Essential Question:
What motivates individuals to make a difference?
DAY 1–3 - SEED 1
DAY 4–5 - PLAN 1
DAY 6–7 - SEED 2
DAY 8 - SEED 3
DAY 9–10 - PLAN 2
DAY 11 - SEED 4
DAY 12–13 - SEED 5
DAY 14–15 - SEED 6
DAY 16–17 - SEED 7
DAY 18–19 - SEED 8
DAY 20 - SEED 9
Monitoring Templates
Download Seeds, Plans, and Resources (zip)
Send Feedback to MSDE’s Reading Team
4 Weeks - "Unit at a Glance" Organizer
Download all unit files (zip)
The central idea of this unit is the ability of individuals to make a difference in the lives of others and to affect situations either positively or negatively. Through a central text, Give Me Liberty by L. M. Elliott, students will follow the development of plot and characters through an identified process. Students will examine the relationship between the lyrics of popular colonial songs that precede sections of chapters to explore how they contribute to the structure of the novel. In addition, students will close read specific chapters to determine how the use of language molds a reader's perception of the setting and characters. Students will routinely write to summarize, explain, and opine regarding the novel's events and characters and will engage in collegial discussion regularly to express and adjust ideas about characters. Essentially, Making a Difference is a literary unit drafted with attention to close reading, writing of various types, focused discussion, and strategic use of language.
Central Test
Give Me Liberty by L.M. Elliott
For Unit Opener the following are suggestions.
A Land of Big Dreams by Neil Waldman (sections on Sitting Bull, Rachel Carson, Cesar Chavez) Olivia's Birds by Olivia Boulen (pp. 25-27) Madam President by Catherine Thimmesh Extraordinary Women in Politics by Charles Gulatta Extraordinary People of the Harlem Renaissance by P. Stephen Hardy and Sheila Jackson Hardy Portraits of Jewish American Heroes by Malka Drucker We Were There, Too! By Phillip Hoose Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, Jaweed Karim: You Tube Creators by Katy S. Duffield (Chapter One) Jonathan Ive, Designer of the iPod by Kris Hirschmann American Heroes Every Kid Should Meet by Dennis Denenberg and Lorraine Roscoe 109 Forgotten American Heroes and none or so villains by DK Publishing Eliza's Cherry Trees by Andrea Zimmerman Down Cut Shin Creek by Appelt and Schmitzer
Notes
*IMPORTANT NOTE: Consider the need for Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) and/or for captioned/described video when selecting texts, novels, video and/or other media for this unit. See "Sources for Accessible Media" for suggestions. See Maryland Learning Links: http://marylandlearninglinks.org.
Assessments Description
Interdisciplinary Connections
Additional Resources
