Olivia Werderman English Grade 8 9/27/2013 I. Description of Context Community/School Shelby Junior High, Shelby Township.

. The area is mostly rural with some suburban communities. Therefore, it is a community that is involved with farming. Students Nearly 1,300 students Majority: White Minority: Asian, Hispanic and African American A small amount of students are ELLs Considering the majority of my students would be white, I would try to incorporate texts that would facilitate knowledge about other races. This would work well for the minority groups as well because the texts could be personally relatable. For the ELLs, I may try to find texts that have some aspect of their language included. This way every student would have a well-rounded education regarding different cultures. II. Overarching Concept I will base my yearlong lesson plan on Strategy. (Strategy enforces a particular way of approaching reading and/or writing.) At the end of middle school, I find it important for students to be able to approach texts and writing in a critical manner that reflects on different points of view. Using Strategy as an overarching concept will help students reach this critical awareness of texts in relation to their own voice about different topics. III. Alignment of yearlong Course Objectives with Common Core Standards Note: JA Journal Assignment Yearlong Course Objectives 1 SWBT identify strategies the author uses to see the differences between what the reader knows about the plot and what the characters know. I.E. decipher the relationship between author, audience, reader and characters Common Core Standards CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.6 Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.

Texts: The Hobbit by J. R.R. Tolkien, The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Alan Poe

Rationale The Hobbit puts the reader in a completely different world filled with imaginary creatures. It could bring out a creative perspective to how the reader would feel in the situation. The Tell Tale Heart clearly shows that one character knows something that the authorities do not. Rationale The teacher is leading students to a different way of thinking while reading rather than telling them how to think and feel about the text. JA: This puts students into a completely different mindset. They have to consider a different life style and get creative with writing about it.

Activities: Assign reading guides that relate to the text which directs students to think about certain concepts. Ex) How characters might be feeling and how would the reader feel if they were in the same situation? Does the reader know something based on the plot of the text or background knowledge that the characters do not? Etc. JA: Imagine you are an insect. Write a story about your typical day. How big is the world? How dangerous is it? Etc. Is this similar or different to how Bilbo might experience life in The Hobbit? 2 While reading a text, SWBT question the context/setting in which the text was written. They should also consider the authors POV. Specifically, what made the author write this piece? How did they try to relay their message?

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.6 Determine an authors point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.7 Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script, evaluating the choices made by the director or actors. Rationale - This is a great graphic novel to help students begin questioning who wrote it and why. Rationale This begins the research process. Students can be guided to go beyond a simple wiki search to find answers about the author.

Text: Maus I by Art Spiegelman JA: Research about the author of this book. Why might he have written this story? What do the comics truly represent? 3

SWBT compare and contrast the CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.2 Write author or characters POV in relation informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic

to their own thought process.

and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1a Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.

Texts: Any from class or suggested by the student. Assignment: Put yourself in the place of a character from one of the texts weve read in class. What was their thought process? How did they respond in certain situations? Now explain the similarities or differences to your own way of thinking. (2-3 page paper) 4 During classroom discussion, SWBT synthesize and support personal opinions. They will also fully consider their peers opinions to see if their own thought process changes or stays the same based on new information.

Rationale Why limit the creativity of a student if they want to go beyond the classroom texts? Rationale This assignment would enforce the idea of thinking from a different POV, while also explaining that its natural to have your own way of thinking as well.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1c Pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers and respond to others questions and comments with relevant evidence, observations, and ideas. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1d Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented. Rationale Its a lighter controversial issue that would be most effective for students to begin thinking about such topics. Rationale Both activities would foster a sense of critical thinking about the text and students would have the chance to share their opinions and reasons for thinking that way as well.

Text: The Case for Animal Rights by Tom Regan www.animal-rightslibrary.com/texts-m/regan03.pdf Activity: There are a couple different ways a teacher could use this text in a middle school setting. 1) The class could have a debate in which they must defend an assigned

side for or against animal rights. They would research their topic and present it to the class in a formal debate. (They could use information from the text to begin.) 2) The class could have a discussion about the author and his approach to writing this piece. Was it effective? Why or Why not? 5 SWBT utilize context clues within a text in order to understand the plot or meaning of difficult words. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text. Rational Hoot takes place in a particular geographical region. Students would benefit from considering the setting of this text and how it affects the plot of the story. Rational This allows students to think beyond the novel itself in order to think if different settings. They could then consider how different settings would affect the plot of the story.

SWBT form opinions about how the setting/timeline of a text affects the plot.

Text: Hoot by Carl Hiassen

JA: How would this text change if it was placed in a different area? Choose a geographical area and explain how the text would be similar or different if it occurred there.

SWBT identify themes in texts and CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.2 Determine a theme or connect them to decisions characters central idea of a text and analyze its development made in the story. over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.

IV. Rationale Ive chosen Strategy as my overarching concept because it is always important to learn new ways of approaching texts. This year may be heavily related to thinking from different perspectives, but it is broad enough to be applied relevantly in several ways. Therefore, the way that I would teach the objectives would keep the content from seeming repetitious or boring for the students. The objectives will guide students into considering a different persons point of view. These objectives all connect with the overarching concept because each presents a new way of critical thinking. Throughout the year students will gain the ability to listen, interpret and accept different opinions of their peers, characters from texts and authors of the texts. This type of thinking is certainly beneficial for all students to acquire. In regards to the ELLs in my classes, I would find ways to ensure they are benefitting from this style of thinking as well. This all leads into the final assessment which is the portfolio. This will be the most effective means of assessing if the students have learned the objectives. It is a self-referential work that challenges students to consider their own work and thinking process. The final paper will help them summarize their own thinking in relation to the texts covered in class. Overall, the year would be very involved with critical thinking and metacognition, which are great skills to have before going into high school. V. Final Assessment The final assessment would be a Portfolio. The assignment would require students to put together 5 pieces of work they had completed during the year. The portfolio should contain works that were particularly enjoyable to them, had an effect on their learning and made them work to support their point of view. Following the personal texts from class would be a 2-3 page paper on the reasons of the texts chosen. This would reinforce the original goal of students being able to critically think about not only the texts but their own thought processes as well.