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.

TEXT MODELS FOR LESSONS AND LESSON SEEDS

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.

STUDENT OUTCOMES

Students will read a variety of nonfiction texts to determine their main ideas.
Students will engage in collegial discussions to draw conclusions and make judgments.
Students will compose both informal and formal opinion writings.
Students will close read literary texts for a variety of purposes.
Students will analyze how word choice creates mood.
Students will analyze how mood reflects and contrasts character.
Students will compare/contrast characters.
Students will track characters and maintain notes for writing and speaking purposes.
Students will summarize both orally and in written form.
Students will analyze relationships between sections of text.
Students will analyze the structure of the text.
Students will explain in written form the relationship between sections of text.
Students will determine the relationship between figurative language and text meaning.
Students will dramatize text to highlight important plot movements.

Assessments Description

Informal pre-assessment: explanatory writing associated with unit opener lesson
Formative assessment associated with Lesson Plan 2: explanatory writing
Formative assessment associated with Lesson Seed based upon Chapters 17-23: written summary
Formative assessment associated with Lesson Seed based upon Chapters 24-30: dramatization presentation
Summative Assessment: opinion writing based upon ongoing character tracking and note taking process

Interdisciplinary Connections

Additional Resources

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Last Updated 3/17/2020 1:12 PM

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UNIT OVERVIEW

TEXT MODELS FOR LESSONS AND LESSON SEEDS

STUDENT OUTCOMES