Sheldon, 1

Laura Sheldon

Professor Filson

ECI 306

April 23, 2018

Multi-Genre Reading Project

Unit on What it Means to Be Human: ​7th Grade English Language Arts

1. Theme & Relevance

Human beings are considered to be the most intelligent species on the planet. We
have created unique and complex societies, cultures, and family units which vary across
the planet. Humans vary in a lot of ways; race, gender, politics, abilities, sexuality,
location, culture, religion, experience, intelligence, and many, many more. Humans have
evolved in a lot of ways, constructing our environment, our relationships with each
other, and our knowledge of the world and how we affect it. Humans, unlike any other
animal on Earth, have the ability to help or destroy each other. There are thousands of
organizations aimed at helping provide for each other and make life better for each
other, yet there are also thousands of organizations over time aimed at eradicating
people that we consider to be different than ourselves. During the early years of the
United States, it is estimated that between six and seven million people were imported to
be slaves (History.com Staff). This World War Two was responsible for the death of up
to six million Jews, simply because a political party decided that they were responsible
for the troubles that Germany experienced (United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum). Currently, there are thirty-two registered and recognized hate groups in North
Carolina (SPLC. Hate Map).
Because of all of the violence and hate that has occured over the years and
continues to happen now, both in the United States and abroad, it is imperative that
students are aware of their own humanity and the humanity of others. This can be on a
small scale (such as being respectful and friendly to a classmate who wears a hijab) or
on a larger scale (such as becoming involved with an organization in their school that
helps better the lives of others- such as a GLBT alliance club). While these issues are
highly politicized and I do not want to dwell on those too much- keeping them in mind
as I teach without ever drawing attention to them, I want to ensure that students treat
each other as human beings. This is incredibly important to my seventh graders, who are
just starting to become aware of these issues in the news, in conversations with their
peers, and with their families. Bullying is increasingly occurring in schools across the
nation, and teachers and educators have a duty to teach tolerance and acceptance to their
charges. In addition to this, students are going through physical changes right now with
puberty, and everything is a little off balance right now as they learn to navigate changes
in hormones, emotions, and feelings. It will be encouraging to them that each and every
 Sheldon, 2

adult in their lives has experienced and understands those feelings, and will help them
through it.
While it would be easy to shy away from these ideas of tolerance and acceptance,
even in a language arts classroom where students might better be expected to focus on
metaphors and poetry, the reality is that language arts focuses on the human experience.
This human experience covers emotions, conflict, and change, as well as critically
examines how we live our lives. To try and address these ideas in literature while
ignoring what the humanity that we are exploring is, students may not be able to benefit
fully from the things that are to be learned from the texts. Therefore, to begin to
approach the classics such as ​The Great Gatsby, Animal Farm, ​and even ​Tom Sawyer​,
students need to learn to approach what it even means to be human. This material can
help them outside of the classroom, but also to examine historical figures and events
more closely to understand why things happen. In conclusion, this lesson allows students
to explore themselves, their relationships, their coursework, and their previous
knowledge in a different way.

2. Essential Questions
a. What does it mean to be human?
b. What does it mean for people when we ​don’t​​ honor their humanity?
c. How do your interactions with the world affect your humanity?

3. Standards
a. Common Core: English Language Arts Standards
i. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.2: ​Determine a theme or central idea of a
text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an
objective summary of the text.
ii. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.6: Analyze how an author develops and
contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text.
b. NC Essential Standards: Social Studies
i. 7.C.1.1 Explain how culture unites and divides modern societies and
regions (e.g. enslavement of various peoples, caste system, religious
conflict and Social Darwinism).
c. NC Essential Standards: Science
i. 7.E.1.6 Conclude that the good health of humans requires: monitoring the
atmosphere, maintaining air quality and stewardship.
 Sheldon, 3

​ y Lois Lowry
4. Fiction- ​The Giver b

a. Description​​:
The Giver​ is a book that seeks to explore what it would be like to live in a
restrictive dystopian society, and what it would be like to become aware of those
restrictions. Jonas is an eleven year old boy who is quickly approaching the
Ceremony of Twelve, a ceremony in which children of the same cohort turn
twelve and transition to adults and are assigned their jobs that they will do for the
rest of their lives. This ceremony is highly anticipated, as the transition into
adulthood is both intimidating but also exciting. Many assignments are easily
predictable, such as Jonas’ friend Fiona who is assigned to be a Caretaker of the
Old after her countless volunteer hours there. However, Jonas does not easily fit
with the potential jobs, and is incredibly unsure about where his place will be
within his society. When the Ceremony of Twelve finally comes, Jonas is selected
for the incredibly secretive (and previously unknown) job of Receiver of
Memory- a role for which he will be the only one in the community. Thus, he is
isolated from his peers and companions and is marked as different- interacting
with his peers and even his family in a different way. Jonas becomes the
apprentice to the Giver, a role which he feels incredibly intimidated by, especially
because the Giver allows him to defy many of the rules that Jonas and the
community value and enforce.Jonas quickly learns that his job will be to receive
experiences that the Giver has, safeguard these memories and experiences, and
use this knowledge to help his community make decisions. These memories, the
readers learn, are extensive: memories about war, pain, sadness, joy, weather,
color, and love. Jonas begins to see the realities of his society, which has removed
choice, emotion, color, and realization from all but the Receiver and Giver. The
Giver guides Jonas through accepting and processing these emotions, reminding
Jonas that without a Receiver, these emotions will be projected onto the members
of the community (who are not trusted to handle it). In the end of the book, Jonas
makes the difficult decision to leave the community to venture into a world he
 Sheldon, 4

doesn’t know, in order to protect a child and force his community to come to
terms with their reality, a reality that he believes they are entitled to know.

b. Relevance:
The book ​The Giver ​touches on many different aspects of humanity, and
what it means to be human. In the beginning of the story we see the community
that Jonas describes to us, related as he perceives it to be. He struggles with
seeing his friends Asher and Fiona seem to fit so seamlessly with roles that he is
sure they will eventually fill. Students can identify with Jonas, because he isn’t
always sure where he fits in with his society.
As students continue to read, I am sure that they will be surprised as Jonas
continues to reveal more about the society that he lives in. Between learning about
color, sunshine, cold, and warmth, to deeper realizations about being assigned
your spouse and your children, students will probably realize faster than Jonas
that his reality is very different than our own. Further, as students approach the
end of the book, they learn about “release;” which actually is a lethal injection
delivered to babies that aren’t desirable, the elderly, and those who break the rules
too often. Here, they will start to question this culture for denying its citizens, and
wonder about the humanity of a culture that can “release” one of a set of twins
simply because they don’t need two.
For middle schoolers, this book will be startling, but force them to start to
look deeply at how they look at their world and how they treat each other. They
will hope to be just like Jonas, a hero who sacrifices himself for the sake of his
community. From here, I can help students realize that the way they treat others
can help them be more like Jonas.

c. Strategy- Post-It Notes

We will use this book throughout the unit, assigning it on the first day
after the introductory activity (the video Human: the Circle of Compassion).
There are 23 chapters in ​The Giver,​ and I hope to spend three weeks on this unit,
starting on a Friday so that students who struggle with reading will have the
weekend to start reading if they need the extra time. By allowing three weeks, this
will allow students to spread some of the reading out, and give them a few days to
complete the readings. The readings will be grouped in three sections, with pages
1-71 for the first week, 72-162 for the second week, and 163-180 for the third.
While this is ambitious for some students, the 760 Lexile level which is
traditionally fourth grade will help even struggling readers be able to approach the
text on their own at home. I also have things due on Tuesday and Friday so that
students won’t necessarily need to do work over the weekend if their schedules
are busy and I can remind them on Monday.
In order to help students effectively interact with this novel, I want to use
discussion groups with the teacher, in order to help them learn to vocalize what
they are thinking about with a book, and be able to make reading a more
collaborative activity. However, this technique will be paired with sticky notes, in
 Sheldon, 5

order that students have to interact with the material as they read it. This will help
with group discussions so that students have something to help start the discussion
or help them restart if they get stuck. I will print a bookmark for students to keep
with their book. This will have information that they need to complete the sticky
note activity and explicit directions in case they get confused. If students lose this
bookmark, I will have a link to the bookmark posted on the website so there is
little excuse to be confused about the instructions.

The Giver
by Lois Lowry

Week One
● Pages 1-39 due Tuesday
● Pages 40-71 due Friday
Week Two
● Pages 72-120 due Tuesday
● Pages 121-162 due Friday
Week Three
● Pages 163-180 due
Tuesday

For Each Section:

We will be using a sticky-note
system for organizing and
recording our thoughts. Sticky
notes need to be completed by
class each day so that you are able
to participate in discussions. This
is what you need.

3: Sentences or passages you liked

and why
2: Thoughts you had about the text
2: Connections to the text
2: Words or phrases you want to
use in your own writing
1: Question you have
1: Prediction you have about the
text
 Sheldon, 6

5. Video - “Human: The Circle of Compassion” by Abby Lammers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhlgXvO5BXk

a. Description:
On June 9, 2015, Bill Gates opened a video contest with the prompt “What
does it mean to be human?” This project is co-sponsored with Big History Project,
a interactive tool that examines 13.8 billion years of world history with an
interdisciplinary perspective focusing on the “big picture”- all aimed at middle
school and high school students. This project is incredible, a free resource for
students, teachers and the general population that comes with lesson plans, videos,
and even a grading resource so that teachers can “​provide clear, consistent
feedback on student writing skills and growth so that the teacher can support more
direct interaction with students. (Big History Project)”
Back to the video, the author of this video claims that what really makes
us human is the “circle of compassion”- the idea that (unlike other animals) we as
humans have the capacity to a large circle of compassion. While an dog may be
able to care about its family, its owner, and maybe its neighboring dog friend, we
as humans can care about people that we will never know. This includes people
who live across the world that we may never know, people who haven’t been born
yet, people in the distant future who may be impacted by our actions today, and
wildlife that we may never interact with - even if it could be dangerous to us. The
author takes it further though, talking about how our actions that harm others
shrink our circles of compassion, and thus “human” is not so much automatic, but
rather a goal and aspiration for us all.

b. Relevance:
This video was the one selected to be the winner of the project. The cool
thing about this video is that the creator isn’t an adult or a world-recognized
name. Abby Lammers was (at the time) an eighteen year rising freshman in
college. Thus, it would be important for me, before showing this video, to
emphasize that my students are just as capable of ideas like this. They don’t need
 Sheldon, 7

to be adults or incredibly educated to contribute their ideas. I would want to

follow this up by encouraging them - in the course of learning about different
opportunities- to try! I would want to follow this up by creating a board of
opportunities that I have heard of to share their ideas and frequently advertise
these different opportunities to students; encouraging them to try, offering my
help if they want it, and highlighting their accomplishments in class.
This video is also relevant because middle schoolers struggle sometimes
with being nice to each other. I want students to learn that their circle of
compassion is important, and that, while being mean sometimes helps you to be
popular for a short period of time, being nice pays off in the long run. When they
think about adults that they truly respect and are trying to emulate, many of them
will think of people who would have large circles of compassion and are kind and
supportive to the students. For students who are acting as bullies now, you can
assure them that this will not be in their best interest in the long run. For students
who are being bullied now, you can encourage them that they are capable of
loving and being loved, and help them to start building their circle of compassion
by being very strategic in who you seat them next to. For students who are
considered neither bully or bullied in school, you can still emphasize the benefits
of compassion, encouraging them to continue to expand by being nice to those
around them and sometimes taking risks that may not have a direct positive result
for themselves, but absolutely have a influence for the person that they went out
of their way to help.

c. Strategy - Anticipation Guide

This is the video that I would probably use to start out the unit, and set the
tone for the remainder of the time. I would start this as the first video because I
feel that it is motivational, and after hearing it, students would also want to aspire
to the goal of a larger circle of compassion. This relates well to The Giver, and
can be continually related to the book, meaning that theme of “circle of
compassion” can be continually emphasized to students.
To teach this video, I would start with an anticipation guide for students,
trying to see what they believe already about both what it means to be human and
help prepare them for the different aspects of humanity that we will cover in this
class. I would use three columns however, adjusting the tool so that students can
respond before the video, after the video, and after the unit is finished. This
allows me to see their change over time, as well as continue to keep students
thinking about the different aspects of humanity that I feel that it is important for
them to continue to think about. For the last column, they will get to pick one of
these questions to explore further, which I will discuss later on.
 Sheldon, 8

Name: ___________________

Date: ___________________

Anticipation/Reaction Guide
Instructions: Respond to each statement three times: once before watching the video, once after
watching the video, and again after the completion. Write “A” if you agree with the statement.
Write “D” if you disagree with the statement. Be sure to keep this sheet in the front of your
notebook, as we will need this again after today.

Respons Topic: What does it mean to be Respons Response After Unit

e Before Human? e After
Video Video

I am human because I was born human.

I am human because I can interact with

the world around me: either with
stories, travel, and relationships.

It is important to my being human that I

honor the humanity of others.

The fact that I am a​ homo sapien ​is

enough to distinguish me as human

The root of human conflict comes from

not honoring each other’s humanity

It is important to my being human that I

have the ability to make choices and
learn from others.

My name is a big part of who I am, and

without it I would lose part of my
identity.

There is a figure in movies/books who I

consider to be human, even though I
know they aren’t.

There are changes I can make in my

life to be more human than I am now.
 Sheldon, 9

6. Short Story - The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst

https://il01001099.schoolwires.net/cms/lib/IL01001099/Centricity/Domain/367/TheScarl
etIbisText.pdf

a. Description:
This short story tells the story of a little boy named Doodle and his
brother, an unnamed narrator who is six years older than Doodle. The narrator
tells us that when Doodle was born, he had a lot of physical impairments and was
not expected to live, so much so that his parents didn’t name him until he was
three months old. Doodle’s brother wishes for a brother who was more like
himself, one who would be more active and be able to be the brother he feels he
deserves. It takes Doodle until the age of three to be able to crawl, and until five
(under the continued force of his brother) to be able to stand. Even then, it is with
great difficulty and too much strain is physically detrimental to Doodle.
From an early age, Doodle’s brother was a demonstrated threat to Doodle.
He considered smothering him as a child, but was only stopped from doing this
when Doodle was able to smile at him. Doodle’s brother continued to be a threat,
admitting to himself even that his need to not be affiliated with his disabled child
led to his pushing Doodle to not be disabled any longer.

a. Relevance-
This short story is incredibly relevant to students in middle school. First,
there is the issue of being nice to people. This, along with the video activity, are
intended to help students recognize that this is irrefutably important. This story
teaches that we need to be nice to each other; in this case, Doodle dies because his
brother isn’t nice to him, but also because he overexerts himself burying the
scarlet ibis- an action that all his family watched him do without helping. This
story calls us to be nice and helpful to all people, furthering the discussion on
bullying and urging people to be aware that they treat their circle of compassion
with compassion.
The second issue that this deals with is people with differing abilities than
our own. While no official label is given to Doodle, there is an apparent disability
that affects Doodle. Students in middle school will have interacted with people
who have disabilities by this time in their life, and now under the influence of
peer pressure and popularity, it is important that we remind them that people are
still deserving of their respect. This is part of what makes us human, is the ability
 Sheldon, 10

to care for members of our species who may not be considered to be the strongest,
smartest, or ablest.
The third issue that this story deals with is the bonds between siblings.
Many of my students will have siblings, important people in their lives who may
struggle with conflict from time to time. While assuring them that this is natural, I
also want to emphasize to my students that, though they may be terribly upset
with a sibling right now, their relationship is worth savoring and nurturing over
time, because they are family. This is the time when relationships with family
members may have been as tense as they have ever been for middle schoolers,
and reminding them that this is a natural part of growing up. But we must follow
that up with the reminder that these relationships are important, even if it may not
seem like it, to maintain and grow.

b. Strategy- Tea Party

For this short story, I would like to use the Tea Party strategy with them,
especially because the title does so little explaining into what the story is about,
even though it becomes incredibly clear after the fact. I would probably do this
lesson near the middle of ​The Giver​, using it in conjunction to parallel Gabriel
and Doodle. For the Tea Party strategy, I would start off my telling my students
that we are going to read a short story called The Scarlet Ibis and that before we
read we are going to use a pre-reading strategy intended to help with our ability to
predict. By emphasizing and naming what I am doing ahead of this strategy, I
would hope that students begin to practice metacognition, being aware of what it
is that they are learning and testing their own knowledge.
Next, I would have the words and phrases printed off ahead of time, and
have students draw from a hat. I would have them fill out in their journal (much
like we did) their phrase, as well as their initial impression and response. Then, I
would want students to share in their small groups with their neighbors, sharing
reactions, their phrases, and what they think it means. Finally, I would allow them
one to two minutes to ask with the entire class, using a variety of phrases varying
in tone to both confuse and engage them.
Then, I would bring the whole class back together. At this point, I would
have a couple people share their predictions, writing them on the board to allow
us to compare back to over the course of the story. Now that students are engaged,
collaborating, and excited, I would hand them the text to read. Students would
read quietly to themselves or a neighbor.
 Sheldon, 11

“It was in the clove of seasons” “Ironweeds grew rank amid the purple
phlox.”

“Miss Leedie, who was in love with President “He seemed all head”
Wilson”

“And was, from the outset, a disappointment” “Take Doodle with you”

“Big straw hat” “doodlebug”

“Mahogany coffin” “Old Woman Swamp”

“Necklaces and crowns” “Drop our jewels into the stream”

A screech owl “Mama, the doctor-everybody.”

“Don’t hurt me, Brother” “It seemed so hopeless from the beginning
that its a miracle I didn’t give up.”

“Suddenly, from out in the yard, came a “Bleeding tree”

strange croaking noise.”

“Broken vase of red flowers” “Looped one end around its neck”

“Shall We Gather at the River” “Made us laugh, and we covered our mouths
with our hands so he wouldn’t hear.”

“Peach cobbler” “I lay there crying”

“Brilliant red” “A streak of cruelty within me awakened”

“Far off in the marsh a rail was scolding” “The dark green woods through which we
passed were shady and cool”

“squawking” “An armada of fiddler crabs”

“And the swamp birds would be our “We’d huddle underneath an umbrella”
chickens”

“Like a half-empty flour sack” “Let’s make honeysuckle wreaths”

“Our laughter pealing through the swamp like “Keeping a nice secret is very hard to do, like
a ringing bell” holding your breath”
 Sheldon, 12

Name: __________________

Date: __________________

The Scarlet Ibis

What was your phrase? What is your first prediction based on your phrase?

After you talked to your group members, what is your new prediction?

After you talked to your classmates, what is your new prediction?

After you read the story, how do your predictions compare to what happened?
 Sheldon, 13

7. Song - “A Heart Full of Love” - Les Miserables

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pxXDCmEOnvmtrJLJp_18CZn2Yl-t1X_04xRHp
O3xqzs/edit?usp=sharing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C2oPyjoy8g​ (start at 3:16)

a. Description-
This is a song off of the 2012 movie musical rendition of Les Miserables,
a book written by Victor Hugo about the second French Revolution. This song is
between three characters, Marius, Eponine, and Cosette. In the song, Cosette and
Marius are able to speak to each other for the first time ever, after seeing each
other in the marketplace and becoming smitten. Here, they introduce themselves
to each other, and are excited about being able to have found each other. They are
the romantic lead for the rest of the movie, so this is an incredibly important
moment. This is also important because Marius is upper class, as his father is an
influential man during this time in Paris, while Cosette is lower class, the
daughter of a factory worker who is currently cared for by a known fugitive. This
song and this moment of meeting each other turns a lot of the events of the movie,
such as Marius struggling to focus on either his own ideology with the war or his
love for Cosette. It also has major implications for Jean Valjean, the main
character and the fugitive acting as Cosette’s father, in which the course of
Cosette’s love for Marius, Valjean is redeemed for his actions previously.
Despite the exciting and loving moment, there is tension within this song.
Marius’ friend Eponine come with him to find Cosette, secretly hoping that she
will reject Marius because Eponine has been in love with Marius for almost her
whole life. She has had a rough childhood much like Cosette, in fact, they were
both raised by the same people when Cosette was being looked after so her
mother could work. Eponine is shocked how quickly Marius and Cosette take to
each other, and is devastated as a result- always believing that she and Marius
were meant for each other and one day he would notice her. Thus, her own words
of both longing and sadness are intermingled with the newfound happiness and
joy of Marius and Cosette.
 Sheldon, 14

b. Relevance -
This song covers a lot of very human emotions as they relate to
relationships, which students in middle school will be discovering soon if they
haven’t already. Girls and boys will start to develop crushes, and have to learn to
navigate not hurting each others feelings. But it is important that we point out that
these are real transitions for them, and sometimes just because you like someone
doesn’t mean they will like you back. This is both discouraging and sad, but a
reality for students. However, we can point out some of the good behaviors that
these three characters did over the course of the song, and use those as modeling
on how students should approach their own problems with relationships. By
modeling what this successfully looks like in a constructive way, we can help
students learn how best to react and deal with their emotions when things don’t go
their way.
This song is also relevant because love, relationships, heartbreak, and joy
are a big part of what makes us human. We would be best to celebrate this,
honoring it for what it is and looking forward to our own opportunities to
experience these things. Many of my students will dream of love, with middle
school largely being the time in which students begin to explore this. This
discussion, if it needs to, can focus on being smart and safe in relationships, as
well as focus on reinforcing to students their own worth.

c. Strategy - RAFT
The strategy that I would hope to use with this song is RAFT
(Role/Audience/Format/Topic). First, I would want students to think through the
song, discussing the different relationships between the characters. From here, I
would ask all of the different groups to help me draw a web of connections
between the three on the board, based exclusively on the poem. As soon as that is
over, I would show students a clip of this song being sung, so that they can better
add understanding to how the characters interact and see how it is meant to be
shown.
After this, I would have students pick a RAFT prompt (see below) and
pair into groups with others who picked the same prompt. Here, I will ask them to
discuss what it is they would write about. They are allowed to bounce ideas off of
each other, but not directly copy someone else’s idea. Then, I would have them
return to their desks to write a first draft or detailed bulleted outline of their ideas.
This outline would be due at the end of class.
The reason that I chose to use the RAFT strategy with this activity is that
it forces students to look at things from another perspective, and to consider how
other people may feel about something that has happened. Here, there are a lot of
emotions going on and a lot of potential for more emotions to happen. By using a
RAFT format, people are able to consider not only their writing style, but how
they might best express the emotions that the characters are feeling, and interpret
them to how that character might behave. Also, by “walking in their shoes”
students can remember the humanity of all humans, keeping this in mind as they
structure their response and hopefully applying this activity to their own lives.
 Sheldon, 15

Role.Audience.Format.Topic

Eponine BFF Snapchat Messages Let me tell you what he did, what do I do now?

Cosette Dad Email I met a new boy, will you please let us go on a
date?

Marius BFF letter I want to go off to war, but I met this girl, what
do I do?

Dad Cosette List on the fridge Reasons why you can’t date him

Eponine Cosette A letter you will Here’s what I need to get off my chest (use
never send appropriate language)

Cosette diary Diary Let me tell you how it happened

Cop Marius Interrogation Why are you out this late at night? He must be up
to something- I should get the whole story
 Sheldon, 16

8. News Article - “Huge cleanup effort allows turtles to return to their nests on Indian
beach” - NewsELA
https://newsela.com/read/mumbai-beach-turtles/id/42024

a. Description-
This news article is about a man in India whose work to counteract and
work to clean up pollution has had positive results for the environment and has
helped bring back turtles to nest on the site. The article talks about how this is the
first time that sea turtles have been seen on the beach in many years, despite the
fact that they used to have nests on this beach. Sea turtles are a vulnerable species,
if not endangered, but they are loved and admired by a lot of different people. At
this beach, however, the humans had polluted the beach so badly with “​shin-deep
plastic and garbage” that had driven the turtles away from nesting there. However,
this beach was cleaned up by volunteers, led by Afroz Shah, a local who began
the clean-up on his own. This story talks about the ecological turn-around that
positive actions can have in a relatively short period of time. Whereas many
inhabitants hadn’t seen the turtles in years, it took only two years for them to
return to the same beaches after the pollution was cleaned up. From here, there are
volunteers and organizers who have committed themselves to keeping the new
baby turtles safe as they journey for the first time into the sea.

b. Relevance -
This article is both relevant to the theme of this unit and to the lives of
middle schoolers. The article is relevant to the unit because it demonstrates that
part of what makes us human is caring about other creatures and our environment.
Shah was under no obligation to help, or do anything about the problem, but he
still began cleaning up trash on the beach for six to eight weeks until the first
people offered to help him. He took a risk and made a choice, that even if his
neighbors and fellow citizens thought that his actions would do little good, he
would do them anyways. The theme of this unit is “What does it mean to be
human?” and selfless acts like this, along with acts that benefit our environment,
are an incredibly important part of who we are. To take this further, it is not only
good for our environment but is also looking out for future generations who will
inhabit the earth. As a vulnerable species, Shah seems to know the positive effects
of protecting these turtles and ensuring that their species survives, and the
 Sheldon, 17

continued joy that these turtles will bring further generations because of his
impacts and hard work.

c. Strategy - Question-Answer Relationship

I chose to use Question-Answer Relationship for my reading strategy for
this activity. This allows me to reinforce language arts standards and ask
questions pertaining to humanity while reading an article that seems like it is best
suited for science. For this day in class, I would have students read the article
aloud in a group Say Something style where I will “randomly” call on students for
different passages. I will start the passage by modeling for students what I want
them to do, reading a short stanza aloud before making a comment. Before we do
this, I will refer students to a list on the wall of things they can say in a Say
Something model (such as predict, summarize, connect, etc.).
Then, after the passage is read, I will pass out a worksheet in which
students will have to answer questions in several words to a few sentences. I will
use these questions to help spark creativity about how this relates to humanity,
and end the class period by discussing environmentalism and our humanity as a
group. I will align this lesson to occur after Jonas (in our reading ​The Giver​)
learns about animals, weather, and terrain- something his community does not
know.
 Sheldon, 18

Name:

Date:

Huge cleanup effort allows turtles to return to their nests on Indian beach
1. What are some of the causes of pollution in India?

2. Which large organization commended the work of Afroz Shah and the volunteers?

3. Will the beach cleanup help the Oliver Ridley turtles to be less vulnerable? Why?

4. What do you think Afroz Shah meant when he said “That’s when I knew it was going to
be a success.” Why?

5. Based off of the work of Afroz Shah and the volunteers, what might be some other ways
that India has benefitted from the cleanup?

6. What does it take to help people learn about an issue and want to help?

7. Based off of the author’s description of the clean-up, how would you inspire people to
want to help with an issue in our area?

8. What makes it difficult to keep from producing trash that can pollute our oceans and air?
 Sheldon, 19

9. Movie- Meet the Robinsons

a. Description-
This movie, a Disney classic, is a story of a little boy named Lewis who
dreams of being an inventor. Lewis lives in a state of uncertainness though, as he
is a ward of the state who has not impressed any potential adoptive parents
because of his fixation on being an inventor. He enters his first invention, a
memory scanner intended to help him find his mom, into the school science fair.
The scanner is sabotaged by the mysterious Man in a Bowler Hat, who steals the
machine from Lewis. Lewis meets Wilbur, a boy who takes him to the future
where Lewis meets his family. He is incredibly impressed, and finds himself
loving the experience of having a family- something he has no experience with.
Lewis ends up learning that the man in the bowler hat is still after him, but the
Robinsons protect Lewis from being kidnapped. Lewis feels like part of the
family until Wilbur admits to his family that Lewis is not from the future like they
are, and they urge him to go back. Lewis learns that the man in the bowler hat is
his roommate from the orphanage, who resents Lewis for messing up his life after
Lewis kept his roommate awake all night for the science fair. Lewis also learns
that the dad of the Robinson family is the future version of himself, and the reason
that the future has so many interesting, cool inventions. Much like his roommate,
the bowler hat is also an invention that Lewis had started on, but quickly
abandoned. Thus, his former roommate and the hat were working to destroy
Lewis and take all of the credit from him- as well as taking over the world. Lewis
defeats them, restoring the future to its utopian creation. Back in his own time,
Lewis saves the day for his roommate, keeping them from being mortal enemies
in the future, and makes it to the science fair in time for his scanner to succeed.
He is adopted by one of the science fair judges and her husband, and Lewis is on
his way to reaching the future he left.

b. Relevance-
This movie has several themes that I believe are very important to the
theme of humanity. First, the idea that all human beings are inter-related where
one action affects countless others is evident here. Without the intervention from
Wilbur, Lewis’s future son, Lewis may have made mistakes that would keep him
from being fully successful. For middle schoolers, this is important because they
need to remember, especially as friendships and relationships grow more
 Sheldon, 20

complex, that they need to treat everyone with respect and remember that their
own actions can have repercussions in other people’s lives.
Second, this movie also explores the idea of belonging and family. To
have a family is a big part in this movie, and Lewis and his roommate both are
looking for a family to love and accept them for who they are. For Lewis, this
looks like a family who will support his dreams. For middle schoolers, this is
important and could be related to the idea of “chosen family”- the idea that having
close friends who you treat as family is very important. This also relates for
students who may be struggling and in conflict with their own families right now.
Third, some of the themes of this movie come back to the idea of choices,
an important part of the human experience. There is a scene in the movie in which
Lewis is tremendously close to being able to see who his real mom is, a dream
he’s always had, but he makes the incredibly hard decision not to let her see him
so that it will preserve the future that is in place for him right now. This relates
back to the larger theme and the book that we are reading because a big part of
Jonas’s freedom lies in his ability to choose.

c. Strategy- Video Analysis

I want students to be able to enjoy the movie and the themes presented
here fully, so I be asking them to do a pretty informal jigsaw of the different
themes of the movie throughout. On a sheet of notebook paper, I want them to
talk about one assigned theme that they found in the movie, and how this relates
to the unit.
The different themes that will be assigned to students are: choice,
relationships, our connectedness to each other, how we treat people who are
different than us, and the effects of strong emotions.
In the next class period, I will have students meet with the people from
class who looked at the same theme as they did for about ten minutes to talk about
how it was present throughout the movie and also how it relates to the rest of the
unit. After that, I will mix up the groups, allowing the groups to be “experts” on
how the theme is found in the movie and the different connections they made.
 Sheldon, 21

Name:

Date:

Theme:
Meet the Robinsons

Theme Sighting! How it connects to everything else

 Sheldon, 22

10. Culminating Experience-

The culminating experience for this unit will return students back to the very first
lesson. That first lesson, the video from Bill Gates and Big History project, will be the
prompt that students follow when they create their own original video on “What does it
mean to be human?” They will be allowed to use and incorporate anything that they
learned in class, as well as anything else that they believe is important to understanding
what it means to be human.

Students will create a 5-7 minute video with sound using iMovie, Powtoon, Animoto,
WeVideo, or any other approved method. They will talk about what they think makes
people human, and what that means for their life. Here, the will need to include some
sources from texts that we have read, and an example from history where this idea held
out, and one where it didn’t.
For example, if a student chose to talk about personal choice, they could talk
about the advancements that have been made in a democratic society to make the
lives for all a lot better. On the other hand, they could talk about the ways that
people who are restricted are only able to act to their own potential in a
non-restrictive environment.
Students should use two to three original sources in their videos, and are welcome to use
as many sources as we used in class in their own presentation.

I chose to do this as a form of the culminating assessment because it forces

students to not only understand what they have been reading, but also make up their own
minds and act as independent thinkers. I believe that this would be an incredibly fun but
also useful assignment for them, allowing them to critically examine their own beliefs
and create a final project that they will be proud of. Not only should they be proud of it,
but it will be a nice “full-circle” representation of what they have learned and what they
may hope to do in their lives that will impact them in a positive way. Middle school is a
tough set of years, and I hope that this project enables students to see themselves and
each other as uniquely complex human beings. This way, we can start to end some of the
injustices and dehumanizing that we see in the world today.
In order to understand that students have succeeded in understanding the content
of this unit, I would want them to be able to incorporate all of the ideas that we have
learned about in their understanding of what makes them human. I would want them to
use new sources to accomplish this, drawing connections that we never did in class.
Finally, I would want them to make a final product that they would feel proud presenting,
because I fully believe that the pride a student takes in their work is a direct reflection of
how they will do, and how they understand.
 Sheldon, 23

References

A Heart Full of Love [Recorded by E. Redmayne, S. Barks, & A. Seyfried]. (2012). On ​Les
Miserables.​ Disney. Retrieved April 29, 2018, from
https://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/lesmiserables2012/inmylifeaheartfulloflove.htm

Anderson, S. (Director). (2007). ​Meet the Robinsons​ [Motion picture]. United States: Disney.

Big History Project. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2018, from

https://school.bighistoryproject.com/bhplive

Hurst, J. (2003). The Scarlet Ibis. In ​Elements of Literature: Third Course.​

Lowry, L. (1993). ​The Giver​. Houghton Mifflin.

Safi, M. (2018, April 11). Huge cleanup effort allows turtles to return to their nests on Indian
beach. Retrieved April 29, 2018, from ​https://newsela.com/read/mumbai-beach-turtles/id/42024

(2015, July 08). Retrieved April 28, 2018, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhlgXvO5BXk

RUBRIC FOR MULTI-GENRE READING PROJECT

Criteria On Target Acceptable Unacceptable Scores

Rationale of Explains why you chose the
Theme theme--why it’s
appropriate for the content
and middle schoolers
Missing one Minimal 5 pts. (5 total)
of the explanation
5 points -- Excellent
components
description of the rationale
.
for your theme, both with
middle school students and
the content area of ELA. I
specifically like the way you
referenced the need to learn
about humanity as a
prerequisite to be able to
make meaning of classic
literature.

Essential Three questions; Missing one Yes/No 2 pts. each (6 total)

Questions open-ended and connected of the questions;
6 points -- Great job creating
to theme components missing
open-ended questions that
. questions
can be built on throughout
the unit. They are
 Sheldon, 24

complicated, challenging,
critical questions. I
specifically like the question
about what it means when
we don’t honor someone’s
humanity. I almost feel like
that could be two fold: “In
what ways are people’s
humanity not honored and
what does that mean for
them?” One other suggestion
is to think about a fourth
question that moves
students to action: “What
are ways in which we can
recognize the humanity in
everyone?” Moving these
social justice concepts to
action.

Standards 4-6 standards; at least 2 Missing one 1-2 standards; 2 pts. each (8 total)
from 2 different content of the not
8 points -- Good choice of
areas; connect to theme components connected to
ELA standards for the literacy
theme
strategies you chose. I like
how you went outside of the
box and connected to more
than one other content area
as well.

Description of Provides thorough, Missing one Minimal 4 pts. each (24 total)
Each Text interesting, engaging of the description
24 points -- You did a great
description of text components
job detailing the specifics of
each text to provide a
complete context for them. I
also thought the sources you
chose were excellent for
your theme (I love The Giver
and the Bill Gates video
contest is such a cool
connection!) and the other
content areas (the science
articles, etc.).

Relevancy of Explanation of how text
Text to Theme, will be able to teach
Essential students content
Questions, & (standards), engage with
Standards theme, and build on
essential questions
Strategy to Explain strategy to be used
Teach Text (step-by-step) and its
purpose in teaching the
text (literacy skills)
Culminating Explanation of the
Assessment culminating assessment
and how it allows you to
assess the students’
understanding of the
content (standards),
Sheldon, 25
Missing one Minimal 4 pts. each (24 total)
of the explanation
18 points -- You did such a
components
good job thoughtfully
connecting the different
aspects of each text to the
theme and middle schoolers
themselves; however, in the
relevancy section you also
want to consider how each
source helps students
engage with and understand
various essential questions
and standards. You want to
always connect each text
back to your learning targets
to make sure it is a
meaningful pick and
contributes to those goals.
Missing one Minimal 4 pts. each (24 total)
of the explanation
24 points -- Laura, you went
components
above and beyond with your
development of the literacy
strategies for each text. The
handouts and prompts and
specific details you provided
for each strategy showed a
mastery of what we have
learned in this class and an
ability to apply it to your own
teaching. The RAFT,
anticipation guide, QAR, Tea
Party, video analysis, and
post-it note activities were
so well thought out. I was
super impressed and it was a
joy to read!
Missing one Minimal 5 pts. (5 total)
of the explanation
3 points -- Excellent idea to
components
show their understanding of
the theme in a unique way. I
like that they are required to
use examples from texts they
 Sheldon, 26

theme, and essential read in class, texts they

questions didn’t read in class, and
examples from history to
make the interdisciplinary
connection. In this section,
you’ll also want to explicitly
state how it helps you assess
students’ understanding of
the standards and essential
questions.

Quality of Fewer than 3 errors in Between 4-6 More than 6 4 pts. (4 total)
Writing grammar/syntax errors in errors in
4 points -- Good to go!
grammar grammar and
and syntax syntax

Total 92 points

Scale: 90-100 pts = A; 80-89 pts = B; 70-79 pts = C