The purpose of this second Benchmark Assessment (Cold Write) is to determine what students know about informational writing. Students will respond to a writing prompt, and you will score results as a measure of progress in subsequent assessments. Then students will continue the discussion of Hardy’s poem. They’ll also resume reading, writing about, and discussing Pygmalion.

In this lesson, you'll learn about the requirements for a Character Analysis Essay that will be due at the end of the unit. Then you'll continue reading, annotating, and discussing Pygmalion.In this lesson, students learn about the requirements for a Character Analysis Essay that will be due at the end of the unit. Then they will continue reading, annotating, and discussing Pygmalion.

In this lesson, students finish reading, annotating, and discussing Pygmalion. They’ll write about what they think will happen to Liza after the play ends and discuss how satisfying they found the ending.

In this lesson, students will resume reading, annotating, discussing, and writing about Pygmalion. In particular, they’ll focus on a conversation between Professor Higgins and Alfred Doolittle.

In this lesson, students continue reading, annotating, and discussing Pygmalion. Students will focus on Liza’s anger toward Higgins and Doolittle’s remarks about America.

In this lesson, students review the events of act 3 in Pygmalion. Then students write about social class issues in the play.

In this lesson, students write about and discuss how Shaw’s play deals with issues of social class. Then students will meet with their Independent Reading Group about their books.

In this lesson, students continue reading, annotating, and discussing Pygmalion. They’ll write about the impact of Higgins’s meddling in Doolittle’s life and also Doolittle’s final speech in the play. They’ll also finish their Independent Reading Group Novel for homework.

In this lesson, students will learn about the Greek myth the play Pygmalion is named after. Then they’ll begin reading and annotating the play, stopping periodically to discuss and write about it.

Lesson OverviewIn this lesson, students will read Thomas Hardy’s poem, “The Ruined Maid,” and work in small groups to paraphrase sentences in the poem. They will also begin to draw connections between the poem and Pygmalion.

In this lesson, students read and discuss two poems and their authors’ use of irony. Then they’ll continue reading, annotating, and discussing Pygmalion.

In our lives, we are constantly telling stories to ourselves and to others in an attempt to both understand our experiences and present our best selves to others.  But how do we tell a story about ourselves that is both true and positive? How do we hold ourselves up in the best possible light, while still being honest about our struggles and our flaws? Students will explore ways of interpreting and portraying personal experiences.  They'll read Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart , analyzing the text through the eyes of one character. They'll get to know that character's flaws and strengths, and they'll tell part of the story from that character's perspective, doing their best to tell an honest tale that presents their character's best side. Then they'll explore their own stories, crafting a personal narrative about an important moment of learning in his or her life.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Students read and analyze Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart , viewing the events and conflicts of the novel through the eyes of one of the central characters.
Students write a two-part narrative project: one narrative told through their character’s perspective and one personal narrative about an incident in their own life.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.

How do our conflicts shape and show our character?
How can we tell a story about ourselves that’s both honest and positive?
How do definitions of justice change depending on the culture you live in?
What are ways individuals can react to a changing world? To a community that doesn’t accept us?

BENCHMARK ASSESSMENT: Cold Read

During this unit, on a day of your choosing, we recommend you administer a Cold Read to assess students’ reading comprehension. For this assessment, students read a text they have never seen before and then respond to multiple-choice and constructed-response questions. The assessment is not included in this course materials.

In this lesson, students will participate in a Benchmark Assessment (Cold Write). The Benchmark Assessment (Cold Write) is an unassisted and unrevised piece of writing whose purpose is to provide a quick gauge of the student’s mastery of the characteristics of a given genre. Today’s Benchmark Assessment (Cold Write) measures and provides a benchmark of students’ mastery of narrative writing. Then students will join a community of classmates who represent different characters from Things Fall Apart, and introduce their characters to this community.

Who are the characters students will meet in this novel? In this lesson, students will become familiar with one particular character, through whose eyes they will read and interpret the novel. Students will make a profile of their character to introduce him or her to the rest of the class.

In this lesson, students will begin to learn how to use their digital course. How can this technology help them as a learner this year? How can they take advantage of the possibilities it offers?

What background knowledge do students need in order to understand this novel? In this lesson, students learn more about Nigeria, the culture of the Igbo people (whom Achebe writes about), and the history of missionary work and colonialism in Africa.

Why do we tell painful stories? In this lesson, students read an article about Chinua Achebe, the writer of Things Fall Apart, in order to figure out his motivation for writing this novel and to learn about the issues facing Nigeria in the late 1800s.

One important skill a writer must develop is to look critically at his or her own work, identifying areas that need improvement and learning how to ask for thoughtful, targeted feedback. In this lesson, students will ask their peers for help with areas of their narrative they are struggling with.

In this lesson, students will take the time to share their strongest work and to celebrate the writing of themselves and their classmates.

In this lesson, students will continue writing the draft of their personal narrative.