Unit Plan Combined Draft

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Paul Binkley
Pam Coke
EDUC 463.001
2 May 2015
Unit Plan: Unit 5
The Pale Blue Dot Ecocriticism Unit
Unit Overview
(Note: You can use the navigation pane in Microsoft Word [ctrl+f] for easy
navigation between section headings)
Overarching Course Concepts
How does science fiction function as a critical examination of our past and present
society?
How can reading and writing science fiction enact interdisciplinary thought
experiments?
Please see the Course Overview page and the Course Rationale page for more information
Overarching Unit Concepts
What social, personal, and global conflicts are enacted through inheritance?
What are possible outcomes of humanitys treatment of the environment?
Lingering Question: Are these overarching unit concepts helpful? Are they
an effective balance of broad and specific?
Context
School: Berthoud High school, Berthoud, Colorado
Course: Science Fiction and the STEM Fields
Grade: 11th and 12th Grade
Please see the Course Context page for more detailed information.
Guiding Standards for Unit
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.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
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choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and
meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information
presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words
in order to address a question or solve a problem.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.2: Integrate multiple sources of information presented in
diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make
informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each
source and noting any discrepancies among the data.
Duration
3 weeks (12 class periods)
Unit Goals
Become familiar with the major themes of ecocriticism

Explore how science fiction critiques past and present industrial, political, and ecological
discourses
Gain visual literacy skills and practice applying them to a graphic novel
Produce a multi-genre project which synthesizes our course work so far
Texts
Nausica of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki (graphic novel, all 4 volumes)
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud (book, excerpts)
Hyperion: A Fragment by John Keats (poem)
Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan (book, excerpt)
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, episode 13 (video clip) This clip contains audio and
video for part of the Pale Blue Dot excerpt
Star Trek: The Next Generation episode: The Inner Light
Unit Calendar
Please see the linked Unit 5 Calendar on the course website
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Lesson Plans
These lesson plans have been constructed as if they were for a third-period class. Third period
meets Monday, Tuesday, and Friday from 9:14-10:01 (47 minutes) and on Thursday from
9:13am-10:51am (98 minutes).
M = Monday
Tu = Tuesday
Th = Thursday
F = Friday
Day 1 (Th)
(Understanding by Design template)
Client Organization: Berthoud High School Telephone: (970) 613-7700
Main Contact: Paul Binkley
Fax: N/A
Email Address: paul.binkley@colostate.edu
Date: November 19, 2015
VITAL INFORMATION
Author
Paul Binkley
*Subject(s)
Science Fiction and the STEM Fields
Topic or Unit of
Study
*Grade/Level
Unit 5: The Pale Blue Dot Ecocriticism Unit
*Summary
This lesson will introduce the basic concepts and questions that guide ecocriticism.
Students will then practice applying these concepts to Feed (previously read) in
pairs
11th and 12th grade
[98 minute class period]
STANDARDS
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*Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.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.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of
information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually,
quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a
problem.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.2: Integrate multiple sources of information
presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively,
orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating
the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies
among the data.
Colorado High School Science Standard 2.2: The size and persistence of
populations depend on their interactions with each other and on the abiotic
factors in an ecosystem
UBD (UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN) LESSON PLAN ELEMENTS REQUIRED:

STAGE 1 DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals
Become familiar with the principles and questions that guide ecocriticism
Understandings
Ecocriticism supports an interdisciplinary approach for using literature to

examine humanitys role in our ecosystem.
Overarching
Understanding
Related
Misconceptions
Misconceptions:
Essential Questions
Knowledge
Literature without explicit nature themes or settings is not suitable for

ecocriticism
Humanitys position within our ecosystem is stable
How does literature act upon our ecosystem, both literally and
symbolically?
What is our responsibility as inheritors of the Earth?
Students will previously have been introduced to literary theory in general,
and specifically Marxism and new historicism.
Readers and writers will find and create meaning through both what is
stated directly and what is stated indirectly (subtext)
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Skills
Students will have acquired skills asking questions specific to a lens of

critical theory and applying those questions to a text to uncover and/or
create meaning.
Students will be able to conduct close readings of text with particular
attention to details which connect to major concerns of the lens of theory
they are employing

STAGE 2: Assessment Evidence
Performance Task Description:
What authentic performance tasks will students demonstrate the desired

understandings? In pairs, students will apply key ecocritical questions to Feed to practice
applying these concepts. Students will need to find particular examples within the text and explain
what an ecocritical reading revealed about the chosen passage/detail.
By what criteria will performances be judged? Their chosen passage and analysis
will be assessed in terms of whether they accurately apply ecocritical questions and consider
ecocritical themes in their selection and analysis. In addition, students will be assessed on their
rationale for their chosen passage and their reasoning in analyzing that passage.
Through what evidence (e.g. quizzes, tests, academic prompts,

observations, homework, journals) will students demonstrate achievement of
the desired results? In this lesson, students will demonstrate their achievement through
observations and sharing the answers they produced in their paired work.
How will students reflect upon and self assess their learning: Students will
reflect on their learning as they move forward through the unit. Feed will provide a shared source
for reviewing these concepts to support their application to Unit 5s texts. Referring to and reflecting
upon their learning at the beginning
the unit will help students to better assess their own growth.
Goal Toofunderstand
the basics of ecocriticism and guiding questions for
applying this lens of theory
Role Reader and analyzer
Audience Peers and instructor
Situation In-class practice analysis
Product/PerformancePair-and-share
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Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.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.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.6 Analyze a case in which

grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is
directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g.,

STAGE 3: Learning Plan
What learning experiences and instruction will enable students to
achieve the desired results? How will the design:
Where are your
students headed?
Where have they
been?
How will you make sure the students
know where they are going?
Students have just completed a unit (Unit 4) on

classic science fiction, which focused on how
literature is socially situated in its historical context.
Before that, students completed a unit on applying
Marxist theory to science fiction, focusing on Feed.
Marxist theory and new historicism have laid valuable
groundwork for students entering into ecocriticism.
Students will now begin our unit on ecocriticism,
which will also involve multimodal texts and
interdisciplinary connections.
The purpose of this lesson is give students a sense of
where they are headed in this unit by presenting the
key principles of ecocriticism. Next class period,
students will receive assignment sheets for the two
major projects of this unit. Those assignment sheets
will help students understand where they are going and
how they will be expected to demonstrate their
knowledge and skills from this unit.
How will you hook students at the beginning This lesson will open with us watching a clip from
of the unit?
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, which is a video
accompaniment for Carl Sagan reading an excerpt
from his book The Pale Blue Dot. This is an eloquent
passage with engaging visuals, and it connects well to
the major themes of ecocriticism.
We will return to this clip later in the lesson.
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What events will help students experience and Students are immersed in a context that is increasingly
explore the big idea and questions in the unit? concerned with ecological issues and global warming
How will you equip them with needed skills
and knowledge?
has become a common topic of discussion. While

students have likely position themselves (to some
degree) within ecological issues that face our society
and our species, they likely are not familiar with how
literature can shape, and is shaped by, these
environmental concerns. They also have most likely
not used critical theory to explore these issues.
The purpose of this lesson is to equip them with a
foundational understanding of this lens of theory,
enabling them to begin practicing ecocriticism
throughout this unit and beyond.
The PowerPoint will play a major role in supporting
students acquisition of skills and knowledge. See the
related files for the PowerPoint.
How will you cause students to reflect and

The paired application of this content to Feed (last 10rethink? How will you guide them in
rehearsing, revising, and refining their work? 15 min) will offer students an opportunity to
practice/rehearse the skills and knowledge they have
gained in this lesson. Hearing what their peers came up
with in this exercise will also allow students to
mentally reflect and refine their reasoning, which will
support their thinking on this topic as we move
forward with the unit. The later work in the unit will
afford many opportunities for rehearsal, revision, and
refining.
Returning to the Pale Blue Dot clip will allow students
to re-view the clip with the new knowledge theyve
gained, reflecting on their work so far.
How will you help students to exhibit and self- Our unit will be dedicated primarily to ecocriticism.
evaluate their growing skills, knowledge, and Even when we include other topics (like visual literacy
understanding throughout the unit?
through comics), we will do so in our further
exploration of ecocriticism and ecocritical texts. The
primarily text (Nausica) for this unit is highly
concerned with environmental issues and humanitys
place within our ecosystem. Engaging with these texts
will allow students to exhibit and self-evaluate their
growing skills.
The culminating assignments of this unit will also
offer opportunities for students to demonstrate their
skills and knowledge throughout the unit.
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How will you tailor and otherwise personalize The paired work will allow students to receive support
the learning plan to optimize the engagement from a peer, and requiring only one of the two in a pair
and effectiveness of ALL students, without
to share allows more shy students to not be put on the
compromising the goals of the unit?
spot. Having fostered a classroom climate that is
highly supportive of students asking question (e.g.
making time for questions throughout a less and
endorsing the no stupid questions philosophy) will
help students seek clarification and/or assistance when
they are struggling.
During the paired work time, I will circulate
throughout the room and check in with students,
particularly those who might have difficulty with some
of the words/concepts presented in the PowerPoint.
Particular segment to highlight from Pale Blue Dot quote:

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some
privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our
planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in
all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us
from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at
least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not
yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience.
There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this
distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal
more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the
only home we've ever known. (from about 1:50-end in the linked clip)
Provide Handout with Ecocriticism Question
This handout will be identical to the questions provided at the end of the PowerPoint, but it will
be important for students to easily have access to these questions. The PowerPoint will be posted
to our class website, but I want students to have these questions even when/if they cant connect
to the internet.
(See appendix page 41 for the handout.)
Assign Homework (3 min)
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Begin reading Nausica of the Valley of the Wind: p. 1-68

Print and/or bring access to digital copies of the Single-Scene Comic/Ecological
Apocalypse Short Story assignment sheet (appendix page 43-48) and the Archive at the
End of the World assignment sheet (appendix page 49-55). Both will be available on
BlackBoard.
Come prepared with questions you have about these assignments.
Well be reading all 4 volumes of Nausica and that means well need to move pretty quickly.
Remember, this is a graphic novel, so the reading load isnt quite as heavy as it looks. That said,
remember to carefully read the written text and the visual text. Next time well talk more about
strategies for reading visual texts.
Lingering Question: Does Berthoud High School use BlackBoard or a similar
program? I could not find out for sure. Some parts of their site seemed to
suggest they do, but I didnt find anything definite. If I want to answer this,
I may need to contact them directly.
Day 2 (F)
(Note: as I have previously mentioned, my lesson plans are often heavy on
words and somewhat script-like, but once I am teaching them I only use
these lesson plans as outlines; I do not read from them as if they were
scripts. It just helps me to think on paper in this level of detail).
Learning targets and standards will be projected at the beginning of every
class period.
Daily Learning Target(s)
Explore how space and panel design can be used to convey time in comics
Introduce main unit text: Nausica of the Valley of the Wind (graphic novel)
Become familiar with the expectations of Unit 5s culminating texts
Standard(s) Addressed
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.5 Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to

meaning as well as its aesthetic impact
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.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.
Attendance (2 min)
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WtL (5 min)
(Note: all overheads are documents to be projected from a laptop and/or
on a SmartBoard, unless indicated otherwise. These overheads will be at
least 16-point font, though they will be presented here in 12-point font)
(Project overhead):
Take a few minutes to respond to the following.
1. What was most surprising, exciting, and/or confusing about the pages we read for today?
Make sure to provide a specific page number.
2. What did you find challenging about reading the visual parts of the text? Or how/why
was having visual components helpful/insightful for you?
Share Out (5 min)
Ask 6 students to share, moving down the class roster. This will allow every student to share
eventually, allow students to know when they will be expected to share, and allow us to move
through this portion more efficiently than calling on every student.
If students do not readily do so, ask them to provide the page(s) that they are referring to in their
answers.
Comics: Time, Space, and Setting (15 min)
Using the doc cam, show pages 94-97, 100-103 from Scott McClouds Understanding Comics.
Page 94: emphasize the idea that a panel is not necessarily a single moment in time. Pair that
with:
Page 95, bottom panel: Just as pictures and the intervals between them create the illusion of
time through closure [that is, our brains filling in the action/information between panels, even
when we arent told exactly what it is see Ch. 3 for more details], words introduce time by
representing that which can only exist in time sound. With all its actions and reactions, a panel
such as this one could last a good half minute or so (95).
Page 100: In learning to read comics we all learned to perceive time spatially, for in the world
of comics, time and space are one and the same
Page 100-101: compare the different panel layouts/sizes to illustrate how they can give differing
impressions of time. Follow this up with similar points made on pages 102-103.
Apply to reading from Nausica:
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Contrast opening 3 panels (page 6) to the first 2-6 panels on page 9. The opening panels are
larger, which both help us take in the sweeping landscape (establishing important elements about
the setting, both in historical context [the skeleton of the giant] and giving the impression that the
panels on page 6 take longer than the panels on page 9.
On the other hand, this is not always used to establish the passing of time; it can also be used to
establish the enormity of some object and/or allow the artist to provide more details about that
object. Look at the example on page 15, of the Ohmu coming out of the forest. This presumably
happens very quickly, so the panel size instead suggests an emphasis on detail and the
significance of the even/object, rather than suggesting the passage of time.
Prompt students: What other panels do you see that are significantly larger than other panels?
Why do you think that is the case? What might the panel size/design be suggesting?
If students to not volunteer suggestions, some options include the first panel on page 37 (tall
panel suggests a third dimension of one plane circling over another) or the larger panels on page
41, which here suggest stillness and very limited movement (aligning more with indicating more
time passing in these panels)
Closing: As you read more over the weekend, take some time to reread some of the pages you
read for today. As you reread, consider what inferences you can make about the ecological past
of this world. In applying an ecocritical lens, what is setting telling you about the natural world
and humanitys relation to it?
Overview of Culminating Assignments (10 min)
Present the assignment sheets to the class, reading only the initial overview. Direct them to the
rhetorical breakdown (purpose, audience, etc.) that follows and the scoring guide for more
information.
For The Archive assignment, encourage them to consider what texts from this class would
qualify, but make it clear that they are not limited to just the texts weve read, and they are not
limited to only science fiction. This is their choice.
(Note: the Archive assignment will be turned in after this unit officially ends, but since it is a
larger project than the comic/short story assignment, and since it is closely aligned with themes
raised in this unit, I felt it was important to provide the assignment sheet now).
For comic assignment, plug additional pages from Scott McClouds book that will be made
available digitally, or students can borrow my copy. I will have high expectations for considering
the ideas McCloud puts forward.
Take questions that students prepared.
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In Nausica read pages 69-221

In the pages you read for homework and/or the pages you read previously, begin forming
inferences about the ecological history of this world and its implications for an ecocritical
reading. To do so, answer the following:
o In 2-3 sentences, provide a hypothesis on what you think this worlds ecological
history is based on details about the setting/environment (not dialogue).
o Provide at least 3 pieces of evidence (including page numbers) that support your
hypothesis. In other words: what makes you think your hypothesis is true? What,
specifically, led you to make that inference?
o Based on your hypothesis and the evidence you provided, write a minimum of two
sentences on what you think these details about the setting/environment might
suggest for an ecocritical reading of Nausica. It may be helpful to refer to
Thursdays PowerPoint and the questions it provided for conducting an ecocritical
reading.
Lingering Question: A problem I likely have with my overall course design,

and maybe particularly in this unit, is how much reading I expect my
students to do. This may require compromises or even cutting some units
entirely to be able to expend other units. I am also unsure how reasonable it
is to assume my students will read a graphic novel faster than a normal
novel (and that may not make sense when Im encouraging them to treat the
visuals as a complex text that can/should be carefully read)
Day 3 (M)
Begin apply principles of ecocriticism to Nausica

Explore one possible kind of ecological apocalypse, connecting to the short story option
for one of the culminating assignments
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.3 Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas

develop and interact over the course of a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.6 Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view
requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g.,
satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.a Come to discussions prepared, having read and
researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to
evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful,
well-reasoned exchange of ideas.
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Attendance (2 min)
Set Up/Group Up for Activity (3 min)
The last few class periods have involved a lot of me talking, so today well switch it up and have
you guide the majority of the discussion. I will assign you to groups. Take out the homework
your prepared (hypothesis, evidence, etc.) and take it with you to your group. Once youre there,
one group member will need to be the scribe, then 2 of your will be presenters to the rest of the
class once you finish with the group work.
(Break them into groups of 4, mixing varying proficiency levels in regards to students skills for
making inferences and citing evidence in the semester so far)
Group Analysis and Argument (20-25 min)
The following instructions will be projected throughout, and introduced once theyre in groups:
(Project overhead):
Using your homework, discuss your interpretation with your group. By the end of this group
work, your group must produce combined answers to the questions you responded to for
homework.
This answer should be a combination of more than one of your group members answers. One
group member will be the scribe to record your answers, two of your group members will present
your conclusion to the class.
In the pages you read for homework form inferences about the ecological history of this
world and its implications for an ecocritical reading. To do so, answer the following:
o In 2-3 sentences, provide a hypothesis on what you think this worlds ecological
history is based on details about the setting/environment (not dialogue).
o Provide at least 3 pieces of evidence (including page numbers) that support your
hypothesis. In other words: what makes you think your hypothesis is true? What,
specifically, led you to make that inference?
o Based on your hypothesis and the evidence you provided, write a minimum of two
sentences on what you think these details about the setting/environment might
suggest for an ecocritical reading of Nausica. It may be helpful to refer to your
notes from Thursdays overview of ecocriticism and the questions it provided for
conducting an ecocritical reading.
Your group must agree on the answers you provide. That may mean compromising on
some details and synthesizing multiple perspectives.
As students work: Walk around and listen in on groups. Offer support as needed, ask probing
questions if groups are struggling (particularly how do you know? what made you think
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that? to prompt them to pull in evidence to support their claims).
This will be used as a form of (primarily) unobtrusive, formative assessment.
Present to Class (15 min)
Have the two speakers from each group present their interpretation.
When your group is not presenting, take notes on how their interpretation differs from or aligns
with your groups analysis.
After each group has shared, ask the class to share what ideas/realizations/insight they had from
other groups interpretations, referring to the notes they took down as the other groups presented:
What trends did we see (if any) across all of the interpretations?
What were some significant differences?
What does this suggest about subtext?
o If the answers were mostly similar, then the subtext and implications of the setting
were clearly communicated and easy to interpret
o If there are many differences, that suggests the subtext was more challenging to
interpret (or, from an instructors perspective, it may mean students are still
struggling with the principles of ecocriticism, conducting close readings of visual
texts, and/or using evidence to support their claims).
(Note: Ideally this activity will work as both an unobtrusive assessment for
the instructor and self-assessment for students. I could imagine it still needs
some work)
Assign Homework (2-3 min)
Nausica pages 222-261 (volume 1)

Fill out at least one entry in each of the textual connections using the textual connections
bookmark to track page numbers. We will work with these next time in class.
Day 4 (Tu)
Reflect on your understanding of ecocriticism and your ability to read/interpret graphic

novels as a medium
Make connections between Nausica yourself/other texts/your world
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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.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.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.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.
Attendance (2 min)
WtL (5-10 min)
(Project overhead):
Take about 5-10 minutes to respond to the following questions about your experience in this unit
so far:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The most successful part of reading a graphic novel has been:

The most challenging part of reading a graphic novel has been:
The most successful/interesting part of applying ecocriticism theory has been:
The most challenging part of applying ecocriticism theory has been:
I am still struggling with:
I would like help with:
(Collect the WtLs when theyre done; read through them for assessment and differentiation
purposes. Use the assessment info to shape future class periods, including assessing the need for
re-teaching/review)
Review Textual Connections (5 min)
For homework, you were asked to begin making connections between Nausica and
yourself/other texts/your world. These connections can help the reading be more memorable, it
can help lead you to deeper analysis of your reading, and it can offer material for future writing.
Before we move into a partner interview activity, Id like to take a couple minutes to review what
these connections are.
(Project overhead):
Here are three kinds of connections you can consider while reading. Remember: there are no
right or wrong answers in making these connections, but it is important to be able to explain
why you made this connection and why you feel that is significant. To do so, it is helpful to be
able to point to specific, textual evidence.
Text-to-Self: What does this passage, event, and/or character mean to you? Does it
remind you of something your life? Does it make you feel a particular way? Why?
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Text-to-Text: What does this passage, event, and/or character make you think of from a
different text? Does it remind you of something youve read before or experience in some
other text? What seems similar? Why?
Text-to-World: What does this does this passage, event, and/or character make you think
about in relation to our world? Does it seem to be talking about, alluding to, and/or
relevant to something that is happening in the world now or has happened in the past?
Might this passage/event/character matter to people outside of the text? Why?
Partner Interview (15 min)

Now Id like to give you an opportunity to discuss with a partner the connections youve been
making. The purpose of this interview is invention: this is all about how you can help one
another brainstorm and expand on the ideas youve had so far.
Let students pick their own partners.
As you interview your partner, take notes. Youll be asked to share one connection your peer has
made and tell us about the discussion you and your partner had based on that connection.
Give them about 7-10 minutes to interview one another and begin brainstorming. Check in at the
7 minute mark and see if they need more time. After the groups have finished, have each student
share one of the connections their partner made and what discussion/ideas they had in relation to
that connection.
Introduce Big Idea Books for this Unit (5 min)
(Adapted from my Teaching a Text and Assessment Portfolio assignments)
In addition to their usual role as venues for places students identified the 6 Signposts in their
outside reading and assigned reading, two new notebooks have been added, both focusing on
ecocriticism concerns: One is for big ideas on how setting in functioning within a text, both
shaping characters and being shaped by character. The other is for the big idea of inheritance,
particularly in regards to inheriting a place and/or power in governing/preserving a natural space.
As with other big idea books, you are encouraged to right in these even if you only think your
idea qualifies. These notebooks are a place for collaborative thinking on paper. Continuing
with another tradition from these notebooks in the past, I will often pull discussion topics or
details from entries within these notebooks.
Reading Time (10 min)
Students will have more extended reading time next class period, but with the big idea books
(re)introduced, I want to give students an opportunity to write in them while catching up on or
refreshing their memory on the assigned reading.
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Nausica pages 38-287 (end of volume 2)

This homework is due once theyre back from Thanksgiving Break, so the reading load is a little
heavier.
Day 4 (Tu) Modified Lesson Plan (Fire Drill)
Reflect on your understanding of ecocriticism and your ability to read/interpret graphic

novels as a medium
Make connections between Nausica yourself/other texts/your world
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support

including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.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.
Attendance (2 min)
WtL (5-10 min)
(Project overhead):
Take about 5-10 minutes to respond to the following questions about your experience in this unit
so far:
7. The most successful part of reading a graphic novel has been:
8. The most challenging part of reading a graphic novel has been:
9. The most successful/interesting part of applying ecocriticism theory has been:
10. The most challenging part of applying ecocriticism theory has been:
11. I am still struggling with:
12. I would like help with:
(Collect the WtLs when theyre done; read through them for assessment and differentiation
purposes. Use the assessment info to shape future class periods, including assessing the need for
re-teaching/review)
Review Textual Connections (5 min)
Binkley 18
For homework, you were asked to begin making connections between Nausica and
yourself/other texts/your world. These connections can help the reading be more memorable, it
can help lead you to deeper analysis of your reading, and it can offer material for future writing.
Before we move into a partner interview activity, Id like to take a couple minutes to review what
these connections are.
(Project overhead):
Here are three kinds of connections you can consider while reading. Remember: there are no
right or wrong answers in making these connections, but it is important to be able to explain
why you made this connection and why you feel that is significant. To do so, it is helpful to be
able to point to specific, textual evidence.
Text-to-Self: What does this passage, event, and/or character mean to you? Does it
remind you of something your life? Does it make you feel a particular way? Why?
Text-to-Text: What does this passage, event, and/or character make you think of from a
different text? Does it remind you of something youve read before or experience in some
other text? What seems similar? Why?
Text-to-World: What does this does this passage, event, and/or character make you think
about in relation to our world? Does it seem to be talking about, alluding to, and/or
relevant to something that is happening in the world now or has happened in the past?
Might this passage/event/character matter to people outside of the text? Why?
*(Fire Drill approximately 15 minutes)*

Introduce Big Idea Books for this Unit (5 min)
(Adapted from my Teaching a Text and Assessment Portfolio assignments)
In addition to their usual role as venues for places students identified the 6 Signposts in their
outside reading and assigned reading, two new notebooks have been added, both focusing on
ecocriticism concerns: One is for big ideas on how setting in functioning within a text, both
shaping characters and being shaped by character. The other is for the big idea of inheritance,
particularly in regards to inheriting a place and/or power in governing/preserving a natural space.
As with other big idea books, you are encouraged to right in these even if you only think your
idea qualifies. These notebooks are a place for collaborative thinking on paper. Continuing
with another tradition from these notebooks in the past, I will often pull discussion topics or
details from entries within these notebooks.
Reading Time (10 min)
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Students will have more extended reading time next class period, but with the big idea books
(re)introduced, I want to give students an opportunity to write in them while catching up on or
refreshing their memory on the assigned reading.
Nausica pages 38-287 (end of volume 2)

This homework is due once theyre back from Thanksgiving Break, so the reading load is a little
heavier.
(Note: I forgot Thanksgiving Break fell here, so its caused me to shuffle up
some of my plan. These lesson plans are all the rougher for it and could use
revision)
Day 5 (M)
Conduct one-on-one reading conferences
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.b Work with peers to promote civil, democratic

discussions and decision-making, set clear goals and deadlines, and establish individual
roles as needed.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.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.
Attendance (2 min)
Conferences and Reading Time (about 45 minutes)
Each students conference will be about 5 minutes or less, allowing us to get through about of
the class during this weeks conference time. Based on assessments I have conducted, I will
prioritize students who seem to be struggling with the content or format of this book/unit.
I would focus primarily on questions that would help encourage students to more complex
reading, while also gaining insight on how the reading has been going for them so far
(particularly when graphic novels may be a new and/or challenging genre for some students).
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I will not address each of the following categories or questions in a single conference. These
represent many options to choose from, depending on what is best suited to the students needs at
the time of the conference.
Questions for Conferences
The following are examples of questions I would choose from when conferencing with a student:
How is the reading go for you?

Is this an easy text for you, or a hard one? How do you know?
Is there a particular part of this book that was confusing for you? What have you do to get
yourself back on track?
What questions are at the heart of this book? What questions might the author be trying to
answer through the struggles of these character?
What textual evidence do you think you could cite (in relation to their answer above)?
Referring to their WtLs from the previous class:
What strategy have you use when close reading this text? Was any one of them easier
than another? Was one of them particularly confusing or difficult for you to implement
for this text?
Do you find a multimodal form (e.g. a comic) to be a more manageable medium for you
compared to traditional texts?
What do you think your greatest strength as a reader is? What aspect do you feel you
need to work to improve/refine the most? Have either of those changed over the semester
so far?
I will also ask them a few, brief questions designed to help lead them to further reading:
Are you enjoying this book? If so, what are you enjoying about it? If not, what do you not
like?
Have you read a graphic novel before? Have you read other comics before? Are you
familiar with any of Miyazakis other work (e.g. Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, The
Wind Rises, etc.)?
Would you want to read more books like this one? If so, can you think of any that you
think might be similar to this one?
What books have you really enjoyed?
(Adapted from Kittle 78-85 and my Teaching a Text project)
Assign Homework
Nausica pages 52-152
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Fill out KWL for you knowledge about the overthrow of the Titans in Greek mythology
(see appendix page 42)
For setting up KWL: I know some of you may be more familiar with this topic than others, so Id
like to get a sense of how much you already know. Next time well be beginning John Keats
Hyperion: A Fragment which involves the Titans, and Id like to know how much background
information you might need.
Day 6 (Tu)
Become familiar with and/or review relevant Greek mythology on Titans

Begin reading Hyperion: A Fragment and connecting it to ecocriticism and Nausica
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.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).
(Note: Particularly regarding Keats beginning with the Titans in the
gloom of Tartarus instead of any more dramatic point; it is crucial to
this point that it takes place after the fall, beyond hope of recovery.
Hence Saturns lines: Cannot I form? Cannot I fashion forth //
Another world, another universe, // To overbear and crumble this to
naught? // Where is another Chaos? Where? (lines 142-145, Book I).
Of course there is not and cannot be another Chaos.)
Introduce Hyperion/Titans (5-15 min)

The length and content of this section could vary significantly based on the class background
knowledge. The points to emphasize are the Titans being overthrown by their children and cast
down into Tartarus. There, the Titans concoct the occasional plan of escape, most notably
Typhon/Typhoeus who Ill want to touch on since he is a personal favorite of mine.
Present Hyperion as a poem Keats wrote in his later (though still quite young) years, when he
knew he was dying. Also mention Keats frequent mention of beauty and truth together, such as
in the closing line of Ode to a Grecian Urn: Beauty is truth, truth beauty that is all // Ye
know on earth, and all ye need know
Binkley 22
Reading Hyperion (about 20 min, more if less background is needed)
As we have previously discussed in class, books and poems can be paired together to support and
enhanced one another. Ive selected a poem that I feel is well-suited to Nausica, even if the two
are very different. Since the language can be difficult at times, and since you have enough
outside reading as it is, Im going to take the time to read some of this poem to you during our
class time. Ill happily take volunteers to read with me and/or I may ask some of you to read so
its not all me.
As I read, follow along in your copy and have your notebooks read and be looking for both textto-text connections and worthy material for ecocriticism. Of course youll be welcome to note
other details as well, but well be putting this poem in conversation with Nausica as we move
forward.
Read aloud from Hyperion: A Fragment
(I anticipate this getting us to about line 200, best case scenario, leave off at the end of Book I
about line 357)
Lingering Question: I was not initially planning to read this aloud in class,
but between my already heavy reading load for my students and the
student-teacher panels caution against assigning reading, I reconsidered
whether I should assign it as outside reading. Of the two major texts in this
unit (Nausica and Hyperion), the poem was much more realistic to read
in class. Still, I am feeling unsure about much of this plan.
Debrief Discussion/Prep for Next Time (about 10 min)
Pair up with a partner and discuss the following questions. This is a collaborative thinking
process; there is no single right answer Im after, even if I have my own ideas.
(Project overhead):
Pair up with a partner and discuss the following questions:
What is the significance of the Titans overthrow? What text-to-self or text-to-world

connections can you make unrelated to Greek mythology?
How is the theme of inheritance functioning in Nausica so far? How is it functioning in
Hyperion so far? How are they similar and/or different in that regard?
What ecological/environmental themes are present in Hyperion?
Have at least two pairs share answers to a question of their choice more if time allows
Binkley 23

Review the section of we read from Hyperion: A Fragment
Day 7 (Th) Co-Taught Lesson
Engage with current issues in ecology

Understand how slime mold can move in a seemingly sentient way
Continue reading Hyperion
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.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).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information
Colorado High School Science Standard 2.2: The size and persistence of populations
depend on their interactions with each other and on the abiotic factors in an ecosystem.
(Note: Half of this class period will be co-taught. As such, preparing for it
will require significant collaboration and co-planning. The lesson plan that
follows is what I would consider an ideal situation as far as colleague cooperation, but some of the finer points of the ecology component would
need to be filled in by the science teacher. The focus on slime mold is meant
to be a hook to connect this lesson to a weird and somewhat accurate
event/creature in Nausica)
Attendance (2 min)
This class period will be held initially in the co-operating teachers science classroom.
Hook Slime Mold Video (about 4 min including setup)
Our Nausica reading has recently featured a monstrous, land-consuming mold. While plenty of
that is outlandish and unrealistic, the way in which the mold hunts for food and moves in an
animal-like fashion to reach it (see Nausica vol. 2 pages 280 and 282) is not so farfetched. Lets
watch a quick video on how slime mold really behaves: http://bigthink.com/videos/consider-theslime-mold-how-amoebas-form-social-networks-2
Ecology Lesson Forest Ecosystems (about 30 min)
Binkley 24
This segment would be guided and designed by my science teacher colleague. As of yet, I do not
know the specifics of what we would cover, and I would have my colleague take the lead there. I
am considering an emphasis on forest ecosystems because they are the natural habitat of slime
mold (connecting to our hook). I think mold and fungi are also an important feature to consider
since they take on much of the reprocessing/reclamation within the ecosystem, and they can
process waste and pollution created by humans more than many other organisms in a forest
ecosystem.
I will ask my colleague to provide a general overview of how these systems work, with particular
attention to humans indirect (and de-centered) role in the ecosystem. In co-planning, I would
introduce my colleague to the principles of ecocriticism and together we will co-create how our
two disciplines can best intersect and interact on this topic.
I will also ask my co-teacher to prepare demonstrations and engaging activities, but I feel the
specifics of those activities would be best left to that teacher, as it is her/his area of expertise.
During this time, I feel I would be best suited to classroom management, differentiation, and
other relationship-based duties, as these would be my students which whom I have built a
relationship. I would also help my colleague develop language and writing components of the
lesson.
Conduct Research (15 min)
Using laptops, students will conduct research on current environmental/ecological issues, as set
forward by my colleague. They will be required to find credible, peer-reviewed sources as well
as popular sources. The evaluation and differentiation of scholarly and popular sources will be
supported by the 3 Rs, Key Questions to Ask for Evaluation, and the Continuum of
Credibility handouts (see appendix pages 56, 57, and 58) all of which are adapted from or
directly from materials provided to GTAs teaching CO 150 at Colorado State University.
Students will be expected to find, choose, and summarize at least one scholarly source and at
least one popular source on the environmental issue they select. These summaries must be no
more than 200 words, must be entirely in the students own words, and include in-text citation of
page numbers (if applicable).
For those who choose the short story option for the Comic/Short Story assignment, these articles
can support the 3-paragraph summary they will be required to include (see assignment sheet in
the appendix, page 43-48)
Read Aloud: Hyperion (15 min)
As class winds down, we will continue reading Hyperion aloud. As before, students will be
asked to follow along and I will welcome volunteers (including my cooperating teacher) to read
aloud in my place.
Binkley 25
I estimate that we will be able to get through about 90 lines. If our previous goal of reaching
Book II was met, that means we will end at about line 90 in Book II.
Remind students that this Tuesday is the workshop for the Comic/Short Story assignment. That
means they will need complete drafts (i.e. has the required components of the assignment, has
a beginning/middle/end, and is close to the length limit) for Tuesday. If they have not started on
this assignment, they should do so as soon as possible.
Nausica pages 152-261 (vol. 3)

Prepare material to make an entry in at least one of the ecocriticism big idea books by
the end of the week (if you have not done so already)
Lingering Questions: I feel my course lends itself very well to co-teaching,

but I am having difficulty planning it in very specific terms without having a
cooperating teaching chosen and co-planning with me. I can make a series
of guesses on what our lessons might cover, and I can offer some guidance
on where I would like it to go, but I would not want to over-plan or get
overly attached to my ideas without knowing more about what my coteacher would think is best.
So at this point I am happy to co-teach, particularly with those outside of my
discipline (if I can build a good relationship with them), but I dont know
where to begin on planning in any kind of detail without coordinating with
that co-teacher.
Day 8 (F)
Conduct one-on-one reading conferences

Catch up and/or get ahead in assigned reading

roles as needed.
the text.
Binkley 26
Attendance (2 min)
Conferences and Reading Time (about 45 minutes)
Each students conference will be about 5 minutes or less, allowing us to get through about of
the class during this weeks conference time. This week I will conference with the half of the
class I did not conference with last week. These students are ones I felt were having an easier
time with this units content/texts.
As before, I would focus primarily on questions that would help encourage students to more
complex reading, while also gaining insight on how the reading has been going for them so far
(particularly when graphic novels may be a new and/or challenging genre for some students).
I will not address each of the following categories or questions in a single conference. These
represent many options to choose from, depending on what is best suited to the students needs at
the time of the conference.
Questions for Conferences
The following are examples of questions I would choose from when conferencing with a student:
How is the reading go for you?

Is this an easy text for you, or a hard one? How do you know?
Is there a particular part of this book that was confusing for you? What have you do to get
yourself back on track?
What questions are at the heart of this book? What questions might the author be trying to
answer through the struggles of these character?
What textual evidence do you think you could cite (in relation to their answer above)?
Questions on media and close reading:
What strategy have you use when close reading this text? Was any one of them easier
than another? Was one of them particularly confusing or difficult for you to implement
for this text?
Do you find a multimodal form (e.g. a comic) to be a more manageable medium for you
compared to traditional texts?
What do you think your greatest strength as a reader is? What aspect do you feel you
need to work to improve/refine the most? Have either of those changed over the semester
so far?
I will also ask them a few, brief questions designed to help lead them to further reading:
Are you enjoying this book? If so, what are you enjoying about it? If not, what do you not
like?
Binkley 27
Have you read a graphic novel before? Have you read other comics before? Are you
familiar with any of Miyazakis other work (e.g. Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, The
Wind Rises, etc.)?
Would you want to read more books like this one? If so, can you think of any that you
think might be similar to this one?
What books have you really enjoyed?
(Adapted from Kittle 78-85 and my Teaching a Text project)

Remind them again about the workshop on Tuesday, for which theyll need a complete draft of
the option they chose to do for this assignment.

Finish Book II of Hyperion: A Fragment if you have not already done so
As you complete these two readings, respond to the following. You answers can be rough,
but we will use them in class next time:
o How does Hyperion characterize inheritance, truth, and beauty (with particular
attention to Book II, lines 187-244)?
o How does Nausica characterize inheritance, truth, and beauty (with particular
attention to vol. 4, pages 164-183)?
o What are your thoughts about inheritance, truth, and beauty (particularly in
relation to humanitys role within the Earths ecosystem)? What new meaning can
you make by putting those beliefs in conversation with those put forward in
Hyperion and Nausica (even if that meaning is found in where you disagree
with those texts)?
Note: Connect your responses to specific passages in the text. Even if the
connection is abstract, attempt to identify what in the texts inspired and/or support
these thoughts.
Day 9 (M)
Begin organizing your thoughts on ecocriticism and inheritance in preparation for

finishing Nausica
Dialectically engage your peers to unpack meaning within literature an poetry
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to

support analysis, reflection, and research.
Binkley 28

the text.
(Note: principles of ecocriticism and my own gloss of those as
inheritance are the primary themes I have in mind for both
Hyperion and Nausica)
roles as needed.
Attendance (2 min)
Free Write (10 min)
As with other free writes, there is no right answer; this is only meant to get you thinking on
paper an positioning yourself within these questions.
(Project overhead):
Take a few minutes to write your thoughts on these questions. This writing is for your eyes only,
so outrace the censor and write without stopping yourself. Let your thoughts flow onto the
page. You do not have to answer all three questions, or stick to just these three, but do what you
can to write continuously for 10 minutes:
What social, personal, and global conflicts are enacted through inheritance?
Are we indebted to our ancestors by the world they built for us?
Is it only right that younger generations should supplant older generations in shaping and
leading the world, when the time comes?
(Note: I will write with them during this time on these prompts, as well as
my thoughts related to these prompts)
Fishbowl Discussion: Inheritance (20 min)
Write on the board: dialectical resolving issues or uncovering truth through a process of
examining opposing ideas or arguments
The purpose of our discussion today will be to bring various perspectives and (potentially)
opposing arguments together to reach a better understanding of the possible meanings within
these texts. This is not a debate that is focused on winning; were all here to better understand
the topic and your peers thoughts on it.
Binkley 29
Take volunteers to be the initial 5 members of the fishbowl. Remind them of the rules: only the
people within the fishbowl can talk, but after a person in the fishbowl has spoken at least once,
someone else from the class can tap them out.
Final rule: as often as possible, root the discussion in specific sections of the text.
(Note: If students do not do so, I will politely push them to point towards
particular parts of the text which led them to think of this idea and/or aligns
with something they already thought or felt)
Ask if any of the members of the fishbowl would be willing to begin by putting forward their
argument or thoughts.
If students are struggling to begin, or if the discussion stalls, I can put forward arguments like:
Younger generations should inherit the Earth and decide for themselves what policies and
ideas are best, regardless of what their elders think/thought.
Inheritance is a burden more often than it is a boon.
Etc. My intent is to inspire controversy and disagreement in other words, opposing arguments
to better understand the truth. As much as possible, leave this discussion as student-guided.
Collect Your Thoughts (5-10 min)
Following that discussion, take several minutes to collect, revise, or record thoughts you have
now. Has anything changed about your initial free write and/or the questions you responded to
for homework? Has this given you new ideas for either of the upcoming projects (Comic/Short
Story or The Archive)?
You can also quietly talk to a partner or small group, so long as you stay on task. Were all part
of a community of readers, writers, and learners, so exchanging and co-constructing our thoughts
can be productive.
(Note: the activities today will be obtrusive and unobtrusive assessments to
examine how well students understanding of this units texts and concepts
has developed)
Collect the writing they did for homework before moving on
Finish Nausica, reading pages 184-273 (vol. 4)

Bring a complete draft of either your short story of your comic for the workshop
tomorrow. Complete means it has all of the major components the assignment asks for,
you have a beginning/middle/end, and is near the length requirement.
Binkley 30
o The more you bring, the more useful feedback you will receive and the more your
peers will gain from workshopping your piece
Bring access to the Comic/Short Story assignment sheet, either digitally or as a hard
copy.
Review Responding Really Responding to Other Students Writing by Richard Straub
(linked on our BlackBoard page) for reminder on effective workshops and feedback.
Day 10 (Tu)
Conduct a global peer-review workshop

Develop a concrete plan for revision
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences

or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event
sequences.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3.b Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing,
description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or
characters.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.7 Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or
poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating
how each version interprets the source text.
roles as needed.
Attendance (2 min)
Set Up Workshop (3-5 min)
Provide students with two copies of the workshop guide (see appendix page 59-60) and pair
them with a partner that I have chosen for them for the first round (students will primarily be
paired with students of similar proficiencies). Students can choose their own partner for the
second round.
Workshop (30 min, 15 per draft)
Have student exchange drafts with their partners. Put on music without lyrics quietly in
background.
Binkley 31
As students workshop, go around and check that they brought a complete draft as they were
instructed and record this in toward their process grade for the semester.
If a student finishes early, push them to keep digging deeper and dedicating their time to their
peers work. Work directly with such as student if needed.
Warn students as we approach the 3 minute warning before they need to switch with a new
partner. Ensure they fill out the workshop guide and provide full-sentence comments.
Revision Plan (5 min)
After each author has their draft back with two peers workshop guide/comments, have them take
several minutes to read through the feedback and develop a revision plan. Revision means reseeing: they dont have to accept every suggestion their peers made, but they should re-see
their work in light of that feedback to determine where changes should be made.
Remind them that concrete means specific, detailed plans. For example, if theyre going to
work on improving their dialogue, what about their dialogue are they going to work on
improving? How will they go about improving it?
(Project overhead Revision plan):
Revision Plan
Leave here with a minimum of TWO concrete revisions for your project (you can base your
revision plan off of comments from your readers or your own ideas the workshop has inspired)
Concrete: What specifically are you going to revise between now and next time? How
well are you meeting the requirements of this assignment?
How well do you feel you are measuring up to what the project guidelines and the scoring guide?
Go back through your project to see if there is anything you can strengthen. This is YOUR time!
Use it wisely
Finish Book III of Hyperion: A Fragment if you have not done so already
Revise the draft of your assignment that you brought today and bring the revised draft for
Thursdays Style and Convention Seminar (SCS).
Having finished Nausica, decide whether you support the decision she made at the end
of the book in regards to the Crypt. If you feel she made the right decision, be prepared to
produce evidence to defend that stance. Likewise, if you feel she made the wrong
decision, have evidence to support that stance.
o While Nausica would likely be the best source for textual support, you can also
bring in material from Hyperion, other texts weve read in class, other texts
Binkley 32
youve read outside of class, and your own writing. Whatever evidence you
choose, be ready to defend its relevance.
Lingering Question: More of a known problem in this case: the debate needs
better set up and preparation. I feel this would be best achieved by
restructuring the unit/course more broadly; this unit is too rushed and
needs to be expanded, likely at the cost of other units.
Day 11 (Th) Grammar Instruction
Learn conventions for hyphen use

Practice strategies for concise writing
Explore ethical issues of inheritance, particularly preservation versus appreciation
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English
capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.2.a Observe hyphenation conventions.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.c Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions
that probe reasoning and evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or
issue; clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions; and promote divergent and creative
perspectives.
Attendance (2 min)
SCS PowerPoint and Practice (60 min)
See SCS PowerPoint (linked on class page) for more details.
For Spock slide: Spock is nothing is not academic-sounding. Can anyone think of a simpler way
to rephrase what Spocks saying here? (Note: Both Star Trek and the song its
alluding to are aging fast. If students still get this joke, theyre not likely to
much longer)
Practice times: about 5 minutes each for rivet theory slide, Practice Time! #1, and Practice
Time #2!
Transition to hyphens: The word sci-fi usually has a hyphen, but science fiction usually does
not. Why do you think that might be?
Binkley 33
After overview of hyphen rules: Ask students if they have seen any examples of hyphenated
words in reading the non-fiction pieces, particularly ones they found on their own.
(Distribute example text for partnered practice see appendix page 61 for example text)
Give pairs 5 minutes to work through this. Afterwards, ask for a pair of students to volunteer
examples that they found, see if others found different examples and/or disagrees with the
changes the pair made.
Following the partner exercise, ask students why you might include hyphens in creative writing
(beyond youre supposed to because you have to follow the rules)? What unusual compound
adjectives can you create? What does that allow you to communicate that you couldnt achieve
as effectively otherwise?
This will hopefully segue to a the 5-hyphen activity. After giving them 3-5 min, ask a couple
students to share. Then shift to applying these concepts to their drafts.
If it was not previously answered, or if other would like to offer additional answers, return to the
question of why science fiction is not usually hyphenated but sci-fi usually is. If this has
been thoroughly addressed, skip the final slide.
Crypt Debate (25 min: 10 prep, 15 debate)
Have student begin by self-selecting which side they would like to take in the debate: for or
against Nausicas decision. If groups are significantly unequal, ask for volunteer/conscript some
people to take the opposing view.
With their group, theyll have 10 minutes to prepare their key points, including evidence. They
will need a 1-2 minute opening statement, and they need to also have additional information to
support the ongoing debate later.
During the 10 minutes prep time, Ill walk between both groups and help them brainstorm,
organize, stay on task, etc.
After 10 minutes, do a coin toss for which side speaks first. Then the other side can briefly
respond before offering their opening statement. Each group will have a minute or two to confer
with their team after each round or points and counterpoints.
At the end, ask if anyone has changed their mind/feels differently about this issue now.
Closure leading into next time: What matters more: preservation or appreciation? Does
preservation matter without appreciation? If something is saved, but no one values it and/or does
not share it, is preservation still worthwhile?
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Finalize your draft of the Comic/Short Story assignment. Bring a hard copy of all
components of that assignment.
Make sure to proofread for typos and other style/convention/grammar issues, including
the ones discussed in our SCS.
Day 12 (F)
Reflect on your writing process for the Comic/Short Story assignment

Apply your visual literacy and ecocritical skills to a multimodal text (TV show)

the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.6 Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view
requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g.,
satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
Attendance (during reflection)

Postscript Questions (5 min)
On a piece of paper or their draft, have students respond to the reflective questions included on
the assignment sheet.
(Project overhead):
Postscript Questions
1. What was most successful about this project? Why?
2. Where did you struggle most? How did you address this challenge?
3. What did you do to revise? How did you use your workshop feedback?
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4. Is there anything I should know as I assess this assignment?
5. How did the medium you chose (short story or comic) create new challenges and/or new ways
to convey your meaning? Do you feel this helped you be more successful with this project that
other media would allow? Why or why not?
(Lingering Question: Another known problem I cant fit this postscript and
the entirety of the episode. I have not yet decided whether to shorten the
episode or reshuffle my unit plan. Since I feel I am likely to revise my entire
unit, and the yearlong plan by extension, I have chosen to leave these two in
the same lesson for now)
TNG The Inner Light (46 min with setup time)
The Inner Light is the 25th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generations 5th season.
For those of you unfamiliar with Star Trek, this is the second series, titled The Next Generation,
which aired some fifteen years after the original. It was made in the 80s, so it isnt the flashiest
show ever made, but if you overlook some cheesiness and let you imagination ride with the story,
I think its an enjoyable, and even powerful, show.
The basic context: The Enterprise is a spaceship in the 23rd Century which flies around the
galaxy exploring new worlds and dealing with all kinds of issues. From a writing perspective, it
is largely a go anywhere, do anything sort of show. It does play by its own set of rules, but
those rules afford it enough freedom to write a wide variety of plots.
This particular episode involves all of the major themes weve been discussing: inheritance,
preservation, and an ecological apocalypse. To help you plug this text into the others weve been
reading and discussing, Ive prepared an organizer. Youll respond to some of it as we watch and
youll respond to some of it at home over the weekend.
(See appendix, page 62-63 for organizer)
(What follows are miscellaneous thoughts that cannot fit into this current
time slot) If time allows after making the changes noted above, discussing this when its fresh
would be valuable. It connects to our major concerns (as noted above), but it also relates to the
questions I asked at the end of last class: is preservation valuable if it cannot or will not be
shared? Does appreciation matter more than preservation? The people of Kataan, in designing
their probe, seem to favor appreciation over widely accessible preservation: Picard has lived a
life with them and has a lifetime of memories that is appreciation in a profound sense. But
when it fries the probe to transmit this experience, the cost of profoundly impacting one person is
to have him be the only person who will every truly know about them. Like the end of Nausica,
the people who preserved themselves on the cultural Ark cannot live again; their world is
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irretrievably lost. Unlike Nausica, the one most in charge of their legacy does cherish and
preserve it, in what few ways he can.
Complete the take-home portions of the organizer we used for the Star Trek episode
If you have not already done so, begin working on your Archive at the End of the
World assignment. We will be workshopping it this coming Thursday and constructing it
will take time and research.
Notes: As mentioned in the Archive assignment sheet, this lesson grew out
of a conversation with Anton on May 6th. After hearing my description of the
end of Nausica and my themes of ecocriticism and inheritance, Anton
suggested this episode (which is one of my all-time favorites why didnt I
think of this?!). After we talked in more depth, I began forming the idea
The Archive assignment to replace a previous multi-genre project idea.
When discussing this assignment idea with Anton, he suggested the debate
between preservation and appreciation. That questions is particularly
relevant to the subtext of The Archive assignment, which is somewhat
subtly about canonization and official art. Preservations v. appreciation is
also highly relevant to Nausica, where The Crypt is preserved exceedingly
well (for the moment, at least), but wholly unappreciated: first it is unknown
an inaccessible, then its world-saving gift is rejected by Nausica, in no
small part due to the sacrifice such a gift would entail.
So my talk with him was not formal planning, but I would say he contributed
at least as much as I did to this particular lesson, and his ideas significantly
influenced The Archive assignment. I consider this to be work I did as part
of a professional learning community, if perhaps not the one I was assigned
to.
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Reflective Commentary
How did you develop ideas?
This unit, like the rest of the course, grew out of the ongoing work Ive been going on my M.A.
project, which aims to design a yearlong course for high school students that uses science fiction
as a tool for interdisciplinary learning. I have designed this courses units to primarily be
thematically built around a lens of critical theory or a subgenre of science fiction. This unit got to
combine both: ecocriticism and graphic novels. When I began planning this course a little over a
year ago, the text I wanted to use for ecocriticism was Dune. While I still love Dune, I decided I
wanted a graphic novel and Nausica was a natural fit. I became more committed to my plan to
use Nausica as it became apparent most of the author and characters Ive chosen to focus on are
white men. While Miyazaki is still a male author, he is not American or European, and the main
character is a strong, three-dimensional young woman a welcome addition to my list of men
and teenage boys.
More generally, I developed ideas by thinking about them at length and thinking on paper in
my notebook. I also latched onto the inheritance angle while rereading Hyperion for Dan
Beachy-Quicks Keats and Celan class. I needed more poetry in the course Im designing, and
everything about Hyperion (from its emphasis on beauty/power/truth, a fallen generation
seeking futilely to reclaim their world from a younger generation, and dead/dormant giants) align
extremely well with the world of Nausica, and particularly with The Crypt and its foiled plan to
purify the world so the old humans could re-inhabit it. From there, I went down a long path of
abstract and messy planning, which periodically received substantial boosts from my peers.
How did you make decisions as you planned?
I began by building the culminating texts, which are overhauled versions of ideas I previously
had when making my yearlong plan. Once I had those end products in mind, I shifted to the
beginning of the unit to lay out the foundations of ecocriticism (for which I picked up The
Ecocriticism Reader, edited by Cheryll Glotfelty and Harold Fromm). Once I laid out the end
point and the beginning foundations, I mostly planned by trying to stitch those two points
together while keeping the work relevant to the text they will be reading and vice versa.
Beyond that, my planning was far messier than I should half allowed it to be. This was more
rushed than I intended, and it suffered for it. I feel it has a fair number of strengths, but most of
its weaknesses were created or intensified by its rapid production. Overall, my assessment is still
lacking and other details are not well developed (such as The Crypt debate, which is still an
idea I like in theory but is only planned to a superficial level at this point).
How did you address questions including lingering questions?
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The questions I had before finalizing this draft I addressed either by conducting more research
(e.g. Ecocriticism Reader), reviewing old material (ranging from my notes for this course, to my
notes/textbook for EDUC 350, to my assessment portfolio a year ago), and by asking my peers
and advisor questions. Other lingering questions remain, and some will require ongoing work to
address them. One of the biggest things I can do to address the remaining questions would be to
spend more time on this unit, and I intend to do so over the summer. I need to adjust the layout of
my course, perhaps cutting a unit or two, then return to this unit and flesh out/revise some key
details.
As an example of a question I had specifically answered: I previously had an extended definition
multi-genre project as the culminating assignment for this unit. There are part I liked about it, but
the assignment felt a little forced and prescriptive. I turned to my peers for this one, where I
asked Anton for feedback. While he did not directly give me advice for changing that
assignment, our conversations led me to new ideas that I feel are more interesting (The
Archive assignment), particularly within the context of my yearlong course.
How do you think this unit plan will play out in the classroom?
That is hard for me to say, since my experience teaching in the secondary classroom is still fairly
limited. My course/M.A. project is fairly idealistic, and I know they will need adjustments for
many reasons, including administrator/district demands, the interests/proficiencies of my
students, and resources available. I think the level of reading I am expecting my students to do at
this point is unrealistic, based on what I heard from our student-teacher panel. So I imagine it
would be overwhelming for my students as it stands, and the unit could be improved through
revision.
I do feel it would have some strengths in the classroom. I am working in a fairly broad variety of
texts and media, which I feel will be engaging for students. The Archive project allows for
student choice and passion much more than my previous assignment, and student choice/passion
are a key part of the philosophy behind this course. I also feel like this unit aligns fairly well with
the dont assign anything you dont want to read philosophy; I am genuinely excited to see
what students might produce for both of the culminating assignments, particularly The Archive.
Anything else you want to share?
Some of my shortcomings on assessment may be due to my attempt to experiment with
lightening the grading load compared to how I structure CO 150. By lightening the load, I do
not mean I planned to assess less, just to assess more efficiently and selectively. I am not sure I
met that goal, and I do feel it contributed some of my assessments falling short.
Other than that, Id like to apologize for delivering such a messy job. It is less than my best
work, but due to all the craziness this semester and my last-minute stroke of luck in getting to do
my research (not to mention some bad time management on my part more generally, this was
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delayed far longer than it should have been. Large chunks of it were built in single sittings with
little sleep, and I feel it shows. I appreciate your patience in getting all the way through this draft
all the same. And I can assure you I will revise it, but not before it is due at this rate.
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Appendix
Questions to Guide Ecocriticism (Handout) ...41
KWL Chart: Titans .....42
Single-Scene Comic/Ecological Apocalypse Short Story Assignment Sheet...43-48
The Archive at the End of the World Assignment Sheet...49-55
3 Rs of Evaluating Sources (Handout)......56
Key Questions to Ask for Evaluations (Handout)..57
Continuum of Credibility (Handout)..58
Workshop Guide for Single-Scene Comic/Ecological Apocalypse Short Story...59-60
Student Sample Paper for Hyphen Exercise...............61
Star Trek: The Next Generation The Inner Light Organizer...62-63
EDUC 463 Self-Evaluataion..64-66
Works Consulted....67-68
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Question to Guide Ecocriticism (Handout)
In this class, we will use the following questions to guide our ecocritical readings. As you read
through a text, use close-reading strategies like the 6 Signposts to identify important places for
conducting a close reading. Those are often good times to apply principles of ecocriticism, but
you also want to pay particular attention to how setting is used and how nature is depicted and/or
discussed.
Our exploration of ecocriticism will be guided by the following questions:
How is nature affect humanity? How is it affected by humanity?
How can humanity cause ecological crises? How can we humanity avoid them?
How are setting and place operating in the text? (If nature is absent, why is it absent?
What does imply?)
What can ecology and science more broadly reveal about literature? What can literature
reveal about science?
Question to Guide Ecocriticism (Handout)

In this class, we will use the following questions to guide our ecocritical readings. As you read
through a text, use close-reading strategies like the 6 Signposts to identify important places for
conducting a close reading. Those are often good times to apply principles of ecocriticism, but
you also want to pay particular attention to how setting is used and how nature is depicted and/or
discussed.
Our exploration of ecocriticism will be guided by the following questions:
How is nature affect humanity? How is it affected by humanity?
How can humanity cause ecological crises? How can we humanity avoid them?
How are setting and place operating in the text? (If nature is absent, why is it absent?
What does imply?)
What can ecology and science more broadly reveal about literature? What can literature
reveal about science?
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NAME:
TOPIC
The Titans being overthrown by the Olympian gods in Greek mythology
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Assignment Sheet: Single-Scene Comic/Ecological Apocalypse Short Story
You have two choices for this assignment:
You can choose to make a comic of a single scene from either an assigned text weve
read so far (except Nausica) or from one of the outside reading books you have read as
part of the outside reading you have done for this class.
OR
You can choose to write a short story featuring an ecological apocalypse based on a
current ecological issue
Both options must reflect your understanding of ecocriticism, as discussed throughout this unit.
If you choose to make a comic, refer to the material we read from Scott McClouds
Understanding Comics for concerns like representing space and time within a comic. This comic
should capture a scene from beginning to end, using the original dialogue and actions (if
applicable). The comic should be a minimum of 14 panels and offer your reader a thorough
understanding of the scene, including capturing all dialogue, action, etc. present in the original
scene.
If you choose to write a short story, you will be asked to produce two components. One is the
short story itself, which should be at least 10 pages (double spaced, 12-point font) that involved
an ecological apocalypse, drawing inspiration from current ecological issues. The other
component is three-paragraph summary of the ecological issue you based your story on
(including citing at least one source) and addressing how this issue influenced your story.
This assignment is due Thursday, December 10th
Prioritized Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.7 Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or

poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating
how each version interprets the source text. Comic option
meaning as well as its aesthetic impact. Comic option
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3.c Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that
they build on one another to create a coherent whole and build toward a particular tone
and outcome (e.g., a sense of mystery, suspense, growth, or resolution). Short story
option
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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support

including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain. Short story option
Purpose: Comic
The purpose of the comic is to translate a full scene from a book into a different medium in this
case, a comic. You need to carefully read and analyze the scene from the original text, including
working out what necessary information is not explicitly stated. You then need to work to capture
the same events, dialogue, action, characters, and meaning within your comic.
Purpose: Short Story
The purpose of the short story is to construct a short piece of fiction by drawing inspiration from
non-fiction science writing on ecological issues. As with other forms of fiction, your purposes
involve engaging and entertaining your reader and you will seek to convey some message to
your reader.
Audience
For both assignments, your audience will be your teacher and your peers. That means you can
assume they have a certain level of background knowledge about literature, science fiction, and
ecocriticism. However, in the comic option, your audience may not be familiar with the outside
reading you chose to convert, in which case you should make sure to establish the context
necessary for understanding your chosen scene.
Genre: Comic
You will be constructing a short comic that is at least 14 panels long, but you can include more
than that. Remember our reading from Scott McClouds Understanding Comics and consider
how many panels you may need to effectively convey the passage of time and the movement
needed for this scene.
Genre: Short Story
This short story should be at least 10 pages (double spaced, 12-point font). It should involve an
ecological apocalypse based on ecological issues you have researched. This story could be preor post-apocalypse. Depending on the choices you make, it could be very heavily influenced by
science fiction tropes, or it may have very few science fiction tropes.
You must also include a 3-paragraph summary of the ecological issue your short story was
inspired by (including citing at least 1 source for evidence) and a brief explanation of how that
issue influenced your story.
Organization
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In either genre, your organization should be logically chosen for the purpose and events of your
text. Since these are works of fiction, it is possible your events may not be entirely linear, but
make sure your audience is not likely to get lost of confused in your organizational choices.
A comic should be divided into several panels with careful consideration of how much content to
include in a single panel, when to begin a new panel, and how many panels should be used for a
particular action.
A short story usually begins in the middle of a larger sequence of events, but still offers some
degree of rising action, conflict, and resolution.
Style and Convention
Your writing should be carefully proofread and revised to eliminate any errors. Style and tone
should be chosen according to how you wish to depict the characters in the story. For your
comic, the style and tone should match the style and tone of the original text. For the short story,
carefully consider how your characters would talk to one another and any other factors that
would influence how they speak.
Timeline
Workshop (Comic and/or Short story): Monday, December 7th
Final draft due: Thursday, December 10th
Reflection
The following reflection will be completed in class after turning in your final draft.
As with other assignments in this course, I will ask you to reflect on your writing process.
This reflection will include our usual postscript questions (see below) as well as a
question to reflect on how the options you had for the medium of this assignment
influenced your process.
5. How did the medium you chose (short story or comic) create new challenges and/or new ways
to convey your meaning? Do you feel this helped you be more successful with this project that
other media would allow? Why or why not?
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Scoring Guide: Comic
Prioritized Standard 1: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.7 Analyze multiple interpretations of a
story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry),
evaluating how each version interprets the source text.
Score
4.0
1.0
In addition to score 3.0 performance, the student:

translates original scene into a comic in a manner than enhances the original
meaning or more effectively captures the subtext of the original scene
Produces panel which all significantly contributes to the scene and
demonstrates careful consideration of how to best communicate the action,
dialogue, etc.
Artist included skillful coloring, shading, and/or other visual techniques
The student will:
Accurately translate the original scene into the medium of a comic
Produce a comic with at least 14 panels, each containing meaningful and
necessary content.
The action, characters, and dialogue can be clearly understood
The student will:
Translate the original scene into the medium of a comic with minimal confusion
or loss of content
Create a comic with at least 14 panels, most of which meaningfully contribute
to the readers understanding of the scene
Action, dialogue, etc. are fairly easy to follow
With help, partial success at score 2.0 content and score 3.0 content
0.0
Even with help, no success
3.0
2.0
Prioritized Standard 2: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.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
Score
4.0

translates original scene into a comic in a manner than enhances the original
meaning or more effectively captures the subtext of the original scene
Makes choices regarding panel size, spaced, and design to clearly communicate
the action, space, and time within the scene.
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3.0
1.0
The student will:

Accurately translate the original scene into the medium of a comic
Make layout and design choices which help the action, characters, and dialogue
to be clearly understood
The student will:
Clearly indicate the progression of motion, action, and time across several
panels
Follow the action and pacing of the original text, while translating them to the
medium of a comic
0.0
2.0
Scoring Guide: Short Story

Prioritized Standard 1: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3.c Use a variety of techniques to
sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole and build toward a
particular tone and outcome (e.g., a sense of mystery, suspense, growth, or resolution).
Score
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0

Provide a compelling hook and beginning that provides the read with enough
information to understand the story/world
Have clear and socially significant connection to the ecological issue(s) that
inspired the story
Have believable and compelling dialogue/characters
The student will:
Produce a story of at least 10 pages (double spaced)
Begin the story in the middle of the larger events (rather than beginning from
the beginning of all of the events)
Have rising and falling actions
Include a conflict and a resolution
Effectively integrate an ecological issue(s) into the conflict, background, and/or
resolution
The student will:
Produce a story of at least 8 pages (double spaced)
Produce a story with basic plot structure elements, such as rising/falling actions,
conflict, and resolution
Include some ecological issues within the story
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0.0
Prioritized Standard 2: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.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
Score
4.0
1.0

Include more than 1 cited source in the summary
All sources used are highly credible
The connection between the ecological issue and the story are clear and
significant. This connection enhances the subtext and message of the short
story.
The student will:
Include a 3-paragraph summary of the ecological issue(s) that influenced the
story
Write a concise and accurate summary of the issue
Include at least one cited source, connecting to credible evidence within the
summary
Explain how this issue influenced the short story
The student will:
Produce a 3-paragraph summary of the ecological issue that influenced the
short story
Summary is not concise and/or parts are unclear
Improper or no citation
Unclear connection between ecological issue and short story
0.0
3.0
2.0
End Comment:
Lingering Questions/Notes to Self:
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I have never been taught effective ways for assessing fiction writing,
and I have little knowledge on assessing visual texts. This was a
challenge in constructing this assignment and will be a challenge in
teaching/assessing it.
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Assignment Sheet: Archive at the End of the World Multi-Genre Project
(Note: This assignment will be turned in after Unit 5 has officially ended, but it will be
introduced and scaffolded during Unit 5)
Science fiction [is] a great way to pretend you are writing about the future when
in reality you are attacking the recent past and the present. You can criticize
communists, racists, fascists or any other clear and present danger, and they can't
imagine you are writing about them. - Ray Bradbury
In this unit, we have looked at a few different visions of the end of the/a world. Apocalyptic and
post-apocalyptic themes are common in science fiction. The popularity of those themes may be
connected to Bradburys claim above: showing how the world might end in the future can be a
very effective way to criticize our present. Or, it may be a popular theme because of the bleak
and dramatic backdrop such a theme brings to a story. However, in storytelling, darkness and
hopelessness alone is not very compelling; usually authors will give the reader some glimmer of
hope. One form this might take is an archive or an ark that will carry some preserved piece of
humanity into the future.
With our unit theme of inheritance, we have been talking about what gifts, responsibilities, and
burdens we might pass on to future generations. In this assignment, you will be asked to envision
an imminent, inescapable, apocalyptic scenario: the end of the world is upon us and it cannot be
stopped. However, humanity has the opportunity to preserve a few pieces of our culture in an
indestructible archive. We do not know who will find the archive or when they might find it, but
humanity has decided to collect a few, precious pieces of our culture to preserve for the future. It
is possible some future humans will survive and find this archive, or perhaps a visiting alien
species will be the ones to discover The Archive. For the sake of this assignment, we will assume
humanity has devised a way to ensure that anyone who finds The Archive can understand its
contents.
Humanity can choose only 10 pieces of our culture to preserve. These 10 pieces can be chosen
from fictional texts (from any era), poems, film, music, non-fiction and/or informational texts. In
addition to the 10 texts, The Archive will include an introductory text offering a greeting and an
explanation of why these 10 pieces were chosen.
You are charged with making the following, crucial decisions about The Archive:
Which ten pieces of our culture will you preserve (choosing from fictional texts, poems,
film, music, non-fiction and/or informational texts)?
o For each text, include at least three sentences from that text exemplifying why
you feel this text was worthy of being included.
o For music with no lyrics or a segment of film with no dialogue (if it best captures
why that film was worth including) write a description of the song/scene and
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write a 2-3 sentence rationale of why this song/scene was the best example (in
addition to the more extensive rationale below).
You will need to write a greeting for whoever finds The Archive as well as an explanation
for why you chose these 10 cultural artifacts. This component should be at least 4 pages,
double-spaced (12-point font). You may need more than 4 pages to thoroughly write this
component. If you need more than 4 pages, please take as much additional space as you
need.
At the bottom of this introductory piece, indicate how you imagine The Archive being
presented. Possible examples include:
o You may present it in a fashion similar to what we say in Nausica, where it is an
archive presented by a holographic interface.
o Or you may choose to present it in a manner like what we say in the Star Trek:
The Next Generation episode (The Inner Light), where one person gains
memories of directly experiencing these cultural artifacts.
o Or you may choose a completely different and original method!
There is no right or wrong answer to the tasks above. However, you will need to make a
compelling argument to defend your choices.
This assignment is due Tuesday, December 22nd
Prioritized Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2.b Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most
significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other
information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3.a Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem,
situation, or observation and its significance, establishing one or multiple point(s) of
view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of
experiences or events.
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to inform future being about humanity and the cultural
artifacts that you chose to preserve. You will also be persuading these beings that these artifacts
and the glimmer of humanity they preserve are worthy of being saved and studied.
Audience
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Your audience is some individual or group of people who discover The Archive some amount of
time in the future. You get to take some imaginative liberties in regards to who might find it and
when they might find it:
Are they future humans who survived the apocalypse?

Are the visiting aliens who happen upon the Earth?
Is The Archive found 10 years in the future? 100? 1,000? More?
Once youve settled on some details about who find it and when, consider the following to help
guide your argument:
What would these people/creatures need, value, and believe? How can you appeal to
these details in order to better persuade your audience?
Why might they search for/find The Archive? Do they find it by accident? Are they
looking for artifacts from past humans?
What evidence/reasoning would these being be persuaded by?
For one reason or another, these beings wish to unlock the secrets of The Archive. Remember,
humanity has also found a way to ensure that whatever beings find it, they will be able to
understand all of The Archives contents.
Genre
This will be a multi-genre project. It will have a 10 texts and an introduction/rationale. The 10
texts can be pieces of fiction, non-fiction, poems, film, music, or informational texts. The
Archive can only fit 10 texts, in addition to the introduction, so you need to carefully consider
which 10 are worth preserving. These texts can be chosen from any period in humanitys history.
Each text must be accompanied by at least 3 sentences chosen from the text which exemplify
why this text is worthy of being preserved/studied. All texts must be turned in with this
assignment. If this requires lending me these texts in some way, I will take good care of them and
return them to you promptly. If you can provide a link to these texts online, that is also an
acceptable way to turn them in.
The introduction/rationale will be a minimum 4 pages, double-spaced (12-point font). You may
need more than 4 pages to thoroughly write this component. If you need more than 2 pages,
please take as much additional space as you need.
Organization
Your introduction should have an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction
should include a guiding thesis statement which relates to your rationale for including
these texts/cultural artifacts. Your thesis should be supported by reasons, which should be
supported by evidence, and you should explain that evidence (refer to the TREX
argument structure).
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You may arrange the 10 cultural artifacts in whatever you order, but do consider what
sequence would be most persuasive and/or moving for this particular audience.
Style and Convention
Your tone and word choice should be formal and easy to understand. Be concise in your
writing and purposeful with the words you include in your sentences. Your final draft will
be carefully proofread to catch errors.
Timeline
Complete rough draft due for workshop on Thursday, December 17th
Final draft due Tuesday, December 22nd
Reflection
The following reflection will be completed in class after turning in your final draft.
As with other assignments in this course, I will ask you to reflect on your writing process.
This reflection will include our usual postscript questions (see below) as well as a
question to reflect on how this assignment relates to the larger literary discourse/context.
5. What did this assignment reveal for you and/or make you think about in regards to how
literature is valued in our society? Do you feel you chose texts which would also have been
chosen by textbook makers and/or your teachers? What do those similarities and differences tell
you about how your tastes/interests fit into (or perhaps do not fit into) the larger contexts that
surround this assignment and this course?
Scoring Guide
The following rubric will be used to assess your assignment. Keep in mind that the various
rhetorical concerns are highly interdependent; if one concern is lacking, it may affect other
concerns (for example, an ineffective development for audience will weaken your ability to
achieve your purpose).
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Prioritized Standard 1: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7: Integrate and evaluate multiple
sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as
well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
Score
4.0
1.0

Includes 10 texts chosen from 5 or more different genres
Provides highly persuasive rationales for each text, including demonstrating
consideration of why a text from that particular genre was worthy of inclusion
The 10 texts are chosen from a variety of different time periods and different
countries and/or cultures
Includes introduction and rationale for texts chosen, which is exceeds 4 pages
(double-spaced).
The student will:
apply knowledge of multiple genres
demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the chosen texts, including providing a
rationale
include 10 texts (no more, no less) from at least three different genres/media
include excerpts from each chosen text. Excerpts are at least 3 sentences long
and/or give accurate descriptions of texts that have no lyrics or language
component.
Include introduction and rationale for texts chosen, which is at least 4 pages
(double-spaced) long.
The student will:
includes 10 texts (no more, no less)
include excerpts from each chosen text. Excerpts are 3 sentences long or less
and/or give a description of texts that have no lyrics or language component.
Include introduction and rationale for texts chosen, which is at least 3 pages
long (double-spaced).
0.0
3.0
2.0
Prioritized Standard 2: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2.b Develop the topic thoroughly by

selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details,
quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the
topic.
Score
4.0
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1.0
Include highly effective appeals to the audiences needs, values, and beliefs
Clearly and concisely establish background information needed for the
audience to understand the rationale
Offer insightful reflection and/or commentary on human culture, history, and
nature through the chosen texts
Choose texts which reflect a variety of time periods and cultures
The student will:
Include a rationale with textual evidence and appeals to the audiences needs,
values, and/or beliefs
Establish necessary background knowledge for audience to understand the
rationale and chosen texts
provide a glimpse into human culture, human nature, and/or human history
through the chosen texts
The student will:
Include a rationale with some textual evidence or some audience appeals
Provides a small amount of background information
Include texts that are somewhat limited in scope (historically and/or culturally)
0.0
3.0
2.0
Prioritized Standard 3: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3.a Engage and orient the reader by

setting out a problem, situation, or observation and its significance, establishing one or multiple
point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of
experiences or events.
Score
4.0
3.0

Write an engaging and creative introduction that includes uses of ethos, pathos,
and logos.
Have clear and individualized voice throughout which provides a sense of the
author as a character
Sequence the chosen text in such a way that each text benefits from the text that
preceded it, enhancing the impact and significance of each successive text
The student will:
Write an introduction which gives the reader a sense of the time in which The
Archive was assembled (i.e. the end of the world)
Include excerpts from each text which enhance the audiences understanding of
the texts significance
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1.0
Sequence the chosen texts in such a way that the transitions do not distract or
confuse the reader
The student will:
Write an introduction that is not out of place in its context (i.e. the end of the
world)
Choose excerpts which offer some insight into why the chosen texts are
significance
Sequence the chosen texts in a way that neither enhances nor detracts from the
reader understanding each text
0.0
2.0
End Comment:
Lingering Questions/Notes to Self:
Standards-based grading is still very new to me, and I feel what Ive
outlined above isnt quite on the mark. It was a helpful exercise in
trying to get comfortable with the idea, but I feel it needs more work.
For one, I have things I feel I want to grade for/assess which are not
directly based on standards. I know that may not align with standardsbased grading in a strict interpretation, but what I like most about
standards-based grading is the emphasis on different levels of
proficiency and mastery, as well as the ability for students to revise
and receive a grade based on their mastery by the end (instead of a
one-and-done model).
This assignment breaks a little with the unit theme, as it doesnt
directly require the application of the core concepts behind
ecocriticism. However, this is meant to be more of a student-centered,
culminating project for the first semester, rather than solely for Unit
5.
Big shout-out to Anton for sending me down the path that led to this
assignment. When we workshopped/brainstormed together on May
6th, I mentioned the idea of preservation and inheritance in relation to
Binkley 58
The Crypt in Nausica. In response, Anton suggested I use the
episode The Inner Light from Star Trek: The Next Generation, since
it deals with an ecological apocalypse and Jean-Luc Picard inheriting
the memories of the destroyed world. While Anton didnt specifically
suggest this project, his recommendations inspired this idea and I
bounced some of the ideas for it off of him.
This assignment replaced a less-thought-out one that was using a
portfolio/multi-genre project design to construct an extended
definition of science fiction. There are parts about that old project I
still like, and Ill seek to work it in elsewhere, but this assignment
seems less prescriptive and more open to student choice. I can also
segue more smoothly into this project from Unit 5 and ecocriticism
than I could with the extended definition project.
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The Continuum of Credibility

Can you trust the information from a source? How skeptical should you be about
the source?
Very, Very Skeptical
Blogs, personal web pages, sites of unknown origin
Very Skeptical
Publications from advocacy groups (e.g., political parties,

activist organizations, religious groups, etc.)
Skeptical
Daily news (print or electoric) from obscure sources and

general audience books
Less Skeptical
High quality mainstream
media: national daily
newspapers, newsmagazines, political and current affairs
magazines
Much Less Skeptical

Mass market books by experts, some government
websites and publications
Much, Much Less Skeptical

Peer-reviewed scholarly journals, books from academic
presses, other government websites
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Workshoppers Name: ______________________
Author of Piece: _______________________
Workshop Guide for Single-Scene Comic/Ecological Apocalypse Short Story
As you read through your partners work, consider the following. Write your comments on this
workshop guide but refer to specific lines/details within your partners work. Remember, this is
a global workshop; were focusing on big picture concerns right now. We will address style and
convention issues next class.
For each category below put one of the following symbols next to each item and provide
feedback expanding on your chosen rating:
0 : elements is missing entirely
- : element is present, but needs revision to meet requirements
: element is present and is meeting proficiency band of the requirements
+ : element is present and exceeds the expectations of the assignment
Single-Scene Comic Option
____
Comic has at least 14 panels that each contains necessary and meaningful content
Comments:
____
Action, characters, and dialogue can be clearly understood

Comments:
____
The comic can be understood in isolation; it provides enough background information

and/or is self-contained enough to be understood without having read the book it was
adapted from.
Comments:
____
Panel design, size, and position enhance the authors meaning by helping to guide the
readers focus and/or establish the passage of time
Comments:
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Short Story Option
____
Story is at least 10 paged (double spaced, 12-point font) and has effective rising actions,
conflicts, falling actions, and resolutions for a short story.
Comments:
____
The story involves an ecological apocalypse (either pre- or post-apocalypse) and the
connection to current environmental issues is clear and meaningful.
Comments:
____
Characters, plot, and dialogue are believable and compelling. All are developed
effectively within the constraints of a short story.
Comments:
____
Author has included a 3-paragraph summary of the ecological issue that influenced this
story, including an explanation of how it influenced the authors story. The summary
includes at least one cited source.
Comments:
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Student Sample Paper for Hyphen Exercise
A mission to Mars would require a great deal of pre-planning. When Mars is at its closest
approach to Earth, it is only three light minutes away from Earth. That may sound small, but a
light minute is the distance light travels in a minute. So three light minutes is about thirty-threemillion miles! The fastest spacecraft humans have made so far is the New Horizons probe that
recently arrived at Pluto: the explanet at the edge of our solar system. At its fastest speed, New
Horizons traveled at about thirty six thousand miles per hour. If we could get a spaceship
traveling that fast, it would still take about forty days to get to Mars from Earth at the shortest
distance between them. If we someday figure out light speed travel or faster than light travel, it
would be a lot easier to get to Mars.
The problems dont end once we get there, either. The average surface temperature of
Mars is negative eighty one degrees Fahrenheit. There is also almost no water on Mars and very
little-oxygen, so we couldnt grow much of anything. There is also no realistic way to repair or
refuel spaceships. That means you will have to bring plenty of supplies and a way to get back
home, or youll be stuck on a dry, cold, oxygen starved environment. Bringing all those supplies
to Mars means adding a lot of weight to your spaceship, and the more weight you add on, the
more force you need to get into space. And dont get me started on the difficulty of getting the
money you would need approved by a do nothing, deficit-obsessed Congress!
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Name: ____________________
Star Trek: The Next Generation The Inner Light Organizer
As we watch the episode, use this organizer to take notes and consider thematic questions. For
homework, you will use these notes to write more extensive, formal responses to these concerns.
1. What textual connections come to mind as you watch (either abstract, random ones
or concrete, direct ones)?
Text-to-Self
Text-to-Text
Text-to-World
2. How is nature depicted in this story? How is it discussed in dialogue?
When it is absent (e.g. on the Enterprise), what social inferences can you make based
on that absence?
3. How are themes of inheritance functioning here? In what ways is it a burden? What
responsibility does Picard (the captain/main character) have in light of that
inheritance?
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Based on your notes, conduct an ecocritical reading of this episode. Below are possible
questions to consider, but you do not have to respond to all of them.
What is humanitys relationship with nature in this episode?

How does the ecological apocalypse in this episode compare to that of Nausica?
How are inheritance and responsibility functioning in this story?
Nature is mostly absent in this story and in most of the series; why might the authors
have chosen to make it absent?
What other thoughts/connections do you have in relation to this episode? What has it
added to our ongoing conversation about ecocriticism? How do themes of preservation
and inheritance in this episode differ from Nausica and Hyperion: A Fragment? How
are those themes similar across all the texts?
Write a response that is at least 3 paragraphs long. It should include a guiding thesis and
be based in textual evidence from the episode and/or other texts weve read.
Binkley 68
Self-Evaluation
EDUC 463: MethodsTeaching Language Arts
Dr. Pam Coke
Self-Evaluation
Spring, 2015
Student: Paul Binkley

Please comment on YOUR work in this course.
Lead one large group discussion (10 points):
I felt pretty good about how this one went.
As Id imagine other students have said, I would have enjoyed having more time that our
schedule could allow, though I understand we had a lot to squeeze in this semester. I thought
working in the other quotes through the PowerPoint and mostly giving up control of the
discussion worked fairly well. However, I agree with your evaluation that I could have integrated
the article more. I get the impression that many students didnt read it since we were in the midst
of the YLP, but I also may not have had a good way of knowing without doing more to engage
all of my peers/engage with the content.
Individual Assignments (40 points):
Philosophy of Teaching Statement (20 points):
I feel this assignment went well. It is
difficult for me to write concisely (as you may have noticed), which is a little ironic/hypocritical
when I plug that so heavily for my CO 150 students. That meant squeezing all the content I
wanted in caused some important details to fall through the cracks. I appreciated being able to
revise, so I could improve my draft by adding things like brief examples of ideas/claims I made
(like relationship building, which wasnt explained in much detail initially). Overall, I feel good
about my finished product after the revisions. This draft was a significant improvement on the
one Id slapped together over the summer in order to have a statement on my website.
Mini-Lesson (20 points): I think I would have been one of those students who would neglect
language instruction if we werent required to include it. Not because I dont feel its important,
but because I do not spend most of my time (or passion) thinking about grammar etc. I feel some
of my lesson went very well; connecting hyphens (a CCSS standard for 11th-12th grade) to
science fiction and science-y jargon actually came together quite well, and I feel it ended up
being a more interesting, coherent lesson than I anticipated.
That said, I think it had several flaws. For one, I planned too much for the time slot I had. While
that wasnt a problem once I had the freedom to integrate it into my Unit Plan, time constraints
will/have been a very real and important challenge in planning and teacher. I also neglected to
include compound nouns when my hook question could understandably be interpreted to be
about compound nouns (and theyre probably right to think so, though it could also be
interpreted as being about adjectives, which is how I took it).
Binkley 69
Professional Learning Community (70 points):
Weekly PLC Meetings (60 points): My first PLC rarely directly discussed the official
topics/Kunkel reading, but I still feel it was valuable time for all of us. Our conversations were
driven more by anxieties and things we were individually struggling with. I got the impression
we each walked away from those meetings feeling a little more confident/at peace, even if we
rarely had conclusive answers.
My second PLC often felt rushed, but we did get to exchange some helpful ideas. I feel my
contribution was sometimes a one-way street, with me offering ideas and not always receiving
ideas in return, but Im willing to accept most/all of the responsibility for that; I had ideas on
how to help my peers but didnt often ask specific questions for them to help me with.
Work with Co-Teaching/Co-Planning (10 points): Related to my comments above, I did not do
a lot of co-planning with my PLC. I got to bounce some ideas off of them about standards-based
grading, but I didnt bring up many other specifics. However, I did have one extremely
productive conversation/co-planning session with Anton on our last day. In about 15 minutes he
pitched me ideas that directly or indirectly gave me some excellent material for my Unit Plan,
including replacing one of my weaker culminating texts (what was the extended definition multigenre project) with a much more interesting one (The Archive at the End of the World). While
this new assignment may not be perfect, it will be enjoyable for me to read and it connects well
with the context that surrounds our course, namely questions of canonization and what
texts/genres are privileged in education. He also suggested using The Inner Light from Star
Trek: The Next Generation, which fit in surprisingly well with my other ideas/themes/texts.
Yearlong plan (105 points): I feel my finished product was a fine first draft of a YLP/major
component of my M.A. project. It was challenging but fun (in a sometimes masochistic way).
Even if it wasnt really a goal of the assignment, I enjoyed making my site visually interesting. I
am particularly lucky on that front, since any photo officially taken by NASA can be used
royalty-free. As usual, I struggled with meaningful and effective assessments and some of my
ideas havent solidified yet, namely the last two student-guided units. I want to stand by these as
valuable, particularly in light of the passion-based/workshop-based theories Ive been reading
about, but I dont know how to effectively plan for this model yet. Right now it is probably left
too open-ended to be productive. If I am lucky, my students will gladly and effectively take the
reins by the time we get to the end of the year, but I shouldnt count on that too heavily. Other
than those issues, I feel the YLP was relatively solid.
Unit plan (100 points):
I feel this was my weakest work in this course, and thats all on
me and my time management. There were some factors that got in the way of my work besides
poor work ethic such as getting to begin my research at the last minute and general CO
Binkley 70
150/grad school craziness but I must admit a lot of my poor performance is related to not
making enough time.
There are parts I feel very good about, such as how my texts (Nausica, Hyperion: A
Fragment, and The Inner Light) come together under my themes of ecocriticism and
inheritance. I cant guarantee these plans/texts will work as well for my students as they do for
me, but working on the Unit Plan made me feel I was truly onto something with these ideas, both
for this unit and my course more broadly. I want to do more work on it and I want to teach it:
both of which I consider to be a good signs. I also think I succeeded in making a more interesting
culminating text (The Archive); it may not align too directly with ecocriticism, but I think it
suits the theme of inheritance and the course more generally. Since this text is technically after
Unit 5, and acts as a culminating text for the first semester of this course, I think thats alright.
This Unit Plan needs work still, particularly in fleshing out some of my lesson plans. I plan to put
in more work on this and the rest of my project over the summer. So while that may not help me
for the sake of this course of grade, I feel I can make it considerably better for the sake of my
project and future teaching.
Final Course Grade: B+
That may be a little overly generous; well see what you think. Of course Id hope for an A and
its a shame not to get one, but cramming my Unit Plan may have rightfully brought my grade
down. So less than an A seems fair/accurate.
Comments: This course was challenging and time consuming, but as it is the capstone for my
English ed degree, that seems appropriate. More importantly (for me, at least) it afforded me
great opportunities to put in substantial work toward my project while still having that serve the
requirements of a course. That was helpful for keeping me on track and for having the time to put
in a good chunk of work on my project this semester.
As always, youre a wonderful teacher and your course has been very helpful/insightful. As for
evaluating myself, I think I did pretty okay up until the Unit Plan. I apologize for that
shortcoming, and I can assure you it was not caused by me feeling that this course/coursework
was not worthy of my time; I just didnt manage it well in the end.
Binkley 71
Works Consulted
Binkley, Paul. Assessment Portfolio. n.p. 27 April 2014. Microsoft Word file.
---. Coherent Assignment Sequence. n.p., 7 April 2015. Microsoft Word file.
---. P1 Style and Convention Seminar. n.p. 17 September 2015.Microsoft PowerPoint file.
---. P2 Style and Convention Seminar. n.p. 2 March 2015. Microsoft PowerPoint file.
---. Teaching a Text: Enders Game by Orson Scott Card. n.p. 11 May 2014. Microsoft Word
file.
---. Yearlong Plan. n.p., 8 April 2015. Microsoft Word file.
Glotfelty, Cheryll. Introduction: Literary Studies in an Age of Ecological Crisis. The
Ecocriticism Reader. Eds. Cheryll Glotfelty and Harold Fromm. Athens, Georgia:
University of Georgia Press, 1996. xv-xxxvii. Print.
Hayao, Miyazaki. Nausica of the Valley of the Wind: The Perfect Collection. Trans. David
Lewis and Toren Smith. 4 vols. San Francisco: Viz Communications, 1995. Print.
Howarth, William. Some Principles of Ecocriticism. The Ecocriticism Reader. Eds. Cheryll
Glotfelty and Harold Fromm. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1996. 69-91.
Print.
The Inner Light. Star Trek: The Next Generation Season Five. Writ. Morgan Gendel and
Peter Allan Fields. Dir. Peter Lauritson. Paramount, 2002. DVD.
Keats, John. Hyperion: A Fragment. John Keats: Selected Poems. Ed. John Barnard. New
York: Penguin Books, 2007. 140-164. Print.
Kunkel, Sonya Heineman. Advancing Co-Teaching Practices: Strategies for Success. Cromwell,
CT: Kunkel Consulting Services, 2012. Print.
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: William Morrow, 1993.
Print.
Playboy Interview: Ray Bradbury. RayBradbury.com. Harper Collins, n.d. Web. 8 May 2015.
Sagan, Carl and Ann Druyan. The Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space. New
York: Ballantine Books, 1997. Print.
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Shalom, Beth. What is Ecocriticism? Longwood.edu, 1 April 2012. Web. 7 May 2015.
Smagorinsky, Peter. Teaching English by Design: How to Create and Carry Out Instructional
Units. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008. Print.
Unafraid of the Dark Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. Writ. Ann Druyan and Steven Soter. Dir.
Ann Druyan. 20th Century Fox, 2014. DVD.

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Binkley 1

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.5: Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to

Become familiar with the major themes of ecocriticism

Email Address: paul.binkley@colostate.edu

Date: November 19, 2015

Science Fiction and the STEM Fields

Unit 5: The Pale Blue Dot Ecocriticism Unit

11th and 12th grade

[98 minute class period]

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.5: Analyze how an author's choices

UBD (UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN) LESSON PLAN ELEMENTS REQUIRED:

Ecocriticism supports an interdisciplinary approach for using literature to

Literature without explicit nature themes or settings is not suitable for

Students will have acquired skills asking questions specific to a lens of

UBD (UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN) LESSON PLAN ELEMENTS REQUIRED:

Performance Task Description:

What authentic performance tasks will students demonstrate the desired

Through what evidence (e.g. quizzes, tests, academic prompts,

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.6 Analyze a case in which

UBD (UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN) LESSON PLAN ELEMENTS REQUIRED:

Students have just completed a unit (Unit 4) on

has become a common topic of discussion. While

How will you cause students to reflect and

Particular segment to highlight from Pale Blue Dot quote:

Begin reading Nausica of the Valley of the Wind: p. 1-68

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.5 Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to

In Nausica read pages 69-221

Lingering Question: A problem I likely have with my overall course design,

Begin apply principles of ecocriticism to Nausica

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.3 Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas

Nausica pages 222-261 (volume 1)

Daily Learning Target(s)

Reflect on your understanding of ecocriticism and your ability to read/interpret graphic

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support

The most successful part of reading a graphic novel has been:

Partner Interview (15 min)

Nausica pages 38-287 (end of volume 2)

Reflect on your understanding of ecocriticism and your ability to read/interpret graphic

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support

*(Fire Drill approximately 15 minutes)*

Nausica pages 38-287 (end of volume 2)

Conduct one-on-one reading conferences

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.b Work with peers to promote civil, democratic

How is the reading go for you?

Referring to their WtLs from the previous class:

Nausica pages 52-152

Become familiar with and/or review relevant Greek mythology on Titans

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding

Introduce Hyperion/Titans (5-15 min)

What is the significance of the Titans overthrow? What text-to-self or text-to-world

Nausica pages 152-161 (volume 3)

Daily Learning Target(s)

Engage with current issues in ecology

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding

Nausica pages 152-261 (vol. 3)

Lingering Questions: I feel my course lends itself very well to co-teaching,

Conduct one-on-one reading conferences

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.b Work with peers to promote civil, democratic

How is the reading go for you?

Questions on media and close reading:

Assign Homework (3 min)

(Fire Drill approximately 15 minutes)