Lesson title: What Shapes Who You Are? Exploring Our Identities Through Literature DESIRED RESULTS Students will be able to analyze the influence of an author’s background, analyze the influence of historical and cultural context, recognize how cultures and time periods are represented in literature, identify and interpret cultural symbols, and identify and analyze voice and dialect. They will recognize that writers respond to the world around them. SEQUENCE OF ACTIVITIES: 1. Introduce the lesson question – “What shapes who you are?” Solicit student input, sharing students’ insights with the class. 2. Students will be provided a list of the following literary works: Title Author Genre The Butterfly Pavel Friedmann Poem House on Mango Street Sandra Cisneros Short story Fish Cheeks Amy Tan Short story The Lost Boys Sara Corbett Magazine article Going to Japan Barbara Kingsolver Essay The Circuit Francisco Jimenez Short story Farewell to Manazar Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston Book (excerpt) The Son from America Isaac Bashevis Singer Short story 3. Students will choose one of the works to read and work with for this lesson. 4. Student will read the selection and then access and read the biographical data about the author. For some authors, the biographical data is available at the Literature Center at www.classzone.com. For the other authors, students will obtain the biographical data from the unit resource cabinet. 5. Students will work in groups based on the selection they chose to consider the following questions after reading both the selection and the author’s biographical data: 1. Which of these personal factors – gender, ethnicity, national identity, family – influenced the writer’s work? 2. What values are conveyed? (Look for direct commentary as well as characters’ actions.) 3. What is the tone? (Notice characters and ideas that are respected or criticized.) 1 4. Which of these historical influences – political, social, economic, environmental – influenced the writer’s work? 5. Which of these cultural influences – ethnicity, technology, values/beliefs, arts/entertainment – influenced the writer’s work? 6. How does the biographical information impact your interpretation, understanding, or appreciation of the work? 7. Identify some of the author’s word choices and explain how they demonstrate his or her feelings toward the subject of the selection. 6. Students will work independently to create a rough draft of an essay in which they explore their ideas about the historical or cultural influences might affect their own writing. 7. After conferencing with the teacher, students will produce a final copy of their essays. PRODUCTS/ASSESSMENTS: 1. Students will respond to the selection they chose on an SSR (sustained silent reading) log as they read. 2. An elected group member will maintain notes of the group’s discussions. These will ultimately be submitted to the teacher and assessed for evidence of quality and insight. 3. Teacher will circulate in the room to observe and facilitate as needed. Students will be scored on the quality of their discussions and the dynamics of their group interactions using a teacher-made rubric. 4. Students will use PowerPoint or Prezi to create a presentation to share their findings with the class. 5. Students will produce a rough draft of an essay that contains evidence of editing and revision. 6. Students will produce a final copy of the essay that will be scored using the writing rubric provided by the state department. STANDARDS: RL.8.1. Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. RL.8.2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text. RL.8.3. Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision. 2 RL.8.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts. RL.8.6. Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor. RI.8.1. Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. RI.8.2. Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text. RI.8.3. Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories.) RI.8.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts. RI.8.6. Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints. W.8.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. o Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. o Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples. o Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. o Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. o Establish and maintain a formal style. o Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented. 3 W.8.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.) W.8.5. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. W.8.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others. W.8.7. Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration. W.8.8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. W.8.9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. SL.8.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. o Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion. o Follow rules for collegial discussions and decision-making, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed. o Pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant evidence, observations, and ideas. o Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented. SL.8.4. Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation. 4 SL.8.5. Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest. SL.8.6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. L.8.1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. o Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) in general and their function in particular sentences. o Form and use verbs in the active and passive voice. o Form and use verbs in the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive mood. o Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood.* L.8.2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. o Use punctuation (comma, ellipsis, dash) to indicate a pause or break. o Use an ellipsis to indicate an omission. o Spell correctly. L.8.5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. o Interpret figures of speech (e.g. verbal irony, puns) in context. o Use the relationship between particular words to better understand each of the words. o Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., bullheaded, willful, firm, persistent, resolute). 5