Diana Boultbee

Title: The Pearl Unit Grade level: 9th Grade Length of time: 4 Weeks Stage 1 Desired Results Meaning Enduring Understandings: Students will understand that peace and happiness cannot be bought. Students will understand that even ethical people can be corrupted. Students will understand how our culture affects our interpretation of history. Essential Questions: What makes your happy? What makes an ethical person? What is culture?

Knowledge & Skills Acquisition Students will know Students will learn what a parable is Students will develop their ability to look for symbols and themes within a novel Students will how to look at literature from multiple perspectives Students will be able to Students will improve their comprehension and vocabulary skills Students will improve their analytic and rhetoric skills through discussions and debates Students will improve their reading, writing and listening skills through in class activities

Established Goals Common Core Standards 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. RL.9-10.3. Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme. SL.9-10.1. Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacherled) with diverse partners on grades 910 topics, texts, and issues, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. IA.7. Debate an issue from either side. W.9-10.10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. W.9-10.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 13 above.) W.9-10.5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

Stage 2 Evidence (Assessment) Performance Tasks Students will apply their understandings by Completing multiple in class activities throughout this unit that will help me evaluate students learning and comprehension of the content. This will help guide my instruction and assess for progress. The majority of the performance assessments will be formative as they will be completed along the way, assessing a wide range of content using different strategies and techniques. By debating an important issue in this novella after we have finished reading. This will assess both comprehension and ones rhetoric or speaking skills. Students will have the option of completing two performance tasks including: (1) a traditional essay, or (2) a more creative approach of creating a CD cover. Both assignments will demonstrate students degree of understanding. The final assessment will be summative in nature as I am looking for the students to demonstrate their overall understanding of the material taught.

Other Types of Assessment (Selected Response, Short Answer, Extended Response, Personal Communication) Students will additionally demonstrate their knowledge and skills by Completing admit/exit slips on a regular basis, which will allow me to check for comprehension and progression of understanding along the way so that I can adjust my teaching if necessary to meet the needs of my students. I will read these write-ups every night that I have given them and I will address them in a whole class setting the next morning by discussing any points that I felt were repeated or I feel important to. Also, I will be writing on each exit slip a note back and then giving it to the student to put into their Pearl Unit folder, which each student will keep with their notes and assignments from this unit. These are used so that students can go back and look at it whenever they need to, especially while completing their final assessment. Discussing in whole class setting as well as in small groups and partners using the Think, Pair, Share

strategy different points in this novella. These will be guided questions, as I will be asking the students to think about a certain topic. I will be assessing the responses through walking around the room and listening, as well as listening to the students responses when they use the Sharing Whip strategy to bring back the discussion into a whole group setting. Both of these forms of quick assessments will be formative assessments in nature as I will be using a variety of assessment techniques to evaluate students knowledge of content along the way. There will be some form of a quick assessment or multiple assessments done throughout each period. This is a way for me to engage students and to make sure that students understand the content and if not, a way for me to know that students are falling behind right away so that I can address the issue, re-visit the content and ensure comprehension. Stage 3 Learning Plan Pre-assessment: I plan to pre-assess students knowledge of this time period and of the setting of this novella by creating a discussion of the history of this part of America and the people this story is talking about.

I also plan to introduce this novella by discussing what type of story it is and by doing so introducing new vocabulary words. The students will be completing exit slips within the first few days of what they feel a parable is will also be discussing terms such as this. Unit Sequencing: 20 days I plan to introduce students by teaching them about the author John Steinbeck and to connect his life with the time period in which this book was written and the context in which it was written. I plan to outline his style as a writer and to teach the students about this style of writing before we start the reading. I plan to hook the students by reading this book aloud in a story telling manner, having everyone sit on the ground around me while I read, as though they were listening to it as villagers in the early 20th century (authors intended audience). I will be outlining everyday at the beginning of the period what we will be covering that period. I will also be using admit/exit slips to tie in the previous days learning to the next day. This will encourage my students to connect ideas and to continually reflect on previous ideas. At the beginning of this unit I will also make sure

that I have posted the EUs and EIs for this unit which will help guide students attention while they are listening to myself read and are discussing the issues and ideas in groups. I will organize this unit in a way that students remain engaged and continually develop their understanding of the content being learned throughout this unit. I will do this by reading each chapter in class aloud and then by addressing key points such as; symbols and thematic elements of this novella continually as well as issues in the reading itself daily. I will be using read alouds, admit/exit slips, TPS, Sharing Whips, small group discussions, large groups discussions, individual interviews and a debate to engage students in their learning in this unit. I will be formatively assessing students understanding of content by creating and fostering an open classroom. I will do this by having students complete quick writes where they are encourages to address any questions or concerns they may be having so that I can guide my instruction accordingly. I will also be reading the novella aloud since it is a short story, which will eliminate any reading difficulties or lack of reading. As well, I will be creating different types of discussions in every class period, which will help me to see where students level of comprehension is at and gives me an opportunity to ask more in depth questions. This allows me the ability to move on only when I feel that the class is ready. I plan to scaffold students learning by continually helping students connect their prior ideas from the previous classes to each new lesson. I also plan to address new ideas by connecting them to students schema. I plan to create an atmosphere within my classroom that emphasizes students choice in their learning by providing them with multiple opportunities to choose what form of assessment they would like to complete whether it be through the quick writes (admit/exit slips) or through the class discussion for formative assessments. As well as I have provided two different final assessments that the students can complete as a summative assessment.

Unit: The Pearl

Week Monday 1 1 -Introduce John Steinbeck (with photo) -Provide a brief history of Steinbecks life and where he grew up in California during the early turn of the century -Explain Steinbecks style in writing and character choice or representing middle America -Connect Steinbeck and his work to other novels studied previously in this class -Pre-vocab introduction -Exit slip: Tonight for homeplay I ask that you take a few minutes to look up John Steinbeck online and to come to class tomorrow with something that you found interesting about him or his life. Tuesday 2 -Admit slip: Pull out your homeplay and write down (on one of the sticky notes provided) what you found interesting about John Steinbeck -I will collect sticky notes while the groups talk -TPS- Talk about what you found in your table groups -Read Introduction of The pearl to class -Ask students: What is a parable? What examples do you know of parables? How does what Steinbeck suggests here differ from the traditional interpretation of a parable? -Have students work in small groups to Wednesday 3 -Read Chapter One to class (Important because this novella was written to be told as a story) -Provide students with a written study guide outlining major questions in the novella -Discuss characters that have been introduced -Description of characters (flat characters-what does this mean?) -Have students work in small groups to discuss and predict what they feel this parable is about -Sharing Whip: Each group shares in whole class setting what their group came up with in regards to answering this question -Exit Slip: Do you like this book so far? Do you need any clarification? Thursday 4 -Begin class by addressing the responses on the exit slips- answering any questions the students have -Read chapters Two and Three aloud to class -Stop to address every question that arises on the study guide -Discuss setting of this novella in whole group setting and how this sets up the theme and symbolisms in the chapters ahead -Setting: small Mexican Indian village in California around the turn of the century -Exit Slip: How is the

Pacing Calendar
Friday 5 -Discuss the answers on the exit slips and how setting does affect this story (oppression) -Read Chapter Four aloud to class -Continuing to stop and address questions on study guide -Ask students: How does the imagery in this novella create symbolism? What are the major images Steinbeck uses? -Have students TPS these questions with a partner then share in small groups -Remind students to catch up on any reading they may have missed during the week or to re-

compare/ contrast Steinbecks writing approach to other early 20th century writers -Sharing Whip: Each group shares what their group came up with to the class -Discuss morals and how students should be listening to this as though they were being read it in a village 6 2 -Admit Slip: Write down some of the symbols we discussed on Friday that we found in this text -TPS with a partner what you came up with -Collect sticky notes while partners talk and then address some of the key symbols students came up with in a whole class setting -Discuss the importance of symbolisms in a novel -Discuss how the symbols may differ reading this today as oppose to reading this when Steinbeck wrote it (intended audience) -Read aloud chapter 5 to 7 -Read aloud chapter 6 to class -Address any and all of the study guide questions and then have students quickly go through their answers together in small groups so that if a student missed any they could catch up -Discuss the end of the book -Ask Students: What are the themes you found in this novella? -Have students TSP this questions in their small table groups -Sharing Whip: Each table shares one theme 8 -Carousel Walk: Each group will create a poster answering each of the prompts. They are encouraged to write their answers along with adding any images they feel are important. Themes: Are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work Symbols: Are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts -Students will walk around and see each others

setting important to a story?

read if they want/need to.

9 -Address exit slips and what students responded with -Discuss the idea of parables, bringing it back to the discussion earlier in the unit -TPS your answer and listen to theirs. Also discuss some possible other morals that you can connect with. -Sharing Whip: Each group shares what they discussed with the class -Direct a discussion on how one might come away with a different moral from

10 -Speaking component of the unit: A Debate -Have students decide their stance of this issue: Could Kino and Juana have avoided their fate? -Have students choose a side by stepping to one side of the room (students who are undecided can sit in the middle) -Students will go debate back and forth trying to persuade the other side and those in the middle to join them

the class -Stopping to address and answer any questions on the study guide -Exit Slip: What do you predict will happen in this story?

that their table came up with that they found stood out as being the most prevalent theme in this story -Exit Slip: What theme stood out to you? And why?

posters -Discuss as a whole group what each group came up with in comparison to the other groups and for each group to discuss and support why they went with their answers. -Exit Slip: Is this story a parable? Why or why not? If yes, what moral lesson did you take away from this story? 13 -Provide students with the period to work on their individual assignments, asking peers if they need help -I will plan to meet with every student over the next two days for a few minutes to discuss their plans that I looked at the night before that they handed in at the end of the class period -Meet with essay students first -While students are not sitting with me they have free range to work on the computer to do some research, use markers and crayons to complete any of

someone else given their own prior experiences -Discussion on how what we may take away from this book differs from what villagers in the early part of the 20th century would. Or how your cultural values/beliefs would alter or affect this. 14 -Continuation of previous day which includes individual work in the classroom and meetings with myself -Again, at the end of the class period students will hand in what they have completed today in this class and I will attach it to what they completed yesterday so that I can see the progress -If need be, students are welcome to see me outside of class during their study 15 -Continuation of the last two days although I will only be meeting with students who ask to meet with me individually as I have already met with everyone once -I will circulate the room and assist as many students as I can -I will clarify to students that this is their last chance to work on this assignment in class with their peers and myself here to help

11 3 -Introduce assessments: 2 options -One being a more traditional type of assessment which is an essay (there are 3 essay topics provided for students but they also have the freedom to choose their own as long as they pass it by me first) -The second option being a little more on the creative side but still demonstrating their understanding and comprehension of the story, which is creating a CD cover and case

12 -Begin by asking the class to raise their hands for which assessment they wish to complete -Have students split into two groups (depending on the number in each) either have remain in those groups or split into smaller groups if need be to brainstorm some ideas for their individual assignments -Have the students design a plan for what they plan to do for their assignment to hand in at the end of the class

(which includes front, inside of front and back) This project should demonstrate students awareness of theme, character, and other literary elements -Exit Slip: Choose which assessment you are to complete

period

the artistic requirements for the second assessment option or they can begin to complete their first draft of their paper. -At the end of the class period students will hand in what they have achieved today using this class period to work on this assignment

period of before or after school

so to make the most of it. -Again, students will hand in their completed work and I will attach to previous days to see the progress they are making or if there are questions that need to be addressed -Reminder: Bring in your rough draft to peer edit with a partner on Monday 19 20 -New Unit: Day Four -Hand in final projects for The Pearl Unit

16
4

17 -New Unit: Day One -New Unit: Day Two

18

-Students will read through or look over each others work and peer edit one another -They will take half of the class period to look at one and discuss it together and then they will look over the other for the second half of the period -Each student will take notes for their respective project and as they are leaving the room I will check off that I have seen their notes

-New Unit: Day Three

quickly -Students will now have until Friday to make the necessary adjustments to their assignments