Writing About Reading Unit Plan Overview

UNIT TOPIC
Students will be choosing their own books to read and they will learn
how to read books in a new way. I will be teaching them how to respond to a text
(reader response: which is when a reader ignores the author and texts contents and
instead uses their own experiences to conduct an analysis). Because students have to
be prepared for the NYS exams, I have created three steps of writing that teaches the
reader response lens, but also teaches students how to use textual evidence from the
book and how to cite that evidence. Students are accustomed to summarizing, so the
step of simple summary should come easier than the other two steps. The final
product from this 7 week unit will be a companion book for each students chosen
book. A companion book is a book that an author writes to help a future reader of the
original text, read and understand things in the book differently. A companion book
also helps answer any questions a future reader may have, as well as pose other
questions for future readers to wonder.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
Students will be able to understand how to question a text
and use their own experiences to work through a text and to explain important
elements in a text to others through discussions and their writing. For most students,
questioning a text doesnt come easy, nor does using their own background
knowledges to address a text. My goal for students is to build their confidence and aid
them in understanding that not everything they read is truth and they have the ability
to question a text and work through it until they come to an understanding that they
can share with others.
NYS STANDARDS
This Writing About Reading Unit is focused on writing, but the at
the forefront of the writing is the reading because students need to take the time and
read for a deeper purpose than just finishing a book. Students must take notes while
they read; they must be able to articulate what they are noticing; they must be able to
create visuals to support their ideas of the book. This unit covers many NYS Common
Core Standards from reading, writing, and speaking. Just a few of the standards are:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.5
Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole
and to the development of the ideas.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.7.1.A
Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation
by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.7.1.C
Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others' questions and comments with relevant observations
and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed.

OBJECTIVES
There are multiple student objectives that students will be able to meet
by the end of this unit. A few examples are:
Students will be able to write a companion book for their chosen book.
Students will be able to compare and contrast characters in their chosen books.
Students will be able to analyze pictures in a text in order to understand an authors craft and purpose.
Students will be able to read a text to pull out important details and events in order to explain the importance and
make life or societal connections for their companion book.
Students will be able to create visual maps such as a venn diagram to organize their thoughts, text evidence, and
summaries.
Students will be able to explain their thinking and life connections to important moments in their texts by pulling
out important aspects that they can relate to.
Students will be able to illustrate passages from their text by digitally creating a visual, hand drawing a visual, or
locating a visual from the internet.
Students will be able to discuss ways an author uses different design features in a text and ways that they can use
similar design features in their companion books.
Students will be able to paraphrase parts of their text so that a reader understands an important feature of their
chosen text.
Students will be able to define words in their chosen texts for future readers by creating glossaries for their
companion books.
Students will be able to distinguish important features their chosen book by creating chapter titles in order to
create focused paragraphs of writing.
Students will be able to defend their opinions and thoughts by using textual evidence from their text.
Students will be able to discover their voice in their writing by adding in life connections and life relations to
important aspects they choose from their chosen text.
Students will be able to identify an authors craft by looking at techniques authors use in writing.
Students will be able to identify goals authors try to achieve by using different writing techniques.
Students will be able to categorize transition words and phrases according to the purpose for each.
Students will be able to compare events happening in their texts to societal events or events in their own lives.
Students will be able to summarize specific moments in their chosen text in order to analyze and give life
connections to the passage.

ASSESSMENTS
Students will be assessed throughout the unit formally and informally.
Students will create compare and contrasts charts to help visualize differences and
similarities between characters. I will collect and assess students understanding with
multiple visuals such as character maps, concept maps, timelines, or which other
visual a student chooses to use. Students will also be assessed during discussions and
with given feedback on their writing and in one on one conferences. I will determine
their understanding during the stages of this unit.
EVALUATION
I have created a rubric to assess different elements in students final
writing pieces. I turned the rubric into a user friendly guide for students to follow and
use throughout the unit and before the final companion book is due, students will be
able to see the rubric and understand exactly how they will be graded. Students will
not see anything new on the rubric, as each step of the rubric will be taught as a step
in the writing process.