Unit Five
Exploring the Big Question
“Always dream and shoot higher
than you know how.”
~ William Faulkner
What brings out the best in you?
Quotes
for
Small Group Facilitated Discussions
“If we did all the things that we are
capable of, we would literally
astound ourselves.”
~ Thomas Edison
“When we seek to discover the
best in others, we somehow bring
out the best in ourselves.”
~ William Arthur Ward
“Treat a man as he appears to be,
and you make him worse. But treat
a man as if he already were what
he potentially could be, and you
make him what he should be.”
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“It’s not what you are that holds
you back, it’s what you think you
are not.”
~ Denis Waitley
“As human beings, our greatness
lies not so much in being able to
remake the world - that is the myth
of the atomic age - as in being able
to remake ourselves.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
“Not everybody can be famous but
everybody can be great, because
greatness is determined by service.”
~ Martin Luther King Jr.
“You were born with potential.
You were born with goodness and trust.
You were born with ideals and dreams.
You were born with greatness.
You were born with wings.
You are not meant for crawling, so don't.
You have wings.
Learn to use them and fly.”
~ Rumi
“When we do the best that we can,
we never know what miracle is
wrought in our life, or in the life of
another.”
~ Helen Keller
“The greatness comes not when things
go always good for you. But the
greatness comes when you're really
tested, when you take some knocks,
some disappointments, when sadness
comes. Because only if you've been in
the deepest valley can you ever know
how magnificent it is to be on the
highest mountain.”
~ Richard Nixon
Look Me in the Eyes
Failure
Better than Me
Reflect: Expository Critique applied to video
2.6 Determine the adequacy and appropriateness of the evidence for an
author’s conclusions.
2.7 Make reasonable assertions about a text through accurate, supporting
citations.
2.8 Note instances of unsupported inferences, fallacious reasoning,
persuasion, and propaganda in text.
A Further Exploration of What
Brings Out the Best in You
As a class, we will read, analyze, and discuss the following
pieces in the reading textbook:
“A Lesson in Courtesy” by Stan Sakai on p. 584
“Voices from the Holocaust” by Michael A. Schumanon
p. 596
“Primary Lessons” by Judith Ortiz Cofer p on p. 607
Peruse the following selections in your reading
textbook, and choose three selections you would
be interested in reading and discussing in class:
 “The Secret Schools” by Susan Goldman Rubin on p. 604
 “Satchel Paige” by Bill Littlefield on p. 626
 “TIME: Gentleman of the Pool” by Alice Park on p. 640
 “Eleanor Roosevelt” by William Jay Jacobs on p. 642
 “President Cleveland, Where Are You?” by Robert Cormier on p. 664
 “The Eco-Canoeist” by Sy Montgomery on p. 684
 “Going Blind” by Ray Charles and “Ray Charles” excerpt by Sharon Bell Mathis
on p. 692
As you read, you will be thinking about how these stories might relate to the
themes of what brings out the best in you, fairness, what makes you who you are,
why you read, and what makes a hero.
An In-Depth Look at
What Brings Out the Best in You
A Wrinkle in Time OR
by Madeleine L’Engle
Crash
by Jerry Spinelli
Comparing and Contrasting:
What Brings Out the Best in You
and Authors’ Techniques
The Sidewalk Racer
Lillian Morrison
Skimming
an asphalt sea
I swerve, I curve, I
sway; I speed to whirring
sound an inch above the
ground; I'm the sailor
and the sail, I'm the
driver and the wheel
I'm the one and only
single engine
human auto
mobile.
Alone in the Nets
Arnold Adoff
Ode to Mi Gato
He's white
As spilled milk
My cat who sleeps
With his belly
Turned toward
The summer sky.
He loves the sun
Its warmth like a hand.
He loves tuna cans
And milk cartons
With their dribble
Of milk.
He loves Mom when she rattles
The bag of cat food,
The brown nuggets
Raining into his bowl.
And my cat loves
Me, because I saved
Him from a dog,
Because I dressed him
In a hat and a cape
For Halloween,
Because I dangled
A sock of chicken skin
As he stood on his
Hind legs. I love mi gato,
Porque I found
Him on the fender
Of an abandoned car.
Gary Soto
He was a kitten,
With a meow
Like a rusty latch
On a gate. I carried
Him home in the loop
Of my arms.
I poured milk
Into him, let him
Lick chunks of
Cheese from my palms,
And cooked huevo
After huevo
Until his purring
Engine kicked in
And he cuddled
Up to my father's slippers.
That was last year.
This spring,
He's excellent at sleeping
And no good
At hunting. At night
All the other cats
In the neighborhood
Can see him slink
Around the corner,
Or jump from the tree
Like a splash of
Milk. We lap up
His love and
He laps up his welcome.
Assessments:
Words of Week weekly vocabulary test
A Wrinkle in Time or Crash comprehension tests
Accelerated Reader reading, vocabulary, and literary
analysis test
Treasures Unit 5 Assessment on pp. 716-720
Discussion of what brings out the best in you and
reflections on inner strength and the implications for
one’s own life
Optional if needed: Treasures individual story
assessments and Treasures formative assessments to
define differentiation
Standards Embedded:
1.0 Word Analysis, Fluency , and Systematic Vocabulary Development
Students use their knowledge of word origins and word relationships, as well as
historical and literary context clues, to determine the meaning of specialized
vocabulary and to understand the precise meaning of grade-level-appropriate
words.
Word Recognition
1.1 Read aloud narrative and expository text fluently and accurately and with
appropriate pacing, intonation, and expression.
Vocabulary and Concept Development
1.2 Identify and interpret figurative language and words with multiple meanings.
1.3 Recognize the origins and meanings of frequently used foreign words in
English and use these words accurately in speaking and writing.
1.4 Monitor expository text for unknown words or words with novel meanings by
using word, sentence, and paragraph clues to determine meaning.
1.5 Understand and explain “shades of meaning” in related words (e.g., softly and
quietly).
2.0 Reading Comprehension (Focus on Informational Materials)
Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. They describe and
connect the essential ideas, arguments, and perspectives of the text by using their
knowledge of text structure, organization, and purpose. In addition, by grade eight,
students read one million words annually on their own.
Structural Features of Informational Materials
2.1 Identify the structural features of popular media (e.g., newspapers, magazines,
online information) and use the features to obtain information.
2.2 Analyze text that uses the compare-and-contrast organizational pattern.
Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text
2.3 Connect and clarify main ideas by identifying their relationships to other sources
and related topics.
2.4 Clarify an understanding of texts by creating outlines, logical notes, summaries, or
reports.
2.5 Follow multiple-step instructions for preparing applications (e.g., for a public library
card, bank savings account, sports club, league membership).
Expository Critique
2.6 Determine the adequacy and appropriateness of the evidence for an author’s
conclusions.
2.7 Make reasonable assertions about a text through accurate, supporting citations.
2.8 Note instances of unsupported inferences, fallacious reasoning, persuasion, and
propaganda in text.
3.0 Literary Response and Analysis
Students read and respond to historically or culturally significant works of
literature that reflect and enhance their studies of history and social science.
They clarify the ideas and connect them to other literary works.
Structural Features of Literature
3.1 Identify the forms of fiction and describe the major characteristics of each
form.
Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text
3.2 Analyze the effect of the qualities of the character (e.g., courage or
cowardice, ambition or laziness) on the plot and the resolution of the conflict.
3.3 Analyze the influence of setting on the problem and its resolution.
3.5 Identify the speaker and recognize the difference between first- and thirdperson narration (e.g., autobiography compared with biography).
3.6 Identify and analyze features of themes conveyed through characters, actions,
and images.
3.7 Explain the effects of common literary devices (e.g., symbolism, imagery,
metaphor) in a variety of fictional and nonfictional texts.
Additional Standard Embedded in Poem of the Day:
3.4 Define how tone or meaning is conveyed in poetry through word choice,
figurative language, sentence structure, line length, punctuation, rhythm,
repetition, and rhyme.
Expository Critique
2.7 Make reasonable assertions about a text through accurate, supporting
citations.
Additional Standard Embedded in novel study:
Literary Criticism
3.8 Critique the credibility of characterization and the degree to which a plot is
contrived or realistic (e.g., compare use of fact and fantasy in historical fiction).