jerickson

Joy Erickson EDC 448 Diverse Text Set Dr. Coiro October 14, 2008 ** What does a Hero Look Like? ** These texts will be used in a heterogeneous tenth grade English class. None of the students have IEP’s, although some receive reading intervention. The variety of texts and the presentation of the texts are intended to benefit all levels of learners in the class, with the proper guidance.
 * Context for using the text set: **
 * A. Print Resources: **
 * Text #1: **
 * Citation: Lee, H. (1960). //To Kill a Mockingbird//. Philadelphia & New York: J.B. Lippincott Company.
 * Text Summary: //To Kill a Mockingbird// is a novel that incorporates themes of courage, racial and social diversity, and innocence to experience as told through the eyes of a precocious, southern girl. The story is of a pivotal time in Scout Finch’s life when she begins to see her father, Atticus, brother Jem, and the world around her in a whole new way. The story is one of injustice, and how sometimes the innocent don’t even have a chance at freedom and the heroes who defend them regardless.
 * Rationale: I chose this text because it is my favorite book and I want to share the beauty of it with my students. I think it is a perfect book to include in a hero or courage unit plan because there are so many places in the book that support those themes. I also think that with the right amount of guidance, students will appreciate the witty and humorous narration. I think this book can help students activate prior knowledge of the heroes in their own lives, who may go unappreciated, or even worse, unrecognized. Through the reading of this book, I hope for my students to appreciate the strength it takes for one to set themselves apart from the crowd.
 * Use of text: This text will serve as the main text in the set. It will be read aloud in class, in groups, and alone as homework. It will be used to initiate discussions on heroism, courage, narration, point of view, character and setting.
 * Attachment: This is a 295-page book, so I did not include an attachment.

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/scottsboro/Scottsbororeport.pdf. This diverse text set has been organized for use in a thematic unit on heroes. The main text is //To Kill a Mockingbird//. The other ten are supplementary texts, which will be used to: cater to different levels of reading and different learning modalities, enhance understanding of the main text, and clarify potential difficulties in the text, or to connect the text to real-life, as well as spark interest in the overall theme of the unit. The majority of the texts will work together to help students understand that many heroes are everyday- people in our everyday- lives. During this unit, each student will read all of the texts, and will be asked to examine the actions of unsung heroes represented in fiction, in the world, and in their own lives, through these texts. The unit will focus on why we need heroes, and how each of us, as good citizens, can contribute to make the world a better place, and these texts have been selected to support that focus. Content area learning objective: Given a journal, students will be able to write extensively and make observations and share thoughts about a text in the diverse text set. W-8-11 Demonstrates the habit of writing extensively by… W-8-11.2 Sharing thoughts, observation, or impressions (Local) Reading strategy objective: Given a graphic organizer, students will be able to pick out the main ideas in a text, and summarize it. R-8-4 Demonstrate initial understanding of elements of literary texts by… R–8–4.2 Paraphrasing or summarizing key ideas/plot, with major events sequenced, as appropri Joy- I love the theme you chose. I think it is a great one because its open ended enough for students to make really meaningful personal connections and to realize that everyone essentially has done something heroic in their life, including them. I think this is an important thing to highlight. Also, //To Kill A Mockingbird// is one of my all time favorite books. I like how you incorporated the “Scottsboro boys” into the set to enhance the historical context for the students, and also how you included a text on the firefighter from Hurricane Katrina. The texts you selected definitely enable the students to see “the big picture” of //To Kill a Mockingbird// while also expanding the definition and scope of courage and heroism. The different types of texts you selected also provide instruction and practice for students on how to read these different texts. -Sophie
 * Text #2: **
 * Citation: College Board. (2005). //Springboard: English Textual Power.//
 * Text Summary: This is an English Language Arts textbook that contains five instructional units, which all include diverse readings, activities and graphic organizers to support each unit theme. The textbook is designed to enhance the instruction of a number of suggested texts, which are not included in the textbook.
 * Rationale: I selected this textbook to supplement the main text in my text set, which is the novel, //To Kill a Mockingbird//. The theme and many of the activities in “Unit 1: The Challenge of Heroism” are relevant to the subject matter in Harper Lee’s novel. I believe the use of this textbook will enrich the connections students make with themselves, the world and the other texts in this set.
 * Use of text: The use of this text in the diverse set is to help students think about real life heroes in an organized fashion. The section, “Heroic News” will be used as an activity in class with the //People// magazine article (text #4) to help focus thoughts on the article.
 * Attachment: See attachment #2 for a copy of this text
 * Text #3 **
 * Citation: Randall, H. (1931, May 27). //Report on the Scottsboro, ALA. Case.// Retrieved September 22, 2008, from http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/scottsboro/SB_HRrep.html
 * Text Summary: A report written by teacher, journalist, economist, and activist, Hollace Randall, who covered the controversial case of the African American “Scottsboro boys”, who were unfairly accused of the gang raping of two white girls in Scottsboro, Alabama. The report includes a history of the case and trial, the economic and social background of the case and conveys the attitudes of society at the time the trial took place.
 * Rationale: This text was selected because it is a real life representation of the trial that took place in the main text of this diverse text set. The fact that the trial in //To Kill a Mockingbird// is said to have been based on this historical event, makes it a very pertinent asset to the set. I included this report to the text set because it is a useful tool for students to see the relevance of literature in relation to the real world and how authors are influenced by the current events taking place around them. This report is representative of the south Harper Lee grew up in, which is manifested in her novel.
 * Use of text: Portions of the report will be read together as a class and as homework as a “during reading” text. Since the report is not geared toward students, there may be pieces that are hard to understand, making it an appropriate text to teach M&MDavis literacy strategies with. The text will be used to help students gain an understanding of the time period in which the novel takes place, and help them make connections when they read about the fictitious trial in the novel.
 * Attachment: This 21- page document can be read online at
 * A. Print Resources: **
 * Text #4: **
 * Citation: Thompson, I. (2005, September 19). Surviving Hell & High Water. //People//, p. 62.
 * Text Summary: This is a short piece in an article that highlights some of the heroes who took action during Hurricane Katrina. It is the story of a 19-year old, volunteer fire-fighter.
 * Rationale: I chose this piece to connect the idea of heroism to the students’ lives. I wanted to show them that young people can be heroes in the wake of big events, such as a natural disaster.
 * Use of text: This text will work in conjunction with an activity from the Springboard text (text #2) to help students think about real-life heroes.
 * Attachment: See attachment #3 for a copy of this text
 * A. Print Resources: **
 * Text #5: **
 * Citation: Terban, M. (1987). //Mad As a Wet Hen and Other Funny Idioms.// New York: Clarion Books.
 * Text Summary: This is a funny picture book that explores some of the most common idioms (and their origins) in the English language through the use of its pictures and explanations.
 * Rationale: I chose this text to activate prior knowledge. Students probably use idioms in conversation or have at least heard them, but probably don’t give them much thought because they are oftentimes region-specific. //To Kill a Mockingbird// is full of idioms and they are definitely region-specific. The idioms in the book can make the narrative confusing, so I want the students to try and have some fun with them.
 * Use of text: I will use this text in conjunction with the interactive website, //To Kill a Mockingbird: Student Survival Guide// as a mini-lesson on idioms//.// There is a section devoted to the idioms in //To Kill a Mockingbird.// This will be used as a “before reading” text.
 * Attachment: This is a 60-page book, so I did not include it in an attachment.
 * B. Media Resources **
 * Text #6: **
 * Citation: Foote, H. (screenwriter) & Pakula, A. J. (producer). (1962). //To Kill a Mockingbird// [Motion picture]//.// (Available from Universal Pictures)
 * Text Summary: This is the film adaptation of Harper Lee’s book of the same title, and is fairly true to the text. The story is one of race, class and the loss of innocence in a small southern town told in a 1930’s voice, as the narration blends the voice of a child living in that time and the woman she became reflecting on that time.
 * Rationale: I chose this text to cater to spatial intelligence and visual learners. Having a visual representation of the main text can help enhance understanding. Watching a movie during class is also a nice change from the norm for all students.
 * Use of text: This is an “after reading” text and will be shown after the class finishes reading the book to extend understanding and review the content of the book.
 * Attachment: This movie can be rented.
 * B. Media Resources **
 * Text #7: **
 * Citation: http://images.google.com/
 * Text Summary: 14 pictures of people, some famous, others not, made into a slideshow.
 * Rationale: This slideshow represents famous heroes, and random people who could be heroes. Ideally, I would have pictures of the students on the slideshow, too.
 * Use of text: The pictures will be put into a PowerPoint slideshow, each labeled with an attribute of a hero. I will play this at the beginning of the lesson.
 * Attachment: See attachment #7.
 * C. Online interactive resources **
 * Text #8: **
 * Citation: Rutherford, N. L. (1998, May 18). //To Kill a Mockingbird: Student Survival Guide.// Retrieved October 1, 2008 from http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Belmont_HS/tkm/
 * Text Summary: This is a website devoted to Harper Lee’s book, //To Kill a Mockingbird,// and highlights all of the difficult vocabulary, allusions, and idioms.
 * Rationale: I chose this text because the idioms are highlighted. If the students are familiar with the sayings before reading the book, the better they will understand the narrative while reading the book.
 * Use of text: This text will be used in conjunction with //Mad as a Wet Hen and Other Funny Idioms// as a mini-lesson on idioms as an introduction to the book, //To Kill a Mockingbird//. It can also be used as a resource for students, while reading the book.
 * Attachment: See attachment #8 for the homepage of the website.
 * C. Online interactive resources **
 * Text #9: **
 * Citation: The My Hero Project, Inc. (2007). //The My Hero Project//. Retrieved October 1, 2008, from http://www.myhero.com/myhero/
 * Text Summary: This is an interactive website devoted to celebrating “the best in humanity.” On it can be found: stories, films, and pictures of local and famous heroes. Visitors of the site are also invited to share their own hero stories.
 * Rationale: I chose this text for students to explore the many types of heroes in the world.
 * Use of text: Students will be asked to find a hero story that interested them and write a summary about the hero and why the story was appealing. These short summaries will later be read to the class.
 * Attachment: See attachment #9 for the homepage of the website.
 * D. Instructional Resources **
 * Text #10: **
 * Citation: Profiles in Courage: Harper Lee’s // To Kill a Mockingbird. // Retrieved October 5, 2008, from http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=525
 * Text Summary: This one of a two-part lesson plan that has students focus on all manifestations of courage in // To Kill a Mockingbird //.
 * Rationale: I chose this lesson plan because my text set can easily be incorporated into it, and I liked the title.
 * Use of text: I can use this lesson plan as is, or personalize it around this text set.
 * Attachment: See attachment #10 for a copy of the lesson plan.
 * Using these texts together in the classroom: **
 * Learning Objectives: **

Joy! This is an excellent theme choice! //To Kill a Mockingbird// is an excellent choice to surround the theme of everyday heroes. You have included real life material that students will be able to relate to and make connections to their lives. The firefighter is an excellent example of that because Katrina was so recent the students will probably be more interested. By making historical connections, students can see that people have been real life heroes for a long time, and its not just big folk lore names! Great job!! -Brandon

Joy- I really admire your thoughtfulness in incorporating current events and controversial events into your unit. This will surely help students better grasp the idea of the every-day hero. I liked that you included texts that not only realted to your main idea of heroes, but also included texts that helped students understand idioms. It is important that students understand what they are reading and that they have a chance to learn a new concept while keeping the overall picture in mind. Great job!

Joy, I am absolutely in love with your diverse text set! Honestly, it is a very insightful theme and variety of texts. To Kill A Mockingbird is one of my favorite books and I never had to read it for a class, so it is nice to see an interesting perspective on teaching it. This is definitely an engaging lesson for students to connect the themes of the book and make the connections. I particularly enjoy your use of current events and hero stories to tie in the theme. Fantastic job! -Jessica Morales