Grade 8 Unit 4 Interdependence Page 1 of 16

Grade 8 Unit 4 Interdependence

Common Core/Essential Standards

RL8.1 RL8.2

RL8.3 RL8.4

RL8.6 RL8.7

RL8.9 W8.2

W8.3a-e

W8.4 W8.5 W8.8

Overarching Standards

RL6.10 RI6.10 W6.10 W6.4-6 SL6.1a-d SL6.6 L6.4a-d L6.5 L6.6

Learner Objective(s) Language Objective(s)

As a reader, how does textual analysis determine meaning (explicitly and implicitly)?

How is theme developed?

How does dialogue propel, reveal and provoke characters in action?

How is literature impacted through film? How does an author use allusions to render

new the material?

Essential Questions

What is interdependence?

How do our relationships impact our lives?

How is the past tied to the present? The future? How do decisions and actions change lives?

Evidence of Student Learning/Assessments Students will engage in the writing process to produce a narrative piece of writing guided by a rubric.

Students will develop their writing with strategic formatting and graphics and utilize technology by publishing their writing via Weebly, Glogster, Voicethread, or other application.

Students will write literary analyses and reflections with textual evidence relating the unit theme and guiding questions to the featured text and content.

Students will engage in small group discussion and/or Paideia/Socratic seminar to apply the unit theme and guiding questions to featured text.

Students will create a product based on text for independent reading.

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FOCUS CCSS Standards Grade 8 Unit 4 RL8.1

Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

RL8.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.

RL8.3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.

RL8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

RL8.6 Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor.

RL8.7 Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script, evaluating the choices made by the director or actors.

RL8.9 Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new.

W8.2

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. a. Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader

categories; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. b. Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information

and examples. c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. e. Establish and maintain a formal style. f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.

W8.3

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.

b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.

c. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence, signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another, and show the relationships among experiences and events.

d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.

e. Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events.

W8.4 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.)

W8.5

With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grade 8.)

W8.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

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W8.9

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. a. Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes,

patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new”).

b. Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., “Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced”).

SL8.5 Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

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Grade 8 Unit 4: Interdependence

Plan with the end in mind. Consider what students will do to demonstrate their mastery of these standards by the end of the

unit, and make an incremental plan to get them there. Be strategic about instruction and pacing.

Part Suggested Instructional Sequence How does this help prepare students for the culminating task(s)?

1 Interdependence

What is it?

How is it different from independence?

Am I interdependent?

Annotation Analysis of text Close reading Comparison of text Cite textual evidence

2

Allusions and the Bible as Literature

Exploring allusions

Teaching the Bible as a piece of literature

Analyzing how the Bible shows interdependence and independence

Literary elements Analysis of text Literary elements Argument Use of allusions in new material

3

Greek and Roman Mythology

What is mythology?

Structure of a myth

Popular Greek and Roman Myths

Analyzing how myths show interdependence and independence

Literary elements and forms Greek and Latin root words Dialogue used to propel action Writing narratives

4

Introduction to Shakespeare and the beginning of A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Shakespeare and Elizabethan England

Conventions of poetry and drama

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Use of dialogue to propel action Allusions Analysis of theme

5

The conclusion of A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

The interdependence of various states of consciousness

Comparison of film versus text versus other media Analysis of theme

Culminating Tasks: Students will engage in the writing process to produce a narrative piece of writing guided by a rubric. Students

will develop their writing with strategic formatting and graphics and utilize technology by publishing their writing via Weebly, Glogster, Voicethread, or other application.

Students will write literary analyses and reflections with textual evidence relating the unit theme and guiding questions to the featured text and content.

Students will engage in small group discussion and/or Paideia/Socratic seminar to apply the unit theme and guiding questions to featured text.

Students will create a product based on text for independent reading.

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Grade 8 Unit 4: Interdependence Part 1: Introduction

Learning Targets: Students will …define independence. …compare and contrast interdependence and independence. …compare and contrast pieces of text.

Introduction/anticipatory Activities This week will be a week of procedures and organization, but several of the activities featured in the lesson can be tailored to be

an activity to begin class.

This unit culminates with a personal narrative. You may have students write short reflections in their Learner Notebook based on prompts that may be used as springboards for their final narrative. Writing Prompts: page 89 is Narrative Writing http://www.misd.net/languageart/GrammarInAction/501WritingPrompts.pdf

Reminders and Resources for Instruction

Be sure to write the unit theme “Interdependence" on the board for easy reference. The activities in this unit will

spiral back to this fundamental question. The guiding questions include: o What is interdependence? o How do relationships impact our lives? o How is the past tied to the present? The future? o How do decisions and actions change lives?

These questions may be written somewhere in the room and students answer them based on the text with textual references, or these questions may be recorded in their Learner Notebook with a page dedicated to each question with space to record examples from the featured text. Guiding Ideas: (words within these ideas would make great additions to an interactive word wall through Verbal-Visual Association cards.)

Interdependence is a relationship in which each member is mutually reliant on the others. This concept differs from a dependent relationship, where some members are dependent and some are not. In an interdependent relationship, participants may be emotionally, economically, ecologically and/or morally reliant on and responsible to each other. An interdependent relationship can arise between two or more cooperative autonomous participants (e.g. - co-op). Some people advocate freedom or independence as the ultimate good; others do the same with devotion to one's family, community, or society. Interdependence can be a common ground between these aspirations.

Reliance Relationship Responsible

Mutual Affiliation Dependence

Reciprocal Alliance Link . Continue with the routine for Article of the Week as students are given (or choose for themselves) rich informational text to read, annotate, and reflect by the end of the week. You will want to facilitate sharing student annotations and reflections on Fridays such as small group sharing focusing on text-based questions from the text. This unit lends itself to stories related to Interdependence. . Continually return to the unit questions about Interdependence and allow students to relate what they have read to the guiding questions. For example: What have we learned from the authors of the featured text about Interdependence? Quotations for periodic reflections on the unit theme to be written in the Learner Notebook. Students will capture the

quotation and the speaker as well as their own thoughts on what they think the quotation means and how it relates to the featured theme. Students may refer back to their notebook entry later when asked to write literary analyses.

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Grade 8 Unit 4: Interdependence Part 1: Introduction

Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being. ~Mahatma Gandhi

In the progress of personality, first comes a declaration of independence, then a recognition of interdependence. ~Henry Van Dyke

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another. ~Thomas Merton

When I think about the world I would like to leave to my daughter and the grandchildren I hope to have, it is a world that moves away from unequal, unstable, unsustainable interdependence to integrated communities - locally, nationally and globally - that share the characteristics of all successful communities. ~William J. Clinton

Global interdependence today means that economic disasters in developing countries could create a backlash on developed countries. ~Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Interdependence is a fact, it's not an opinion. ~Peter Coyote

Probably we never fully credit the interdependence of wild creatures, and their cognizance of the affairs of their own kind. ~Mary Austin

In fact, a fundamental interdependence exists between the personal right to liberty and the personal right to property. ~Potter Stewart

“No life is a waste," the Blue Man said. "The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we're alone.” ― Mitch Albom

“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.” ― John Donne, No Man Is An Island

“We are all in the same boat, in a stormy sea, and we owe each other a terrible loyalty.” ― G.K. Chesterton

“None of us can ever save himself; we are the instruments of one another’s salvation, and only by the hope that we give to others do we lift ourselves out of the darkness into light.” ― Dean Koontz

“The task that remains is to cope with our interdependence - to see ourselves reflected in every other human being and to respect and honor our differences.” ― Melba Pattillo Beals, Warriors Don't Cry: The Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High

Additional Suggestions: Play the weekly update from the CNN Student News. Then, assign Kelly Gallagher’s Article of the Week. This

will be due on Friday of each week.

Review pertinent terms from the CCSS standards to ensure that students are prepared for the end of year assessment.

Solve plexers. These are word puzzles, where interdependence is necessary to find the solution. You can buy books filled with plexers or visit the sites listed below. Plexer Site #1 Plexer Site #2

Note: Your week will be greatly enhanced if you choose an Article of the Week that deals with a situation that requires politicians, countries, or other entities to work together to solve a problem or create a more peaceful situation. Introduce the unit theme of Interdependence. Share the following quote with your students. Write it on the board and ask students what they think it means.

“The task that remains is to cope with our interdependence - to see ourselves reflected in every other human being and to respect and honor our differences.” ― Melba Pattillo Beals, Warriors Don't Cry: The Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High

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Grade 8 Unit 4: Interdependence Part 1: Introduction

Instructional Sequence for Reading Complex Text: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1967 Sermon for Peace

1. Share the text with students (give each student a copy for their notebook).

“It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied together into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. We are made to live together because of the interrelated structure of reality . . . Before you finish eating breakfast in the morning, you’ve depended on more than half the world. This is the way our universe is structured, this is its interrelated quality. We aren’t going to have peace on Earth until we recognize the basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality. “ -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1967 Christmas Sermon on Peace

2. Students should read the text silently first. Then, they should write a short reflection about what they think it means to be interdependent using evidence from the text to support their ideas. You can also work through this text with students using this guide for close reading .

3. Read the text aloud to students. Then, they should choose a partner with whom to work. 4. Ask students to share their reflections with their partner including the words from the text that support their

reflections. 5. How does interdependence apply to me? Ask students to refer to the text again. What metaphors does Dr. King

use to describe our interrelatedness? Ask students to re-read the text to identify those metaphors. 6. Ask students to think about the interdependent relationships that they have in their lives. At home? At school?

In the environment (nature)? In the world? 7. What interdependent relationships have they learned about in other disciplines? Science? Social Studies? Math? 8. What would the world be like without these interdependent relationships? 9. Now give your students a short quiz. Ask them to record their points as you read the questions. On a scale of 1

to 5 (because there are 5 questions), they will learn how interdependent they are.

Are You Independent or Interdependent? Take the Quiz by Lorin Keller Blake (June 30, 2010) You can search for the quiz on her website: www.lorinkellerblake.com.

“So let’s check it out…. Score yourself a point for every one of the items below that you can say YES too… Are you growing to be more interdependent or are you working too hard and being too independent?

1. When I get frustrated, I immediately ask for help (1 point if this is true) or I stew about it and either let the project go or procrastinate doing it.

2. I notice that I set big goals and ask how I will accomplish them rather than avoiding big goals. (1 point if this is true)

3. I enjoy working with someone when I am trying to accomplish something rather than working alone. (1 point if this is true)

4. I don’t mind asking for help from others. (1 point if this is true)

5. I do not see asking for help as a sign of weakness; rather, I see it as empowering. (1 point if this is true)

If you scored a 5, CONGRATULATIONS! You are interdependent and will continue to accomplish big things in life. True success takes being interdependent!”

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Grade 8 Unit 4: Interdependence Part 1: Introduction

10. Dr. King states that “We aren’t going to have peace on Earth until we recognize the basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality.” For homework, students should write about a local or global issue where the people involved need to recognize their interrelatedness and how that recognition could create a more peaceful situation. Students can use their Article of the Week if you have chosen an article that relates to this topic.

Contrasting Interdependence and Independence in Familiar Text

1. Begin with a short review of situations that students wrote about for homework. Be sure to tie their examples to the overall theme of interdependence.

2. Refer students back to “The Lottery,” a short story read earlier in the year. Have students skim the story in the literature book to refresh their memory. Then, they can work with a partner to flesh out the story in their minds.

3. In small groups, have students discuss the following questions. A recorder should take notes on the conversation, and another member of the group should present their answer to the whole class. a. How do the people in the town show interdependence? b. Are there people in the town who are more independent than others? c. How would the town be different if they were not so interdependent? d. What does the story tell us about the benefits of interdependence? e. What does the story tell us about the dangers of interdependence?

4. After each group has the opportunity to share their discussion points, ask students what prevents us from having situations like “The Lottery” in our country. (You should anticipate answers related to laws, police officers, etc.)

More about Declaring Interdependence and Independence 1. Move from that into a discussion of the document that set the stage for our freedom: the Declaration of

Independence (http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=2&page=transcript). Be sure that each student has a copy of the document for their notebook.

2. Read the document aloud to students as they follow along. Read through to the word security in the second paragraph. Ask students what they know about the document and call their attention to the format. Mine what they remember from social studies class and other exposures. Encourage students to annotate the document and note unfamiliar words.

3. Ask students about how the colonies planned to function if they were declaring independence from England. Did the founding fathers believe that they could be truly independent? How did the interdependence of the colonies ensure their success in declaring their independence?

4. Now, show the students the Declaration of Interdependence document (http://letitripple.org/files/2012/01/adoi_script.pdf). This document addresses the more global concept of interdependence that you starting discussing yesterday. Read it aloud as they follow along.

5. Starting in class and continuing for homework, ask students to annotate this document and then write a list of similarities and differences between the documents. This can be in column format or whatever works best for them.

6. Ask students to share the similarities and differences between the two declarations. It might be useful to do this with a chart which can stay up in the room for each class. This may also lead to a discussion of some of the words noted in the Declaration of Independence that are repeated in the Declaration of Interdependence. Why are those words so important over 230 years later? (Some of the words that students might focus on are course, self-evident, pursuits, life, liberty, happiness, and propel.)

7. Show the students the film about the Declaration of Interdependence (http://letitripple.org/a-declaration-of-interdependence/). It takes about 5 minutes.

8. Watch it a second time and ask them to note things that show interdependence in the making of the film. 9. Debrief their comments on how the film is made that illustrates interdependence (different languages, different

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Grade 8 Unit 4: Interdependence Part 1: Introduction

people, music, pictures, etc.). Why was the film put together this way? What is being emphasized? What is missing? What could add to the overall idea of interdependence?

10. From the Declaration of Independence to the Declaration of Interdependence what has changed? Why is interdependence so critical? Why must we be more interdependent?

11. Have students journal for five minutes to answer the following question: What does it mean to be a global citizen?

It’s Not Just Global; It’s About Me Too

“I’m Nobody, Who are you?”

by Emily Dickinson

I'm Nobody! Who are you? Are you – Nobody – too? Then there's a pair of us! Don't tell! they'd advertise – you know! How dreary – to be – Somebody! How public – like a Frog – To tell one's name – the livelong June – To an admiring Bog!

1. Provide students a copy of the poem for their notebook. 2. Ask students to read the poem silently as they think about yesterday’s lesson. Ask guiding questions after

reading such as:

When do you feel like a nobody?

Can you really be a nobody?

If there is more than one “nobody,” is it really “nobody”?

Why is the frog considered public by the author?

How is the frog sharing its name?

Can you tell from the context of the poem what a bog is?

3. Students may benefit from reading other poems about being alone. Here are some suggestions. Be sure to preview the poems for appropriateness for your students. You may also want to investigate some other Dickinson poetry for them to review on the same topic.

“79” by Joachim du Bellay

“Alone” by Maya Angelou

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Grade 8 Unit 4: Interdependence Part 1: Introduction

“At a Window” by Carl Sandburg

“Beyond the Pane” by Greg Hewett

Here are some questions that students need to answer using text from the poems to support their

answers.

How does the speaker indicate their separation from the world?

What connection to the world does the speaker seek?

How does the lack of connection to the world make the speaker feel?

By examining poetry about loneliness and disconnection from the world, what do students see as the

benefit of being connected to others?

4. Read from “The People, Yes!” by Carl Sandburg textbook page 953. Students will do a close reading of the poem first. Then, students should read the poem in small groups again. Each group should be assigned an equal number of lines to discuss further and decide how to write in their own words and illustrate. Each group will illustrate through drawings, magazine pictures, etc. of the poem. Groups’ work will be displayed in the classroom, creating an illustrated version of the poem in their own words. Special attention should be paid to how Lincoln was connected with the country and people of his generation and beyond.

Possible Culminating Activities for This Week

Have students write an essay that compares and contrasts the Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of Interdependence. They can use work done throughout the week to find supporting evidence and structural ideas.

Write a poem that identifies where you are in the global scheme and how connected you are to the world.

Create your own film about interdependence. Use a text other than those explored in class.

Write a Declaration of Interdependence related to middle school. Explore how middle school students are interconnected and interdependent to the world in which they live.

Strategies for differentiation:

http://www.wilmingtoncityschools.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=uGcAqg4HERs%3D&tabid=648&mid=4176

Anchor Activities

Considering using the featured text and activities in small group learning stations (i.e. literature circles). You can strategically group students and have each group working on a different text with various activities. Learning stations would allow you to circulate the class and monitor students for comprehension and understanding. Class would begin whole-group with a focus on the unit question and end with an exit ticket about how the focus text related to the unit theme.

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Grade 8 Unit 4: Interdependence

Part 2: Allusions and the Bible as Literature Learning Targets: Students will

… learn how to identify and analyze a variety of allusions in various media.

…analyze why authors use allusions and the impact of the allusion on the author’s purpose.

…understand the use of the Bible as a literary text.

…understand how authors use illusion to render a text new.

Connection to the Theme of Interdependence Remind students about the theme of interdependence. What are the links between the pieces of literature read during the unit? What do they all have in common? Hopefully, answers will tend toward the idea that we are all inextricably linked together in many ways. Now, have students read these three quotes. What do they tell us about the interdependence of thoughts and ideas? “Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren’t very new after all.” Abraham Lincoln “An original idea. That can’t be too hard. The library must be full of them.” Stephen Fry “Only those with no memory insist on their originality.” Coco Chanel As students share their ideas, be sure that they are referring to evidence from the quotes and from texts read so far this year or ideas discussed previously. Narrow discussion to that of the Fry quote. Note that all works of literature have central ideas as their root. Think about conflict for example. All narratives are man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. himself, etc. Lead students toward the realization that many narratives, especially, share the same themes: love, hate, greed, good vs. evil, etc. It would be worth making the point that all literature draws on itself. As Fry states, “the library must be full of them.” This should segue nicely into a discussion of allusions and how they show the interdependence between authors’ works and readers’ background knowledge. How well one reads is interdependent on his/her background knowledge (to an extent). Suggested Instruction Related to Allusions Go through the Allusions Power Point. Hand out sample list of common allusions from the Bible, mythology and Shakespeare. See how many of the items are known by the students already. Using the PH literature book, have students work in pairs or triads to locate allusions in the following texts. There are many more than those listed below in the textbook. While many allusions, especially ones that students may not know are in footnotes, try letting them find the allusions rather than relying on the footnotes. Perhaps they will have the “ah-ha” that the allusions are often noted for them. Encourage students to think through why the publisher put that feature in the book for them.

“Thank You, Ma’am” (p. blue suede shoes

“A Retrieved Reformation” (p. 32 Mr. Ralph Spencer is referred to as the phoenix that arose from Jimmy Valentine’s ashes)

“Raymond’s Run” (p. 39 “The big kids call me Mercury” and p. 42“one of those Dodge city scenes”)

“Hamadi” (p.254 The author mentions a sign that reads, “Gone to Find Jesus.”)

“Harriet Tubman: Guide to Freedom” (p. 440 “the man named Moses” and p. 441 “’Go down, Moses, ‘way down to Egypt land’”

from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (p. 468 “’it was the best of times; it was the worst of times’” and p. 469 she mentions Beowulf and Oliver Twist)

“The Trouble with Television” (p. 520 “reading Homer in the original Greek or Dostoevski in Russian”)

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Grade 8 Unit 4: Interdependence

Part 2: Allusions and the Bible as Literature “Science and the Sense of Wonder” (pp. 535-6 the author quotes from and mentions Walt Whitman)

“The Drum” (p. 610 refers to Kunta Kinte, the Pied Piper, King, and Thoreau)

“Runagate Runagate (pp. 657-8 contains alludes to Ezekiel, Moses, and Jehovah for three Biblical allusions; there are many others there as well, especially authors)

“For My Sister Molly” (pp. 682-3 contains Hamlet and Sam McGee) Use a modern work of fiction to analyze how this work draws on the themes, patterns of events, character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible. See The Wednesday Wars attachment as one example. Due to time constraints, if teacher is using a novel as a text, try jigsawing the chapters for students to find allusions. This format, however, can be used with any other modern short story, poem, or novel. How do allusions show the interdependence of our understanding of literature and the larger world? This could be a good discussion question or the basis for an informational or argumentative essay. Students should use examples from text in either context. Suggested Instructional Sequence Related to the Bible as Literature

The Bible features many of the literary elements studied throughout the year. Teachers should be clear that the Bible in class is being used a reference book, not a religious text. It would be important to share some basics facts about the Bible and emphasize its importance as a piece of literature to languages around the world. Using the power point about the Bible, work through the activities to help students understand the value of the literary form. The power point includes reading proverbs, parables, and psalms. Students may read proverbs, parables, and psalms and annotate each to point out the common elements of each. This may be summarized in chart form or in any format that helps the student see the commonalities of each form.

In small groups, students should discuss the following questions:

How do the literary elements in the Bible show interdependence between the author and the readers of the text? Are the readers more interdependent with the author or each other? Do any of these forms independence instead of interdependence? Cite examples from the text to defend your answers.

Idea for a Paideia Seminar: Is it appropriate to use the Bible as a literary text in public schools? Students should use the internet to research the topic and locate articles/text to use as evidence in the Socratic seminar.

Suggested Culminating Tasks:

Students may write a psalm to “sing the praises” of someone whom they admire. Their psalm should contain the characteristics and be in the format of psalms already studied. Interdependence should play a role.

Create a picture board or electronic media to show allusions used in popular culture. Street signs, song lyrics, newspaper articles, etc. can be used as evidence. Students should find a way to connect the use of the allusion to what it references.

Have students write an argumentative essay that addresses whether it is valuable or not to use ancient texts references in modern fiction. Does this help the reader or not? Does it make the fiction more rich?

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Grade 8 Unit 4: Interdependence Part 3: Greek and Roman Mythology

Learning Targets: Students will:

…understand the concept of mythology in ancient Greek and Roman society.

…analyze the structure of the myth.

Suggested Instructional Sequence for Mythology: Teacher will begin going over the Gods and Goddesses from Greek Mythology with the Greek Mythology power point. Students will take notes from the teacher’s lesson. Since myths were created to help explain natural phenomena, how does that show the interdependence of the Greek and the Roman society? How did the relationship between the people and the gods show interdependence? Did people consider themselves independent from the gods or were they interdependent on the actions of the gods? Split the students into groups to read different myths. Vary the myths based on student achievement levels leading into tomorrow’s myth “Psyche & Eros.” -Choose several myths from this link for your class to read. As students read the myths have them: 1. Summarize the myth. 2. Explain if the myth explains a natural occurrence OR explains the unexplainable and how? 3. What themes are evident in the selection? 4. What inferences can you draw about Greek and Roman life? Students will share their findings with the class. Read the myth “Psyche and Eros” (you can find it at http://www.greeka.com/greece-myths/eros-psyche.htm among other places) -Have students summarize the myth they have read in their own words. (This will be used at a later date.) -Provide students questions to answer about the text. It should be noted that this myth was chosen to help lead into the reading of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the coming weeks. Read the myths of “Pyramus and Thisbe” (you can find it at http://sarahlmaguire.hubpages.com/hub/The-Story-of-Pyramus-and-Thisbe among other sites) and “Hippolyta and Theseus” ( -Have students summarize each myth in their own words. (This will be used at a later date.) -Have a class discussion on one myth (teacher’s choice) and for the other create a visual representation of what you have read. This can be done individually, in pairs/groups/tables, etc. It should be noted that this myth was chosen to help lead into the reading of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the coming weeks.

Activities Related to Myths:

Have students write their own myth. Use the ideas sheet as well as a suggested assignment.

Have students work in groups to learn more about vocabulary with Greek roots. Here is a suggested word list with directions. Students should prepared presentations using a variety of media to share words with classmates. You may choose to use the vocabulary in students’ myths.

Grade 8 Unit 4 Interdependence Page 14 of 16

Grade 8 Unit 4: Interdependence Part 4: Introduction to Shakespeare and

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Learning Targets: Students will:

…learn about Elizabethan England and the era of Shakespeare’s works.

…learn about William Shakespeare and his works.

…understand the forms of poetry used by Shakespeare.

…begin reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream. …connect mythology to the play.

Start your class with the Shakespeare power point. Review literary terms associated with Shakespeare’s works such as rhyme scheme, couplet, and sonnet. It will be helpful to show students an example of iambic pentameter when discussing rhyme scheme (helpful sites include http://iambicpentameter.net/, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0aAWuUX5jU). The teacher will define terms and provide examples. Then, to make sure terms are discussed in context, teacher will guide students through the reading of each. Couplet Two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, forming a unit. Direct students to visit this site: http://www.britannica.com/shakespeare/article-9026585. Here you can go through an overview of couplets, and you can examine the two couplets provided. You can more information on couplets at http://examples.yourdictionary.com/couplet-examples.html. Sonnet A poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English, typically having ten syllables per line. Follow this link to Shakespeare’s sonnets: http://absoluteshakespeare.com/sonnets/sonnets.htm. The class will examine as many sonnets as possible, time permitting. The teacher will model the process below using one sonnet. Then students should do the following with a partner/group/table using sonnets of teacher’s choice. 1. Define key vocabulary words in context. 2. Have student’s research definitions of words that they do not know. Put them in historical context. 3. Identify the rhyme scheme (if any). 4. Paraphrase the sonnet for content. Have students pick something that they love and write a sonnet using all of the characteristics that they have learned by studying the sonnets of Shakespeare. Modify the task by asking students to work on a sonnet in a group. Want to provide students more information on some of these topics? Send your students on a Web Quest! Choose from one of the links below.

1. Elizabethan Diaries (http://www.leasttern.com/Shakespeare/diary.html) 2. The Life and Times of William Shakespeare (http://www.zunal.com/process.php?w=68364) 3. A Midsummer Night’s Dream web quest ---you will find several options here 4. (http://www.teacherweb.com/wqsearch/search.cgi?zoom_query=a+midsummer+night%27s+dream&zoom_p

er_page=10&zoom_and=1&zoom_sort=0) At this point, you would begin reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Start class by introducing the following set of anticipatory ideas. Have students stand up/sit down, or raise hands to show whether they agree or disagree with the statements. Time permitting this can be followed with a class discussion.

1. People understand love. 2. There is magic in the world.

Grade 8 Unit 4 Interdependence Page 15 of 16

Grade 8 Unit 4: Interdependence Part 4: Introduction to Shakespeare and

A Midsummer Night’s Dream 3. People can control their own fate. 4. People’s actions can influence other people’s lives. 5. People’s emotions usually control how they act. 6. Chaos and confusion are necessary parts of life. 7. Strong emotions can change the people we are. 8. People’s ideas of love can, and often do, change. 9. Love is the most powerful emotion we feel.

It may also be useful to introduce the play by using a plot map from a familiar TV show or movie. Students can identify the ideas in the list above and talk about the interplay of the characters. Introduce the characters from A Midsummer Night’s Dream using the cast of characters located in the text. Focus on the character names and their jobs, and the connection between the two (example: Snug is a joiner [you want things to fit snugly].) It is critical to note that this is a play within a play. Begin reading Act 1, Scene i. The teacher should read today or have students listen to a recorded version, so that students will get a feel for how the play should sound. While read aloud is not a preferred strategy when you have students who are not fluent readers, reading a play aloud as a class reinforces the presentation of a play. It is also a nice reference to the lack of scenery, etc. in your classroom which mirrors the issues of Shakespeare’s time when there was little to no scenery on stage and few costumes. You can find an excellent recording of the play at http://www.playshakespeare.com/library/cat_view/456-a-midsummer-nights-dream-documents/669-a-midsummer-nights-dream-audio. Of course, it is possible to Google search for other versions. However, this one has complete musical orchestration in addition to excellent dialogue. Teacher should make reference to the allusions that will be intertwined throughout this play. These include: Theseus and Hippolyta, Pyramus and Thisbee, and Titania and Oberon. At the end of each act, it may be useful for students to summarize it in their own words. Acknowledging that there are number of web sites that provide assistance to students as they study Shakespeare and works from other eras is essential. Students probably already use some of these sites. It is critical to make a case for reading the text first and then seeking assistance on specific areas when students are confused in their reading. A pace of one Act per day is average. You will need to adjust the pace based on what your students can manage. Feel free to supplement reading with the guiding questions found here or questions by act and scene. Structured questioning will assist students’ understanding during and after the play is read. While reading, make sure to address the topics listed in the standards above which include but are not limited to inferences, dialogue, theme, word meaning, and point of view. Here are some discussion questions which may be used to assist students in practice for short answers or the beginnings of gathering evidence for longer essays. Students may answer some or all of the questions depending on the pacing of your instruction. It might be interesting to assign questions to small groups for them to research and present their findings to the class. Then, each person in the group could turn the work into a short essay.

Grade 8 Unit 4 Interdependence Page 16 of 16

Grade 8 Unit 4: Interdependence Part 5: Culminating Tasks

Learning Targets: Students will be able to answer the following questions with textual evidence:

The activities that follow would be culminating activities for the study of the play, Shakespeare, and Elizabethan England. Essay Question Topics

Option 1: Though Bottom often steals the show in performance, Puck is usually considered the most important character in AMSND. Comparing Puck to Bottom, why might Puck be considered the protagonist? In what way does Puck’s spirit dominate the mood of the play? In what ways does the comedy surrounding Puck differ from that surrounding Bottom?

Option 2: Compare and contrast the Athenian lovers with the craftsmen. In what ways are the dispositions of the two groups different from each other? Are they the same in any way?

Option 3: Compare the two sets of royalty: Hippolyta and Theseus vs. Titania and Oberon. How are they alike? How are they different? Why do you think Shakespeare chose to have both sets of characters, even though Hippolyta and Theseus are not present for much of the play?

Option 4: Choose two scenes from the play and explain why they would have been particularly difficult to stage in an Elizabethan theater.

Option 5: In Shakespeare’s tragedies, he frequently explores the question of who controls man’s life. How does he explore that idea in this play? What might an Elizabethan in the audience conclude that Shakespeare believed about who controls your life after seeing the play?

Hold a Paideia Seminar on A Midsummer Night’s Dream using these possible seminar topics. Have students participate in a group project and presentation to the class which connects some of the main ideas from A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the overall unit theme of Interdependence. The overall theme of the unit has been interdependence. Students have seen interdependence in a variety of genres. However, much of this unit has focused on classical and ancient literary forms most of which are grounded in folklore and legend. Have students create a product---infographic, concept map, quilt blocks, etc.---which reflects the essence of interdependence as shown through the genres and eras from the unit. Interdependence has many meanings and relationships for all of us. That is evidenced by the different ways that interdependence is woven through all the texts that students have read in this unit. Have students write an informational essay that explains how interdependence is evidenced in three or more pieces of literature.

Films or film clips other than those from the school library media center must have prior approval from the principal or designee before broadcast for student viewing. Use the Film Request for Prior Approval form.

WCPSS believes that students should read from a variety of texts and encourages strong instructional decisions at the school level. Texts other than those from the district reading lists must have prior approval from the principal or designee before assigning. WCPSS defines assigned reading as any text used by the student or by the teacher in a whole class, a group within the class, a literature circle, and/or an assigned summer reading experience. Use the Text Request for Prior Approval form.