Spring 2008 The Things They Carried Unit Plan

Description of classroom context for the unit

11th grade

New York City Public High School (approximately 2,000 students)

Block scheduling

Class length: 90 minutes

First text of the year (January)

5 weeks

Rationale

The second half of 11th grade English is specifically geared towards examining the craft of writing
within specific texts. The first unit in the semester is primarily focused on Tim OBriens The Things
They Carried. This novel allows us to focus on the idea of storytelling, perspective, and subjective
truth. The second half of the unit will allow students to engage creatively in two major writing as-
signments that are based on specific literary elements found in The Things They Carried, such as voice
and story telling/retelling.

Unit Description

During this 5 week unit, students will explore through Tim OBriens The Things They Carried how
perspective alters and skews truth in order to achieve the authors overarching goal of making things
present, to have readers feel on a deeper level what they main character is feeling, and ultimately for
readers to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth. Through a series of les-
sons that are targeted on story truth versus facts, perspective, and the role of truth in fiction stu-
dents will be asked throughout the unit to synthesize what they are learning in a reading response
journal that they will keep while they are reading, in a creative writing assignment that allows them to
write a new chapter to the novel based excerpts from a New York Times, and lastly in a storytelling/re-
telling assignment based on a series of interviews conducted on a person they know.

Enduring Understanding

In fiction, truth is not a matter of fact but instead how one perceives and experiences truth.

There are multiple alternative truths to every historical event.

Story telling/re-telling is a societal and cultural need in order to make sense of our existence and
experience in the world.

Essential Questions

Why do people tell stories?

How does perspective guide our understanding truth?

How does truth play a role in fiction? And does truth matter in fiction?

The Things They Carried Unit Plan 1

Spring 2008 The Things They Carried Unit Plan

Objective Goals:

Students will...

Analyze how perspective impacts our understanding of truth.

Write daily in their writing response journal

Write a new chapter in The Things They Carried

Retell a story told to them based on conducted interviews

Culminating Projects/Major Assessment

Graffiti response journal

Students are asked to keep their general thoughts and reactions to The Things They Carried in a response
journal where they are encouraged to be creative in how they respond (drawing, sketches, poems...). Along
with their daily assigned reading, the teacher will also give students a short prompt to respond in their jour-
nals based on that days discussion, which will be checked and collected periodically for a homework grade.
The completed journal will be collected at the end of the unit as a separate grade.

Dear solider assignment

Read Six of the Fallen, in Words They Sent Homeby Lizette Alvarez and Andrew W. Lehren, New York
Times, March 25, 2008. Students to write a new chapter to The Things They Carried based on these excerpts
written by soldiers in Iraq. Inspired by the chapter titled Notes, students will closely examine the art of
storytelling/retelling that OBrien presents when struggling to properly retell the story of his comrade Nor-
man Bowker. Students are encouraged to be creative in their response to their chosen excerpt. This can be in
the form of a poem, song, short story...

Writing Our Histories Retelling writing assignment

Early in the unit students are introduced to this final assessment. Students will chose a person to conduct a
series of at least 3 interviews where they are to ultimately retell one of their interviewees stories. There will
be time given throughout the unit for brainstorming and workshopping.

Grades 10% Class activities, reading quizzes, and participation

15% Written homework
25% Graffiti response journal
25% Dear Solider writing assignment
25% Writing Our Histories retelling writing assignment

The Things They Carried Unit Plan 2

Spring 2008 The Things They Carried Unit Plan

Calendar

Week 1 Day 1 Introduction to Perspective

Day 2 Introduction to The Things They Carried

HW: Read chapters The Things They Carried- On the
Rainy River and annotate chapter 1 specifically for ex-
amples of concrete and abstract metaphors. Also, re-
spond to the first 4 chapters in your journal

Day 3 Introduction To The Things They Carried II

Discussion of chapters read for homework
Reading Quiz

Week 2 Day 4 Introduction to the Vietnam War

HW: Reread On the Rainy River annotating for ele-
ments of perspective found in this chapter based on what
has been discussed thus far.

Day 5 Perspective II based on a close reading of On the Rainy

River
HW: Read Enemies - How to Tell a True War Story,
begin Dear Solider assignment due Day 7

Day 6 Truth, fact and fiction discussion

Jigsaw activity based on How to Tell a True War Story
HW: Read The Dentist - Church

Week 3 Day 7 Storytelling Discussion

Introduce final writing assignment; brainstorm for good
interview questions
Reading Quiz
HW: Read The Man I Killed - The Lives of the Dead,
find a person to interview (if you are having difficulty
finding someone to interview than contact the teacher
before the end of the break), and enjoy your break!

The Things They Carried Unit Plan 3

Spring 2008 The Things They Carried Unit Plan

Mid-Winter Recess

Day 8 Examine instances of retelling within the novel I

Focus is on chapters The Man I Killed - The Ghost
Soldiers and specifically how OBrien writes about the
death of Kiowa and the Vietnamese

Day 9 Examine instances of retelling within the novel II

Focus is on chapters The Man I Killed - The Ghost
Soldiers and specifically how OBrien writes about the
death of Kiowa and the Vietnamese

Week 4 Day 10 How does perspective guide our understanding of

truth?
Focus is on chapter Notes - In the Field

Day 11 Writing Workshop: How to Create Dialogue

Day 12 Writing Workshop: The Writers Goal

Read Guy de Maupassants The Writers Goal as a class
and examine what Maupassant suggests to be the writers
goal through how it seeks to move its reader... comparing
this to OBriens chapter Good Form.

Week 5 Day 13 Writing Workshop: Peer editing

Day 14 In Your Own Words Assignment Due

Class share of final writing assignment I

Day 15 Class share of final writing assignment II

The Things They Carried Unit Plan 4