Megan Gilson 5

Week 1: Text Introduction, Background, Establishing Norms

Tuesday, 90 minutes
Thursday. 90 minutes
Journal: To what extent does America
Journal:
promote liberty and justice for all?
if you can learn a simple trick, Scout,
youll get along better with all kinds of folks.
Intro Activity (to introduce EQ): Four
You never really understand a person until you
corners (strongly agree, agree, disagree, and
consider things from his point of viewuntil
strongly disagree).
you climb into his skin and walk around in it
1. Just like in the Pledge of Allegiance,
(33).
American promotes liberty and justice
Pick a character from a text that we have read
for all.
this year and, using what you know about that
2. Everyone can achieve success if they
character, write about a day in their life (do not
work really hard.
simply restate what happens in the reading).
3. Values come from your family and
community
Discussion: Maycombs social ladder
4. For the most part, the legal system is
Close reading of specific passages that reveal
fair and just
differences in identity, language, and what that
5. Everyone should be able to speak
means for Maycombs society
Standard American English
Student collaboration setting discussion
Overview of unit, pass out calendar
norms
Students work together to come up with
To Kill a Mockingbird intro presentation:
a list of appropriate/inappropriate
Harper Lee background
discussion behaviors
To Kill a Mockingbird background
Elect one student to write on posters,
(including why it is sometimes
hang up in classroom to reference
considered a banned book)
Teacher will add norms if necessary
Jim Crow laws in the south
(ie: critique ideas, not people)
The Great Depression
Pass out character organizer
To Kill a Mockingbird today
For next class: Chapters 1-3 (pg. 3-35)
For next class: Chapters 4-6 (pg. 36-64)
Learning Target(s):
Speaking/Listening (LITERACY.SL.9-10.1)
Language (ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.3)
Writing (ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3)

Learning Target(s):
Speaking/Listening (LITERACY.SL.9-10.1)
Language (ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.3)
Writing (ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3)

Friday, 50 minutes
Reading quiz
Small groups: exploring Scout as a child
narrator
Each group should create a poster Venn
Diagram comparing/contrasting Scout
and Holden
Below, write why Holden was often
considered an unreliable narrator. Do
we think that Scout may also be a
questionable narrator? Why or why
not? Find one Scout quote that supports
your reasoning.
Close reading: looking closer at passages that
reveal Scouts child narrator identity; discuss
what that means for us as readers.
Goal: lead students to an understanding
that Scouts child perspective may, at
times, lead to ambiguous/unclear
situations.
Hand out small Post-it notes; explain to
students that they should mark points while
reading when Scout does not give us the whole
picture of what is going on in the story, places
where we still have questions.
For next class: Chapters 7-9
Learning Target(s):
Reading (LITERACY.RL.9-10.1,
LITERACY.RL.9-10.3)

Megan Gilson 6
Week 2: Voice and Values
Tuesday, 90 minutes
Journal: At what point do people grow up?
Are there typical events in a persons life that
cause them to grow up? What moments in your
life have caused you to grow up (even if you
are still in the process of growing up)? When
does growing up end?
Ambiguity and voice
Mini lesson: Elements of a characters voice
What is included in a person or
characters voice?
How can we discover voice in reading?

Thursday. 90 minutes*
Journal: What are your values? Where do you
get them? What does Scout seem to value, and
where does she get her values?
Pass out/introduce character organizer (preplanning for writing assignment, step 1)
Introduce writing assignment

For next class: Chapters 10-11

Two sides (agree/disagree) debate activity

(Remind students about discussion norms
poster)
1. Atticus is a perfect parent.
2. Scouts values are influenced by her
age.
3. Scout only gets her values from Atticus
Why is it a sin to kill a
mockingbird?
4. It is not possible for Scout to ever
change her values.
5. At this point, Scout does not set her
own values.
(This could also be turned into an Ink Think)
Exit ticket: How is Scouts view as a narrator
shaped by her values?
For next class: Chapters 12-14

Learning Target(s):
Reading (LITERACY.RL.9-10.1,
LITERACY.RL.9-10.3)

Learning Target(s):
Speaking/Listening (LITERACY.SL.9-10.1)
Writing (ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3)

What is ambiguity?
Clip from The Hunger Games ending
Return to The Necklace short story
why was the ending ambiguous? What
do we, as readers, do when we dont
know everything?
Close reading: Boo Radley from
Scouts perspective

Friday, 50 minutes*
Reading quiz
Ambiguity role play:
Groups of 4-5 students
Remind students to look at Post-it
notes; have students select a moment of
ambiguity in the text
Students have 15 minutes as a group to
solve the ambiguity and come up
with a possible solution
3 minutes for each group to present
Short discussion: (in preparation for next
classs discussion on identity) What does it
mean to create a safe (and confidential)
space? Why is this important?
(Can be moved to next week if necessary)

For next class: Ch 15-16; Peggy McIntosh,

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible
Knapsack
Learning Target(s):
Writing (ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3)
Speaking/Listening (LITERACY.SL.9-10.1)

Megan Gilson 7
Week 3: Identity in America: Yesterday and Today
Tuesday, 90 minutes
Journal: Do you agree with Peggy McIntoshs
White Privilege article? Why or why not?
Are there any parts of the list specifically that
you agree/disagree with? Why? Could you
apply McIntoshs thinking to other identities
(gender, sex, sexual orientation, religion,
nationality, etc.)?

Thursday. 90 minutes

Friday, 50 minutes

Journal: What is justice? What is liberty?

Does America promote justice for all? Is
discrimination over? Why or why not? What
must happen for the US to become a more just
society?

Reading quiz

What can we, as ninth grade students at

Community High School, do? Discussion.

Time to work on character organizer

For next class: Ch 17-18

For next class: Toni Morrison, Recitatif

For next class: Ch 19-22; character organizer

Learning Target(s):
Writing (ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3)
Speaking/Listening (LITERACY.SL.9-10.1)
Language (ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.3)

Learning Target(s):
Speaking/Listening (LITERACY.SL.9-10.1)

Learning Target(s):
Writing (ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3)
Language (ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.3)

(Introduce idea of privilege/privilege in the

text)
Discussion: four corners activity
Connection to To Kill a Mockingbird How
might the idea of privilege factor into Tom
Robinsons trial? How might privilege factor
into how the characters use language? Discuss
scene where Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout to
her church.

Revisit ambiguity, discuss characterization:

Why does Morrison create ambiguity in
the characters identities?
How does Morrison reveal changes in
Small groups, read one several different
the characters over time?
articles on Ferguson shooting, Little Rock
How can we see changes in Scout
Central High School/Re-segregation, and
happening over the course of the novel?
incarceration statistics in the US.
How does her language change?
Tell students to underline main ideas
In preparation for your writing task
Read independently, then brief small
what does it mean to climb into
group discussion to summarize
someone elses skin and walk around in
it? (Atticus). How can we become our
Jigsaw discussion students move to different
characters in our writing, taking on
groups and teach what they learned
their voices?

Character organizer check-in

Form small groups based on selected
character

Megan Gilson 8
Week 4: The Legal/Justice System
Tuesday, 90 minutes
Journal: Free write on last nights reading.
What surprised you? Concerned you? Is there
anything youre wondering about? Why? Do
you have any predictions?
*Character organizer due*
Pre-Writing organization (step 2)
Look at your sticky notes to reveal
moments of ambiguity in the text,
make list
Close reading of critical trial passages in To
Kill a Mockingbird. What are we missing
from Scouts POV? What do we want to
know, and what are we still left wondering?
Watch trial clip from To Kill a Mockingbird
movie.
Discuss how the movie fills in some of the
blanks how can we do this in our own
writing?

For next class: Ch 23-25

Learning Target(s):
Writing (ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3)
Reading (LITERACY.RL.9-10.1,
LITERACY.RL.9-10.3)

Thursday. 90 minutes
Journal: What do you know about the legal
system in the United States? If you dont think
you know a lot about it, why do you think that
is? What do you think it is like?

Friday, 50 minutes
Classroom mock trial

Time to prepare for mock trial:

Assign roles within the mock trial
(lawyers, witnesses, jury, judge, etc.).
All students will receive an
information sheet that details their role
and duties in the courtroom, as well as
a brief description of others roles in
the courtroom. If they are the
defendant or plaintiff side, they will
also receive details about the alleged
crime (the case from their sides
perspective, as well as
things/information that they know but
might be trying to hide). Some
students will be assigned to the
media role, including a particular
bias/stance on the case that they should
reflect in their reporting.
Students may go to the computer lab to
do further research on their position.
Set ground rules for mock trial; make
poster to hang up during trial.
For next class: Ch 26-29

Learning Target(s):
Speaking/Listening (LITERACY.SL.9-10.1)

For next class: Ch 29-end; pre-writing

organization/outline (step 2) due next class
Learning Target(s):
Speaking/Listening (LITERACY.SL.9-10.1)

Megan Gilson 9
Week 5: Writing
Tuesday, 90 minutes
Journal: What are your thoughts on the mock
trial? Did anything surprise you? Is there
anything that you do not understand?
Mock trial de-brief
What do we learn about justice?
Goal: learn that justice is difficult when
you dont know the whole story
How can we relate what we learned in
the mock trial activity to Tom
Robinsons trial in the novel?
Time to work on/revise outline (step 2), due
at the end of class

Thursday. 90 minutes

Friday, 50 minutes

*First draft of essay (step 3) due*

Computer lab: in-class writing time

Mini lesson on peer review: how to look

beyond sentence-level concerns (ie:
grammar).

Goal: revise, add in official

comments/rationale for style decisions

Mini lesson on digital skills/Google

docs/technology logistics for writing task.
Computer lab
Working side-by-side with a preassigned partner, students will peer
revise using Google docs and the track
changes/comment feature

Opportunities for student-teacher writing

conferences
Exit ticket: What did you accomplish today?
What do you still have left to do? What can I
do to support you? What questions do you
have?

Opportunities for student-teacher writing

conference meetings

For next class:

First draft of essay (step 3) due next class

For next class:

Work toward final draft of essay

For next class:

Work on essay

Learning Target(s):
Speaking/Listening (LITERACY.SL.9-10.1)
Writing (ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3)

Learning Target(s):
Writing (ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3)

Learning Target(s):
Writing (ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3)

Megan Gilson 10
Week 6: Writing, Unit Wrap-Up, and Assessment
Tuesday, 90 minutes

Thursday. 90 minutes

Friday, 50 minutes

Computer lab: in-class writing time

Test review baseball activity

To Kill a Mockingbird test

For next class:

Writing task due

For next class:

Study for test

For next class: TBD, depends on next unit

(intro activity into next unit)

Learning Target(s):
Writing (ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3)

Learning Target(s):
Writing (ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3)
Reading (LITERACY.RL.9-10.1,
LITERACY.RL.9-10.3)
Language (ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.3)
Speaking/Listening (LITERACY.SL.9-10.1)

Learning Target(s):
Writing (ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3)
Reading (LITERACY.RL.9-10.1,
LITERACY.RL.9-10.3)
Language (ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.3)

Megan Gilson 11