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World Cafe: Analyzing Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?”
May I take your order? Scholars read "Ain't I a Woman" and participate in a World Cafe. They work in small groups to discuss text-related questions and then complete a Note-Catcher sheet to organize their thoughts. For homework, learners...
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Analyzing Text Structure: To Kill a Mockingbird (Chapter 2)
Scholars use the Narrative Structure graphic organizer to analyze the structure of the smaller stories within To Kill a Mockingbird. They talk with a partner to discuss how the structure adds meaning.
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Close Reading: Focusing on Taking a Stand (Chapter 2 cont.)
Scholars complete a close read of To Kill a Mockingbird and determine why characters take a stand. They use text-dependent questions and Note-catchers to help guide their thinking. Readers review the Taking a Stand Anchor chart and...
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Making Inferences: The Golden Rule and the Radley’s Melancholy Little Drama (Chapter 4)
Time for a TED Talk. Class members watch a TED Talk clip covering Karen Armstrong and the Golden Rule. Once finished, they use Turn and Talk to discuss the questions in their Golden Rule Note-catchers. As a closing, they reflect on the...
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Text Comparisons: Comparing Text Structures and Text Types (Chapter 9)
Scholars revisit the comparisons they made in the previous lesson of "Incident" and To Kill A Mockingbird. They talk with their discussion appointment partners about the structure of a narrative and use a Compare and Contrast Note...
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Peer Critique of “Inside Out” and “Back Again” Poems
Class members closely examine the use of words in the poems "Inside Out" and "Back Again" to determine if different words would create more powerful poetry. They then conduct peer reviews of the poems they created and offer suggestions...
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Revision: Best Draft of “Inside Out” and “Back Again” Poems (Final Performance Task)
Scholars read their poems to their research teams as their final performance task. The teams listen and give feedback on the flow between the two poems. Writers then take the feedback from their teams and revise their poems before...
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Analyzing Themes: The Golden Rule and Taking a Stand (Chapters 16-17)
Positive or negative? Class members take another look at one of the taking-a-stand photographs from lesson plan one. They talk with partners to connect the picture to the text in To Kill A Mockingbird and discuss to determine when taking...
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Four Corners: Taking a Stand in To Kill a Mockingbird (Chapters 24-26 Plus Synthesis of Scenes in Previous Chapters)
Think outside the box! Scholars work on the Frayer Model, completing boxes for the word integrity. They turn and talk with partners to discuss real-life examples and some from To Kill A Mockingbird. Readers then discuss integrity, taking...
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Analyzing the Model Essay: Studying Argument (Chapter 27 Plus Synthesis of Scenes in Previous Chapters)
Scholars partner up to review a model essay and talk through the process leading up to writing their essays. During a second reading of the essay, learners locate and underline the claim given, reasons, and counterclaim. They then...
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Writing an Argument Essay: Evaluating the Model and Crafting a Claim (Chapter 28, Including Synthesis of Scenes in Previous Chapters)
Scholars use the model essay from the previous instructional activity to create their own argumentative essays. Readers make a claim about Atticus defending Tom in To Kill A Mockingbird. They then use graphic organizers to develop and...
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Text to Film Comparison: Bottom’s Transformation
Scholars meet in a drama circle to discuss what they remember from reading A Midsummer Night's Dream Act III, Scene 1 in the last activity. They then take turns reading the scene aloud, stopping to answer questions as they read. Learners...
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Characters’ Decisions: The Flow of Consequences in Midsummer
Class members meet in their drama circles and share their thoughts on why it might be necessary for the audience to know something the characters don't. They read Act 3 Scene 2 of A Midsummer Night's Dream and complete consequence flow...
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Text to Film Comparison: Bottom the Fool
Pretty ugly, jumbo shrimp. Oxymorons are awfully good! Scholars reread Act I, scene 2 from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream while participating in a drama circle. Next, they begin working on anchor charts to dissect Shakespeare's...
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Analyzing Text Structure: “The Shakespeare Shakedown”
Pupils continue reading and discussing Simon Schama's article "The Shakespeare Shakedown." They work together to analyze the article's paragraph structure, completing a note-catcher worksheet.
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End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part 1: Drafting The Argument Essay
Scholars write the draft of their essays about Atticus's decision to defend Tom Robinson in Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird. They support their claims with reasons, details, and quotes from the novel.
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Launching A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Identifying the Characters, Settings, and Conflicts
Scholars form a drama circle and begin reading Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. They also use a play map to identify the setting, characters, and conflicts from the text.
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Analyzing How Shakespeare’s Play Draws upon Greek Mythology: Part 1
Scholars read the story "Pyramus and Thisbe," analyzing word choice, tone, and meaning. They then try to find the gist of the story and discuss how Shakespeare used the myth in his play A Midsummer Night's Dream.
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Reading Shakespeare: The Play within the Play
Scholars continue reading the Greek myth "Pyramus and Thisbe," analyzing why it was written into Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Next, they complete a Venn diagram to compare the two texts.
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Mid-Unit Assessment: Single Draft Narrative
Put it in your own words. Scholars work independently on their mid-unit assessments by responding to a writing prompt. They write about Miné Okubo’s life and the moments when Okubo became visible again.
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Narrative Writing: Planning Narrative Techniques
It's all in the technique. Scholars revisit the model narrative they covered in lesson four to analyze the author's writing techniques. Readers compare techniques they spot in the narrative to those in the essay rubric. They then work to...
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Building Background Knowledge: “War in the Pacific,” Part 2
Who did what? Readers take a closer look at War in the Pacific to determine each country's actions. As they read, scholars underline American actions in one color and actions of Japan in another. They then begin completing Pearl Harbor...
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Studying Conflicting Information: Varying Perspectives on the Pearl Harbor Attack, Part 1
Scholars read President Roosevelt's Day of Infamy speech and analyze the speech's words using close reading guides. Readers determine Roosevelt's point of view after reading the speech and filling in the guides.
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Analyzing a Thematic Concept: Becoming Visible Again, Part 2 (354–380)
Scholars take a close look at the life of Louie in Unbroken. They discuss events considered turning points in their life and use several graphic organizers and guides to help direct their thinking. After thinking about their responses,...