Grade 8 ela ccgps unit plan: 2nd 9 weeks this unit is provided as a sample of available resources and tasks; it is for informational purposes only

The word “stereotype” is defined as, “A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.” Stereotypes are the assumptions that are often made about people because of the way they look, where they live, what they do for a living, etc. Citing evidence from at least two of the visual texts we have considered (The Member of the Wedding, The Color Purple, and Driving Miss Daisy) write an essay exploring how stereotypes of race and gender in the South have changed and evolved over time.

ELACC8RL2. 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.

ELACC8SL1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

ELACC8SL2. Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visual, quantitative, oral) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.

ELACC8SL3. Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and relevance and sufficiency of the evidence and identifying when irrelevant evidence is introduced.

Instruction:

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  Initiate whole class discussion on how people can be stereotyped by the way in which they communicate.
  
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  Share PowerPoint with images of people from various socio-cultural/socio-economic backgrounds and have students make guesses regarding how each person might communicate. Discuss why they might think a person would speak in a particular way.
  
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  Begin first half of film viewing: Driving Miss Daisy. Instruct students to pay close attention to the individual diction and speech patterns of each character.
  
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  In notebooks or journals, have students written down how and why various characters speak the way they do. Instruct them to make comparisons of characters’ speech within a single text (e.g. Dee’s use of more formal English to Mama’s use of vernacular in “Everyday Use,” or Miss Daisy’s Southern figures of speech to Hoke’s vernacular in Driving Miss Daisy,” etc.). Does one type of speech afford more clarity than another? Why or why not? Do characters “come alive” better and/or seem more authentic? Why or why not?
  

ELACC8SL1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) wit diverse partners on grade 8 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

ELACC8SL2: Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g. visually, quantitatively, and orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.

ELACC8SL6: Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

Instruction:

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  Whole-class read-aloud of poem “Flounder” by Natasha Trethewey and discuss poet’s use of vernacular in the poem’s italicized dialogue.
  
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  Continue viewing of Driving Miss Daisy. Interrupt as necessary for discussions of plot and character, with emphasis on individual characters’ dialect.
  
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  Learning stations set up around the room for group exploration done in rotations:
  

1. 
   LS1: Matching speech patterns to a visual image. Have various photographs clipped from magazines showing a diverse range of people of different ages and socio-cultural backgrounds (e.g., a very young child, an older African American, a cowboy, a rural farmer, a teenager, a business person, a famous rock, rap, or country musician, a radio DJ, etc.). On separate slips of paper, have vernacular phrases or bits of dialogue that match up to each picture (e.g. baby talk for a toddler, Appalachian vernacular for the cowboy or farmer, African American Vernacular English (AAVE), teen slang, overly formal English, etc.) Students will work together to match the vernacular speech with the visual image.
   
2. 
   LS2: Slips of paper with mentor text dialogue spoken by characters in the written and visuals texts (e.g., AAVE spoken by Mama in “Everyday Use” or the characters in The Color Purple, Southern/Appalachian dialect spoken by characters in “Everything that Rises Must Converge,” or Driving Miss Daisy, etc.). Students will work together to rewrite the characters’ into Standard American English (SAE).
   
3. 
   LS3: Slips of paper with mentor text sentences, phrases, or dialogue written in SAE. Students will work to rewrite these into modern slang or vernacular.
   

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  Whole class discussion of the activity.
  

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.

ELACC8W4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Instruction:

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  Finish viewing Driving Miss Daisy.
  
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  In notebooks or journals, have students write a short response to one or both of the following prompts. Instruct them to incorporate appropriate, creative dialogue into the narrative:
  

1. 
   Have you ever been subjected to cultural stereotyping? What were the circumstances? How did you react? What did you learn from the experience?
   
2. 
   Have you ever subjected someone to cultural stereotyping? What were the circumstances? How did that person react? What did you learn from the experience?
   

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.

ELACC8W4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Instruction:

• 
  Divide class into smaller groups and guide students to work collaboratively to rewrite a scene or passage from a visual or written text into a different setting/context (e.g., the bus-riding passage from “Everything that Rises Must Converge,” one of Dee’s confrontations with Mama and Maggie in “Everyday Use,” or a scene from one of the films).
  
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  This writing task may be written in prose or script form. If written in prose, the passage must include appropriate dialogue; if scripted, it must include stage direction.
  
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  Instruct students to use character speech/dialogue appropriate to the time and setting.
  

ELACC8RL2. 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.

ELACC8SL1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

ELACC8SL2. Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visual, quantitative, oral) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.

ELACC8SL3. Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and relevance and sufficiency of the evidence and identifying when irrelevant evidence is introduced.

ELACC8W3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive detail, and well-structured event sequences.

ELACC8W4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Instruction:

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  View the excerpted clips from The Color Purple that focus on letters written between Celie and the sister, Nettie, from whom she has been long separated.
  
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  Using as an example the correspondences between Celie and Nettie in The Color Purple, provide students with background knowledge on epistolary writing, including letter-writing and journal entry writing.
  
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  Divide class into pairs, and have each pair work collaboratively to produce a series of short letters between characters within a text (e.g. between Dee and Maggie in “Everyday Use,” or between Frankie and Jarvis in The Member of the Wedding, etc.).
  
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  Alternately students can write entries in a “secret diary” or journal from a character’s point of view.
  

ELACC8RI3: Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories.

ELACC8RI8: 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.

ELACC8W7: Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple answers.

ELACC8W9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Instruction:

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  Provide a range of media (audio/visual, print, electronic) resources for examination of cultural stereotypes (movie/TV clips, short magazine articles, political cartoons, news stories, opinion pieces, etc.).
  
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  Teacher will lead class in a discussion of how and why some examples work to shatter stereotypes and some work to perpetuate them.
  
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  Have students choose one media artifact that they found particularly provocative.
  
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  Have students write a précis on the rhetoric of the piece (whether visual or texual), identifying the methods used to make the message impactful.
  

ELACC8RI3: Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories.

ELACC8RI8: 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.

ELACC8W7: Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple answers.

ELACC8W9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Instruction:

• 
  Teacher will lead a discussion/review of previous day’s findings regarding stereotypes in media.
  
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  Teacher will provide computer workstations for individuals or pairs to explore web media and examine for evidence of cultural stereotypes.
  
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  Teacher will provide vetted and pre-approved web links for exploration/examination.
  
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  Students will identify and record examples of stereotype perpetuation and elimination.
  
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  Class will reconvene to discuss findings.
  

ELACC8W5: 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.)

ELACC8W9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

ELACC8SL1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

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  Place the prompt for this culminating writing task (see above) on chart paper or smart board
  
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  Lead students in a thorough deconstruction of all parts of the prompt so that they thoroughly understand what they will be asked to do in the assessment
  
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  Examine the vocabulary of the prompt and share student models of good work
  
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  Provide worksheets and copies of the 7^th grade standards to students and engage them (in teams, pairs, or whole groups) in determining what they expect to see on a rubric for this assignment
  
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  Provide students with a copy of the actual rubric you will use, or modify it in class based on the feedback from discussion
  
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  Review the grammatical concepts included in this study (phrases and clauses) and make sure they are meaningfully included in the rubric
  
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  Have students return to their groups and brainstorm a check-list of peer review items; that is, what should you check your paper for before the final edit to make sure it meets the requirements of the rubric (for example, check sentence fluency to make sure you have employed diverse and interesting sentence construction; check for passive voice; check that all items are backed up by evidence and that evidence is properly cited, etc.)
  

ELACC8W4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

ELACC8W5. 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.

ELACC8RL1. Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

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  Whole-class discussion of finished text.
  
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  Assign and clarify purpose of literary analysis essay (character? theme? etc.).
  
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  Model and discuss the concept of a strong thesis statement.
  
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  Model and discuss “power writing/power sentences” for paragraph organization—main idea, primary supporting sentences, secondary supporting sentences.
  
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  Distribute and explain use of graphic organizers for pre-writing (idea gathering) and paragraph planning.
  
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  Allow class time for planning and draft writing in response to the assessment prompt:
  

Writing prompt:

The word “stereotype” is defined as, “A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.” Stereotypes are the assumptions that are often made about people because of the way they look, where they live, what they do for a living, etc. Citing evidence from at least two of the visual texts we have considered (The Member of the Wedding, The Color Purple, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Driving Miss Daisy) write an essay exploring how stereotypes of race and gender in the South have changed and evolved over time.