ENGLISH II – Grade 10 Monday, May 18 – Friday, May 22

PURPOSE

Review and New Material Learning Standards: I can determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text. (RI.2)

I can write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. (W.3) *Parents: At this point in the year, English II students would normally be reading the book Night, a memoir by Elie Wiesel detailing his experiences as a fifteen-year-old during the Holocaust. The lessons here are reflective of this topic. Additionally, this is the rationale for lessons in previous weeks addressing the theme of persisting in the face of adversity.

WATCH *Note: Video versions are provided for each of the speeches referenced below. However, most of the speeches provided by this lesson plan are excerpted. The videos will show the full versions. Be sure to reference only the text versions when answering questions. Monday: Read the speech “GRIT: THE POWER OF PASSION AND PERSEVERANCE” by Angela Lee Duckworth. Video/Audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8

Read President John Kennedy’s “Race to Space” speech. Video/Audio: https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/address-at-rice-university-on-the-nations-space-effort Tuesday: Read “A Holocaust Survivor’s Blueprint for Happiness” by Eddie Jaku. Video/Audio: https://www.ted.com/talks/eddie_jaku_a_holocaust_survivor_s_blueprint_for_happiness?language=en

Read Malala Yousafzai’s “Address to the United Nations.” Video/Audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rNhZu3ttIU

*All speeches can be printed for screen-free time.

PRACTICE

Monday: As you watch Duckworth’s speech, make note of the annotations. Answer the post-reading questions, and complete a concept map for the word “GRIT.” As you read Kennedy’s speech, follow the directions to add your own annotations and answer the post-reading questions. Tuesday: As you read both Jaku and Yousafzai’s speeches, follow the directions to add your own annotations and answer the post-reading questions for each. Wednesday: Fill in the “Tracking ‘GRIT’ Throughout Various Texts” chart. Refer to “Product” for your other assignment. *All can be printed as screen-free activities or done on loose-leaf paper.

DISCUSS

Friday: Present your PowerPoint presentation to a member of your household. Give them a copy of the sample presentation criteria and ask them for feedback.

PRODUCT

Wednesday: Last week you began researching a well-known person that overcame challenges in his or her life. Based on your research, write a one to two-page narrative from the perspective of this person. In their voice, tell the story of one of the challenges they faced. Be sure to keep in mind the setting (time and place) of the person’s challenges to be authentic to how they would speak/write. Use the narrative writing checklist to help you.

*Screen-free activity

Thursday-Friday: Finish the research for your project on the well-known person. Refer again to the Research Outline and create a PowerPoint presentation using the information you gathered. Be sure to list all websites or print resources used on the last slide of the presentation. See the sample slides for an example of how the beginning of the presentation could look.

Monday, May 18

Directions: Read the following speech. The central idea of the speech is identified in red and underlined. Additionally, several quotes throughout the speech are highlighted. These quotes provide supporting details for the central idea. Use these annotations as a model to help you complete your own annotations for the other speeches read this week. Finally, answer the post-reading questions to help you think more critically about the text.

“GRIT: THE POWER OF PASSION AND PERSEVERANCE” by Angela Lee Duckworth

Background: Angela Lee Duckworth is a psychologist and author who studies grit and self-control at the University of Pennsylvania. In this TED Talk, Duckworth discusses the role that grit plays in success

When I was 27 years old, I left a very demanding job in management consulting for a job that was even more demanding: teaching. I went to teach seventh graders math in the New York City public schools. And like any teacher, I made quizzes and tests. I gave out homework assignments. When the work came back, I calculated grades.

What struck me was that IQ was not the only difference between my best and my worst students. Some of my strongest performers did not have stratospheric IQ scores. Some of my smartest kids weren't doing so well. And that got me thinking. The kinds of things you need to learn in seventh grade math, sure, they're hard: ratios, decimals, the area of a parallelogram. But these concepts are not impossible, and I was firmly convinced that every one of my students could learn the material if they worked hard and long enough.

After several more years of teaching, I came to the conclusion that what we need in education is a much better understanding of students and learning from a motivational perspective, from a psychological perspective. In education, the one thing we know how to measure best is IQ. But what if doing well in school and in life depends on much more than your ability to learn quickly and easily?

So I left the classroom, and I went to graduate school to become a psychologist. I started studying kids and adults in all kinds of super challenging settings, and in every study my question was, who is successful here and why? My research team and I went to West Point Military Academy. We tried to predict which cadets would stay in military training and which would drop out. We went to

the National Spelling Bee and tried to predict which children would advance farthest in competition. We studied rookie teachers working in really tough neighborhoods, asking which teachers are still going to be here in teaching by the end of the school year, and of those, who will be the most effective at improving learning outcomes for their students? We partnered with private companies, asking, which of these salespeople is going to keep their jobs? And who's going to earn the most money? In all those very different contexts, one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success. And it wasn't social intelligence. It wasn't good looks, physical health, and it wasn't IQ. It was grit.

Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint.

A few years ago, I started studying grit in the Chicago public schools. I asked thousands of high school juniors to take grit questionnaires, and then waited around more than a year to see who would graduate. Turns out that grittier kids were significantly more likely to graduate, even when I matched them on every characteristic I could measure, things like family income, standardized achievement test scores, even how safe kids felt when they were at school. So it's not just at West Point or the National Spelling Bee that grit matters. It's also in school, especially for kids at risk for dropping out.

To me, the most shocking thing about grit is how little we know, how little science knows, about building it. Every day, parents and teachers ask me, "How do I build grit in kids? What do I do to teach kids a solid work ethic? How do I keep them motivated for the long run?" The honest answer is, I don't know. (Laughter)

What I do know is that talent doesn't make you gritty. Our data show very clearly that there are many talented individuals who simply do not follow through on their commitments. In fact, in our data, grit is usually unrelated or even inversely related to measures of talent.

So far, the best idea I've heard about building grit in kids is something called "growth mindset." This is an idea developed at Stanford University by Carol Dweck, and it is the belief that the ability to learn is not fixed, that it can change with your effort. Dr. Dweck has shown that when kids read and learn about the brain and how it changes and grows in response to challenge, they're much more likely to persevere when they fail, because they don't believe that failure is a permanent condition.

So growth mindset is a great idea for building grit. But we need more. And that's where I'm going to end my remarks, because that's where we are. That's the work that stands before us. We need to take our best ideas, our strongest intuitions, and we need to test them. We need to measure whether we've been successful, and we have to be willing to fail, to be wrong, to start over again with lessons learned.

In other words, we need to be gritty about getting our kids grittier.

1. Summarize the speaker’s definition of grit. Put this into your own words. Grit is…

2. Based on the passage, how would you describe the difference between grit and talent?

3. From the author’s perspective, why does further research on grit need to occur? How does this impact students, specifically?

Concept Map

Directions: Complete the following concept map for the term “GRIT.” Place “GRIT” in the “Word” box. Then, complete the other boxes to help you gain a better understanding of the term. Be sure to fill out the concept map based on Duckworth’s version of the word “GRIT.”

Directions: Read the following speech. The central idea of the speech is identified in red and underlined. Find and highlight at least three additional quotes throughout the speech that provide supporting details for the central idea. Additionally, mark any quotes that you believe reflect the idea of “GRIT” presented in Duckworth’s speech. Finally, answer the post-reading questions to help you think more critically about the text.

PRESIDENT JOHN KENNEDY'S “RACE TO SPACE” SPEECH

Background: John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) served as 35th President of the United States. He was president during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Civil Rights Movement, and the beginning of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. He delivered this speech about space to a large audience at Rice University in Houston, Texas on September 12, 1962. A year earlier, a Russian had become the first human to orbit the Earth. By 1969, Americans succeeded in being the first to walk on the moon.

We meet at a college noted for knowledge, in a city noted for progress, in a State noted for strength, and we stand in need of all three, for we meet in an hour of change and challenge, in a decade of hope and fear, in an age of both knowledge and ignorance. The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds.

Despite the striking fact that most of the scientists that the world has ever known are alive and working today, despite the fact that this Nation’s own scientific manpower is doubling every 12 years in a rate of growth more than three times that of our population as a whole, despite that, the vast stretches of the unknown and the unanswered and the unfinished still far outstrip our collective comprehension.

No man can fully grasp how far and how fast we have come, but condense, if you will, the 50,000 years of man’s recorded history in a time span of but a half-century. Stated in these terms, we know very little about the first 40 years, except at the end of them advanced man had learned to use the skins of animals to cover them. Then about 10 years ago, under this standard, man emerged from his caves to construct other kinds of shelter. Only five years ago man learned to write and use a cart with wheels. Christianity began less than two years ago. The printing press came this year, and then less than two months ago, during this whole 50-year span of human history, the steam engine provided a new source of power.

Newton explored the meaning of gravity. Last month electric lights and telephones and automobiles and airplanes became available. Only last week did we develop penicillin and television and nuclear

power, and now if America's new spacecraft succeeds in reaching Venus, we will have literally reached the stars before midnight tonight.

This is a breathtaking pace, and such a pace cannot help but create new ills as it dispels old, new ignorance, new problems, new dangers. Surely the opening vistas of space promise high costs and hardships, as well as high reward.

So it is not surprising that some would have us stay where we are a little longer to rest, to wait. But this city of Houston, this State of Texas, this country of the United States was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. This country was conquered by those who moved forward--and so will space.

William Bradford, speaking in 1630 of the founding of the Plymouth Bay Colony, said that all great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and both must be enterprised and overcome with answerable courage.

If this capsule history of our progress teaches us anything, it is that man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred. The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in the race for space.

Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the industrial revolutions, the first waves of modern invention, and the first wave of nuclear power, and this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be a part of it--we mean to lead it. For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding.

Yet the vows of this Nation can only be fulfilled if we in this Nation are first, and, therefore, we intend to be first. In short, our leadership in science and in industry, our hopes for peace and security, our obligations to ourselves as well as others, all require us to make this effort, to solve these mysteries, to solve them for the good of all men, and to become the world's leading space-faring nation.

We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people. For space science, like nuclear science and all technology, has no conscience of its own. Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of pre-eminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war. I do not say that we should or will go unprotected against the hostile misuse of space any more than we go unprotected against the hostile use of land or sea, but I do say that space can be explored and mastered without feeding the fires of war, without repeating the mistakes that man has made in extending his writ around this globe of ours.

There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and

measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

It is for these reasons that I regard the decision last year to shift our efforts in space from low to high gear as among the most important decisions that will be made during my incumbency in the office of the Presidency….

The Mariner spacecraft now on its way to Venus is the most intricate instrument in the history of space science. The accuracy of that shot is comparable to firing a missile from Cape Canaveral and dropping it in this stadium between the 40-yard lines.

Transit satellites are helping our ships at sea to steer a safer course. Tiros satellites have given us unprecedented warnings of hurricanes and storms, and will do the same for forest fires and icebergs.

We have had our failures, but so have others, even if they do not admit them. And they may be less public.

To be sure, we are behind, and will be behind for some time in manned flight. But we do not intend to stay behind, and in this decade, we shall make up and move ahead.

The growth of our science and education will be enriched by new knowledge of our universe and environment, by new techniques of learning and mapping and observation, by new tools and computers for industry, medicine, the home as well as the school. Technical institutions, such as Rice, will reap the harvest of these gains.

And finally, the space effort itself, while still in its infancy, has already created a great number of new companies, and tens of thousands of new jobs. Space and related industries are generating new demands in investment and skilled personnel, and this city and this State, and this region, will share greatly in this growth….

Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, "Because it is there."

Well, space is there, and we're going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked.

Thank you.

1. By 1962, our nation had already seen the invention of nuclear weapons, was living through the Civil Rights Movement, and, as described here, was embarking on the new frontier of the space race. How does Kennedy’s word choice in the first paragraph connect with these events and represent the feeling of the time?

2. How does Kennedy use an extended metaphor to frame the progress humans have made? Why might he have wanted to do this in his speech?

3. How does Kennedy appeal to listeners’ patriotism in his effort to gain support for his message? What feels very “American” about his message?

Tuesday, May 19

Directions: Read the following speech. Identify a central idea of the speech and underline it. Find and highlight at least three additional quotes throughout the speech that provide supporting details for the central idea you identified. Additionally, mark any quotes that you believe reflect the idea of “GRIT” presented in Duckworth’s speech. Finally, answer the post-reading questions to help you think more critically about the text.

“A Holocaust Survivor’s Blueprint for Happiness” by Eddie Jaku

Background: In this deeply moving talk, Eddie Jaku -- a 99-year-old Holocaust survivor -- recounts his experiences and the powerful lessons he learned about the search for happiness.

My dear new friends ... My name is Eddie Jaku, and I'm standing in front of you today, a survivor of the Holocaust and a witness of the most tragic times in the history of mankind.

I was a proud young German. I thought this was the best civilization that could be given to a young man like me. How wrong I was. On the 9th of November, 1938, I returned from boarding school where I had lived under a false name for five years because I was a Jew. I lived away from my family, like an orphan, getting an education and under enormous pressure and fear that somebody could find out that I was not Walter Shleiss who I pretended to be. I was in great danger.

On that fateful night, I had arrived home, but my family had gone in hiding, and I was alone. I went to bed with my dog close by. At 5 a.m., on the 10th of November, 1938, ten Nazis broke down the door of our house. What they did to me, I am ashamed to tell you. It was so bad that I believed, "Eddie, you're going to die today." After, they made me witness the demolition of our 200-year-old house and murdering my beloved dog, Lulu, who had tried to protect me, in front of my eyes. I lost my dignity, my freedom, and my faith in humanity. I lost everything I lived for. I was reduced from a man to being nothing.

What happened to my country where I was born in, the country of my ancestors, the country which produced [Schiller], Goethe, Beethoven, and Mozart? What had happened to my German friends who became murderers? At the time, none of us understood that "Kristallnacht" - the "Night of Broken Glass" where the fronts of Jewish-owned shops were smashed, and the shops looted, and

homes and synagogues were set on fire - was only the beginning of the nightmare of much, much worse to come.

That day, I was transported to my first concentration camp, Buchenwald, where I was kept with another 11,000 Jewish men for about five months. On the 2nd of May, 1939, I was released. My father picked me up and brought me to Aachen. After 10 hours driving, we made an arrangement with a smuggler to take us into Belgium. I spent two weeks there with my dad in an apartment until I was arrested by Belgium police as a German, not a Jew, and interned in a camp with 4,000 other Germans. On the 10th of May, 1940, the camp was liquidated. We split up in Dunkirk, and I continued on to Lyon. There, I was arrested by French police and sent to Gurs, a terrible camp with 6,000 Germans. After my internments at camps, I was finally transported to what became my hell on earth: Auschwitz.

My parents and sister were also transported to Auschwitz, and I was never to see my parents again. I did not have a chance to say goodbye to my beloved mother, and I have missed her every day of my life. If you have the opportunity today, please go home and make sure you tell your mom how much you love her. Please do this for your new friend, Eddie.

I was lucky enough, managed to escape what became known as the death march, and I hid in a forest, alone, for many months, before I was found by the American army. But I'm standing here today a happy man, who enjoys life with a wonderful wife and a beautiful family. I do not hate anyone. Hate is a disease which may destroy your enemy, but will also destroy you in the process. I'm doing everything I can to make this world a better place for everyone, and I implore you all to do your best too. Let us ensure that this terrible tragedy, the worst in the history, may never happen again and also will never, ever be forgotten.

After many years of hardship and hiding, on the 7th September, 1945, after a long journey by train, I entered back into Belgium without any papers. Very shortly after that, I met and married my wife, Flore, to whom I have been married for 73 years. At that time, I was not a happy man. I did not enjoy being amongst people. That was until our first son, Michael, was born. At that time, my heart was healed and my happiness returned in abundance. I made the promise that from that day until the end of my life, I promised to be happy, smile, be polite, helpful, and kind. I also promised to never put my foot on German soil again. Today, I stand in front of you, a man who has kept all those promises.

My greatest happiness comes from my family, my wife, two sons - Michael and Andre - my many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who all bring so much joy. Today, I teach and share happiness with everyone I meet.

Happiness does not fall from the sky; it's in your hands. If you're healthy and happy, you're a millionaire. Happiness also brings good health to the body and mind, and I attribute my 99 years of health mostly to the positive and happy attitude. One flower is my garden; one good friend is my world. Young people today forget to stop. They're constantly running and don't know where they're running to. You should take time to be happy and enjoy life. There's a time to laugh and there's a time to cry. I see good things in life. Invite a friend or family member for a meal. Go for a walk. Tomorrow will come, but first enjoy today!

I wonder how people exist without friendship, without people to share their secrets, hopes, and dreams, to share good fortune or sad losses. In the sweetness of friendship, let there be laughter and sharing of pleasure, good times made better and bad times forgotten - due to the magic of friendship.

For me, when I wake up, I'm happy because it is another day to enjoy. When I remember that I should have died a miserable death, but instead I'm alive, so I aim to help people who are down. I was at the bottom of the pit. So If I can make one miserable person smile, I'm happy.

Remember these words: Please do not walk in front of me - I may not be able to follow. Please do not walk behind me - I may not be able to lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend. I will end my talk with a wish from my heart to all your hearts. May you always have lots of love to share, lots of good health to spare, and lots of good friends that care. Thank you for giving me the privilege of speaking to you today. Thank you.

1. The speaker describes his experience at boarding school. How might this have contributed to his resiliency?

2. How does the speaker’s use of vivid descriptions and specific details advance his purpose?

3. Why does the speaker mention Beethoven and Mozart? What point is he trying to make?

4. When does the tone of the speech shift? What words and phrases help you know?

5. What is the speaker’s central message? How does he use figurative or emotional language in the final four paragraphs to support this message?

Directions: Read the following speech. Identify a central idea of the speech and underline it. Find and highlight at least three additional quotes throughout the speech that provide supporting details for the central idea you identified. Additionally, mark any quotes that you believe reflect the idea of “GRIT” presented in Duckworth’s speech. Finally, answer the post-reading questions to help you think more critically about the text.

Malala Yousafzai’s “Address to the United Nations,” July 2013

Background: Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate. She is known mainly for human rights advocacy and she focuses on women’s issues and access to education. Across the globe, millions of girls are excluded from school and educational opportunities because of their gender. Her activism began at age 11. When she was 14, she was singled out and shot by members of the Taliban, an Islamic extremist group, who despised her for promoting equal educational access for women. After recovering, she continued her activism. She was invited to speak at the United Nations in 2013 on her 16th birthday, which they proclaimed as Malala Day.

Dear brothers and sisters, do remember one thing. Malala Day is not my day. Today is the day of every woman, every boy and every girl who have raised their voice for their rights. There are hundreds of human rights activists and social workers who are not only speaking for human rights, but who are struggling to achieve their goals of education, peace and equality. Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured. I am just one of them.

So here I stand.... one girl among many.

I speak – not for myself, but for all girls and boys.

I raise up my voice – not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.

Those who have fought for their rights:

Their right to live in peace.

Their right to be treated with dignity.

Their right to equality of opportunity.

Their right to be educated.

Dear Friends, on the 9th of October 2012, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead. They shot my friends too. They thought that the bullets would silence us. But they failed. And then, out of that silence came, thousands of voices. The terrorists thought that they would change our aims and stop our ambitions but nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born. I am the same Malala. My ambitions are the same. My hopes are the same. My dreams are the same.

Dear sisters and brothers, I am not against anyone. Neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorists group. I am here to speak up for the right of education of every child. I want education for the sons and the daughters of all the extremists especially the Taliban.

I do not even hate the Talib who shot me. Even if there is a gun in my hand and he stands in front of me. I would not shoot him. This is the compassion that I have learnt from Muhammad-the prophet of mercy, Jesus Christ and Lord Buddha. This is the legacy of change that I have inherited from Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. This is the philosophy of non-violence that I have learnt from Gandhi Jee, Bacha Khan and Mother Teresa. And this is the forgiveness that I have learnt from my mother and father. This is what my soul is telling me, be peaceful and love everyone.

Dear sisters and brothers, we realize the importance of light when we see darkness. We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced. In the same way, when we were in Swat, the north of Pakistan, we realized the importance of pens and books when we saw the guns.

The wise saying, “The pen is mightier than sword” was true. The extremists are afraid of books and pens. The power of education frightens them. They are afraid of women. The power of the voice of women frightens them. And that is why they killed 14 innocent medical students in the recent attack in Quetta. And that is why they killed many female teachers and polio workers in Khyber Pukhtoon Khwa and FATA. That is why they are blasting schools every day. Because they were and they are afraid of change, afraid of the equality that we will bring into our society.

I remember that there was a boy in our school who was asked by a journalist, “Why are the Taliban against education?” He answered very simply. By pointing to his book he said, “A Talib doesn’t know what is written inside this book.”

Honorable Secretary General, peace is necessary for education. In many parts of the world especially Pakistan and Afghanistan; terrorism, wars and conflicts stop children to go to their schools. We are really tired of these wars. Women and children are suffering in many parts of the world in many ways. In India, innocent and poor children are victims of child labor. Many schools have been destroyed in Nigeria. People in Afghanistan have been affected by the hurdles of extremism for decades. Young girls have to do domestic child labor and are forced to get married at early age. Poverty, ignorance, injustice, racism and the deprivation of basic rights are the main problems faced by both men and women.

Dear fellows, today I am focusing on women’s rights and girls’ education because they are suffering the most. There was a time when women social activists asked men to stand up for their rights. But, this time, we will do it by ourselves. I am not telling men to step away from speaking for women’s rights rather I am focusing on women to be independent to fight for themselves.

Dear sisters and brothers, now it's time to speak up.

So today, we call upon the world leaders to change their strategic policies in favor of peace and prosperity.

We call upon the world leaders that all the peace deals must protect women and children’s rights. A deal that goes against the dignity of women and their rights is unacceptable.

We call upon all governments to ensure free compulsory education for every child all over the world.

We call upon all governments to fight against terrorism and violence, to protect children from brutality and harm.

We call upon the developed nations to support the expansion of educational opportunities for girls in the developing world.

We call upon all communities to be tolerant – to reject prejudice based on cast, creed, sect, religion or gender. To ensure freedom and equality for women so that they can flourish. We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.

We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave – to embrace the strength within themselves and realize their full potential.

Dear brothers and sisters, we want schools and education for every child’s bright future. We will continue our journey to our destination of peace and education for everyone. No one can stop us. We will speak for our rights and we will bring change through our voice. We must believe in the power and the strength of our words. Our words can change the world.

Because we are all together, united for the cause of education. And if we want to achieve our goal, then let us empower ourselves with the weapon of knowledge and let us shield ourselves with unity and togetherness.

Dear brothers and sisters, we must not forget that millions of people are suffering from poverty, injustice and ignorance. We must not forget that millions of children are out of schools. We must not forget that our sisters and brothers are waiting for a bright peaceful future.

So let us wage a global struggle against illiteracy, poverty and terrorism and let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons.

One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world.

Education is the only solution. Education First.

1. In the context of Malala Yousafzai’s life and speech, what does it mean to be brave? Cite evidence from the text in your answer.

2. During her speech, Yousafzai references many individuals who have inspired her. What might be her purpose in naming them in this speech?

3. During her speech, Yousafzai claims that the Taliban is “afraid of women.” What does she mean and why might she use this specific wording?

4. According to Malala Yousafzai, what is the purpose of education? To what extent do you agree

with her claim?

Wednesday, May 20

Tracking “GRIT” Throughout Various Texts

Directions: The first text you read this week provided an explanation of what “GRIT” is and why it is so important. In the first row of the chart below, write the meaning of “GRIT” as you understand it based on Duckworth’s speech.

Next, for each of the other three speeches read this week, find two examples of direct evidence from each that you believe reflect the meaning of “GRIT.” After entering each quote, provide an explanation in your own words that describes why you believe it reflects Duckworth’s concept of “GRIT.”

Meaning of “GRIT” (as defined by Duckworth in “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance”):

Text Evidence from the text reflecting “GRIT”

Explanation of HOW evidence fits the meaning of “GRIT”

President John Kennedy’s “Race to Space” speech

1.

2.

1.

2.

“A Holocaust Survivor’s Blueprint for Happiness” by

Eddie Jaku

1.

2.

1.

2.

1. 1.

Malala Yousafzai’s “Address to the United Nations”

2.

2.

Narrative Writing Checklist:

Look for…

Narrative Elements

• Uses narrative techniques such as dialogue, pacing, description and reflection to develop experiences, events, or characters

Organization

• establishes situation / context • introduces narrator / point of view • creates event sequence that

unfolds naturally • uses transitions, linking words to

manage sequence of time • has satisfying conclusion

Style and

Word Choice

• Uses precise words and phrases • Uses concrete detail • Uses sensory language

Conventions

• Errors in mechanics and grammar do not impede the reader’s understanding of the text

• See the Grammar Guide for grade-level expectations

Thursday-Friday, May 21-22

RESEARCH OUTLINE

Research and record information that addresses the following about a well-known person you admire that has overcome challenges. Organize this information into PowerPoint slides. A few sample slides are provided to guide your work. NOTE: Keep track of the credible websites or other sources from which you gather your information! Slide 1: Introduction

A. Person’s full name B. Image of the person

Slides 2-3: Childhood A. When was this person born? B. Important experiences he/she had as a child C. Image of him or her as a young person

Slides 4-7: Challenges and Accomplishments A. What influenced him/her? (people, ideas, events) B. What significant challenges did he/she have in his/her life? C. How did he/she solve overcome the problems? D. What was a significant accomplishment that he/she achieved? E. Image of him or her as an adult and any other additional/relevant images

Slide 8-9: Conclusion A. What is one way he/she affected or changed the world? B. How are you, specifically, influenced by this person? C. Additional relevant images

Slide 10: Sources A. List the links or citations for all the sources from which you pulled the information.

Sample Slides: Slide 1

Slide 2

Slide 3

Presentation Rubric

Demonstration of understanding

The presentation addresses all elements of the task and effectively demonstrates understanding of the topic, text(s), or findings.

Organization and development of presentation

The presentation is organized clearly and logically so that listeners can easily identify the central ideas; the supporting evidence is relevant and from credible sources.

Delivery of presentation

Speaker maintains consistent and appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.