Title: Coming Of Age

Texts: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, and Persepolis
film

Rationale: This unit will give students the opportunity to reflect on their own identity and
growth as they relate to classic and modern Coming of Age texts. This unit will also teach
students how to read across texts and identify common themes, which will help them develop the
following ELA Common Core skills:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3

Unit plan inventory: My chosen inventory tool is a written journal (nicknamed the “journey
journal”) that students will use to discuss a journey that they’ve been on (lifelong or short term).
Within their journey, they will write about their own experience with growth and identity, as
well as related texts that they have read in the past. The “journey journal” will be decorative and
multimodal, including snippets from texts or images that are significant to students.

Overarching concept: Coming of Age

Essential questions:
Are coming of age themes limited to adolescent characters?
How does support from other people (friends, family, etc.) influence our growth?
How does identity shift as one gets older?

Culminating assessment: The culminating assessment for this unit will be a letter in the voice
of one character in a unit text to another character in a unit text. Students should use this outlet to
discuss common themes between the texts, share any questions that they have, and get creative
with the established voice and experiences of their chosen character.

Parameters: 1-2 page letter (12 pt. single spaced if typed; handwritten is fine); addressed to one
character from another; should be placed in an envelope and addressed to the recipient
Rubric:

Lesson objectives:
Students will be able to:
-participate in a peer review session and give valuable feedback.
-lead a one-on-one writing conference with their teacher.
-actively participate in a constructive writing workshop.
-participate in a socratic seminar.
-lead class discussions.
-analyze a film as a text.
-identify historical significance and context for a text like Persepolis.
-identify themes within and across texts.
-discuss significant themes like race, revolution, culture, and identity as they pertain to texts like
Persepolis.
-interpret and analyze images in a graphic novel.

Lesson-based formative assessments:

-Exit Cards
-Journals
-Quick Write
-Reflective Sentence Starters
-Warm & cool feedback
-PQP -praise, question, polish
-321 (3 summaries, 2 questions, 1 interesting fact)
-Thumbs up, thumbs down
-Think-Pair-Share