Day One

First Day of Unit: 10/03

Introduction to To Kill A Mockingbird
Objectives:
I can...
Think critically about my position on philosophical issues
Express my critical opinion in a thoughtful and respectful manner
Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and
teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and
expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.4
Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners
can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to
purpose, audience, and task.
Schedule:
5 Minutes: I give a brief book talk on To Kill A Mockingbird
- Limited summary without spoilers
- Establish its credibility as an influential novel
- Read excerpt from page 153 to encourage interest from the students
Students receive their copy of To Kill A Mockingbird
10 Minutes: Students silent read text of their choice
I use this time to conference with individual students or to read
(Today I begin To Kill A Mockingbird)
3 Minutes: Hand out Anticipation Guide sheet to students and ask them to tape them into their Interactive
Notebooks

Anticipation Guide:
For each statement, rank the extent that you Agree or Disagree
People are inherently good.
Agree

Somewhat Agree

People are inherently evil.

Somewhat Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Disagree

Somewhat Disagree

Disagree

Somewhat Disagree

Disagree

Our personalities are formed from birth.

Agree

Somewhat Agree

Experiences form our personalities.

Agree

Somewhat Agree

10 Minutes:
Students are instructed to respond to each statement. They then pick one prompt and write a defence for
their stance in their interactive notebook.
5 Minutes: Students discuss their chosen standpoint with a partner
5 Minutes: Students raise hands to show which statement they wrote about and discussed-- the prompt
with the most students writing about with become the basis for a class discussion
The students will stand in the corner of the room in accordance to which stance they took (Agree,
Somewhat Agree, Somewhat Disagree and Disagree will be labeled around the room)
5 Minutes: Students discuss their defence in small groups
12 Minutes: Each group gets three minutes to defend their stance
3 Minutes: I conclude and announce homework (reading about 30 pages)
Day Two
10/04- Reading Strategies
Objectives:
I can
Describe and effectively use each reading strategy.
Model one reading strategy for my peers.
Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as
inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and
connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g.,
how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).

Schedule:
10 Minutes: Silent Reading Time
I use this time for conferences
8 Minutes: Divide students into six groups (four or five students per group)
Hand out guide with seven effective reading strategies and ask students to place these into their
Interactive Notebooks
Assign each group one strategy, tell them they will model it for the class

3 Minutes: Model Questioning strategy TKM pages 26 and 27

Questions to pause and ask:
Why was Scout picked to talk on Walters behalf? What does this say about her character or her perceived
character?
Would this scenario have occurred differently in a more populated town?
How poor are the Finches?

10 Minutes: Students will work in their small groups to plan the modeling they will do for their specific
strategy
They need these components:
1. Define the strategy in their own words
2. Model the strategy effectively
3. Utilize TKM as the mentor text
18 Minutes: Each group has roughly three minutes to present their modeling strategy
2 Minutes: Assign reading (about 30 pages) and assign students to use two reading strategies in their
Interactive Notebooks
Day Three
10/05- Intro to Empathy
Objectives:
I can
Define empathy and understand its importance
Participate thoughtfully in a silent discussion by fully answering all of the prompts
Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to
task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information
clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

Schedule:
10 Minutes: Silent Reading
I conference or read with students
5 Minutes: Writing Practice- in their interactive notebooks, students answer the question What does
empathy mean to me?
8 Minutes:
Brene Brown on Empathy video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw

1.
2.
3.
4.

15 Minutes: Silent Discussion

Students pass around papers with the prompts:
Students are required to write on (and initial) three different prompts
Did Brene Browns depiction of empathy change your perspective? Why or why not?
Think of a time someone showed empathy towards you? Describe it.
How does the concept of empathy relate to what weve read so far in To Kill A Mockingbird?
Can empathy ever be a bad thing?

10 Minutes: The papers are passed back around to be read silently by all the students of the class
5 Minutes: Class reflection on the activity and the concept of empathy
Last thoughts?
Challenge to practice empathy outside of the classroom
Day Four
Objectives:
I can
Practice reading strategies in a guided environment to improve reading comprehension
Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as
inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and
connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g.,
how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).

Schedule:
13 Minutes: Silent Reading time
I will conference or read with students

5 Minutes: Students will share with a partner one strategy that they did in their interactive notebook for
homework
30 Minutes: Guided Reading Practice
* Note: This constitutes a long period of time because it is not merely me reading to the students. It is a
display of consistent use of reading strategies. The students will need to help me with these strategies.
I will be reading beginning on page 85 (to stay in accordance with the homework)
Students will write and reflect on each strategy alongside me as we work through the text
Places I will stop:
Aberrations of nature (pg 85) -- what are aberrations? Why does Harper Lee use this word?
The image of the first snow-- have students close their eyes and imagine their first snow as well as
describe seeing snow outside in their interactive notebook
Stop at the end of page 87 in order to summarize the pages that we read
Stop on page 100 to discuss the use of the n-word-- why does the author choose to use this word? How
would it change the text if she did not use this word?
5 Minutes: I discuss the homework (finish the pages that I did not get through to meet the 30 page a night
recommendation.
Think-Pair-Share- ask the students to share with a partner which strategy they find most helpful
Day Five
Objectives:
I can
Think creatively and show it through my writing
Analyze film as text
Compare a film interpretation of To Kill A Mockingbird to the novel
Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.10
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.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.7
Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is
emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden's "Muse des Beaux Arts" and Breughel's Landscape
with the Fall of Icarus).

Schedule:
10 Minutes: Silent Reading Time
I conference or read with the students

5 Minutes: Prompt suggestion for Creative Writing Friday!

This week I utilize prompts from the website http://thinkwritten.com/365-creative-writing-prompts/:

(In my room, I plan on having a jar full of these prompts typed and cut out) - students can come pick from
the jar as many times as they want until they find a prompt that interests them
Students are also encouraged to simply write about whatever comes to mind

13 Minutes: Creative Writing Time!

I will write alongside the students
15 Minutes: Watch the beginning of To Kill A Mockingbird
It can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwB35WkFfKA
10 Minutes: Film as Text response in Interactive Notebook
Questions as reflection:
What differences are there between the movie and the novel that youve noticed so far?
What do you think about the representation of the characters? Were you surprised?