The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Unit Contents:
Contents Page
1
Introduction to Unit Plan Pages 2-3
Overview of Assignments and Value Page 4
Outline of Daily Lessons Page 5
Lessons in Detail Pages
6-25
Unit Plan Introduction:
This is a three week unit plan designed to utilize The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night by Mark Haddon along with numerous supplemental materials. The unit is designed for a 10th grade Regents English class and involves many different medians that all tie in with the novel. The focus in not limited to autism, it involves perspective and
A crucial source
included in my unit plan is an excerpt from Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My
Journey Through Autism by Dawn Prince Hughes a woman with a
PhD in Anthropology who was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome later in life
and finds an emotional connection to life through a relationship with gorillas
at a local zoo. Other sources
incorporated are Benny and Joon;
which portrays a media view of autism, a field trip to a local autistic school
in which students will interact with others from the school (pre-planned and
approved activities), a WebQuest; which students will need to complete various
tasks as the unit progresses mainly interactive and culminating in writing
assignments, an individual project; which will focus on each students’ strength
relating to Christopher’s math genius; a group performance project referring to
the novel, a journal, and a Regents style essay. This unit is designed to create an
understanding between students, the novel, perspective, writing style, and
tolerance through knowledge.
This unit plan does involve a lot of
work; however, I feel that it is interactive in a way that will catch students’
attention and seem much less tedious.
After participating in all of these activities, students should gain a
deep understanding in the area of perspectives in literature, real life, and
different forms of media. They will be
able to explore various views regarding autism and use those views to create
their own; which will result in a sense of ownership. Also, this unit is aimed at using many forms
of learning so that each student might explore and perhaps even discover a
particular talent or taste. Exploration
with the starting point and ending point of literature is my main focus.
Overview of
Assignments and Value
(To be handed out
to students as well)
(20%) Journal- Students will keep a journal for the
entire unit. Each student is expected to
write down reactions, thoughts, questions, concerns or generally anything
covered in class or for homework. On
some days, the journal topic will be assigned, on others; I will allow them the
freedom to choose what they desire to write about as long as it is thought
provoking and not spitting back the plot.
They will record creative thoughts each day. This activity should spur some creative
writing, as that is the main focus of the grade.
(20%) Class
Participation- We will
ALL be partaking in a variety of classroom activities during daily
lessons. I expect each student to
participate each day and maybe even find a particular lesson enlightening!
(20%) WebQuest/mini-essays- Each student will need to complete the
novel unit WebQuest which will include interactive homework lessons and brief
essays.
(20%) Group
Performance Project- Each
student will play a significant and challenging role in the performance project
which will involve acting out a scene from the novel.
(20%) Regents
Essay- In order to prep
students for the upcoming Regents examination; a professional and polished
essay will culminate from this novel unit.
Unit Outline
|
Day 1 What is the deal with
Christopher? (Introductory lesson) |
Day 2 How does the media interpret
Autism for us? |
Day 3 Whose line is it anyway? |
Day 4 Watching clips from Benny and Joon |
Day 5 Brainstorming for performance
piece. |
|
Day 6 Field trip to ASCENT |
Day 7 Letters from father. |
Day 8 Reading an excerpt from Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey
Through Autism by Dawn PhD. Prince-Hughes |
Day 9 Symbols |
Day 10 Acting out a scene from the Dog Book |
Lesson 1- What is
the deal with Christopher? (Introductory lesson)
Focus: Introduce novel
to students by reading aloud up to page 8 (right when Christopher hits the
police officer). Have one student read
aloud per “chapter.” Then stop to talk
about what students think of the character.
What we are doing today and why:
1. In order to
introduce the novel and the main voice of it, I will have students take turns
reading the first eight pages of the novel aloud in class. By the point when Christopher hits the police
officer, I will hopefully have engaged their attention.
2. At this point, I will ask students to make their first
journal entries. Write on board: Do you
notice anything different about our narrator?
If so, what? Give examples to
support your claims. If not, support
your claim with text that there is nothing unusual or significant to notice. After about ten minutes, I will ask
students to share thoughts they have regarding the text. In order to share more
actively, I will ask several students to come up to the board and write down
some characteristics Christopher has.
3. If someone recognizes that Christopher has Asperger’s
Syndrome, use that as a gateway to the next discussion. Ask the class if they know what the syndrome
is. Next,
ask them to write down briefly in their journals any thoughts on the syndrome
or conceptions they have of it.
4. For homework, guide them to the WebQuest. Students will complete Task #1 (which focuses
on different media presentations of Autism).
They will email me responses to Task #1 by 8:30 p.m. that evening. If a student is without reliable Internet
access, he or she will have until the next day to use the school computer
lab. Students will also read up to page
26.
I wanted students to get accustomed
to writing in their journals and stress the significance of the journals by
using them from day one. Students will
also gain some reading aloud practice through this activity and will have to
think for themselves as I will not always give them the answers. I also want students to reflect on first
impressions later in the unit and this is made possible by recording initial
reactions to the narrator. Today’s
lesson also sets the stage for how crucial a narrator is and what
characteristics are possible.
Resources: Each student is to have a copy of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, and a notebook designated
for the journal.
Handout 1
Reading Schedule and other info:
Week #1: Day 1- read pages 1-26
Day 2- 26-50
Day
3- 50-76
Day
4- 76-100
Weekend-
100-155
Week #2: Day 6- 155-177
Day
7- 177-200
Day
8- wrap it up!
Regarding Journals: If you are
absent or need to take a second look at journal topics, please refer to the WebQuest
for all your journal needs.
Permission Slip
As part of our unit plan, the
class will take a half day field trip to:
ASCENT: A School for Individual
with Autism
It is my hope that this field trip
will enhance our learning experience for both the current novel we are working
with and other real world learning values.
Activities will be pre-planned with our teachers and those from
ASCENT. Students will be supervised at
all times.
Please print and sign your name:
x_______________ _______________ date: ______
(Transportation will be provided).
Lesson 2- How
does the media interpret Autism for us?
What we are doing today and why:
1.
Organizing Book Clubs to discuss the novel. These clubs will also be the same for the
performance activity. Book Club will
consist of 4-5 students (depending on class size). These groups will work together on discussion,
development, some brief writing exercises, classroom discussion, and ultimately
the final performance. Hand out rules on
Book Club.
2.
Hand out first
Book Club discussion. Allow about 15
minutes for discussion. Share findings
with class.
3.
If there is time,
individually write in journals: What are
your feelings for Christopher at this point in the novel? Do you find his activities more normal and
understandable than if his story were told from another perspective, say his
dad, or teacher? That said what does
perspective do to a novel, how and why?
Is it important to recognize perspective and understand where a narrator
is coming from? If there is no time left, it is the responsibility of the
students to complete this journal assignment.
4.
Homework on
handout is to be completed at home.
Today I broke up students into
Book Club groups, hoping to make the lesson more entertaining and also with the
purpose of using peer groups for many different class functions. Small group discussion is crucial to
literature classes and practice should begin as early as possible. Once students become comfortable in small
settings, they will most likely participate more easily in a larger group. I also feel that as a teacher, it might be
better to allow students to feel ownership of the discussion. By not lecturing to them much, they might
feel a stronger bond with the text as I allow them freedom.
The handout guides them in their
discussion. It is important for students
to decipher Christopher’s dispassionate style of writing. A key example is found on pages 45-48 when he
describes his behavioral problems, how they affected his parents and their
marriage and with what style he accomplishes this. How do students react to this style? What does it tell us about the narrator and
his connection to emotions? Christopher’s
emotions and the lack thereof is a critical arena in this novel. Students will hopefully discuss different
approaches to emotions and why Christopher’s approach seems so foreign.
Handout 2
RULES FOR BOOK CLUB:
1st RULE: You do not talk about
BOOK CLUB.
2nd RULE: You DO NOT talk about
BOOK CLUB.
3rd RULE: If someone says
"stop" or goes limp, or taps out the book is over.
4th RULE: Only two guys/girls to a
book.
5th RULE: One book at a time.
6th RULE: No dictionaries, no
thesaurus.
7th RULE: Books will go on as long
as they have to.
8th RULE: If this is your first
night at BOOK CLUB, you HAVE to read.
***It might be a good idea to
exchange email and aol screen name information as you will need to be in
contact with one another outside of school at time.
Handout 3
Book Club’s 1st Assignment
Openly discuss the following in
your group:
Lesson 3- Whose
line is it anyway?
What we are doing today and why:
For today’s lesson, students will
put their homework assignment to use, acting use.
Assessment: This is meant to be a fast-paced lesson and one that
involves reading, decision-making, collaborating, acting, and
participating. Students will have to
work closely in their groups and think fast.
The result should be an entertaining lesson in improvisational acting. They may have to alter the text and can do so
in any way fitting. The journal entry
will allow students to reflect on the activity and it will allow me to read how
they felt about it overall.
If each student is participating
and considering how the character from the text would react in each
circumstance then the activity has proved successful. Students should be more familiar with
Christopher at this point in time and use that knowledge in a quick acting
activity. It also always for control of
the text, for they are changing it and spontaneously. The authority is theirs.
Handout 4
Whose line is it anyway?
Lesson 4- Watching
clips from Benny and Joon
What we are doing today and why:
Today we will watch certain clips
from the movie Benny and Joon. The character of Joon has some sort of mental
illness; which some speculate to be autism.
I would like specifically to focus on Joon’s relationships with her
brother and Sam (her love interest).
1.
Watch scenes of Joon’s
relationship with her brother (they have lived together for years after their
parents’ death).
2.
Pause film, take out
journals: What do you notice in this relationship? Can Joon be compared to Christopher in any
way? What similarities/differences do
you see in Joon’s relationship to Benny compared to Christopher’s relationship
with his father?
3.
Watch scenes of Joon
and Sam.
4.
Pause film, take out
journals again: Given Christopher’s aversion to being touched, can he experience his
parents’ love for him, or can he only understand it as a fact, because they
tell him they love him? Is there any
evidence in the novel that he experiences a sense of attachment as Joon does to
Sam? How is her experience with love
different from Christopher’s?
Students will watch scenes with a
couple dim lights turned on. I will
pause after each segment and write down the journal questions on the
board. They will have a couple minutes
to think and respond. If there is time,
I will ask them to share what they have written. I also considered using both Rain Man, and Punch-Drunk Love.
Resources: DVD Player, films.
Lesson 5- Brainstorming
for performance piece.
What we are doing today and why:
In order for students to practice
some more acting and using the text as their model, they will break up into
their Clubs today and discuss the project.
1.
Break up into Book
Clubs.
2.
Pass out Handout 5.
3.
Explain to students
that they will be preparing a scene from the novel to act out for the class
next week.
4.
Each student must
participate in some significant way.
5.
They have the freedom
to select the scene.
6.
Props, music, anything
creative is stressed to add to the production.
7.
Take class into
auditorium to talk or practice.
8.
Reminder: WebQuest
Task #2 should be completed over the weekend.
I would give students as much
freedom on this project as possible.
Once again by doing this, I’m giving them ownership of the text. They will have to find a scene to agree on
and decide how to interpret it. I
understand that they have not completed the novel yet at this point, so they
will have to select something from the reading done up to the weekend. Students will probably have to get together
after school or during free periods to discuss and work on the project. Talking online is also helpful as long as each
student is involved. If students decide
to film these scenes, video cameras will be readily accessible from the school
(I hope!). By taking them to the
auditorium, I am attempting to set the stage literally and make this experience
feel more authentic.
Resources: Video Camera and pre-planned access to school
auditorium.
Handout 5
The
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is soon going to be made into a film. Imagine you are filmmakers and actors. Your responsibility is to take one scene from
the novel and bring it to life for our class.
Use your Book Clubs for members. It
is recommended that you use an action scene and one with a couple of characters
in it. Use props, costumes, or anything
else you can think of. Be sure your
actors are vocal and in character. The
scene will last at least 5 minutes. You
must remain true to the text. Besides
that you can be as creative as you wish.
You will have one week to complete this task. I realize we have not completed the text. Use scenes that we have read unless you are
extremely eager and finish the book. Below
you will need to fill out each group member’s name and most significant role in
this project. Hand this in to me by the next
lesson.
X_____________________________
X _____________________________
X______________________________
X ______________________________
X ______________________________
Scene?
______________________________________________________________
Lesson 6- Field
Trip
What we are doing today and why:
Today is a field trip day. Of course this activity would take much more
planning and cooperation from teachers at the other school. As I am not a specialist on autism, I would have
to meet with the teachers from ASCENT in advance and more than once to discuss
the procedures they had in mind. I would
want my students to interact with the ASCENT students in a safe, respectful and
learning filled way. ASCENT teachers
will have an understanding of what activities their students can partake in
that my students can also partake in together.
I would think that small group activities would be best as students can
become more intimate easier. I would
also speak to my students beforehand about being respectful, understanding and
patient.
The reason I had this idea is
because of a couple activities I have seen.
Once I covered an activity for a local newspaper regarding two
schools. A couple high school teachers gathered
together with the district’s kindergarten teachers. In the end, they organized a trip for the
older students to visit the younger and teach them a mini lesson on weather
sciences (something they worked on in class).
Students had to tailor the lesson to a kindergartner’s level of
understanding. They also created
mini-experiments, diagrams and worksheets for the kids. Overall the day was a huge success. Teachers from the high school commented that
even the tough kids melted their outer exterior while working with the young
children. I have also seen schools take
classes to nursing homes to visit patients.
I think students will gain a
deeper insight into Christopher’s character and also realize that each
individual is different. Christopher is
not a model by any means. This day should
also give students an experience of tolerance to be around others who are
different yet the same as they are.
Perhaps my students could read to
the other students. I think this would
be a great activity benefiting everyone.
Journal: Please comment on your experiences today. Was this a positive activity?
Lesson 7- Letters
from father
What we are doing today and why:
Today I would like to address the
significance of letters in this book. The
entire novel is written from the eyes of Christopher except when we are finally
introduced to his mother through letters, a wonderful look into her
perspective. Her letters also change the
story as we were informed that she was dead earlier and apparently, she is
not.
1.
Read a couple letters
from text from mother.
2.
Give handout.
3.
Students will work
silently and independently on this.
4.
After about 15
minutes, students will share letters and then hand them in to me.
Handout 6
epis·to·lary
Pronunciation: i-'pis-t&-"ler-E,
"e-pi-'sto-l&-rE
Function: adjective
1 : of, relating to, or suitable to a letter
2 : contained in or carried on by letters
3 : written in the form of a series of letters
An epistolary
novel is a literary technique in which
a novel
is composed as a series of letters, though diary entries, newspaper clippings
and other documents are sometimes used.
The form is related
to the false document form, but
more probably draws inspiration from the letters in the New Testament.
The epistolary novel
was a form most popular in the 18th
century in the works of such authors as Samuel Richardson, whose
epistolary novel Pamela, considered one of the First novels
in EnglishLaclos' Les Liaisons Dangereuses
used the epistolary form to great dramatic effect, because the sequence of
events was not always related directly or explicitly. The epistolary novel
slowly fell out of use in the 19th
century, especially as Jane
Austen popularized techniques of the omniscient narrator.
Bram
Stoker's Dracula (1897)
uses not only letters and diaries, but dictation tapes and newspaper
accounts.
C.
S. Lewis used this form to craft his Screwtape Letters and
considered writing a companion novel from an angel's
point of view--though he never did so.
In the late 20th
century, Emma Bull and Steven
Brust's Freedom and Necessity combined letters with diary
entries, as did Alice Walker's The Color Purple.
The most recent
mutation of the epistolary novel is the novel in e-mails, which follows the
same format (example: PS He's Mineliterature,
false document.
The term epistolary
refers to the older term for a letter, epistle. It has nothing to do
with epistemology.
da:Brevromande:Briefromanes:novela
epistolar
http://www.searchspaniel.com/index.php/Epistolary_novel
Although this is not strictly an epistolary novel, letters
play a significant role in the Dog book.
Consider the importance of mother’s letters and then create your own
letter from Christopher’s father. Here
is the scenario for your letter:
Christopher’s father confesses to killing
For journals tonight:
Consider the importance of letters in Literature.
We will read these at the end of class. ***
HW: Look at
Task #3 on WebQuest. Work on the essay
over the weekend in order to hand it in on Monday. There will be one revision next week. However, we will be moving on to a new unit
so put plenty of effort into these.
Lesson 8 – Reading
an excerpt from Songs of the Gorilla
Nation: My Journey Through Autism by Dawn PhD Prince-Hughes
What we are doing today and why:
Today I would like to use an
excerpt from another piece of literature that can be compared and contrasted to
our main novel. Prince-Hughes is
extremely well educated and has written this book regarding her life and living
with autism; which she was not diagnosed with until her 30’s. This will be a good reading and analyzing
exercise.
1.
The class will be
given handouts of Gorilla Nation
2.
They will take turns
reading aloud one paragraph at a time
3.
Students will break up
into pairs
4.
They will complete
handout
I think it is important to
incorporate another piece of literature into the unit and this was the best
example I found. It offers students the
perspective of a grown and educated woman with autism who finds a bond to life
through gorillas. There is also a
connection between Christopher and his rat Toby. Do humans have better connections with
animals than other humans? Students will
examine the language the author uses to describe the gorillas and the constant
theme of birth.
Resources: Highlighter
or different color pen.
Handout 7
In Gorilla Nation, the narrator has a
special bond to gorillas. Why do you think she is able to bond to the gorillas
in the zoo better than human beings?
Highlight all references to birth in the text. What is so significant about birth to the
narrator?
Now think
about Christopher’s relationship with Toby the rat. Why do you think he likes Toby so much? Is it possible that he likes Toby better than
most people?
What
similarities or differences do you see in these animal/human relationships, and
what differences?
Imagine
the opposite: Christopher goes to the zoo and observes the gorillas, what does
he think about them, how would he write about them?
Or
Dawn goes
to the pet shop and passes by the rats…does she even stop, what does she think
about them? Does she want one?
Please
collaborate for one short paper in response to these questions to be handed
in.
Journal: Comment on
anything we have discussed today.
Lesson 9- Symbols
What we are doing today and why:
Today we will go into the computer
lab for a lesson on symbols. By using
the webpage symbols.com students will browse through various symbols and select
5-7 which they will print out.
1.
Instruct students to
write a one page description of someplace they have walked to recently, i.e.
class, a store, the movies, the woods etc.
2.
Go to computer Lab
3.
Refer students to
symbols.com
4.
Tell them to select
5-7 symbols that can replace words in their stories and print them out
5.
return to classroom
6. Insert symbols into stories. How does it impact your story?
7. Read some stories, when a symbol comes up, show it to the class and read definition. Ask what the describing words mean to students, what do they think of or picture? Is it the same for everyone?
This lesson will teach students the significance of symbols. They will learn the endless amount of them by browsing through this extensive webpage and how frequently we use them in our lives without even thinking. We use them visually and not always in our writing. However, what happens to our writing when we exchange words for symbols? Does it change the meaning in any way?
Handout 8
Today we will write a brief one page story about a
short journey we have taken i.e. to the mall, to a friend’s house or to
school. Be observant and recall what you
have seen on the way.
Next we will take a trip to the computer lab and
look up symbols.com which is a thorough website on symbols.
Select five to seven symbols that can replace words
in your piece. Print them out.
Return to classroom and replace the words with
symbols.
We will read the stories and discuss how the
symbols and how words affect the story in different ways. Do we all have the same idea of a specific
sign or word?
Journal: Comment on anything we have
discussed. This is your final
entry. I will collect journals
tomorrow.
Don’t forget tomorrow is your acting debut!
Lesson 10- Acting out a scene from the Dog Book
What we are doing today and why:
Today we will go to the auditorium in order to act out the prepared scenes from the novel. This is one of the big projects of the unit in which I should hope students to shine in. They have had one week to prepare.
1. Meet in auditorium to save time
2. Collect Journals
3. Sit with students and observe performances.
4. Students will comment on others’ performances.
5. I will also evaluate them based on participation, creativity, how they relate to text and how accurate they are to it.
6. Remind them of WebQuest Regents Essay
Final Handout
Respond to your
peers’ performances. In the space that
follows list the groups and what in particular they did well or what they lacked
in their performance. Did they keep up
with the text in their script? Were they
creative? Did they remain true to the
text?
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Rubric for grading
performance: