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Unit Two
Exploring the Big Question
“Once you’ve learned to read, you’ll be forever set free.”
~ Frederick Douglass
Good books areBandagesAnd voyagesAnd linkages to Light; Are keys and hammers,Ripe redeemers,Dials and bells andHealing hallelujah. Good books are good nutrition.A reader is a GuestNourished, by riches of the Feast,To lift, to launch, and to applaud the world.
To Young ReadersGwendolyn Brooks
Quotes for
Small Group Facilitated Discussions
“A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.”
~ Henry David Thoreau
“To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries.”
~ A. C. Graying
“A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive idea without fear it will go off in your face. It is one of the few havens remaining where a man's mind can get both provocation and privacy.”
~ Edward P. Morgan
“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”
~ Charles W. Eliot
“Books are the compasses and telescopes and sextants and charts which other men have prepared to help us navigate the dangerous seas of human life.”
~ Jesse Lee Bennett
“Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled ‘This could change your life.’”
~ Helen Exley
“A blessed companion is a book–a book that, fitly chosen, is a lifelong friend,… a book that, at a touch, pours its heart into our own.”
~ Douglas Jerrold
“The importance of reading, for me, is that it allows you to dream.Reading not only educates, but is relaxing and allows you to feed your imagination—creating beautiful pictures from carefully chosen words.”
~ Eric Ripert
“We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel... is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.”
~ Ursula K. Le Guin
“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.”
~ James Baldwin
“Why do I read?I just can't help myself.I read to learn and to grow, to laugh and to be motivated.I read to understand things I've never been exposed to.I read when I'm crabby, when I've just said monumentally dumb things to the people I love.I read for strength to help me when I feel broken, discouraged, and afraid.I read when I'm angry at the whole world.I read when everything is going right.I read to find hope.I read because I'm made up not just of skin and bones, of sights, feelings, and a deep need for chocolate, but I'm also made up of words.
Words describe my thoughts and what's
hidden in my heart.Words are alive--when I've found astory that I love, I read it again andagain, like playing a favorite song over and over.Reading isn't passive--I enter thestory with the characters, breathetheir air, feel their frustrations,scream at them to stop when they'reabout to do something stupid, cry withthem, laugh with them.Reading for me, is spending time with afriend.A book is a friend.You can never have too many.” ~Gary Paulsen
Why do you love to read? Why?
A Further Exploration of Why We Read
As a class, we will read, analyze, and discuss the following pieces in the reading textbook:
“The Sand Castle” by Alma Luz Villanueva on p. 178“The Emperor’s Silent Army: Terracotta Warriors of
Ancient China” by Jane O’Connor on p. 198
Peruse the following pieces in your reading textbook, and choose three selections you would be interested in reading and discussing in class: “Tracking Trash” by Rachel Young on p. 62 “TIME Nobody’s Perfect” by David Fischer on p. 190 “The End of the World” by Jenny Leading Cloud on p. 222 “How the Snake Got Poison” by Zora Neale Hurston on p. 227 “Dust Tracks on a Road” by Zora Neale Hurston on p. 232 “Ball Park Food” from Consumer Reports for Kids on p. 240 “Ta-Na-E-Ka” by Mary Whitebird on p. 248 “These Walls Can Talk” from TIME for Kids on p. 262
As you read, you will be thinking about aspects of reading and/or heroism depicted in the story.
More on Why People Read
Ocoee Middle School – “Gotta Keep Reading” Why I Read Tomie dePaola: Why Reading Is Important Why Read? Richard Peck: On Reading and Writing
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: Videos of Celebrities and Why They ReadAs a class, we will work in partners or small groups, choosing two or three videos to watch, analyze, and discuss. Each partnership or small group will share its findings with the class.
Your partnership or small group may also be interested in Celebrity Bookprints, lists of five books per celebrity that left an indelible mark on each celebrity’s life.
For extra credit, make your own Bookprint, listing the five books that have helped shaped who you are or that have significantly impacted your life in some way.
Comparing and Contrasting:Stories and Authors’ Techniques
As a class, we will read, analyze, and discuss the following pieces in the reading textbook:
“He Lion, Bruh Bear, and Bruh Rabbit” by Virginia Hamilton on p. 272
“The Toad and the Donkey” by Toni Cade Bambara on p. 277
I had a mother who read to meSagas of pirates who scoured the sea,Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth,"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath
I had a Mother who read me laysOf ancient and gallant and golden days;Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,Which every boy has a right to know.
I had a Mother who read me talesOf Celert the hound of the hills of Wales,True to his trust till his tragic death,Faithfulness blent with his final breath.
I had a Mother who read me the things
That wholesome life to the boy heart brings-Stories that stir with an upward touch,Oh, that each mother of boys were such.
You may have tangible wealth untold;Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.Richer than I you can never be --I had a Mother who read to me.
The Reading MotherStrickland Gillilan
Twenty Minutes a Dayby Richard Peck
Read to your childrenTwenty minutes a day;You have the time,And so do they.Read while the laundry is in the machine;Read while the dinner cooks;Tuck a child in the crook of your armAnd reach for the library books.Hide the remote,Let the computer games cool,For one day your children will be off to school;Remedial? Gifted? You have the choice;Let them hear their first talesIn the sound of your voice.Read in the morning;Read over noon;Read by the light ofGoodnight Moon.Turn the pages together,Sitting close as you'll fit,Till a small voice beside you says,"Hey, don't quit."
Assessments:Words of Week weekly vocabulary testAccelerated Reader reading, vocabulary, and literary
analysis testTreasures Unit 2 Assessment on pp. 290-294Discussion of reading and reflections on reading and
the implications for one’s own lifeOptional 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. 2.8 Note instances of unsupported inferences, fallacious reasoning, persuasion, and propaganda in text.
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 The Watson’s Go to Birmingham:
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 2.6 Determine the adequacy and appropriateness of the evidence for an author’s conclusions. 2.8 Note instances of unsupported inferences, fallacious reasoning, persuasion, and propaganda in text.
