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Writing Assignment 2: 4-Day Content Area Literacy Thematic Unit Planning Guide
Kiamara Shell
Belhaven University
REA 617: Content Area Literacy
Professor Nancy Finklea
July 2, 2022
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4-Day Content Area Literacy Thematic Unit
Planning Guide
Name: Kiamara Shell
Content Area/Subject: Social Studies
Grade Level: 12th
What is the specific theme/topic for this content area unit? Justice for All
What is the essential question for the unit (real-world connection)? Why are there ongoing
struggles for civil rights?
Content Area Standards selected for this unit.
USG 5 Compare and contrast civil rights and civil liberties and explain how each have been
interpreted and amended throughout American history
USG.5.1 Investigate the Bill of Rights, with emphasis on First Amendment freedoms.
USG.5.3 Trace selective incorporation of the Bill of Rights
USG.5.4. Evaluate the balance between individual liberties and the public interest of order.
USG.5.5 Assess the statement “It is every citizen’s right to be treated equally under the law.”
USG.5.6 Trace the changing interpretations of the Bill of Rights over time, including
interpretations of the basic freedoms, including: religion, speech, press, petition, and assembly,
articulated in the First Amendment and the due process and equal-protection of-the law clauses
of the Fourteenth Amendment
USG 5.9 Investigate the controversies that have resulted over changing interpretations of civil
rights, including: Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, Miranda v. Arizona, Regents
of the University of California v. Bakke, Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena, and United States v.
Virginia (VMI).
Literacy [ELA] Standards selected for this unit:
RL.12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves
matters uncertain.
RL.12.2 Determine themes or central ideas of a text and analyze in detail their development over
the course of the text, including how details of a text interact and build on one another to produce
a complex account; provide an accurate summary of the text based upon this analysis.
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RH.11-12.1Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources,
connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
RH.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text
(e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).
RH.11-12.6 Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by
assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning, and evidence.
RI.12.8 Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of
constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority
opinions and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy
(e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses).6
RI.12.9 Analyze seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and nineteenth-century foundational U.S. documents
of historical and literary significance for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features Such
documents might include The Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, the
Bill of Rights, and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address.
W.12.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.
W.12.9a Apply grades 11–12 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Demonstrate knowledge of
eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature,
including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics”).
W.12.9b Apply grades 11–12 Reading standards to literary nonfiction and/or informational texts
(e.g., “Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of
constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning [e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court Case majority
opinions and dissents] and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy
[e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses]”).
SL.12.1Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in
groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11–12 topics, texts, and issues, building
on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL.12.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g.,
visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems,
evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the
data.
L.12.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when
writing or speaking.
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L.12.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases
based on grades 11–12 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
L.12.4a Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word’s
position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
Text Set: List each item’s title/author etc., using correct APA format. Explain your rationale for
choosing each item.
Text #1: Slivnick, B. (2018). The Bill of Rights in a Changing American. Retrieved from
CommonLit Website: https://www.commonlit.org/en/texts/the-bill-of-rights-in-achanging-america
o Genre: Nonfiction (Informational)
o Rationale: This text will give the students background information on
establishment of the Bill of Rights and how the Bill of Rights have been applied
through time.
Text #2: Watson, R., & Hagan, E. (2019). Watch Us Rise. New York: Blumsbury YA.
o Genre: Fiction
o Rationale: This text explores ideas of body-shaming, racial stereotypes, and
gender inequality and gives students more insights into how people of diversity
struggle with injustices and the importance of the Bill of Rights.
Text #3: JR. Guns in America. TIME. New York City. Retrieved from Time Website:
https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/time-guns-cover-final.jpg
o Genre: Visual Literacy
o Rationale: This visual literacy helps students to make inference about the debate
over the Second Amendment. Currently it is one of the most widely contested
debates among Americans.
Text #4: Stutzman, B. (n.d.). A 3-Minute Guide to the Bill of Rights. Retrieved from TedEd:
https://ed.ted.com/lessons/a-3-minute-guide-to-the-bill-of-rights-belinda-stutzman
o Genre: Media item (audio/video):
o Rationale: This video helps the students to understand what the first ten
amendments of the Bill of Rights is all about and the rights that each citizens is
granted.
Text #5: Associated Press. (2021, 05 06). Student's Snapchat profanity leads to high court
speech case. Retrieved from Newsela Website: https://newsela.com/read/student-free-speechsupreme-court/id/2001020591/
o Genre: (Informational)
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o Rationale: This text connects students to the lesson through real world
experiences that they can relate too.
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References
2018 Mississippi College and Career Readiness Social Studies Standards. (2018). Retrieved
from Mississippi Department of Education:
https://www.mdek12.org/sites/default/files/Page_Docs/final_2018_mississippi_ccr_social
_studies_standards_2.pdf
Associated Press. (2021, 05 06). Student's Snapchat profanity leads to high court speech case.
Retrieved from Newsela Website: https://newsela.com/read/student-free-speech-supremecourt/id/2001020591/
JR. Guns in America. TIME. New York City.
Mclenaghan, W. A. (2013). Magruder's American Government. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.
Mississippi Department of Education. (2016). Mississippi College and Career Readiness
Standards. Retrieved from Mississippi Department of Education Website:
https://districtaccess.mde.k12.ms.us/curriculumandInstruction/MississippiCurriculumFra
meworks/ELA/2016-MS-CCRS-ELA.pdf
Slivnick, B. (2018). The Bill of Rights in a Changing American. Retrieved from CommonLit
Website: https://www.commonlit.org/en/texts/the-bill-of-rights-in-a-changing-america
Stutzman, B. (n.d.). A 3-Minute Guide to the Bill of Rights. Retrieved from TedEd:
https://ed.ted.com/lessons/a-3-minute-guide-to-the-bill-of-rights-belinda-stutzman
Thoreau, H. D. (1849). Excerpt from "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience". Retrieved from
CommonLit Website: https://www.commonlit.org/en/texts/excerpt-from-civildisobedience
Watson, R., & Hagan, E. (2019). Watch Us Rise. New York: Blumsbury YA.