects [all objectives]

During the period of project work time, I will try to pay more attention to Damante and Narya,
and help them decipher the texts if they have trouble doing so. I would also try to help Narya
with pronunciations of words that she might be unsure of so that she will feel confident for the
presentation. Manny will definitely benefit from the in class work time again since he will be
quite busy outside of class.
Materials Needed:
-
25 copies of Final Project Rubric

25 computers/laptops for students to use for research

handouts, etc.
Concept Unit
Week __3___ of 3; Plan #___9____ of 9; [90 mins.]
Plan type: ____Full-Detail __X_Summary
Content Requirement Satisfied: Mini-inquiry

SWBAT:
might have felt.
literature.
purpose better.
about real humans.
reality.
Performance (do):
their learning.
characters.
present.
future.
SWBAT
b. Students will know how different voices are represented in literary works
might have felt.
literature.
purpose better.
about real humans.
reality.
Performance (do):
their learning.
characters.
present.
future.
SOLs: [List with numbers portrayed in the SOL document]
CCSs: [List with numbers portrayed in the CCS document]



1. Bridge/Hook/Opening to lesson:
No Dialogue Journal today. Students will have time at the beginning of the class to do
final preparations for their project presentations.
2. [85-90 mins] Students will take turns and present their final projects
I will be giving them feedback by using the Final Project Rubric that was given to them
earlier in the unit when they started working on their projects. While the students present,
I will ask questions to check their understandings about the content and also questions
that help me see whether or not they have thought deeply about the research. I will play
close attention to the main point of the project, which would be the research,
identification of voices, and making connections.
**While their peers present, I would have the students work on a feedback form with the
following questions:
1. What is the short text about?
2. What are the important voices presented in the text?
3. After listening to the GIST of the text, what does it make you think about?
4. What similarities/differences does the event have to those that youve encountered
before?
Pre-assessment:
N/A
Students will show an understanding about researching and connecting to texts by
o Asking and answering questions during the presentations as well as will in the
feedback forms for the presenters. [7a-d, 8ab]
Students will demonstrate the ability to research and connect to literature by

The final project is designed so that the students can help each other out (I am a fan of small
group peer teaching/working). If the gifted students like Bridget end up in a group together, I can
encourage their group to choose one of the more challenging texts to work on. On the other hand,
Dmante and Narya can also benefit from being grouped with the gifted students so the gifted
students can aid them in tackling the texts.
Materials Needed:
-
25 copies of final project feedback form

Smart board
Projector
25 copies of final project rubric

handouts, etc.)

Methods Final

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Concept Unit

Lesson Plan Template

Unit Working Title: Voices of Humanity in Literature

Unit Big Idea (Concept/Theme): Voices

Week __1___ of 3; Plan #___1____ of 9; [90 mins.]

Plan type: _X__Full-Detail ____Summary

Content Requirement Satisfied: Mini-inquiry, embedded technology, genre of text: song

Unit Learning Objectives (numbered) [from my Backwards Design Unit Document],

SWBAT: (highlighted objectives are the ones targeted in this lesson)

Students will know that literature is the study of humanity.

Affective (feel/value) and/or Non-Cognitive:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in

Beginning Room Arrangement:

1. [_15_mins.] Bridge/Hook/Opening to lesson:

Student 4: Yeah, it does. So everyone is able to speak?

Teacher: What do you think is the purpose of this song?

Teacher: inform I like that word. What else?

Teacher: Do we hear a voice or voices from this song?

Student 11: Those who are mistreated.

3. [_5_mins.] Step 2: Play Digital Video to introduce unit voices of literature

Why was this song written?

[32_mins.] Step 4: Small group research on W questions

Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students:

Materials Appendix: (e.g., supplementary texts, Ppts, overheads, graphic organizers,

Why haven't you learned anything?

I went to school with some redneck crackers

They schools can't teach us shit

In multiples, unemployment ain't rewardin'

They schools can't teach us shit

'Cuz for real, a mind is a terrible thing to waste

We gon' speak for ourselves

This whole school system can suck my dick, beeyotch

Unit Working Title: Voices of Humanity in Literature

Unit Big Idea (Concept/Theme): Voices

Week __1___ of 3; Plan #__2_____ of 9; [90 mins.]

Plan type: ____Full-Detail _X__ Summary

Content Requirement Satisfied: Mini-inquiry (Primary or Secondary)

Unit Learning Objectives (numbered) [from my Backwards Design Unit Document],

a. Students will be able to identify individual voices.

1. [_15_mins.] Bridge/Hook/Opening to lesson:

[_35_mins.] Go to library to pick out books for SSR

Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students:

Materials Appendix: (e.g., supplementary texts, Ppts, overheads, graphic organizers,

Unit Working Title: Voices of Humanity in Literature

Unit Big Idea (Concept/Theme): Voices

Week __1___ of 3; Plan #___3___ of 9; [90 mins.]

Plan type: _X__Full-Detail ____Summary

Content Requirement Satisfied: Reading experience, modeling, embedded technology

Unit Learning Objectives (numbered) [from my Backwards Design Unit Document],

SWBAT: (highlighted objectives are the ones targeted in this lesson)

c. Students will know about injustices in history.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in

Beginning Room Arrangement:

5. [_15_mins.] Bridge/Hook/Opening to lesson:

Possible teacher-student conversations:

T: Thats a good observation! What else do people see?

6. [_35_mins.] Anticipation guide

Does anyone know what anticipation guides are?

Possible teacher-student conversation: (5 minutes)

So one of your handouts is an anticipation guide (show them the handout).

7. [_25_mins.] Double entry journals

Students will show their understanding of using reading strategies by

Week 1_ of 3; Plan #_1__ of 9; [90 mins.]

Plan type: _XFull-Detail __Summary

Week 1_ of 3; Plan #2___ of 9; [90 mins.]

Week 1_ of 3; Plan #_3_ of 9; [90 mins.]

Plan type: _XFull-Detail __Summary

Week __2 of 3; Plan #_4__ of 9; [90 mins.]

Plan type: __Full-Detail X_Summary

Week _2__ of 3; Plan #_5____ of 9; [90 mins.]

Plan type: _XFull-Detail __Summary

Week 3_ of 3; Plan #6___ of 9; [90 mins.]

Week 3_ of 3; Plan #_7_ of 9; [90 mins.]

Plan type: _XFull-Detail Summary