CREATE NEW UNIT FOR 5/1

Emily Mullins
Stage 1 – Desired Results
Established Goals/Objectives: Students will be able to…

Expand their view of the world by looking through multiple

lenses
Students will create a safe and comfortable environment for
sometimes difficult discussion
Utilize technology to further their understanding of other
cultures
Deconstruct negative stereotypes
Understand and appreciate Afghani culture and society
Establish rules and guidelines for conducting themselves in
literature circles
Implement their understanding of lenses/perspectives in the
writing of their final paper

Understandings: Essential Questions:

Understanding history can help
with understanding culture and
literature
Acknowledging differences
allows others to grow
Looking through critical lenses
allows for different perspectives
approaching new cultures
Michigan State
Standards/Benchmarks:
1.1 Writing Process
1.3 Purpose and Audience
2.1 Strategy Development
2.3 Independent Reading
3.4 Mass Media
Why should we look at Afghani
culture?
How does looking at a text
through different “lenses”
affect our understanding?
Rationale:
When looking at a multi-
cultural text, it is essential to
take into consideration other
view-points and perspectives.
By encouraging students took
look at text from some angle
other than their own, they
begin to understand that there
is no one right way of looking
at anything, text or otherwise.
Exposing students to this idea
of multiple lenses fosters in
them an attitude of open-
mindedness that is generally

Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks:
Lit Circles
journaling
researching history
class discussions
writing responses
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Classroom discussion
Writing activity with each lens
Lit circle with each lens
Activity with each lens
beneficial, especially when
looking at texts like The Kite
Runner which touch on
sensitive current political
issues.
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR
LESSONS/ASSESSMENTS DO
THE THINGS YOU SET OUT TO
DO IN THE RATIONALE?
Other evidence:
Students will apply each lens
to the text both in large and
small group discussions as well
as in writing.
Their final assessment will be
to write an analytical essay
from one of the three lessons
discussed within the unit and
apply it to the text.
Texts
Critical Theory Today by Lois
Tyson
The Kite Runner by Khaled
Hosseini

MIGHT NEED TO ADD MORE TIME TO THE UNIT DEPENDING ON

STUDENTS
Section 2 starts w chapter 10 (96 hard cover, 110 paperback)
Section 3 starts w ch 14 (166 hardcover, 190 paperback)

M T W TH F
History/Bac Assign Lit Present Intro Lens Lens 1
kground Circles findings/ 1 discuss
Knowledge class with book
Computer discussion Activity w/
Lab smaller Discuss
Research (Tyson) reading w/
(teacher text Lens 1
has
 prompts Article? Writing
for groups) activity
HW: pp 50- work in lit
79 circles HW: pp 80- HW: pp
109 110-189
Lens 1 Intro Lens Lens 2 Lens 2 Intro Lens
Writing 2 discuss writing 3
with book
Activity w/ Activity w/
smaller Discuss smaller
text reading/ text
Lens 2
Article? Article?
Writing
activity
HW: Finish
HW: pp TKR
190-230
Lens 3 Lens 3 All Lens
discuss with writing activities> >>>>>> >>>>>>
book >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>
> >
Discuss Writing These are
reading/ Prompt/ a way for Pose Have
Lens 3 Final paper students to questions students
brainstormi cement to the work in
Writing ng: their students to groups to
activity Which Lens argument help them help think
is most and also begin about
applicable get peers’ thinking in different
Assign Final to TKR? help a feminist characteris
Paper lens tics
Draft 1 Due Review
Monday Marxist Review Review
Lens Feminist Psychoanal
lens ytic
Peer edits – Peer edits- Lesson 3-- Film Film
Fishbowl
Computer Computer Activity
lab? lab?
Final Due (one seat
Monday per lens)
Group Roles: each member is a question and quote finder for lit
circle days (day 2 of each lens)
SCAFFOLDING LIT CIRCLES--HOW TO GET THEM TO WHERE THEY
CAN DO THIS ON THEIR OWN: PERHAPS EXAMPLE OF LIT CIRCLES
THEY CAN USE AS A MODEL. LET THEM KNOW THEIR
RESPONSIBILITIES AS PART OF A GROUP: RESEARCH, QUOTES,
SELF-GOVERNED, TIME PERIOD FOR EACH LENS, STUDENTS
PREPARED TO TALK

Lesson One: History

MAYBE TAKE OUT HISTORY LESSON: BASIC SCAFFOLDING FOR
LENSES SO THEY WILL HAVE AN EASIER TIME WITH THE NEXT
THREE LENSES. HISTORY CAN BE WORKED INTO IT THOUGH JUST
SO THEY UNDERSTAND SOMETHING ABOUT THE SETTING OF THE
BOOK. THINK-PAIR-SHARE?
Placement within Unit: The very beginning of the unit. Students
have begun reading The Kite Runner, but have not discussed the
history or cultural aspects of Afghanistan. Introducing Historical
context over 3 days

Lesson Plan Objectives:

Identify where Afghanistan is on the World Map and understand
why it is important.
Learn a brief history of the modern Middle East (BE SPECIFIC)
Learn and investigate Afghanistan history just before1933, and
then 1933-1978.
Learn the basic difference between Shia and Sunni Islam and
understand why it is important for the context of The Kite Runner.
Day I
Activities and timeline-50 minutes
Opening writing prompt on the overhead as students come in:
“How much do you know about the Middle East?” (5 minutes)
PHRASE QUESTION IN A WAY THAT INVITES MORE THOROUGH
ANSWER
Brief discussion of writing prompt to figure out where students’
prior knowledge lies. (5 min)
Pass out and have students do Anticipation Guides. (10 minutes)
Point out where Afghanistan is in relation to the Middle East. (5
minutes)
Give brief historical lecture on the modern Middle East. (20
minutes)
Assign and explain ‘History investigator’ assignment for the next
two days and put students into literature circle groups for
tomorrow. (5 minutes, see handout)
Assessment
Learned where Afghanistan is in relation to the Middle East and
learned a brief history of the country. HOW DO YOU KNOW? THE
PRODUCT IS THE ASSESSMENT.
Day II
Activities and Timeline- 50 minutes
Meet in the computer lab for students to do the assignment in
literature circles. (49 minutes)
Remind students to meet in the computer lab again and to wrap
up by halfway into the hour. (1 minute)
Assessment
‘History investigator’ assignment.
Day III
Activities and Timeline- 50 minutes
Meet in computer lab to finish assignment. (15 minutes)
Have student groups present to the class on the historical
question they investigated. (34 minutes). HOW DO YOU
STRUCTURE THIS? ARE ALL GROUPS RESEARCHING THE SAME
TOPIC? OR DIFF.? HOW PRESENTING THEIR FINDINGS?
Assign the first 30 pages of Kite Runner for homework. (1
minute).
Assessment
Student finished investigating Afghanistan history between 1933
and 1978. WHAT PRODUCT?

History Investigator Assignment

Directions: Over the course of the next day and half, your
literature circle group will investigate one of the following
questions below. Your teacher will assign your group the
question. All of you will work on separate computers, and end
with individual answers. Each person in the group is
responsible for at least 2 sources. All of you will present your
findings to the class and turn in:
Why was King Nadir Shah assassinated in 1933? Who took over?
Why was there a Communist overthrow of the government in
1978?
After the Communist overthrow of the government, why did
Russia invade?
What is Shia Islam?
What is Sunni Islam?
Lesson Two: Discovering the Marxist Lens
Target Audience:
An 11th grade English classroom. Students are at different skill
levels of reading comprehension and understandings.

Placement of Lesson:
Students are at the beginning a multicultural literature and
critical lens unit. They have explored the history behind the
cultures in the book. Students will begin studying the different
lenses.

Objectives:
Critically think about societies and cultures through the Marxist
lens
Engage in discussion relating the Kite Runner and the Marxist
lens
Convey ideas of society, the Kite Runner and the Marxist lens
through writing

Activity:
Journal: What are characteristics of a society? What defines
class?

Class discussion: WRITE OUT SPECIFIC QUESTIONS. HOW TO GET

DISCUSSION GOING, ETC.
Create an outline of what makes a society drawing from the
journals the students did.
What characteristics do the main characters have in Kite
Runner?

Break class up into groups have them read from “Critical Theory
Today”—Excerpts from the Marxist section.—Class System, The
Role of Ideology, Human Behavior, the commodity and the family.
—Relate these issues to the Kite Runner
WILL YOU SCAFFOLD UNDERSTANDING OF MARXIST LENS IN
SOME WAY BEFORE APPLYING IT DIRECTLY TO THE TEXT?
Class Discussion:
Go back to the outline created earlier in class. Put ideas into
groups based on readings.
Discuss characters, class, society, government within Kite
Runner
Assessment:
Formative:
Journaling
Check mark for discussing and reading materials with group
members
Summative:
Classroom discussion to make sure students understand Marxism
Lit circle prep with questions regarding Marxism and the Kite
Runner for the next lesson

Lesson Three: Psychoanalysis of the Kite Runner

Audience: Created for an 11th grade classroom studying multiple
lenses. Students have already studied the Marxist and Feminist
lens.

Placement:
Students have read the majority of the Kite Runner and are able
to analyze the characters.

Objectives: Students will be able to:

Identify certain core issues characters have in the novel by way
of Tyson’s list of issues
Find certain passages that will show how this core issue plays out
in the novel
Consciously read through this lens and see how characters may
be unconscious of their issues

Assessment: A short essay will be assigned on the first day the

lens is discussed so students can be thinking about applying it as
they finish reading, as well as a character or situation in the book
to which they can apply this lens.

Agenda:
Day One:

Introduce the psychoanalytic lens. Ask the question: When you

say someone is crazy or "that person has issues," what do you
mean? What kinds of issues or what kind of crazy?

Use excerpts from Tyson that are important in defining this lens.
Make a list on the board of the characters. Define each one and
discuss their certain traits, flaws, and core issues. How is each
character having this issue addressed in the novel? And do they
become intertwined? Core issues stay with us throughout life and,
unless effectively addressed, they determine our behavior in
destructive ways of which we are usually unaware. WILL YOU
PRACTICE WITH THIS LENS BEFORE APPLYING IT DIRECTLY TO THE
CHARACTERS? STUDENTS MAY NEED SOME INSTRUCTION.

Have students look through the novel to find examples where a

character’s core issue is played out. HOW DIFFERENT FROM
DISCUSSION ABOVE

Day Two:

Looking at the certain core issues humans have (Tyson 16)

including intimacy, abandonment, betrayal, self-esteem, insecure
or unstable sense of self, or the oedipal fixation and apply to a
certain instance and character in the book. Excerpt from Tyson
with these issues defined will be handed out. HOW IS THIS DAY
DIFFERENT?

H.W.: Assign a short essay (2-3 page) to depict this core issue as
the student sees it represented in the book through a
character/situation/conflict. This will be due in two days.

Things to consider before writing: What character are you

focusing on? Does their issue get resolved, or does it change?
Does it worsen or do they come to terms with it and it becomes
resolved? Also, a given core issue can result from another core
issue or can cause the emergence of another core issue. In terms
of their issues, are they conscious or unconscious of them? If
unconscious, how have they formed their identities around them?

Have students talk about their ideas for the essay as either a
class or in small groups. This way they can bounce ideas off one
another and find a certain passage in the novel they should cite
to help prove their point.

Day Three:

Looking at psychoanalysis and self: Are some character

traits/issues more easily identified? Is it easier to examine our
own character traits or that of someone else’s? Would it be easier
to list or write about yourself or a friend?

Free write for 5 minutes about this topic.

Give the rest of the class period to work on their essay or peer
review with a small group or partner.

Lesson Assessment: Students will be assessed based on their

participation in class discussion and their ability to use the
psychoanalytic lens on The Kite Runner. This will be shown
through a short essay that will be due day 4 of studying the novel
through the psychoanalytic lens as well as class discussion and
participation. Are they able to apply the lens to certain characters
and certain situations in the novel with
understanding/comprehension?
ONLY NEED TO SAY DISCUSSION AND ESSAY

Lesson Four: Fishbowl Activity Lesson Plan

Placement:
Students have read the Kite Runner and studied the Marxist,
feminist and psychoanalytical lenses. They have also been
assigned their final assessment. This activity is designed to help
students choose one lens and support it while discussing with
other students.

Objectives/Learning Goals:
SWBAT:
Create a safe and comfortable environment for sometimes
difficult conversations
Establish rules and guidelines for conducting themselves in class
discussion
Respectfully listen to and talk with their classmates
Appreciate the multiple perspectives of their fellow classmates
Contribute to a large-group discussion
Respond to their classroom both during discussion and also in
writing at the end of class

Activity:
Students will create a large circle with their desks.
Three desks will go in the middle of the circle facing each other,
labeled either Marxist, Feminist, or Psychoanalytic
Questions/prompts will be given to the three students in the
middle and they will begin a discussion, each student keeping to
their literary lens.
When a student feels as though they have said enough or made a
point, they return to their seat in the larger circle, and someone
from the larger circle steps in to fill their spot. (Only those in the
center of the circle are talking, yet everyone is participating)
Those in the outside circle will take notes on the inner circle
discussion, keeping track of important points made and make
direct responses to the conversation.

Assessment:
Participation in discussion (Each student in the inner circle AT
LEAST once)
Participation as a respectful audience member
Writing response as an exit pass

FINAL ASSESSMENT?