Introduction:
This is a 26 day unit plan
designed to teach the novel Graceland by Chris Abani to 12th
Grade Honors or AP English classes. As a
whole the unit is organized around a performance based approach to literature
so there will be a number of dramatic activities leading up to a final
performance rather than a more traditional test or term paper. Students will read, write, speak, and listen
as they engage with the text in many different ways. In addition to the performance aspects of the
unit students will be writing creative letters, utilizing sketching to explore
opposing ideas, looking at images, listening to audio clips, viewing film
clips, writing responses, and using a wiki to
collaborate on a database that catalogues some of our class activities. Since this unit stresses collaboration
through discussion and performance in the classroom I suggest that the desks be
arranged in a circle or U shape for the duration of this unit. There will be plenty of moving around as students
group together for different activities, but keeping the circle formation when
they are not otherwise grouped fosters a more inviting and inclusive
environment for engaging students in active class discussions.
Objectives:
The long term goals for
students in this class is that they will successfully be able to read, discuss,
and analyze a variety of print and nonprint
texts. Through the activities of
reading, writing, speaking, and listening they will be given the opportunity to
begin to think critically about the works which they encounter. By critical thinking I am referring to the
ability not to simply read for correctness, but to read for a higher level of
comprehension where students are able to discuss in both oral and written form
the ways in which themes, metaphors, imagery, symbolism, and even grammar and
word usage can affect the meaning of a text and what those differences mean in
terms of our understanding of literature, our selves, and our world. They will also learn how to express their
understanding of these texts through written, visual, and oral forms both
individually and in a social setting amongst peers whether than setting be a
classroom or an online forum.