Literacy Skills Overview

A Unit Designed by Tom Gaffney

First Full Two Weeks of Quarter One

ANCHOR TEXT: None

RELATED TEXTS: None
INFORMATIONAL TEXTS:
Taking Down the Confederate Flag Mustnt Obscure the Souths Vile History
(washingtonpost.com)
I am a Black South Carolinian, Here is Why I Support the Confederate Flag
(washingtonpost.com)
Why, for Southern Christians, Taking Down the Flag Is Not Enough
(washingtonpost.com)
UNIT FOCUS: This mini-unit will require students to review and utilize five basic thinking
strategies as they analyze news stories that discuss the controversy that took place over
the Summer of 2015 over the Confederate Battle Flag and other symbols of the Old
South. Students will display the following skills as they read informational texts:
Questioning
Evaluation
Inference
Analysis
Connection/Synthesis
This unit will also introduce students to the required format for the Micro-Essays they
will produce weekly for this class in response to both literature and informational texts.
This unit will draw from the following Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1

Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what

the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.2
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Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the
course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by
specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.3

Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events,

including the order in which the points are made, how they are
introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between
them.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the
cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g.,
how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.5

Analyze in detail how an author's ideas or claims are developed and

refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text
(e.g., a section or chapter).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.6

Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze

how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.10

By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the
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high end of the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and
proficiently.
Lessons
Strategies/Procedures

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-Week 1Day 1: QUESTIONING/QUESTION

Bell-Ringer: TSW answer a multiple-choice question from released ACT and QueSTAR
test and will justify, in a single sentence, their selection for the most correct answer
and an incorrect answer.
Lesson:
1. TSW watch The Civil War Part 1 in the Crash course of American History
(found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY9zHNOjGrs). As students are
watching the short clip, they are to copy down notes in answer to the larger
question of: What are some of the reasons that caused the Civil War?
2. TTW model how to complete a word web, he will use the phrase Aberdeen, MS
as a central idea of theme to connect outward.
3. TSW complete a word web, in groups, in which students are to place the words
Southern, Racism, and Identity in the center of their webs.
4. TSW then take down limited notes in their composition notebooks on how to
question while reading a text.
5. TTW read the article Taking Down the Flag Mustnt Obscure the Souths Vile
History aloud.
6. TSW, in groups, come up with seven questions that this text presents. They
will place these on poster board and, if time allows, they will present these to
the class.
Day 2: EVALUATION/EVALUATE
Bell-Ringer: TSW use context clues within a sentence to determine the part of speech
and to define ACT/SAT vocabulary words.
Lesson:
1. TSW be presented with two resumes. One will appear to be a woman based
upon current hegemonic ideas of women in the workplace (the applicant will be
a registered nurse, will have taken time off to raise children, etc) and one will
appear to be a man (surgeon, STEM background, etc.)
2. TTW ask students whom they would hire for a job between the two candidates,
as groups present their ideas, one will likely refer to one candidate as
he/her/she/him. TTW stop the student and ask them why they are assuming

the candidates gender.

3. TSW take down notes that review an authors purpose (persuade, entertain,
inform) and will then take down notes on bias and evaluating authorial
purpose, intent, and bias.
4. TSW, in groups, answer questions that force them to evaluate any bias(es) the
author of Taking Down the Flag Mustnt Obscure the Souths Vile History
might have and how they know (diction, tone, bias, etc.)
Day 3: INFERENCE/INFER
Bell-Ringer: TSW answer a multiple-choice question from released ACT and QueSTAR
test and will justify, in a single sentence, their selection for the most correct answer
and an incorrect answer.
Lesson:
1. TTW show a clip from JAWS and pause it just before the shark attacks. He will
then ask students to tell him what will likely happen after the pause. TTW
explain that the filmmakers were foreshadowing an event, allowing the
audience to infer what was going to happen.
2. TSW take down notes on the terms inference and foreshadowing.
3. TSW complete a packet, in groups, that require them to read passages and
answer questions that force them to make inferences and evaluate inferences
based upon textual evidence.
4. TSW complete an exit ticket that requires them to evaluate an inference
related to a short passage.
Day 4: ANALYSIS/ANALYZE
Bell-Ringer: TSW use context clues within a sentence to determine the part of speech
and to define ACT/SAT vocabulary words.
Lesson:
1. TSW copy down the definition for Analysis in their notebooks
2. TTW read the article I am a Black South Carolinian, Here is Why I Support the
Confederate Flag aloud to students as they follow along.
3. TSW, in groups, create a draft of a T-Chart. On the left side of the chart,
students will list the reasons why the author supports the flying of the
Confederate Battle Flag. On the right, they will explain why the author feels
the way he does.
4. TSW create a final copy of their T-Chart of poster paper
5. Each group will share one piece of the authors argument and their
explanation. TTW verbally make the point that while the left column of the
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chart is student analysis, the right side of the chart requires student
inferences. This might be a good time to ensure students realize that these
skills are related and occasionally interdependent.
Day 5: CONNECTIONS/SYNTHESIS/CONNECT/SYNTHESIZE
Bell-Ringer: TSW edit a short passage for basic grammatical errors.
Lesson:
1. TSW copy down the definitions of Connection and Synthesis in their notebooks.
2. TSW read the article Why, for Southern Christians, Taking Down the Flag is Not
Enough aloud in their groups.
3. TTW hand back the group T-Charts from the previous day
4. TSW create a rough draft of a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the
views of the two authors (those from Days 4 and 5).
5. TSW transfer this rough draft to the back of their T Chart from Day 4.
6. TTW then model how to write a single paragraph that synthesizes one point on
which the authors disagree. TSW copy this down in their notebooks.
7. TSW then, in their groups, come up with one paragraph in which they
synthesize another point of contention between the two authors
-Week 2Day 1: CLOSE READING
Bell-Ringer: TSW answer a multiple-choice question from released ACT and QueSTAR
test and will justify, in a single sentence, their selection for the most correct answer
and an incorrect answer.
Lesson:
1. TTW bring in novels and sources he used for his Masters Thesis and will
show students, using the document camera, how he annotated sources. He
will stress the importance of annotation in truly comprehending a complex
text.
2. TTW model how to complete a close reading for the article Taking Down
The Confederate Flag Must Not Obscure The Souths Vile History. Students
are to verbally participate as the teacher guides them through annotation of
the text.
3. TSW complete a close reading for the article I am a Black South Carolinian,
Here is Why I support the Confederate Flag. They will star important lines,
underline lines that cause them to question, create five questions that the
text presents, make two inferences, and summarize the article.
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Day 2: LITERACY SKILLS FORMAL ASSESSMENT

Bell-Ringer: TSW use context clues within a sentence to determine the part of speech
and to define ACT/SAT vocabulary words.
Lesson:
1. TSW take a written test that requires them to answer questions about short
texts and passages. Examples will be mostly non-fiction and they will have
to utilize all five literacy skills.
2. If completed early, students may begin work on their LSAT Inspired - Logic
Puzzle Packet
Day 3: VOCABULARY JOURNALS
Bell-Ringer: TSW answer a multiple-choice question from released ACT and QueSTAR
test and will justify, in a single sentence, their selection for the most correct answer
and an incorrect answer.
Lesson:
1. TTW model how to complete Vocabulary Journal Entries and Listing Them In
their Interactive Notebooks
2. TSW complete Four Vocabulary Journal Entries from the three articles we
have read over the last week.
3. TSW, when complete, continue to work through their Logic Puzzle Packet
Day 4: WRITING AS A CRITIC
Bell-Ringer: TSW use context clues within a sentence to determine the part of speech
and to define ACT/SAT vocabulary words.
Lesson:
1. TTW introduce students to the Micro-Essay Format for English II
2. TSW model how to complete a Micro-Essay using the document camera
3. TSW, using textual evidence, write a Micro-Essay in which they answer the
following question: Based upon the three informational texts that we have
read over the last two weeks, explain whether or not symbols like the
Confederate Battle Flag matter in 2015. Explain your reasoning.
Day 5: PEER REVIEW OF MICRO ESSAYS
Bell-Ringer: TSW edit a short passage for basic grammatical errors.
Lesson:
1. TSW watch a short clip that parodies types of negative and useless peerreview feedback
2. TTW explain the importance of Peer Review; will utilize a paper from
college/graduate school that a colleague bled over with a red pen.
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3. TTW introduce the Micro-Essay Rubric to students

4. Students will, in pairs, peer-review each others essays. They will fill out a
rubric for that particular paper.
5. TSW make necessary changes to their essays and will hand them in for a
grade.

SPECIAL NOTES AND

RESOURCES
MAJOR ASSESSMENTS

FORMAL ASSESSMENT:
Students will take a test on day 1 of week 2 on the five reading
strategies. They will be presented with multiple choice
questions as well as passages that require them to annotate the
text.
COMPREHENSION CHECK MICRO-ESSAY QUESTION:
Week 2- Based upon the three informational texts that we have
read over the last two weeks, explain whether or not symbols
like the Confederate Battle Flag matter in 2015. Explain your
reasoning.

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