Kick-off a research project on gender roles on the World War II home front with two brief video clips and a selection of primary sources. Once students have analyzed the photographs and wartime advertisements, begin a research project on women during World War II. This lesson plan (which includes background information and full-color primary sources) was produced to accompany the exhibition "The Price of Freedom: Americans at War," by the Smithsonian?s National Museum of American History.

The Declaration of Independence is key to understanding American government. Written in June and July of 1776, by the Committee of Five (Thomas Jefferson of Virgina, John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Robert Sherman of Connecticut, and Robert R. Livingston of New York), the document was forged in a time of crisis. American colonists were engaged in a war on their own soil against their mother country, England , who possessed the most disciplined military in the world. This document was like none previously seen.

In Democracy in America. Alexis de Tocqueville referred to America as “The Great Experiment.” But what did he mean by saying that America’s constitutional democracy was an experiment? America was founded on key principles which, are the same principles that govern our nation today.   America’s Founders initiated the experiment in democracy by trying out a new form of government, including the ideas that power should ultimately come from the people, that government power should be limited, and that individual liberties of all peoples should be protected.

The 12th grade learning experience consists of 7 mostly month-long units aligned to the Common Core State Standards, with available course material for teachers and students easily accessible online. Over the course of the year there is a steady progression in text complexity levels, sophistication of writing tasks, speaking and listening activities, and increased opportunities for independent and collaborative work. Rubrics and student models accompany many writing assignments.Throughout the 12th grade year, in addition to the Common Read texts that the whole class reads together, students each select an Independent Reading book and engage with peers in group Book Talks. Language study is embedded in every 12th grade unit as students use annotation to closely review aspects of each text. Teacher resources provide additional materials to support each unit.

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.

Can a person be both admirable and flawed at the same time? In this lesson, students will look more closely at the character of Okonkwo. Students will figure out what his most admirable qualities are, as well as some of his flaws. They will also decide whether Okonkwo has the potential to be a tragic hero.

Students will work with a gray value scale using light and shadows to create a dynamic composition. Students will examine and describe a work of art, focusing on the use of light and shadows in a monochromatic composition. They will practice problem-solving various ways to use these findings to create their own work of art in a gray value scale.

Students will be able to: mix values of gray from black to white; experiment with shadows and light; plan and create a dynamic composition; and demonstrate appropriate painting technique and craftsmanship.

Students will analyze how they spend their time on a daily basis to develop effective time management skills.

Ratios

Type of Unit: Concept

Prior Knowledge

Students should be able to:

Calculate with whole numbers up to 100 using all four operations.
Understand fraction notation and percents and translate among fractions, decimal numbers, and percents.
Interpret and use a number line.
Use tables to solve problems.
Use tape diagrams to solve problems.
Sketch and interpret graphs.
Write and interpret equations.

Lesson Flow

The first part of the unit begins with an exploration activity that focuses on a ratio as a way to compare the amount of egg and the amount of flour in a mixture. The context motivates a specific understanding of the use of, and need for, ratios as a way of making comparisons between quantities. Following this lesson, the usefulness of ratios in comparing quantities is developed in more detail, including a contrast to using subtraction to find differences. Students learn to interpret and express ratios as fractions, as decimal numbers, in a:b form, in words, and as data; they also learn to identify equivalent ratios.

The focus of the middle part of the unit is on the tools used to represent ratio relationships and on simplifying and comparing ratios. Students learn to use tape diagrams first, then double number lines, and finally ratio tables and graphs. As these tools are introduced, students use them in problem-solving contexts to solve ratio problems, including an investigation of glide ratios. Students are asked to make connections and distinctions among these forms of representation throughout these lessons. Students also choose a ratio project in this part of the unit (Lesson 8).

The third and last part of the unit covers understanding percents, including those greater than 100%.

Students have ample opportunities to check, deepen, and apply their understanding of ratios, including percents, with the selection of problems in the Gallery.

This lesson formally introduces and defines a ratio as a way of comparing numbers to one another.Key ConceptsA ratio is defined by the following characteristics:A ratio is a pair of numbers (a:b).Ratios are used to compare two numbers.The value of a ratio a:b is the quotient a ÷ b, or the result of dividing a by b.Other important features of ratios include the following:A ratio does not always tell you the values of quantities being compared.The order of values in a ratio matters.Goals and Learning ObjectivesIntroduce a formal definition of ratio.Use the definition of ratio to solve problems related to comparing quantities.Understand that ratios do not always tell you the values of the quantities being compared.Understand that the order of values in a ratio matters.

Students use percents greater than 100% to solve problems about rainfall, revenue, snowfall, and school attendance.Key ConceptsPercents greater than 100% are useful in making comparisons between the values of a single quantity at two points in time. When a later value is more than 100% of an earlier value, it means the quantity has increased over time. This percent comparison can be used to find unknown values, whether the earlier or later value is unknown.Goals and Learning ObjectivesUnderstand the meaning of a percent greater than 100% in real-world situations.Use percents greater than 100% to interpret situations and solve problems.

Students will identify how some jobs have been stereotyped or dicriminated against as "men's" or "women's" work. They will also identify myths and realities about women and men in nontraditional jobs. ï‚·

This module explores modern day apathy, specifically in middle schools. This PBL challenges students to be introspective and reflect on What they value What they are concerned with What they are passionate about and then see how it can be changed.Students collaborate with oneother to discover shared ideas, research their value or issue, and develop a Public Service Announcement (PSA) to communicate what they want to improve. In a culminating activity, students participate in a gallery/exhibition to share their PSAs.Standards:CCSS English Language Arts (Grade 8) Ohio Standards for Technology

We are bombarded every day with claims about how the world works, claims that have a direct impact on how we think about and solve problems in society and our personal lives. This module explores important considerations for evaluating the trustworthiness of such claims by contrasting between scientific thinking and everyday observations (also known as “anecdotal evidence”).

Values help give us direction and help us set goals for the future. We develop our values from those around us and from our experiences.