TGC Fellow Unit Template *

Prepared by: Shelley Stolitza School/Location: Aki Kurose Middle School, Seattle WA

Subject: Language Arts Grade: 8 Unit Title: Heroes or Victims? Examining Social Inequities through Cross-Cultural Narratives, Memoirs, and Biogra-phies Time Needed: 13-14 daysUnit Summary: In this unit, students will closely examine issues of inequity and oppression within a society as experienced by individuals. The core question of this unit will be: Are these individuals heroes or victims? Students will explore the cultures and social structures within multi-ple countries to determine how factors such as race, political strength, and economic power impact citizens. Students will do this by viewing and analyzing poems, narratives, non-fiction current event articles, documentaries, and photographic images from varying perspectives. Students will use these texts to consider author’s purposes and intents and to draw conclusions about long-term impacts resulting from prejudices and injus-tice. In order to investigate new ideas, recognize multiple perspectives, and communicate their ideas, students will use digital resources and col-laborative methods during this unit. The unit will begin an end with a student response to the core question.

Stage 1 Desired ResultsESTABLISHED GOALS:Literacy in Social Studies-CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.1- Cite specific tex-tual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.7- Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photo-graphs, videos, or maps) with other informa-tion in print and digital texts.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.2- Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate sum-mary of the source distinct from prior knowl-edge or opinions.Speaking and Listening-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.

Transfer

Students will be able to independently use their learning to…T1. approach other cultures with a sense of respect and understanding.T2. understand how the perspectives of others vary depending on their ex-periences.T3. recognize that various print and non-print sources present information on the same issue in different ways.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.3- Delineate a speaker's argument and specific claims, eval-uating the soundness of the reasoning and relevance and sufficiency of the evidence and identifying when irrelevant evidence is intro-duced.

Meaning

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.4- Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evi-dence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, ade-quate volume, and clear pronunciation.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.5- Integrate multi-media and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.Writing-CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1- Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and rele-vant evidence.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.4- Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.7- Conduct short re-search projects to answer a question (includ-ing a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional re-lated, focused questions that allow for multi-ple avenues of exploration.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.8- Gather relevant in-formation from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; as-sess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagia-rism and following a standard format for cita-tion.Reading-CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.1- Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an anal-ysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.3- Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or cate-

UNDERSTANDINGSStudents will understand that…U1. Economic, political, and social factors influence people’s experiences and treat-ment.U2. Common themes of injustice and in-equality can appear across historical time periods and national boundaries. U3. The purpose of a text influences the information presented and the manner in which it is presented. U4. They can use multi-media formats to communicate their knowledge and inter-act with the world.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONSE1. What similarities and differ-ences exist between people’s ex-periences in around the world?E2. What factors influence expe-riences and perceptions of oth-ers?E3. How do authors present in-formation in multiple ways to tell their point of view? E4. What common themes ap-pear across time and location re-garding race, justice and equity?E5. What methods are available to us to communicate our knowl-edge and connect with the world around us?

gories).CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.9- Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting in-formation on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation.

GLOBAL COMPETENCIES:• Students will investigate the world through

multi-media and multi-genre texts and on-line communication with international stu-dents (via ePals).

• Students will recognize perspectives by viewing texts generated by authors in multi-ple countries throughout history. Students will examine memoirs, documentaries, and informational texts and consider authors’ purposes and points of view.

• Students will communicate their ideas through digital presentations, collaboration with other students in their classroom and around the world.

• Students will take action by signing online pledges and generating ways in which they can raise awareness of social injustice in their community.

RESOURCES:• A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah• Iqbal by Francesco D’adamo• I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai• Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela• History Channel and biography.com videos

on authors• Epals (website)• scholastic.com videos for Iqbal, Yousafzai,

and Mandela• Maya Angelou poems• Newspapers from onlinenewspapers.com

Acquisition

Students will know…K1. How perspective and experience al-ters how a message or story is told.K2. How communities and cultures re-spond to inequities.K3. Why it is important to consider multi-ple perspectives when examining a social issue. K4. Why and how economic factors influ-ence public perception of communities and cultures.K5. How to engage in collaborative discus-sion and inquiry to further understandings of a social issue. K6. How to use multi-media resources to communicate with the world.

Students will be able to… S1. Analyze various forms of lit-erature and text, including po-etry, narrative and non-fiction.S2. Identify figurative language and details used to support an author’s argument.S3. Determine sound reasoning and delineate it from vague or weak argument.S4. Examine and research vari-ous resources to expand one’s understanding of an issue.S5. Engage in collaborative dis-cussions about relevant social is-sues.S6. Use multi-media resources to communicate with other stu-dents around the world to share their ideas.

Stage 2 - EvidenceEvaluation Criteria (Learning Target or Student Will Be Able To)

Assessment: Assessments FOR Learning: (ex: kwl chart, exit ticket, observation, draft, rehearsal)

1. Students will be able to cite text ev-idence that strongly supports infer-ences made from a text. Students will be able to analyze how a text makes connections among ideas and events.

2. Students will be able to gather rele-vant information from multiple texts to paraphrase data and support conclu-sions. Students will be able to draw on several resources to answer a ques-tion.

1. Character Qualities T-Chart: After reading a narrative or autobio-graphical selection about a prominent figure in the fight for social justice, students will generate a list of character traits they see in the person. Students will cite textual evidence to support why their trait was given and determine how their trait transferred into action in their life. Students will receive texts based on their reading levels. After completing this task based on their reading, students will collaborate with one another to share ideas and notice similarities among social justice figures.

2. Character Comparison Map: Students will come together in pairs, each student bringing a difference social justice figure to the partnership. Stu-dents will create a visual graphic organizer to note similarities between the two figures based on values, childhood, adversities, and influential experiences. Students will then watch a brief video documentary on both figures to add 1 more similarity to the chart.

3. Cultural Beliefs Map: After examining the experiences and traits of var-ious historical/cultural figures, students will conduct online research about the social, political and economic factors that contributed to the systems on oppression in these countries. Students will generate a list of the laws, bills, mandates and other factors of the country that had an im-pact on their social issue figure. Students will analyze each factor to re-late it to the experiences learned about in the Character Qualities and Character Comparison assignments.

4. Claim, Reason, Evidence, Analysis Quick Writes: Each day, students will develop a paragraph making a claim about something they read or heard that day (a theory, a conclusion, a connection, something they could visualize, or a question) and give reasoning and evidence to sup-port it from the texts. Students will include an analysis statement to ex-plain the significance of their claim/question on the historical figure’s life.

3. Students will be able to cite textual evidence that supports an analysis of primary and secondary resources. Stu-dents will be able to integrate visual and digital information to draw conclu-sions.

4. Students will be able to present claims and findings in a focused and coherent manner. Students will be able to produce clear and well-organized writing.

5. Students will be able to participate in a range of collaborative conversa-tions, expressing their own ideas clearly and building upon the ideas of others.

6. Students will be able to participate in a range of collaborative conversa-tions, expressing their own ideas clearly and building upon the ideas of others.

5. EdModo Blog Updates: Four times during the unit, students will com-plete a Blog update that shares their CREA quick write with their class-mates. In addition to this posting, students will respond to the CREAs of 2 of their classmates in order to engage with a multitude of texts.

6. Collaborative Discussion/Socratic Seminar: Near the end of the unit, students will engage in a collaborative discussion based on the following question— Should these figures be considered victims or heroes? Stu-dents will respond to this question using text evidence gathered from their research, comments made by their peers,

1. Students will be able to integrate visual informa-tion with other information in print and digital texts to share their conclusions. Students will be able to cite textual evidence to support their conclusions.

2. Students will engage in collaborative discussions

Assessment OF Learning: (ex: performance task, project, final paper)

1. Prezi Presentation: Students will partner with another student who has re-searched and studied a culturally-significant social activities from another coun-try. The partnership will use Prezi systems to develop a presentation that notes economic, social and political influences on the person, their experiences, their fight for rights, and comparisons between the two figures.

2. ePals Correspondence: Students will engage in conversations with interna-tional students through ePals. Students will share their findings and generate a

and digital forms of communication to broaden their understandings and perspectives.

3. Students will be able to develop a clear and coher-ent piece of writing in which the organization, style, and voice are appropriate for task, purpose and au-dience.

list of questions to ask of the ePals student. Questions may include those related to personal experiences, languages, social structures, educational systems, as well as interests, hobbies, and other engaging topics.

3. Final Argumentative Essay: Students will generate a final argumentative es-say identifying what they learned about the unequal treatment and injustices experienced by the person studied. Students will use a variety of resources and multi-media evidences to support their argument.

Stage 3 – Learning Plan

Summary of Key Learning Events and Instruction ( Make this a useful outline or summary of your unit, your daily lesson plans will be separate)

•Understanding Individual Experiences (U2, E2, K2) : Students will explore the case of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who was shot in 2012 by the Taliban for speaking out about girls’ rights to education. Students will learn about Malala through two video documentaries explaining her story and a non-fiction article connecting her experience to living conditions under Taliban rule. Students will develop a summary of Malala’s oppression, actions, and Taliban responses, indicating what potential lesson can be learned from her actions.

- “Who are the Taliban?” and “Making of Malala” from http://upfront.scholastic.com/Videos

- “Tougher than the Taliban” from Scholastic UpFront magazine

•Connecting Experience to Social Context (U1, U3, E2, K2, K4, S4): Students will use online resources to re-search the restrictions the Taliban impressed on Pakistani women. Students will synthesize their online research with yesterday’s readings to create a 3-column chart noting oppressive conditions under Taliban rule, Malala’s re-sponse, and the results of her actions. Students will draw conclusions about the consequences of Malala’s actions on her family, peers, and other young Pakistani girls desiring education.

- http://www.rawa.org/rules.htm

•Characterizing Heroes and Victims (E2, E3, K6, S3): Based on students’ readings from days 1 and 2 of this unit, students will ask themselves if Malala should be considered a hero or victim in the public eye. Students will se-lect evidence from the video, online, and print texts to support their responses. Students will use this initial quick-write to develop a Character Traits t-chart to identify other traits of Malala and evidence that supports their think-ing.

•Alternative Perspectives (U1, U3, E2, E3, K1, K3, S1, S3, S4): Students will examine 2 articles from Aljazeera America, the English-language version of Qatar’s Aljazeera news, that present opposing perspectives on Malala’s ac-tions- one text shares her winning of the Nobel Peace Prize, while the other discusses the banning of her book in Muslim regions. Students will compare the opposing perspectives and select evidence that supports each perspec-tive. Students will then examine a Political Cartoon from Scholastic’s UpFront to view Malala’s presence from the Taliban’s perspective.

- http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/10/10/pakistan-teenagerwinseuropeanhumanrightsprize.html - http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/11/10/private-schools-inpakistanbanmalalabook.html - http://upfront.scholastic.com/resource/issues/E07E2CA8-C18F-8ED9-DCB077337727A621/printables-

20131122155525.pdf

•Authentic Communication- ePals and EdModo (U4, E5, K5, K6, S5, S6): - After conducting research, completing evaluative writing, and considering the perspectives of those involved in the

Malala/Taliban conflict, students will begin correspondence via ePals with students in another country. Students will begin their correspondence by writing a letter/email introducing themselves personally, then sharing what they have recently been studying in our class, and finally asking their ePal to share what their schooling is like and what they value in their culture. Some students

*adapted from Understanding by Design Model

may choose to ask their ePal what they know about Malala Yousafzai or other human rights activists. Students will communicate with their ePals to share knowledge 2-3 more times over the course of the unit. - http://www.epals.com/#!/main - After communicating with their ePal, students will post their 1st of 4 quick writes to share with their classmates via

EdModo. The first prompt is “Write an argument to propose that our school should be renamed for Malala Yousafzai. Give reasons, evidence and analysis to support your response.” Students will share quick writes via EdModo based on similar prompts about other socially significant figures 2-3 more times, as well as respond to their peers’ re-sponses.

- https://www.edmodo.com

•Cross-Cultural Connections (U2, E2, K2): Students will examine 1 of the following biographies/interviews on other culturally significant figures who have been impacted by oppression and have responded to it in ways similar to Malala Yousafzai. Students will be assigned a socially relevant figure depending on interest and reading level, choosing from Ishmael Beah of Sierra Leonne, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Rosalie Fraser of indigenous Aus-tralia, or Iqbal Masih of Pakistan. Students will examine their assigned biography and create a 3-column chart to identify their figure’s oppressive experience, response to it, and the results of their actions. Students will develop a quick write to identify if their figure should be considered a victim or hero.

- http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment-jan-june07-beah_04-05/ - http://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/biography - http://worldschildrensprize.org/iqbal-masih - http://ia.anu.edu.au/biography/fraser-rosalie-17789

•Character Comparisons with Partners (U1, U2, E1, E4, K2, K4, S1): Students will pair up with a peer in the classroom who has read another biography. Students will collaboratively develop a character comparison map that identifies similarities between the 2 figures, strictly focusing on meaningful comparisons such as education, social oppression, motivations and wants, and social action. Students must support their comparisons with evidence from the texts.

•Cultural Beliefs Research and Mapping (U1, U2, E2, K2, K4, S2, S4): Students will use computers to get on-line and research the economic, political and social contexts of the country assigned to them (the country will align with the biographical information read.) Students will specifically look for the values, laws and expectations of that society that contributed to oppressive situations. When finished, students will partner with another student who has read the same biography about either Beah, Mandela, Fraser, or Masih and create a collaborative cultural beliefs map.

- http://upfront.scholastic.com/News/Nelson-Mandela - http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/upfront/features/index.asp?article=f090307_African_Soldiers - http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/richard-cw-miller/child-labour-pakistan_b_4694541.html - http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/upfront/features/index.asp?article=f033108_Aborigines

•Memoir Reflection (U3, E3, K1, S2): Students will read selections from the memoirs/autobiographies of Beah, Masih, Mandela, and Fraser to reflect on the personal experiences of this socially significant figure. Students will identify the most significant lines from the memoirs to share during the next day’s socratic seminar.

- http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/453570.Shadow_Child - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/long-walk-to-freedom-nelson-mandela/1102038331?ean=9780316323543 - http://www.amazon.com/Iqbal-Francesco-DAdamo/dp/1416903291 - http://www.alongwaygone.com

•Socratic Seminar (U1, U2, E1, E2, E4, K2, K5, S5): Students will come together in a socratic seminar to ad-dress the question- Are these socially significant figures victims or heroes? What factors have contributed to their treatments and actions? What can we infer about the qualities of these figures and the desires of their oppressors? How do oppressive situations contribute to the overall culture and success of the country? What can we do to take action against these oppressions?

•Development of Prezi and Final Argumentative Essay (U1, U2, U4, E2, E5, K1, K4, K6, S6): Students will use Prezi presentation software to develop an informative presentation on their socially significant figure. Students will culminate the unit by developing 5-paragraph argumentative essay about the struggles, challenges and influ-ences on and of their figure.

TGC FELLOWS UBD Lesson Template

Lesson Title: Alternate Perspectives- Malala Yousafzai Subject: Language Arts Prepared by: Shelley StolitzaMaterials Needed: Aljazeera America articles, Scholastic Taliban political cartoon, pencil, paperGlobal Competency: Investigating the World and Recognizing Perspectives

Where is the lesson going?(Learning Target or SWBAT)

Students will be able to compare the perspectives presented in 2 articles about the value of Malala Yousafzai’s fight for girls’ rights to education in Pakistan.

Hook: Tailored Differentiation:

Do Now Question- Did Malala Yousafzai’s actions represent a positive image of Islam or a negative one? Give reasoning and evidence to support your response. (Approximately 30% of each of my classes is Muslim, so this question is engaging and relevant for all stu-dents.)

- Tailor articles to address differing reading levels for varying readers

- Provide sentence starters and close reading structures for struggling readers to respond

- Scaffold comprehension levels on the cartoon activity for students to first interpret the cartoon, then re-spond about implications and con-clusions

Equip:

With a partner, students will read 2 articles:- “Pakistan teen receives Nobel Peace Prize,” and- “Private schools in Pakistan ban Malala Book”Students will create a t-chart that identifies the difference in perspectives about Malala’s actions and in-fluence. T-charts will use specific evidence from each text.

Rethink and revise:

Independently, students will examine a political cartoon identifying the Taliban’s desire to ban girls’ edu-cation in Taliban. Students will consider the ways in which the cartoon displays a contradiction between the motives of Malala’s work and Pakistani reception of her work.

Evaluate:

Write a Claim, Reason, Evidence and Analysis statement to respond to the following question and share with the class: What factors contribute to what we hear about Pakistan’s reception of Malala Yousafzai? What alterna-

tive stories do you think are out there?

Notes: Organization:

Students will be seated beside the partner reading the same article

TGC FELLOWS UBD Lesson Template

TGC FELLOWS UBD Lesson Template