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AND JUSTICE FOR ALL:

A Project-Based Unit for American Literature

Name:SaraCarroll
GradeLevel:11
Subjects:AmericanLiterature

DrivingQuestion:BeginwiththeEndinMind
Whatstandardwillbeassessedduringthisunit?
RL.1112.9:
Demonstrateknowledgeof18th,19th,andearly20thcenturyfoundationalworks
ofAmericanliterature,includinghowtwoormoretextsfromthesameperiodtreatsimilar
themesortopics.
RI.1112.7:
Integrateandevaluatemultiplesourcesofinformationpresentedindifferent
mediaorformats,aswellasinwordsinordertoaddressaquestionorsolveaproblem.
W.1112.6:
Usetechnology,includingtheinternet,toproduce,publish,andupdateindividual
orsharedwritingproductsinresponsetoongoingfeedback,includingnewargumentsor
information.
SL.1112.4:
Presentinformation,findings,andsupportingevidence,conveyingaclearand
distinctperspective,suchthatlistenerscanfollowthelineofreasoning,alternativeor
opposingperspectivesareaddressed,andtheorganization,development,andstyleare
appropriatetopurpose,audience,andarangeofformalandinformaltasks.
L.1112.5:
Demonstrateunderstandingoffigurativelanguage,wordrelationships,and
nuancesinwordmeaningsinterpretfiguresofspeechincontextandanalyzetheirroleinthe
textandanalyzenuancesinthemeaningofwordswithsimilardenotations.
Whatdoyouwantthestudentstoknow?Whatdoyouwantthemtobeabletodo?
Bytheendoftheunit,studentswillknowhow:
thewritersoftheColonialperiodaddressedtheconceptofrebellioninseminalworks
ofAmericanliterature(i.e.,TheDeclarationofIndependence,ThomasPaines
AmericanCrisis,HenryDavidThoreausCommonSense).
themesofrebellionfromtheColonialperiodhavebeentreatedovertimeinAmerican
literature.
thetermrebellionhasbeentreateddifferentlyindifferenterasofAmericanliterature.
tocreateacohesive,effective,andpowerfulargumenttoaddressandchangean
issueofsocialjustice.
tofindreliablesourcematerial,andcullimportantfactsandinformedopinionsintheir
researchontheirissue.
Createyourdrivingquestion
.

Turn what you want them to know and turn it into a thesis statement
and then into a solve/invent/build/argue question (an ungoogleable question).

WhathaveAmericanthinkerstoldusaboutwhenandhowweshouldeffectivelyrebel
againstauthority?WhatcanIdotopromotejusticeforall?

CreatetheEntryEvent
:
Howwillyouhookyourstudents?Howwillyoucapturetheirinterest?
IwilluseaBreakoutEDUchallengetoengagemyclassincreative,collaborative
problemsolving.IwilluseHistoricalMasterminds,whichisaprebuiltgameofferedonthe
BreakoutEDUsite.Inthisgame,studentshavetosolvepuzzlesinordertostopanAmerican
historyprofessorfromgoingbackintimeandtakingovertheworld.Thoughthisisahistory
game,ourworkwiththefoundingdocumentsoftheColonialperiodforthisunitmakesit
appropriateforthisproject.Additionally,theclasswillessentiallyberebellingagainstan
authoritybybreakingintoaprofessorsclassroomtoriflethroughhisstuff!

Aftersolvingthepuzzle,Iwillengagestudentswiththeconceptofrebellion.Specifically,lwill
askthem:WhatmadeyouthinkitwasOKtobreakintoateachersclassroomandgothrough
alltheirstuff?Whydidyoudothat?!Shouldntyoubepunishedforbreakingandentering?

TheBreakoutEDUpuzzleandsubsequentreflectivediscussionwillintroducestudentstothe
criticalthinking,creativity,collaboration,andcommunicationtheywillneedforourproject,as
wellastothecentralquestionsandthemesofourproject.

BuildingKnowledge,UnderstandingandSkillstoanswertheDriving
Question
WHATKNOWLEDGEORSKILLSSHOULDTHESTUDENTSALREADYHAVE
LEARNED?
Studentsneedverylittlepreviousknowledgeinordertobesuccessfulinthisproject,other
thanthebasichighschoolaptitudeinreadingandwriting.Thatbeingsaid,itwillbehelpfulif
studentsarealreadyfamiliarwith:
Theme
Simile,metaphor,personification,allusion
Claim/counterclaim
AndabasicfamiliarityandknowledgeofGAFEandotherwebtools.

KWL:
STUDENTSCREATEAKWLTOFINDTHENEEDTOKNOWFORTHEDRIVING
QUESTION.THISWILLDRIVETHERESEARCH.
AnticipatedNeedtoKnows:
WhatdidAmericanthinkerssay?(IwillprovidetextsfromtheColonialperiodalong
withachoiceofnovelsfromothertimeperiods)
Whataresomeissuesofsocialjusticewefacetoday?(Iwillprovidesitesand
resourcestoguidetheirresearch)

Howdootherpeoplepromotesocialjustice?(IwillintroducethemtoPSAs,social
mediacampaigns,letterwritingcampaigns,listsoflocalnonprofitstheymightbeable
toworkwith,etc.)

ResearchandCollaboration:
Whatresearchtoolwillyouintroducetoyourstudents?
ThinkBinder
isanonlinetoolthatallowsstudentssharefiles,discuss,livechat,collaborate,
andmanagetheircalendarsandfiles.AsIwillbeamemberofeachgroup,Iwillalsobe
abletoofferstudentsformativefeedback,encouragement,andredirectionastheywork
towardstheirfinalproject.
Howwillyouhaveyourstudentskeeptrackoftheirlearning?Howwilltheysharetheir
researchwithyou?
Iwilluse
EduBlogs
toorganizemystudentsblogsastheypostweeklyupdatesabouttheir
progressontheircampaign,andaccordingto
myprompts
.StudentswillalsouseEduBlogsto
providefeedbacktoeachotheronabiweeklybasis.
Howwillyoucreatecollaboration?
Inadditiontoencouragingstudentstoreachoutto
localnonprofits
tohelpthemincreating
theircampaigns,Iwillalsogroupstudentsaccordingtointeresttobecriticalfriendsthrough
thisprocess(whichiswhereThinkBindercomesin!).Studentsingroupswillnotnecessarily
beinthesameclassperiod,andmayendupworkingcollaborativelyonacampaign,
dependingontheirspecificprojectneeds.

DigitalCitizenship:
Whatdigitalcitizenshiplessonswillyouteach?
Inmymoduleonreliablesourcesandtheimportanceofcitations,Iwillincludetheunitfrom
CommonSenseMediacalled
CopyrightsandWrongs.
Thiswillbeespeciallyimportantto
studentsastheycreatetheirsocialjusticecampaignsbecausetheywillmostlikelybeusing
imagesfromthewebintheircreationsandfinalTedTalk.

DevelopandReviseFeedback:
Howwillyougivefeedback?Howwillstudentsgivefeedback?Whatstrategieswillyouuse?

Gallery Walk
Fishbowl
Student-facilitated informal debrief (individual)
Group evaluations

Final Presentation:
Howwillstudentsshowcasetheirwork?
Studentswillpresenttheirprocessandtheirendresultinaformal,5minuteTedTalkinspired
oralpresentationtotheirpeersandcommunitymemberslikerepresentativefromanyofthe
relevantnonprofitson
thislist
).Theirpresentationwillberequiredtoincludeaslidedeckor
othervisualcomponent.Studentswillalsobeencouragedtogolivewiththeircampaign,
whichcancounttowardstheirServiceLearningHoursrequirementforgraduation.

CheckyourworkagainsttheBIEPBLRubric.