Module

Timeframe

Big Ideas (Statements or Essential Questions)

Major Learning Experiences from Unit 

Module 1:

Stories of Human Rights

September – November

What are human rights, and how can they be threatened?

How can we use writing to raise awareness of human rights?

Students will:

• Read the novel Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan in order to learn about human rights.

• Study the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and apply it to the characters and events in the novel.

• Describe characters’ reactions and responses to events where human rights are threatened.  

• Write poetry and a literary essay, comparing the responses of characters to selected events.  

• Plan, write, and perform monologues based on the events from the novel.  

• Collaborate to create a playbill for their monologues, which will include a Directors’ Note to describe the way specific articles of the UDHR related, as well as make connections to how people today are impacted by this issue.

Module 2:

Biodiversity in the Rainforest

November – January

Why do scientists study the rainforest?

How do authors engage readers in narratives?

Students will:

• Closely read excerpts of The Most Beautiful Roof in the World by Kathryn Lasky and other texts to identify text structure, practice summarizing, and build background knowledge about biodiversity and rainforest deforestation.

• Research ways they can help the rainforest and the challenges associated with being an ethical consumer.  

• Read narrative texts and write a literary essay, citing evidence from the text, to demonstrate how narrative authors use figurative, concrete, and sensory language to describe the rainforest in order to help the reader better understand what it is like to be there.  

• Apply their knowledge of figurative, concrete, and sensory language to describe the rainforest as they write first-person narratives.

Module 3:

Athlete Leaders of Social Change

February – April

How have athletes broken barriers during the historical era in which they lived?

What factors can contribute to an individual’s success in changing society?

Students will:

• Build background knowledge about Jackie Robinson through reading Promises to Keep by Sharon Robinson (Jackie’s daughter).

• Determine the main ideas and identify key details, and use these to summarize the chapters of the book. 

• Examine the relationship between people and events in the text in order to gather factors that led to Jackie Robinson’s success in leading social change.  

• Apply their understanding of the factors that led to Jackie’s success to develop an opinion on which factor(s) were most important.  

• Participate in collaborative discussions and write an opinion essay on which factory was most important on Jackie Robinson’s success. 

• Research other athletes who were leaders of social change.  

• Write essays to compare and contrast the factors that contributed to the success of the athletes they study with those of Jackie Robinson.  

Module 4:

The Impact of Natural Disasters

April – June

How do natural disasters affect the people and places that experience them?

How can we prepare for a natural disaster?

Students will:

• Collaborate to research various natural disasters with a focus on answering the question, “How do natural disasters affect the people and places that experience them”  

• Apply their research to write and record a public service announcement explaining how to stay safe during a natural disaster.

• Read and analyze literary texts, including poems, songs, and Eight Days: A Story of Haiti by Edwidge Danicat, a story about a boy trapped under his house for eight days during the 2010 earthquake.  

• Analyze how the illustrations contribute to the meaning, tone, and beauty of the text, as well as how the narrator or speaker’s point of view influences how events are described.  

• Research supplies needed to include in an emergency preparedness kit and write opinion essays on the most important items to include.