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English Language Arts Instructional Units

Overview of ELA units: In partnership with the Institute for Learning, the Tennessee Department of Education is offering ELA units in grades 4-12 as an optional resource for districts as they implement the Common Core State Standards. These units teach students to read complex informational or fictional texts critically and to respond through writing. Each unit focuses on a specific set of reading comprehension skills—such as determining theme or analyzing argument structure—and a writing mode, such as argumentative or narrative. Units are composed of multiple texts. For each text, a sequence of scaffolded tasks (inquiry-based discussion or writing activities centered on text-dependent questions) guides students, through gradual release of responsibility, toward reading independently. Units are aligned to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and feature detailed guidance for teachers on facilitating all tasks and activities. These units build on summer training by showing how the instructional shifts can be put into action. They will also support teachers and students in preparing for the TCAP Writing Assessment and the transition to PARCC. The writing tasks the TDOE will release this year will assess the same skills emphasized in the units: comprehending complex texts, synthesizing evidence from multiple texts, and writing in response to text. Copyright: These units have been purchased and licensed indefinitely for the exclusive use of Tennessee educators. The texts featured in these units for Tennessee educators have been purchased for two years. Within this time, Tennessee teachers may access the texts through a password protected website. All unit texts may be printed and distributed to students or, in the case of videos, accessed and shown to students. Obtainment of copyright permissions for some texts is still ongoing and rights will be added to texts following acquisition. Note that in some cases it will not be possible to obtain copyright. Texts that have not obtained copyright permissions include a citation that describes which texts teachers should use for the unit. Bias and sensitivity: These units are peer-reviewed and have been vetted for content by experts. However, it is the responsibility of local school districts to review these units for social, ethnic, racial, and gender bias before use in local schools. Unit resources: Texts for each unit can be found in the separate text packet. Units are also accompanied by user’s guides created by Tennessee educators which provide a brief introduction to the unit as well as guidance on placement and timing.

U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H

Narrating Women’s Lives

englishlanguage arts

Grades

11-12

© 2013 University of Pittsburgh – English Language Arts Unit, Grades 11–12: Narrating Women’s Lives

3

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Table of Contents 5


Introduction

Overview What is this unit about? .......................................................................................................................... 9 What content will students learn? ........................................................................................................ 9 How will students develop their skills and habits of reading, writing, and speaking? ................. 9 What is the unit outline? ....................................................................................................................... 10

Unit Outline ........................................................................................................................................ 11

Common Core State Standards (CCSS) ................................................................................ 12

Instructional Supports in the Unit How does the unit support planning and implementation? ............................................................ 14 How is it best to read and use the task pages? ................................................................................ 15 How is each task organized and sequenced? .................................................................................. 16 Why these task questions? .................................................................................................................. 16 How long will it take to fully implement the unit? ............................................................................. 16 How does the unit provide support for English learners? ............................................................... 16 How is writing supported in the unit? ................................................................................................. 17 What is our approach to vocabulary instruction? ............................................................................ 17

Materials by Task ............................................................................................................................... 19

Overarching Questions ..................................................................................................................... 23 TEXT 1: “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

TASK 1.1: Comprehension ............................................................................................................ 27 TASK 1.2: Character Analysis ...................................................................................................... 30

TASK 1.3: Figurative Language: Symbolism ....................................................................... 33

TASK 1.4: Genre and Structure .................................................................................................. 35

TEXT 2: “Blond” by Natasha Tretheway TASK 2.1: Comprehension ........................................................................................................... 41 TASK 2.2: Figurative Language .................................................................................................. 44

TASK 2.3: Structure: Free Verse ................................................................................................. 47

Table of Contents

Grades

11-12

6 Table of Contents


TEXT 3: “Incident” by Natasha Tretheway TASK 3.1: Comprehension ........................................................................................................... 53 TASK 3.2: Figurative Language .................................................................................................. 55 TASK 3.3: Structure: Pantoum .................................................................................................... 57

TASK 3.4: WriteLike .......................................................................................................................... 60

TASK 3.5: Culminating Assignment 1 ..................................................................................... 63 Stepback Questions .................................................................................................................................. 66

TEXT 4: “Woman in the Nineteenth Century” by Margaret Fuller TASK 4.1: Comprehension ........................................................................................................... 69 TASK 4.2: Vocabulary ...................................................................................................................... 72 TASK 4.3: Author’s Purpose: Structure ................................................................................... 75

TEXT 5: “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker TASK 5.1: Comprehension ........................................................................................................... 81 TASK 5.2: Author’s Purpose: Structure and Evidence ..................................................... 83 TASK 5.3: Figurative Language: Symbolism ....................................................................... 85

TASK 5.4: Figurative Language Assessment ....................................................................... 88

TASK 5.5: Culminating Assignment 2 ..................................................................................... 90 Stepback Questions .................................................................................................................................. 93 Culminating Assessment Culminating Assessment Task ............................................................................................................. 99 StepBack Questions ............................................................................................................................ 100 Appendix

Texts Unit Texts ............................................................................................................................................... 103 Obtaining Copyright Permission ........................................................................................................ 104

Instructional Glossary .............................................................................................................. 105

Instructional Resources Reader/Writer Notebook..................................................................................................................... 113 Teacher Resource: Reader/Writer Notebook Suggested Feedback System ............................. 114 Pedagogical Rituals and Routines .................................................................................................... 115 Accountable Talk® Moves and Functions in ELA ............................................................................ 116 Inquiry-Based Discussion .................................................................................................................. 117


Grades

11-12

IntroductionNarrating Women’s Lives

Grades

11-12

Introduction 9

Grades

11-12


Overview

What is this unit about?This unit is about analyzing narrative texts for the ideas they reveal about women’s lives. Through engaging in the unit, students learn to analyze how these writers convey their ideas about women’s lives and roles through structure, characters, and literary techniques. Students also deepen their understanding about thinking through complex ideas by writing essays that analyze the challenges of narrating women’s lives and imagining how an author might respond to the ideas and writing techniques of other authors.

This unit is also about genre. Throughout the course of this unit, students will deepen their understanding of the short story, poem, and essay genres and learn how to analyze how authors develop features of a genre to convey their ideas. In the process, they learn more about the affordances and limitations of each genre.

In this unit, students will read, write about, and discuss one short story, two poems, and two literary essays to deepen their understanding of the following big questions:

• Whatimportantunderstandingsofwomen’slivesandsocietalrolesdotheauthorsofthese narratives offer?

• Howdoeseachauthoruseherchosengenretodevelopherideas?

For their final assessment, students imagine one of the authors reading the texts of the other authors. Students write an essay that explains the possible points of agreement and disagreement among the authors, including an analysis of meaning, diction, structure, and figurative language.

What content will students learn? Students will expand their knowledge base about:

• howauthorsusetheirwritingtorevealtheirperspectivesaboutwomen’slivesandroles.• howvariousauthorsusestructuretoadvancetheirideas.• howvariousauthorsusefigurativelanguagetodevelopcharacters,themes,andarguments.• featuresofthegenreoftheshortstory,freeversepoem,pantoumpoem,andliterarynonfictionessay.

In this examination, students will consider what each genre allows and limits, and why authors may choose to write in particular genres.

How will students develop their skills and habits of reading, writing, and speaking?The unit provides teaching approaches and questions that guide an inquiry approach to teaching. Students engage as problem solvers and sense makers as they read, write, talk, and think about the texts they are reading.

Each task in which students engage includes an inquiry for them to answer and/or pursue.

10 Introduction


Students are supported to develop skills and habits such as how to:

• comprehend,withassistanceandindependently,complexshortstories,poems,andliterarynonfictionessays.

• develop,support,anddefendtext-basedinterpretationsandarguments.• analyzeshortstoriesandessaysforhowcomplexcharactersandideasdevelopoverthecourseofa

text, including how they emerge and are shaped and refined by specific details.• readandtakenotesfromtexts.• studyandusemodelsofagenre.• participateinroutinessuchasmaintainingaReader/WriterNotebook,completingQuickWrites,pair/

trio sharing of textual evidence, and whole group discussions on a text’s ideas and interpretations of texts.

• valueeffortasawaytogetsmarteraboutreading,writing,listening,speaking,andresearching.

What is the unit outline? On the next page, you’ll find the unit outline. The outline provides a snapshot of the major work that students will engage in over the course of this unit. The outline shows what students will do while the pages that follow the unit outline show how students will engage in that work.

The unit outline lists the unit’s overarching questions, texts, tasks, and culminating assignments and assessment. The outline is meant to be read horizontally and vertically. The horizontal work represents the work that students do across texts. For example, the overarching questions reach across all the texts in the unit and students are asked to engage with work that will deepen their understanding of these questions with all the texts in the unit.

The vertical work shows the tasks or questions that students will engage in with a single text or across two texts. As you read, notice how the tasks in the vertical rows are designed to build on each other and engage students in evolving, challenging work. Notice too how the tasks are designed to give students multiple opportunitieswitheachtexttoengageinkeytasksalignedtotheCCSS.

At the bottom of the unit outline, you’ll find the unit’s two culminating assignments and one culminating assessment. For each culminating assignment, students work across two or more texts and have an opportunity to revise their work. For the culminating assessment, students work independently and use the knowledge, habits, and skills they gained over the course of the unit and apply them to their analysis of the texts. Notice how the tasks and culminating assignments are designed to prepare students for the culminating assessment.

Each task on the outline is represented by a prompt, question, or set of questions preceded by two numbers. The first number references a unit text and the second number references the task number for that text. For instance, Task 1.2 uses Text 1, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and is the second task for this text.

Introduction 11


Ove

rarc

hin

g Q

ues

tio

ns

•

Wha

tim

porta

ntu

nder

stan

ding

sof

wom

en’s

lives

and

soc

ieta

lrol

esd

oth

eau

thor

sof

thes

ena

rrativ

eso

ffer?

•

How

doe

sea

cha

utho

ruse

her

cho

sen

genr

eto

dev

elop

her

idea

s?

TEXT

1“T

he Y

ello

w W

allp

aper

” by

Cha

rlotte

Per

kins

Gilm

an

TEXT

2“B

lond

” by

Nat

asha

Tre

thew

ey

TEXT

3“I

ncid

ent”

by

Nat

asha

Tre

thew

ey

TEXT

4“W

oman

in th

e

Nin

etee

nth

Cent

ury”

by

Mar

gare

t Ful

ler

TEXT

5“I

n Se

arch

of O

ur

Mot

hers

’ Gar

dens

” by

Alic

e W

alke

r1.

1 Co

mpr

ehen

sion

Desc

ribe

how

the

narra

tor i

s po

rtray

ed a

t th

e be

ginn

ing,

mid

dle,

and

end

of t

he s

hort

stor

y. W

ho a

re th

e ot

her c

hara

cter

s an

d w

hat i

s th

eir r

elat

ions

hip

to th

e na

rrato

r?

Wha

t is

the

setti

ng a

nd h

ow is

it im

porta

nt

to th

e na

rrativ

e?

1.2

Char

acte

r Ana

lysi

sId

entif

y th

e m

omen

t (se

nten

ce o

r pa

ragr

aph)

in th

e sh

ort s

tory

that

you

thin

k be

st p

ortra

ys th

e ch

arac

ter o

f the

hus

band

. Ex

plai

n w

hy y

ou c

hose

this

mom

ent a

s si

gnifi

cant

in p

ortra

ying

the

husb

and.

1.3

Figu

rativ

e La

ngua

ge: S

ymbo

lism

Wha

t mig

ht th

e w

oman

in th

e w

allp

aper

sy

mbo

lize?

Why

is th

e sy

mbo

lism

impo

rtant

to

the

narra

tive?

1.4

Genr

e an

d St

ruct

ure

How

doe

s th

e ge

nre

and

stru

ctur

e of

the

text

pro

vide

insi

ght i

nto

the

narra

tor’s

m

enta

l con

ditio

n? H

ow d

oes

the

auth

or

man

ipul

ate

dict

ion

and

synt

ax to

reve

al th

e ch

ange

s in

the

narra

tor?

2.1

Com

preh

ensi

onRe

ad th

e fir

st o

f tw

o na

rrativ

e po

ems,

“Bl

ond.

”

Desc

ribe

wha

t we

lear

n ab

out t

he n

arra

tor i

n th

is

poem

. W

hat i

s th

e se

tting

?

Wha

t eve

nt is

bei

ng

desc

ribed

?

2.2

Figu

rativ

e La

ngua

geId

entif

y th

e m

omen

t (lin

e or

line

s) in

the

poem

that

yo

u th

ink

reve

als

the

mos

t si

gnifi

cant

sym

bolic

mea

ning

. Ex

plai

n th

e sy

mbo

l you

se

lect

ed a

nd w

hy y

ou c

hose

it

as s

igni

fican

t to

the

poem

’s m

eani

ng.

2.3

Stru

ctur

e: F

ree

Vers

eW

hat a

re s

ome

of th

e st

ruct

ural

feat

ures

of

this

poe

m?

How

doe

s Tr

ethe

wey

use

line

bre

aks

and

dict

ion

to c

reat

e m

eani

ng?

3.1

Com

preh

ensi

onW

hat i

s th

e “i

ncid

ent”

that

the

narra

tor’s

fam

ily re

tells

, and

how

did

yo

u kn

ow?

3.2

Figu

rativ

e La

ngua

geId

entif

y th

e m

omen

t (lin

e or

line

s) in

th

e po

em th

at y

ou th

ink

capt

ures

the

mos

t sig

nific

ant i

mag

e in

the

poem

. W

hat d

oes

the

imag

ery

conv

ey a

nd

why

did

you

iden

tify

it as

sig

nific

ant

to th

e m

eani

ng o

f the

poe

m?

3.3

Stru

ctur

e: P

anto

um“I

ncid

ent”

is a

nar

rativ

e po

em, b

ut it

al

so fo

llow

s th

e st

ruct

ure

of a

spe

cific

ki

nd o

f poe

m c

alle

d a

pant

oum

. Wha

t do

es Tr

ethe

wey

acc

ompl

ish

by u

sing

a

pant

oum

for t

his

text

?

3.4

Writ

eLik

eSe

lect

a fe

w li

nes

from

one

of

the

two

poem

s th

at y

ou th

ink

are

effe

ctiv

e in

con

veyi

ng a

cen

tral i

dea

or fe

elin

g. U

se s

imila

r stru

ctur

e an

d te

chni

ques

to d

escr

ibe

som

ethi

ng th

at

is im

porta

nt to

you

and

writ

e so

me

lines

of p

oetry

.

4.1

Com

preh

ensi

onW

ho is

the

spea

ker i

n th

e es

say

and

wha

t are

her

vie

ws

of w

omen

’s liv

es

and

thei

r rol

es?

Who

is M

irand

a in

th

e es

say?

Wha

t big

idea

s ab

out

wom

en’s

lives

and

role

s do

es th

e au

thor

con

vey

thro

ugh

Mira

nda?

4.2

Voca

bula

ryId

entif

y Ti

er 2

wor

ds th

at a

re

unkn

own,

suc

h as

impe

de, s

eren

ity,

depr

ecat

ed, a

nd p

rece

pts.

Stu

dy

how

they

func

tion

as in

divi

dual

w

ords

and

in th

e co

ntex

t of t

his

text

. Ho

w d

oes

Fulle

r use

wor

ds w

ith

stro

ng c

onno

tatio

ns to

reve

al h

er

view

s?

4.3

Auth

or’s

Purp

ose:

Stru

ctur

eW

hat i

s th

e st

ruct

ure

of M

irand

a’s

argu

men

t in

this

text

? W

hy m

ight

th

e au

thor

hav

e ch

osen

to p

rese

nt

this

text

as

a di

scus

sion

bet

wee

n tw

o ch

arac

ters

rath

er th

an a

s a

mor

e tra

ditio

nal e

ssay

?

5.1

Com

preh

ensi

onW

hat d

o w

e le

arn

abou

t Alic

e W

alke

r an

d W

alke

r’s m

othe

r?

5.2

Auth

or’s

Purp

ose:

Stru

ctur

e

and

Evid

ence

How

doe

s W

alke

r use

diff

eren

t ex

ampl

es o

f wom

en’s

crea

tive

spiri

t fro

m h

er o

wn

life

and

the

lives

of

othe

r wom

en to

reve

al h

er e

ssay

’s pu

rpos

e? Id

entif

y th

ree

sign

ifica

nt

allu

sion

s in

the

text

and

ana

lyze

th

eir p

urpo

se.

5.3

Figu

rativ

e La

ngua

ge:

Sym

bolis

mW

hat i

s th

e sy

mbo

lism

of t

he ti

tle?

How

doe

s th

e tit

le c

ontri

bute

to

your

und

erst

andi

ng o

f Wal

ker’s

ce

ntra

l arg

umen

t?

5.4

Figu

rativ

e La

ngua

ge

Asse

ssm

ent

How

did

the

poem

at t

he e

nd o

f the

es

say a

ffect

your

read

ing

of th

e te

xt?

Use

your

und

erst

andi

ng o

f figu

rativ

e la

ngua

ge to

com

pose

a w

ritte

n an

alys

is of

the

effe

ct o

f the

poe

m.

3.5

Cu

lmin

atin

g A

ssig

nm

ent

1W

rite

an e

ssay

whi

ch a

ddre

sses

the

follo

win

g: W

hat d

o yo

u le

arn

abou

t wha

t eac

h ge

nre

allo

ws

and

limits

? W

hat d

o th

ese

two

genr

es, a

s ex

empl

ified

by

thes

e te

xts,

allo

w u

s to

und

erst

and

abou

t the

situ

atio

ns o

f wom

en?

5.5

Cu

lmin

atin

g A

ssig

nm

ent

2W

rite

an e

ssay

that

exp

lain

s w

hat y

ou h

ave

lear

ned

abou

t the

affo

rdan

ces

and

limita

tions

of n

arra

ting

wom

en’s

lives

. Be

sur

e to

giv

e sp

ecifi

c ev

iden

ce fr

om

the

text

s to

pre

sent

you

r ass

ertio

ns a

nd u

nder

stan

ding

s.

Cu

lmin

atin

g A

sses

smen

tW

rite

an e

ssay

in w

hich

you

imag

ine

thre

e of

the

auth

ors

read

ing

each

oth

er’s

text

s. W

hat w

ould

eac

h au

thor

say

abo

ut th

e ot

her w

omen

’s id

eas?

Whe

re w

ould

they

agr

ee a

nd w

here

wou

ld th

ey d

isag

ree?

W

hatw

ould

eac

hlik

eab

outt

heo

ther

aut

hors

’writ

ten

wor

k?C

onsi

dert

hem

eani

ng,d

ictio

n,s

truct

ure,

and

figu

rativ

ela

ngua

geo

feac

hte

xtin

ana

lyzin

gea

cha

utho

r’sw

ork.

Un

it O

utl

ine

12 Introduction


Common Core State Standards1 (CCSS)

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards:

Reading (p. 35)

1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.

6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

Writing (p. 41)

2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.

4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

1 CouncilofChiefStateSchoolOfficers(CCSSO)&NationalGovernorsAssociationCenterforBestPractices(NGACenter).(2012).Common core state standards for English language arts & literacy in history/social studies, science and technical subjects. Retrievedfromhttp://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_ELA%20Standards.pdf

Introduction 13


Speaking and Listening (p. 48)1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse

partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of

reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal

English when indicated or appropriate.

Language (p. 51)1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or

speaking.2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling

when writing.3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make

effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context

clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.

5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

Note

• CCSSgrade-levelfocusstandardsareprovidedattheendofeachtask.Forstandardswhere there is partial alignment, the underlined words and phrases indicate the part of the standard to which the task is aligned. The callout boxes containing teaching and technology options contain the standards specifically aligned to those options.

14 Introduction


Instructional Supports in the Unit

How does the unit support planning and implementation?

The unit provides teacher-friendly features such as:

• aunitoutlinethatprovidesaone-pagesnapshotofthemajorworkthatstudentswillengageinoverthecourse of the unit.

• textsthatarefullyidentifiedforcopyrightpurposesandareeasytolocate.• taskswithidentifiedlearningtargetsandgoals(overarchingquestions,open-endedquestions,text-based

questions,andCollegeandCareerReadinessAnchorStandardswithmatchinggrade-levelCCSS).• optionsforteachingapproachesthatallowtheteachertoplanlessonstomeettheneedsofindividual

students and the whole class. • specificmeansofsupport–forexample,taskquestions,recommendedpedagogicalroutineswith

explanations–which are provided with each lesson. • charttitles,resources,andhandoutsthatarelistedinonetableintheunitintroductiontomakeiteasy

to organize materials. • copy-readyculminatingassignmentandassessmenttasks.• ateacher’sinstructionalglossarywithexplanationsoftermsthatareprovidedintheInstructional

Glossary section of the Appendix.• instructionaltoolsrelevanttothisunitthatareprovidedintheInstructionalResourcessectionof

the Appendix.

Introduction 15


The task number (e.g., 1.2)andtitle(e.g.,CharacterAnalysis) correspond to the number and title on the unit outline.


30 Text 1: “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

TASK 1.2

Character Analysis

• Identify the moment (sentence or paragraph) in the short story that you think best portrays the character of the husband.

• Explain why you chose this moment as significant in portraying the husband.

Materials• “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chart paper and markers

Teaching Approach

Whole GroupExplain that students are going to be considering the character of the husband in “The Yellow Wallpaper” today. If necessary, ask students to review what they remember from the short story, including what they know about the narrator and other characters.

Individual Work Students compose a Quick Write in response to the following prompt:

• Identify the moment (sentence or paragraph) in the short story that you find is significant in revealing the author’s portrayal of the husband. Explain why you chose this moment as significant in portraying the husband.

Pair Work After students have composed their responses, students meet with a partner and share their responses. Students compare their choices and reasoning with their partner’s, then prepare a response to share with the class.

Teaching Option––Identifying Significant Moments: For students who need additional support, allow students to work together to respond to the Quick Write task. Suggest that students begin by identifying a few significant moments that portray the character of the husband, then discuss these choices with his/her partner to decide which moment is the most significant. Students should record their response to the Quick Write task in their notebook. Pairs shouldbe prepared to share their thinking with the class.



TASK 1.2 Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 47, 50, 54)

Reading Literature RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).

RL.11-12.10 By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 11-CCR text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 11-CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.

WritingW.11-12.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W.11-12.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Speaking and Listening SL.11-12.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

SL.11-12.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.

SL.11-12.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating a command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

LanguageL.11-12.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

The task(s) or question(s)corresponds to the task(s)or question(s) as listed onthe unit outline.

The text and author are clearly marked.

The materials needed foreach task are clearly marked, including the materials for the teaching options, which are in blue.

Following the task overview page shown above are several pages that provide the teaching approach for the task.

Calloutboxesprovideteaching options for both student interest and additional scaffolded support.

The callout box at the endof each task provides theCCSSgrade-levelstandardsto which the teachingapproach is aligned.

How is it best to read and use the task pages?Each task in the unit outline has several pages dedicated to it within the body of the unit. Each task has an overview page that’s similar to the first example below and a teaching approach section similar to the second sample below. Some tasks contain highlighted boxes indicating different teaching options, technology options, and/or notes to the teacher.

16 Introduction


How is each task organized and sequenced? Each task is intended to scaffold student learning through the use of pedagogical routines such as teacher modeling (as needed), individual Quick Writes with teacher support, partner/trio sharing, or whole group. The routines assist learners toward fully independent engagement and completion of tasks. The pedagogical routines, which signal the level of scaffolding for tasks, are highlighted through the use of bold print.

Embedded teaching options in the unit provide teachers with varying instructional methods, so that the content and pedagogy can be differentiated between and within classes.

Why these task questions?The questions have been carefully developed and reviewed to support students’ engagement with the text ortextsunderstudy.Changingthelanguageofaquestioncandiminishorincreasethethinkingworkthatstudents need to do with a question. The questions follow a sequenced pattern from initial comprehension work with a text to more difficult analytical work. This sequence has also been developed and reviewed carefullytosupportthelesson’slearninggoalwhichlinkstotheunit’slargerlearninggoals.Changingthequestions can change the unit’s intent and purposefulness. As part of fully supporting students to answer the questions, provide the questions in writing as well as saying them. Students can then see and refer back to a question at any time during completion of the task.

How long will it take to fully implement the unit?It will take four to six weeks to implement this set of lessons. These lessons are designed to be implemented sequentially to support students to achieve the instructional goals. As such, the pacing of the lessons should depend on the time students need to achieve these goals.

How does the unit provide support for English learners?Support for English learners is provided within the lessons in a number of ways. Students learn new information in manageable segments, which are sequenced to build on existing knowledge of language and genre and explicitly relate to the overarching questions and core concepts of the unit. Students revisit new learning a number of times. For example, students read texts multiple times, each time with a new purpose and using a scaffold appropriate to the purpose and the text.

In this way of working, the first time students read a text it is for literal comprehension and to make overall sense of the text. It is only after students have comprehended a text’s basic information that they read the text again for a new purpose. Given their basic comprehension, students are more ready to analyze the development of ideas.

Talk is an essential part of this unit and students’ development of spoken academic language is fostered through routines of discussion. Please see the Accountable Talk® Moves and Functions tool in the Instructional Resources section of the unit. The tool offers practical guidelines and exemplars on how to promote and deepen students’ talking to learn and to expand their thinking with powerful facilitation moves. Students are given multiple opportunities to practice using the language in purposeful ways with effective feedback. To help English learners, as well as other students, students are often asked to share in pairs or trios before being invited to share with the large group. This allows students to practice and gain confidence sharing their responses with one or two students before doing so with the whole group.

® Accountable Talk is a registered trademark of the University of Pittsburgh.

Introduction 17


How is writing supported in the unit?Throughout the unit, students will practice writing to learn, using a Reader/Writer Notebook to complete Quick Writes, take and make notes, and otherwise record their work. As they move through the sequence of tasks, students will use their new understanding about the overarching questions to complete the culminating assignment tasks as well as the culminating assessment. Please see the Instructional Resources section of the Appendix for the tool for setting up Reader/Writer Notebooks with students as a daily routine.

Students benefit from reading and deconstructing models of the genre in which they will be writing. Models allow students to examine and talk about the language, subject, and organizational choices other writers have made to construct an argument so that those choices become explicit. Teachers use exemplar opinion pieces with students so they can talk about the choices those writers made. Highlighting or bringing students’ attention to how authors make meaning and use methods can help students see examples that they can use in their own writing. Being explicit about the grammatical choices writers make can aid student writers in recognizing and using the variety of choices available to them.

What is our approach to vocabulary instruction?There are at least three different contexts to consider when thinking about vocabulary instruction: during shared reading, during independent reading, and during other times in the ELA block/period/week.

During a First Reading When the Focus is Comprehension and the Context is Shared ReadingAt some point, in all of our units, you will be guided to lead students in a close reading of at least a portion of text or in some cases a whole text, in a guided reading context. You are encouraged to identify those words in the text that may be unfamiliar to your students and that are essential to comprehension of the text and for each of these words to provide a short, student-friendly definition during the reading(CollinsCOBUILDEnglishLearner’sDictionary,20122).

The idea here is to provide just enough information (when it is needed and not before) about the new words so that students maintain the flow of ideas and can continue their focus on understanding the central ideas in the text. You will need to analyze the text carefully in advance to identify such words. In some cases, these words have been pointed out in the unit, but you may need to add to the words we have identified andwriteorfindyourownstudent-friendlydefinition.Coxheadhasidentifiedalistof570academicwordfamilies that consist of words that occur with frequency across a number of academic content areas in academic texts. This list can be a resource in deciding which words are most worthy of attention (Coxhead,A.,20003).

2 CollinsLanguage(Ed.)(2012).Collins COBUILD English learner’s dictionary.Glasgow,UK:HarperCollinsPublishers.3 Coxhead,A.(2000).Anewacademicwordlist.TESOL Quarterly, 34 (2), 213-238.

18 Introduction


During a First Reading When the Focus is Comprehension and the Context is Independent ReadingWhen reading texts independently, students are likely to encounter a range of words with which they are unfamiliar. They may or may not be able to discern which of these words are essential to understanding the text and which are not. In this situation we recommend that students use one of three approaches to figure out the meaning of the word:

1. Analyze the word to see if they are familiar with the meaning of any part of it or another form of it (e.g., decide versus decision);

2. Look for context clues, such as definitions within the sentence/paragraph; or 3. If these approaches fail, continue reading to see if they can make sense of the passage without this

particular word.

During Language Arts Instruction at Other Times during the ELA Block/Period/WeekVocabulary is a critically important part of supporting students to understand what they read. The vocabulary work within these units is not meant to replace a district’s robust vocabulary instructional program, but rather to be an important part of it. Typical vocabulary instruction that asks students to look up words in a dictionary and use them in a sentence has been demonstrated to be ineffective and, at its worst, may turn students offanddiminishaninterestinlearningnewwords(Snow,Lawrence&White,20094). More powerful approaches include providing repeated exposure to a word in varied contexts; providing opportunities and encouragement to use the word in speaking and writing; encountering the word in the context of motivating texts (rather than in a word list); providing explicit instruction in the word’s meaning (such as through student-friendly definitions); and through explicit instruction in using word-learning strategies such as morphologicalanalysis,cognateuseandlearningmultiplemeanings(Snow,Lawrence&White,2009).

For examples of robust vocabulary instruction and programs, see “Word Generation” by the Strategic Education Research Partnership (http://wg.serpmedia.org/) (for free materials, email them at [email protected]); Rev it Up! (2007) by Steck Vaughn; and Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary InstructionbyBeck,McKeown&Kucan,2002,20135.

Additional CommentsYou should decide if talking about a particular word or phrase before reading a text would better support your students to establish essential prior knowledge. There are times when this is useful and necessary, e.g., for English language learners and for students with special needs. However, as a rule, we encourage you not to front load vocabulary and instead to give student-friendly definitions right within the text as it is needed for comprehension. We also discourage asking students to provide definitions of unfamiliar words encountered during shared reading. Guessing is likely to distract from comprehension rather than enhance it.

Research suggests that it takes many repetitions with a new word before it truly becomes part of a student’s repertoire(Beck&McKeown,2002).Studentswillhavemanyandvariedopportunitiestoincorporatethesenew words into their spoken vocabulary and writing as a result of repeated use by you, the teacher, and by fellow students throughout the sequence of lessons in these units. You may also want to utilize techniques such as building a word wall on which you post new vocabulary words and to which your students contribute as they discover new words during their reading. Finally, verbally marking when students use any of the newly acquired words in their speaking or writing will encourage other students to show off their newly acquired vocabulary.

4 Snow,C.,Lawrence,J.F.&White,C.(2009).Generatingknowledgeofacademiclanguageamongurbanmiddleschoolstudents.Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2, 325–344.

5 Beck,I.L.,McKeown,M.G.&Kucan,L.(2002,2013).Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Introduction 19


Task Materials

1.1

• “TheYellowWallpaper”byCharlottePerkinsGilman• Wiki, blog, or other online forum• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

1.2• “TheYellowWallpaper”byCharlottePerkinsGilman• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

1.3• “TheYellowWallpaper”byCharlottePerkinsGilman• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

1.4

• “TheYellowWallpaper”byCharlottePerkinsGilman• Wiki, blog, or other online forum• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

2.1

• “Blond” by Natasha Trethewey• Document camera or projector• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

2.2

• “Blond” by Natasha Trethewey• Document camera or projector• Wiki, blog, or other online forum• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

2.3

• “Blond” by Natasha Trethewey• Document camera or projector• Wiki, blog, or online annotation and collaboration tool• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

3.1

• “Incident” by Natasha Trethewey• Document camera or projector• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

3.2• “Incident” by Natasha Trethewey• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

3.3

• “Incident” by Natasha Trethewey• Chart:IdentifyingStructuralFeaturesinaPoem• Document camera or PowerPoint • Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

3.4

• “Blond” by Natasha Trethewey• “Incident” by Natasha Trethewey• Chartpaper(andmarkers),documentcameraorPowerPoint• Reader/Writer Notebook

Materials by Task

Grades

11-12

20 Introduction


Task Materials

CulminatingAssignment1

• CulminatingAssignment1TaskSheet• “TheYellowWallpaper”byCharlottePerkinsGilman• “Blond” by Natasha Trethewey• “Incident” by Natasha Trethewey• Reader/Writer Notebook

4.1

• “WomanintheNineteenthCentury”byMargaretFuller• ChartcontaininginformationaboutMirandaandspeaker• Chart:IdentifyingCharacters’TraitsandViews• Document camera or PowerPoint• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

4.2

• “WomanintheNineteenthCentury”byMargaretFuller• Vocabulary chart• Dictionary• Document camera, projector, or PowerPoint slide• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

4.3

• “WomanintheNineteenthCentury”byMargaretFuller• Wiki, blog, or online forum• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

5.1

• “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker• Document camera or PowerPoint• Wiki, blog, or other online forum• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

5.2

• “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker• List of examples of women’s creative spirit from Walker text• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

5.3• “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

5.4• “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

CulminatingAssignment2

• CulminatingAssignment2TaskSheet• “WomanintheNineteenthCentury”byMargaretFuller• “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker• Reader/Writer Notebook

CulminatingAssessment

• “TheYellowWallpaper”byCharlottePerkinsGilman• “Blond” by Natasha Trethewey• “Incident” by Natasha Trethewey• “WomanintheNineteenthCentury”byMargaretFuller• “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker• Reader/Writer Notebook


Grades

11-12

Overarching QuestionsNarrating Women’s Lives

Grades

11-12


Grades

11-12

Overarching Questions 23

Overarching Questions

Grades 11-12 Narrating Women’s Lives

• Whatimportantunderstandingsofwomen’slivesandsocietalrolesdotheauthorsofthesenarrativesoffer?

• Howdoeseachauthoruseherchosengenretodevelopherideas?

Grades

11-12


24 Overarching Questions


Grades

11-12

Text 1: “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Narrating Women’s LivesTASKS, TEACHING APPROACHES, AND STANDARDS

Grades

11-12


Text 1: “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman 27

TASK 1.1

Grades

11-12

Comprehension

• Describehowthenarratorisportrayedatthebeginning,middle,andendofthe short story.

• Whoaretheothercharactersandwhatistheirrelationshiptothenarrator?• Whatisthesettingandhowisitimportanttothenarrative?

Materials• “TheYellowWallpaper”byCharlottePerkinsGilman6 • Wiki, blog, or other online forum• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

Teaching Approach

Whole GroupIntroduce this unit by briefly stating the title, author, and genre of each text. Pose the overarching questions as inquiries that will drive students’ reading and investigations into the ideas, craft, and genre of these texts, as well as discussions about what it means to narrate women’s lives.

Explain that students are first going to be reading a short story from the late 1800s about women’s experiences and roles. As students read to get a basic comprehension of the short story, they should pay particular attention to the narrator, what we learn about her, and what happens to her. Students should also be identifying other characters, the setting, and main actions that take place.

Individual Work Students read the short story, making notes in the margin as they read. Through their reading and marginal notes, students complete a Quick Write in response to the following:

• Describehowthenarratorisportrayedatthebeginning,middle,andendoftheshortstory.

Pair Work Students work with a partner to share their Quick Writes to the above prompt. Each pair of students should give a description of the narrator from three different points in the short story, with specific examples from the text to support each description. As students work, circulate around the room looking for pairs who have accurate descriptions and examples from the text, and ask these pairs if they would be willing to share their work and thinking with the whole group.

6 Gilman,C.P.(2010).Theyellowwallpaper(1899)(C.Lavender,Ed.). The College of Staten Island/CUNY. Retrieved from http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/wallpaper.html



TASK 1.1

Technology Option: Students compose their responses about the narrator on a class wiki page, forum, or blog post. Each response should include a description of the narrator from the beginning, middle, and end of the short story, with a specific example from the story for each description. Look at student responses, identifying students who posted accurate descriptions and examples. Ask these students if they would be willing to share their work and thinking with the class, or allow these responses to be shared anonymously with the class during the whole group discussion. (W.11-12.6, W.11-12.10)

Whole Group Ask students to share their pair work, describing the narrator throughout the short story. As students share their work, the rest of the class should be listening for misconceptions about the narrator. Help students to use each other’s work to build a clearer picture of the narrator’s portrayal in the story. Additional questions to consider, if they don’t already come up in discussion, include:

• Howdoesthenarratorchangefromthebeginningoftheshortstorytotheendoftheshortstory?Howis the reader made aware of these changes?

• Whatisthesettingoftheshortstoryandhowisitimportanttothenarrative?Howisitimportantincharacterizing the narrator?

Whole Group Explain that you are now going to be considering the different characters in the short story and their relationship with the narrator. Give students about five minutes to go back through the story, identifying charactersandwhotheyare.(Somecharacterstoconsiderare:John;theservantsMaryandJennie;otherfamilymembers,includingthebaby,thenarrator’sbrother,mother,Nellie,CousinHenryandJulia,John’ssister;andJane.)Facilitateadiscussionaboutwhoeachcharacteris,whatweknowabouteachcharacter,andeachcharacter’srelationshiptothenarrator.Considerhowthesecharacterscontributetowhatweknow about the narrator and the events of the short story.

Teaching Option–Identifying and Analyzing Characters

Pair WorkIf students need additional support, have them work with a partner. Assign each pair one character from the story. Each pair should be ready to present information to the class about that character, his or her relationship with the narrator, and his or her importance in the story.

Whole GroupStudents present their information to the class. You may want to record each group’s findings for all to see. After each group shares their information with the class, lead a discussion about these characters and how they contribute to what we know about the narrator and the events of the story.



TASK 1.1

Individual StepBack Students compose a response to the following questions:

• Whatdidyoudotounderstandtheshortstory?• Whatwaseasyaboutthistask?• Whatwasdifficultaboutthistask?• Whatdidyoulearnaboutthelivesandrolesofwomenfromthisshortstory?

Whole GroupLead a discussion about the StepBack questions.

Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 50, 54)Reading Literature RL.11–12.1Citestrongandthoroughtextualevidencetosupportanalysisofwhatthetextsaysexplicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

RL.11–12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.

RL.11–12.3 Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).

RL.11–12.10 By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems,inthegrades11-CCRtextcomplexitybandproficiently,withscaffoldingasneededatthehighend of the range. By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, andpoems,atthehighendofthegrades11-CCRtextcomplexitybandindependentlyandproficiently.

WritingW.11–12.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.

W.11–12.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W.11–12.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Speaking and Listening SL.11–12.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

LanguageL.11–12.3 Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.



TASK 1.2

Character Analysis

• Identifythemoment(sentenceorparagraph)intheshortstorythatyouthinkbestportraysthecharacterofthehusband.

• Explainwhyyouchosethismomentassignificantinportrayingthehusband.

Materials• “TheYellowWallpaper”byCharlottePerkinsGilman• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

Teaching Approach

Whole GroupExplain that students are going to be considering the character of the husband in “The Yellow Wallpaper” today. If necessary, ask students to review what they remember from the short story, including what they know about the narrator and other characters.

Individual Work Students compose a Quick Write in response to the following prompt:

• Identifythemoment(sentenceorparagraph)intheshortstorythatyoufindissignificantinrevealingthe author’s portrayal of the husband. Explain why you chose this moment as significant in portraying the husband.

Pair Work After students have composed their responses, students meet with a partner and share their responses. Students compare their choices and reasoning with their partners’, then prepare a response to share with the class.

Teaching Option–Identifying Significant Moments: For students who need additional support, allow students to work together to respond to the Quick Write task. Suggest that students begin by identifying a few significant moments that portray the character of the husband, then discuss these choices with his/her partner to decide which moment is the most significant. Students should record their response to the Quick Write task in their notebook. Pairs should be prepared to share their thinking with the class.



TASK 1.2

Whole Group Facilitate a discussion of the students’ responses from their pair work. Some questions to consider include:

• Whichmomentsdidmultiplepairsagreeon?• Whatwasyourreasoningforchoosingthosemoments?• Howisitpossiblefordifferentexplanationsofthesamemomenttobevalidasinterpretations?• Afterhearingeachother’sresponses,whichmomentormomentsseemtoyoutobestportraythe

husband, and why? • Whatdowelearnaboutthecharacterofthehusbandandhowheaffectstheshortstory?• Findaplacewherewelearnaboutthenarratorandhersituationthroughthecharacterizationof

the husband.

Use this discussion to help students come to a deeper understanding of the husband’s character, his character’s role in the story, and how his character affects our reading of the short story.

Individual Work Students return to their Quick Write from the start of class. Ask students to revise or add to their response, considering the following questions:

• Whatreasonsandevidencedidyouhearinthewhole-classdiscussionthatreinforcedyourchoiceandreasons for choosing this moment? Or, what evidence did you hear that made you reconsider or gain insights into your choice?



TASK 1.2 Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 47, 50, 54)

Reading Literature RL.11–12.1Citestrongandthoroughtextualevidencetosupportanalysisofwhatthetextsaysexplicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.



WritingW.11–12.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.



SL.11–12.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.

SL.11–12.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating a command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

LanguageL.11–12.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.



TASK 1.3

Figurative Language: Symbolism

• Whatmightthewomaninthewallpapersymbolize?• Whyisthesymbolismimportanttothenarrative?

Materials• “TheYellowWallpaper”byCharlottePerkinsGilman• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

Teaching Approach

Whole GroupAsk students what they know about symbolism and tone. Encourage students to consider definitions they’ve learned, examples from previous works they’ve read, and their own original examples. Have examples of symbolism and tone from works students have already studied prepared in case students need assistance in talking about these terms. Explain that by the end of today’s discussion, students will have explored the following questions:

• Howdoesthewomaninthewallpaperfunctionasasymbolinthetext?• Howdoesthesymbolismofthewomaninthewallpapercontributetoathemeofthestory?• Howdothetoneandmeaningofthewordsusedtodescribethewallpaperchangeoverthecourseof

the story, and how does that contribute to the symbolic meaning of the text?

Prepare for Inquiry-Based Discussion: See the Inquiry-Based Discussion guide in the Appendix for information on preparing students for an inquiry-based discussion. As the facilitator of the inquiry-based discussion:

• encourageallstudentstoparticipateinthediscussion• promptstudentswhennecessaryforclarification,textualevidence,orreasoning• trackstudents’interpretationssothatyoucansharetheinterpretationsthathavebeen

offered with students and assess the progress of the discussion • avoidbeingadirectparticipant,sharingyourinterpretation,repeatingresponses,or

directing the conversation unnecessarily

Ask students to arrange their desks in a circle.

Whole Group Inquiry-Based DiscussionBegin the discussion with the following question:

• Howdoesthewomaninthewallpaperfunctionasasymbolinthetext?



TASK 1.3

After students explore that question through their discussion, redirect them to the following questions:

• Howdoesthesymbolismofthewomaninthewallpapercontributetoathemeofthestory?• Howdothetoneandmeaningofthewordsusedtodescribethewallpaperchangeoverthecourseof

the story and how does that contribute to the symbolic meaning of the text?

Remind students to talk directly to each other; agree, disagree, or otherwise build on each other’s ideas; use textual evidence to support their ideas; and request textual evidence from peers when they offer unsupported ideas.

Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 50, 54, 55)Reading Literature RL.11–12.1Citestrongandthoroughtextualevidencetosupportanalysisofwhatthetextsaysexplicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.


RL.11–12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)

RL.11–12.5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.






L.11–12.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.



Genre and Structure

• Howdoesthegenreandstructureofthetextprovideinsightintothenarrator’smentalcondition?

• Howdoestheauthormanipulatedictionandsyntaxtorevealthechangesinthenarrator?

Materials• “TheYellowWallpaper”byCharlottePerkinsGilman• Wiki, blog, or other online forum• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

Teaching Approach

Whole GroupExplain that throughout the course of this unit, students will be reading works from a variety of different genres. Ask students to consider what they know about the short story genre, including its specific features such as plot, characterization, and structure; advantages of the genre; and disadvantages of the genre. Some additional questions to pose, if they don’t already come up, include:

• Howarethemesusuallyrevealedinshortstories?Whataresomefeaturesthathelpthereaderunderstand the plot, setting, and conflict in short stories?

• Whatfeaturesofshortstorieshelpthereaderlearnaboutthenarrator?Whatfeatureshelpthereaderlearn about other characters?

• Howcandifferentpointsofviewbeusedinshortstories?

Pair Work Students work with a partner to select two different features of the short story genre and then find specific examples of those features in “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Students should be ready to explain how the text features they chose support a main theme of the story or reveal the plot, setting, or character.

Technology Option: Students may respond online to the following prompt:

• Choosetwoofthefeaturesoftheshortstorygenrediscussedinclass.Findanexampleof each feature in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and explain how this feature affected your reading of the story.

Review student responses to determine necessary remediation or follow-up mini-lessons about genre. Have students use their responses in the whole group discussion. (W.11-12.6, W.11-12.10)

TASK 1.4



TASK 1.4

Whole Group Ask each group to share their findings with the class. Point out places where students used different features of the genre. Ask students to consider things the genre might accomplish well and places where the genre might limit the author.

Whole Group Review what we know about the narrator’s mental condition. Facilitate a discussion recalling what students know about the narrator, including what students think happens to her at the end of the story, and why.

Small Group WorkDivide students into groups of two or three. Give each group a different text feature to consider, including structure, diction, syntax, and some of the applicable text features from the earlier discussion about the short story genre. (For instance, students may have identified the use of dialogue as a feature of the short story genre. In this part of the lesson, one group might consider the author’s use of dialogue in “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Some features may be used more than once, depending on the size of the class.) Each group should consider its specific feature to answer the following questions:

• Howdoesyourtextfeatureprovideinsightintothenarrator’smentalcondition?• Howdoestheauthormanipulatethisfeaturetorevealchangesinthenarrator?

Each group should prepare a response to the question, including specific and relevant textual evidence to support its response.

Whole Group Ask each group to present its response and textual evidence to the class. If more than one group examined a specific text feature, have students consider places of agreement and disagreement between presentations.

Individual StepBack Students respond to the following StepBack questions:

• Whatdidyourgroupdotocompletethistask?• Whatdidyoulearnabouttheshortstorygenre?• Throughthisactivity,whatdidyoulearnaboutthenarratorandthewayshewasportrayed?

Whole Group StepBackLead a discussion about the responses to the StepBack questions.



TASK 1.4Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 47, 50, 54, 55)



RL.11–12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)



Writing W.11–12.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.






L.11–12.3 Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

Grades

11-12




Grades

11-12

Text 2: “Blond” by Natasha Trethewey


Grades

11-12


Text 2: “Blond” by Natasha Trethewey 41

Grades

11-12

TASK 2.1

Comprehension

• Readthefirstoftwonarrativepoems,“Blond.”• Describewhatwelearnaboutthenarratorinthispoem.• Whatisthesetting?• Whateventisbeingdescribed?

Materials• “Blond” by Natasha Trethewey7

• Document camera or projector• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

Teaching Approach

Whole GroupExplain that the next text you’re going to be reading is a poem by a modern poet. The two poems that you’ll be reading in the unit are part of Natasha Trethewey’s collection that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2007. Both poems were influenced by the author’s experiences growing up in the South as a biracial child. Read “Blond” aloud together or have students read the poem silently on their own.

Individual WorkStudents read the poem, then compose a Quick Write in response to the following prompts:

• Describewhatwelearnaboutthenarratorinthispoem.• Whatisthesetting?• Whateventisbeingdescribed?

Teaching Option–Understanding Figurative Language: For students who need more support in understanding the basic gist of the poem or making meaning from the figurative language, offer them the chance to work with a partner to determine the answers to the Quick Write questions. For each response, students underline or write down a specific line that gives them a piece of information about the narrator, setting, or events of the poem. Students then write the information that they learned in that line in their own words.

7 Trethewey, N. (2006). Blond. Native Guard (p. 39). New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Books.


42 Text 2: “Blond” by Natasha Trethewey

TASK 2.1

Whole GroupFacilitate a discussion of the students’ responses to the Quick Write, ensuring that students understand the premise of the poem. As students discuss the poem, it may be helpful to annotate the text with their comments by using a document camera or a projector. Some follow-up questions to consider, if they don’t already come up in discussion, include:

• Whatdowelearnaboutthenarrator’sfamily?• WhatgiftdoesthenarratorreceiveforChristmas?Howdoesshefeelaboutthisgift?Howdoher

parents feel?

Whole Group StepBackLead a discussion about the following questions:

• Whatdidyoudotounderstandthepoem?• Whatwaseasyaboutthistask?• Whatwasdifficultaboutthistask?• Whatdidyoulearnaboutthelivesandrolesofwomenfromthispoem?






RI.11–12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text.









TASK 2.2

Figurative Language

• Identifythemoment(lineorlines)inthepoemthatyouthinkrevealsthemostsignificantsymbolicmeaning.

• Explainthesymbolyouselectedandwhyyouchoseitassignificanttothepoem’smeaning.

Materials• “Blond” by Natasha Trethewey• Document camera or projector• Wiki, blog, or other online forum• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

Teaching Approach

Whole GroupUsing a document camera or projector, display “Blond” for all to see. Ask students what parts of the poem contain significant or striking figurative language. As students identify these parts of the poem, ask why they identified the parts they did and annotate the displayed copy of the poem with their comments.

Pair or Trio work Students work in pairs or trios to explore the way Trethewey incorporates symbolism into the poem. Each pair or trio selects one example of figurative language or one interesting moment in the poem from the previous class discussion. Students discuss the following questions, preparing to share their thoughts with the class:

• WhatisTretheweydoinginthispartofthepoem?Whatmadeitstandouttoyouoryourclassmates?• Howdoesthispartofthepoemcontributetothesymbolismorthemesofthepoemasawhole?

Whole Group Each group presents its example to the class. Students may use the document camera or projector to make additional notes on the poem if this will help their explanation of their example. As each group presents, the rest of the class listens to places of agreement and disagreement.

Individual WorkAfter hearing their classmates’ presentations, students compose a Quick Write in response to the following prompt:

• Identifythemoment(lineorlines)inthepoemthatyouthinkcapturesthemostsignificantsymbolismto the meaning of the poem. Explain the symbol you selected and why you chose it as significant to the poem’s meaning.



TASK 2.2

Students may choose to examine the example presented by their group or by another group, but they must use textual evidence to explain their choice and why they believe it is the most significant moment. These Quick Writes may be collected as a way to gauge students’ understanding of symbolism and figurative language, and the impact these have on a poem’s meaning.

Technology Option: Instead of completing a Quick Write in their Reader/Writer Notebooks, students may compose their response to the Quick Write prompt on a wiki, blog, or other online forum. It may be helpful to set up a page or a post for each of the examples students presented to the class so that students can have a single place to respond to each example. After all of the students have commented on what they found to be the most significant moment, they should read their classmates’ comments to prepare for the whole group discussion, noting places of agreement or disagreement with their peers’ conclusions. (W.11-12.6, W.11-12.10)

Whole Group Facilitate a discussion of the students’ responses to the Quick Write. Explain that there is no correct answer, but that it is important that students use textual evidence to support their conclusions.



TASK 2.2 Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 47, 50, 54, 55)




RL.11–12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful.











TASK 2.3

Structure: Free Verse

• Whataresomeofthestructuralfeaturesofthispoem?• HowdoesTretheweyuselinebreaksanddictiontocreatemeaning?

Materials• “Blond” by Natasha Trethewey• Document camera or projector• Wiki, blog, or online annotation and collaboration tool• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

Teaching Approach

Whole GroupExplain that today students are going to be thinking about the structure of the poem, “Blond.” If necessary, review poetry features such as stanza, meter, rhyme scheme, and enjambment.

Pair WorkWith a partner, students annotate their copies of the poem with things they notice about the structural features of the poem. Some questions about structure to consider include:

• Istherearhymeschemeormeter?Howdoyouknow?• Isthereanyrepetitionofwordsorstructure?• Whichlinesareend-stopped?Whichlinesareenjambed?Howdoyouknow?• Whichlinescontainwords,formatting,orpunctuationthatareusedforpauses?

After annotating their poems, students discuss their findings with their partner. Students should consider the effect of these structural features on the poem’s meaning and themes, and on how the reader responds to the poem.

Technology Option: Instead of annotating their own copies of the poem, students may work together to make their notes using a wiki, blog, or online annotation and collaboration tool. Students should use this technology to mark three points in the poem where they notice something interesting about the way Trethewey structures this poem. In their annotations, students comment on what Trethewey is doing, as well as the effect on the meaning, themes, and reader’s response. Review student responses for ideas to highlight during the whole classdiscussion. (W.11-12.6, W.11-12.10)



TASK 2.3

Whole Group Ask groups to share their findings with the class. While each group discusses one new feature that it identified, use a document camera or projector to annotate a copy of the poem for all to see. Encourage students to add new ideas to their own copies of the poem. After groups have shared the structural features they found, facilitate a discussion about the effect of the author’s choices on the poem. Some questions to consider, if they don’t already come up in discussion, include:

• HowdoesTretheweyuselinebreaks(bothexamplesofend-stoppedlinesandenjambedlines)tocreatemeaning in this poem?

• HowdoesTretheweyusepauseswithinlinestogiveemphasistoimportantideasandimages?• HowdoesTretheweyusedictiontocreatemeaninginthispoem?

Individual StepBack Students compose a Quick Write to the following StepBack questions:

• Whatdidyoufindeasyaboutthistask?• Whatdidyoufinddifficultaboutthistask?• Whatquestionsdoyoustillhaveaboutstructureinpoems?• Whatdidyoulearnaboutwomen’slivesandroles?

Whole Group Facilitate a discussion about the StepBack questions. For use in future mini-lessons, take note of things that were difficult for students or of questions that students still have.




Reading LiteratureRL.11–12.1Citestrongandthoroughtextualevidencetosupportanalysisofwhatthetextsaysexplicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.










Grades

11-12




Grades

11-12

Text 3: “Incident” by Natasha Trethewey


Grades

11-12


Text 3: “Incident” by Natasha Trethewey 53

Grades

11-12

TASK 3.1

Comprehension

• Whatisthe“incident”thatthenarrator’sfamilyretells,andhowdoyouknow?

Materials• “Incident” by Natasha Trethewey8

• Document camera or projector• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

Teaching Approach

Whole GroupExplain that students are going to be reading a poem by the same author as “Blond.” Read “Incident“ aloud together or have students read the poem silently to themselves.

Individual Work Students compose a Quick Write to the following question:

• Whatisthe“incident”thatthenarrator’sfamilyretells,andhowdoyouknow?

Note to Teacher: When students have completed their Quick Writes, collect their responses. Use these responses to offer more support to students who are struggling and to determine possible mini-lessons about reading and understanding the meaning of a poem andits figurative language.

Pair WorkStudents share their Quick Write response with a partner. They work together to answer the following questions:

• Howdidthefamilyreacttotheincident?Howdoyouknow?• Findaspecificlinethatgivesthefamily’sreaction.

Both students should record their responses in their Reader/Writer Notebooks and should either underline or write down the textual support that they discuss with their partner.

Whole GroupAsk pairs to share their responses with the whole group. As students discuss the poem, it may be helpful to annotate the text with their comments by using a document camera or a projector.

8 Trethewey, N. (2006). Incident. Native Guard (p. 41). New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Books.


54 Text 3: “Incident” by Natasha Trethewey

TASK 3.1


• Whatdidyoudotounderstandthepoem?• Whatwaseasyaboutthistask?• Whatwasdifficultaboutthistask?• Whatdidyoulearnaboutthelivesandrolesofwomenfromthispoem?

Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 47, 50, 54, 55)Reading LiteratureRL.11–12.1Citestrongandthoroughtextualevidencetosupportanalysisofwhatthetextsaysexplicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.


RL.11–12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text.









TASK 3.2

Figurative Language

• Identifythemoment(lineorlines)inthepoemthatyouthinkcapturesthemostsignificantimage.

• Whatdoestheimageryconveyandwhydidyouidentifyitassignificanttothemeaningofthepoem?

Materials• “Incident” by Natasha Trethewey• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

Teaching Approach

Whole GroupExplain that today’s examination of the poem, “Incident,” by Natasha Trethewey is going to focus on her use of figurative language, especially imagery. If you collected the students’ Quick Write responses from lesson 2.2, consider if a mini-lesson about analyzing figurative language in poetry is necessary at this time, and, if so, deliver the appropriate instruction.

Individual Work Students compose a Quick Write in response to the following questions:

• Identifythemoment(lineorlines)inthepoemthatyouthinkcapturesthemostsignificantimage.• Whatdoestheimageryconveyandwhydidyouidentifyitassignificanttothemeaningofthepoem?

Note to Teacher: See the Inquiry-Based Discussion guide in the Appendix for information on preparing students for an inquiry-based discussion. As the facilitator of the inquiry-based discussion:

• encourageallstudentstoparticipateinthediscussion• promptstudentswhennecessaryforclarificationortextualevidence• trackstudents’interpretationssothatyoucansharetheinterpretationsthathavebeen




Whole Group Facilitate an inquiry-based discussion of the students’ responses to the Quick Write. When a student’s response opens the door for the teacher as facilitator to probe deeper and press for more reasoning, ask any initial respondent to “take your time…say more” or “what evidence from the text supports your claim/point/idea” or “now what could we say about the effect of the imagery?”



TASK 3.2

To expand students’ reasoning toward interpreting the impact of their identified imagery, consider asking any of the questions below as follow-up or uptake questions:

• Howcanyouconnectwhatyoujustidentifiedfromthepoemwithoneofthepoem’sthemes?Howdothe imagery and other figurative language you cited reveal or highlight the theme you identified? OR

• Howistheimageyoujusttoldusabouthighlightedbythepoem’sdiction?OR• HowwouldyoudescribethedictionTretheweyusesinanimagisticdescription?OR• Whateffectdoesthedictionoftheimagehaveononeofthepoem’sthemesorsymbols,oron

its meaning?

Students should be prepared to provide textual evidence to support their responses.

Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 50, 54, 55)Reading LiteratureRL.11–12.1Citestrongandthoroughtextualevidencetosupportanalysisofwhatthetextsaysexplicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.












TASK 3.3

Structure: Pantoum

• “Incident”isanarrativepoem,butitalsofollowsthestructureofaspecifickindofpoemcalledapantoum.Whatisapantoum?

• WhatdoesTretheweyaccomplishbyusingapantoumforthistext?

Materials• “Incident” by Natasha Trethewey• Chart:IdentifyingStructuralFeaturesinaPoem• Document camera or PowerPoint • Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

Teaching Approach

Teacher PreparationConsidertheresponsesfromtheStepBackquestionsinTask2.3.Ifnecessary,prepareamini-lessonontopics of poetic forms and structure.

Whole Group Explain that the poem students have been reading, “Incident,” has a more defined structure than the previous poem, “Blond.” “Incident” is a modern interpretation of a form known as a pantoum. Explain that you will work together to identify the structural features that make up a pantoum by examining Trethewey’s work in “Incident.” (A pantoum is a poem made up of four-line stanzas, and the second and fourth lines in one stanza become the first and third lines in the next stanza. The first and last lines of the poem are often the same.) Use a document camera or projector to display the poem and ask students to list things they notice about the structure of the poem, including which lines are repeated.

Individual WorkStudents compose a Quick Write to answer the following question:

• WhatdidTretheweyaccomplishforreadersbycreatingpantoumforherpoem?Usespecificexamplesfrom the text.



TASK 3.3

Teaching Option–Identifying Structural Features in a Poem: If students need additional support in this task, they can organize their findings about the poem in a three-column chart. It may be helpful to model this chart by using one detail from the text. For example:

Feature of a pantoum

Example in “Incident”

Effect on the poem or on the reader

The first and last lines of the poem are the same.

“We tell the story every year.” The repetition of this line mirrors the fact that the story is repeated every year. It makes it seem like the poem is actually the family telling the story over and over again.

p

Whole Group Facilitate a discussion of the students’ responses to the Quick Write. Some other questions to consider include:

• WheredoesTretheweybreakthepatternofrepetitioninthispoem?• Whateffectdoesthishaveonthepoem’smeaningoronyourresponseasareader?• Howdoesthestructureof“Blond”comparetothestructureof“Incident”?• InwhatwaysdoesTretheweyusesimilartechniquestocreatemeaninginthesetwopoems,andin

what way does she use different techniques?

Teaching Option–Comparing Structural Features in Two Poems: If students need some additional support in analyzing Trethewey’s technique in “Blond” and “Incident,” havestudentsrevisittheirnotesonstructureandfigurativelanguageinbothpoems.Chooseone item from students’ lists to consider, and discuss if it is used in one or both poems, and to what end. For example, students might have identified that “Incident” uses repetition to represent how this story is told over and over again in the narrator’s family. “Blond” is a more personal reflection, not a shared experience with other family members, and thus lacks that same sense of repetition. Students might identify that imagery is used in both poems, and theycan discuss how it is used in “Blond” as opposed to how it is used in “Incident.”

Individual StepBack Students compose a Quick Write responding to the following StepBack questions:

• Whatdidyoufindeasyaboutthistask?• Whatdidyoufinddifficultaboutthistask?• Whatdidyoulearnaboutstructureanditseffectonpoemsthroughthistask?• Whatdidyoulearnaboutwomen’slivesandroles?

Whole Group Facilitate a discussion of students’ responses to the StepBack questions.







RL.11–12.9 Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.










TASK 3.4

WriteLike

• Selectafewlinesfromoneofthetwopoemsthatyouthinkareeffectiveinconveyingacentralideaorfeeling.Thenuseasimilarstructureandtechniquestodescribesomethingthatisimportanttoyouandwritesomelinesofpoetry.

Materials• “Blond” by Natasha Trethewey• “Incident” by Natasha Trethewey• Chartpaper(andmarkers),documentcamera,orPowerPoint• Reader/Writer Notebook

Teaching Approach

Individual WorkStudents compose a Quick Write responding to the following questions:

• Selectamoment(lineorlines)thatstandsoutforyouineither“Blond”or“Incident.”Whydidyoupickthat moment?

• Howistheauthorusingdiction,figurativelanguage,structure,oranotherfeatureofhercrafttoconveya central idea or feeling in that moment?

Pair or Trio Work Students share their responses with their partner or group. Together, each group of students lists ways that the author uses diction, figurative language, structure, or other features in each of the moments they highlighted in their responses. Each student should write down this list in their notebooks.

Individual WriteLike Students compose a WriteLike based on the following task:

• Selectafewlinesfromoneofthetwopoemsthatyouthinkareeffectiveinconveyingacentralideaorfeeling. Then use a similar structure and language to describe something that is important to you, and write some lines of poetry.

Teaching Option–Adopting a Writer’s Style: If students need some additional support, use chart paper, a document camera, or a PowerPoint slide to model the thought process involved in this writing task. Begin by selecting a few lines and asking students what featuresofthoselinesstandouttothem.Chooseasubjectthatyouwouldfeelcomfortablewriting about and talk through your thought process as you adopt Trethewey’s style and use her structure and language to write about your own subject. Afterwards, lead a discussion with students about what they saw you say and do to complete a draft of a few lines of poetry; then have them create their own.



TASK 3.4

Pair or Trio Work Students work with a partner to share their writing. After listening to their partner’s work, students should discuss the following questions:

• Whattechniquesandfeaturesofstructuredidyourpartnerimitate?• Whatdidyourpartnerdowell?Whichpartoftheirwritingwasmosteffectiveinconveyingmeaningor

emotion, and why?• Whatcouldyourpartnerdotoimprovehis/herlinesofpoetry?Whatwouldmakeitmoresimilarto

Trethewey’s or more effective in conveying meaning or emotion?

Individual Work Studentsrevisittheirworkandmakechangesbasedontheirinsightsabouttheirpeer’sfeedback.Collectstudents’ work when they are done.



TASK 3.4 Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 45-46, 50, 54, 55)





WritingW.11–12.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

W.11–12.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

W.11–12.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.





L.11–12.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.





TASK 3.5

Culminating Assignment 1

Writeanessayinwhichyouaddressthefollowingquestions:• Whatdidyoulearnaboutwhateachgenreallowsandlimits?• Whatdothesetwogenres,asexemplifiedbythesetexts,allowusto

understandaboutthesituationsofwomen?

Materials• CulminatingAssignment1TaskSheet• “TheYellowWallpaper”byCharlottePerkinsGilman• “Blond” by Natasha Trethewey• “Incident” by Natasha Trethewey• Reader/Writer Notebook



TASK 3.5 Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 45-46, 50, 54, 55)





WritingW.11–12.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.










TASK 3.5

Name:___________________________________

Narrating Women’s LivesCulminating Assignment 1Grades 11-12 So far in this unit, we’ve considered the big ideas of each author and the various examples of figurative language used to express those ideas; now we’re going to consider the effects of genre on a text’s meaning. AfterreadingtheshortstorybyCharlottePerkinsGilmanandthetwopoemsbyNatashaTrethewey,itisclear that these selections exemplify genres with very different features. Each author chose her particular genre for the information that it could convey and the artful use of language that it would allow. In this assignment, you will be exploring two aspects of genre: 1) the advantages and disadvantages of poetry and short stories, as exemplified in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” “Blond,” and “Incident,” and 2) the way that Gilman and Trethewey utilize these genres to examine the situations of women.

Write an essay that addresses the following: What did you learn about what each genre allows and limits? What do these two genres, as exemplified by these texts, allow us to understand about the situations of women?

A successful essay will:

• incorporateinformationabout“TheYellowWallpaper”byCharlottePerkinsGilmanandatleastoneofthe poems by Natasha Trethewey, “Blond” and “Incident.”

• establishthesignificanceofyourclaimsanduseanorganizationthatlogicallysequencesclaims,reasons, and textual evidence.

• explainhoweachgenreallowstheaudiencetounderstandthespecificanduniqueconditions,experiences, and situations of women.

• discussthestrengthsandlimitationsofeachgenreclearly,adequately,andinsupportofyourclaims.• userelevantinformationfrompriorclassworkanddiscussionstomakewell-reasoned,specificclaims

about the texts in support of your central argument. • includerelevanttextualevidenceandvalidreasonstosupporttheessay’sclaims.• beabout750to1,000words.• demonstratecommandoftheconventionsofstandardEnglish.

Grades

11-12



TASK 3.5

StepBack Questions:

Please answer the following questions in the space below. Your responses will be collected but not graded.

1. What did you find easy about completing the assessment task?

2. What did you find difficult about it?

3. What questions do you still have about identifying, analyzing, or writing about these texts and about considering an author’s perspective?


Grades

11-12

Text 4: “Woman in the Nineteenth Century”

by Margaret FullerNarrating Women’s Lives

TASKS, TEACHING APPROACHES, AND STANDARDS

Grades

11-12


Text 4: “Woman in the Nineteenth Century” by Margaret Fuller 69

Grades

11-12

TASK 4.1

Comprehension

• Whoisthespeakerintheessayandwhatareherviewsofwomen’slivesandtheirroles?

• WhoisMirandaintheessay?• Whatbigideasaboutwomen’slivesandrolesdoestheauthorconvey

throughMiranda?

Materials• “WomanintheNineteenthCentury”byMargaretFuller9

• ChartcontaininginformationaboutMirandaandspeaker• Chart:IdentifyingCharacters’TraitsandViews• Document camera or PowerPoint • Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

Teaching Approach

Whole Group Explain that the next text students will be reading is a selection from an essay written by Margaret Fuller titled,“WomanintheNineteenthCentury.”Thefullworkwaspublishedin1845.Explainthatinthisselection the speaker is describing a conversation with a friend named Miranda. While Miranda was not a real person in the author’s life, she is given personality traits, a history, and strong opinions in this text. As they read, ask students to note the big ideas about women’s lives and roles, and to note traits about the speaker and about Miranda, and to identify where each woman is presenting her opinion.

Individual Work Students read the text silently. As they read, students make notes in the margins of the text about the essay’s big ideas about women’s lives and roles and indicating where the speaker is talking and where Miranda is talking. After reading, students may also want to go back and mark in the margin where Miranda is being described by the speaker, as well as any places where the speaker might be describing herself.

Pair Work With a partner, students create a chart to identify descriptions of each woman and points made by each woman about her views of women’s lives and roles. One column should contain information about Miranda and the other should contain information about the speaker. Students can go back to their notes in the margins of the text and use the character descriptions and opinions to find textual support that can be used to fill in the chart. Each pair of students should identify at least one adjective and one view held by each woman.

9 Fuller,M.(1999).WomanintheNineteenthCentury. American Transcendentalism Web. Retrieved from http://transcendentalism-legacy.tamu.edu/authors/fuller/woman1.html


70 Text 4: “Woman in the Nineteenth Century” by Margaret Fuller

TASK 4.1

For example:

Miranda SpeakerAdjective that describes her:

Educated: The speaker describes Miranda’s relationship with her father, saying that Miranda’s father addressed Miranda “not as a plaything, but as a living mind.” The speaker also says that Miranda’s father “allowed [her] free use” of “the keys to the wonders of the universe” that he possessed, meaning that he granted her access to whatever knowledge and understanding of the world that he had so that she could be as well-educated as possible.

Adjective that describes her:

Views of women’s lives and roles:

No man should be able to stand in the way of a woman achieving her goals: In describing Miranda’s life and achievements, the speaker says that Miranda “had taken a course of her own, and no man stood in her way.” This shows that Miranda must believe in her ability to accomplish what she sets her mind to, even if those goals are out of the ordinary.

Views of women’s lives and roles:

Teaching Option–Identifying Characters’ Traits and Views: If students need some additional support, use chart paper, a document camera, or a PowerPoint slide to create a sample chart. Begin by demonstrating the thought process in identifying an adjective that describes Miranda. Locate an example of textual support that says something about her character, then explain what it means in your own words and connect it to an adjective. Write this adjective and textual support for all to see. Ask students for a place where Miranda presents an opinion on women’s lives or roles to add to the chart, or select one and perform another demonstration using an example that students would be unlikely to use in their own charts. Lead a discussion with students about what they saw you say and do to fill in thechart; then have them create their own charts individually or in pairs.

Whole GroupAfter all pairs have identified at least one adjective describing each woman and one opinion held by each woman, facilitate a discussion about students’ findings. Students should listen to identify places of agreement and disagreement about the two speakers, using this discussion to understand more about the speaker and Miranda and what their views are on women’s lives and roles. It may be helpful to record student responses on a chart or an online forum for all to see, and to reference in later lessons. Additional questions to consider, if they don’t already come up in discussion, include:

• WhatdowelearnaboutMiranda’sfatherandhowhemayhaveshapedherviews?• WhatdoesMirandasayaboutself-dependence?[Follow-uptopressformorereasoning:Howhasshe

shown it, and what does she say about other women showing it?]• WhatdoesMirandasayaboutspeakingofawomanas“abovehersex”?Whatdoesshesayaboutthe

“manlyqualities”describedinJonson’squote?Whatisthespeaker’sresponse?



TASK 4.1


• Whatdidyoudotofindinformationabouteachspeaker?• Whatwaseasyaboutthistask?• Whatwasdifficultaboutthistask?• Whatdidyoulearnaboutthelivesandrolesofwomenfromthisessay?

Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 50, 54, 55)Reading Informational TextRI.11–12.1Citestrongandthoroughtextualevidencetosupportanalysisofwhatthetextsaysexplicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

RI.11–12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.

RI.11–12.3 Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.


RI.11–12.10Bytheendofgrade11,readandcomprehendliterarynonfictioninthegrades11–CCRtext complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. By the endofgrade12,readandcomprehendliterarynonfictionatthehighendofthegrades11–CCRtextcomplexity band independently and proficiently.

Speaking and ListeningSL.11–12.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.






TASK 4.2

Vocabulary

• IdentifyTier2wordsthatareunknown,suchasimpede,serenity,deprecated,andprecepts.Studyhowtheyfunctionasindividualwordsandinthecontextofthistext.

• HowdoesFullerusewordswithstrongconnotationstorevealherviews?

Materials• “WomanintheNineteenthCentury”byMargaretFuller• Vocabulary chart• Dictionary• Document camera, projector, or PowerPoint slide• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

Teaching Approach

Whole Group Explain that today’s activity will involve examining vocabulary using context clues, then using that new knowledge of words and context clues to discuss how diction and connotation help to reveal Fuller’s views in“WomanintheNineteenthCentury.”

Individual Work Students identify three words in Fuller’s text that are unknown or confusing to them. Students should use context clues when possible to determine word meanings and may look up words in a dictionary afterwards to check their work. (If students are unable to determine the word in context, they should consult a dictionary. Instead of indicating how they figured it out, students should write what information they would have needed to know to be able to figure out the word in context.) They should then fill in a chart with the following sections: “word in context”; “my definition”; “how I figured it out”; and “dictionary definition” (if significantly different from your definition). For example, a chart for the word impede might look like the following:

IMPEDEWord in context:

“Let us consider what obstructions impede this good era, and what signs give reason to hope that it draws near.”

My definition:

To prevent from happening

How I figured it out:

The obstructions are doing something to the era, so the word impede must be a verb. I know an obstruction stands in the way of something, and the first part of the sentence sounds like it’s the opposite of the second part, so the obstruction is probably preventing the era from occurring yet.

Dictionary definition:

“To interfere with or slow the progress of” (Students can write this definition if it’s significantly different than their definition above, or they can simply write, “Same as mine.”)



TASK 4.2

Teaching Option–Modeling Vocabulary in Context: If students need some additional support, use chart paper, a document camera, or a PowerPoint slide to create a sample chart. Begin by selecting a word to examine. Record the sentence in which the word appears for all to see. Then demonstrate the thought process involved in examining the context clues in the sentence and in surrounding sentences. Also use knowledge of suffixes, prefixes, and parts of speech, if applicable. Record these thoughts, then write down your personal definition. Have students look up the word to check the definition. Lead a discussion with students about what they heard you say and saw you do to fill in the chart, then have themcreate their own charts individually or in pairs.

Whole Group Discuss students’ findings. Ask a few students to share their thoughts with the class, using a document camera, PowerPoint slide, or projector to display their work. After a few students have talked through their charts,leadadiscussioninwhichstudentsreflectonthecreationoftheircharts.Considerthefollowingquestions:

• Whatthingsweremosteffectivewhenlookingforcluestodeterminethemeaningofwords?Howdidyou use surrounding sentences, the sentence in which the word appeared, or parts of the word itself to figure out its definition?

• Wasthereadifficultwordthatdidn’thaveanycontextclues?Whatdidyoudotodefinetheword?• Forwhichwordsdidyourdefinitionandthedictionarydefinitionnotmatch?Whataresomepossible

reasons why you were misled about the definition?

Whole Group Explain that this knowledge, both of new words and of using clues in words we already know to figure out the meaning of other words, can give insight into how an author uses words with strong connotations to help reveal her views. Some of the words that were most instrumental in determining the meaning of different sections and different unknown words are probably key words with strong meanings. For example, direct students to consider the third paragraph of the text, where the speaker describes Miranda, saying: “A dignified sense of self-dependence was given as all her portion, and she found it a sure anchor. Herself securely anchored, her relations with others were established with equal security.” An anchor is something that keeps someone grounded and safe, and by combining that with positively connoted words, such as dignified and security, the importance of self-dependence to a person is highlighted.

Pair or Trio Work Assign each pair or trio to examine a specific section of Fuller’s text. In their section, students identify key words and words with strong connotations. They discuss an answer to the following question:

• HowdoesFullerusewordswithstrongconnotationstorevealherviews?

Their responses should make a statement about how Fuller uses language in general, but they should be prepared to present a piece of textual evidence from their earlier work to support their point.



TASK 4.2

Whole Group Ask students to share their responses to the question with the group. Some additional questions to consider, if they don’t already come up, include:

• AretheresimilaritiesinthewaysorplacesthatFullerusesstrongconnotationsinherwriting?Ifso,what are they? If not, what are some of the different ways that she uses this technique?

• WhateffectdidFuller’sdictionhaveonthemeaningoftheessay?• WhateffectdidFuller’swordchoicehaveonyouasareader?

Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 50, 54, 55)Reading Informational TextRI.11–12.1Citestrongandthoroughtextualevidencetosupportanalysisofwhatthetextsaysexplicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.








L.11–12.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 11-12 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.



TASK 4.3

Author’s Purpose: Structure

• WhatisthestructureofMiranda’sargumentinthistext?• Whymighttheauthorhavechosentopresentthistextasadiscussion

betweentwocharactersratherthanasamoretraditionalessay?

Materials• “WomanintheNineteenthCentury”byMargaretFuller• Wiki, blog, or online forum• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

Teaching Approach

Whole Group Explain that today’s task will ask students to consider the structure of the essay, “Woman in the Nineteenth Century,”andthewaysFullerusedstructuretopresentherviews.Thisessayisn’twritteninatraditionalformat, but rather takes the form of a discussion between the speaker and her “friend,” Miranda. Earlier work in Task 4.1 asked students to consider the big ideas conveyed by the speaker and Miranda; this lesson will ask students to consider the structure of Miranda’s argument and why the author might have chosen to use this structure.

Pair or Trio Work Working in pairs or in groups of three, students discuss the structure of Miranda’s argument. They should use their notes from Task 4.1 about Miranda’s views to help guide their discussion. Encourage students to consider transitions and the syntax Miranda uses, as well as the order of points that she makes and the way she responds to the speaker’s questions. After discussing the structure as a group, each pair or trio decides on a way to represent the structure of Miranda’s argument visually, along with preparing an explanation and textual evidence to present to the class. Each visual representation should be on chart paper and should be large enough for all to see.

Whole Group Each group presents their findings about the structure of the essay. Students should be sure to explain their visual representation as well as provide textual evidence supporting their findings. After each group has presented, facilitate a discussion on students’ responses to the following question:

• Whymighttheauthorhavechosentopresentthistextasadiscussionbetweentwocharactersratherthan as a more traditional essay?



TASK 4.3

Technology Option–Analysis of Author’s Purpose and Structure: Instead of leading a class discussion about the above question, students can compose a response using a wiki, blog, or other online forum. Each student responds to the question, giving one possible reason for the author’s choice, what this structural choice accomplishes, and a textual example that supports his/her reasoning. When everyone has responded, students read each other’s responses and choose two students to reply to. In their response, students should agree or disagree with their peers’ reasoning, giving a different textual example to back up their reply. Remind students that their discussion should be academic and that if they disagree with aclassmate, they should do so in polite, constructive ways. (W.11-12.6, W.11-12.10)

Individual StepBackComposeaQuickWriteinresponsetothefollowingStepBackquestions:

• Whatwaseasyaboutthistask?• Whatwasdifficultaboutthistask?• Whatdidyoulearnabouttheauthor’spurposeandstructure?• Howdidthistaskcontributetoyourunderstandingoftheessay?

Collectstudentresponsestohelpyoudeterminethenecessityofmini-lessonsoradditionalworkonauthor’spurpose and the structural choices that help make the author’s purpose apparent.



TASK 4.3Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 47, 50, 54)

Reading Informational TextRI.11–12.1Citestrongandthoroughtextualevidencetosupportanalysisofwhatthetextsaysexplicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

RI.11–12.5 Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.

RI.11–12.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.








Grades

11-12




Grades

11-12

Text 5: “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens”

by Alice Walker Narrating Women’s Lives


Grades

11-12


Text 5: “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker 81

Grades

11-12

TASK 5.1

Comprehension

• WhatdowelearnaboutAliceWalkerandWalker’smother?

Materials• “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker10

• Document camera, or PowerPoint• Wiki, blog, or other online forum• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

Teaching Approach

Whole Group Explain that the final text students will be reading is a selection from a personal essay by Alice Walker titled, “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens.” This is a modern essay by an award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction. This particular selection introduces us to Alice Walker, who is the speaker in the essay, and her mother. As students read, they should consider what the essay reveals about these two people.

Individual Work Students read the essay silently, making notes in the margins of the text about Walker and her mother as they read. When they are done, students compose a Quick Write about the following prompt:

• WhatdowelearnaboutAliceWalkerandWalker’smother?Givespecificevidencetosupportyourresponse.

Technology Option: Students respond to questions through a wiki, blog, or other online forum. After posting their own response, students read through their classmates’ responses. Each student posts a reply to one of his/her classmates, adding a new piece of textual evidence to support the original poster’s finding about either Alice Walker or her mother. (W.11-12.6, W.11-12.10)

Whole GroupFacilitate a discussion about students’ findings about Alice Walker and her mother. Using chart paper, a document camera, or a PowerPoint slide, record student responses for all to see. Students should use this discussion to come to a deeper understanding of Walker and her mother, noting places of agreement and disagreement with their classmates.

10 Walker, A. (2002). In search of our mothers’ gardens: The creativity of black women in the south (1974). Ms. Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.msmagazine.com/spring2002/walker.asp


82 Text 5: “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker

TASK 5.1

Additional questions to consider, if they don’t already come up in discussion, include:

• WhatdowelearnaboutWalker’smother’spersonality?Herworkhabits?Herhobbies?• WhatdoestheVirginiaWoolfquotationmean?Whydoestheauthorinsertotherwordsandexamples

into the original quotation?


• Whatdidyoudotounderstandthisessay?• Whatwaseasyaboutthistask?• Whatwasdifficultaboutthistask?• Whatdidyoulearnaboutthelivesandrolesofwomenfromthisessay?

Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 50, 54)Reading Informational TextRI.11–12.1Citestrongandthoroughtextualevidencetosupportanalysisofwhatthetextsaysexplicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

RI.11–12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.










TASK 5.2

Author’s Purpose: Structure and Evidence

• HowdoesWalkerusedifferentexamplesofwomen’screativespiritfromherownlifeandthelivesofotherwomentorevealheressay’spurpose?

• Identifythreesignificantallusionsinthetextandanalyzetheirpurpose.

Materials• “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker• List of examples of women’s creative spirit from Walker text• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

Teaching Approach

Whole Group Explain that today’s lesson will focus on the ways that Walker uses structure, details, and examples to make her purpose evident in her essay, “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens.” Before this lesson, determine the need for mini-lessons or additional work on structure based on students’ responses in Task 4.3 and provide the necessary instruction.

Individual Work Students reread the text, looking for examples that Walker gives of her own creative spirit and of the creative spirit from other women’s lives. After highlighting some examples, students compose a response to the following question:

• HowdoesWalkerusedifferentexamplesofcreativespiritfromherlifeandfromthelivesofotherwomen to reveal her essay’s purpose?

Teaching Option—Using Structure and Evidence to Analyze Author’s Purpose

Whole GroupIf students need additional support for this task, as a class, create a list of different examples of women’s creative spirit that Walker gives. Be sure to find examples from others and from Walker’s life.

Pair or Trio WorkStudents work with a partner or in groups of three. Give each group one example of a woman’s creative spirit to consider. (Depending on the size of the class, some groups may have to consider the same example.) Students should record their example and include some notes on how this example reveals Walker’s essay’s purpose.

Whole GroupStudents engage in a gallery walk to view each group’s example and how it reveals the author’s purpose. As they observe other groups’ work, students take note of places of agreement and disagreement.



TASK 5.2

Whole GroupFacilitate a discussion of students’ responses to the prompt or to the gallery walk. As students discuss the examples they considered in their responses, prompt students to identify examples of allusions and consider how allusions function in the text.

Individual work Students revisit their earlier responses. Students should make any revisions they feel are necessary after the whole class discussion, and add information responding to the following prompt:

• Identifythreesignificantallusionsinthetextandanalyzetheirpurpose.

Pair Work Students meet with a partner to discuss their responses.

Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 50, 54)Reading Informational TextRI.11–12.1Citestrongandthoroughtextualevidencetosupportanalysisofwhatthetextsaysexplicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.


RI.11–12.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.






TASK 5.3

Figurative Language: Symbolism

• Whatisthesymbolismofthetitle?• HowdoesthetitlecontributetoyourunderstandingofWalker’scentral

argument?

Materials• “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

Teaching Approach

Note to Teacher: If students completed the tasks associated with “The Yellow Wallpaper,” “Blond,” and “Incident,” consider students’ work in Tasks 1.3, 2.2, and 3.2 to determine if additional support is needed in analyzing figurative language. If students did not complete these tasks, use knowledge of students’ past work to determine if a mini-lesson about kinds of figurative language and its effect on a work’s meaning and effect are necessary. Provide the necessary instruction.

Whole Group Explain that today you are going to be examining Walker’s use of figurative language, specifically its symbolism. One key part in considering the symbolism of this piece is the title, “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens.”

Individual Work Students compose a Quick Write in response to the following questions:

• Whatisthesymbolismofthetitle?• HowdoesthetitlecontributetoyourunderstandingofWalker’scentralargument?

Prepare for Inquiry-Based Discussion: See the Inquiry-Based Discussion guide in the Appendix for information on preparing students for an inquiry-based discussion. As the facilitator of the inquiry-based discussion:

• encourageallstudentstoparticipateinthediscussion• promptstudentswhennecessaryforclarificationortextualevidence• trackstudents’interpretationssothatyoucansharetheinterpretationsthathavebeen






TASK 5.3

Whole Group Facilitate an inquiry-based discussion of the students’ responses to the Quick Write. To follow up with students and press them for further reasoning, consider using the following questions:

• WhatkindoflanguagedoesWalkerusewhendescribinghermother?Whatfigurativelanguage,strong connotations, or vivid imagery do you notice, and how does this contribute to Walker’s central argument?

• WhatimageryandsymbolismdoesWalkeruseafterthepoeminthefinalparagraphsoftheessay?How do these contribute to her central argument?

Whole Group StepBackFacilitate a discussion on students’ responses to the following StepBack questions:

• Whatdidyoulearnaboutfigurativelanguagefromthistask?• Whatotherquestionsdoyouhaveaboutanalyzingfigurativelanguageandsymbolism?• Whatdidyoulearnaboutwomen’slivesandroles?



TASK 5.3Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 50, 54, 55)


RI.11–12.2 Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.












Figurative Language: Assessment

• Howdidthepoemattheendoftheessayaffectyourreadingofthetext?• Useyourunderstandingoffigurativelanguagetocomposeawrittenanalysis

oftheeffectofthepoem.

Materials• “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker• Reader/Writer Notebook• Chartpaperandmarkers

Teaching Approach

Whole Group Explain that students will be completing an assessment on their understanding and analysis of figurative language and how it impacts the meaning of a work. They will do this by analyzing and writing about the poem Walker includes towards the end of her essay, “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens.” Begin by reviewing the tools that students have at their disposal to complete this assessment, including their notes in the margins of the text, their Reader/Writer Notebook notes from class discussions, and their Quick Write responses.

Teaching Option–Analyzing Figurative Language: If students need some additional support, allow them to work with a partner to annotate the poem at the end of the essay. Students look for examples of figurative language such as simile, metaphor, imagery, and symbolism. After finding and marking examples of figurative language, each pair of students should discuss how those examples of figurative language add meaning to the poemas well as what the overall meaning, themes, and emotional effect of the poem are.

Individual Work Students use their notes and knowledge from prior discussions about the essay and about figurative language to compose a response to the following:

• Howdidthepoemattheendof,“InSearchofOurMothers’Gardens,”affectyourreadingofthetext?Use your understanding of figurative language to compose a written analysis of the effect of the poem. Your response should be about 500-750 words.

As students finish their written work, collect their responses.

TASK 5.4



TASK 5.4Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 45-47, 54, 55)















TASK 5.5

Culminating Assignment 2

• Writeanessaythatexplainswhatyouhavelearnedabouttheaffordancesandlimitationsofnarratingwomen’slives.Besuretogivespecificevidencefromthetextstopresentyourassertionsandunderstandings.

Materials• CulminatingAssignment2TaskSheet• “WomanintheNineteenthCentury”byMargaretFuller• “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker• Reader/Writer Notebook



TASK 5.5Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 45-46, 50, 54, 55)






CCRA.R.9Analyzehowtoormoretextsaddresssimilarthemesortopicsinordertobuildknowledgeor to compare the approaches the authors take.






W.11-12.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.






TASK 5.5

Name:___________________________________

Narrating Women’s LivesCulminating Assignment 2Grades 11-12 Thetwopiecesofliterarynonfictionwehavereadanddiscussedare“WomanintheNineteenthCentury”byMargaret Fuller and “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker. With each text, we discussed the author’s purpose, the structure of the essays, and the language each author used to develop her ideas. As we consider these essays, it becomes apparent that there are certain ideas that these authors develop well, discussing them in depth and with great skill. However, there are also limitations placed on these authors as they attempt to narrate women’s lives: issues they can’t discuss, topics that remain in the margins of their writing, or ideas that they present with hesitancy or difficulty. The act of narrating women’s lives, even in two very different situations and time periods, is not easy or clear-cut.

Use the two essays we’ve read to analyze the limitations and affordances in narrating women’s lives.

Write an essay that explains what you have learned about the affordances and limitations of narrating women’s lives. Be sure to give specific evidence from the texts to present your assertions and understandings.


• incorporaterelevantinformationabout“WomanintheNineteenthCentury”byMargaretFullerand“InSearch of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker.

• integrateandorganizeinformationcoherentlyaboutaspectsofwomen’slivesthattheauthorsareableto discuss, as well as aspects that are excluded, that exist only in the margins of the work, or that the authors struggle to convey.

• include,asappropriate,textualinformationabouttheauthors/speaker/narrator,theirsituations,ortheir time period, and an analysis of the information in terms of how it affected their ability to narrate women’s lives.

• userelevantinformationfrompriorclassworkanddiscussionstomakewell-reasoned,specificclaimsabout the texts.

• includerelevanttextualevidenceandvalidreasonstosupportyouressay’sideas.• beabout500to750words.• useappropriateandvariedtransitionsandsyntaxtolinkthemajorsectionsoftheessayandtodevelop

the essay’s ideas. • demonstratecommandoftheconventionsofstandardEnglish.



TASK 5.5

StepBack Questions:





Grades

11-12




Grades

11-12

Culminating AssessmentNarrating Women’s Lives


Grades

11-12


Culminating Assessment 97

Grades

11-12

Focus Standards (CCSS, 2012, p. 38, 45-46, 50, 54, 55)Reading Informational TextRI.11–12.1Citestrongandthoroughtextualevidencetosupportanalysisofwhatthetextsaysexplicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.





CCRA.R.9Analyzehowtoormoretextsaddresssimilarthemesortopicsinordertobuildknowledgeor to compare the approaches the authors take.

RI.11–12.10Bytheendofgrade11,readandcomprehendliterarynonfictioninthegrades11–CCRtextcomplexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. By the end of grade12,readandcomprehendliterarynonfictionatthehighendofthegrades11–CCRtextcomplexityband independently and proficiently.







continued on next page


98 Culminating Assessment










Culminating Assessment 99

Name:___________________________________

Narrating Women’s LivesCulminating AssessmentGrades 11-12 This unit includes works from several women authors who have different stories to tell from different times and different points of view. They are writing from a range of points in history, from the 1840s to the 1970s, and the backgrounds of the narrators in their stories and the speakers in their essays range from an affluent young white woman with servants tending to her and her child to an African-American woman fromahumble,buthardworkingfamily.Consideringthedifferentperspectivesofferedbythesetexts,it’sinteresting to imagine what the authors would have to say to each other if they could.

For your written essay, choose three of the four authors to examine. What would each author say about the other women’s ideas? Where would they agree and where would they disagree? What would each like abouttheotherauthors’writtenwork?Considerthemeaning,diction,structure,andfigurativelanguageofeach text in analyzing each author’s work. You may use your notes from prior class work and discussions to compose your response.

Use the blank space provided to take notes. Your notes will be collected but not graded. After you’ve written your essay, answer the StepBack questions. Like your notes, your responses to the StepBack questions will be collected but not graded.


• incorporateinformationfromthreeofthefourauthorsstudiedinthisunit:CharlottePerkinsGilman,Natasha Trethewey, Margaret Fuller, and Alice Walker.

• providespecificandrelevantevidencefromthetextstosupporttheauthor’sassertions.• presentpointsofpossibleagreementanddisagreementbetweenandamongtheauthors,givingclear

examples and explanation for each.• incorporatedetailsaboutmeaning,diction,structure,andfigurativelanguageofthetextsbeing

considered. • useimaginationandcreativitytogobeyondwhatisliterallystatedaboutthetext,puttingtheauthors

into conversation with each other.• useinformationfrompriorclassworkanddiscussionstomakewell-reasoned,specificclaimswith

reasons about the texts.• beabout800to1,000words.• demonstratecommandoftheconventionsofstandardEnglish.

Grades

11-12


100 Culminating Assessment

StepBack Questions:






Grades

11-12

AppendixNarrating Women’s Lives

Grades

11-12

Appendix 103


Grades

11-12

Unit Texts

Text 1: “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins GilmanGilman,C.P.(2010).Theyellowwallpaper(1899)(C.Lavender,Ed.).The College of Staten Island/CUNY. Retrieved from http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/wallpaper.html

Text 2: “Blond” by Natasha TretheweyTrethewey, N. (2006). Blond. Native Guard (p. 39). New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Books.

Text 3: “Incident” by Natasha TretheweyTrethewey, N. (2006). Incident. Native Guard (p. 41). New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Books.

Text 4: “Woman in the Nineteenth Century” by Margaret FullerFuller, M. (1999). Woman in the nineteenth century. American Transcendentalism Web. Retrieved from http://transcendentalism-legacy.tamu.edu/authors/fuller/woman1.html

Text 5: “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice WalkerWalker, A. (2002). In search of our mothers’ gardens: The creativity of black women in the south (1974). Ms. Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.msmagazine.com/spring2002/walker.asp

Texts

104 Appendix


Obtaining Copyright Permission

A number of texts, such as journal and newspaper articles, book chapters, children’s books, and poems, may be mentioned in this IFL Unit. Because of copyright considerations, these resources could not be included in the unit. A comprehensive reference citation has been included in this section of the unit.

Theresourcesreferencedinthisunitmaybeprotectedbycopyrightlaw(Title17,U.S.Code).Youareresponsible for obtaining permission from the rights holder(s) in order to reproduce and distribute copyrighted material. The rights holder may require a fee for this permission, which will be based on the number of copies made. Even if the rights holder does not require a fee, you are still obligated to make a formal request before redistributing copyrighted material.

Notes

• The rights holder will need the following information to process your request–title of work, author, place of publication, page numbers, and how and when the resource will be used.

• When text comes from an anthology or a textbook, the publisher of the book is most likely not the rights holder. The publisher generally gets permission to include the text in their book. The rights holder will need to be determined in order to get permission to use the text.

• Picture books generally have two rights holders, one for the text and another for the images. Both rights holders must grant permission to make copies of the texts.

• Other resources, such as paintings, photographs, graphics, cartoons, videos, songs, etc., also require copyright permission.

Copyright laws may prohibit photocopying this document without express permission.

Appendix 105


Instructional Glossary

ASSESSMENTS IN IFL ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS reflect what is known about the assessments under developmentbytheSmarterBalancedAssessmentConsortiumandthePartnershipforAssessmentofReadinessforCollegeandCareers(PARCC).BothconsortiacloselyaligntheirassessmentstotheCommonCoreStateStandards.

ASSESSMENT TASKS:

• Allow for an assessment of how well students are learning the content and habits of thinking that they are being taught through the designed curriculum.

• Build from the notion that we should assess what we actually teach. Therefore, the assessment and unit content learning goals, skills, and habits of thinking are the same.

• Ask students to individually complete tasks that mirror tasks they have completed, often with others, as part of the unit’s daily instruction. The specific content of the assessment is new to students, yet within the scope of the content they have been studying as part of the unit of study.

• Use student work to assess what students know, what teachers need to reteach, and what modifications teachers must make as they continue the work of the unit.

BLOG refers to a website that allows individuals or groups of users to post facts, opinions, stories, etc. and allows other users to respond to those posts through the use of comment boxes on the blog page.

CHARTING of the pair/trio sharing by or for members of the group represents the work of the group to the entire class. Wall charts are dynamic displays that are frequently revisited and revised by the teacher and learners as their understanding of the particular content is developing. In the process of creating these charts, learners voice their own interpretations of content or ideas, providing teachers with key opportunities to assess learners’ understanding. While the teacher is collecting the students’ ideas, often s/he is also shaping and organizing their ideas given the content and standards that are the focus of the lesson or unit. Wall charts also act as a way to provide support for students who may not have understood the work individually (or in their pair/trio/group work). Additionally, wall charts provide learners with clear expectations of what they are learning or expected to produce. Learners use these charts as references when doing work independently or in small and large groups; this allows students to begin to self-manage their learning. Therefore, these charts should be strategically placed in the classroom so that students can use them as tools of instruction. Wall charts are part of the gradual release of the responsibility for learning from teachers to students. They are intended to reflect and impact the learner’s work and achievement, unlike posters, which are fixed products and are often used as decoration.

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS (CCSS) have been adopted by most states. Information about this standardsprojectandtheEnglishlanguagearts/literacystandardsareontheCCSSwebsite: http://www.corestandards.org.

COMPREHENSION/SORTING QUESTIONS promote close reading and allow students to get the gist of a text while sorting out, for example, the characters and settings, central and supporting ideas, or claims and counterclaims.

CULMINATING ASSESSMENT refers to the final unit assessment. Students complete this performance assessment individually. It focuses on the big ideas and skills students have studied and used in the unit. It takes into account the standards and sequence of lessons, and tests what has been taught, modeled, and included on criteria charts and trackers.

106 Appendix


CULMINATING ASSIGNMENT refers to the final unit assignment. The culminating assignment focuses on the big ideas and skills students have studied and used in the unit. Unlike the culminating assessment, students receive support in its completion including opportunities for multiple drafts, peer review, and revision. Almost always, students learn about the culminating assignment at the beginning of the unit, which helps them to understand how the work that they do throughout the unit connects and supports their completion of this individual but scaffolded assignment.

DISCIPLINARY LITERACY (DL) is an approach to teaching and learning that integrates academically rigorous content with discipline-appropriate habits of thinking. In DL, students become literate in a specific discipline by learning the big ideas and habits of thinking of that discipline simultaneously.

EMBEDDED ASSESSMENT TASKS describe assessments that are integral to a curriculum and are part of a unit’s instructional sequence. They are literally embedded as on-demand “tests” in units of instruction and require students to perform tasks that mirror work they have completed, often with others, as part of the unit’s daily instruction. Embedding assessments throughout instruction allows teachers to find out what students don’t know or aren’t able to do while there is still time to do something about it. These assessments provide formative data that allow teachers to change or modify instruction to better address the needs of individual learners.

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT is assessment for learning. This type of assessment occurs throughout the course of a unit and is used to measure students’ understanding of the unit’s key concepts, content, and skills. The data from formative assessments are used to adjust instruction and learning to meet the needs of students. This adjustment may include reteaching certain concepts, either to the whole class or a specific group of students, or incorporating alternative approaches to assessing the content.

GALLERY WALKS refer to walks students do around the classroom in order to read, take notes on, or respond to various classroom artifacts such as individual or pair/trio charts, whole group charts, displays constructed by the teacher or peers, etc. Gallery walks provide the opportunity for students to share their work with others and/or display what they know or have learned. Additionally, gallery walks can provide teachers with an active way to share information with students on various topics. Gallery walks are usually followed by whole class discussions.

GENRE: “A genre of writing is a rough template for accomplishing a particular purpose with language. It provides the writer and the reader with a common set of assumptions about what characterizes the text.” (Hampton,S.,Murphy,S.,&Lowry,M.(2009)inUsingRubricstoImproveWriting,NewStandards,IRA,UniversityofPittsburgh&NCEE,p.1.)

INFORMATIONAL TEXT: TheCommonCoreStateStandards(CCSS)explicateexpectationsforreadingandwritinginformationaltext.TheCCSSsectionbelowelaboratesontheseexpectationsforwritinginformational text:

“Informational/explanatory writing conveys information accurately. This kind of writing serves one or more closely related purposes: to increase readers’ knowledge of a subject, to help readers better understand a procedure or process, or to provide readers with an enhanced comprehension of a concept. Informational/explanatory writing addresses matters such as types (What are the different types of poetry?) and components (What are the parts of a motor?); size, function, or behavior (How big is the United States? What is an X-ray used for? How do penguins find food?); how things work (How does the legislative branch of government function?); and why things happen (Why do some authors blend genres?).” (Appendix A, p. 23)

Appendix 107


Writers of informational/explanatory texts:

“use a variety of techniques to convey information, such as naming, defining, describing, or differentiating different types or parts; comparing or contrasting ideas or concepts; and citing an anecdote or a scenario to illustrate a point. Informational/explanatory writing includes a wide array of genres, including academic genres such as literary analyses, scientific and historical reports, summaries, and précis writing as well as forms of workplace and functional writing such as instructions, manuals, memos, reports, applications, and résumés” (ibid).

The National Assessment of Educational Progress addresses the reading of informational text in its reading framework, “Informational texts include three broad categories: exposition; argumentation and persuasive text; and procedural text and documents.” Informational texts include such reading materials as textbooks, magazine and newspaper articles, documents, essays, and speeches.

ThesidebaroftheCollegeandCareerReadinessAnchorStandardsforReadingadvocatesthatstudentsread “increasingly challenging literary and informational texts.” They provide examples of informational text such as “texts in history/social studies, science and other disciplines” (2010, p. 10).

ThefollowingsectionsfromtheCCSSprovideexamplesofinformationaltextswhicharemeanttoillustratethe kinds of texts that can be selected, but not to be the only texts students would read:

Informational: Historical/Social Science Texts

Historical/Social Science texts are informational texts with historical or social sciencecontent.ExamplesfromAppendixBoftheCCSSinclude:PreambleandFirstAmendmenttotheUnitedStatesConstitution,Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Freedman, The Great Fire by Murphy, and Vincent Van Gogh: Portrait of an Artist by Greenberg.

Informational: Scientific and Technical Texts

Scientific and Technical texts are informational texts with scientific and technical content.ExamplesfromAppendixBoftheCCSSinclude:The Building of Manhattan by Mackay, Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet out of Idaho by Katz, “Space Probe” from Astronomy & Space: From the Big Bang to the Big Crunch, and “The Evolution of the Grocery Bag” by Petroski.

Literary Nonfiction

Literary nonfiction “includes the subgenres of exposition, argument, and functional text in the form of personal essays, speeches, opinion pieces, essays about art or literature, biographies, memoirs, journalism, and historical, scientific, technical, or economic accounts (including digital sources) written for a broad audience” (2010, Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, 2010, p. 57). These texts can be informational, persuasion, and narrative. Examples from Appendix B of the CCSSinclude:Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave by Douglass,“LettertoThomasJefferson”byAdams,Travels with Charley: In Search of America by Steinbeck, and “Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat: Address to Parliament on May13th,1940”byChurchill.

108 Appendix


INTERPRETIVE QUESTIONS are text-based, thought-provoking questions that stem from genuine inquiry. These open-ended questions can sustain multiple, varied responses based on evidence from the text. Interpretive questions are the focus of WriteAbouts and inquiry-based discussions.

INQUIRY-BASED DISCUSSIONS are whole group discussions in which readers discuss their responses to interpretive questions (WriteAbouts). These student-centered discussions usually follow a second or third reading of the text. Before students engage in inquiry-based discussions, they have had the opportunity to write individually on the interpretive question and share their responses in pairs or trios. The purposes of an inquiry-based discussion are to help readers:

• “try out” their answers and explanations using specific moments and evidence from the text; • practice making interpretations supported with evidence from the text; • accept alternative views/interpretations of the same text; • rethink what they think about the text; and • understand that readers can have different valid interpretations of the same text.

METACOGNITION refers to thinking about one’s thinking and how one learns. Students are asked to think metacognitively when they answer StepBack questions. During this part of the learning, students consider WHAT they learned and HOW they learned it.

MODELS are examples of work, either oral or written, that support students producing similar work. A model is of a total performance, which can be large or small, in order to help learners understand the essence of an activity and develop a mental picture of what the real thing looks like. It may be an example of one way to explain significant moments, answer a StepBack question, write the culminating assignment, etc. Models include work completed by peers, the teacher, and/or professional writers. Before completing the task/assignment themselves, learners are usually asked to deconstruct these models in order to analyze what makes them effective. Models are not necessarily exemplars; therefore, they do not need to be perfect.

OVERARCHING QUESTIONS present the big ideas of the unit as inquiry questions that reach across and connect all of the texts under study including the students’ writing. These overarching questions are informed by the standards and central ideas worth knowing about a particular topic within a given discipline.

PAIR/TRIO SHARING refers to students working in groups of two or three to share their responses to individual Quick Writes or other tasks in order to establish academic conversations in a safe environment with high accountability to the task and the group members.

Appendix 109


PATTERNED WAY OF READING, WRITING, AND TALKING refers to DL ELA pattern of reading, writing about/like, and discussing texts multiple times for different purposes using scaffolded questions that lead students from literal comprehension to higher-order thinking.

QUICK WRITES are short pieces of writing composed by individual learners in response to questions and tasks for any and all of the design features of lessons, tasks, and units. The term “Quick Write” is a synonym for free writes, discovery writing, writing to learn, written reflections, etc. The following chart shows how Quick Writes can vary:

Type of Quick Write: How the writing varies:

Discovery WritingQuick. Students are accessing prior knowledge or thinking on paper.

Entry SlipsUsually quick. Students respond to a writing prompt from the teacher on previous or current learning.

Exit Slips

Usually quick. Exit Slips are similar to Entry Slips except these are handed in at the end of the class rather than at the beginning and most often require students to focus on an aspect of the learning done that day.

Getting the GistQuick. Students are sharing events, characters, key ideas, etc. Length of time depends on amount and difficulty of text.

Significant MomentsLonger. Students are sharing moments and evidence, questioning each other, identifying similarities and differences.

Read to get the gistWrite and talk to learn: know,

express, and track thinking

Reread to find significant moments

Write and talk to learn: select and explain ideas; reflect on

writing and thinking

Read again to interpret the ideas in the text

Write and talk to develop interpretation of ideas

Read again differently to analyze the author’s methods

WriteLike—Write like the text and in imitation of an author’s syntax and

grammatical structures

Write and talk to demonstrate understanding of ideas and genre

110 Appendix


Type of Quick Write: How the writing varies:

WriteAbout

Time for writing and sharing is longer since the task is more difficult. During the pair/trio share, students are sharing ideas and evidence, debating interpretations, questioning each other’s ideas and evidence, etc.

WriteLike

Time allotted depends on students’ familiarity with the task. Writing and sharing might look more like working together to solve a problem, find examples of a literary device, analyze aspects of an author’s style, etc.

READ ALOUD is a reading approach in which the text is not seen by the students, but is read aloud by the teacher with intermittent questions designed to foster student discussion that builds meaning.

READ TO GET THE GIST is the first reading of a text in which readers read for literal comprehension. Literal comprehension questions such as, “What is happening?” in a narrative; “What is the author’s argument?” in an argumentative text; or “What’s the topic?” in an informational text guide this first reading. For narrative writing, questions such as, “Who are the characters? What do you know about them? How do you know it?” help students sort the characters and develop literal comprehension.

READER/WRITER NOTEBOOK is a classroom tool students use to record their thinking and/or ideas, generate writing ideas, and try out new voices. Students compose Quick Writes and WriteAbouts, take notes, compose observations for writings, respond to questions and tasks, and track their learning in their Reader/Writer Notebooks. The Reader/Writer Notebook is a place students can go back to when working on larger pieces such as their culminating assignment. It also serves as a central notebook to store handouts, papers, calendars, and other materials used in the class. It is helpful to use a loose-leaf notebook so that pages from each student’s Reader/Writer Notebook can be collected, shared, returned, and re-arranged with greater ease.

REREAD FOR SIGNIFICANCE involves having students reread or skim through a text for the purpose of identifying moments or specific kinds of moments (e.g., author’s arguments, character’s response to challenge) that strike them as significant to that text. Students are then asked to explain the significance of the chosen moments to the text.

RETROSPECTIVE tasks on each text or across texts invite students to rethink and revise writing on the unit’s big ideas and overarching questions as they progress through the unit.

RUBRICS delineate the criteria of different levels of performance. In writing instruction, formative and summative ones are used. Summative rubrics are primarily useful to the teacher to more quickly assign a score to a piece of student writing. These are usually too complex or abstract to be helpful to students. Formative rubrics, developed by students with their teacher as part of instruction on specific writing assignments, can be helpful checklists/gauges for students of what they have included in their writing and how well their writing represents each element. With their teacher, students update rubrics as their writing improves through instruction, practice, and feedback.

Appendix 111


The table below presents a brief overview of the main types of rubrics used to assess student work in ELA and some of the differences among them.

Type of Rubric and Description

Advantages Disadvantages

Holistic assigns a single, overall rating or score to a product or performance based on an overall impression.

• good for simple products or performances (i.e., ones characterized by a single element or dimension);

• provides a quick “snapshot” of overall quality or achievement performance; and

• represents overall “impact” of a product or performance.

• does not provide detailed analysis of strengths and weaknesses, so not useful for diagnostic purposes or to inform instruction; and

• does not help students to see what they need to do to improve.

Analytic assigns separate ratings or scores to identified elements or dimensions of a product or performance so that each category or dimension can be judged separately on a quality scale as the basis of determining a total score/judgment.

• captures complexity of product or performance that involves several elements or dimensions;

• identifies the essential components of quality by element or dimension; and

• provides specific feedback to teachers, students, and parents regarding individual strengths and weaknesses as well as a final score/judgment.

• time consuming, especially at first, to learn and use;

• raises issues of reliability among different raters who are dealing with several elements or dimensions;

• components of quality scale may be more generic; and

• applied across writing tasks which can result in generic kinds of writing.

Primary trait focuses attention on rating of a single trait considered to be the most essential for demonstrating success regarding a particular product or performance; in writing, isolates one component of written discourse and assesses the writer’s aptness for that particular trait; in reading and writing, isolates the essential attribute of the reading performance.

• gives a sharp view of the complex aspects of a particular skill, thus allowing for more precisely identifying particular strengths and weaknesses;

• the dimension or trait being rated is clearly reflected in the primary trait at each score point; and

• task-specific.

• time consuming, especially at first, to learn and use; and

• tasks may require secondary trait rubrics in addition to a primary trait one, adding additional complexity to the scoring of papers.

References:Arter,J.&McTighe,J.(2001).Scoring rubrics in the classroom.ThousandOaks,CA:CorwinPress,Inc.Lloyd-Jones,R.(1977).Primarytraitscoring.InC.Cooper&L.Odell(Eds.),Evaluating writing: Describing, measuring, judging (pp.33-66).Urbana,IL:NCTE.Shultz,L.&Laine,C.(1986).Aprimarytrait-scoringgridwithinstructionaluses.Journal of Teaching Writing, 5, 77-89.

112 Appendix


SHARED READING involves the teacher displaying an enlarged copy of the text and showing only the portions of the text to be read aloud and discussed as the text unfolds. It is important that students’ eyes track the text as it is being read aloud by the teacher, especially during an initial reading. The power of the shared reading component is that the teacher is taking on the decoding work, while the students are able to see the words and hear how they sound, simultaneously.

SIGNIFICANCE tasks ask students to locate significant moments in a text and to explain why those moments are significant to the text.

STEPBACK tasks ask students to reflect on what they are learning and how they are learning it. They are deliberate efforts to help students accumulate their growing body of knowledge on the unit focus and overarching questions and develop a metacognitive awareness that prompts transfer of learning to relevant new situations.

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT is a final score or can occur at the end of the unit, usually in the form of a culminating assessment or assignment, and measures what students have learned over the course of the unit.

TASKS ask learners to use knowledge, skills, and habits to accomplish an activity, project, or to solve a problem in reading, writing, and thinking. In completing tasks, learners “do” the subject of literature, composition, and/or language study within the disciplines working in ways authentic to the discipline. Typically, tasks are prompted by open-ended questions about a text(s) students are reading and/or writing.

THINK ALOUD is a form of modeling in which the teacher or a peer thinks aloud as s/he is performing a task such as reading a text, gathering evidence to answer a question, writing a thesis statement, etc. The person performing the think aloud usually chooses three or four strategies or techniques to explicitly model and asks learners to focus on, listen for, or take notes on those things. The purpose of a think aloud is to make the implicit explicit so that others may learn and apply these strategies when doing the task themselves.

TRACKERS assist students to self-assess and monitor progress in relation to established criteria for success on a culminating assignment/assessment.

UNIT FOCUS identifiesthebigideas(e.g.,“Miseducation”or“WritingandIdentity”or“ChildLabor”),genre, or author to be studied, linked to the standards.

WIKI refers to a website with a collection of pages that are developed and edited collaboratively by a group of people. Each page in a wiki allows readers to leave comments about the content, and many wikis allow readers to edit the content within each page.

WRITEABOUTS are short pieces of writing students do in response to interpretive questions based on their reading. WriteAbouts usually follow a second or third reading of the text and are written in students’ Reader/Writer Notebooks. They are usually in preparation for an inquiry-based discussion.

WRITELIKES ask students to write like the texts, either in the style of the selection or in imitation of an author’s sentence and grammatical structure.

Appendix 113


Reader/Writer Notebook

What is the Reader/Writer Notebook? It is a notebook with loose-leaf paper that can be added, rearranged, or temporarily removed. Loose-leaf holed paper between pressboard covers, held together with rings would suffice.

Students will be asked to use a Reader/Writer Notebook this year.

What are two main purposes of the notebook? It gives the writer a place for thinking and trying out different voices and techniques. It also serves as a central notebook to store handouts, other papers, and calendars used in English language arts.

What are other specific uses of the notebook? It is our classroom tool for thinking, recording ideas, generating writing ideas, and trying out new voices.

We use it for Quick Writes, two-column notes, WriteAbouts, WriteLikes, criteria charts, class notes, brainstorming, etc.

• It is a place for writers to work through writing problems and brainstorm. • It is a place where we can go back to reread and/or select pieces for revision. • It is a place where we can go back to reflect on how we have grown as readers and writers.

How may students set up their own Reader/Writer Notebooks? Either on the cover or the first page of the notebook, ask students to write their name, class period, and the date they began using their notebook. They might also personalize their notebooks with decorations, pictures, nicknames, etc.

Onthetopofthesecondpageofthenotebook,askstudentstowrite,“TableofContents.” OnthefirstlineoftheTableofContentspage,askstudentstowrite:“date,”“topic,”and“pagenumber.”

BeginningwiththeTableofContents,askstudentstonumberthefirst30pages;studentsmaynumbertherest of the pages when they get to page 30.

Students can now begin using the Reader/Writer Notebooks on page 6 (pages 2-5 will be set aside for the table of contents).

Note: Because the Reader/Writer Notebook is a place for students to think and try out different writing and reading ideas, encourage them to write and collect ideas in their notebooks as a habit of practice that extends beyond the times related to specific assignments for class.

Instructional Resources

114 Appendix


Teacher Resource: Reader/Writer Notebook Suggested Feedback System

Since the Reader/Writer Notebook is expressive writing (writing for the writer), it is important to lower the students’ level of anxiety relative to grammar and usage errors. Randy Bomer, author of Time for Meaning: Crafting Literate Lives in Middle and High School (1995), suggests that teachers also use a Reader/Writer Notebook. This helps to deepen the idea of a writers’ community in the classroom and allows teachers to give students ideas for their notebooks by sharing from time to time from their notebooks. Bomer has also devised a method of feedback based on the following criteria:

1. Volume A. One entry from each class, including one long selection. B. Five for homework, including two long selections.

2. Variety

3. Thoughtfulness

4. Habits of Thought–Intention for Writing Specifically: A. description B. precise dialogue C. movementbetweenfactsandideas

5. Playful Experimentation with Language He then uses a class rotation system, collecting every student’s notebook once every two weeks. He writes brief comments and the score from the class rubric on sticky notes and places them in each notebook.

Appendix 115


Pedagogical Rituals and Routines

When we ask students to engage in inquiry units and lessons, we ask them to use the following key Pedagogical Rituals and Routines. These rituals and routines, derived from research on cognitive apprenticeship, are designed to engage all students as learners in collaborative problem solving, writing to learn, making thinking visible, using routines for note-taking/making and tracking learning, text-based norms for interpretive discussions and writings, ongoing assessment and revision, and metacognitive reflection and articulation as regular patterns in learning. These cyclical apprenticeship rituals and routines build community when used with authentic tasks through collaboration, coaching, the sharing of solutions, multipleoccasionsforpractice,andthearticulationofreflections(Brown,Collins,&Duguid,1989).

The key English language arts pedagogical routines that support students’ learning are:

• Quick Writes composed by individual learners in response to questions and tasks for any and all of the design features of lessons and units;

• pair/trio sharing of individual Quick Writes to establish academic conversations in a safe environment with high accountability to the task and the group members;

• charting of the pair/trio sharing by members of the group to represent the work of the group to the entire class;

• gallery walks for members of the class to read and take notes on the pair/trio work in preparation for a whole class discussion of the task;

• whole group discussions of the questions or tasks that prompted the scaffold of Quick Writes, pair/trio share, charting, and gallery walks to deepen understandings and address lingering questions;

• model of a total performance in order to help learners understand the essence of an activity and develop a mental picture of what the real thing looks like;

• Reader/Writer Notebook in which learners compose Quick Writes, take notes, make notes, compose observations for writings, respond to questions and tasks, and track their learning; and

• StepBacks in which learners metacognitively reflect through Quick Writes, pair/trio shares, charting, gallery walks, discussions, and writing assignments on the content and pedagogy of their learning to develop and track their understandings and habits of thinking.

116 Appendix


Accountable Talk® Moves and Functions in ELA

TEACHER MOVE FUNCTION EXAMPLE

TO ENSURE PURPOSEFUL, COHERENT, AND PRODUCTIVE GROUP DISCUSSION

1. Marking Direct attention to the value and importance of a student’s contribution.

“Ihearyousaying_____.Let’skeepthisidea in mind.”

2.Challenging Students

Redirect a question back to the students or use a student’s contributions as a source for a further challenge or inquiry.

“What do YOU think?” “What surprised you about what you just heard about the text’s______?”

3. Modeling Make one’s thinking public and demonstrate a total performance in order to help learners understand the essence of the activity and to develop a mental picture of what the real thing looks like.

“Here’s what good readers do…”

TO SUPPORT ACCOUNTABILITY TO ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE

4. Pressing for Accuracy

Hold students accountable for the accuracy, credibility, and clarity of their contributions.

“Where can we find that…?” “What is your basis for that conclusion?” “Who said that?”

5. Building on Prior Knowledge

Tie a current contribution back to knowledge accumulated by the class at a previous time.

“How does this connect…?” “How do we define______inthiscontext?”“Whatelse comes to mind given our discussion about____________?”

TO SUPPORT ACCOUNTABILITY TO RIGOROUS THINKING

6. Pressing for Reasoning

Elicit evidence and establish what contribution a student’s utterance is intended to make within the group’s larger enterprise.

“Why do you think that…?” “What evidence from the text supports your claim? How does this idea contrast with _____?”

7. Expanding Reasoning

Open up extra time and space in the conversation for student reasoning.

“Take your time… say more.” “Given what we just read and discussed, what would younowsayabout______?”

8. Recapping Make public in a concise, coherent way, the group’s developed, shared understanding of the content or text under discussion.

“What have we discovered?” “So far, we have discussed the following …What else do we need to address?”

TO SUPPORT ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE LEARNING COMMUNITY

9. Keeping the ChannelsOpen

Ensure that students can hear each other, and remind them that they must hear what others have said.

“Pleasesaybackwhat_____justsaid.”

10. Keeping Everyone Together

Ensure that everyone not only heard, but also understood, what a speaker said.

“Do you agree or disagree with what _______justsaid?Explainyourthinking.”

11. Linking Contributions

Make explicit the relationship between a new contribution and what has gone before.

“Who wants to add on to …?” “What do you notice is missing?”

12. Verifying and Clarifying

Revoice a student’s contribution, thereby helping both speakers and listeners to engage more profitably in the conversation.

“So, are you saying…?”

Appendix 117


Inquiry-Based Discussion

In an inquiry-based discussion, readers discuss their responses to an interpretive question about a text(s). An interpretive question stems from a genuine inquiry about a text, is thought-provoking, and can sustain multiple and varied responses supported by textual evidence.

The purposes of the discussion are to help readers to:

• “try out” their answers and explanations anchored with specific moments from the text;• accept alternative views/interpretations of the same text (not about reaching consensus or proclaiming

a winner);• rethink what they think about the text; and • understand that readers can have different, valid interpretations of the same text.

Preparing for the Discussion:• The discussion lead, usually the teacher, explains inquiry to readers, models some responses, and

describes the teacher’s and the students’ roles during the discussion.• Allow enough time for the discussion given the text complexity. • The discussion usually follows the second or third reading of a text. • Individually, students WriteAbout the interpretive question and mine the text for evidence supporting

their responses.• Students are seated so they can see, talk to, and listen to each other.

Features of the Inquiry-Based Discussion: • A central inquiry/question that can sustain multiple responses related to interpreting the ideas of one

text or across texts focuses the talk.• The facilitator prompts students to “say more” and to anchor their talk in the text.• Initial student talk is exploratory and can be halting as participants “try out” and modify their answers

and explanations. • Participants return often to cite or reread the text, texts, or their notes.• Thereisusuallygenuinetalkrelatedtothequestionbyover60%ofthegroup.• Participants listen to each other using the ideas of others in their answers. • At the end of the discussion, there is time for each participant to jot down what they are thinking about

the text given the discussion. • The teacher takes the long view on students’ discussions, expecting the students to get better as they

have more experience.

Grades

11-12

118 Appendix


Facilitator’s Role: • The teacher facilitator is not a direct teacher or a presenter. The facilitator does not talk too much, does

not repeat the talkers’ responses, and does not verbally compliment or negate responses. • When teachers step out of their role as guides and into their role as participants or teachers, they limit

participation (Vygotsky, 1986; Alvermann, et al., 1996).• As teacher facilitator, you elicit what readers are thinking and validating with evidence, but you are not

telling them your interpretation. • The teacher facilitator:

- Uses questions to get others talking; - Encourages everyone–not just some–to participate; - Presses for clarification and evidence from the text; - Keeps the conversation on track during the time frame provided; - Encourages readers to listen to and learn from each other by not repeating their responses; - Reminds them, only if and when necessary, of the guiding question under discussion; - Asks each discussant to validate answers with explanations anchored in evidence from the text; - Summarizes a flow of three or four responses or questions further to raise rigor of discussion–not to do the mental work for students; - Asks participants to step back and reflect on what they learned from the discussion: Would they now change their first Quick Write response and, if so, what would they change and why?; and - Asks the idea tracker to recap the intellectual work of the discussion.

• The facilitator asks readers to step back and reflect on the discussion: If they didn’t participate successfully, what needs to improve and who has responsibility for the improvement?

Grades

11-12

Institute for LearningLearning Research and Development Center

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www.instituteforlearning.org

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