Unit of Study: Acceleration Novel Study
Introduction
Subject: ENG3E/4E
Grade(s): 11/12
Summary/Focus of Unit
This unit will be focused on the novel
Acceleration by Graham McNamee. Over the
course of this unit the class will track four main
ideas, which will then be used to guide the
summative slideshow project at the end of the
unit.
Overall Expectations
1. Oral Communication
1. Listening to Understand: listen in order to
understand and respond appropriately in a
variety of situations for a variety of purposes;
2. Speaking to Communicate: use speaking
skills and strategies appropriately to
communicate with different audiences for a
variety of purposes;
2. Reading and Literature Studies
1. Reading for Meaning: read and demonstrate
an understanding of a variety of informational,
graphic, and literary texts, using a range of
strategies to construct meaning;
3. Reading With Fluency: use knowledge of
words and cueing systems to read fluently;
4. Reflecting on Skills and Strategies: reflect
on and identify their strengths as readers,
areas for improvement, and the strategies they
found most helpful before, during, and after
reading.
Big Idea/Focus Questions
Over the course of this novel the class will track four big
ideas. Those ideas are:
1. There are identified patterns of deviant human
behaviour.
2. People respond to crisis in various ways.
3. The way people respond to crisis is based on several
factors (mental health, gender, age,maturity, support,
education, etc.).
4. People try to overcome guilt in various ways.
Specific Expectations
1.3 select and use appropriate listening comprehension
strategies before, during, and after listening to understand
oral texts, including increasingly complex texts
2.1 communicate orally for a variety of purposes, using
language appropriate for the intended audience
2.3 communicate in a clear, coherent manner, using a
structure and style appropriate to the purpose, subject
matter, and intended audience
2.7 use a variety of audio-visual aids appropriately to
support and enhance oral presentations and to engage an
audience
1.2 select and use appropriate reading comprehension
strategies before, during, and after reading to understand
texts, including increasingly complex texts
1.3 identify the most important ideas and supporting details
in texts, including increasingly complex texts
1.4 make and explain inferences about texts, including
increasingly complex texts, supporting their explanations
with well-chosen stated and implied ideas from the texts
3.1 automatically understand most words in a variety of
reading contexts
4.1 describe a variety of strategies they used before,
during, and after reading; explain which ones they found
most helpful; and identify appropriate steps they can take
to improve as readers
1.2 generate, expand, explore, and focus ideas for
potential writing tasks, using a variety of strategies and
print, electronic, and other resources, as appropriate

3. Writing
1. Developing and Organizing Content:
generate, gather, and organize ideas and
information to write for an intended purpose
and audience;
2. Using Knowledge of Form and Style: draft
and revise their writing, using a variety of
informational, graphic, and literary forms and
stylistic elements appropriate for the purpose
and audience;
1.4 identify, sort, and order main ideas and supporting
details for writing tasks, using a variety of strategies and
organizational patterns suited to the content and the
purpose for writing
2.3 use appropriate descriptive and evocative words,
phrases, and expressions to make their writing clear, vivid,
and interesting for their intended audience
2.4 write complete sentences that communicate their
meaning clearly and accurately, varying sentence type,
structure, and length to suit different purposes and making
smooth and logical transitions between ideas
1.2 interpret media texts, including increasingly complex
texts, identifying and explaining the overt and implied
messages they convey
3.4 produce media texts for a variety of purposes and
audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and
techniques

4. Media Studies
1. Understanding Media Texts: demonstrate an
understanding of a variety of media texts;
3. Creating Media Texts: create a variety of
media texts for different purposes and
audiences, using appropriate forms,
conventions, and techniques;

Links to Prior Knowledge and Skills Required for Success

● Ability to follow a storyline over the course of several weeks (The Colony)
● Participation in class discussions
● Reading comprehension skills
● Reading Strategies

Planning with the End in Mind

Summative Task:
● Slideshow about one of the big ideas.
Final Lesson:
● Debrief the ”Big Ideas”
● Prepare and practice presentations
Mid Unit Lessons (ideas):
● Learn about psychopaths
○ Psychopath in the family video
○ News articles
● Create a wanted poster
● Recreate a scene as a comic
● Comprehension worksheets
 ● The MacDonald Triad
● Chapter summaries
● Big Idea trackers (complete this as a class on four pieces of chart paper)
Introductory Lesson:
● Anticipation guide
● Answer pre-reading questions

Oral Communication: Reading:

● Listen to comprehend portions of the
text that are read aloud
● Participate in class discussions
○ Chapter analysis/summaries
○ Big Idea Trackers
● Final presentation
● Independently read the novel
● Read other teacher selected texts and relate them
to the novel
● Use reading strategies to assist with
comprehension
● All reading will be done in class

Writing: Media Studies:

● Complete worksheets ● Connect big ideas from various media texts to the
○ Pre-reading novel
○ Anticipation guide ● Create a comic
○ Comprehension questions ● Create a wanted poster
● Various paragraphs about different ● Create and present a slideshow on one of the big
parts of the novel ideas
● Continually add to chapter summaries
chart

Differentiations
● Read some sections of the novel aloud
● Discuss and record some chapter summaries as a class
Class Profile:
Number of students: 10
Strengths
● Responding orally to questions
● Participating in class discussions (about half of the class)
● Forming/expressing personal opinions
Areas for improvement
● Easily distracted
● Spelling and grammar
● Organization

*Reading will only be assigned for class time (novels will not leave the room)