Week One

Activities in dark blue are the literacy components, and will take place during the normal literacy block. Activities in red are the social studies components, and will take place in the afternoon, following lunch.

Monday
Read aloud of Alexie for 10 minutes at beginning of each day. What makes up our identities? Journal reflection & collaboratively defining identity with bubble chart. Introduction to rest of unit.

Tuesday
Shared reading: Esperanza from The House on Mango Street. Introduce biopoem.

Wednesday
Writers workshop: Finishing rough drafts of biopoems, revision process, and typing final drafts.
Different types of media: Comparing scene in The Gold Cadillac to The Great Debaters. Graphic organizer and constructed response due.

Thursday
Iceberg activity & shared reading of Farewell to Manzanar. Constructed response: What is one thing that people might assume about you?

Friday
Shared reading: We Wear the Mask. Class discussion: Do our identities change in different settings? Art activity: constructing masks.

Introduction to race unit: Accessing prior knowledge and addressing concerns through class discussion. Reflection in journal.

Co-constructing definition of race. Is race biological? Watch excerpt from Race: Power of an Illusion. Written response: Identifying main idea, and 3 things that surprised you.

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Class discussion: Does racism continue to exist today? What does it look like? YouTube video of doll experiment, with journal response.

Week Two
Activities in dark blue are the literacy components, and will take place during the normal literacy block. Activities in red are the social studies components, and will take place in the afternoon, following lunch.

Monday
Introducing the autobiography. Independent reading of examples, followed by share-out. Creating organization charts for own autobiographies. Introducing letter to the editor assignment, with examples from newspaper. Begin Writers Workshop.

Tuesday
Writers Workshop: Rough drafts of autobiographies, and beginning to revise.

Wednesday
Writers workshop, continued: Completing rough drafts, revising, beginning final drafts. Mini-lesson on including quotations in text.

Thursday
Writers workshop, continued: Completing autobiographies. Students who are finished can mount on construction paper and hang on wall. Achieve3000 when finished.

Friday
Gallery walk: small groups of students will choose one autobiography on the wall, read it, take notes, and prepare a 1 paragraph written response, or an equivalent oral response. Guidelines for responses will be handed out. Finishing up: students will have opportunity to finish letters to editor and magazine art activity. If behavior has been good throughout the week, we can have The Great Debaters on while students work.

Writers Workshop, continued. Mini-lesson on reviewing persuasive writing strategies. Most students should be finished with rough drafts by end of time today.

Looking at magazine ads for messages about identity. Students can either cut out ads and make a collage, or make their own ad. Write one paragraph about what message is being sent.

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