Unit Three

Exploring the Big Question

“Learn to be quiet enough to hear the genuine voice within yourself so that you can hear it in others.”

~ Marian Wright Edelman

What makes you who you are?

Quotes for

Small Group Facilitated Discussions

“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”

~ Mahatma Gandhi

“Because sometimes you have to step outside of the person you’ve been, and remember the person you were meant to be, the person you wanted to be, the person you are.”

~ H.G. Wells

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”

~ Helen Keller

“Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”

~ Muhammad Ali

“Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them.”

~ W. Clement Stone

“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.”

~ Harvey Fierstein

“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.”

~ e.e. cummings

“One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.”

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

A Further Exploration of What Makes You Who You Are

As a class, we will read, analyze, and discuss the following pieces in the reading textbook:

“Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros on p. 298“The All-American Slurp” by Lensey Namioka on p. 315

Peruse the following selections in your reading textbook, and choose three selections you would be interested in reading and discussing in class: “My Parents” by Steven Spender on p. 306 “Geraldine Moore the Poet” by Toni Cade Bambara on p. 346 “Wings” by Jane Yolen on p. 360 “King Minos and Art on the Palace Walls,” a Historical Perspective on p. 374 “Daydreamers” by Eloise Greenfield on p. 377 “TIME: The Gene Scene” by Jordan Brown on p. 384 “Flowers and Freckle Cream” by Elizabeth Ellis on p. 394 “Arachne” by Olivia E. Coolidge on p. 405 “The Fun They Had” by Isaac Asimove on p. 416 “Why Books Are Dangerous” by Neil Gaiman on p. 421

As you read, you will be thinking about how these stories might relate to the themes of what makes you who you are, why you read, and what makes a hero.

An In-Depth Look at Identity

Stargirlby Jerry Spinelli

Bethany Hamilton: Staying True to Yourself

Lady Gaga: Be Yourself

Reflect: Expository Critique applied to video2.6 Determine the adequacy and appropriateness of the evidence for an author’s conclusions. 2.7 Make reasonable assertions about a text through accurate, supporting citations. 2.8 Note instances of unsupported inferences, fallacious reasoning, persuasion, and propaganda in text.

Comparing and Contrasting:Identity and One Author’s Technique

Same SongPat Mora

While my sixteen-year-old son sleeps, my twelve-year-old daughterstumbles into the bathroom at six a.m. plugs in the curling ironsqueezes into faded jeanscurls her hair carefullystrokes Aztec Blue shadow on her eyelidssmooth’s Frosted Mauve blusher on her cheeksoutlines her mouth in Neon pinkpeers into the mirror, mirror on the wallfrowns at her face, her eyes, her skin, not fair.At night this daughter stumbles off to bed at nineeyes half-shut while my sonjogs a mile in the cold darkthen lifts weights in the garage curls and bench pressesexpanding biceps, triceps pectorals, one-handed push-ups, one hundred sit-upspeers into the mirror, mirror and frowns too.

He hears her When he bows Rows of hands clap Again and again he bows To stage lights and upturned faces But he hears only his mother’s voice

Years ago in their small home Singing Mexican songs One phrase at a time While his father strummed the guitar Or picked the melody with quick fingertips. Both cast their music in the air For him to snare with his strings, Songs of lunas and amor Learned bit by bit. She’d nod, smile as his bow slid Note to note, then the trio Voz, guitarra, violin Would blend again and again To the last pure note Sweet on the tongue.

MaestroPat Mora

Comparing and Contrasting:Identity and Authors’ Techniques

I dream a world where manNo other man will scorn,Where love will bless the earthAnd peace its paths adornI dream a world where allWill know sweet freedom's way,Where greed no longer saps the soulNor avarice blights our day.A world I dream where black or white,Whatever race you be,Will share the bounties of the earthAnd every man is free,Where wretchedness will hang its headAnd joy, like a pearl,Attends the needs of all mankind-Of such I dream, my world!

I Dream a WorldLangston Hughes

Life Doesn’t Frighten MeMaya Angelou

Shadows on the wallNoises down the hailLife doesn’t frighten me at allBad dogs barking loudBig ghosts in a cloudLife doesn’t frighten me at all.

Mean old Mother GooseLions on the looseThey don’t frighten me at allDragons breathing flameOn my counterpaneThat doesn’t frighten me at all.

I go booMake them shooI make funWay they runI won’t crySo they flyI just smileThey go wildLife doesn’t frighten me at all.

Tough guys in a fightAll alone at nightLife doesn’t frighten me at all.Panthers in the parkStrangers in the darkNo, they don’t frighten me at all.

That new classroom whereBoys pull all my hair(Kissy little girlsWith their hair in curls)They don’t frighten me at all.

Don’t show me frogs and snakesAnd listen for my scream,If I’m afraid at allIt’s only in my dreams.I’ve got a magic charmThat I keep up my sleeve,I can walk the ocean floorAnd never have to breathe.

Life doesn’t frighten me at allNot at allNot at allLife doesn’t frighten me at all.

Assessments:Words of Week weekly vocabulary testStargirl comprehension testsAccelerated Reader reading, vocabulary, and literary

analysis testTreasures Unit 3 Assessment on pp. 436-440Discussion of what makes you who you are and

reflections on identity and the implications for one’s own life

Optional if needed: Treasures individual story assessments and Treasures formative assessments to define differentiation

Standards Embedded:1.0 Word Analysis, Fluency , and Systematic Vocabulary Development Students use their knowledge of word origins and word relationships, as well as historical and literary context clues, to determine the meaning of specialized vocabulary and to understand the precise meaning of grade-level-appropriate words.

Word Recognition 1.1 Read aloud narrative and expository text fluently and accurately and with appropriate pacing, intonation, and expression.

Vocabulary and Concept Development 1.2 Identify and interpret figurative language and words with multiple meanings. 1.3 Recognize the origins and meanings of frequently used foreign words in English and use these words accurately in speaking and writing. 1.4 Monitor expository text for unknown words or words with novel meanings by using word, sentence, and paragraph clues to determine meaning. 1.5 Understand and explain “shades of meaning” in related words (e.g., softly and quietly).

2.0 Reading Comprehension (Focus on Informational Materials) Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. They describe and connect the essential ideas, arguments, and perspectives of the text by using their knowledge of text structure, organization, and purpose. In addition, by grade eight, students read one million words annually on their own.Structural Features of Informational Materials 2.1 Identify the structural features of popular media (e.g., newspapers, magazines, online information) and use the features to obtain information. 2.2 Analyze text that uses the compare-and-contrast organizational pattern. Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text 2.3 Connect and clarify main ideas by identifying their relationships to other sources and related topics. 2.4 Clarify an understanding of texts by creating outlines, logical notes, summaries, or reports. 2.5 Follow multiple-step instructions for preparing applications (e.g., for a public library card, bank savings account, sports club, league membership). Expository Critique 2.6 Determine the adequacy and appropriateness of the evidence for an author’s conclusions. 2.7 Make reasonable assertions about a text through accurate, supporting citations.

3.0 Literary Response and Analysis Students read and respond to historically or culturally significant works of literature that reflect and enhance their studies of history and social science. They clarify the ideas and connect them to other literary works.

Structural Features of Literature 3.1 Identify the forms of fiction and describe the major characteristics of each form.

Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text 3.2 Analyze the effect of the qualities of the character (e.g., courage or cowardice, ambition or laziness) on the plot and the resolution of the conflict. 3.3 Analyze the influence of setting on the problem and its resolution. 3.5 Identify the speaker and recognize the difference between first- and third-person narration (e.g., autobiography compared with biography). 3.6 Identify and analyze features of themes conveyed through characters, actions, and images. 3.7 Explain the effects of common literary devices (e.g., symbolism, imagery, metaphor) in a variety of fictional and nonfictional texts.

Additional Standard Embedded in Poem of the Day:3.4 Define how tone or meaning is conveyed in poetry through word choice, figurative language, sentence structure, line length, punctuation, rhythm, repetition, and rhyme.

Expository Critique 2.7 Make reasonable assertions about a text through accurate, supporting citations.

Additional Standard Embedded in novel study of Stargirl:

Literary Criticism 3.8 Critique the credibility of characterization and the degree to which a plot is contrived or realistic (e.g., compare use of fact and fantasy in historical fiction).

Reading Standards Not Addressed in the Unit:

Expository Critique 2.8 Note instances of unsupported inferences, fallacious reasoning, persuasion, and propaganda in text.