SampleUnitandLessonPlan

UnitFocus
:Identity,community,andbelonging
IntendedGradeLevel:
11(APLanguageandComposition)
NarrativeOverviewofUnit:
Studentswillread
TheAbsolutelyTrueDiaryofaParttime
Indian
byShermanAlexieasthefocusoftheunit.ThroughstudyingNativeAmericanculture
andothercultures,theywillanalyzewhatitmeanstobelongtoacommunityandhowthis
shapesonesidentity.Additionally,theywillstudyShermanAlexiesuseoftone,pathos,and
otherrhetoricaldevicestoevokeemotionandafeelingofconnectiontotheprotagonist,Junior.
EssentialQuestion:
Howdoourperceptionsofindigenousculturesimpactourunderstandingofourselves?
MajorGoalsandObjectives:
NCTEstandards:
Studentsconductresearchonissuesandinterestsbygeneratingideasandquestions,andby
posingproblems.Theygather,evaluate,andsynthesizedatafromavarietyofsources(e.g.,print
andnonprinttexts,artifacts,people)tocommunicatetheirdiscoveriesinwaysthatsuittheir
purposeandaudience.
Studentsuseavarietyoftechnologicalandinformationresources(e.g.,libraries,databases,
computernetworks,video)togatherandsynthesizeinformationandtocreateandcommunicate
knowledge.
Studentsreadawiderangeofprintandnonprinttextstobuildanunderstandingoftexts,of
themselves,andoftheculturesoftheUnitedStatesandtheworldtoacquirenewinformationto

respondtotheneedsanddemandsofsocietyandtheworkplaceandforpersonalfulfillment.
Amongthesetextsarefictionandnonfiction,classicandcontemporaryworks.

SOL:
11.2Thestudentwillexaminehowvaluesandpointsofviewareincludedorexcludedandhow
mediainfluencesbeliefsandbehaviors.
11.4Thestudentwillread,comprehend,andanalyzerelationshipsamongAmericanliterature,
history,andculture.
11.5Thestudentwillreadandanalyzeavarietyofnonfictiontexts.
11.6Thestudentwillwriteinavarietyofforms,withanemphasisonpersuasion.

UnitPreassessment:
VisualtoneworksheetonpicturesdepictingimagesonNativeAmericans,bothhistoricaland
stereotypical/commercialized
FormativeUnitAssessments:
NotesandquestionsfromKWLstationsonNativeAmericans.
Sentencestalkingdiagramsandwrittenanalysisofstyleelementsonasentencelevel.
RAFTwritingsingroupsandindividually,practicingandapplyingemergingknowledgeoftone.
Claimcraftingpractice.
Dialecticaljournalstopracticeassertion,evidence,claim.
SummativeUnitAssessment:
Inclassrhetoricalanalysisonfinaldayoftheunit


ListofPlannedInstructionalProcedures:
Poemanalysis(slampoetry,andelegy)
KWLresearchstationstoincreasebackgroundknowledge
Closereadingoftext,includingexaminingspecificAPstyleanalysisdevices
RAFTwritingexercises
Analysisofillustrationsandtexttopracticecraftingclaims
EstimatedTimeFrameforUnit:
Five90minuteblocks
DescriptionofIntended(orImagined)Learners:
th
Theselessonsareintendedfor11
gradeAPEnglishstudentsinamulticulturalsetting.

PossibleUnitAdaptationstoMeetStrengthsandNeedsofLearners:
KWLstationswillprovideampleamountsofresearchforstudentswhoreadfasterand/orwish
tolearnmore.Thereisnotaminimumrequirednumberofsourcestoreview,sostudentswho
needtotakelongergoingthroughsourcesareallowedtodoso.Studentsareallowedtoworkat
theirownpace.
Manyoftheactivitiesaredesignedforpartnerorgroupwork,allowingstudentstosupporteach
otherintheirlearning.Deliberategroupingswillhelpstudentswhoneedextrasupport.Thistime
usedforindividualandgroupworkalsoallowsfortheteachertocheckinwithstudentsand
assesstheirunderstanding.Thisisparticularlyimportantduringthesentencestalkingactivity,as
thisisanewskillandstudentsalearninganewrhetoricaldevice.

UnitCalendar

Date

Inclass

Homework

11Nov

KWLstations

HW:p176

Groupquestiondiscussions

13Nov

Visualtonepreassessment

HW:p77151

Poemanalysis

17Nov

Sentencestalkingactivity

HW:p152end

Writtenresponse

RAFT

19Nov

Illustrationanalysisandclaimcrafting

Reviewfortheessaytest

DialecticalJournal

Review

23Nov

Inclassrhetoricalanalysis

None

DayThreeLessonPlan

Objective:
StudentsapplyAPStyleAnalysisstrategiestoanalyzespecificpassagesofthebook
bycraftingasentencestalkingdiagram.
StudentswillthenparticipateinaRAFTactivitytoapplytheirknowledgeindevelopingtone.
Reviewthedrawingassignmentwhichwillbeduenextclass.

SOLStandards:
11.4Thestudentwillread,comprehend,andanalyzerelationshipsamongAmericanliterature,
history,andculture.
h)Explainhowanauthorsspecificwordchoices,syntax,tone,andvoicesupportthe
authorspurpose.
j)Analyzetheuseofliteraryelementsanddramaticconventionsincludingverbal,
situational,anddramaticironyusedinAmericanliterature.
11.6Thestudentwillwriteinavarietyofforms,withanemphasisonpersuasion.
e)Adaptcontent,vocabulary,voice,andtonetoaudience,purpose,andsituation.
NCTEStandards:
6.Studentsapplyknowledgeoflanguagestructure,languageconventions(e.g.,spellingand
punctuation),mediatechniques,figurativelanguage,andgenretocreate,critique,anddiscuss
printandnonprinttexts.

Materials,Resources,Equipment:
APStyleAnalysishandout
Whitepaper
Markers
RAFThandout

Procedure:
Sentencestalking
Instructionsforstudents:
Explaintostudentsthattheywillcreateasentencestalkingdiagram.Theyshouldskimthrough
whatwehavereadfromthebookthisfarandpickasentencethattheythinkcapturesthe
authorsstyleorvoice.TheywillthenanalyzeitcarefullywiththeirAPStyleAnalysisNotes
sheet,lookingfordiction,imagery,syntax,tone,andotherliteraryelements.Writeabouttwo
domains(outofthefive)andwhatimportantthingsyoufoundinthesentence.Howdothese
thingsworktogether?
Eachstudentisgivenasheetofwhitepaper.Theteacherwilldotheassignmentwiththeclass
andwillprojectthesentencetomodel.
Thisreservationhadtriedtosuffocateher,hadkepthertrappedinabasement,andnowshewas
outroamingthehugegrassyfieldsofMontana.P91
Thestudentswritetheirsentenceinlargelettersonthepaperinblackink.
RefertotheAPStyleAnalysissheetandreadabouteachofthedomains.Teachershouldspot
checkthatstudentsunderstandtheterms.

Studentswillchooseonecolorperdomain.Asstudentsidentifydevices,theywillmarkthemon
theStylesheetandunderline,circle,orotherwisemarkuptheirsentence,indicatingwhichpart
ofthesentencecoordinateswithwhichdevice.
Aftermodelingseveralsteps,explaintotheclassthattheywillneedtochoosetwodomainsto
writeabout.OnedomainmustbeAttitude/Tone.Theymaychoosetheother..Theyshould
identifytwospecific(anddifferent)thingstheymarkedintheirsentenceandwhy.Thisincludes
howthisdevicefunctionstoconveymeaninginthesentence.
Allowstudentstocontinueworkingontheirown.Theteachershouldwalkaroundtheclass
aidingstudentsandmakingsuretheyareontaskandunderstandwhattodo.
Attheendoftheactivity,collectthediagramandthewrittenportionfromeachstudent.

RAFTactivity:
Explaintostudentsthatwewillnowpracticeapplyingtonetoourownwriting.Askifanyone
hasevercompletedaRAFTandexplainthestepsofRole,Audience,Format,andTopic.They
willbeworkingtowritefromtheperspectiveofacharacterfromthebook.Projecttheteacher
modelandreaditoutloud.Then,handouttheRAFTsheets.Guidethestudentstobeginwriting
aRAFTwithapartnerattheirtable.Oncethisiscomplete,theywillcompletetheRAFTonthe
backofthesheetontheirown.

FormativeAssessment:
sentencestalkingdiagramandwrittenresponsewillbeturnedinto
assessparticipationandunderstanding.

RAFTactivitywillshowhowstudentsareworkingtogether,andthesolowritingwillassesshow
studentsunderstandtoneandareabletoapplytheirunderstanding.

FollowupPlans:
HW:finishthebook,Drawingassignment
Tomorrowssummary:
Studentswillanalyzeillustrationstopracticecraftingclaims,completeadialecticaljournal,and
reviewthenovelinitsentirety.

Name_____________________________
TheAbsolutelyTrueDiaryofaParttimeIndian
RAFTActivity
PiecesofyourRAFT:

R
ole

JuniorandGordy

A
udience Themselves

F
ormat

Manifesto

T
opic

Theirtribe

LetscraftagroupRAFT!

PiecesofyourRAFT:

R
ole

Junior

A
udience

MaryRunsAway

F
ormat

Letter

T
opic

NowcraftthatRAFT!

TheAbsolutelyTrueDiaryofaParttimeIndian

YouwillcreateanillustrationinasimilarstyletooneofJuniorsdrawings.Basedonthe
picturesJuniordrawsonpages12,27,57,and69,createadrawingdepictingyouorsomeone
influentialinyourlife.Thedrawingshouldfeatureatitleandatleastfivecaptions.
Thispictureshouldhighlightthefollowingthreeaspectsofyourpersonalityorappearance:
thingsthataretypicalforanidentityyouclaim,waysinwhichyoudontfitintoacertain
community,andchoicesyoumaketobeyourownperson.
Dontworryifyourenotanartist:Imnoteither!Ifyourdrawingsdonotcommunicateyour
meaning,youcanputmoreemphasisonthewordsyouchooseforthecaptions.

DUEDATE
Block7:11/19
Blocks2&4:11/20

TheAbsolutelyTrueDiaryofaParttimeIndian
DialecticalJournal

Directions:Pleasecompletethechartbelow.Thiswillhelpyoupracticestructuringyourrhetorical
analysisessays.

Assertion
Evidence
Commentary

Everywhitepersononthis

rezshouldgetsmashedinthe
face.Butletmetellyouthis.
AlltheIndiansshouldget
smashedintheface,too
(42).
Juniorhasbeen

culturedtofeel
undeserving.

Juniordoesntfeel
likehebelongs
anywhere.

TravelingbetweenReardan
andWellpinit,betweenthe
littlewhitetownandthe
reservation,Ialwaysfeltlike
astranger(118).

Grandmother
Spiritsfuneral
helpsJuniorfind
moreofasenseof
belongingonthe
reservation.

Reservationsweremeantto
beprisons,youknow?
Indiansweresupposedto
moveontoreservationsand
die.Weweresupposedto
disappear(216).

TheAbsolutelyTrueDiaryofaParttimeIndian

EssayTest

Directions:Youhavetheentireblocktocomposeyouressay.Makesureyouhaveatleast
fourparagraphs.Youcan,ofcourse,writemore.
Prompt:Reviewthelistbelowofmajortopicsdiscussedandanalyzedthroughourunit.
Choosetwoofthesetopicstofocusoninyouressay.

ThedeathsofEugene,GrandmotherSpirit,and/orMaryRunsAway
Juniorsbasketballcareer
Juniorsfriendships
Theillustrations
NativeAmericantraditions
NativeAmericanstereotypes
Reservationculture

WhatimpactdothesetopicshaveonJuniorsunderstandingofhisidentityasIndian?How
doesAlexiestonecontributetohiscommentaryonthesetopicswhilebuildingpathos
towardJunior?