Tisha+Williams

Unit Rationale: //American Born Chinese//   The focus of the next unit of instruction for my 9th grade English class is the topic of stereotyping. Since our school is located in an urban community, students will participate in interesting literacy-focused activities that will provide them information about stereotyping in their own community. The knowledge and skills learned in this unit will set the stage for their growing understanding and appreciation of different cultures. Questions such as, How is hatred connected to stereotyping?, How are racial stereotypes similar across cultures and societies?, and Why do stereotypes in literature continue to endure?, will be answered throughout this unit.  Students will also have the opportunity to study graphic novels and the role these play in different types of stereotyping concerning the hero role in literature. This unit will include reading the main book, //American Born Chinese//, which is a graphic novel. Students will find this novel relevant on many levels. First, it deals with characters in the same age group so students should have an easy time relating to the characters. Second, students deal on a daily basis with stereotypes of all kinds so they will be able to see how the characters are dealing with some of the same stereotypes they deal with day to day. Graphic novels are text, but at the same time they are a visual form of art. Their unique fusion of illustration and text create an interplay of word and image that results in a multiliteracy experience. Graphic novels offer many traditional literary devices such as allusion, allegory, flashback, foreshadowing, irony, satire and symbolism.  Since students learn rapidly at this age, are very active, curious, and like describing their feelings and experiences, the stereotyping unit will provide them with opportunities to meet and talk to various people from different cultures. I will be having several different people in the classroom to share their culture with the classroom and how stereotyping effects their lives. At the end of the unit students will have the opportunity to put together a public service announcement to share their views on the role stereotypes play in the culture.  Literacy skills are a primary focus for high school students. Students will have the opportunity to write letters to our classroom visitors, speak in front of the class during the final project, and use their listening skills to hear and comprehend all of the new material that they will be exposed to. Students will be addressing all four strands of the curriculum for English. The students will be keeping journals through this unit and will be writing and expressing their views on stereoptyping. They will also be continuing to develop critical reading, listening,and viewing strategies. We will be looking closely at the text and the students will be making connections through the knowledge they have with other books, poems, and short storeis we have read in class over the course of the year.  I hope that many parents will be able to attend the presentation of the service announcements and see the hard work the students have put into this unit. This will be an exciting, informative unit for all of us!

** Objectives: ** ** 1.1 ** Understand and practice writing as a recursive process. ** 1.2 ** Use writing, speaking, and visual expression for personal understanding and growth. ** 1.3 ** Communicate in speech, writing, and multimedia using content, form, voice, and style appropriate to the audience and purpose. ** 1.5 ** Produce a variety of written, spoken, multigenre, and multimedia works, making conscious choices about language, form, style, and/or visual representation for each work. ** Strand Two: Reading, Listening, and Viewing ** ** 2.1 ** Develop critical reading, listening, and viewing strategies. ** 2.2 ** Use a variety of reading, listening, and viewing strategies to   construct meaning beyond the literal level. ** 2.3 ** Develop as a reader, listener, and viewer for personal, social, and political purposes, through independent and collaborative reading. ** Strand Three: Literature and Culture ** ** 3.1 ** Develop the skills of close and contextual literary reading. ** 3.2 ** Read and respond to classic and contemporary fiction, literary nonfiction, and expository text, from a variety of literary genre representing many time periods and authors. ** 3.3 ** Use knowledge of literary history, traditions, and theory to   respond to and analyze the meaning of texts. ** 3.4 ** Examine mass media, film, series fiction, and other texts from popular culture. ** Strand Four: Language ** ** 4.1 ** Understand and use the English language effectively in a variety of contexts and settings. ** 4.2 ** Understand how language variety reflects and shapes experience.
 * Strand One: Writing, Speaking, and Expressing **

Lesson Plans – First Ten Days Introduce the unit’s text: __American Born Chinese__. Get students to think and become actively involved with the elements of the story and most important how theme works in literature. We will preview and discuss the graphic novel and the key elements that go into a graphic novel. Students will keep a notebook and the definitions of several terms will be part of the notebook requirements. Students will be asked for homework to complete a questionnaire on several different groups of people and what their own stereotypical beliefs are. Today we will start off with reading the poem __How to Write the Great American Indian Novel__, by Sherman Alexie. We will have a class discussion as to what the students believe about stereotyping comparing their journey entries to the poem that was read. It will be interesting to see whether students employ any of the classic stereotypical terms to describe these groups. It will also be interesting to see their awareness of how easy it is to make stereotypical comments. Students will be given 20 minutes to begin reading the novel to have time to ask any questions that may arise. Chapter One will be given as reading homework for the night. Today we will be discussing the reading from the previous night. Students will be given another questionnaire which pinpoints more specific ethnic groups. Students will be asked to jot down characteristics of these particular groups. We will discuss these in class the following day. We will talk about how to recognize stereotypes in graphic literature. We will go over folktales (this has already been taught previously in the semester, but a handout will be given) and remind students of the qualities of a folk tale. Students will need to read Chapter Two for homework. Today we will be discussing the reading from the previous night. We are going to be going over what students see as important keys in a graphic novel and how those keys work with the theme of the novel. We will continue to work through the idea of stereotypes and students will have an open discussion on how some of the issues the main characters are dealing with go hand in hand with stereotyping. For homework students will need to read the next two chapters. They will also need to write in their notebooks about an incident that happened to them or someone they know that deals with the issue of stereotypes. We will have a reading comprehension quiz to begin class. We will discuss the reading from the previous night and the students will start making connections with Theme in literature. The students will be given a sheet today on their final assessment for the unit. Students will read the next two chapters in the novel over the weekend for homework. Students will also need to write down ideas for the final assessment over the weekend and be ready to start on their projects for Monday. We will open with a reading comprehension quiz. Next we will be going over the reading from the weekend. We will also be discussing the project that is due at the end of the unit. Students will work together in groups to discuss the ideas they have and then come together as a group with one key theme for their projects. Students will read the next two chapters in the graphic novel. Students will need to write in their journals ideas that they have to help put a stop to stereotyping in their surroundings. Students will break in to their small groups and continue working on their projects that will be presented to the school on Friday. Students will finish the novel tonight for homework. Tonight in their notebooks students will write about what they have learned so far from this book and revisit the predictions they made at the beginning. They also need write down whether or not they like this graphic novel and give reasons to support their decisions.
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Today we will wrap up the graphic novel and talk about the ending of the book. Students will have 15 minutes to write in their notebooks about one thing that has changed for them since starting the graphic novel. Students will break into their small groups and work on their final assessment. Tonight for home students are to write in their notebooks either a poem (have been taught previously), short story (consisting of maximum five paragraphs), or 3 panel comic (hand done) that has something to do with stereotyping. This will give students the opportunity to use their own creative outlet in getting their theme across. Today students will be getting in their groups and finishing their final assessments to present to the class for tomorrow. There will also be a writer in class today talking about racial stereotyping and how it has affected her life. This will give the students an opportunity to see in real life someone that has overcome racial stereotyping. Today students will present their final assessment to the class. Students will be peer reviewing each other and at the end as a class we will discuss the presentations and wrap up the unit.  ** Formative Assessment ** Over the next few weeks, you will be keeping “Stereotype Journals.” These journals are basically your responses to different questions and comments that come up during the unit on Stereotypes. You will add these journal entries into your general English Class journal. **// Here’s what you should do: //** 1. List the different terms down on the first page of your notebook. You will have the next couple weeks to write down definitions of these terms and over the course of the next couple weeks your definitions may change so be sure to leave yourself enough space to “add” to your definitions. 2. Students will make a list of predictions about the novel that we are reading. They will also list the stereotypes that they see while reading the novel. 3. Questionnaire on stereotypes – jot down in your notebooks characteristics of the particular groups that are written on the board. 4. Students will write about an incident that happened to them or someone they know that involves any type of stereotypes. // 5. // Students will write about ways they believe they can end stereotyping in their surroundings and how they can help educate their parents, friends, and other people they come into contact with. // 6. // Students will revisit some of the predictions that they made about the novel and write about some of the things that have come true and some of the things that they predicted that have not happened.  ** Summative Assessment ** Culminating Project: A Public Service Announcement Your final assessment for this unit will be for you and your group to create a 3-5 minuet public service announcement to share with the class on stereotypes. It is important to get the message out to your fellow peers how important it is to stop stereotyping. By putting together this public service announcement you can education those around you about what you have learned over this unit. You can have as much fun with this as you want. Once you have come up with an idea for your PSA, your task is to write out what you will be saying. The PSA should deal with the issue of stereotyping and how teenagers deal with this issue. You will be given a whole week to work on these project. Remember you may want to discuss different props that you will need for your announcement. You will be given time in class to visit the theater room to see if there is anything that can be borrowed to help you put on your public service announcement. On Friday, you will present your PSA’s to your classmates. When everyone has presented their PSA’s, everyone will write a critique of the PSA telling their fellow peers what they liked and disliked about the announcement. Remember these letters are to show what you have learned about the theme of the stereotyping, whether or not you feel your fellow classmates did a good job in presenting the issue. Please take this project seriously but have fun with it too, this is your chance to use those creative juices! 
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 *  ** Public Service Announcement Rubric ** CATEGORY   || 4   || 3   || 2   || 1   ||
 * Content  || <span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Students create an original, accurate and interesting PSA that adequately addresses the issue.   || <span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Students create an accurate PSA that adequately addresses the issue.   || <span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Students create an accurate PSA but it does not adequately address the issue.   || <span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The PSA is not accurate.   ||
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Collaboration with Peers  || <span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Almost always listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others in the group. Tries to keep people working well together.   || <span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Usually listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others in the group. Does not cause problems in the group.   || <span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Often listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others in the group but sometimes is not a good team member.   || <span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Rarely listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others in the group. Often is not a good team member.   ||
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Technical Production  || <span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Tone and voice convey emotions and enthusiasm. The recording is clear and loud enough to be heard. Background sounds and effects blend with the PSA’s message.   || <span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Tone and voice frequently convey emotions and enthusiasm. The recording is clear and loud enough to be heard. Background sounds and effects usually blend with the PSA’s message.   || <span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Tone and voice frequently convey emotions or enthusiasm. Most of the recording is clear and loud enough to be heard. Background sounds and effects sometimes distract from the PSA’s message.  || <span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Tone and voice rarely convey emotions or enthusiasm. Recording is unclear and/or not loud enough to be heard. Background sounds and effects absent or distract from the PSA’s message.   ||