Instructional Planning: Unit Plan

Unit
Unit 3- Night Subject/Course: English II
Title:
Grade: 10 Name: Nathalie Harper

Stage 1: Desired Results

Standards/Goals:
Reading:
• 9-10.RL.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
• 9-10.RL.5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it, and
manipulate time create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.
• 9-10.RL.6 Analyze how points of view and/or cultural experiences are reflected in works of literature, drawing
from a variety of literary texts.
• 9-10.RI.7 Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both
print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
• 9-10.RI.8 Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the
reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious
reasoning.

Writing:
• 9-10.W.7- Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self‐
generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple
sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
• 9-10.W.8- Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced
searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate
information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard
format for citation.

Supporting/Repeating Standards:
Reading:
• 9-10.RL.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as
well as inferences drawn from the text.
• 9-10.RL.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course
of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective
summary of the text.
• 9-10.RL.3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over
the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
• 9-10.RI.5 Analyze in detail how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular
sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter).
• 9-10.RI.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to
advance that point of view or purpose.

Writing:
• 9-10.W.1- Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid
reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

John Hopkins University School of Education

Unit Plan (K-12) Template 1
 a. Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create
an organization that establishes clear
relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the
strengths and limitations of both in a manner
that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify
the relationships between claim(s) and
reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
d. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and
conventions of the discipline in which they are
writing.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented
• 9-10.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade‐ specific expectations for writing types are defined in
standards 1–3 above.)
• 9-10.W.5- Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new
approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. (Editing for
conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grades 9–10.)
• 9-10.W.6 Use technology, including the internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing
products, taking advantage of technology's capacity to link to other information and to display information
flexibly and dynamically
• 9-10.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.
Essential Questions:
• When is it justified to be selfish over selfless?
• To what extent do individuals have control over their lives? What role does chance, choice, or fate play?
• How do individuals respond to systematic brutality, persecution, and violence? Commented [HN1]: Though the anchor text for this unit is
Night, these essential questions leave room for thoughtful
discourse on current issues as well.
How do these desired results align with your class vision?

These results are aligned to the state standards as well as to the ACT, which will prepare them to be successful on
benchmarks and standardized testing. Additionally, they also promote literacy skills to develop them into lifelong
readers, learners, and thinkers. Lastly, the work will be collaborative and will also require the development of effective
study and work habits.

Stage 2a: Assessment/Evidence

Explain any performance tasks you will use (major projects and core task, i.e., common assessments):

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT 1- Holocaust Research Google Slides Presentation

Students will choose a topic from a list of options relevant to Night and conduct research to create a Google Slides
presentation to present to the class.

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT 2- Argument Proof Paragraph 1

Students will write a paragraph with a thesis, three embedded quotes, and analysis about the prompt “How did Elie,
his family, and his community react to the persecution they have faced thus far?”.

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT 3- Socratic Seminar 1

Students will participate by writing questions and discussing as a class. Their discussion should center on the unit’s
Essential Questions.

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT 4- Argument Proof Paragraph 2

Students will write a paragraph with a thesis, three embedded quotes, and analysis about the prompt “Was Elie
justified in questioning his faith given all that he had been through?”.

John Hopkins University School of Education

Unit Plan (K-12) Template 2
 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT 5- Socratic Seminar 2
Students will participate by writing questions and discussing as a class. Their discussion should center on the unit’s
Essential Questions.

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT 6- Modern Issue PSA

Students will come up with a modern issue of systemic brutality, violence, or persecution that they feel their
classmates should take action to stop. They will use persuasive techniques to motivate their peers to take part of the
solution they are proposing and create a PSA to be presented to the class.

Explain other assessment evidence you will use: (quizzes, tests, prompts, work samples and observations):

CHAPTER QUIZZES- Students will demonstrate comprehension of the text as well as mastery of skills practiced in
class by taking a multiple-choice quiz.

Stage 2b: Summative Assessment for this Unit

Argument Essay- Students will synthesize information from all of the texts throughout this unit to answer one of the
Essential Questions below in a five-paragraph essay.

1. When is it justified to be selfish over selfless?

2. To what extent do individuals have control over their lives? What role does chance, choice, or fate play?
3. How do individuals respond to systematic brutality, persecution, and violence?

Explain how you have designed your assessment, so you can easily track mastery by objective.
Students will be graded using the ACT rubric, which has been used throughout the year for each essay that they
have written
Multiple Choice Assessment- Students will be given an informational and literary nonfiction text and answer
questions aligned to state standards from this unit.

Stage 3: Learning Plan

Learning Plan (Activities and Resources):

Day 1: Holocaust I- Students will complete a KWL chart as a pre-assessment and complete a Gallery Walk in which
they will be introduced to the Holocaust and concentration camps by reading and viewing information and answering
questions in a graphic organizer.

Day 2: Holocaust Research- Students will choose a topic from a list of options relevant to Night and conduct
research to create a Google Slides presentation to present to the class.
Commented [HN2]: I chose to spend an entire week
building background knowledge and context before
Day 3: Holocaust Research Continued. beginning the book in order for students to be able to make
connections and develop a deeper understanding. This
Day 4: Holocaust Research Presentations- Students will present their Google Slides to the class and take notes on proved to be successful as students were better able to
information from each other’s presentations in a graphic organizer. understand the nuances of Elie Wiesel’s story including that
of his Jewish faith. Additionally, students were empowered
Day 5: Holocaust Research Presentations Continued by choosing a topic from a list, doing all of the research, and
teaching each other instead of me providing resources or
Day 6: Holocaust Movie Clips- Students will view clips from “The Diary of Anne Frank” and record notes in a graphic lessons about the topics.
organizer about the mood of each clip and what they saw related to the Holocaust in each clip. Commented [HN3]: Students began applying their
knowledge of the Holocaust as well as processing the
Day 7: Holocaust Movie Clips- Students will view clips from “Life is Beautiful” and record notes in a graphic organizer essential questions before they began the novel. It was a
about the mood of each clip and what they saw related to the Holocaust in each clip. good hook to the book to incorporate scenes from movies in
which students could visualize some of the things they would
read about.

John Hopkins University School of Education

Unit Plan (K-12) Template 3
 Day 8: Night Chapter 1- Students will practice analyzing shifts in mood in popular music, then they will analyze shifts
in mood in Chapter 1 using the author’s description, character dialogue, and plot events. They will take notes of shifts
with evidence in their reader’s notebook.

Day 9: Night Chapter 1 Continued- Students will discuss Chapter 1 with their groups and take a quiz over Chapter 1.

Day 10: Argument Proof Paragraph 1- Students will write a paragraph with a thesis, three embedded quotes, and
analysis about the prompt “How did Elie, his family, and his community react to the persecution they have faced thus
far?”. Commented [HN4]: This practice helped prepare them for
their end of unit assessment, an essay over one of the
Day 11: Night Chapter 2-3- Students will read Chapter 2 and 3 and use a Double Entry Journal to write notes about Essential Questions. Each time we write a paragraph,
quotes related to the Essential Questions. students are focusing on a specific skill based on data from
their last essay. For this paragraph, they focused on selecting
Day 12: Night Chapter 2-3 Continued- Students will discuss Chapter 2 and 3 with their group and take a quiz on appropriate text evidence as support. Additionally, they can
Chapter 2-3. potentially use parts or the entire paragraph in their final
essay if they do well on it and it applies to the prompt they
choose.
Day 13: Socratic Seminar 1- Students will participate by writing questions and discussing as a class. Their
discussion should center on the unit’s Essential Questions. Commented [HN5]: This unit includes several Socratic
Seminars in order for students to deepen their understanding
Day 14: Night Chapter 4- Students will take notes in a Double Entry Journal on important quotes related to the of the text and make connections. This, in turn, also leads to
Essential Questions while reading Chapter 4 independently. better writing as students flesh out some ideas and discuss
Essential Questions throughout the book.
Day 15: Night Chapter 4 Continued- Students will finish reading Chapter 4, discuss with their groups, and take a quiz.

Day 16: Night Chapter 5- Students will identify examples of irony in clips from television and movies, then they will
identify irony in the beginning of Chapter 5 and record them in their reader’s notebooks.

Day 17: Night Chapter 5 Continued- Students will play a Quizizz game to review similes, metaphors, personification,
and onomatopoeia, then they will identify examples of irony, similes, metaphors, personification, and onomatopoeia
in Chapter 5 and record their examples in their reader’s notebooks.

Day 18: Night Chapter 5 Continued- Students will share two examples of figurative language that they found in
Chapter 5 and they think others did not find. They will write them on a sticky note and place them in the appropriate
column on a class poster. Then, they will take two examples that they did not find off of the class poster and 1)
explain whether the writer of the sticky note correctly identified the example of figurative language, and 2) interpret
them by explaining what they mean on an index card. They will take a quiz over Chapter 5.

Day 19: Argument Proof Paragraph 2- Students will write a paragraph with a thesis, three embedded quotes, and
analysis about the prompt “Was Elie justified in questioning his faith given all that he had been through?”. Commented [HN6]: This practice helped prepare them for
their end of unit assessment, an essay over one of the
Day 20: Night Chapter 6- Students will complete a Timeline Jigsaw activity to look back at Chapter 1-5 and identify Essential Questions. Each time we write a paragraph,
important events to add to a class timeline that will be replicated in their notebooks. Then, they will read chapter 6 students are focusing on a specific skill based on data from
and identify important events to add as they go. their last essay. For this paragraph, they focused on
embedding quotes more seamlessly. Additionally, they can
Day 21: Night Chapter 6- 7-Students will read chapter 6 and 7 and identify important events to add to their timelines potentially use parts or the entire paragraph in their final
essay if they do well on it and it applies to the prompt they
as they go. Then, they will take a quiz over chapter 6-7. choose.

Day 22: Night Chapter 8-Students will read chapter 8 and identify important events to add to their timelines as they
go. Then, they will take a quiz over chapter 8.

Day 23: Night Chapter 9-Students will read chapter 9 and identify important events to add to their timelines as they
go. Then, they will take a quiz over chapter 9.

Day 24: Choice Articles Assignment- Students will participate in a “What Would You Do” Activity to critically think
through their responses to systemic brutality, persecution, and violence that they see around them. Then, they will
choose two articles about such examples to reflect on.

John Hopkins University School of Education

Unit Plan (K-12) Template 4
 Day 25: Choice Articles Assignment Continued- Students reflect on examples of systemic brutality, persecution, and
violence by selecting two modern articles and reflecting on them. Commented [HN7]: I used my knowledge of my students’
backgrounds to select articles that I knew would be relevant
Day 26: Socratic Seminar 2- Students will participate by writing questions and discussing as a class. Their and interesting to them. They selected two from the folder,
discussion should center on the unit’s Essential Questions. thus giving them more autonomy and increasing for
relevance as well. This lesson was successful in applying
Day 27: Argument Essay Pre-Writing- Students will write a thesis for each Essential Question and post them on some of the concepts from the book to modern society in a
posters in the classroom. As a class, we will practice revising student examples. Then, students will select a question way that was meaningful to the students.
and begin brainstorming and identifying text evidence.

Day 28: Argument Essay Rough Draft- Students will begin working on their body paragraphs by identifying text
evidence.

Day 29: Argument Essay Rough Draft Continued- Students will finalize rough drafts including an introduction, three
body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Day 30: Argument Essay Revising and Editing- Students will participate in a peer feedback protocol, then make
changes to their essays.

Day 31: Argument Essay Final Draft- Students will type and submit a final draft of their essay.

Day 32: Persuasive Speech Analysis- Students will analyze Elie Wiesel’s “Peril of Indifference” for author’s purpose
and persuasive techniques by annotating as they follow along and listen.

Day 33: Persuasive Speech Analysis Continued- Students will analyze Elie Wiesel’s “Peril of Indifference” for
author’s purpose and persuasive techniques by annotating as they follow along and listen.

Day 34: PSA Project- Students will be introduced to Public Service Announcements and observe examples,
analyzing and discussing what makes a good PSA. They will then choose a topic and begin researching.

Day 35: PSA Project Continued- Students will plan a PSA by completing a script and a storyboard.

Day 36: PSA Project- Students will use an online software to create a PSA.

Day 37: PSA Presentations- Students will view other student’s PSA’s and take notes. At the end, they will vote for the
PSA they feel was most effective, with evidence to support their answers. Commented [HN8]: This was the first time I have done
this project, but it was very successful and I will be doing it
Day 38: Multiple Choice Assessment- Students will be given an informational and literary nonfiction text and answer again because students were able to apply their learning from
questions aligned to state standards from this unit. the unit Essential Questions and advocate for a cause they
believe in. Due to the limitations of the free, online software
we used, I cannot share examples of them. However, it was
inspiring to see students make connections with injustices in
the novel to injsutices in their world. Also, the persuasive
speech analysis done prior proved to be helpful in giving
them ideas of rhetoric to use to get their point across.
Commented [HN9]: This was the most successful unit of
the year so far. Students were very engaged, had deep,
meaningful conversations, produced their best essays of the
year, and their data showed tremendous growth relative to
other quarters. From building context, Socratic Seminars to
deepen understanding and make connections, and the final
application in their projects, students really seemed to be
engaged, which increased their investment in the unti and
therefore produced results.

John Hopkins University School of Education

Unit Plan (K-12) Template 5